August 1981 Dragon

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Vol. VI, No. 2 August 1981

I
Publisher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jake Jaquet
In somebody’s dictionary, a cliche A word of explanation about the inter- Editor-in-Chief. . . . . . . . . . . Kim Mohan
should exist about dragons — some- view with the artist that begins on page Editorial staff . . . . . . . . . . . Bryce Knorr
thing on the order of . . . You seen one 28: That three-letter word is a topic of Marilyn Mays
dragon, you seen ‘em all . . . no, that’s not discussion, and Boris is a frank man who Gali Sanchez
Sales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Chiusano
it . . . A dragon in the hand is worth . . . no, doesn’t mind stating his opinions. A few Circulation . . . . . . . Corey Koebernick
how ‘bout . . . There are as many different words relating to the human body that Office staff . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cherie Knull
types of dragons as there are people to probably haven’t appeared on these Roger Raupp
think them up. pages before are included in that context Contributing editors. . . . Roger Moore
Hmmm. A little rough, but it’ll do. — but there’s nothing — repeat, NO- Ed Greenwood
Ahem. If you’ve been paying attention THING — about that part of the interview
to the cover of this magazine lately, that we feel is anything but an honest This issue’s contributing artists:
you’ve probably noticed a lot of dragons discussion of something we shouldn’t Boris Vallejo L. E. Boelman
—and we don’t mean the word on top by James Holloway Chris Conly
get so upset about, anyway.
Roger Raupp Jon Hageman
the price. Enough of reality; back to fantasy. Erol Otus Phil Foglio
Three of our last four covers have fea- Obviously, we haven’t begun to ex- Corinna Taylor David Trampier
tured our mythical namesake, or at least haust the possibilities for artistic expres- L. Blankenship
the visions of three prominent artists as sions about dragons. More renditions
to what a dragon is supposed to look will appear here, and for those of you DRAGON magazine is published monthly by
like. who can’t get enough of the noble mon- Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR Hobbies,
Inc. The mailing address of Dragon Publishing
First there was Tim Hildebrandt’s vi- ster, look for the 1982 DAYS OF THE is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147; tele-
sion (issue #49) — an impressive fire- DRAGON™ Fantasy Art Calendar. We’ll phone (414) 248-8044.
breather laying waste to a moonlit castle. be featuring dragons — 13 of ’em at last DRAGON magazine is available at hundreds
Gracing the cover of #50 was Carl count — using the AD&D™ Monster of hobby stores and bookstores throughout the
United States and Canada, and through a limit-
Lundgren’s vision: just the opposite — a Manual and past issues of DRAGON™ ed number of overseas outlets. The magazine
mysterious beastie, shrouded by the magazine as inspiration. If you’re at the can be purchased directly from Dragon Publish-
darkness of his lair. GEN CON® XIV Convention this month, ing by subscription. Rates are as follows, with all
payments to be made in advance: $24 for 12
Tough acts to follow, admittedly. Not stop by the Dragon Publishing booth issues sent to a U.S. or Canadian address; $50
too many artists working today could do and take a look. U.S. for 12 issues sent via surface mail or $95 for
12 issues sent via air mail to any other country.
it, but this issue’s cover certainly doesn’t
pale by comparison. After all, it is a Our apologies to all of you who were A limited quantity of certain back issues of
DRAGON magazine can be purchased directly
Boris. so impressed with the description of The from the publisher by sending the cover price
“I wanted to do something different,” Beholder in “The ’Zines” (issue #50) that plus $1.50 postage and handling for each issue
Boris said after completing an oil paint- you sent money to England for a sub- ordered. Payment in advance by check or mo-
ney order must accompany all orders. Payments
ing that further demonstrates that there scription. We don’t know exactly what cannot be made through a credit card, and
are as many different types of dragons as the situation is, but we do know that the orders cannot be taken nor merchandise “re-
served” by telephone. Neither an individual cus-
there are people to think them up. magazine is no longer being published tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub-
Hence, the idea of hatching dragons. by Michael Stoner, like the article indi- scription order or back-issue purchase unless
prior arrangements are made.
Ditto the delicate wings on his beast. cated. We received an urgently worded
Created in the fine brush strokes that cable giving us that information from The issue of expiration for each subscription
mark Boris’ increasingly realistic style, Don Turnbull, managing director of TSR is printed on the mailing label for each sub-
scriber’s copy of the magazine. Changes of ad-
the work — which is untitled — demon- Hobbies (UK) Limited, a few weeks ago, dress for the delivery of subscriptions must be
strates several of the artist’s trademarks. but just too late to allow us to get the received at least 30 days prior to the effective
date of the change in order to insure uninter-
There is, of course, his love of the human correction into issue #51. “Don’t send rupted delivery.
form, as represented the beautiful wom- money to Stoner,” says Don, and we
All material published in DRAGON magazine
an who has graced many of his paint- (now that we know better) echo that re- becomes the exclusive property of the publisher
ings. And the dragon looks . . . right — like commendation. Once again, our sincere upon publication, unless special arrangements
it really existed, a testimony to Boris’ to the contrary are made prior to publication.
apologies and regrets for any inconven- DRAGON magazine welcomes unsolicited sub-
pre-medical studies in anatomy. ience or loss of money that the misin- missions of written material and artwork; how-
Note also the depth of field — or focus formation caused. We have reports that ever, no responsibility for such submissions can
be assumed by the publisher in any event. Any
— on the dragon, for example, that gives The Beholder is still going to be pub- submission which is accompanied by a self-
the painting a three-dimensional quality, lished, somehow, by somebody, but our addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient size
will be returned to the contributor if it cannot be
and the egg nodules floating in the two sources of information are in con- published.
background which he said “emphasizes flict. We’ll try to unravel the mystery and
the fantasy element.” give you the true facts next time around. DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Publish-
ing’s monthly adventure playing aid. All rights
Typical also is the speed with which on the contents of this publication are reserved,
the 40-year-old New Yorker painted the and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole
or in part without prior permission in writing
piece: four days from start to signature. from the publisher. Copyright 1981 by TSR
Better yet, he said, after overcoming the Hobbies, Inc. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.
initial “artist’s block” he feels when fac- Second class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
ing a blank canvas, “it was fun.” Wis., and at additional mailing offices.

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August 1981 Dragon
specialist Michael Kluever is back with a contribution entitled
“Knock, Knock” (as in, let me in or I’ll batter your door down), an
overview of siege warfare tactics and strategy through the ages.
The first major addition to the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™
Fantasy World Setting that we’ve published comes from the
typewriter of Len Lakofka and is presented in Len’s regular
column, Leomund’s Tiny Hut. The article gives guidelines for
determining the place of birth and the languages known by
inhabitants of the Flanaess — plus an appendix by E. Gary
rom Boris to Bounty Hunters, from Greyhawk to Gygax himself which describes the appearances of the races
Gamma World, from clerics to conventions: This that inhabit this famous land.
issue of DRAGON™ magazine contains articles The latest edition of Giants in the Earth presents Katharine
and artwork that range far and wide across the vast Kerr’s interpretations of two “island enchanters” — Prospero,
spectrum of fantasy and fantasy game-playing. from Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and the legendary Circe, in a
Like the lettering on the cover proudly proclaims, the fanciest portrayal which is drastically different from the description of
feature you’ll find inside is an eight-page interview with Boris her in the DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia.
Vallejo, one of the best fantasy artists to ever lift a brush. For In Simulation Corner, John Prados gives us the first instal-
proof of that, one need look no further than the scintillating lment of a series on the essentials of game design. More advice,
cover painting Boris created especially for DRAGON magazine of a different sort, can be found in Up on a Soapbox, where Lew
— but if you need more convincing, turn to page 28 and savor Pulsipher tells DMs how to make up for their mistakes and Tom
the interview (conducted by staff member Bryce Knorr) and the Armstrong suggests how to get around the problem of the
accompanying photographs and paintings which illustrate it. “know-it-all” player.
All of you who’ve been clamoring for a GAMMA WORLD™ Our review section is larger in size and in scope this time
adventure to appear on these pages can put away those laser around, with the addition of “Off the Shelf,” the first course of
pistols. Cavern of the Sub-Train is the creation of Jake Jaquet, what we plan to be a regular diet of book reviews by Chris
our esteemed publisher and the co-author of the GAMMA Henderson. Immediately preceding the book section are three
WORLD rules. game and game-accessory reviews, and just in front of them is
This issue’s NPC offering is a three-for-one deal: We got so another two pages’ worth of miniature-figure evaluations in
many Bounty Hunter submissions after making a request for Figuratively Speaking.
just such a character class that we decided to give you a trio of Rounding out the reading material inside is another chapter in
tough guys to choose from. the Minarian Legends saga by Glenn Rahman, designer of the
The first few pages of the article section will answer the pray- DIVINE RIGHT™ Fantasy Boardgame which first made the con-
ers of clerics everywhere. Robert Plamondon’s long general tinent of Minaria famous, and a page crammed full of notices of
article on “The Role of the Cleric” is supplemented by a pair of upcoming conventions around the country and across the sea.
shorter variants from Douglas Loss, plus 2½ pages of Sage After putting together a string of four straight appearances,
Advice questions and answers all about clerics. Finieous Fingers didn’t make it to number five, but J. D. has
For some insight into how and why the D&D® Basic Set was promised to continue the story of everybody’s favorite thief in
created and how it evolved into the game it is today, check out time for publication next month. Hold on, Finieous fans, and in
the observations and opinions of the two people — J. Eric the meantime we hope your funnybones are sufficiently tickled
Holmes and Tom Moldvay — who served as editors for the first by a page of Dragon Mirth cartoons, plus another “What’s
and the second edition, respectively. New?” from Phil Foglio and the latest page from Tramp depict-
The offering for TOP SECRET™ players this month is Paul ing the whimsical and wierd world of Wormy. IS the world ready
Crabaugh’s discussion of undercover occupations. Historical for a one-eyed bloodhound? Ready or not, here it comes! — KM

SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS REGULAR OFFERINGS

BORIS: A portrait in words Out on a Limb — Letters from readers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Eight pages of interview, photos and artwork . . . . . . . . .28 Leomund’s Tiny Hut — Detail for Greyhawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Cavern of the Sub-Train Giants in the Earth — Island enchanters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36
A scenario for GAMMA WORLD™ adventuring . . . . . . . .40 Dragon’s Bestiary: Rhaumbusun and Pelins . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Convention calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60
Up on a Soapbox:
OTHER FEATURES To err is human, to repair divine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61
The Clerical Collection: The best DMs will look further than the book . . . . . . . . .62
TheRoleoftheCleric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Minarian Legends — The Shucassamites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
This land is my land . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Simulation Corner — Picking a game-design topic . . . . . . . .68
The sense of sacrifices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Figuratively Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Basic D&D® points of view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Dragon’s Augury:
From the editors old and new . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 Basic Role-Playing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
The undercover job guide — TOP SECRET™ tips . . . . . . . . .26 Timelag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3
Party picture contest: In the eye of the beholder . . . . . . . . . . .50 Dungeon Tiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Knock, Knock: A history of siege warfare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 Off the Shelf — Fantasy literature reviewed . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
WANTED: Bounty Hunters Dragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
I: Not a very nice guy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 What’s New? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
II: Beware of traps in woods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
III: He’s on your trail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 Cover painting ©1981 by Boris Vallejo

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

‘Useless’ with a feature such as the Hildebrandt

interview.
should be sitting in his castle, twiddling his
thumbs, somewhere in the middle of West
Dear Editor: As fantasy becomes more and more popu- Nowhere.
I think DRAGON is an excellent magazine, lar, the people who create works of fantasy Secondly, any seventh-level character that
and normally I would be willing to praise it, (literature and art) become personalities. thinks he can outswap stories with me has
but issue #49 was more or less useless. “Best They get attention from the general public, had one too many feeblemind spells cast on
Wishes” was helpful, and I enjoyed the TOP instead of just from a small core of fantasy him! All of this that I hear about high-level
SECRET and Alchemist material, but that’s enthusiasts. It may indeed be stretching the characters being “given” levels really makes
all. I was very disappointed to find a story on point to call an interview with an artist a “role- my half-elven blood boil. I had to work ex-
an artist in the center instead of the usual playing aid,” but even if such an article doesn’t tremely hard and spend a lot of hours to get
module or game. quite fit into the definition of what DRAGON my characters where they are. Nobody can
Issue #50 was better, being mostly about is about, we think it still has an application tell me that I haven’t earned every experience
dragons, which I use often. The only problem and can serve as an inspiration to fantasy point I ever got.
with this issue was that it was all D&D. I play gamers and budding artists who want an in- It has been said on numerous occasions by
D&D often, and it is my favorite game, but I side look into how a creative genius does his various people that gods can’t be integrated
also play TOP SECRET, GAMMA WORLD, creating. into the AD&D scene with any degree of suc-
and BOOT HILL. How about putting more of If you didn’t like the interview in #49, you’re cess or realism. To this I politely answer,
these in? I have been reading DRAGON since not gonna be too crazy about what you find “Garn.” The Greek heroes had quite a few
#44, and I have not seen any GAMMA WORLD inside this magazine, either. But — just like we encounters with their gods, and there seems
articles. Combine #50 with a TOP SECRET reasoned when we published the Hildebrandt to be no lack of Greek mythology books even
article and maybe a GAMMA WORLD mod- interview — we think the majority of our read- today. In my opinion, the DM who can’t crea-
ule, and you would have a fantastic magazine. ers will enjoy the words and pictures of Boris tively and realistically use a divine being in
Ty Treadwell Vallejo for the insight they provide in to one of his/her campaign has no imagination. Does it
Marietta, Ga. the people who has helped broaden the ap- seem so unlikely that a god would have some
peal of fantasy. mortals as his chosen champions? In our
No matter how anyone else may feel about world we have quite a bit of association with
‘Overboard’ the Boris feature, we’re pretty sure that the
writer of this next letter will appreciate it:
the gods (pleasant and unpleasant) and have
had several successful encounters with divine
Dear Editor: beings in our gods’ names. It works in our
I was extremely disappointed with issue #49 world and still seems very realistic, so I don’t
of DRAGON. What happened to all the great
gaming suggestions, variants, and aids that
‘Great!’ see why it couldn’t work in someone else’s,
Divine creatures and extra-powerful mon-
we have come to expect from DRAGON? I Dear editor: sters can make AD&D interesting even for
don’t claim to have such creativity, and I have The Tim Hildebrandt interview in DRAGON high-level characters. What’s wrong with hav-
come to rely on your magazine for new ideas #49 was great! Would it be possible to have ing to fight five huge ancient red dragons with
and information to spur my imagination and interviews with other artists such as Boris Val- maximum hit points and spell-using ability?
enhance my campaign. I think you went over- lejo or Frank Frazetta? How about complex traps and difficult situa-
board on the convention scene. Your small, Christopher Diedoardo tions? Or, is it so impossible to go to Jotun-
one- or two-page schedules had long been New York, N.Y. heim and do some damage to Thrym and his
suitable for informing gamers of upcoming brothers? Not with imagination. And isn’t that
events. I’d hate to see DRAGON turn into a It sure would be possible, Chris. You really what this game is based on?
convention schedule. know how to make an editor happy... — KM I would like to end on a happier note. You
As a role-playing aid, the magazine ranked guys really do a good job on DRAGON, but
low. I believe that people want informative
articles about gaming, not portraits of artists.
‘High level’ maybe you need a few counterpoints to go
along with your points.
My apologies to Tim Hildebrandt. I am very Gentlemen: Charlie Luna
pleased with his work, but knowing his life Enough is enough! I have heard enough Athens, Tex.
story enlightened me in no way. Another “preaching” against high-level characters in
symbol of deterioration was the fact that Sage the past few issues to turn the gods of Lankh-
Advice was missing altogether. I hope that
this issue is not an example of how DRAGON
mar loose in the editing offices of DRAGON.
Since you let people speak against high-level
'Enough NPCs’
will be in the future. characters, I think we high-level characters Dear Editor:
But if it’s any consolation, that was only one should get a few words in, and boy, do we I have had enough of your NPCs! Sure,
bad magazine out of 49. have some gripes! they help you and balance the game, but on
Don Corman I have read several articles on how and why the other hand they can ruin you.
Chelmsford, Mass. DMs should get rid of high-level characters, The character is the main flow of the game.
and nothing burns me up worse. What do we Everything focuses around him. I keep seeing
We don’t enjoy getting letters from readers play for? According to DRAGON, every time a new toys for the DM. Why not help us players
who are critical of a certain issue’s content, character gets over 14th level he should be a bit, too?
but we accept negative criticism as inevitable turned into cinders at the base of some altar, Michael S. Pacyna
— especially when we try to break new ground have every assassin in the world after him, or Bowling Green, Ky.

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

T HE ROLE OF THE WARRIORS

WITH
CLERlC by Robert Plamondon
WISDOM
Then to their side comes the Archbishop Turpin, Legendary heroes such as Archbishop Turpin are undoubted-
Riding his horse and up the hillside spurring. ly the inspiration of the cleric character class in the DUNGEONS
He calls to the French and preaches them a sermon: & DRAGONS® and ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS™
“Barons; my lords, Charles picked us for this purpose; games. Turpin was not a meek temple priest, but a warrior and
We must be ready to die in our King’s service. adventurer whose skill at arms was matched only by his devo-
Christendom needs you, so help us to preserve it. tion to his God.
Battle you’ll have, of this you may be certain, But author’s inspiration is not necessarily player’s inspiration,
Here come the Paynims — your own eyes have observed them. especially when rulebooks reduce character classes to dessi-
Now beat your breasts and ask God for His mercy: cated statistics, and along the way they lose their romantic
I will absolve you and set your souls in surety. flavor.
If you should die, blest martyrdom’s your guerdon; Because Carolingian works such as The Song of Roland are
You’ll sit on high in Paradise eternal.” no longer well known, most players are unaware of any legend
The French alight and all kneel down in worship; of heroic priests. With no traditional role to fall back upon, the
God’s shrift and blessing the Archbishop conferreth, cleric all too often becomes a specialized mage, who murmurs
And for their penance he bids them all strike firmly. prayers instead of reading tomes, or a combat medic running
— The Song of Roland, Laisse 89 from patient to patient. Religion, the gods, the role of preacher

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August 1981 Dragon
and protector, are all forgotten; many players have cleric char- since long visits to the wrong parts of the Prime Material Plane
acters who don’t even know which god they serve. All of this can make them easy pickings for local gods.
contributes to the fact that the cleric is one of the most frequent- This is also one reason why lesser demons and devils are so
ly misplayed character classes. unthinkingly violent. On the Prime Material, they are far re-
This piece was written to address this problem by suggesting moved from the great evil beings who normally give them power,
the proper role of the cleric-adventurer in a medieval fantasy and are incapable of assembling a group of worshipers. If they
setting. are to remain on the Prime Material Plane, they must kill wor-
shipers of other deities, feeding on the power of the murders, or
The role of the gods go dormant.
No discussion of clerics makes much sense if the role of the In any event, the gods need worship, and they’re willing to pay
gods is not examined. The powers of a cleric are bestowed upon to get it. The chief beneficiaries of this arrangement are the
him by his patron god. clerics, whose role is now examined.
Why would a god waste time giving spells to a cleric? Why do
gods bother dealing with mortals at all? Why would the gods Clerics, gods, and worshipers
encourage mortals to pray and sacrifice to them? Clerics are devoted to preserving and enhancing the power of
Power, that’s why. Each act of worship provides the god with a their gods. This is done in several ways, listed below.
little bit of power. This is what separates the divine from the The cleric, by his devotion and constant prayer, is himself a
mortal. If a god wants to stay alive, he must have worshipers. source of power. First- and second-level spells are powered by
A god might have many more worshipers than are necessary the cleric’s devotion alone; the god expends no energy on grant-
to keep him alive. The extra power can be used in several ways: ing these spells to a truly devout cleric — and there isn’t any
First, it can be used by the god to increase his personal strength. other kind of cleric; when the devotion goes, so do all of the
The major difference between a demigod and a greater god is abilities.
that the greater god is consuming great quantities of power. By gaining converts to his religion, the cleric gains new wor-
This enhances his magical powers, makes him harder to kill, and shipers for his god and deprives another god of their devotion.
builds strong bodies twelve ways. Clerics build and maintain holy places, which are strongholds
To keep his worshipers faithful, some of the power is returned of the Faith, and can be places of great spiritual power; miracles
in the form of spells and miracles given to benefit or punish his are most likely to be granted on sacred ground.
followers. When a god puts on a good show, his believers will Clerics tend their flocks, keeping the worshipers happy and
worship him more (out of hope or fear), thus paying him back devout, or fearful and devout, depending on the god. They
with interest. encourage worship by healing the faithful, giving comfort, and
This suggests that a lot of games theory can be used by the by sponsoring feasts, festivals, and celebrations.
god in deciding how to maximize his overall power. Should he Clerics filibuster against other religions by bad-mouthing
plow back his power into spells, miracles, and lesser divine them, persecuting their adherents, defiling enemies holy pla-
beings; or keep as much as possible to himself? The former ces, destroying monsters, and subjugating nations of unbeliev-
increases his worldly power at the expense of his personal ers. To do this last thing, the clerics have to have some control
power; the latter increases his personal power, but weakens his over the nations’ rulers — but with the aid of a god, this isn’t
worldly following. The one thing that’s certain is that a god won’t usually a problem.
waste power if he can help it; he won’t grant miracles to just Clerics also work at self-improvement. They try to educate
anyone who asks, or grant spells to clerics who aren’t doing themselves and to become more devout, so that they can be of
their jobs. greater use to their god.
Power depends on several variables: The number of people All of this takes a great deal of work and dedication, though
worshiping, the frequency of worship, and the fervor of the most clerics are not obsessed with fulfilling each possible task.
worship. A person who sits bored and sleepy through an occa- Some tend temples, some preach to the masses, some go out to
sional church service generates almost no power; a fanatic slay evil monsters. In some way, every cleric gives a lot to his
embracing martyrdom generates a great deal. Below are some god. To make the deal attractive, the god reciprocates.
acts of worship, in order of increasing power: Clerics get spells. The idea of being a spell-caster is very
attractive, and all it takes to get first-level spells is a strong faith
1. Thinking religious thoughts. — which can be easy to maintain in a world where gods put in
2. Formal prayer. public appearances.
3. Attending rites or church services. Clerics get power: power over the undead, the power of mag-
4. Feasts, festivals, fasts, self-punishment, vigils- as ic, prestige, and influence. They have the prospect of becoming
part of religious rites. more powerful after they die, since gods use the spirits and
5. Sacrifice of valuables. souls of their best worshipers for important work.
6. Dying in a holy conflict. Clerics get security, usually. They generally take care of their
7. Killing an enemy in a holy conflict. own, and no cleric need fear disease or mutilation when there
8. Sacrifice of an unbeliever. are are healing spells available. The church protects them from
9. Sacrifice of an unwilling believer. other types of harm; few people are willing to risk a divine curse
10. Sacrifice of a willing believer. to rob a priest.
Clerics get satisfaction. They get benefits from their work;
These are only approximate. For example, a high priest who when they do well, they get more power. They know that what
embraces martyrdom usually generates more power than a ritu- they do aids their god, and they know that their god looks out for
al human sacrifice — so much more so that members of an the priesthood as a whole, and maybe even as individuals.
opposing religion will refuse to sacrifice captured priests; the Most clerics spend their careers tending a holy place, preach-
captors’ god would come out behind in the transfer of power. ing, dispensing aid and receiving offerings. Although this kind
When on the Prime Material Plane, power transfer both to and of priest leads a rewarding life, and is often quite powerful, the
from a god is most efficient when the god is near his worshipers. role is not adventurous enough for a role-playing game. The
This explains why most gods have such a strictly regional ap- cleric player character is a special kind of priest, one who is
peal; if a god travels away from his following, his power quickly more interested in smiting enemies and improving ‘himself for
drops to some lower level, and his clerics are affected in the his god than he is in keeping a temple. Therefore, we’ll leave the
same way. This keeps the mischief of divine begins in check, temple priest to his rites and concentrate on the fighting priest.

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

The cleric-adventurer ness of the spells and armor that clerics have available. They
don’t generally understand the full price their characters must
Archbishop Turpin goes riding through the field; pay for these advantages.
Ne’er was mass sung by any tonsured priest The cleric-adventurer is getting spells from his god. Why?
That of his body could do such valiant deeds! Because the cleric is doing his god’s work. Gods are simply not
He hails the Paynim: “God send the worst to thee! going to waste power on a backslider. At best, they’ll simply
Thou hast slain one for whom my whole heart grieves.” withhold all spells until the errant cleric shapes up, and then
Into a gallop he urges his good steed, only grant them in proportion to the amount and intensity of the
He strikes him hard on his Toledo shield, cleric’s work.
And lays him dead upon the grassy green. The cleric has to be devout, and he has to be alert to the needs
— The Song of Roland, Laisse 121 of his faith. This is the point most often missed by players. The
instant a cleric stops thinking like a cleric, he isn’t a cleric any
The cleric-adventurer is not a meek priest; he is a warrior who more, until appropriate spells, acts of contrition, and/or sacrifi-
has spells and magical powers to aid him as he destroys the ces are completed.
enemies of his god. Like Archbishop Turpin, he can use his Another source of player confusion is the role of clerics in the
powers to bless and support his comrades, and he is an able adventure. Are they supposed to be primarily mages, fighters, or
fighter in his own right, second only to a professional warrior in medics? Many, by watching clerics in battle, have concluded
skill. that they are medics. Others insist that they are specialty mages,
Players with cleric characters usually recognize the useful- who use prayer as a substitute for spell books.

THIS LAND IS MY LAND...

by Douglas Loss gods of geographical areas, we need to prepare two more maps
of the campaign area. They should be simple maps, on the order
In many traditional fantasies, and as played in D&D® and of weather/temperature maps. One will show the relative ten-
AD&D™ games, clerics receive the blessing, protection, and dency toward law/neutrality/chaos of any area; the other, the
tutelage of a particular god. It’s from this god that the cleric’s relative good/neutral/evil nature of any area. When cross-
power and majesty comes. indexed, these maps will describe an alignment for each section
Additionally, each god has a certain geographical area where of the campaign map..
the populace reveres it over all others. These areas are looked The alignment of an area doesn’t mean that every creature in
upon favorably by their patron gods, who use their powers to that area is of that alignment; only the deity associated with that
protect them from the ravages of other deities. alignment is especially concerned with what happens in that
The clerics are the messengers of the gods, their interpreters area. Gods don’t often directly meddle in mortal affairs, anyway.
in the everyday affairs of the populace, and instructors of the Clerics operating in areas under the direct patronage of their
populace in the ways of worship. The large majority of clerics fill god will have a very good chance of using the god’s power to its
these roles. utmost. Their spells will be more potent (in duration, power,
However, some clerics are wanderers, in the style of some etc.) than the norm (about 125% of standard figures is reasona-
medieval Christian and present-day Hindu orders. These clerics ble to use).
have not necessarily taken vows of poverty, but any wealth they Clerics operating in areas of “adjacent” alignment (lawful
gain will generally go to the furtherance of their religions. good is adjacent to neutral good and lawful neutral, for exam-
The reasons for clerical wandering involve the gods that the ple) will have spells of standard potency. The potency of spells
clerics worship. The gods may send them to gain new converts, will diminish the further the alignment of an area is from the
to accomplish other godly desires, or to gain perspective and cleric’s own alignment. The cleric’s power and spell potency are
insight into the ways of the world. Or for any of hundreds of at their weakest in an area of opposite alignment, such as lawful
unknown reasons. Who can answer for the gods? good vs. chaotic evil. (Somewhere between one-fourth and one-
The wisdom of a cleric represents his potential ability to gain half strength would be appropriate.)
the above mentioned perspective and insight. The wisest of cler- The strength and weakness of power and spell potency per-
ics are recognized by their gods as of more use in instructing tains only to clerics pursuing goals on their own initiative..Any
others and generally causing the gods’ names to be glorified cleric specifically sent by his god on a mission into unfriendly
even more. The attribute of exceptionally high wisdom is usually territory might be given a divine token which would create an
acknowledged by a god’s allowing such a cleric to draw on the aura of the cleric’s alignment immediately around him, making
god’s power more often and more effectively than a less wise his spells of standard potency. This is not a frequent occurrence.
one can. For a cleric on a mission for his god, martyrdom is not some-
The material components for clerical spells are sacrificial thing to be shied away from. Indeed, the god may demand it: If a
offerings to a god. The verbal and somatic components are the Flame strike on the person of his loyal follower would accomp-
cleansing rituals of the clerical order, which prepare the cleric to lish the god’s purpose, that certainly should not deter the cleric
be a channel for the god’s power. from “firing” himself. What a glorious end!
The act of being a channel for a god’s power is very draining. Druids are treated differently with regard to areas of power
Rest and contemplation are necessary to regain the stamina and potency, because they worship nature. Nature has no spe-
needed to again act as a channel. cific alignment area; druidic spells never vary in potency. Nature
The gods, in their wisdom, don’t allow every cleric to know isn’t a god of any specific alignment, it’s more of a balance of
any spell he’s potentially capable of learning; a cleric must, alignments in the world. If the balance of nature is tipped too far
through prayer, ask his god to grant him the specific ability to one way or the other, druids will attempt to restore it. In this way
use the god’s power in the way that the cleric desires. they differ from neutral clerics (which can only exist in the game
How then to put this in AD&D terms? On the matter of patron as non-player characters) who worship a true neutral god.

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August 1981 Dragon
These views would be correct if the clerics in a typical expedi-
tion had been recruited from a downtown temple. The clerics
would then have been brought along with the party to minister to
wounds, turn undead, and cast a couple of beneficial spells.
But cleric-adventurers aren’t enticed from downtown tem-
ples, they go adventuring on their own initiative. Cleric-
adventurers are trained warriors; they fight better than trained
men-at-arms, are comfortable with armor, and are bold enough
to enter places no cynical mercenary would dare come near.
They are warrior-priests, and it should show in their outlook.
This warlike outlook is evident in a properly motivated cleric
player character. Why does a cleric-adventurer go on adven-
tures? Certainly not just to play medic; he could do that where
it’s safe — people get hurt everywhere. Not just for greed; if he
concentrated solely on personal ambition, he’d soon be bereft
of spells.
His motives are basically aggressive: he wants to destroy his
god’s enemies, wrest away their wealth, and accumulate per-
sonal experience in a rapid but risky manner; and all for his
god’s benefit. This is a cleric worthy of Turpin’s approval.
After all, how meek can you expect a person who fights terri-
ble monsters to be? Just descending into a dungeon is ah act of
uncommon boldness. The cleric-adventurer isn’t, and really
can’t be, a meek healer. His purpose demands that he be a bold
killer, a champion of his god.
That a cleric-adventurer’s motives are aggressive does not
insure that his actions will always be. Although the cleric is on
the expedition to smite the enemies of the Faith, he is less well
equipped to do so by force of arms than a fighter, and much
worse at offensive magic than magic-users. Most clerics are
temple-keepers and healers, and clerical spells are mostly for
their use. The cleric-adventurer is sometimes forced by the
(relatively) limited scope of his spells to support his comrades
more than fight, but his influence and abilities can help keep his
comrades fighting for the right cause. The important thing is
that the job gets done, whether or not the cleric strikes the blows
himself. class was created with medieval Catholicism in mind, and to
The portrayal of the cleric-adventurer as a crusader for his reduce the cleric’s effectiveness in melee; in the Greyhawk sup-
god makes him sound suspiciously like an AD&D paladin. plement, the best one-handed weapon a cleric can use is a
Granted; but if players had used clerics as something other than mace, which does 1-6 points of damage on man-sized oppo-
combat medics, perhaps the need for the paladin subclass nents, but fighters can use a sword for 1-8 points. The difference
would have never surfaced. Roland was a traditional paladin, in damage helped separate their fighting ability at low levels — at
and he had no magic powers. Turpin was most accurately a higher levels, the cleric is on a less effective combat table than
cleric-adventurer, but he reeks of the characteristics of the fighter, and the weapons limitation then seems redundant.
paladinhood. In the ADVANCED D&D™ books, the blunt-weapon rule is
retained, even though in AD&D a mace is about as good as a
Clerics and swords longsword, and no form of Christianity is mentioned in the
DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia.
Turpin of Rheims, finding himself o’erset, The rule should be thrown out. At the very least, a cleric
With four sharp lance-heads stuck fast within his breast, should be able to use the weapon sacred to his god. Is it also not
Quickly leaps up, brave lord, and stands erect. more proper to have clerics use weapons traditional to their
He looks on Roland and runs to him and says culture? Turpin did very well throwing pagans out of the saddle
Only one word: “I am not beaten yet! with his lance. Why should he have all the fun?
True man never failed while life was in him left!” Game balance probably won’t suffer if clerics are allowed to
He draws Almace, his steel-bright brand keen-edged; use all weapons. Although they’d fight as well as fighters at low
A thousand strokes he strikes into the press. levels, this is not enough to cause everyone to give up on figh-
Soon Charles shall see he spared no foe he met, ters — clerics are bound to their gods, which causes them all
For all about him he’ll find four hundred men, sorts of trouble; fighters can do what they please, as long as they
Some wounded, some clean through the body cleft, aren’t caught. That should be enough to encourage players
And some of them made shorter by a head. toward fighters without extra enticements.
— The Song of Roland, Laisse 155 If you want to weaken clerics anyway, try one of two easy
solutions; either have clerics hit at -1, or make six points the
According to the D&D game rules, clerics are only allowed to maximum damage from their weapons, so a sword that normally
use blunt weapons because they are forbidden to shed blood. does 1-8 points of damage still does only six if the roll is a seven
This practice was followed during part of the Middle Ages, but or eight. Either method should tone down the clerics just
not throughout; the poet certainly did not think of Turpin as a enough to make the fighters insufferably smug.
heretic. Most clerics aren’t Christian, anyway. Why deny a fol-
lower of Odin the traditional spear, or a priestess of Artemis the Conclusions
bow? The main thing to remember when playing or refereeing cler-
Clerics were perhaps limited to blunt weapons because the ics is that the gods are always watching, and that clerics know it.

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

No slip goes unnoticed, and with most gods this means that no And rides against him right valiant for the deed.
slip goes unpunished. A cleric reeds to know what his god He breaks the buckler, he’s split the hauberk’s steel,
wants, and he needs to do it. For details, see the Gods, Demi- Into his breast driven the lance-head deep,
gods, and Heroes supplement, the DEITIES & DEMIGODS Cy- He spits him through, on high the body heaves,
clopedia, or your local Dungeon Master. This allegiance to a And hurls him dead a spear’s length o’er the lea.
deity need not restrict a cleric character unbearably; after all, Earthward he looks and sees him at his feet,
there are lots of gods, they’re all after power, and they all want But yet to chide him he none the less proceeds:
different things. Surely there’s one to suit any player character’s “Vile infidel, you lied between your teeth!
taste. Charles my good lord to help us will not cease,
Nor have the French the least desire to flee.
A king was there, his name was Corsablis, These friends of your stock — still we’re like to leave;
From a far land he came, from Barbary; Here’s news for you — you’ll die, and there you’ll be.
The Saracens he calls, and thus he speaks: Frenchmen, strike home! Forget not your high breed!
“Well we are placed this field of arms to keep; The first good stroke is ours, God’s gramercy!”
For of the Franks the number is but weak, He shouts “Mountjoy!” to hearten all the field.
And we may well despise the few we see. — The Song of Roland, Laisse 95
Charles cannot come to help them in their need,
This is the day their deaths are all decreed!” (Quoted passages are from THE SONG OF ROLAND, translated
Archbishop Turpin has listened to his speech, by Dorothy L. Sayers, published by Penguin Books, 625 Madi-
And hates him worse than any man that breathes, son Ave., New York NY 10022. Reprinted by permission of the
His golden spurs he strikes into his steed, author’s agents, David Higham Associates Limited, London.)

THE SENSE OF SACRIFICES

by Douglas Loss sacred or unclean by the god. In general, each animal sacrifice
increases the chance of a miracle by 2%; if the animal used is
Sacrifices are an essential part of most religious traditions. especially favored by the god as a sacrifice, it adds 3%. Such
These offerings to the gods serve to indicate reverence and a animals must be ritually dedicated to the god immediately be-
willingness to serve in any way needed. As such, normal sacrifi- fore being killed. Just shouting, “For (god’s name)!” and slicing
ces must be made regularly, as gestures of thanks for victory in won’t do.
battle, good fortune in finding treasure, or any generally good Sentient sacrifices are thinking creatures, of an alignment
occurrence. greatly divergent from the cleric’s. They increase the chances of
Over and above the standard type of sacrifice is the sort used a miracle by 5% each. An attempt must be made to convert any
when a cleric wishes to call on his or her deity for a “miracle.” A sentient sacrifice to the cleric’s god. Only upon the failure of the
miracle is a spell higher in level than the normal limit of the cleric attempt to convert will the sentient count as a sacrifice. Those of
in question. If a god has been favorably impressed by the piety lawful or good alignment must diligently work at this conversion
of his servant, he will grant — on a one-time-only basis — the attempt. Others needn’t be quite so zealous.
ability to cast a spell “miraculously.” This miracle spell will As with all sacrifices, sentients must be sacrificed according
generally be sufficient to accomplish the requested or desired to strict ritual.
purpose, because the success of a miracle reflects directly on Increasing the amounts of a sacrifice raises the chance of
the competence of the god. If a god’s miracles aren’t enough to being granted a miracle. However, in no case will the chance of a
do his will, he isn’t much of a god. Of course, this doesn’t mean miracle be greater than somewhere around 50%, no matter how
the cleric will necessarily use the spell to his or her, best many sacrifices are made. Of course, there’s no reason a DM
advantage. must tell the player that.
What constitutes a decent sacrifice? There are three types: Once a cleric has sacrificed as much as he or she feels neces-
inanimate, animal, and sentient. Inanimate sacrifices are either sary, percentile dice are rolled to see if the miracle is granted.
objects of intrinsic value such as gold, gems, fine wines or oils, Whatever the outcome, the sacrifices no longer can be counted
or rare spices or scents; or objects of symbolic value such as an toward the next attempt.
idol or image of the god, or something related to the mythology If a cleric attempts to gain miracles too often (more than
of the god. The symbolic objects must be consecrated before- perhaps once a year or so), the maximum possible probability
hand. A good example of this is druid’s mistletoe. It’s symbolic will go down 5% with each successive attempt (i.e., the next
of the permanence of life and natural things, regardless of the attempt will be no more than 45%). If the probability gets down
appearances. It is consecrated by the ritual collection method to 20%, a check must be made (if the miracle isn’t granted) for
(gold, sickle, catching in a bowl, etc.). the god’s wrath. The chance of god’s wrath starts at 50% and
Intrinsically valuable objects increase the chances of the god increases by 5% for each subsequent miracle attempt, success-
granting a miracle by 2% for each standard measure of material. ful or not. Eventually, the god’s going to get mad.
Each DM must determine these standard measures for his cam- Obviously, miracles must be carefully prepared for and close-
paign. They might be 100 gp in coin, an equivalent-value gem, a ly moderated. They will never happen on the spur of the mo-
cask of wine, 5 drams of perfume, etc. ment. That sort of activity is called divine intervention — and
Symbolically valuable objects are specific to each campaign, that might happen once in a long campaign.
and their increases to the probability of being granted a miracle And there you are. Oh, you don’t think this sort of thing would
should be determined individually by each DM. In no case fit in your campaign? You’re sure? (Light the votive candles,
should the increase be more than 5% for each symbolically boys, start chanting quietly, and hand me the ceremonial
valuable object in the sacrifice. dagger...)
Animal sacrifices are those animals not considered either You’re sure?

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August 1981 Dragon

INTRODUCTION cleric’s effect on the turned creature. However, the monster will
SAGE ADVICE offers answers to questions about the D&D® not necessarily continue to fight. The disrupt/on only lasts for
and AD&D™ rules and how those rules can be interpreted. The the round in which it takes place, after which the cleric may
answers provided in this column are not “official” rulings, and again attempt to turn the creature.
should not be considered as such by people who make use of
the answers to solve a problem in their game-playing.
* * *
Because of the great amount of questions received for SAGE
ADVICE, the sage cannot guarantee to send out individual Even though a cleric can only receive new spells from his/her
answers to questioners, even if a return envelope is enclosed. deity once per day, is it possible for a cleric to appeal to his/her
Questions and answers will be published in DRAGON magazine deity for spells more than once a day if the first appeal is not
as frequently as space permits. Preference is usually given to granted?
questions of a general nature instead of questions which pertain Well, anything’s possible. A cleric’s chance of getting spells
to something that happened in a specific adventure. Questions depends almost exclusively on how well he’s getting along with
should be sent to Sage Advice, c/o DRAGON magazine, P.O. the deity he serves. If a deity withholds spells because of dis-
Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147. pleasure with the cleric, praying for atonement would be the
prudent thing to do, instead of making the same request again
* * * right away. Of course, emergency circumstances can dictate
extreme measures: A cleric may well justify asking for a replen-
The DMG is very specific on how magic-users receive their ishment of one or more spells twice in one day if it is truly a
starting spells, but I cannot tell how to give clerics their starting life-or-death situation, or if some other serious peril makes it
spells and how many of them to start with. worth taking the chance of asking twice. If the deity doesn’t
A cleric who is starting an adventuring career has already agree that the circumstances warrant a second request, the
spent a long time affirming and strengthening his faith. As out- second answer may well be more than a simple “no.”
lined in the DMG, clerical spells of first and second level are
obtained by “inspiration” — that is, without needing the prior * * *
approval of a deity or a servant of the deity (such as is the case
with spells of third level or higher). A cleric is assumed to be in How much area may be caused to glow by a Light or Continual
good standing with his deity when he begins as a first-level light spell? Do the clerical reverses of these spells blacken 4”
character, and is entitled to choose from all of the first-level and 12” diameter spheres, respectively? If so, what’s the good of
spells, up to the limit allowable because of the cleric’s wisdom Darkness, 15’ radius?
score — 3 spells for those with wisdom of 14 or more, 2 spells for An interesting three-part question: Part two answers part one,
those with wisdom of 13, and always at least 1 spell. and part three doesn’t seem to make sense. Yes, the reverses of
If the cleric remains in good standing with his deity, the con- the cleric spells Light and Continual light would “blacken”
tinued acquisition and replenishment of first- and second-level globes of that diameter — the same diameter as the globe of
spells will be automatic, assuming the cleric spends 15 minutes light formed when the “normal” version of the spell is cast.
in prayer per spell level each day. However, the DM must con- Nothing beyond the 4” or 12” diameter sphere of light or dark-
stantly assess the relationship between the cleric and his deity. ness would be affected —that is, the light sphere doesn’t “glow”
Transgressions by even a first-level cleric should not go unpun- and give off light to the area beyond the limit of the sphere.
ished, but that punishment will almost always be meted out by What’s the good of the Darkness spell? Well, the clerical Light
mortal servants of the deity (higher-level clerics). As punish- spells can be reversed, but the magic-user spells can’t, so there
ment, a low-level cleric might be forbidden to use a certain spell isn’t any duplication of the sort that the question seems to
— or all spells— for a length of time, though this must always be suggest.
decided by the DM. Low-level clerics should remember that
even though they don’t have to ask for first- and second-level * * *
spells, they aren’t always automatically entitled to receive them
if they don’t remain wholly faithful. How long do the paralyzing effects of a glyph of warding (peh)
last?
* * * That’s up to the DM. (If you want a recommendation from the
sage, try 1-6 turns.) There are no details in the AD&D game rules
If a turned monster is attacked by the cleric who turned him, on exactly which glyphs should be employed in a campaign or
will the monster fight back? what their characteristics should be. The glyph of paralysis
Wouldn’t you? Of course the monster will fight back. “Hostile (peh) which is illustrated on page 41 of the DMG, along with
acts” of any sort (DMG, page 66) will disrupt and negate the some others, is meant as an example of how a glyph might

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

appear and what its general function might be. Other sugges- have no souls and therefore cannot be raised from the dead or
tions for “typical glyphs” are found in the spell description in the resurrected. Since Raise Dead and Resurrection return the soul
Players Handbook, but players and DMs must take it from there, to the body, it must reasonably follow that the reverses of these
formulating all the specific rules governing how severe and how spells (Slay Living and DestructIon) release the soul from the
long-lasting the effects of a glyph are. body. Does this mean that elves and half-orcs are not affected
by the reverse spells, since they have no souls to release?
* * * Good question, but your reasoning isn’t quite sound. The
unreversed forms of those spells do indeed “return the soul to
Can an evil cleric cast Cure Wounds spells? Can a good cleric the body” — but they also do a lot more. They reintroduce
use a Cause Wounds spell? What about clerics who are neutral biological, physical life into a body; otherwise, a lifeless body
with respect to good and evil? with a soul inside it would be just that — a lifeless body. The
physical trauma that the recipient of a Raise Dead spell goes
How do lawful neutral and chaotic neutral clerics behave with through is considerable, so much so that the revived person is
respect to undead? Do they befriend/command them as an evil “weak and helpless” and must rest to regain his former vigor. So,
cleric would, or do they turn them as a good cleric would? it is reasonable to assume that an elf or half-orc struck by a Slay
Judging by the general guidelines of the AD&D alignment Living spell would undergo physical trauma to the same degree,
system, causing or promoting pain and suffering is an evil act, and in this case, the trauma is great enough to kill even a
while counteracting or preventing that pain and suffering is a soulless being. Likewise, the trauma caused by a Destruction
good thing to do. It’s not right to say absolutely that an evil cleric spell, which turns the victim to dust, is something which no
can’t use a Cure spell; healing another evil creature (or perhaps creature could endure and remain alive.
oneself) is not necessarily viewed as a good act when performed The reasoning which suggests that a creature can’t be affect-
by an evil character. Likewise, a good cleric cannot always be ed by the reverse of a spell if that creature is immune to the
condemned for using a Cause Wounds spell. Good clerics do unreversed form breaks down under a bit of examination. Many
use weapons, and the purpose of a weapon attack is the same as reversible spells are defined in such a way that a figure cannot
that of a Cause Wounds spell: If damaging or destroying an possibly be immune to both forms of the spell at once. For
enemy is necessary to save your skin, then causing pain and example, should a blind character, obviously immune (at least
suffering suddenly becomes a lot less evil — in fact, neither for the moment) to Cause Blindness, also be unaffected by Cure
good nor evil, but neutral (in one’s own best interest). But in Blindness? Of course not. There is no general rule which indi-
almost all cases, it’s best for clerics who want to remain in good cates that someone who is unaffected by one form of a spell is
standing with their deities to choose the version of a reversible automatically unaffected by the reverse as well.
spell that best fits their general philosophy and purpose. A good
general guideline is given in the description of the reverse of the * * *
Raise Dead spell, Slay Living: “An evil cleric can freely use the
reverse spell; a good cleric must exercise extreme caution in its What happens when a Resurrection or a Raise Dead is cast on
employment...” In most cases where a reversible spell is distinct- an undead?
ly good in one version and evil in the other, evil clerics have the Hmmm. It stands to reason that undead can be resurrected, as
most latitude in determining which version they’d like to learn. long as their living bodies had souls. But according to the spell
That’s what you get for being good. description for Resurrection, a cleric can resurrect the “bones”
It can be much more difficult to play a cleric who is neutral of a dead body — that is, there must be some part of the body
with respect to evil and good, and much more taxing for the DM available for the cleric to touch for the process of resurrection to
who must represent the deity that judges the appropriateness of take place. Any undead which is encountered in an immaterial,
the cleric’s actions. To make life simpler, a cleric’s deity may gaseous or ethereal form could not be resurrected, because
make it known that he prefers his followers to use one certain there’s nothing for the cleric to lay his hands on — even if he
form of a reversible spell. When a preference is not specified, dared to touch one.
and no other circumstances prevent it, the cleric would logically An undead creature which is corporeal, and especially one
be free to choose which version of the spell he wished to learn — which has retained at least a vestige of the appearance it had in
and he would still be subject to the judgement of his god after he life, could conceivably be resurrected with a touch — again, if
cast it (you never know what a chaotic neutral god will do). the cleric is willing and able to withstand the effects of that
As far as dealings with undead are concerned, the same touch. It’s worth noting here that a cleric who casts Resurrection
guidelines would seem to be applicable: The cleric and his deity is incapacitated for at least one day afterward, during which
have a choice of how to cause undead to react to them. A lawful time the cleric cannot engage in combat or spell-casting. Unless
neutral deity, for example, might feel more benevolent toward a some means is at hand to control the resurrected creature and
ghost than a ghoul, because of the monsters’ alignments with save the cleric’s skin, he’s going to be in a lot of trouble after the
respect to law and chaos. In encounters with such creatures, the spell is cast.
actions of a cleric of that deity would be governed by the instruc- A further guideline on the subject is found in the Monster
tion he has received, or by the cleric’s decision on which course Manual in the description for ghouls. A human who is killed by a
of action would be looked on most favorably by his god. Perhaps ghoul will himself become a ghoul., unless a Bless spell is cast
a non-evil, non-good cleric of sufficiently high level would be upon the corpse (in which case the victim is simply dead). The
trusted by his deity enough to make “to turn or not to turn” corpse could then be resurrected — after being blessed. Logi-
decisions on a case-by-case basis, whereas a lower-level cleric cally, the same procedure — bless first, raise later — could be
would need an occasional suggestion or instruction — or per- required for an attempt to resurrect any undead creature.
haps might be allowed to learn from his mistakes. Because of Depending on the DM’s interpretation of “touch,” it might be
the unique personal relationship which must exist between a possible for a cleric to lay hands on, for instance, the immobil-
cleric and his deity, it is impossible to make concrete judge- ized body of a vampire without suffering the loss of 2 life energy
ments about any subject which involves this relationship. levels which accompanies a vampire’s hit on a victim. (Since the
vampire isn’t doing the “hitting” or “touching,” he can’t do any
* * * damage.) But what about the mummy? Its touch “inflicts a
rotting disease on any hit,” but it’s logical to assume that anyone
In previous clarifications in this column and from the DEITIES who initiates contact with a mummy would also be subject to the
& DEMIGODS™ cyclopedia, we know that elves and half-orcs disease. Since each type of undead is at least slightly different

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August 1981 Dragon
from each other type, there are no general rules which can creatures are not affected by the result of any successful at-
apply. Whether or not to require a Bless spell, whether or not to tempt to turn which preceded their becoming undead. Another
assess damage upon a “touch,” and any other particular ques- attempt to turn should be rolled on the appropriate row of the
tions are left to the DM’s discretion. “Clerics Affecting Undead” chart. Alternatively, because the
Raise Dead is a different matter entirely. The spell description new creatures are only half-strength monsters, the DM may
pretty well covers it: The vital parts of the body must be present, allow rolls on the chart to be treated as if the half-strength
which rules out skeletons and any non-corporeal undead, and undead were a type of undead with half as many hit dice.
the undead creature must have been in a non-alive state for a
length of time which does not exceed the limit of the spell’s * * *
power. The Monster Manual gives specifics for some cases:
spectres, wights and wraiths will be destroyed by a Raise Dead The Wand of Orcus is said to cause death upon touch, except
spell (unless they make a save vs. magic), and a mummy can be to those of “like status” such as saints. What level does a cleric
resurrected by casting Cure Disease followed by Raise Dead. have to attain to be considered a saint?
If a Bless is required before a Resurrection attempt can be The AD&D game rules do not define conditions which must be
successful, the blessing need not also be required for a Raise met for a character to attain “sainthood.” Specifics like this will
Dead attempt, because the soul hasn’t been away from the body vary depending on the pantheon of deities a DM employs in the
as long and the newly created undead hasn’t fallen entirely into campaign, and is entirely a matter for the DM to decide. Perhaps
the clutches of eviltry. “sainthood” as the term generally applies might not even be
possible in a certain mythos; in another, it may take the form of
* * * divine ascension. In yet another, sainthood might be a status
which is attainable by a cleric of sufficiently high level. In such a
An evil cleric has control of a spectre. The spectre drains the situation, it seems reasonable that no cleric (or druid) should be
life force from another character, making it a half-strength spec- considered for sainthood unless and until the character has the
tre under control of the full-strength spectre. Does the cleric ability to cast seventh-level spells.
automatically have control of the half-strength spectre, or does For a cleric to be awarded sainthood would be a great honor
the cleric have to attempt to command it to service (turn it)? for the character. It would give the cleric many more powers, not
It doesn’t matter who’s in control, or whether the first spectre the least of which would be the ability to survive a swat from the
can control the new one. What does matter is that there is now a Wand of Orcus. (Note that the wand only causes death “upon
spectre where there wasn’t one when the first spectre was touch” when that touch is in the form of a hit in combat, and only
brought under control. A new spectre, even a half-strength one, when the wand is wielded by Orcus himself.) But achieving
must be dealt with separately just as if the beastie were another sainthood might not be preferable to the player, if the DM rules
full-strength one that had just come onto the scene. that the sanctified cleric must become a non-player character
Wights, wraiths and spectres all have the ability to turn victims instead of continuing to be a player character. Are you sure you
into half-strength creatures of their own type. The half-strength want your 20th-level cleric to be a saint after all?

13
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Basic D&D® points of view...

by J. Eric Holmes the game. As a guide to learning the game, they were incompre-
Editor, first edition hensible. There was no description of the use of the combat
D&D® Basic Set rules table. Magic spells were listed, but there was no mention of what
we all now know is a vital aspect of the rules: that as the magic
The first thing to realize about the rules for the DUNGEONS & user says his spell, the words and gestures for it fade from his
DRAGONS® Basic Set is for whom they are written. Most of you memory and he cannot say it again.
reading this article already know how to play a D&D® or AD&D™ When I edited the rules prior to the first edition of the D&D
game. Most of you learned how to play by watching a game or Basic Set, it was to help the thousands (now millions) of people
having a friend guide you through your first game. If you have who wanted to play the game and didn’t know how to get started.
seen a game played, the rules are pretty easy to understand. Gary Gygax acknowledged that some sort of beginner’s book
But the D&D Basic Rulebook is written for people who have was badly needed, and he encouraged me to go ahead with it.
never seen a game. It is intended to teach the game to someone What I discovered is that the invention has four vital parts: The
who’s coming to it for the first time. All other considerations
should be secondary to teaching how to play the game with a
minimum of confusion. I like to think that the first Basic Set did
just that.
The new edition of the Basic Set, edited by Tom Moldvay,
certainly does so as well. The second edition, as sold in the
boxed set with dice and D&D Module B2, The Keep on the
Borderlands by Gary Gygax, is the best possible introduction to
the D&D game. Those of us who are already playing D&D games
will be able to find lots of things to “complain” about (Why only
seven character classes? Heal light wounds cures paralysis? A
charmed Magic-User is too confused to do magic? Boy, that last
rule would make a dramatic change in the conduct of my game,
where the player characters would be apt to yell, “Don’t kill the
evil magician! Let me try to charm him first, then use him to wipe
out the rest of the monsters on this level.“). But actually these
are minor quibbles to someone who is just learning to play.
When Tactical Studies Rules published the first DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS rule sets, the three little books in brown covers,
they were intended to guide people who were already playing
Basic Set, first edition
first is character generation (the traditional 3d6 determination
of characteristics). This character section must also include
rules for different races and for special talents. There must be
rules for character advancement of some sort.
The second part concerns magic (or, in a science-fiction
game, high technology, which is the same thing). Rules must be
given for how to perform magic, who has magical abilities, etc.
There must be a list of allowable spells and their prerequisites.
There must be rules for possible spell failure, for saving throws,
for magic resistance and so forth.
Third, a section on “the encounter.” This is mostly rules for
combat and the all-important combat table, but there also need
to be rules for movement, for hiding and detection (listening at
doors), for negotiation and monster reactions, for running
away, and so forth.
Finally, there needs to be a section of the rulebook intended
for the DM. This includes descriptions of monsters and non-
player characters, and treasures and magical items. It also in-
cludes guidelines for setting up and conducting adventures,
usually with several examples.
(Continued on page 16)

EDITOR’S NOTE: The opinions and observations expressed

by the authors of these articles are entirely their own, and are
not necessarily the opinions of TSR Hobbies, Inc., or of Dragon
Publishing. As always, persons with opposing viewpoints and
different observations are encouraged to make their opinions
known to the publisher.

14
August 1981 Dragon

from the editors old and new

by Tom Moldvay
Editor, second edition
D&D® Basic Set rules

Why was a new edition of the D&D® Basic Set rules needed?
First of all, it was necessary for the Basic rules to be in the same
format as their sequel, the D&D Expert Set rules. Otherwise, it
would be difficult to use the two sets together, as they were
meant to be used. The D&D Expert rules build on the D&D Basic
rules, they do not replace them.
Second, good as it was, the earlier edition still had minor
flaws. The large number of questions received by TSR Hobbies
showed that many areas of the D&D rules were still difficult for
beginners to grasp. It was necessary to reorganize and re-edit
the rules, keeping in mind that most new D&D players are not
hard-core gamers and have never played a role-playing game
before.
Third, the market has changed since the earlier rules edition.
The first D&D market was made up of game buffs and college
students. Today, the majority of D&D players are high-school
and junior-high students. The new rules edition takes into ac-
count the younger readership in its style of writing.
Fourth, the TSR staff had answered thousands of rule ques-
tions, playtested countless dungeons at conventions, and re-
ceived myriad letters detailing players’ experiences with D&D
game rules. Because of the accumulated experience of the staff,
and the help of the gamers, we could now pinpoint which rules
needed additional clarification.
When I edited the D&D Basic rules, I tried to stress clarity,
simplicity, and conciseness. The organization of the rules was
particularly important since the rules would set the format for all
other rule books in the D&D system, such as the D&D Expert
rules.
One important point to keep in mind when reading the D&D
Basic rules is that they are not hard-and-fast rules, they are rule
suggestions. The system is complete and highly playable, but it
is flexible enough that Dungeon Masters and players need not
fear experimenting with the rules. DMs and players, by mutual
consent, are always welcome to change any rule they wish, or to
add new rules when necessary. Because of this rule flexibility,
individuals who learned to play using the original D&D Collec- Basic Set, second edition
tors Edition rules, or the earlier edition of the D&D Basic rules,
can use the new edition without changing their campaign. gets the chance to play. Novice DMs are given detailed instruc-
Much of the work put into the new edition was in reorganiza- tions and as many helpful tips as possible.
tion. Whenever possible, step-by-step instructions were given The rules include a description of typical dungeon scenarios
because that type of direction is easiest to understand. Numer- and settings. They give suggestions for common types of room
ous examples were added, because examples often clarify rule traps, treasure traps, and special trap types. They provide a
descriptions. The edge of the booklet was drilled with holes so simple system for creating an NPC party. Finally, they outline a
that it could be placed in a notebook, thus cutting down on the sample dungeon, designed so that, if desired, one section could
usual wear and tear the rulebook takes. The rules were organ- be played immediately.
ized into a number of different sections which logically build on I also enjoyed sharing my favorite books and authors with
one another, are easy to follow and read, and are easy to find by readers. I have always found books to be excellent inspirational
using the Table of Contents. Furthermore, the general section material when designing adventures. I am sorry that, because of
headings will remain the same for all rulebooks in the D&D space considerations, the list could not have been longer.
system. All gaming terms are defined before the actual rule The Basic D&D game rules are directly based on the original
sections begin, and the definitions are repeated in a glossary. Collectors Edition rules. The original rules gave the first gaming
Finally, the rules were indexed. system for fantasy role-playing and, in my opinion, the D&D
My favorite two sections of the rules were Part 8: Dungeon game rules remain the best fantasy role-playing rules available
Master Information and page B62, dealing with Inspirational to game enthusiasts.
Source Material. Much of the information given in these two I am proud to have edited the new edition of the D&D Basic Set
sections is new. rules. It was our intent to retain the flavor of the original game
Many players feel that becoming a DM is difficult. I tried to while improving upon and extending the rules, so that the game
make it as easy to become a DM as possible. After all, DMs like to could be more quickly and more easily enjoyed by new players. I
play too, but if there is only one DM per group, that person never believe our efforts were a success.

15
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Basic Set
this securely placed in the rules. All of us who act as Dungeon
Masters have had to allow this on longer adventures. Actually,
the “spell book” is often a needless complication and can be
(Continued from page 14) dispensed with. Of course, a particular DM can make spell
I struggled very hard to make all these things clear to the books a vital part of the game— suppose evil Magic-Users hired
readers of the first Basic Rules and yet retain the flavor and a high-level Thief to steal the player characters’ books?
excitement of the original rules. I even used the words of the Phantasmal force has been added to the available spell list.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Collectors Edition (the original The list is still much shorter than that in the original D&D rules or
books) whenever possible. I had disagreements with Gary over in the AD&D books. Phantasmal force has been appropriately
some items (I wanted to use a spell point system, for instance), weakened in the new rules, however; even if the victim fails a
but we kept the rules as close as possible to the original intent. saving throw, he or she is not permanently harmed by the phan-
D&D is, after ail, a truly unique invention, probably as remarka- tasm. If determined to be killed, the character actually only
ble as the die, or the deck of cards, or the chessboard. The passes out, and recovers in 1d4 turns. Presumably, hit points
inventor’s vision needs to be respected. lost in this manner are also restored after 1-4 turns. This makes
The first Basic Set rulebook contained some irritating typo- the phantasmal force a much fairer attack. With the old spell, the
graphical errors. Someone at TSR rewrote the wandering mons- M-U could summon a dragon or demon and, if the poor victim
ter table and put in a number of creatures that were not in my list failed his saving throw trying to disbelieve it, he was as good as
of monster descriptions. But most of the errors were corrected dead. A phantom, it seems to me, should indeed be terrifying,
for the second printing. but basically harmless.
The second edition Basic Set makes a number of minor Organizing a Party, The Caller: I think this rule should have
changes and adds 18 pages’ worth of new material to the book- been thrown out. I put it into the first Basic Set because it was in
let. Most of the changes and additions are, I think, improve- the original invention. I have never seen a successful game
ments. I would like to examine a few of them more closely. where one of the players was elected caller and actually did all
Character classes: Player characters are restricted to being a the talking to the DM. Usually everybody talks at once. The
Fighter, Cleric, Thief, Magic-User, Elf, Halfling or Dwarf. This resulting confusion is much more lifelike; one can hear the
probably covers the roles most beginning players want to try, characters dithering at the cross corridor as the monsters ap-
but I am personally sorry to see the range of possibilities so proach. “Run this way!” “Charge them!” “Get out of the way, I’m
restricted. The original rules (the three little brown books) spe- throwing a spell!” “Here goes the magic crossbow bolt!” “Not
cifically stated that a player could be a dragon if he wanted to be, from the rear of the party!” “I’m climbing the wall!”
and if he started at first level. For several years there was a As the players learn to work together as a team, a leader will
dragon player character in my own game. At first level he could often evolve. I think it is more fun to always allow a character to
puff a little fire and do one die of damage. He could, of course, call out his or her own action and see the consternation on the
fly, even at first level. He was one of the most unpopular charac- other players’ faces. Also, this encourages the shy player (yes,
ters in the game, but this was because of the way he was played, there are shy players!) to get into the swing of things. “What’s
not because he was a dragon. I enjoyed having dragons, cen- your halfling going to do?”
taurs, samurai and witch doctors in the game. My own most Infravision: Saying that infravision is the ability to “see” heat
successful player character was a Dreenoi, an insectoid crea- patterns is putting a magical ability into terms of mundane
ture borrowed from McEwan’s Starguard. He reached fourth universe physics. I think it would have been better to leave it as
level (as high as any of my personal characters ever got), made pure magic. I know this “heat seeing” explanation is the one
an unfortunate decision, and was turned into a pool of green favored by Gygax, but it embraces too many inconsistencies.
slime. Living creatures give off heat. Okay, but how about the undead?
Character alignment: This is the most difficult of the D&D Do they appear as spots of cold? If so, a dwarf or elf can always
concepts to get across. The new rules spend more space on identify a vampire by looking at him in the dark. What about
alignments and do a much better job of explaining them, using inanimate objects? If a monster (all monsters have infravision)
practical examples. Alignment is Law, Chaos and Neutral. Good charges into a room, can he see the furniture before he runs into
and Evil are not discussed as separate alignments at all, which I it? How about a rope stretched across the corridor? It would
think makes better sense. The first Basic Set had one of those have been better just to say, “It’s magic.”
diagrams which said that blink dogs were lawful good and brass The Encounter: Moldvay correctly stresses the importance of
dragons were chaotic good. I never felt that this was particularly using “turn” when a one-minute turn is meant, and “round” for a
helpful. I am sure Gary Gygax has an idea in his mind of what ten-second round, and not mixing them up. How much confu-
chaotic good (or other “obscure” alignments, etc.) may be, but it sion would have been avoided if the rules had always followed
certainly isn’t clear to me. Without meaning to be irreverent, I am this simple edict!
also sure that Buddha knew what he meant by nirvana, but that The new rules introduce surprise and initiative die rolls into
doesn’t clarify it in my mind either. I think the new rules simplify the combat situation. I had merely had the creature with the
the issue appropriately. highest dexterity strike first. The initiative roll makes combat a
Armor Class: The new rulebook continues to avoid the unne- good deal more chancy, and I’m not sure I like it. I will not object,
cessary proliferation of armor types found in the AD&D game, to it on the basis of its being less “realistic,” however!
which also incorporates splint mail, scale mail, and ring mail. The game’s entire combat system has been criticized for be-
This is good, but herein also lies a missed opportunity. I think ing unrealistic, and many game designers have tried to improve
the numbering system should have been adjusted to make plate upon it, but with little success. It is possible to make a combat
armor and shield, the best non-magical protection possible, AC system that is more like a real hand-to-hand battle, but then it
1. Then all magic armor could be represented by zero or nega- takes too long. Combat and magic are the high points of an
tive numbers to indicate armor class. A minor point, at best. adventure, but you don’t want the rules to be so complicated
While I am on the armor and equipment page, “mace” should that a beginning player can’t master them. And, even when your
have been included in the glossary (and the very existence of a character’s life is at stake, doing innumerable die rolls for every
glossary is a tremendous improvement). Many modern-day move can get boring. The present system is fast and workable.
players think “mace” is an aerosol can of tear gas! Critics who complain about its lack of realism have forgotten
Magic and spells: The new rules specify that if an adventure that it is not intended to be a simulation of real combat. It is a
lasts longer than a day, the Magic-User can get his or her spells simulation of combat as it occurs in most fantasy novels, and at
back through a period of rest and concentration. I’m glad to see this it succeeds admirably.

16
August 1981 Dragon
The combat sequence has been slight- doesn’t know that!” and other crises that of very cheap dice. I was, understanda-
ly and appropriately changed. The new arise in a beginners’ game. Excellent: bly, proud of the project, and every time I
rules provide for fighting withdrawal as The more help we can give the poor DM, met a D&D player for the first time, I
well as retreat, and there is always the the better. would introduce myself as the “editor of
possibility of a hit (20) and always the There is a page-long list of “inspira- the Basic Set.”
possibility of a miss (1). These are im- tional source material” which is more “The what?”
provements over the original system. complete than the one given in the AD&D “You know, the box that has the big
Monsters are given a morale rating. If Dungeon Masters Guide. dragon on the cover.”
they fail a morale check during combat, I didn’t have such a list in the first edi- “Oh, yeah,” my new acquaintance
they try to flee or surrender. Player char- tion; this is someone else’s inspired idea. would say, “the one with the really ugly
acters, of course, are incredibly brave I wish I’d thought of it. Do you know dice.”
and may fight to the death if they wish. there may be people out there playing a “But I didn’t have anything to do with
This “run away, run away!” rule for mon- D&D game who have never read The picking the dice!” I would cry.
sters is a good one, and allows for far Lord of the Rings? Well, the second edition has a different
more interesting fights and more satisfy- Finally, there is a glossary (which com- set of dice. The 20-sided die is numbered
ing victories for the players. The DM, if plements the one in The Keep on the from 1 to 20. (Now there’s an innova-
he wants to be sneaky, can have those Borderlands) and, hallelujah, an index! tion.) Unfortunately, the dice are small,
fleeing orcs make a bid for revenge. Any book this complicated needs an hard to read even when marked with
They would be likely to set up a trap or an index. crayon, and, let’s face it, really ugly. I’m
ambush to catch the unwary characters The original Basic Set had a final page sorry, Tom, but it looks like you too are
on their way back out of the dungeon. of tables which could be torn out and going to have to go through the next few
They might go down a level and try to used for reference. I wish it had been years feeling responsible for ugly dice!
negotiate an alliance with a more fear- included again. I think the new Basic Set rules are an
some monster from the depths to come A few comments on the other compo- improvement over the first edition. Not a
up and help them get even! nents in the new Basic Set: First, there’s big quantum jump ahead, but better in a
I think the present combat system the module, The Keep on the Border- number of minor ways. I’m proud of the
lacks only one device common to sword- lands. This is, in my opinion, the best original Basic Set, and I like to think I did
and-sorcery tales, but it is one so com- thing Gygax has written for us yet. It a good job of describing a great inven-
monly used that I miss it in the game. contains all kinds of hints for the DM and tion, the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
There is very little chance for the hero to the players. There’s enough stuff on the game, so that everyone could enjoy it.
be knocked out and taken prisoner. Yet, map to keep a low-level party busy ad- The nicest compliment I ever got for it
that is so frequently what happens in a venturing for weeks. Truly a bargain. was from a game-store manager who
fictional battle. True, there is a provision Then there’s the dice. When the first said, “That’s made a lot of people happy.”
in the rules for subduing dragons by “at- Basic Set was marketed, it included a set May the new edition do the same.
tacking with the flat of the sword,” etc.,
which could be extended to other crea-
tures. It requires declaring at the start of
melee that one is trying for subdual, and
it does not provide for “knocked out” as a
result of ordinary combat. In ordinary
combat you are either alive or dead! Per-
haps inserting a “knockout” rule would
needlessly complicate the system, but
when I think of all the times John Carter
or Conan was overwhelmed by enemies
and came to in some sort of dungeon
trap, I miss the opportunity to re-enact
some of their situations.
Monsters: There is a much more ex-
tensive monster list in this second edi-
tion, including many not in the AD&D
Monster Manual. This gives the begin-
ning DM plenty to work with. I’m glad to
see Moldvay included the dragons just
as I did in the first edition. It seems al-
most silly to describe dragons in a book
intended only for player characters up to
the third level. On the other hand, think
how disappointed you would be if you
were an inexperienced player who
bought a DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
game and found nothing about dragons
inside!
The rulebook continues with a section
on treasure and an example of how to
plan a scenario and draw your first map.
The section “Dungeon Mastering as a
fine art” has been expanded. The begin-
ning DM is given advice on dealing with
“That’s not in the rules!” “Your character

17
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

INTRODUCTION alignment of the area, or perhaps that the family moved to a

Len Lakofka has been playing DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® locale of suitable alignment soon after the birth of the character.
and ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® games since Characters who are of a class or a race which makes a particu-
there were such things, and this particular contribution to the lar alignment mandatory should not be inhibited by the results
game system of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ fantasy world of the chart. It is entirely possible for a character born in UII, for
setting is exceptionally useful for those who have not estab- instance, to grow up to become a paladin. All that is necessary is
lished a detailed campaign in a specific area of the WORLD OF for the DM to create a reason why the character is lawful good in
GREYHAWK. It is also nearly as useful for those who have such a land of chaotics and neutrals.
an established campaign, but who allow “outsiders” to come in On the other hand, if the alignments listed for an area are just
from other parts of the world. as “good” for the character as any others, one of the given
This system allows not only for determination of the birth- alignments can be considered a good “random” choice.
place and alignment of a character, but it also provides an
interesting mix of languages known for both humans and demi- Birthplaces for human characters
humans. With these developments comes a greater understand- Likely
ing of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK and its language forms; and d% roll Place of birth alignments
the more highly developed the background for a campaign, the 01-05 The Great Kingdom Any
more easily such a campaign is managed. For these reasons I 06 The Sea Barons CN
am particularly enthusiastic about the treatment Len has pro- 07-08 Lordship of the Isles LN
vided. I have checked it over for “accuracy,” and a few minor 09-10 Sunndi LN, CG, N
changes have been made in order to more closely conform with 11 ldee N, CN
the actual area. I have also appended a brief description of the 12 lrongate LN
racial types common in the Flanaess. With these additions, we 13-14 Onnwal LN
believe that your campaign on the WORLD OF GREYHAWK will 15-17 Almor LN, LG
be greatly enhanced. Experience will, I am sure, prove this 18-28 Nyrond LN, LG,
statement to be true. NG, CG
E. Gary Gygax 29 Ratik N, CE, CN
30 Cold Barbarian state CN
Author’s introduction 31 Rovers of the Barrens CN, N
This article is designed as a supplement to the WORLD OF 32 Duchy of Tenh LN, N
GREYHAWK Gazetteer, though some parts of it can stand 33-34 Theocracy of the Pale LN, LG
alone. 35-36 Shield Lands LG, NG, N
Creating new characters is always fun. The more a player can 37-41 County/Duchy of Urnst N, NG
identify with a character, the better the play of the character 42-44 Greyhawk Any
tends to be. By adding “meat” to a character, the DM increases 45-54 Kingdom of Furyondy LG, NG, LN
interest in that figure. 55 Tiger/Wolf Nomads N, CN
A character’s place of birth and the language(s) he/she can 56-57 Ekbir LN, N
use have long been vital aspects of a character’s life history. As I 58 Tusmit N
add scenarios to Lendore Isle (see WORLD OF GREYHAWK, 59-62 Zeif LN, N
Spindrift Isles), I am careful to use languages and birthplaces 63-64 Paynims CN, N
from the “known world” (as defined in WoG). 65 UII CN, N, CE
66 Ket CN, N
A human character’s place of birth 67-69 Perrenland LN, N, LG
The chart which follows, used to determine the birthplace of 70 Highfolk CG, N, CN
human characters, favors those locations (provinces/countries) 71-82 Velluna LG, NG
where the “most common alignment(s)” is non-evil. Bands of 83-84 March of Bissel NG, N,
adventurers who are evil can be put together, of course, but LG, LN
since most modules and campaigns are designed for non-evils, 85 Gran March LN
only those locations will be given here. 86-87 Duchy of Geoff CG, CN, NG
A birthplace chart will give the name of a general location. 88-89 Sterich CG, CN, N
Either the DM or the player (if the DM prefers) can then select an 90-91 The Yeomanry LG, LN
exact site from the province/country or from the bordering 92-94 Kingdom of Keoland LN, LG, NG,
forests or hills. CG, CN, N
Place of birth may be important in determining the alignment 95 Tri-States of Ulek LN, LG, CG,
of a character, but it will not always absolutely define that N, CN
alignment. In cases of apparent conflict, the DM can simply rule 96-99 Wild Coast Any
that the family of the character did not practice the predominant 00 Character’s choice Any

18
August 1981 Dragon
Naturally, neither the DM nor players should feel bound by Birthplaces for demi-humans, Subtable
every birthplace or alignment tendency indicated by the chart.
Some places of birth might not seem logical for a certain class of Given below are places where “few” or “some” demi-
character; for instance, if a character rolls the land of the Frost humans live, according to the WORLD OF GREYHAWK.
Barbarians as his place of birth, it is somewhat of a conflict if the
character happens to be a magic-user. (The barbarian races Place of birth Elf Dwarf Gnome Halfling
would produce fighters, if not berserkers, as their major class.) If
a birthplace seems incongruous with the class or other charac- The Great Kingdom 01-03 01-03 01-03 01-03
teristics of a figure, simply re-roll or make a logical selection The Sea Barons 04 04 04 04
from the available choices. Lordship of the Isles 05 05 05 05
ldee 06-08 06-08 06-08 06-08
A demi-human character’s place of birth Almor 09 -- 09 09
If a character is of one of the demi-human races, use the table Frost Barbarians 10 09 10 10
below to determine birthplace. Half-elves are treated as elves; Snow Barbarians 11-13 10-12 11-13 11-13
half-orcs appear where humans and humanoids (specifically Ice Barbarians 14 13 14 14
orcs) reside. Rovers of the Barrens 15 14 15 15
Duchy of Tenh 16-18 15-17 16-18 16-18
Birthplaces for demi-humans, Main table Theocracy of the Pale 19-21 18-20 19-21 19-21
Shield Lands 22 21 22 22
Place of birth Elf Dwarf Gnome Halfling County of Urnst 23 22-23 23-24 - -
Greyhawk 24-26 24-27 25-28 23-24
Use subtable at top Kingdom of Furyondy 27-29 28-30 29-31 25-28
of next column 01-05 01-05 01-05 01-05 Wolf Nomads 30 31 32 29
Sunndi 06-10 06-12 06-08 -- Tiger Nomads 31 32 33 30
Irongate 11 13-14 09 06-16 Tusmit 32 33 34 31
Onnwal -- 15-18 -- -- Spindrift Isles -- 34-36 35-37 32-34
County of Urnst -- -- -- 17-29 Ket 33 37 38 35
Ratik -- 19-36 10-13 -- Perrenland 34-36 38-40 39-41 36-38
Duchy of Urnst -- 37-43 14-17 30-58 Highfolk 41-43 42-44 39-41
Spindrift Isles 12 -- -- -- Veluna -- 44-50 -- 42-48
Highfolk 13-15 -- -- -- March of Bissel 37-39 51-53 45-47 49-51
Veluna 16-23 -- 18-26 -- Gran March 40-42 54-56 48-50 52-54
Duchy of Geoff 24-28 -- -- -- The Mage 43-49 -- 51-58 --
Sterich -- 44-52 -- -- Duchy of Geoff -- 57-59 59-61 55-57
Sea Princes 29 -- -- -- Sterich -- -- 62-68 58-64
Ulek (all) 30-40 53-72 27-33 59-82 Sea Princes -- 60 -- 65
Celene 41-52 -- 34-38 -- Kingdom of Keoland 50-56 -- 69-75 66-72
Wild Coast 53 73-74 39-41 83-88 Celene -- -- -- 73-79
Dreadwood 54-69 -- 42 -- Dyvers 57-59 61-63 76-78 80-82
Gnarley Forest 70-74 -- 43-46 -- Grandwood -- 64-66 79-81 83-85
Verbobonc 75-76 -- 47-52 -- Lorridges -- 67-73 82-89 --
Grandwood Forest 77-81 -- -- -- Gamboge Forest -- -- -- 86-92
Flinty Hills -- -- 53-54 89-95 Stark Mounds -- 74-80 -- --
Gamboge Forest 82-90 -- 55-58 -- Barrier Peaks -- 81-87 -- --
Stark Mounds -- -- 59-60 -- Axewood 60-67 -- -- --
Kron Hills -- -- 61-89 -- FelIreev Forest 68-74 -- -- --
Glorioles -- 75-97 -- -- Hornwood 75-88 -- -- --
Menowood 91 -- -- -- Rieuwood 89-95 -- -- --
Silverwood 92 -- -- -- Vesve Forest -- -- -- 93-97
Vesve Forest 93-99 -- 90-98 -- Choice of any avail-
Welkwood 00 98-00 99-00 96-00 able, either table 96-00 88-00 90-00 98-00

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Breaking language barriers Bone March: chaotic evil; Common 01-00.

Once a character’s place of birth and alignment are fixed, it is Barony of Ratik: neutral; Common 01-00.
time to determine the language(s) the character speaks. Follow- Frost Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-06,
ing hereafter is a list of all possible languages and their basic Common 07-60, Special 61-00 (Cold Tongue).
characteristics, followed by lists to determine the language Snow Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-05,
spoken by the human occupant of a given region. Common 06-62, Special 63-00 (Cold Tongue).
Common sense and logic must be used when the lists are Ice Barbarians: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Suloise 01-04,
employed. Suloise, for example, is a language of learned men Common 05-63, Special 64-00 (Cold Tongue).
that is all but forgotten as a primary tongue. It would be silly to Hold of Stonefist: chaotic evil; Flan 01-02, Suloise 03, Com-
have a fighter of low intelligence speak it as a primary language mon 04-99, Special 00 (Cold Tongue).
just because that was the result produced. Rovers of the Barrens: chaotic neutral, neutral; Flan 01-20,
Baklunish 21-36, Oeridian 37-46, Common 47-99, Suloise 00.
WORLD OF GREYHAWK Languages Duchy of Tenh: lawful neutral, neutral; Flan 01-88, Oeridian
Primary or 89-90, Common 91-00.
Language Secondary Usual speaker Theocracy of the Pale: lawful neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-05,
Suloise Secondary Scholars, sages, magic- Common 06-00.
users, illusionists, bards Bandit Kingdoms: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Flan 01-13,
Flan Primary Peasant to king Baklunish 14, Oeridian 15-24, Common 25-00.
Baklunish Primary Peasant to king Shield Lands: neutral good; Flan 01-02, Baklunish 03, Oeridi-
Oeridian Primary Peasant to king an 04-18, Common 19-00.
Common¹ Primary* Peasant to king County of Urnst: neutral, neutral good; Flan 01, Oeridian
Ferral² Secondary Learned and ranked 02-07, Common 08-00.
characters only Duchy of Urnst: neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-03, Common
Nyrondese3 Primary Peasants and those of 04-00.
little education Greyhawk: any; Flan 01, Baklunish 02, Suloise 03, Oeridian
Nyrondese3 Secondary Educated characters 04, Common 05-99, Special 00 (Velondi).
Cold Tongue Kingdom of Furyondy: lawful good; Flan 01, Baklunish 02,
(Fruz)4 Primary Barbarian races Suloise 03, Oeridian 04-20, Common 21-85, Special 86-00
Velondi5 Primary Rural folk, peasants (Velondi).
Velondi5 Secondary Educated characters Horned Society: lawful evil; Flan 01, Baklunish 02-04, Oeridi-
Keolandish6 Primary Peasant to king an 05-09, Common 10-00.
Lendorian Secondary Educated characters Land of luz: chaotic evil; Flan 01, Baklunish 02-06, Oeridian
*— Common is known by all adventurers, though 07, Common 08-00.
they might not be fluent in it. Wolf Nomads: neutral, chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-35, Oer-
1
— A mixture of Suloise and Oeridian tongues with idian 36-80, Common 81-00.
some Baklunish admixture. Tiger Nomads: neutral, chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-40, Oer-
2 — Oeridian tribal language. idian 41-85, Common 86-00.
3
— High Oeridian dialect of Common. Caliphate of Ekbir: lawful neutral; Baklunish 01-47, Oeridian
4
— Suloise with Flan admixture. 48-53, Common 54-00.
5
— Oeridian tribal language. Tusmit: neutral; Baklunish 01-12, Oeridian 13-27, Common
6
— Old High Oeridian with admixtures. 28-00.
Sultanate of Zeif: lawful neutral; Baklunish 01-79, Oeridian
Languages spoken by human occupants 80-94, Common 95-00.
The following list presents the general locations within the Plains of the Paynims: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-92, Oeri-
WORLD OF GREYHAWK, the most common alignment(s) dian 93-97, Common 98-00.
found therein, and a list of the languages spoken by occupants UII: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-30, Oeridian 31-51, Com-
of the area. Roll d% to see which language is used by a particular mon 52-00.
character. In the “Special” category will be listed a particular Ket: chaotic neutral; Baklunish 01-49, Oeridian 50-61, Com-
tongue, if at least a 1% probability exists that the language will mon 62-00.
be spoken by a character. For regions where a “Special” lan- Perrenland: lawful neutral, neutral; Flan 01-49, Baklunish 50-
guage is not mentioned, the chance of such an obscure dialect 57, Oeridian 58-65, Common 66-00.
being used by a character is negligible. Independent Town of Highfolk: neutral, chaotic good; Oeridi-
The Great Kingdom (Kingdom of Aerdy): chaotic evil, lawful an 01-07, Common 08-00.
evil; Oeridian 01-20, Common 21-99, Suloise 00. Archclericy of Veluna: lawful good; Suloise 01, Oeridian 02-
Sea Barons: chaotic evil, chaotic neutral; Common 01-94, 24, Common 25-88, Special 89-00 (Velondi).
Oeridian 95-00. March of Bissel: neutral good; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-19, Com-
Lordship of the Isles: neutral, chaotic neutral; Oeridian 01-03, mon 20-00.
Common 04-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral). Gran March: lawful neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-17, Suloise
County of Sunndi: lawful neutral, chaotic good; Oeridian 01- 18, Common 19-98, Special 99-00 (Keolandish).
07, Common 08-99, Special 00 (Ferral). Valley of the Mage: lawful neutral; Flan 01-02, Oeridian 03-04,
County of Idee: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-05, Common 06- Common 05-00.
98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral). Duchy of Geoff: chaotic good; Flan 01-50, Oeridian 51-57,
Free City of Irongate: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-05, Common Common 58-00.
06-98, Suloise 99, Special 00 (Ferral). Earldom of Sterich: chaotic good; Flan 01-12, Oeridian 13-60,
Free State of Onnwal: lawful neutral; Oeridian 01-06, Com- Common 61-90, Special 91-00 (Keolandish).
mon 07-99, Special 00 (Ferral). Yeomanry: lawful good; Flan 01, Suloise 02-04, Common
Prelacy of Almor: lawful neutral, lawful good; Oeridian 01-07, 05-00.
Common 08-00. Hold of the Sea Princes: chaotic neutral, chaotic evil; Flan 01,
Kingdom of Nyrond: lawful neutral, lawful good; Oeridian Oeridian 02-17, Suloise 18, Common 19-00.
01-03, Common 04-85, Suloise 86, Special 87-00 (Nyrondese). Kingdom of Keoland: chaotic good, neutral good; Flan 01-02,

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Dragon
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Oeridian 03-12, Suloise 13, Common 14-80, Special 81-00 tion to, as well as related languages which might allow for
(Keolandish). understanding between speakers.
Tri-States of Ulek: neutral good, neutral; Flan 01, Oeridian
02-11, Suloise 12, Common 13-90, Special 91-00 (Keolandish). Ferral: Originally of Oeridian derivation, this is now a secret
Kingdom of Celene: chaotic good; Oeridian 01-02, Common language spoken only by officials of the Iron League. These
03-00. officials include high-ranking fighters, clerics, and other per-
Wild Coast: any; Flan 01, Oeridian 02-09, Suloise 10, Common sons in a position of authority. Ferral is used only for command
11-00. and identification purposes, and is never a primary language. It
The Pomarj: chaotic evil, lawful evil; Oeridian 01-06, Suloise can be understood by those speaking Oeridian.
07, Common 08-00. Nyrondese: This is little more than a dialect of Common which
The Scarlet Brotherhood: lawful evil; Suloise 01-05, Common is spoken by residents in some locales of Nyrond. It is a primary
06-00. language particularly for peasants, shopkeepers and the like.
Spindrift Isles: lawful neutral; Suloise 01-02, Common 03-75, Learned persons almost always speak Common as well. It can
Special 76-00 (Lendorian). be understood by those who speak Common or Oeridian.
The Cold Tongue: Also called “Fruz,” this language is a dia-
Notes on Special languages lect of Suloise. It is commonly spoken as a primary language
In most cases, a “special” language generated from the list among the Ice, Snow and Frost Barbarians. It has no relation to
above is simply a dialect of one of the more popular languages. Common, and even those speaking Suloise find it difficult to
However, those who speak a dialect will not always automatical- understand (use intelligence x 4% instead of 6% in this case
ly understand someone who speaks the native tongue or anoth- only). It can only be understood by those who speak Suloise or
er dialect of the native tongue. Flan.
Intelligence is the factor which determines whether a charac- Velondi: This is a dialect of Old Oeridian spoken primarily in
ter can understand someone else who is speaking a related Veluna and Furyondy. It is the primary language of rural folk on
language. The chance of a character’s understanding is equal to the common border between the two countries. Those who
that character’s intelligence times 6% (note exception below speak Common cannot comprehend it at all, but it can be under-
under The Cold Tongue). Missing the desired percentage by stood by those who speak Oeridian.
1-20 will yield partial, incomplete understanding, and missing Keolandish: This is a widespread dialect of Old High Oeridian
the desired percentage by 21 or more means that the character which is a primary language for those of the area in which it is
cannot under stand a word the other character is saying. Note spoken (Keoland and the surrounding lands). It is old (400+
that this “chance to understand” roll only applies to characters years) and established; however, learned persons will usually
whose languages are related. speak Common and/or Old Oeridian as well. It can be under-
Example: A party member with an intelligence of 14 speaks stood by those who speak Common or Oeridian.
fluent Common. He comes upon a figure who speaks only Ny- Lendorian: This is an obscure dialect of Suloise. It has no
rondese, a dialect of Common. There is a chance of 14 x 6% = relation whatsoever to Fruz (The Cold Tongue). It is, in all cases,
84% that the party member will understand the other member. If a second language for those who speak Common. Only charac-
an 85 or higher is rolled, it means the party member will be able ters with an intelligence of 9 or higher can learn Lendorian, and
to communicate somewhat, but will not fully perceive the other it can only be understood by those who speak Suloise or
speaker’s thoughts and intentions through speech alone. In this Common.
case, since the party member’s intelligence was sufficiently
high, there is no chance of him being totally in the dark. Note Number of languages known
that under normal circumstances, it is impossible for a character Generally, whether a character can know one or more lan-
of 17 or higher to fail to understand someone speaking a related guages depends on the character’s intelligence. There is one
language (17 x 6% = 102%). universal rule: Every character knows at least a bit of the Com-
If the Nyronder in the above example has an intelligence of 11, mon tongue, even if it is not that character’s primary language. A
there is a 66% chance he will understand the party member. character who rolls a language other than Common as a primary
There will be incomplete understanding on a roll of 67-86, and language will still have the ability to communicate in Common
no verbal understanding will be possible if the roll is 87 or to some degree, and Common will be treated as an “additional
higher. This roll should only be made once for each particular language” even if the character’s intelligence would not normal-
pair of characters. ly allow for the knowledge of an additional language. The de-
Following are descriptions of each of the special languages, gree of fluency in Common does vary according to intelligence,
including an indication of which languages they have no rela- however; a character with intelligence of 7 or less would have at

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best a rudimentary knowledge of Common as a secondary language. For this example, the character’s place of birth is
language. Urnst and his primary language is Common. His chance to know
Characters with intelligence of 3-6 are able to speak a given any secondary language at this time is equal to 13% x 4, or 52%.
language. They might know how to read and write very simple If a result of 01-52 is obtained on a dice roll, the figure will speak
words in their primary language only. The chance to be able to one additional language and then may roll again, seeking to
read and write a primary language is equal to intelligence x 12% again roll 01-52 and obtain a second additional language. The
(roll separately for reading and writing), so that a character with process is repeated until a result of 53-00 is rolled (which could
intelligence of 9 or higher will automatically have the ability to be on the first attempt), or until the character has obtained as
read and write. The chance of being able to read and write a many additional languages as possible.
secondary language is equal to intelligence x 3% (again, roll Those characters who don’t know as many additional lan-
separately for each ability). guages as they possibly could will have the opportunity to learn
Characters with intelligence of 7 or less will speak no other them at a later point in the character’s adventuring career.
language besides Common, if that is their primary tongue. Learning a language amounts to quite a bit more than simply
Characters with intelligence of 8 or more can speak one addi- sitting around the campfire and memorizing a few more words
tional language, over and above the primary tongue. Up to seven each night. Learning requires continual, almost constant use of
additional languages are permitted (for a figure of 18 intelli- the new language, which is best accomplished in the company
gence; see AD&D Players Handbook, page 10). These addition- of others who speak and write the language fluently, or through
al languages can be determined by using the table on page 102 the employment of an instructor.
of the Dungeon Masters Guide, with the lists given herein aiding A learning process like this will take a minimum of two months
in the selection of a “Human foreign or other” language. Com- of solid work on the character’s part, during which time NO
mon is considered an “additional language” for all who do not adventuring may be undertaken by the character. At the end of
use it as a primary tongue. two months, roll once to see if fluency has been attained (using
To determine whether an additional language is known by a the same percentage as was originally applicable; i.e., 52% in the
character at this point in time, multiply 13% times the number of above example). Failure means that one more month of study
“possible additional languages” of the character (PH, page 10) must be undertaken before another try for fluency can be made.
as indicated by the character’s intelligence. If the desired (Optional: Additional study, if needed, must be undertaken
number or less is generated, a character can have a secondary immediately, with no lapse between the first two months and the
language at the present time. Make a new roll for each attempt to next one, in order to test for fluency without penalty. For every
know a secondary language, until a roll fails or until a character lapse in learning of one week, the chance for fluency is reduced
has used his maximum number of possibilities. Optional: Add by 5% the next time such a check is made. For example, if the
2% to the chance to know a secondary language for each level of character described above failed on his initial roll to know an
experience after first level, up to a maximum bonus of 20%. additional language after taking two months of training, he
Example: A character with an intelligence of 15 may be able to could train for another month right away and check again at the
speak as many as four languages in addition to the primary same percentage chance (52%). However, if he takes a week off

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

between the first two months and the next month of training, the matically knowing certain languages in addition to Common
next check for fluency would be made at 47%. Note that the 5% and the racial tongue, characters must check against their intel-
penalty applies only to the chance to know the particular lan- ligence to see if they know any additional ones. Also, it is not
guage for which training was taken. If a character wishes to automatic for a half-elf or half-orc to know elvish or orcish,
begin instruction in a different language, checks for fluency respectively. Only characters who were raised in a group/family
after the training period would be at 52% as usual.) with at least one member of the non-human race can possibly
know that racial language in addition to Common.
Languages for demi-humans and humanoids The basic chance to know any of the other racial languages is
The AD&D Players Handbook lists basic languages for demi- enhanced for characters who were brought up by members of
humans and humanoids, and more language information for one race in proximity to a group of another race. This proximity
humanoids is found in the Monster Manual. As with humans, the bonus applies between races that are non-hostile toward each
intelligence of a demi-human or humanoid character has a bear- other (elves vs. gnomes, for example), but no proximity bonus is
ing on which languages he can know— and, as with humans, all used between races that oppose each other (elves vs. orcs).
adventurer demi-humans will have at least a rudimentary It is entirely possible that a demi-human who was brought up
knowledge of Common. by humans only would not be able to learn all of the racial
To more closely conform with the rest of this system, the tongues listed as possible for that demi-human type. Also, char-
strictures given in the Players Handbook on which languages acters raised in towns will have a smaller chance of being able to
(and how many) a demi-human can know should be altered know the various racial languages than characters raised in a
according to the following specifications and restrictions. Notes rural area or the wilderness.
which follow the listing of the demi-human races will give rea- Using the base chance of intelligence x 5% (or more for prox-
sons for the differences which are outlined. imity), a roll should be made for each character for each racial
language listed. Even if one or more of the dice rolls results in
Dwarves will always speak dwarven and Common. It is possi- failure, it is still possible to succeed in knowing another racial
ble for a dwarf to know gnome, goblin, kobold and orcish as language. This is different from the system used for humans,
additional languages, with a percentage chance of knowing where failure on a roll for a secondary language means that no
each one equal to intelligence x 5%, or intelligence x 8% if further attempts may be made without undergoing a learning
proximity is a factor. A dwarf may know up to two additional process.
languages regardless of intelligence.
Elves will always know elvish and Common. Possible addi- APPENDIX
tional languages include gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, by E. Gary Gygax
orcish and gnoll, with the chance of knowing any one equal to
intelligence x 5% (or x 8% for proximity). Elves with intelligence Racial types of the WORLD OF GREYHAWK fantasy setting
of 16-18 may roll for additional languages on the table on page Baklunish: The Baklunish people have golden-hued skin
102 of the DMG, ignoring a roll if it produces a language already tones. Their eyes run from gray to green, although brown is
known but counting it if it produces a language which has been most common. Their hair color runs from brown to black. Var-
attempted and failed. The chance of knowing any language iance is by tribe and nation.
generated from that chart would be 80% for an elf of intelligence Flannae: The Flannae have bronze-colored skin. Although
16, 85% for intelligence 17 and 90% for intelligence 18. some are more coppery, numbers of them are very dark bronze
Gnomes will always know gnome and Common, and have the (deep brown). Eye color tends to brown or black, although some
ability to communicate with burrowing animals as described in have a pale amber eye coloration. Hair tends to be dark brown or
the Players Handbook. A gnome has a chance of intelligence x black.
5% to know dwarven, halfling, goblin, kobold, or 1-2 languages Oeridians: The Oeridians are tan- to olive-skinned. Some
from the table on page 102 of the DMG, with the same 8% tribes are on the fairer side, while others are rather dark. Their
provision for proximity. The proximity rule would also apply to eye color tends to vary to any shade. Hair color runs from dark
local human tongues. (Note that a gnome is not necessarily blonde to black, but the most common hair color is brown or
limited to two additional languages, as per the PH.) reddish brown.
Half-elves will always know Common, and will know elvish if Suloise: The Suloise are very fair-skinned people. Although
raised by one or more elves. Additional languages possible some are less fair than others, many are nearly albino. These
— only for a character raised by one or more elves — (intelli- people have pale blue eyes, very blonde or platinum-colored
gence x 5%, or 8% for proximity) include gnome, halfling, gob- hair. The less fair have normal white skin, blonde or light red
lin, hobgoblin, orcish and gnoll. Half-elves of intelligence 17 hair, and gray or blue eyes.
have an 85% chance to know 1 language from page 102 of, the The inner mixture of Oeridians with Suloise tends toward a
DMG, and those of intelligence 18 have a 90% chance to know typical European-mix looking population. However, the original
up to two languages from that table. Flannae stock shows up fairly commonly in just about any socie-
Halflings will always know halfling and Common. Possible ty, so that there will be light-bronze to deep-bronze folk inter-
additional languages include dwarven, gnome, goblin, orcish, mingled in most populations.
and 1-2 additional languages (page 102, DMG) for those of The mix of Oeridian and Baklunish brings a fairly light skin —
intelligence 17 or higher. The proximity rule of intelligence x 8% a real yellowish cast, rather than the vague yellow of the oriental
applies in all cases except proximity to gnomes, which uses a human.
figure of intelligence x 10% instead. A cross of Baklunish and Flannae yields a golden-copper skin
Half-orcs will always know Common, and will know orcish if color.
raised by one or more orcs. Possible additional languages in- In general, the skin color of an individual makes no difference
clude hobgoblin, goblin, gnoll and kobold, at a chance of intelli- in many places, although the nobles of the Great Kingdom are
gence x 5%. The bonus for proximity does not apply to half-orcs. very jealous of being light-skinned, just as the rulers of the
Those of intelligence 16 or 17 may learn 1-2 additional lan- Duchy of Tenh are conscious of the supposed superiority of
guages (page 102, DMG) at chances of 80% and 85% respectively. their bronze color. In the central south region, from Greyhawk
to the Duchy of Geoff, there is little heed paid to skin color, just
The changes in this procedure from that outlined in the Play- as there is little heed paid to absolute racial type, i.e. human or
ers Handbook are designed primarily to account for an individ- demi-human, except perhaps by demi-humans who sometimes
ual character’s background and intelligence. Instead of auto- feel superior to humans.

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August 1981 Dragon
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

The undercover job guide

by Paul Montgomery Crabaugh Architecture: travel potential low to moderate; starting salary
$20,000/yr (variable); free-lance architect.
Comparatively few spies freely admit their actual profession. Arts & Crafts: travel potential very low to nonexistent; starting
An abruptly shortened life expectancy, of course, is an excellent salary $12,000/yr (variable); various craft jobs and trades, in the
reason for this reticence. Only a small number of agents have very unlikely event of an agent choosing this field for a
reached the point in their careers where an encounter with a profession.
member of the opposition is more likely to shorten the other Astronomy/Space Science: travel potential moderate to high;
person’s three score and ten, and thus they no longer give a rip: starting salary $18,000/yr; research scientist or university-level
James Bond comes to mind. Not that he advertises his job as an teacher.
agent; he just doesn’t bother to conceal it, other than the some- Biology/Biochemistry: travel potential moderate; starting sa-
what misleading use of his military rank and (occasionally) a lary $18,000/yr; research scientist or university-level teacher.
uniform. Botany: travel potential low to moderate; starting salary
Quite aside from matters of mortality, there is another excel- $18,000/yr; teacher. (possible exceptional case: unknown or
lent reason to indulge in some deception about one’s occupa- independent source of funds, typically $20,000/yr, and agent
tion: A spy’s effectiveness is likely to be reduced (to say the would be noted grower of exotic plants; travel potential moder-
least) if his passport lists his profession as “saboteur” or “assas- ate to high.
sin.” Therefore, most agents prefer to appear to hold reasonably Chemistry: travel potential moderate to high; starting salary
(or comparatively) mundane jobs in order to not be noticed. $18,000/yr; research scientist, university-level teacher, or
The treatment of “cover” occupations in the TOP SECRET™ private-industry employee.
game rules is somewhat superficial. Those who want this aspect Computer Science: travel potential low to moderate, some-
of an agent’s life to be further emphasized can consider the times high for expert troubleshooter; starting salary $25,000/yr;
following suggestions. programmer or troubleshooter.
Such a job should pay fairly well, so that the agent may Ecology/Earth Sciences: travel potential moderate; starting
support him/herself despite extended periods of “sick leave”; it salary $18,000/yr; university-level teacher.
should exist in a reasonably unstructured or flexible environ- Economics/Finance: travel potential moderate; starting sa-
ment, so that such periods of leave are possible; and ideally it lary $25,000/yr; accountant, financial advisor or speculator.
should allow ample opportunity for travel in the course of nor- Education/Indoctrination: travel potential low to moderate;
mal job-related events. starting salary $18,000/yr; teacher, lecturer or public relations
The job should make ample use of the agent’s actual abilities representative.
and training, so that the agent cannot be caught “out of charac- Engineering, Aeronautical: travel potential moderate to high;
ter” during casual questioning or conversation. starting salary $25,000/yr; aircraft designer or troubleshooter,
possibly spacecraft designer.
To get down to the numbers: An agent’s career classification Engineering, Construction/Civil: travel potential low to mod-
is determined by a throw of percentile dice, reading the results erate; starting salary $22,000/yr; engineer for private industry.
as follows. Engineering, Electrical: see Engineering, Construction/Civil.
A roll of 01-10 indicates that the agent is known to be an Engineering, Hydraulic: see Engineering, Construction/Civil.
inactive member of the armed forces; connection with his agen- Engineering, Industrial: travel potential moderate to high;
cy is unknown. starting salary $24,000/yr; designer or troubleshooter for major
A roll of 11-30 indicates that the agent is known to be em- works of private industry, sometimes project manager or plant
ployed by his agency (if the agency’s existence is common foreman.
knowledge), or by an unspecified government agency (if the Engineering, Mechanical: see Engineering, Construction/Civil.
agency is secret); however, the agent is believed to be simply a Engineering, Transportation: travel potential moderate to
minor bureaucrat in that agency. high; starting salary $22,000/yr; advisor to government at var-
A roll of 31-00 indicates that the agent routinely operates with ious level, occasionally project overseer or troubleshooter.
an undercover profession, exhibiting no overt, public contact Fine Arts: travel potential high; starting salary quite variable;
with his government/agency beyond that which an ordinary possibly painter or sculptor or the like, but more likely (for
citizen would have. agents) to be an actor/actress or entertainer.
The agent’s exact undercover profession should be chosen Geography: travel potential high; starting salary $16,000/yr;
based on the agent’s high score in his AOK, modified by the surveyor for private industry, geographical analyst, or employee
usefulness to his agency of that skill as it applies to the specific of government mapping service.
job. The travel potential of a skill or ability, for instance, has a Geology: travel potential high; starting salary $18,000/yr; lo-
great bearing on the agent’s usefulness to the agency as a cation and analysis of resources for industry or government.
member of a profession which makes use of that ability. Home Economics: travel potential moderate to high; starting
Following are listed the Areas of Knowledge for the TOP salary $20,000/year (variable); almost no connection with what
SECRET game, the travel potential for each one, a typical start- the field is normally thought of to include: agents in this field will
ing salary for a person with that knowledge, and an example or very likely be chefs, or connected with the creation of fashion or
two of a particular profession likely to be associated with that decoration: female agents have a good chance of being models
AOK. In addition, similar information is appended for inactive (salary quite variable).
military personnel and bureaucratic employees, the first two Law: travel potential moderate; starting salary $25,000/yr;
types of career classifications which were defined above. lawyer for industry, private citizens or government.
Literature: travel potential high; starting salary quite variable;
Agriculture, Animal Science: low travel potential; starting sa- author or (possibly) critic.
lary $15,000/yr; consultant for national or supranational organi- Mathematics/Accounting: travel potential low to moderate;
zation (such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture or the UN’s starting salary $25,000/yr; accountant or statistician, possibly
WHO). teacher (at lower salary, $18,000/year). At high levels of achieve-

26
August 1981 Dragon
ment, corporate administrators and executives, salary 1-10 actual job earnings are likely to be lower than the yearly salary
times higher, travel potential high; this last category should be rate over the course of each year, because of the extended leave
reserved for those with an AOK score of 130+. periods needed for agency missions; however, bonuses from his
Medicine/Physiology: travel potential moderate; starting sa- agency and an agent’s ingenuity should make up for the
lary $25,000/yr (variable); doctor or surgeon. difference.
Metallurgy: travel potential low to moderate; starting salary The amount necessary to spend for upkeep may be reduced
$22,000/yr; engineer. for an agent who chooses, or feels forced, to live in less comfort.
Military Science/Weaponry: travel potential high; starting sa- The amount spent on upkeep may be exceeded by as much
lary $16,000/yr; soldier, possibly mercenary, possibly on inac- extra money as an agent wishes to apply to it; however, either of
tive status; agents will tend to be officers. those courses of action may, if carried to the extreme, draw
Photography: travel potential high; starting salary quite varia- undue public attention to the agent. The upkeep amount in-
ble; free-lance photographer or artist-photographer, possibly cludes room, board and minor purchases; it does not include
fashion or advertising photographer, possibly employee of major purchases such as cars.
newspaper (“Hi there, my name’s Jimmy Olson...”). At the start of an agent’s career, before he has earned any of
Physical Education: travel potential high; starting salary quite his salary, the agent will have available funds equal to 10% of the
variable; almost certainly an agent will be an athlete in this AOK: normal yearly income for the agent’s profession, plus 1% for
by preference, one in a sport played throughout much of the each year of age over 20.
world. Tennis is an excellent choice; golf, soccer and track & Care must be exercised by the administrator to insure that the
field are also good. agent’s money is expended in a realistic manner. Not all of the
Physics: travel potential moderate to high; starting salary agent’s “upkeep” funds may be spent on weaponry and equip-
$18,000/yr; research scientist or university teacher. ment, for example. For one thing, it would be conspicuous; for
Political Science/Ideology: travel potential high; salary quite another, no human being can survive long (without being incar-
variable; many possibilities, including lecturer, politician, di- cerated or institutionalized) if he doesn’t make his own provi-
plomat, ambassador, teacher or government advisor. sions for obtaining food, clothing, and shelter.
Psychology: travel potential low to moderate; starting salary While upkeep expenses include a minimum working war-
$25,000/yr; researcher, teacher, or practicing psychiatrist. drobe, special purchases may sometimes have to be made. If an
Religion: travel potential low to moderate; starting salary agent must jump into a river while fully attired, his clothes will in
$15,000/yr; church official or teacher of theology; low probabili- all probability be ruined, and will require replacement.
ty of agents choosing this field, but not impossible (see the Human nature being what it is, a high-salaried agent will have
James Bond tale “Moonraker”). to spend a lot of money on physical evidence of his stature to
Social Sciences: travel potential low; starting salary $18,000/yr; avoid undue attention, while a low-salaried one can’t do a lot of
teacher, or possibly sociological advisor to government. conspicuous consuming. While an agent with an avowed in-
World History/Current Affairs: travel potential moderate to come of $12,000 a year might reasonably utilize ah old VW bug
high; starting salary $18,000/yr (variable); teacher, lecturer or for transportation (and might, in fact, be assumed to start with
advisor to government, possibly politician. such a vehicle), a character with an avowed income of $90,000
will have to purchase more than one car; probably two or three
(Special) Inactive member of military, attached to agency: see cars, of the sort where a high price tag is its own end.
Military Science/Weaponry; agent wilI always be an officer, fre- Players should be encouraged to develop ways for their
quently of command (usually not field or flag) rank. Examples: agents to spend “extra” money: hobbies, collections, or an ac-
Colonel Steve Austin, Commander James Bond, Major John tive social life. A habit of frequenting discos, preferably with a
Smith (“Where Eagles Dare”). Exceptions (from either extreme): companion who has expensive tastes, for example, not only
Lieutenant Morris Schaffer (“Where Eagles Dare”), Corporal enhances the characterization of the agent, but also provides an
“Dusty” Miller (“The Guns of Navarone”), Admiral Sir Miles excellent way of disposing of excess money.
Messervy (“M”). And then there is always hospital expenses...

(Special) Known employee of agency: agent is civil servant; Specify, specify

travel potential high; starting salary starting $12,000/yr, with The players should be required to define their jobs much more
increases to $20,000/yr (hazardous duty pay) during missions, closely than the AOKs would simply suggest. It is not enough to
prorated over duration of mission. claim to be “in fine arts” as a profession; the character must be
specified, for example, to be a moderately well known actor in
Income, coming and going adventure movies (such as Simon Templar). This not only builds
The base starting salary given should be increased by 5% for characterization, but makes a firm foundation for scenarios.
each point of knowledge in excess of 100 (and reduced the same A “variable” salary is one which may be greater or less than
amount for each point below 100; agents should have at least a the stated value by as much as 50%. Roll 1d10: 1-3 is low; 4-7 is
100 score to seriously consider an AOK as the basis for a profes- as stated; 8-10 is high. The amount of variance is 1d10 times 5%.
sion), and increased another 5% for each year of age over 24 (no A “quite variable” salary is one which varies wildly from indi-
penalty for being under that age). Salary is generally paid on a vidual to individual, and from year to year. One way of determin-
monthly basis. Not all of it is available to the agent as unrestrict- ing it is to roll once each year: 1d100 times $1,000. This amount
ed spending money; most of an agent’s salary must be spent on may be disbursed in one lump sum, incrementally on a monthly
upkeep, either of the agent — or the agent’s government. basis, or in irregular pieces at odd times chosen by the game
Off the top come taxes. The basic tax rate is 25% of gross referee. It should also be adjusted to fit with the agent’s cover; a
income; to this rate add 3% for each $10,000 or fraction thereof “minor supporting actor” would be probably not earn more than
by which the agent’s earnings exceed $10,000. This is (very $20,000 to $30,000 per year; a top-ranked tennis pro probably
approximately) the situation in the United States as of this writ- would earn less than that amount.
ing; the tax rate varies greatly (usually upwards) throughout the As a last word on this open-ended subject, players should be
rest of the world. encouraged to go outside the AOK list and find other jobs for
Of the remainder of the agent’s salary, most will go to routine their characters to work at, the details to be arranged by the
upkeep. The amount needed for upkeep of the agent at a normal player and the referee.
standard of living for the agent’s alleged profession is 75% of the Someone might even choose to become a traveling greeting-
agent’s (after taxes) yearly earnings in the cover profession. His card salesman...

27
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

STORY AND PHOTOS

BY BRYCE KNORR

e doesn’t look like a typical “Boris.” And, he doesn’t look he doesn’t have the incentive of the young man to condition his
like Boris — at least not like the image projected by his frame. His biceps still surge with the bulk of years of weightlift-
paintings and the bits and pieces of his public reputation. ing — but other bulges on his compact frame come from not
His name is easy to explain: It comes from his Spanish-born enough, rather than too much, exercise.
father’s love of Russian literature. As for his appearance, he “As I get older, I get lazier,” he says with disarming candor,
certainly doesn’t look like Boris when he comes to the door settled into a living-room easy chair.
dressed not in a loincloth, but in slacks and a knit shirt. No Still, except for streaks of grey in the coarse black hair that
blood-soiled sword. No beautiful woman clinging to his thighs. drapes his ears, he hardly looks like a man who observed his
Not battling some embodiment of evil, but finishing a late 40th birthday earlier this year.
supper. His face reflects too much good nature, his demeanor is And, while his appearance at first may fail to conform to his
too pleasant to be those of some macho body builder who poses moniker, in some respects he is very much Boris: proud, indi-
as the hero of his own pictures. vidualistic, romantic and a list of other adjectives, most of which
When he models, Boris is quick to point out, he is acting. And, find expression in his paintings.

28
August 1981 Dragon

Boris Vallejo: in the foyer of his New York City home

and discussing his art and his life.

29
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

iven the style and subject matter that made him a sought- people don’t feel that way, but to me there is no joy to doing
after fantasy artist, it would be easy to categorize Boris landscapes — it’s background.”
with references to his Latin background: “17 years after As for the source for this attraction, perhaps it comes from
he came to the United States from Lima, Peru, his English is medical studies, perhaps from years of body building to streng-
correct, but tinged with an engaging accent....” But, when the then the frame of a spindly youth. If a deeper reason exists, he
question of cultural influences is raised, he responds with a does not dwell on it, saying only, “I don’t know why. I think it’s
touch of bewilderment, or perhaps it is a slight annoyance: part of my nature.”
Others have attempted similar analysis, and left him uncon- “Why?” he asks rhetorically when the question is pressed “I
vinced as to its validity. don’t know, I’ve never gone really any further than, than the fact
“There was a young woman from Cuba that was writing a that I like the human body, and you know, visually, I really enjoy
paper on artists, and she wanted to call that the main theme of almost equally as much a well developed body of a male as that
her thesis, or whatever she was writing — the Latin background of a female.”
to my approach to painting, and I told her exactly the same In recent months one body has come to dominate his work,
thing: As far as I know, there is none. And she said, ‘It’s sublimi- that of a woman who is replacing the male heroes who have
nal.’ Maybe it is, I don’t know. I certainly don’t do it consciously.” tended to be the focus of his fantasy book covers. His model for
Both Boris and the young woman may be correct. Although this issue of DRAGON™ magazine, she has posed for Boris for
he may not feel macho, he may seem that way to the dominant four years, in which time his career has begun to move from
Anglo culture of 20th-century Amer- book covers to other fantasy formats.
ica. Boris may be bearing the cultural Stacked against the wall by a fire-
burden imposed by a society with a place in his living room are more than
different orientation — he would not two dozen boards, mostly of her,
be, for example, the first male with a paintings that represent Boris’ next
Hispanic background to be stereo- major project, a book of erotica that
typed in this way. represents a new direction, a depar-
ture from the restraints — both tech-
nical and censorship, of book covers.
he public also sees only his Titled Mirages, the book is sche-
pictures and does not often duled to consist of 33 paintings, ac-
hear his words. Although he companied by poetry written by his
(like many artists) does not easily ar- wife, Doris, whose first novel, a sci-
ticulate his thoughts, he nonetheless ence-fiction tale called Windsound,
is a man of words. In a series of re- was published this spring.
cent interviews, he emerged as an Besides the big-book advantages
intensely professional artist whose of better printing and a better format
career is in transition; as an ambi- for display than paperback covers,
tious man who is still somewhat fatal- Mirages has allowed Boris to explore
istic about his future; and as a public more explicit themes than allowed by
figure, who is more than a little bit the constraints imposed by publish-
aware that “success” flows from more ing houses that often wish
than just ability. to use some sex — enough to attract
the eye on a crowded bookstore
rack, but not enough to require
consider myself very much an in- brown wrapping paper.
dividual,” he says. “I do what I Most of the Mirages paintings fol-
want to do and I do it, you know, low a beauty-and-the-beast theme—
whether it is really establishment or a humanoid creature, with a lover
anti-establishment, and that’s how I that is, well, usually something other
feel. If it’s not right for me, I don’t do than humanoid.
it.” “The book that was published of
“There are certain things in my my work (The Fantastic Art of Boris
character. I’ve been accused a num- Vallejo) and the calendars, the pos-
ber of times of being a typical macho, The Magic Goes A way (1978) ters, have been really things that
which I must say I don’t see. I think it were commissioned for mostly book
has more to do with the way I do things, than what I really am.” covers, and of course in book covers you illustrate what the
The way he does his things, of course, has made his work book is about. This particular book is totally my concept. I have
immediately distinctive to his legions of fans — as well as to no limitations as to what to do or how to do it.
more than an occasional detractor. The scores of science- “For one thing, I have always loved to draw the human figure,
fiction and fantasy book covers, posters and calendars he creat- and doing fantasy book covers, you always run into problems
ed in the 1970s is a body of work that is distinct and recogniza- with censorship, where you have to cut something, or you can’t
ble: muted backgrounds dominated by one or two figures made show a nipple, and so on. I love the human body as it is. As far as
imposing by rippling muscles or barely clad beauty. I’m concerned, it’s not to be covered with cloth.”
Macho or not, Vallejo does have an affection for the human Scant clothing certainly is a hallmark of the works for Mirages
form. And his affinity has dominated his work. He can draw Boris has completed thus far. Yet the paintings are hardly hard-
landscapes, but beautiful vistas bore him. He can draw clothing, core. No explicit sex is depicted; as a whole, the effort is decid-
but he sees even the most gorgeous silks and raiments as ob- edly soft-core.
scuring something even more gorgeous. The top board shows a rear view of the woman (“I love to draw
“I love the human body as it is. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not behinds”), dressed in high black boots and a leather jacket,
to be covered with cloth. As a matter of fact, it bores me to do holding a dinosaurish-looking creature on a leash. Unlike some
clothing. You know, you can push yourself, force yourself to do of the women on his covers, this woman is no supplicant, is in no
(it), but that’s not me. I like to do bodies, just bodies.” need of aid from a musclebound John Carter, Tarzan or Conan.
“I can do a landscape with my eyes closed. It’s just — other “As a rule, the women I portray are not defenseless,” Boris
30
August 1981 Dragon
says. “You have that woman,” he says with a glance to the 36 x 24 “She objected to the nature of the human body. That’s not my
board. “This is a very strong-looking woman. I mean, she is in problem. I do what I like to do and I wouldn’t do something that I
control. While women’s lib could object perhaps to the nudity, don’t feel comfortable with. I wouldn’t. I really wouldn’t do it. For
you know, the exploitation of the body of a woman, they are money or anything, I really wouldn’t do it. But I love the human
right, but if someone wants to exploit my body, that’s fine with body. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with showing a pair of
me, too, you know? I have no objections to that. It is not offen- tits, you know, or pubic hair or anything like that. I certainly see
sive to me, it is very acceptable. nothing wrong with that whatsoever.”
“I like a very feminine woman that at the same time is very Born as a series of five sketches two years ago, Mirages has
capable.” been far from an easy project to complete. Besides the demands
As for the cowering beauties on some of his older works, of other works, he says he didn’t get started on Mirages as soon
those, he says, were probably dictated by the subject matter of as he should have. First scheduled for release in the fall of 1980,
the book or the publisher. “That’s not really my doing, that’s the book was originally delayed a year. Boris completed half the
what they want.” paintings in the first 18 months, then set aside outside commis-
Which, after all, is one reason why Mirages came to be sions for six months to finish the series. Confronted with self-
created. generated pressure to make these the best work of his career, he
Quickly rummaging through the boards, he finds his favorite, says, “I got so hung up I didn’t work for about three months — I
of a vampire-creature embrac- didn’t work on anything.”
ing the woman, who is again Finally, in an intense three-
viewed from behind. He casts month period this spring, he fin-
an affectionate glance again at ished all but three of the paint-
the painting, and sighs, “Yeah, I ings, before publication was
like backsides,” pronouncing it again delayed, this time until
“bocksides.” the fall of 1982.
The creature’s tight embrace “As a rule I like to work on one
about the woman’s buttocks has thing at a time,” he says. “In this
drawn a thin trickle of blood. case, of course, my deadline
“I think it is a very tender was rather long and I could af-
painting, because the creature ford to do it leisurely — or I
— he is a very threatening crea- thought I could — so as it hap-
ture, but he is very gentle also. pened I was a year late,” he
He’s a very frightening creature, adds, with a self-deprecating Iit-
but he’s obviously very much in tle chuckle.
love with her.”
“I certainly don’t consider
these paintings pornographic. lthough only three paint-
There is a difference, you know, ings remain to complete
between pornography and erot- the Mirages cycle, just
ica. Now you ask me, what is the when they will join the other
difference, I’d have to think boards in his living room is un-
about it.” certain. Lack of a market is not
Whatever the definitions, how- the culprit: The Fantastic Art is
ever, Boris says he doesn’t ob- in its fourth printing and there
ject to pornography or depic- seems to be serious interest
tions of explicit sex. “As a mat- about Mirages. Rather, the op-
ter of fact I enjoy it, but within posite appears to be true of Bo-
myself, I don’t feel it.” ris’ attraction to the fantasy-
The distinction may have some- buying public. Boris, simply put,
thing to do with biology vs. art, is hot — and his star still ap-
photographic fact vs. interpre- pears to be in ascension.
tation; graphic sex vs. the mere “I think that Boris’ time is
implication of the erotic. about to come — it’s just about
“There is a beauty in the hu- to happen,” says Shirley Hen-
The Maker Of Universes (1976)
man body that I would really re- schel, who for the past four years
fuse to destroy,” he says. “If I am to get explicit about it — I has handled the licensing of Boris artwork — reproductions in
would say graphic about it —while I may enjoy a woman with her other than the original mediums. “I think the interest in fantasy is
legs spread, you know, on a personal basis, as far as a painting just coming out of a fan audience to a national audience.”
goes, I would not find it very aesthetic.” Besides posters and the three calendars he has produced,
Despite the relative tameness of his work, even in a society Boris’ licensing activities includes everything from heat transfers
that has grown used to adult book stores and X-rated cinemas for clothing to porcelain figures, greeting cards, Halloween cos-
and titillating television, he still encounters hostility, against tumes . . . and Henschel sees other avenues — a Boris game,
which he says he offers no defense. paint-by-number duplications of his work the list goes on.
“I don’t bother, really. Even before these paintings, even the Grenadier Models is marketing a line of 77 mm vignettes
things I was doing before — barbarians or whatever — people duplicating scenes from Boris’ works, under one of these licens-
ask me, ‘Well, how do you feel about doing pornography?’ Por- ing agreements. Four scenes have been released so far and are
nography? Pornography? I don’t know. When I do it, I’ll tell you. selling well, compared to competitors in the rather limited large-
I haven’t done it, so I don’t know.” scale miniatures market, according to Grenadier’s Ray Lubin.
“But there are people that are going to make their own inter- “Obviously, Boris is a very popular artist,” says Lubin.
pretation of these (Mirages paintings). Certainly, it’s not in my Although part of the increased interest in Boris is due to an
mind, it’s in their mind, so I really don’t bother with it.” increased interest in fantasy, Henschel says the artist’s work can
He recalls a woman who, after complimenting him on his stand on its own merits. Noting that no less than five films with
technique, urged him to switch to landscapes. fantasy themes have been released this summer, she adds, “I
31
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

think Boris’ art will go on forever, even though the movies come building.... Not only was he perhaps the biggest, he had a tre-
and go.” mendous sense for business, showmanship — all these things
“If I look at anything by Boris, I know immediately it’s by Boris. combine together.”
Although he says he’s an illustrator, not an artist, I remind him Since he began fantasy painting commercially a decade ago,
that Michelangelo was an illustrator, too. He’s an artist, and a Boris has perhaps reached a similar plateau. He now paints
good one.” exclusively fantasy and science fiction images — even when he
Whether it is proper to call Boris an illustrator, a painter, or an is commissioned to do an advertisement, as he recently was by a
artist, he certainly has acheived a level of professionalism and cigarette manufacturer. (Boris himself does not drink or smoke.)
recognition beyond that of all but a few of his peers. He has that Becoming a success is a difficult phenomenon to describe,
nebulous but palpable quality of Success!. and attempting to do that ultimately prompts a certain fatalism
from Vallejo.
“I basically believe that either you have it, or you don’t,” he
ot a little bit of which, Boris is quick to point out, is due to says. “I really think so. But I also think what it is to have it
his name. He discusses this and other business matters involves a number of different things.... You not only have to
with an engaging openness and frankness that is unusual, have talent, you have to know how to use it, and you have to be
particularly in afield where mention of finances is something of able to work hard enough to develop it. And you have to have
a faux pax. some degree of specialness that sets
Although he doesn’t recall just you apart from the rest of the talent-
when he started signing his ed people. And I think that has a lot to
works with his first name — it was do with yourself. It’s not only just
before he came to the U.S. —he says there, it has to do with yourself very
it has been an asset. much. I mean, a number of people
“This is a very important point,” he are very, very — extremely — talent-
says. “I really think that people have ed, and they do nothing, or very little.
to remember not only your work, but So obviously it has a lot to do with
who you are. I wouldn’t say that it’s a yourself.”
gimmick, but it’s something that real- “I think that anybody that is in the
ly helps people to remember me. creative arts — whether it’s painting,
“Why do they change the sculpture, writing, music — really is
names of movie stars? Because it’s very intense about it. I think that is
more commercial, it’s easier to re- the only way. If you are going to be
member. So, I sign the name Boris, really half-assed about it, forget it.
as opposed to Vallejo. (pronounced There are a lot of half asses around.”
vah-yay-hoe) People see Vallejo and A prime requisite, he says, is rec-
they say, what is this? Val-ee-who? ognizing what is the critical step at
Val-ah-hoo? And then you’re going each phase of the creative process.
to forget it.” When to think about money; when to
While Henschel arranges licensing think about the art.
of Boris’ reproductions, the artist “The first purpose in painting is in
himself negotiates the commission order to make a living,” he says.
and sale of original creations. “There is no question about that. I
“...I know a lot of artists are that know I want to make money; I know I
way—they hate discussing money. I have bills to pay, and to do it I have to
love it, I really, really like it. That’s make money. The more the merrier.
why I don’t have any agent as far as But having taken care of that, I don’t
creating a work goes, because I real- think about it any more. I don’t do the
ly like to get into all the discussions painting just to get the money. Once I
about money.” have taken care of how much I am
“I’m very commercial. I mean — going to charge for the painting, then
that is why my work is licensed. You the painting is the important thing. I
cannot live without money.” The Space Guardian (1979) don’t do it to get it out of the way, (or)
Like his signature, this financial sense preceded his success, to get the money.”
he says, and Boris further attributes much of his popularity, his And money, he says, is not the only consideration when he
star quality, to an “instinct” that transcends talent. decides whether to accept a commission or a project.
“It’s really difficult to pinpoint,” he says. “A lot of people have “The deadline, of course, is almost symbolic, like somebody
talent, but they lack another thing. If you are going to be some- waiting for it. I can’t stand the idea, for instance, of going into
body special, somebody really special . . . you have to have it fine art and . . . selling a painting that’s going to be hanging on
right from the beginning.” somebody’s wall and that’s the end of it. I have to reach as many
Boris believes he has that special quality, though he says that people as I can, and of course this is the idea of doing commer-
talent is only part of it. “I’m perfectly aware of the fact that I have cial work, books — the deadline is symbolic that people are
very outstanding ability. I don’t fool myself with false modesty waiting for it. If I didn’t know that people are waiting for it, I
about it, and I am going to use it.” wouldn’t bother with it.”
He illustrates the point with body builder Arnold Schwarze- (What if someone made him an offer he couldn’t refuse, say,
negger, who made “pumping iron” a phrase understood in kit- $50,000 for a piece?
chens and living rooms instead of just in gymnasiums. “Well, I’d do it,” he says with a laugh—and without hesitation.
“There are people who have worked out as hard as Schwar- “I’d do it and, ‘Hang it on your wall,’ I would say.”)
zenegger, but they don’t have his reputation. They will never A mass audience brings with it fame and attention that doesn’t
develop as much as Schwarzenegger. They can be very good, frighten Vallejo, although he recognizes it as both a benefit and
they can be Mr. Universe, but they will never be Schwarzenegger. a burden.
“Whether he is the best or not is questionable I don’t think “I like to accomplish as much as I can accomplish, and I
he is the best, but he is the one that became the epitome of body assume, of course, that popularity goes with this. Now, what
32
August 1981 Dragon
degree of popularity I would like to achieve, that is questionable. it’s not going to happen. And after the first week I really start to
Because, of course, there are pros and cons to that. The pro of get restless and I go to the local art store and get some art
course is, it feels nice if I go for instance to a store and — I supplies and stuff . . . I haven’t really taken a vacation for about
wouldn’t say this happens all the time, but it happens that I go to three years, I really don’t like to take that long a time, because
a restaurant and pay with a credit card and either the waiter or you lose momentum.”
the clerk goes, ‘Are you the artist?’ And it feels nice.” If taking a whole vacation is difficult, just learning to take any
And, he notes, there’s the added attraction that you can de- time off was a challenge for Vallejo. “I worked every day of the
mand higher fees. week for months at a stretch before taking a break,” he recalls.
“Inasmuch as you are better known, your stuff sells better, “And I would work, oh, 12, 14 hours, 18 hours, 24 hours— I have
and obviously whoever it is can afford to pay more money worked as much as 36 hours.” But, he says, he finally realized
because they are going to make more money with it. It sells that taking time off was a necessity— at a potentially disastrous
better, there’s no question about it. time in his life which he discusses with typical frankness.
“Now, on the other hand, I would not like it to get to the point “You see, what happened is I actually got to a point that I had
where it would really affect my private life.” worked so hard for so many years that I felt I was losing my
But, he says, it’s unlikely an artist’s or author’s fame would mind. I was just so tense and nervous all the time. And this to me
reach that of a movie star or television personality. was a revelation — that I didn’t have to work all so hard — I really
“You’ve heard of Stephen King? Stephen King is making mil- don’t have to.”
lions with his books all of them are “...I wouldn’t say I went over the
going to be made into movies — a edge, but I was really close. Because
few already have been made into I wasn’t really enjoying at all I what I
movies — but still you see Stephen was doing. I wasn’t enjoying my fami-
King on the street and that’s that. You ly. I wasn’t enjoying my children.”
don’t know who he is. And even if So, for three months one summer
somebody was to say, ‘That’s Ste- he did nothing. In all, he says it took
phen King,’ you would say, ‘Oh, that’s probably a year to reach the pace he
nice.’ ” now attempts to keep, a decision he
Mass popularity is also a matter of calls “one of the wisest decisions I
public relations — of pushing your- have ever made in my life— not to kill
self, and Boris is selective on that myself. It wasn’t worth it, it really was
front. His appearance at this sum- not. My work was suffering with it,
mer’s GEN CON® convention is one and I was reaching the point of dimin-
of his rare public appearances, which ishing returns.”
he’s found can be “trying.” “It took me close to a year to slow
Not only do the questions repeat my life down, because I had been so
themselves, but his fans “really feel used to really, really working —work
they own you, and that’s fine, to a and work and work. For years I
certain degree, that’s fine, but only to worked really, really hard.... It took
a certain degree. me really about a year to realize I had
“They want you to do drawings for to cut down on that, and it was a
them, and I don’t do drawings for tough decision, because I had to
free. I do a sketch, for instance, for a struggle not only with myself, (but)
publisher, and then I sell the sketch with guilt.”
for $700, $1,000. I get paid for my
work. I’m a professional. So I cannot he intensity began early, as did
sit down and do a drawing of some- his drawing. He recalls the
body, and then of course I have a line house of his middle-class child-
of 200 people waiting also for draw- hood in Lima, where both of his par-
ings.” ents were teachers (his father was
Cutting back on his public sche- also a lawyer) with strong interests in
dule is only one of the changes com- music and literature.
mercial success has brought to Boris Starting at age 3 with likenesses of
and his life. A Web Of Wizardry (1978) Popeye, vallejo drew on the walls of
In the past three or four years he the house; as the new pictures sprout-
has attempted to modify long-entrenched habits of intense ed higher and higher, they also got better and better.
work. Instead of working almost without interruption, he now He entered grade school early, at age four, and graduated
seriously works at taking time off. from the Peruvian equivalent of high school when he was 15.
“I take about three days off a week.“ he says. “I like to get in my Combined with school were classes at art and music schools—a
car and just drive around and go to the woods or go to the beach schedule that kept him occupied from 8:00 in the morning to
and basically just be by myself and do whatever I want to do 10:30 at night, and included Saturday classes.
—go to movies, I love to go to bookstores, and basically, not He got his his first commercial art job at age 16, and after
have to talk to anybody or make contact with anybody.” college pre-medical studies entered the field full-time at 19.
He finds it easier to work and relax at this more regular, more Four years later, in 1964, he felt he had reached the limits of what
consistent pace, rather than working in spurts between lengthi- his native land could offer him, and he headed for new chal-
er vacations, a tack he tried unsuccessfully. lenges. He arrived in New York, speaking no English, deter-
“It’s really difficult for me to sit down and do nothing, if you do mined to wash floors or do anything to support himself. He
it too much. I mean, the times I have gone on vacation, for didn’t have to, as it turned out, because he promptly landed a job
instance — I can take a week of it, and then after a week I get illustrating for a chain of department stores. Besides enabling
really totally restless. I really feel that I really like to paint, I really him to meet his wife, who joined the firm’s art department a year
like to draw. And I have always ended up doing that. I say, ‘Well, I or so after he did, the job was a start, albeit on the bottom rung,
am going away for two weeks and I am not going to do anything on the ladder to success in America.
for those two weeks, and my wife laughs, because she knows “I was one of the top artists in my country,” he says of his
33
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

decision to emigrate. “If you have a little bit of ambition —which mysteries, most were in the genre in which he has become
I have a lot of — you realize, ‘So what?’ You know, I know a known. Rather than viewing this strictly as a limitation to his
number of people who prefer to be a big fish in a small pond. As creative abilities, he treats it in a positive fashion.
long as they are the biggest, it doesn’t matter how big it is. I “You have to realize that especially here in America is the land
never felt that way. I always wanted to do as well as I could do, to of the specialist,” he says.
go higher and higher.” “Say you have a pain in your stomach. You go to a specialist.
Vallejo feels he has been lucky. Rarely, he says, has he had to You’re having trouble with your foot, you go to a podiatrist, and
look for work, resorting to peddling his portfolio only a few so on. In South America, it wouldn’t be that way. In South
times. That doesn’t mean life was easy — even in the best of America, I did everything, because the market was much
times, free-lancing is a precarious existence. smaller. So we did everything — layout, lettering, finishing work,
“lt’s a tough job, actually,” he says. “You see, what happens is, oil paintings, portraits, whatever. And in America, it’s not that
you don’t have a reputation. Of course, you cannot command way at all. You have a specialty and the art director likes to go to
the prices of someone who does have a reputation, who sells.... the person who is going to do that type of thing, because paint-
And the time when I was working really, really hard was before I ing a specialty essentially means you can do it better than
was doing (free-lance) illustration. I was doing drawings for anybody else.”
department stores — refrigerators, furniture and all those “...lt is a limitation. I’m not going to tell you it isn’t a limitation.
things, and —Jesus! — I used to make $10 for each drawing. To But once (I) get to a certain point. I can do what I want with this.”
make $100 you had to make 10 draw- “Everything has limitations — ev-
ings!... It is really tedious, and it takes erything. I would say that even it is
forever, so you have to work and better to have certain limitations
work and work it’s really very te- For instance, this cover of DRAGON
dious, and even then I took pride in magazine, if they had said, do any-
what I did. I tried to do it as nice as I thing, you know, I would go nuts try-
could, and perhaps put a different ing to think, ‘What am I going to do?’
twist to the whole thing as opposed But you said, you can do anything,
to the way everybody else was doing but it has to be related to dragons.
it.” Okay, so you have a limitation there,
“...I hated it. I really hated it. It was but it puts you within certain boun-
boring. Nonetheless, I took pride in daries. You have an idea of where
it. I really wanted to do as well as I you are going to go.”
could do. It gave mea certain amount Although he says he once found
of discipline, it gave me a very good the prospect of open-ended assign-
feeling for detail. Regardless of whe- ments overwelming, Boris says this
ther it’s what you want to do, if you type of challenge is better suited to
put yourself into it, you learn some- his artistic temperment.
thing.” “At this point, my head is full of
He never exactly starved in the ideas,” he says. “It is probably better
U.S., but those salad days were lean for me now to have them open.”
ones. Once the direction of a piece is es-
“I tell you, when I first came to this tablished, Boris says it doesn’t nor-
country, I would eat actually four mally swerve.
days of the week, and the other three “Once I’ve made a decision —what-
days I would buy a loaf of bread and ever direction it is — that’s it. I don’t
divide the slices into three, and if I ate think too much about it. I’m accused
more than I was supposed to, if I ate, of being very stubborn; perhaps it’s a
for instance, seven slices of bread little bit of stubbornness. But I think
one day, as opposed to six, then that mostly, it’s a strength. I think I
there was one less for the next day. know what I want and I think I also
“I remember when I came here my know how to get it, how to go about
body weight was about 180, and in it.”
four months I went down to 139. That This confidence seems to be en-
gives you some kind of idea. And, The Berserker (1978) hanced by his use of the same model
even after, when I got married, there and similar themes, subject matter
were times that we just didn’t have money to pay the bills....What and construction in most of his work. Coupled with this is a
are you going to do? You can’t pay them. So there have been ups trend toward an increasingly realistic, almost photographic
and downs.” style that is particularly evident in his Mirages paintings, as if
“...One always has to worry about money, by the way. It Vallejo yearns to create the perfect representation of this mo-
doesn’t matter how much you make, you’re going to have more ment of beauty, investigating every facet of a gem.
expenses, that’s all.” The pattern he has repeatedly used for his work — the vertical
Ultimately, it wasn’t refrigerators that established Vallejo pro- axis, dictated by the dimension of a paperback book, one or two
fessionally, but fantasy — an interest that started with science central characters — these limitations have not restricted his
fiction in Peru. artistic freedom.
“I used to read a magazine called Beyond (it was called Mas “If you were to see the paintings I did two years ago, even a
Alla in Spanish).... Then I came here to the States and I saw the year ago, I think you would see an improvement, the technique
work of Frank Frazetta, in the early ‘60s, and it really appealed to develops my work becomes more precise, more accurate,
me a lot. It had the fantasy that I liked, and it had, since I was more polished, more careful, and I enjoy it that way. I don’t feel
involved in body building, muscular heroes, it appealed to me.” that that is restrictive at all, that it lacks artistic sense. I think
Beginning with comic-book covers in 1971, he worked his way quite the contrary . . . I’m very impressed by the skill of a work. I
up to paperback book jackets in a few years, and estimates he don’t like to see sloppy painting.”
has produced as many as 40 to 50 covers in a single year. Which is not to say that he cannot work in more impressionis-
Although some of the covers were romances, some were tic, looser styles, or horizontal formats, or whatever.
34
August 1981 Dragon
“(If) you are a professional drawer, you should be able “It’s a very interesting thing, because people have asked me if
to do anything, anything, in any way, and I feel that I can do that. my mood influences my work, and my mood absolutely does not
“It’s like playing an instrument,” he says, with a glance toward influence my work. My work influences my mood, but not the
one of two violin cases that sit on a nearby piano. “Before you other way around. I may have personal problems, I may have all
can really make music, you have to know how to play it, other- kinds of things going on, but I sit down and work just the same.”
wise it just doesn’t come out. If you are going to have technical With such a disciplined concept of professionalism, and with
problems, then of course the music isn’t going to come out the such intense work habits, isn’t saying he is lazy is a paradox?
way it’s supposed to. The technique has to be second nature “Yes, it is a paradox,” he answers, “but I think that paradoxes
you cannot paint if you do not know how to draw.” happen all the time.”
As for his tendency to have one or two central figures domi- “As much as I love painting, I’d rather not do it all the time,
nate his works, leaving inanimate objects to the background, he because it’s (easier) to go downhill than uphill. It may at times be
says, “I have several reasons, actually. One of the reasons is that enjoyable, but most of the time it’s work. And let’s face it, I think
if you do something beautiful, really well done, you don’t have to most of us don’t like work. If I didn’t have to work, I probably
flatter it then again, if your eyes are pulled to one thing, as would work a lot less. I definitely would work a lot less.
opposed to a lot of distractions, I think it has more impact. and “As it is right now, I’m really very selective about what I take.
last of all. I am very lazy, so it is much easier to do one or two and it so happens there is a lot of demand there, so even when I
figures as opposed to a dozen.” want to be selective, there is still
Despite the little chuckles punc- enough work to keep really busy.
tuating that last comment, and des- “But my ideal situation, the way I
pite his history of intense work hab- see things right now anyhow — that
its, to some extent Boris is sincere could change — but my ideal origi-
about being “lazy.” Perhaps this is nally is to do one painting a month,
complemented by the “guilt” he says and do it nice, do it just right and
he sometimes feels about taking time not have to worry about paying bills
off; perhaps it is a bit of self-deception or anything like that.”
that helps generate the intensity he
brings to his work. hether he’ll ever reach that
Confronted with the pressure of plateau he admits is ques-
yet another deadline, he does what tionable, for several reasons.
many artists and writers do: He waits “Probably what would happen if I get
even longer, stretching his margin enough money to do one painting a
thinner and thinner, until more delay month and there is enough demand, I
is impossible. would probably prefer to do two or
“I have to block out everything,” he three and have two or three times as
says. “You just have to do it.” much money.”
“I have to get psyched up to start In the past few years he estimates
painting, every time. I don’t care how that 85 percent of his work has been
many times— I have done it hundreds for paperback covers — a figure he
of times — but every time I have a expects to decrease substantially
white board in front of me, it’s always from now on. His next project after
very frightening, just to know in a few Mirages, a book in conjunction with
days I have to have a work finished, his model. And there is always the
and it has to be at least as good as the lure of other media— movies, for ex-
one before, and preferably better. It’s ample — although he says the switch
very frightening.” would have to involve not money
This pressure to keep progressing alone, but a significant role in the
in quality represents a change in atti- production of a film.
tude from his early days when, he “I have been offered stage settings
says, “I wanted to be THE TOP AR- for movies and I figure, Jesus, it’s
TIST.” Now, he says, “I don’t concern going to take me several months, I’m
myself with other people at all. I going to be away and then what am I
compare my self to myself. What I do going to do? I’m going to get a credit
now, to what I did last month, six at the end of the movie If your
months ago. I know at this point that I name is going to be very prominent
only have to get better than myself.” A Hostage For Hinterland (1976) there, that’s one thing, but if it’s go-
The progress has always come, he ing to be one of the etceteras, forget
says, and it is better not to think it. It’s a waste of time. I can make the
about whether the growth will always same amount of money and still have
continue. my name pushed forward.”
“I think about it every now and “I’ll get there, I’m not in a hurry at
then, that I am going to wake up in the morning and not be able this point. I always tell people, if I really want to get something,
to draw, you know. And it happens, you have good days and bad I’ll get it. I don’t know when or how long it’s going to take, but if I
days. There are certain days, it just doesn’t come out quite as really want it bad enough, I’ll get it.”
easy, you have to struggle with something that is very simple at “Goal” is a word he avoids using, “because a goal is a limita-
another time. It doesn’t happen as often now as it used to, but tion. I mean, you reach that goal, then what? What are you going
there are bad days too.” to do next? I just go on. It’s always a step higher, higher.”
On a “bad day,” he says, “I just go on. You see, I am a “I am going to get as high as I can, as I am capable of getting.
professional. I paint not only because I love to paint, but be- How high is high? I don’t know. I don’t make goals because I
cause it is my work. I have to do it. Let’s say, for instance, you don’t know how high is high. I just keep working.“.
work at a bank, you are a bank teller. If you don’t feel right about “Working,” he repeats, savoring the word. “Whatever happens,
going to work that day, you still have to go and do it. happens.”
35
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Shakespeare. She will be wearing rough-

Island enchanters ly sewn clothes cut down from her fa-

ther’s cast-offs.
Since Prospero has a formidable know-
ledge of magic as well as a large library
Author’s introduction of books, it is likely that greedy player-
Often, in the course of a long cam- character magic-users will try to pick his
paign, a party of player characters will brain for their own spell books. However,
take a long journey aboard ship to reach Prospero has developed an ambivalent
a goal. While it is possible to say some- attitude toward magic since, after all, it’s
thing like: “After sailing for four weeks, the cause of his present difficulties. If
you reach the harbor,” many Dungeon pressed, he will warn the character
Masters prefer to stick more strictly to against delving too deeply into dark
the time sequence and the campaign things and refuse to trade a spell for any-
map. It can get quite boring for players thing other than concrete news about his
and DM alike if the DM rolls the dice homeland. If, for instance, the player of a
every so many hexes only to say: “No, character has read The Tempest and is
nothing encountered.” The non-player clever enough to tell Prospero that Duke
characters described below have been Antonio, the King of Naples, and the
designed to fill this kind of gap in a cam- king’s son are planning to take a long sea
paign. Their islands can be placed wher- voyage soon, then that character would
ever the DM wishes. by all means be rewarded with a low-
level spell, if a magic-user, or some mi-
William Shakespeare’s nor magical item usable by his or her
PROSPERO class, if not.
If the DM chooses Prospero’s spells,
14th-level Magic-user boat, which was then towed out to sea one of them should always be Control
Alignment: Lawful Good and abandoned. A good councilor, Gon- Weather. Prospero also has a special
Hit Points: 26 zalo, managed to smuggle food, clo- spell, Power Word, Cramps, described in
Armor Class: 10 thing, and Prospero’s magic books onto detail by Shakespeare. Since this spell is
No. of Attacks: 1 the boat. After drifting aimlessly at sea not a part of the AD&D™ rules, the DM
Damage/Attack: 1-4 for a long time, the boat ran ashore on a should never let a player character learn
Hit Bonus: None deserted island. There Prospero built a this spell for his or her own use. If the DM
Move: 12” rough home for himself and Miranda and wishes, he or she may use the following
Psionic Ability: Nil turned to his magical studies as his only list of spells, which includes all of those
Strength: 13 consolation. mentioned in Shakespeare’s play.
Intelligence: 18 Prospero is a man in his early forties First level: Charm Person, Message,
Wisdom: 14 tall and spare, with a heavy beard Read Magic, Sleep, Write.
Dexterity: 13 streaked with gray, and brooding, dark Second level: Detect Evil, ESP, forget,
Constitution: 12 eyes. His clothing is the much-mended Invisibility, Scare.
Charisma: 15 remains of a once-splendid wardrobe: Third level: Clairaudience, Clairvoy-
worn brocades and dirty velvets in an ance, Hold Person, Slow, Tongues.
Prospero was once Duke of Milan, but early Elizabethan style. In spite of his Fourth level: Charm Monster, Fear,
his true love was the study of magic, not situation, he is still a courtly nobleman, Hallucinatory Terrain, Remove Curse.
the business of government. As he be- courteous and gracious. Since he has Fifth level: Airy Water, Conjure Ele-
came increasingly engrossed in the ma- good reason to fear for his life, however, mentals, Distance Distortion, Hold
gical arts, he turned more and more of he will be very suspicious of strangers at Monster.
the power and the affairs of state over to first. Once he is sure that they aren’t as- Sixth level: Control Weather, Spirit-
Antonio, his brother. Antonio was not sassins sent by his brother, he will un- wrack.
content with the unusual honors show- bend and treat his guests well. He will Seventh level: Power Word, Cramps.
ered upon him and conspired with the politely refuse any offers of rescue, be- This spell is cast like Power Word, Stun
King of Naples to oust his brother com- cause he is brewing an elaborate plan of except that the material component is a
pletely. Only Prospero’s great popularity revenge on the usurpers of his dukedom. thorn. The afflicted creature will suffer
with his people saved his life. To avoid undue complications, the DM cramps and aches in all of his or her
Rather than kill him and risk rebellion, should make Miranda a timid child of age joints, as well as sharp pains in the side,
Antonio put Prospero and his three- 12 or so, rather than the beautiful young Iike a combination of having arthritis and
year-old daughter Miranda into a leaky woman depicted in The Tempest by being pinched all over.

36
August 1981 Dragon
Prospero owns a white Robe of the the island Prospero lives on. At the time, ingrate who has made improper advan-
Archmagi and a Libram of Silver Magic. rumors had it that she was pregnant by a ces to Miranda, even though Prospero
demon or devil, but Caliban’s appear- has fed, clothed, and tried to educate
Prospero’s servants ance indicates that his father was an orc him. Caliban hates Prospero and does
Prospero has two servants of vastly of the vilest type, his menial work only out of fear, espe-
different natures who can have a great Caliban is shambling, brutish and hairy, cially of that Power Word, Cramps spell.
effect on the outcome of encounters with a swinish cast to his features. He Caliban will try to get the party of adven-
with the duke-magician and his daugh- has one twisted foot, which slows his turers to turn against Prospero and burn
ter. They are Ariel and Caliban, for which movement rate. Over a filthy tunic, he the duke’s magic books. If the party
descriptions are given below. wears a heavy leather jerkin. He carries a gives him liquor, Caliban will think them
woodsman’s axe, and he can also use a to be gods and will do anything they say
Ariel, a high-grade air elemental log as a cudgel. If engaged in weapon- to get more.
Armor class: 2 less combat, he will bite if he gets the
Move: 36” chance. Source: The Tempest by Shakespeare.
Hit Dice: 16 He is utterly unreliable, a liar and an Written by Katharine Brahtin Kerr
No. of Attacks: 1
Damage/Attack: 2-20
Special Attacks: Whirlwind, as per a
regular air elemental; Sleep spell
Special Defenses: +2 weapon to hit;
Invisibility and Blink spells
Magic Resistance: Standard
Intelligence: Average
Alignment: Neutral
Size: L (but see below)
Psionic Ability: Nil

Ariel is a much higher grade of air ele-

mental than would normally serve any
magic-user. Prospero freed it from im-
prisonment inside an oak tree, where it
was trapped by an evil witch named Sy-
corax. In gratitude, Ariel swore an oath
to serve Prospero until Prospero achieves
his revenge on his brother. Though Ariel
longs for his ultimate freedom, he serves
Prospero well and loyally.
Ariel can assume the shape of a slen-
der adolescent boy when he wishes to
communicate with dwellers on the Prime
Material plane. In his whirlwind form, he
is size L. He has 2-8 lesser elementals,
with 8 hit dice each, at his command. In
the form of breezes, these elementals
constantly spy around the island and re-
port anything unusual to Ariel imme-
diately. If Prospero is physically attacked,
Ariel and the others will rush to his de-
fense, appearing after one melee round CIRCE style herself a daughter of the sun god,
in the form of whirlwinds. The Beast-Mistress Apollo, unkind folk point out that if that’s
the case, then she’s a very unworthy
18th-level Magic-user daughter for her famous father. What is
Caliban, a half-orc Alignment: Chaotic neutral certain is that she is a woman of great
Alignment: Chaotic evil Hit Points: 38 wealth and magical power. For years,
Hit Points: 7 Armor Class: 10 she has lived on an island which she
Armor Class: 9 No. of Attacks: 1 claims Apollo himself gave to her. Oth-
No. of Attacks: 1 Damage/Attack: 1-4 ers say that she stole it from an unfortu-
Damage/Attack: 1-6 (axe) Move: 12” nate minor king named Picus, whom she
Hit Bonus: +1 Hit Bonus: None then turned into a woodpecker.
Move: 9” Psionic Ability: 132 points Circe is a very beautiful woman, with
Psionic Ability: Nil Attack/Defense Modes: D/F,G honey blonde hair and wide, innocent
Strength: 17 Strength: 11 blue eyes. She is always beautifully
Intelligence: 4 Intelligence: 18 dressed in long, embroidered tunics,
Wisdom: 2 Wisdom: 14 with a golden fillet to keep her hair in
Dexterity: 10 Dexterity: 13 place. Her manner, particularly toward
Constitution: 14 Constitution: 12 fighters, is seductive, reminiscent of the
Charisma: 2 Charisma: 18 madame of a very high-class brothel
with a touch of sweet southern belle
Caliban’s human mother, Sycorax, was Very little is known about Circe’s back- thrown in. She loves to act like a weak
run out of her former town and exiled to ground or family. Although she likes to little woman who is overawed by anyone

37
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

as strong and brave as a party of adven- throw against polymorph should be al- She may release some of her impri-
turers. Underneath, of course, she is lowed, it should be at -5, because her soned animals— for a price. The DM will
tough as nails and malicious to boot. magic is two-pronged. Not only are there have to determine how many, depending
There is a 65% probability that a woman enchanted herbs in the food, but Circe on how many the characters either want
adventurer in the party will see through has the Polymorph Others spell and a to release or have room aboard ship to
her immediately, but even if one does, Wand of Polymorphing. The DM may opt rescue. There can be special cases: A
there is only a 5% probability that any of for two separate saving throws with no paladin would never leave Circe’s island
the men will listen to her. (Roll separate- modifier, if he or she prefers. Any player without attempting to rescue every man/
ly for each party member.) characters failing the saving throw(s) animal on it. DMs should consider align-
While men have always considered will be transformed thusly: clerics into ment carefully when judging this aspect
her evil in alignment, Circe is basically lions, fighters into wolves, thieves into of the encounter.
only out for herself. She can be quite leopards, and magic-users (and any low- If the party manages to overpower
kind to women, particularly her maidser- class hirelings or henchmen) into swine. Circe so completely that she fears for her
vants, as long as the woman in question Out of professional jealousy, Circe par- life, she will offer them all the riches of
doesn’t cross her. She turns men into ticularly dislikes magic-users. her palace as ransom, as well as freeing
animals merely because it amuses her, If any character makes the saving all the polymorphed men. The DM should
not because she is devoted to any dark throw(s), Circe will be furious. She will describe a treasure so rich that the play-
power. In many respects she is highly attack with other spells (DM’s choice). If ers think they’ve wandered into a Monty
cultured, with a taste for music, painting, those fail, she will attack physically with Haul campaign. As soon as they are one
and fine needle work of all sorts. fists and fingernails (use the pummeling hex distant from the island after their
Her island is a lovely spot, always table, page 72, DMG). The other women departure with the treasure, 90% of the
warm and sunny no matter what the will scream and cower helplessly while haul will turn to dead leaves, straw, and
weather in the rest of the ocean. A Detect all this is going on. pig food. The freed men, however, will
Magic spell will show that the place is If a male warrior overmasters Circe at retain their human forms and will be very
enchanted down to the very stones. From this point, she will turn weak and seduc- loyal to the party. Allowing for alignment
a shallow harbor, a narrow road runs to a tive, pretending that he’s the man she’s differences, the DM should give a +15
splendid palace set in the middle of been waiting for all her life. Under this bonus to the charisma modifier.
flower gardens. These flowers will be act, she will be plotting revenge. If the If the party attempts to sail back to the
blooming no matter what time of year it party outright refuses the offer of her island when they discover Circe’s treach-
is. In the garden, either chained outside food and drink, she will be first persua- ery with the treasure, they will find only a
or kept in golden cages, are many lions, sive, then sulky, then furious enough to faint lavender mist hanging over the
leopards, and wolves. Though the ani- attack. ocean where the island formerly was.
mals look well cared for, they are all mo- The best way to get the upper hand If the DM wishes to choose Circe’s
pey and miserable. If a party of adven- over Circe is to possess the strange herb spells, the various versions of polymorph
turers approaches them, they will whine known as moly. The god Hermes gave should obviously be included. To save
and fawn as though desperately trying to Ulysses some of this herb, said to grow time, the DM may follow this list:
make friends. Behind the palace are ve- only in Olympus. With it, Ulysses mas-
getable gardens and farm animals, in- tered Circe’s magic and made her turn First level: Charm Person, Compre-
cluding an unusually large number of his crew back into men from swine. If the hend Languages, Friends, Read Magic,
swine. Again, if a party approaches, the DM wants moly available in the cam- Sleep.
swine will rush grunting and squealing paign, it should either be fantastically Second level: Detect Invisibility, ESP,
to the side of their pen. expensive or else a gift to a cleric from Forget, Ray of Enfeeblement, Web.
The animals and gardens are tended his or her god. Third level: Fly, Hold Person, Dispel
by pretty young women who are all un- If a character wears moly, all of Circe’s Magic, Slow, Suggestion.
usually friendly (+25 modifier on the en- polymorph spells will fail against that Fourth level: Charm Monster, Confu-
counter reaction table, page 63, AD&D character, and the power of her other sion, Fear, Polymorph Other, Massmorph.
Dungeon Masters Guide). The women spells against that character will be weak- Fifth level: Animal Growth, Feeblemind,
will eventually volunteer the information ened considerably; the character should Hold Monster, Passwall, Transmute Rock
that their mistress is very hospitable to get a +2 on all saving throws against her to Mud.
strangers and will offer to lead the party magic. Circe cannot touch this herb to Sixth level: Control Weather, Enchant
inside the palace. steal it away, nor can her maidservants. an Item, Legend Lore.
In a glorious room with a tiled floor If the party impresses her with its su- Seventh level: Charm Plants, Mass In-
and golden walls, Circe herself will be perior strength and abilities, Circe can visibility, Vanish.
sitting at a loom and singing while she be reasoned with. If she is offered a re- Eighth level: Mass Charm, Polymorph
weaves a fine tapestry. She will intro- ward, it is 75% likely that she will aid the any Object.
duce herself as Glauce, a Greek name party in some way, usually giving advice Ninth level: Imprisonment.
that roughly translates as “Sweetie.” If or information about the seas ahead.
anyone knows or guesses her real name, The reward must consist of luxury goods As for Circe’s psionic disciplines, Mass
she will pretend to be making a joke, but such as jewels and perfumes with a value Domination and Shape Alteration should
inside she’ll be livid with rage. Circe will of at least 10,000 gp. The chances of her be considered her major sciences. Her
insist that the adventurers join her and agreeing to give advice or assistance in- minor devotions are Animal Telepathy
her maidservants for a feast. Then she creases by 5% increments for every addi- and Hypnosis.
will summon the women, who will lay out tional 10,000 gp worth of reward offered.
food and drink and begin flirting with the The fee for casting a spell or giving other Sources: Circe is a common figure in
adventurers, regardless of race. Circe great magical aid would be twice this Graeco-Roman literature. The best Sources
will flirt with the leader of the party. amount. If the requested aid is easy to are the Odyssey by Homer, Book VIII, and the
One bite of Circe’s food or one swal- provide or if it amuses her to do so, Circe Aeneid by Vergil, Book VII. The DM can also
low of drink from her table will turn any will be quite trustworthy. If it comes to look up her reference in the Oxford Classical
adventurer who is not wearing moly (see bore her (65% chance,) she will have to Dictionary for the various conflicting legends.
below) into an animal. While a saving be bribed further to continue. Written by Katharine Brahtin Kerr

38
August 1981 Dragon

39
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Cavern of the
It is known that all three of the tribal
villages were once the sites of settle-
ments of the Ancients; there are still old
structures and broken artifacts to be

SUB-TRAIN
found at these spots, and the remnants
of a roadway still connects them. The
fate of the original inhabitants, though,
remains unknown. About 400 humans
and mutants now live at Hen, and about
INTRODUCTION Years that followed the destruction half that number live at each of the other
Cavern of the Sub-Train is a scenario wrought by the Apocalypse in 2322. Tri- two sites.
for an introductory or intermediate ad- bal history tells that the tribe’s ancestors Life in Valley is relatively safe, if some-
venture for the GAMMA WORLD™ game. fled south from an area of near-total de- what boring, so long as one does not
It has been designed for use by 2-8 play- struction, following the river that now journey past the borders either to the
ers, 4-6 being optimal. flows through Valley, seeking a place of north or south. The tribe has managed to
The adventure begins in the village of relative safety. Details of the history are establish an agricultural community, and
Om, where the characters have lived all suspect, as the tales have been passed much time is spent working the fields
of their lives. Life in the village has been only by word of mouth from father to son and tending the livestock. The remnants
rather uneventful, other than the usual over the years, but apparently these an- of the old structures of the Ancients have
dangers of the environment. Recently, cestors searched and struggled for many long since been thoroughly explored
however, a most unusual discovery has years through areas of death and de- and hold no more mystery than an ordi-
been made — one which will shortly struction, until they discovered what is nary cave would. Indeed, most of the old
send player characters on an exciting now the site of Hen, the northernmost structures are now used as dwelling pla-
and dangerous adventure. and largest village of Valley, and settled ces or storehouses for grain. Several ar-
This scenario has been designed with there. North of Hen and stretching west tifacts of the Ancients are in the posses-
the assumption that the Game Master of the river for many days’ travel were sion of various members of the tribe, but
has a thorough grasp of the GAMMA (and still are) lands that were “unclean.” most are mere curiosities to be poked at
WORLD rules. Descriptions of common To journey into them is to invite horrible or worn as decoration; the tales of their
artifacts, creatures, and so forth have diseases, danger and usually death. To “magical” functions are either false, or
been kept to a minimum. the south, however, exist some whole- the “magic” has fled or been exhausted.
some lands, including the sites of the In all, life has been rather idyllic in
BACKGROUND other two villages in the state of Valley, Valley. There is food for the table, a roof
The tiny tribal state of Valley has exist- Parlund and Om (see map). South of over one’s head, and honest labor to oc-
ed for several generations, having been Om, however, the lands become “un- cupy a man’s hands. One day, however,
originally established early in the Black clean” once again. while clearing a new patch of land for

40
August 1981 Dragon
expanding one of the grain fields located Upon again reaching the edge of the interior of the tube. Suddenly there was
just north of Om, one of the tribesmen opening, the villagers peered downward. slack on the rope and a shout came from
felt his crude plow catch on something The interior of the hole was a smooth, below as the man reached the bottom of
beneath the earth. After a few minutes of round tube leading straight down, fea- the tube. The light from the flame van-
scraping and digging, the farmer uncov- tureless except for ladder-like rungs pro- ished as he moved away from the open-
ered a round, hard surface, about one jecting from one side. The sun was still ing to the surface, then the light returned
meter across, made of what appeared to low in the morning sky, so the bottom of moments later. A short time after that,
be the same indestructible (to the tri- the tube, if there was a bottom, remained the young man was back on the surface,
besmen) material as the roadway con- in darkness; however, a very dim red his face flushed with excitement and his
necting the three villages. Digging away glow did reflect on the sides of the shaft, eyes bright with wonder. His report: A
more earth around the edges revealed an a source of illumination from somewhere wide, smooth tunnel dimly lit with red
edge — the surface was obviously a lid or below. Impulsively, one of the villagers light stretched to the north and south, as
covering for a barrel or tube sunk into picked up a nearby stone and tossed it far as he could see! What wonder of the
the ground. Equipped with picks and into the hole. After a few seconds, a Ancients could this be?
bars, several of the tribe’s strongest men sharp clattering sound came echoing That night, a council meeting of all the
attacked the lid in an effort to find what back up the tube. leaders of the villages of the Valley was
lay beneath. Their prying and beating The village elders held a quick council, called. The younger and more adventu-
had no visible effect on the featureless and a short time later a young, strong rous members of the group called for an
covering — until suddenly there was an tribesman with a burning torch in his immediate investigation of this new dis-
audible “click,” followed by an ear- hand, a short sword at his belt, and a covery, but the older and more cautious
piercing siren. The villagers rushed back rope tied about his waist, started to de- members of the council voiced the fear
in alarm, and well they did, for after a few scend into the tube. Cautiously, the rope that such tampering might unleash some
seconds the scream of the siren was was played out by several of the villa- unknown power of the Ancients that
drowned out by a sharp explosion, and gers, ready to draw the young man back could destroy the tiny state. After a
the lid was blasted several meters into to the surface quickly if necessary. The lengthy debate, those calling for an in-
the air. flame of the torch grew smaller and vestigation prevailed. Plans were laid for
All was silent afterward, and as the smaller as the young villager continued the selection of those who would under-
breeze carried away the dust, a dark hole his descent, the firelight replacing the take the exploration.
into the earth was seen where the round dim red glow on the polished, smooth It is now three days since the opening
covering had been. After waiting cau-
tiously for several more moments, the
villagers edged forward toward the gap-
ing hole, each ready to spring back in an
instant if anything threatening should Scenario by Gary Jaquet
appear.

41
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

into the earth was discovered. You (the transportation of freight. The sub-train the tunnel is most likely broached, per-
player characters) have been chosen to system is something like a 20th-century haps blocked.
perform the exploration. You have been subway system, in that it consists of a 5. In planning an expanded version of
given certain equipment that may assist self-propelled train moving through an this scenario, the Game Master should
you in your venture. Your instructions: to underground tunnel. Unlike the 20th- take into account all natural factors that
explore the extent of this new discovery; century system, however, the “trains” might affect the sub-train system on a
to locate, and if possible acquire, any moved through a vacuum while being larger scale than the area of the network
items or knowledge that may be useful to supported on super-conducting mag- presented herein: flooding, foul air, many
the tribe; and above all, to return and netic rails at very high speeds. This me- types of blockages and obstructions,
report your findings — or, as a conces- thod of electromotive propulsion proved and the lairs of many different creatures
sion to the more cautious factions of the superior to the old method of propulsion may be found at other points along the
tribe’s leaders, the entrance will be by anti-gravity suspension and tractor/ complicated network. There will also be
sealed and labeled “off limits” as too pressor beam, in that the latter method other types of control stations, outlines
dangerous to the tribe. required relatively large amounts of of which are given in the following text.
energy which could only be supplied by
NOTES TO THE GM broadcast power, and the use of broad-
Players of this GAMMA WORLD sce- cast power in a subterranean environ-
nario are about to enter a portion of a ment proved impractical. Thus, the trains
vast subterranean transportation net- moved under electromagnetic suspen-
work colloquially known as the sub- sion and propulsion, which required less
train. The system once spanned the energy, and that energy could be pro-
North American continent and was used vided by atomic power packs.
primarily as a method of high-speed The opening on the surface which the
tribesmen have discovered is an emer-
gency escape shaft, one of many built
into the main system. The hatch over the
shaft was wired up to explosive bolts
which, over the years, had become un-
stable. The tribesmen’s beating and pry-
ing on the hatch was enough of a shock
to blow the bolts and open the hatch.
The main transportation tunnel is no
longer airless, and certainly cannot be
used for its intended purpose without
massive repairs and adequate tools to
make those repairs. Both the warfare
that occurred on the surface (which Escape shafts
blasted the tunnel open in many places) Emergency escape shafts are found
and the lack of supervised maintenance every two kilometers along the sub-train
over the many years since the Apoca- tunnels. Each is identified from inside
lypse have made the tunnel little more the tunnel by a bright blue panel glowing
than a long, straight cave. Several of the over the entryway and by a number on
subsystems of the network, however, are the tunnel wall. Escape shafts are num-
still operative and powered; unwary ex- bered consecutively; the higher the num-
plorers will face many hazards. Security ber, the farther a hatch is from the near-
systems, maintenance units, and sub- est main control station. These shafts
section control systems — not to men- are 130 cm diameter duralloy tubes with
tion the creatures that now inhabit the built-in ladder rungs that lead from the
tunnels — can all play a part as the play- side of the sub-train tunnel to the sealed
ers explore the remnants of this once- hatchways on the surface.
mighty transportation network. From the tunnel the shaft entrance ap-
Game Masters may want to incorpo- pears as a small, rectangular opening in
rate the sub-train into their campaigns. the side of the tunnel wall, forming a
For those who wish to do so, the follow- small alcove. In the alcove is a simple
ing guidelines apply: control panel set into one wall, contain-
1. With rare exceptions, the sub-train ing a communication unit (connected to
route generally follows beneath the path the nearest subsection control station)
of a duralloy highway. and a large red “T” handle beneath a
2. Subsection control stations (de- plastic protective shield.
scribed below) are located about every Operating instructions for an escape
50 kilometers along the route: hatch are written below the “T” handle in
3. Escape shafts (described below) Ancient language (which the explorers
may be found about every 2 kilometers will not necessarily understand): 1) Lift
along the route. cover. 2) Pull handle straight out. 3) Turn
4. Although the walls, ceiling, and handle clockwise one-half turn. This pro-
floor of the sub-train tunnel are con- cedure activates a blast door that seals
structed of duralloy, it has been severely off the alcove from the tunnel, sounds a
damaged in many locations. Wherever warning siren, then blows the hatch at
massive destruction may have occurred the top of the escape shaft.
(population centers, military bases, etc.) The blast door separating the escape

42
August 1981 Dragon
alcove from the tunnel slides out from glowing blue panel. Tunnel areas near can, if necessary, override any system
one side of the opening to the tunnel and subsection control stations are brightly function or operation within the section
when not in use is recessed into the wall. lit with white light. The existence of light- it monitors. The console is very complex
Only a careful examination will reveal ing in any area of the tunnel system is as a whole, but individual banks of con-
the seam, and even then it is doubtful the contingent upon the operational status trols are fairly simple — one bank of
explorers will guess it is a door. of power units and associated equip- switches may operate the lighting sys-
ment. (The overhead lighting is still func- tem in the tunnel near the station, for
The Tunnel tional in the area where the explorers example. Another may operate the doors
Sub-train tunnels are all similar in na- first descend, but that doesn’t mean that to the maintenance equipment storage
ture, although some may be larger (wid- lights will operate everywhere else in- area, and so forth.
er) than others to allow for more train side the tunnel.) On the other side of the room from the
movements, just as any single part of the control console is a large table-like ob-
railway system of the 20th century might Subsection control stations ject, the system status display. This de-
have anywhere from a single pair of rails Subsection control stations are locat- vice illustrates, by means of colored and
to dozens of tracks side by side. The ed every 25 kilometers along the route of flashing lights, the positions of all trains
standard tunnel, which this scenario the sub-train tunnels. These stations are in the system, their rate and direction of
uses, is 30 meters wide, with the ceiling for monitoring the operation of the sub- travel, destination, etc. Beneath the light
seven meters above the floor. The basic train system and also function as repair representing each train is a symbol code
construction is almost entirely made of depots for the section of the tunnel they for that train that could be used to call up
duralloy. control. further information from the main con-
Running down the floor of the tunnel Stations are normally “manned” by trol console.
are the superconducting monorails of robots, but are also set up for use by Attached to the wall near the elevator
the sub-train system. Each T-shaped rail human operators. Each station consists door is a small blue case with a large
rises about 35 centimeters above the of the following parts: white cross on the cover: a first-aid kit.
floor. Four main rails are spaced fairly 1. Elevator — The elevator in the con- The cover is hinged and is held closed
evenly across the floor, one for each trol station leads to the surface (the sur- with a simple latch. Inside are 10 pain
sub-train this tunnel can accomodate. In face entrance to subsection control sta- reducers, 10 stim doses, 3 cur-in doses, 5
addition, there is a smaller fifth rail run- tions is detailed later). The elevator is accelera doses, 1 dose of anti-radiation
ning close to one wall of the tunnel. This operated by a simple up/down pushbut- serum, and 1 can of dressing spray (an
rail is used for a unit which transports ton control panel, located within the antiseptic spray-on “skin” that stops mi-
maintenance personnel and equipment. control room. nor bleeding, promotes healing, and pro-
Also found on the tunnel floor are var- 2. Control room — This main room of tects the wound).
ious hatchways and access panels for the control station contains a long, L- Attached to the wall below the first-aid
maintenance of wiring, equipment, and shaped control console beneath the win- kit is a fire extinguisher. It sprays a dry
other vital subsystems. dows facing the sub-train tunnel, with chemical powder and is good for 15 se-
Sub-train tunnels are dimly lit by red- seats for three operators. This console is conds continuous operation.
dish glow-panels set in the ceiling. Above normally used only for monitoring the 3. Maintenance area locker room —If
each escape shaft entryway is a brightly operation of the sub-train system, but necessary for a human operator to go

43
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

into the sub-train tunnel itself, he would resembling an enclosed 20th-century usually stayed around the clock, and
of course have to prepare for vacuum golf cart. The personnel carrier will hold when it was necessary to leave the sta-
conditions. In this area are three lockers, three persons dressed in vacuum suits. It tion (for maintenance or other purposes)
each containing a special vacuum suit. operates on the same principle as the they used the personnel carrier in the
These suits are made of a semi-rigid sub-trains (superconducting electromag- tunnel itself. However, when a human
plastic (armor class 3) and contain life netic propulsion). Controls are simple: operator was required in the station (for
support for 72 hours, 2-way radios for forward and reverse, speed, direction periodic check-outs, maintenance of ro-
communication with other operators in change (for “Y’s” in the rail system), bots, etc.) the surface entrance was gen-
suits and with the control station, a lights and life support (the carrier may erally used.
medi-kit, ultraviolet and infrared sensors, be pressurized). Mounted on the dash of The surface entrance is a simple struc-
and a powerful tight-beam light mount- the vehicle is a removable portable con- ture with an adjacent vehicle parking
ed on the helmet. The suits are powered trol unit used to command the engineer- area surrounded by a chain-link fence.
for up to 72 hours of operation by a hy- ing robots. The gate in the fence would open by
drogen energy cell. When replaced in 7. Maintenance carriers— These small radio signal from an authorized vehicle
the lockers after use, the suits were au- train-like vehicles consist of three sec- and close automatically after the vehicle
tomatically recharged (both power and tions. The forward section resembles an was admitted. The entrance structure it-
life support). open personnel carrier with an engineer- self is a small, square building made of
Also in this area is a robot-recharging ing robot at the controls. Behind this light metal alloy. The doorway to the en-
station, a rather complex control panel section is an enclosed cart for carrying trance structure would open with use of
at which a robotic unit can plug itself in materials and equipment, and behind a stage 2 maintenance ID. Inside the
to recharge. that is a similar cart which is not en- structure is a small room (3 meters by 4
4. Airlock — For entrance to the main- closed. The enclosed cart contains small meters). In the room is a desk and filing
tenance area, which is kept in vacuum. tools and parts; the open cart can hold cabinet. On the desk is a communication
Simple elevator-type, push-button con- large structural repair materials and a console that connects with the main
trols are located on each side of each small boom and winch. sub-train centers and the sub-section
door. control station below. In one wall is
5. Maintenance area — A garage-like Surface entrances to another doorway, the elevator to the sta-
area for storage of a personnel carrier subsection control stations tion. The elevator requires a special sub-
and two maintenance-equipment carri- Ground-level entrances to control sta- train systems worker ID or a Stage 4 law
ers. The track for these vehicles leads tions along the sub-train route will be enforcement ID to operate, or may be
from the tunnel across a platform and found directly above the station, gener- operated from the station below (after
into the maintenance area through two ally near a duralloy roadway (as menti- clearance through the communications
heavy doors. These doors may be opened oned earlier, the sub-train system usual- console). Control of the elevator is by a
by controls in the maintenance area it- ly follows beneath the highway). These simple up/down pushbutton panel as
self or from the control room. entryways were not used on a daily basis described earlier for the subsection sta-
6. Personnel carrier — A small vehicle — the robots that operated the stations tion control room.

44
August 1981 Dragon
Main section control stations blooded animals, rocks recently taken escape shaft. Explorers may light torch-
Main section control stations (not used from a fire, etc.) may be seen. es, candles or lanterns on the surface
in this adventure) are merely larger sub- “The Staff.” This device has only been and descend with them; drop a lighted
section control stations. They would be used twice in the memory of the tribe. On torch down the shaft first (50% chance of
found in the sub-train system wherever both occasions, a machine of the An- its remaining lit); or light their light sour-
tunnels intersect or branch, to monitor cients was moving down the remnant of ces after descending in the dark. Illumi-
and control switching procedures and the roadway connecting the villages of nation will be an important factor in this
further monitor all subsection control Valley. Before the first time it was used adventure, so the GM should keep a
station operation within their section. — many, many years in the past — all careful record of the passage of time and
that was known was that the legends the status of the light sources of the
Entry/exit control stations said it could stop the machines of the party.
Entry/exit control stations (not used in Ancients. Since it has only one moving The rungs attached to the side of this
this adventure) are similar to main sec- part, a button on one end, the operation escape shaft are in perfect condition, so
tion control stations, but they control the of the item was rather obvious — and there is no chance of one breaking.
entry and exit of sub-trains into or out of when the button was pushed, the ma- However, depending on how the party
the system for loading and unloading. chine stopped. It remains on the road- descends (encumbered with equipment,
Such stations would generally only be way to this day. Just a few years ago, The using one hand to hold a lit torch, etc.)
found near population centers. Staff was used a second time. This time a the GM may want to allow a small chance
machine came down the roadway from for a character to slip or lose his grip. A
Sub-train control centers the north. When the button was pressed, smart party, for example, might drop in a
Sub-train control centers (not used in the machine stopped as before — but torch, have one character descend un-
this adventure) are the overall control this time it started moving again a few encumbered, lower all the gear to him by
and monitoring centers of the entire sys- seconds later. The button was pressed rope, and have the remaining characters
tem. There are three control centers in again and the machine stopped again, follow.
North America, each supervising rough- but only for another few seconds. The Upon reaching the alcove at the bot-
ly an equal share of the overall system. process was repeated many times, until tom of the shaft, the party will find the
it finally became apparent to the tribes- shaft control panel.
STARTING NOTES TO PLAYERS men that the machine was going to con- IMPORTANT: The control panel is still
In preparation for your exploration of tinue on its course. Under close supervi- active! If a character operates the “T”
this new discovery, the villages of Valley sion, the machine continued to move handle in the proper manner the door
have provided several pieces of equip- south until it passed Om and into the will close (of course, the explosive bolts
ment that may be of use. Each explorer is “unclean” lands. have already blown, so nothing else
outfitted with the following items: This is your equipment. Any players’ would happen). The door takes three se-
knife suggestions for other items they would conds to close, so anyone in the door-
bow and 12 arrows like to have (flasks of oil, mirrors, etc.) way should be able to move out of the
short sword should be communicated to the GM, way. However, if for any reason a charac-
hide shield who will determine if such items would ter is caught as the door closes he will
20 meters light line (made by the be available to the party. take 1-10 points of damage (mashed fing-
tribe from natural fibers; break- ers to broken limb).
ing strength 300 kilos) FURTHER NOTES TO THE GM Normally, once the blast door was
2 candles, each able to burn for 6 The artifacts of the Ancients listed shut it would not be able to be reopened:
hours above are, in reality, two ID cards (the Atmospheric pressure from the escape
flint and steel green-edged one a second-stage civil shaft once the hatch was blown against
6 torches, each able to burn for 2 service maintenance worker’s ID, the red the vacuum of the tunnel would hold it
hours one a fourth-stage law enforcement ID), shut until the escape hatch was replaced
backpack with food and water for 3 two pairs of infra-red goggles, and a type and the shaft re-evacuated. Now, though,
days of control baton. The button on the con- with the pressure being the same on
Each explorer wears leather and/or fur trol baton causes any robotic unit below both sides of the door, the blast door
clothing (armor class 7, including shield). fourth-stage ID control to cease all pre- may be slid open by characters with a
In addition, certain artifacts of the An- viously given instructions and await new combined strength of 40. The door will
cients are entrusted to the group, for orders (given vocally). Any higher-grade slide shut again once the characters re-
possible use in exploration. These arti- robotic unit will pause to await new in- lease their hold. Voices will not carry
facts include: structions, but if none are forthcoming it through the door, although the sound of
Two 6 cm x 9 cm metallic cards, one will resume functioning and continue to something solid (metal or stone) tapping
edged in green, one edged in red. Both follow its original instructions. The first against it will. Should the party become
have symbols inscribed upon them, but machine mentioned in the player notes separated by the door, the GM must de-
the symbols are meaningless to the vil- above was a second-stage light cargo termine if the characters can communi-
lagers or to the explorers. What is known lifter; it is still sitting on the roadway cate in their efforts to reopen it.
about the objects is that they are re- awaiting new instructions. The second
quired to open the few still-functioning machine was a fourth-stage security ro- EXPLORATION OF THE TUNNEL
doors of some of the structures of the bot which paused for new instructions, Once the characters emerge from the
Ancients in the village. This is accom- and when none were forthcoming, con- escape shaft, they will find this section of
plished by sliding one end into a slot tinued on. In either case, the machines the sub-train tunnel to be relatively un-
beside the door. would not have been able to respond to disturbed since the time of the Apoca-
Two sets of “see-in-the-dark” goggles. the tribe’s language, had they been given lypse in 2322. A slight current of air
These devices fit over the eyes and allow commands. blows from the north (known only to the
the wearer to see objects in total dar- players if they have asked the GM if the
kness that could not normally be seen. It START torch flames flicker or if smoke trails in a
is also known that only objects that are The explorers first will (or should) de- particular direction), indicating an open-
warmer than their surroundings (warm- termine their order of descent into the ing to the surface exists at some point

45
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

escape shaft #30, two kilometers south

of #31. This shaft is completely inactive,
save for the glowing blue panel over the
entry alcove.
The party will find shaft #29 two ki-
lometers south of #30. This shaft is active
(the blast door will close and the siren
sound), but the explosive bolts have all
decomposed and will not blow the hatch
cover.
Another two kilometers south of shaft
#29 is shaft #28. At some time in the past,
the hatch cover blew (either through in-
stability of the explosive bolts, or per-
haps when a worker tried to escape in
2322). The blast door is closed. If the
explorers open it, they will find the entry
alcove and shaft filled with earth, and in
addition they will find it to be the lair of a
herp that will attack with the advantage
of surprise. If the explorers fail to kill the
herp, they may outrun it in an attempt to
escape, but the herp will track and pursue
the party as long as they remain in the
tunnel.
Two kilometers to the south of escape
shaft #28 is a subsection control station.
A few of the bright lights near the station
are still burning (although somewhat
dimmer than at full power), and the party
will notice the glow from 500 meters
away. This station will be the main en-
counter area for the group in this
scenario.
Unknown to the party, the surface en-
trance to this station (which is several
kilometers south of Om, in the region of
“unclean” lands) has been discovered
and opened by a group of badders that
had a burrow near the structure. The
farther along in that direction. Players Parlund, the GM should play the part of badders quickly transferred their burrow
examining the floor of the tunnel will find the village leader and have the explorers to the control station and the tunnel area
a very fine layer of dust, and upon even descend again to continue their investi- to the immediate south. This lair consists
closer examination, the tracks of small gation. of six males (hp 33, 31, 24, 23, 21, 18), six
creatures like mice. As the characters As the explorers continue north from females (hp 30, 27, 23, 21, 17, 16) and
explore immediately around the area of escape shaft #32, they will notice an in- three young (hp 18, 15, 12).
the opening to the escape shaft, they will creasing amount of debris on the floor of The badders have forced open the
notice light from glowing red panels the tunnel — more dust than before, a doors to the surface entrance structure
overhead (the same light which could be few leaves, spider webs on girders, and and the elevator doors inside, built a
seen from the surface). Painted on the so forth. About a kilometer north of es- rough ladder to descend the elevator
wall beside the opening they have just cape shaft #32, the characters will begin shaft to the top of the elevator car (which
left is a stylized symbol “31” — although to see actual rubble on the floor — dirt now rests at the control room level), and
the characters will only perceive it as a clods, rocks, etc. — and a few hundred built another ladder from the trap door in
mysterious symbol of the Ancients. meters beyond that, the tunnel is col- the top of the elevator car to the floor of
At this point the players will have only lapsed. This is the location on the map of the car. The elevators to the control
two real choices of action: proceed along the gap in the duralloy roadway, the re- room itself have also been forced open.
the tunnel to the north, or to the south. If sult of an errant surface missile strike. At When the badders discovered the con-
the choice is north, the first item of inter- the time of the missile strike, the crater trol room, all was dark and inactive. (The
est encountered will be another escape actually opened into the sub-train tun- main power line of the system had been
shaft (#32) two kilometers to the north of nel, but in the many years since, the pit severed and the back-up nuclear power
their present position (see map). This has completely filled in. This effectively system had not engaged.) One of the
shaft is active; if a player enters the al- eliminates the possibility of exploring badders accidentally moved a control
cove and pulls and turns the “T” handle, the tunnel further to the north, although that activated the back-up power sys-
the blast door will close, the siren will diligent work could open a passage to tem, causing some lights to go on, and
sound, and a few seconds later the hatch the surface from here. since that time, through trial and error,
on the surface covering the shaft will This area has become the burrow for a the badders have learned to control the
blow clear. This shaft opens in a field just lair of three parn (chance of encounter lights and doors of the station.
to the north of Parlund, near the rem- 75%). The badders also discovered the re-
nants of the duralloy roadway. Should If the party explores south of escape mains of a human who died in the station
the players exit at this point and return to shaft #31, the first item of interest will be in 2322, and among the remains were a

46
August 1981 Dragon
fourth-stage law enforcement ID, a fully
charged laser pistol, and two extra hy-
drogen energy cells.
The remains are those of a law en-
forcement official assigned to the con-
trol room in 2322 to prevent sabotage.
The badders do not know what the ID or
the energy cells are. However, they do
know what the laser pistol is and how it
operates. The leader of the badders pos-
sessed such a weapon previously, but
the energy cell was exhausted in learn-
ing its operation; now that the badder
leader knows of the limited life of the
weapon, he operates it only in emergen-
cies. The pistol has five shots left on its
present energy cell.
The badders also possess one other
weapon of the Ancients: a vibro blade
(15 minutes of charge left), which is car-
ried by the 31-hit-point badder. All the
other male badders carry regular swords
and shields; the female badders have
daggers. The young are weaponless.
Badders will pick up and use weapons
dropped by other fighters in melee.
As the characters approach the sta-
tion, there is a 50% chance they will be
spotted by a patrolling badder; other-
wise, the characters will have surprise.
As the characters approach the station,
they will notice that one of the doors many colors, tubes, small mechanical When found, the defense platform is in
leading to the maintenance area is open. linkages, etc. perfect condition. However, the GM
In the maintenance area are a personnel The three transport units, although should use his judgement as to whether
carrier, two maintenance carriers, and bent and dented, are relatively intact. or not any damage to the platform oc-
two engineering robots, all inactive at The hatches to the transport units are curs as the transport unit is forced open.
this time. Once they are discovered, the locked and may only be opened by phy- Also, the platform is much too large to
badders will fight to the death to defend sically ripping off the hatch (unlikely to remove from the tunnel through any ex-
their burrow. (The GM should remember be accomplished by sheer muscle pow- its the characters have found, so it will be
to keep track of time if the herp from er, without at least prybars, block and left to the GM to determine if the players
escape shaft #28 is pursuing the ex- tackles, and hammers and chisels), or by manage to tunnel, blast, or otherwise
plorers.) cutting them open with some energy make an opening to the surface to re-
If the party defeats all the badders, the weapon (blasting off the latch mecha- move the device.
GM may then determine the results of nism with a few shots from a laser pistol,
any exploration and/or the condition of cutting with a vibro blade, etc.) Two of
any artifacts in the station. The GM may the transport units contain only duralloy FINAL NOTES TO THE GM
wish to have the control station be totally building components — beams, sheets, This scenario has been left open-
ravaged by the badders, with nothing of pipes, etc. — but the third contains a ended; the GM may alter or augment it in
value left, or may have the station in rela- piece of special military equipment: a de- any way he sees fit. With escape shafts
tively undamaged condition. fense platform. occurring every two kilometers, there is
If the party fights and then bypasses This device started as a light cargo ample opportunity for entrance into the
the badders and heads south, about a lifter but has had the manipulative devi- tunnel; thus, the GM may include more
kilometer south of the control station ces removed. On the platform is mount- encounters. For a more advanced adven-
they will find the tunnel collapsed. (The ed a force-field generator. This device ture, the subsection control stations may
GM should give the same clues of in- generates a hemispherical polarized be deemed operational, thus making
creasing debris, as if the party had ven- force field 5 meters in diameter. During possible such things as encounters with
tured north). operation, the field extends 2 meters in robot units upon entry into the tunnel
At the collapse, the party will find the front and behind the platform, 3½ meters (the opening of an emergency escape
wreckage of a sub-train that ran into the past each side edge and 5 meters over- shaft could summon engineering or se-
ruined tunnel. The wreckage of the sub- head. Also mounted on the platform is a curity robots), active resistance by ’bot
train consists of the main propulsion unit stun-ray projector (functions as a stun units at control stations, even the actual
and three transport units. All units have rifle with 100 shots). Since the force field operation of sub-trains and/or subsidiary
been wrenched from the rail and lie at is polarized, the stun ray projector may equipment. For very advanced scenar-
various angles to each other and the be fired through the force field and yet ios, include main section control sta-
tunnel floor. The nose of the propulsion the field still protects anyone or anything tions and make them operational, includ-
unit is completely smashed, and the side within it. The platform, force-field gen- ing a great number of robotic units. Need
is split open to reveal several featureless, erator, and stun-ray projector are po- more action? Include wreckages of sub-
drum-like objects (large atomic energy wered by a special atomic energy cell trains with fantastic cargos. Anything is
cells) 90 cm in diameter and 2 meters tall. good for 50 hours of continuous opera- possible — just remember that the key to
Also visible through the split are wires of tion of all powered devices. a successful adventure is play balance.

47
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Rhaumbusun
Created by Victor Selby
and Ed Greenwood

FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: 1-3
ARMOR CLASS: 6
MOVE: 9”
HIT DICE: 1+2
% IN LAIR: 30%
TREASURE TYPE: O, possible Q or R
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Gaze
SPECIAL DEFENSES Nil
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard
INTELLIGENCE: Semi-
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: S (2-2½ feet long)
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil
LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III/65+2 per hp
(adult); 30+1 per hp (young)

Rhaumbusun are small, reptilian crea-

tures usually found in dry, warm climes.
They are probably related to basilisks,
but have substantially different physical
and magical properties. Rhaumbusun
tend to be cowardly, preferring to avoid a
fight if possible. If forced into battle, they
will rely primarily on their gaze attack.
A Rhaumbusun can affect one crea-
ture per round with its gaze; if the affect-
ed creature fails its saving throw, it will
become paralyzed for 3-12 turns. The
range of the gaze is 4” and eye contact is
necessary for it to have effect. Mirrors
will not reflect the gaze, but the first-level rhaumbusun as pets or guards. series of clicks and hisses. When the
illusionist spell Gaze Reflection may be A rhaumbusun lair is usually a small, creature is in danger, a rhaumbusun’s
used to turn the creature’s power against dark and dry cave in a hidden or remote foot-long tail will flip from side to side in
itself. location. Scattered about it are odds and agitation. Rhaumbusun eat plants (most
The rhaumbusun’s gaze does not ex- ends the creatures have collected, gen- are especially fond of fireweed and
tend into the astral or ethereal planes. It erally worthless but shiny objects (the spruce buds), bark, and nuts.
cannot be hooded or “turned off” by the sort of thing highly prized by rhaumbus- The Rhaumbusun is not graceful. Its
beast itself; many unfortunate creatures un). Sometimes such a hoard will con- stubby legs curl slightly underneath its
perish as a result of chance encounters tain precious metal or even cut gems. body, giving it a scuttling gait that allows
with rhaumbusun. (Once paralyzed, vic- Rhaumbusun always fight to the death to creatures within 6” to hear its approach.
tims are easy prey for enemies.) The defend their mate and their lair. A lair is A rhaumbusun resembles a miniature
gaze will not affect other rhaumbusun. inhabited only to rear young, and will basilisk, save that its body is covered in
The rhaumbusun will also bite foes if contain either a mated pair and an egg glittering colored scales (males are pre-
surprised or hard pressed. It can bite (60% chance) or a mated pair and its dominantly purple, females orange, and
only the target of its gaze attack (if within young (40% chance). If the egg or offsp- young a dusty red).
range), once in the same round. ring is disturbed, both parents will bite at A rhaumbusun’s eyes resemble small,
Rhaumbusun will be encountered as +1 to hit and damage. (Rearing young clear, many-faceted gems. If the eyes are
either a mated pair or a mated pair and takes one summer season; young are taken from the body intact and preserved
one offspring (young have 1-4 hit points, born after 41-48 days and are weak, so (frozen or kept from air by immersion in
bite for 1-2 points of damage, and vic- that the parents must watch over them oil or wine), they are worth up to 200 gp
tims get +2 on saving throws against for 20 days or so until they are fully each to an alchemist or wizard, for they
their gaze). Powerful characters such as grown.) are of use in magical inks and potions
wizards and high priests sometimes keep Rhaumbusun communicate through a related to paralyzation.

48
August 1981 Dragon

PelinsCreated by Lewis Pulsipher not vary widely in the course of a day. igniting hydrogen is never greater than
Using its keen eyesight to good advan- 60%. The percentage of helium increases
FREQUENCY: Rare tage, the pelin eats air microbes, sea to 60-80% in adults and old pelins, and is
NO. APPEARING: 2-8 plankton, the leafy tops of tall trees, and at least 80% (and usually 100%) for an
ARMOR CLASS: 9 if it is very hungry it may eat meat. The ancient pelin.
MOVE: 24” mouth contains fine strainers or screens The age of a pelin is determined by a
HIT DICE: See below which enable the pelin to take suste- roll of d10. Its hit dice are twice that
% IN LAIR: Nil nance from seemingly “lifeless” air or number; i.e., an infant will have either 2
TREASURE TYPE: Nil water. Some of the air sucked in is used or 4 hit dice, an adult will have 10 or 12,
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 to maintain proper pressure inside the and an ancient pelin will have 18 or 20 hit
DAMAGE/ATTACK: See below creature. Ingested water is expelled when dice. The pelin can carry 500 gp (50
SPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil the pelin exhales. pounds) for each year of age. The dam-
SPECIAL DEFENSES: Regeneration, Pelins are peaceful creatures, but can age from its attack (bite) varies with age.
immune to gas be fierce when defending themselves or
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Standard their young. They do have enemies, but Die roll Age (years) Damage
INTELLIGENCE: Semi- fortunately most dragons and dragon- 1-2 infant (5-10) 1-4
ALIGNMENT: Neutral like creatures do not eat pelins; some 3-4 young (15-20) 1-6
SIZE: L scholars speculate that the gas disturbs 5-6 adult (25-30) 1-8
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil the predator. Gas-breathing dragons, 7-8 old (35-40) 1-10
Attack/Defense Modes: Nil especially the green, occasionally attack 9-10 ancient (45-50) 1-12
pelins, even though the pelins are unaf- Any time more than three pelins are
These are air-dwelling creatures of great fected by gas attacks of any sort. encountered as a group, at least one of
size. They extract hydrogen and helium When a pelin has sustained 50% dam- them will be a female. The maximum
gas from sand and water which is picked age, it is unable to maintain altitude and number of females in a group will never
up on the shores of seas or lakes. They must drift down to ground level/sea lev- be greater than 50% of the population of
are not found in regions devoid of large el, where it remains until it recovers. This the group. There is a 20% chance for
bodies of water. The gas is contained in does not take long, for pelins regenerate each young or adult female in a group
the body of the creature, which resem- at the rate of one hit point per hour. that she has given birth in the last five
bles the envelope of a blimp or rigid air- Despite the presence of hydrogen in years, and thus will be accompanied by
ship. Several bones grow along the ven- their bodies, pelins will not normally an infant who has not yet learned to sup-
tral (bottom) surface inside the skin catch fire because the skin is not com- port itself. (Up to five years of age, a pelin
enable the body to maintain shape when bustible. It is only when hydrogen (not hitches a ride with its mother.) Such
the pelin is flying into the wind. The head helium) and oxygen mix that burning young are only a few feet long, not no-
of the pelin is near the front of the body, can take place. Consequently, if there is ticeable from a distance.
on the ventral surface. a large hole in a pelin (a small one is Infant pelins range from 30-80 feet in
Spread across the body surface, con- immediately sealed by the skin, much as length and 10-30 feet in diameter. Those
centrated in the central area and on eith- a self-sealing gasoline tank would act) of young age are 100-150 feet long and
er side, are small wings which can propel and a flame is placed near the hole, the 30-40 feet in diameter. Adult pelins are
the creature at up to 24”. The pelin, how- hydrogen may catch fire. Some pelins, roughly 200 feet long and 50 in diameter.
ever, prefers to drift with the wind rather however, especially larger ones, are en- Ancient ones can reach 400 feet by 75.
than fly. tirely filled with helium and do not burn Pelins have no treasure, but some-
Owing to problems of expansion and at all. The percentage of helium inside a times (30%) a material can be found in
contraction of the gas which supports pelin’s body increases with size and age. the intestinal tract of a non-infant which
the pelin’s body, the creature is found Infants and young (see chart below) are will be worth 100-1,000 gp. It is used in
only in climes where temperatures do at least 40% helium, so that the chance of perfume-making.

49
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Party picture contest: In the eye of the beholder

Anyone who plays fantasy games knows that things aren’t Conroe, Tex., impressed us most of all by listing, among other
always what they appear to be. Take this painting, for instance: things, “13 beholders polymorphed into balloons.” How did you
What you see in it is not necessarily all that’s there. know that, Scott? (And how come we didn’t think of it first?)
And that was the point of our birthday contest in issue #50, So what’s the “right” number of creatures? To tell you the
when this party scene by Corinna Taylor made its first appear- truth, we can’t declare a winner yet, because Scott got us to
ance. We asked you to count the number of creatures at the thinking, and we’re still finding things we didn’t see before, like
dragon’s birthday celebration, and lots of you played along. the invisible stalker on the dragon’s nose, and the rabbit in the
There were many imaginative responses, but Scott Storkel of dragon’s top hat, and the...

50
August 1981 Dragon

KNOCK,
KNOCK!

The history of
siege warfare

A battering ram breaks down castle defenses

by Michael Kluever cavern would then be packed with flam- considerable outward slope which made
mable materials that had been soaked in the miners’ task more tedious. The deeper
The besieging of castles became a animal fat or petroleum. When the mate- the tunnel and the more time required for
science during the Middle Ages. Four rial was set afire, the blaze would burn construction, the greater was the chance
principal methods were employed: min- the shoring, which would cause the for its collapse or detection.
ing, escalade, blockade, and the des- ground to collapse and a portion of the The most effective defense against.
truction of fortress walls by siege ar- wall to fall. In the 15th century, gun- mining, however, was countermining —
tillery. Each of these methods required powder was frequently detonated be- the digging of a shaft from the inside of
specific techniques, and had distinct ad- neath the walls, producing even more the castle to intercept the attackers’ tun-
vantages and disadvantages. Sieges that dramatic effects. nel. Through this shaft the defenders
relied totally upon one attack method Miners were also used for work above could break through, overpower the
were rarely successful. the ground. Under covering fire, miners miners, and then seize and destroy the
would work their way to the base of the tunnel. Another method of destroying
Mining castle wall. Using picks, they would the tunnel was to direct floodwaters or
Mining is an ancient art. The Assyrians weaken rather than breach the wall, to fire and smoke into the besieger’s tunnels.
made effective use of tunneling cavities avoid having the wall fall before the min- Countermining was not without its
and undermining foundations of great ers could leave the area. A fire of brush- perils for the defenders. If the attackers’
ancient fortresses (920-586 B.C.). Spe- wood or some well-aimed blows from a tunnel was not taken and destroyed, the
cial sapper (miner) units were part of the battering ram or a catapult would com- besiegers could be defeated and the
Assyrian army. plete the destruction of the wall. Corners countermine secured as an entrance
The siege tactic of mining consisted of were especially susceptible to this type into the castle. Another danger of the
digging a tunnel from the besieging line of attack. One remedy found useful by countermine would be the further weak-
to an area under a portion of a fortress castle defenders was to replace rectan- ening of the fortress walls, possibly re-
wall or tower, at which place a large cav- gular towers with circular ones. sulting in their collapse just as the at-
ern would then be hollowed out. The Mining, although effective, could be tackers had intended.
mine roof would be shored up as the countered and defeated. Fortresses de- One means of detecting the presence
tunnel was constructed to prevent any signed with moats or those built on of a mine was to enlist people with ex-
subsidence of the soil above the besieg- marshland were particularly difficult to traordinary hearing abilities to listen for
ers which might alert the defenders to undermine. The enlargement and deep- sounds of digging. A more reliable form
the tunnel’s existence. The completed ening of the wall foundations provided a of detection was the placement of pans

51
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

of water on the ground at suspected min- attackers set the fire inside their tunnel climbing into the tower was a necessity.
ing locations. Vibrations seen on the sur- and collapsed the barbican wall, they Hands which suddenly appeared on the
face of the water could be an indication were met with an inner wall. battlements were chopped off, heads
of underground mining activity. The attackers, undaunted, began to split open. The falling bodies of com-
Mining was the safest and the most dig a tunnel toward a wall turret. Another rades who preceded them was a hazard
effective of the four siege alternatives. Its countermine cut off this attempt and, fol- to escalading troops, in addition to boil-
main disadvantage was the great length lowing a bloody underground battle, the ing water, burning straw and blinding
of time consumed in the operation. Min- tunnel was seized and destroyed by the lime poured over the wall at the point of
ing alone seldom achieved the capitula- defenders. attack by the defenders.
tion of a fortress, but often was instru- Three other attackers’ tunnels were The escalade was the least often used
mental in its fall. detected, and the defenders of Carca- method of attacking castles. The cost to
In 1215, on the second day of King sonne built palisade walls behind the the attacker in manpower frequently out-
John’s attack on Rochester Castle, the part of the wall being undermined. Each weighed the potential for victory. How-
king ordered all the smiths of Canter- time a portion of the wall collapsed, the ever, when used in conjunction with oth-
bury, 30 miles away, to make as many attackers were met with a new wall be- er forms of attack, the escalade could be
pickaxes as quickly as they could. The hind it. In the end, the siege was effective, especially if the element of
pickaxes were issued to miners, who abandoned. surprise could be achieved.
then tunneled a large cavern beneath
one of the castle’s square-angled turrets. Escalade Blockade
Grease, obtained from forty bacon pigs, The oldest method of besieging a cas- The least costly in lives, at least to the
was used to ignite a fire, which burned tle, and certainly the most costly in terms attacker, was the blockade. The first step
the tunnel’s shoring timbers, causing the of loss of lives to the attacker, was the was to extend besieging lines until the
collapse of the tower. The breach was escalade, the scaling of walls in a gener- castle was completely surrounded. If the
gallantly and successfully (for the mo- al assault. The use of the scaling ladder blockade was effective, the defenders
ment) defended by the garrison, but the originated in ancient times. At the siege could not escape and reinforcements
cost of lives destroyed morale within the of Deshashe (24th century B.C.), Egyp- could not be brought into the castle.
fortress. The castle surrendered after 48 tian forces scaled the walls with ladders. Next, the surrounding countryside was
days of siege. A 23rd century B.C. Egyptian drawing scoured for all foodstuffs, securing ne-
Mining was not always successful. At illustrates a mobile scaling ladder rest- cessary rations for the attackers and
the siege of Carcassonne in 1240, the ing on two wheels, which allowed for its denying the same to the defenders,
attackers’ mine, directed at the barbican quick movement over the field of fire to should they successfully sally out on a
gate, was detected. A countermine was the fortress wall. The Assyrians, in con- search for provisions.
dug and a strong wall of stones was con- trast, favored escalade in order to draw The final step was to wait. Eventually,
structed inside the barbican. When the defenders away from their battering rams, the attackers hoped, the garrison rations
and to take advantage of the defenders’ would be depleted and starvation would
concentration against the siege machines force them to fight or to capitulate. How-
by suddenly scaling a lesser defended ever, more than one blockade siege failed
walI. because the garrison’s well-stocked
The lattice medieval scaling ladder provisions lasted longer than those of
had several refinements over its ancient the besiegers.
cousins — steel tips to plant them firmly There were dangers to the unwary be-
in the ground, combined with hooks sieger, such as a surprise sally from the
which dug into the wall. castle which could cause many casual-
During an escalade, it was a race be- ties, destroy investure obstacles, and
tween the attacker to climb up and over possibly allow the defenders to capture
the wall before the defender could dis- supplies and food. Also, reinforcements
lodge and push away the ladder. The could pin the besieger between two op-
survival of the scaling troops depended posing forces — and even lead to the
more on speed and nimbleness than on besieger becoming the besieged.
courage and dedication. The ladder must But the greatest enemy of the besieger
be ascended quickly, and also, agility in was time. There are numerous accounts

52
August 1981 Dragon

The ballista The springal

of garrisons holding out for months, released, the plank shot forward, pro- yards away (the maximum range of an
even years. Few attackers could afford to pelling a ballista-type missile. Not pos- archer being 450 yards). The power of
devote great amounts of materials and sessing the power or the accuracy of a the ballista is seen at the siege of Gaza in
manpower for great periods of time. catapult or ballista, it proved a favorite 332 B.C., where Alexander the Great was
Troops needed to be supplied with food naval weapon in both ancient and med- struck in the neck by an arrow which first
and pay, and serfs and vassals had fields ieval times because of its ability to launch pierced both his shield and breastplate.
back home to farm. Boredom caused a missiles of Greek fire, an incendiary
heavy desertion rate. composition first used by Byzantine The catapult
Greeks (see below). The catapult, the most famous of pre-
Siege Artillery The earliest ballistas are credited to gunpowder artillery, is first mentioned in
As soon as men banded together to the scientists of Dionysius the Elder, rul- the Old Testament of the Bible during
form cities, defensive walls were erect- er of the Greek colony of Syracuse in the eighth century B.C. Uzziah describes
ed. Whether these walls took the form of Sicily. These early machines fired ar- “engines invented by cunning men, to be
mounds of dirt, wooden stockades or rows which were not much longer than on towers and upon bulwarks, to shoot
stone walls, they represented substan- those of a bowman. By making the draw- arrows and great stones withal.”
tial barriers for an attacker to penetrate. ing and releasing of the arrow a matter of The Athenians made effective use of
In the end, victory or retreat often de- mechanics rather than pure manpower, catapults during the Peloponnesian War.
pended upon the besieger’s ability to more powerful machines soon emerged. In 398 B.C., the City of Motya was taken
breach the walls with artillery. The bow sections were built of compo- by siege towers containing both batter-
Medieval siege artillery saw the conti- site materials: a wood core surmounted ing rams and catapults.
nuation (or reintroduction) of two forms by a tension layer of animal sinew in Alexander the Great placed catapults
of artillery, tension weapons and torsion front and a compression layer of horn in at various levels of 150-foot-high siege
machines. In addition, a new principle the back. towers, employed during the siege of
was added — counterpoise, or counter- Philip of Macedon, the father of Alex- Tyre in 332 B.C. The crossing of the Jax-
balance. ander the Great, subsidized the devel- artes River against the Asythians was
The ballista resembled a giant cross- opment of the torsion spring, which successfully accomplished due to a con-
bow. The rope bowstring was laborious- turned the ballista into a fearsome long- tinuous catapult barrage.
ly drawn back by winches, and a long- range weapon. Stones weighing as much The Romans also made extensive use
shafted spear or bolt was placed in the as 170 pounds and arrows 25 feet in of the catapult and ballista. Vegetius
center groove. When the rope was re- length could be fired at targets up to 700 mentions that a fourth-century Roman
leased, the spear was projected forward
at a high velocity. A stone-launching
version had a pouch at the midpoint of
the bowstring.
A large ballista could propel bolts
weighing up to 50 pounds, at ranges in
excess of 400 yards, with a shattering
impact. Because of its great accuracy,
ballista firepower could be concentrated
on a single area. The weapon could also
be utilized at nearly point-blank range.
When a spear was fired from a ballista
into massed troops, it penetrated many
“like fowls on a spit,” according to one
historian’s account.
The springal, also known as the fala-
rich, was a tension siege weapon much
like the ballista. A plank was bent back-
ward by winch-tightened cords. When One form of catapult
53
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Legion might contain as many as ten ca- to the earth, propelling the missile up-
tapults and sixty ballistas. During the ward and towards a target.
Viking siege of Paris (A.D. 885-886), Range could be controlled by varying
both sides made extensive use of the amount of weight or the height to
catapults. which the weight was raised. A trebuchet
The catapult, also known as the onag- with a 50-foot arm and a 20,000-pound
er, mangon, mangonel or sling, is an ex- counterpoise could hurl a 200- or 300-
ample of the use of torsion. Its frame- pound stone a distance of 300-350 yards.
work was built from heavy timber. A While not a particularly accurate wea-
mass of twisted rope was strung across pon, the tremendous impact with which
near the front. In the twisted rope was the missiles of the trebuchet struck was
secured one end of a pivoting beam hav- sufficient to continue its popularity for
ing a spoon-shaped container at its oth- some time after the perfection of the
er end. The free end was pulled back- cannon.
wards and down by a type of capstan or
large winch located at the end of the The cannon
frame, against the resistance of the Until late in the fourteenth century,
twisted ropes. The stone was placed into cannon were too small to play an effec-
the spoon-shaped cavity. By releasing a tive part in siege warfare. Early cannon
catch, the beam was pulled forward and could fire only small balls, about four an
upward by the force of the twisted ropes, hour (the same as the trebuchet), and
hurling a stone toward its target. proved to be as dangerous to the user as Greek battering ram
The catapult could handle larger pro- to the target.
jectiles than the ballista. It did not pos- In 1377, a cannon capable of firing a It was designed to protect its users from
sess the ballista’s accuracy, however. 200-pound ball was used at the siege of arrows, stones and boiling water. The
Also, a wet or dry day would have an Ardes. A weapon of this size, although hides could be kept wet, lessening the
adverse effect on the ropes, making the able to do great damage, was still unreli- chance of fire damage.
machine even more difficult to operate able, expensive to produce and extreme-
dependably. ly difficult to transport over great The siege tower
The ranges of catapults varied with distances. In order to clear a portion of a castle
size. Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey’s inten- During the fifteenth century, cannons wall of its defenders so assault troops
sive study of these medieval machines large enough to knock down existing could secure the position, a higher wall
led to the construction of several. His castle walls were developed. In 1424, of some sort was necessary. Add wheels
smaller catapults could throw a one- English artillery battered down the walls to such a tower (for mobility) and a
pound stone 200-300 yards. Larger units of LeMans in a few days. The French drawbridge (for attackers to cross onto a
were capable of hurling an eight-pound took sixty fortresses in the year of 1449 fortress wall) and you have the siege
round stone a distance of 350-360 yards. alone, many surrendering as soon as tower, also known as the belfry.
The same machine with a sling fitted to they saw the besiegers’ big cannon. The earliest siege towers date back to
its arm increased the effective range to 2100 B.C. These were stationary towers,
500 yards. The battering ram without wheels, from which archers could
The battering ram also played a key fire down on the defenders to cover a
The trebuchet role in siege warfare. The earliest known general attack. There is no indication
The third type of siege machine, the battering ram is depicted on an Egyptian that any attempt was made to push these
trebuchet, utilizing the principle of coun- wall painting from the tomb of Khety machines up to the fortress wall.
terpoise, was introduced at the end of (2100 B.C.). It consists of a long pole The medieval tower was mobile, de-
the twelfth century. A heavy weight or with a bronze spearhead held by three signed to provide maximum protection
group of weights was hung from one end Egyptian soldiers, with an enclosure pro- for its occupants until the moment of
of a long, heavy beam. A sling or spoon tecting its occupants. The pole is being assault. Frequently three stories high, it
cup, which held a projectile, was located thrust upward and appears designed to was always constructed to be higher
at the opposite end. Winches drew the pry away at the masonry around stones. than the walls being attacked. The low-
missile-firing end downward, raising the The Assyrians made extensive use of est level harbored troops who pushed
weights upward. When the winch catch the ram. During the reign of King Ashur- the huge, wheeled tower into position.
was released, the weighted end plunged nasiral (920 B.C.), battering rams con- Assault troops waited in the second level
sisted of six wheels and a body com- for the lowering of the drawbridge. The
posed of rectangular wicker shields. top story held archers, whose role was to
Below a domed turret protruded an sweep the defenders from the area of the
axeblade-shaped, metal-tipped battering wall attacked.
pole. A lighter, four-wheeled version con-
sisted of a covered rounded turret with a Other weaponry
large iron spear projecting from its front. The bore consisted of a long shaft with
The medieval battering ram possessed a metal point. The opposite end was att-
a number of refinements over those of ached to an upright shaft by means of a
the ancients. Its strength came from rod. The point was placed against the
heavy timbers, frequently cut from the wall and the shaft was slowly turned by a
largest tree available. Its head was fitted winch. The point drilled holes through
with a metal knob or point, or a facsimile joints in the masonry, loosening large
of a ram’s head. The timber hung from stones. A penthouse enclosure protect-
large chains or ropes anchored into the ed the soldiers working the bore. Al-
roof. The roof, made of wood and co- though the bore was lighter and easier to
Trebuchet vered with hides, was called a penthouse. transport than the battering ram, much

54
August 1981 Dragon
more effort and time were required to
accomplish the same purpose.
The petard, an early limpet mine, was
occasionally utilized to blow open gates
or knock holes in walls. An iron pot filled
with gunpowder (up to 15 pounds) was
fixed to a board which prevented the spil-
ling of the powder in transit. One or two
hooks attached to the edges of the board
enabled the bomb to be quickly attached
to a wall or gate, by hanging it from
heavy nails driven into the target if no
other protrusions were available. A slow
fuse gave the soldiers a chance to es-
cape before it exploded.
Greek fire was also extensively used
by both sides. Although some sources
describe its exact composition as “un-
known,” it generally would have had to
consist of a petroleum base for combus-
tibility, pitch to lengthen burning time,
sulfur to make it stick and quicklime for
ignition on contact with water.

Fighting back
Behind the fortress walls, the defend-
ers were far from helpless. Their own
ballistas and catapults took an enormous
toll on the attackers and their siege ma-
chines. Defenders favored quicklime to
blind assaulting troops. Boiling water
and red-hot sand dropped onto attackers
proved especially good at penetrating
the chinks in their armor. “Stink pots” of
burning sulfur were also effective. Boil-
ing oil, even in days of old, was too valu-
able to waste on attackers unless abso-
lutely necessary.
Many other means were also used to
discourage besiegers. Large mattresses
or a series of beams would be lowered
over the area being battered by a ram.
Grapnels or large pincers were lowered
to intercept the head of the battering ram
and deflect it upward to such an angle
that it was rendered useless. Where a
wall was in danger of being battered
through, a second barrier was erected
immediately behind the endangered sec-
tion of the wall.

Bibliography

Beeler, John, Warfare In Feudal Europe,

730-1200 (Cornell University Press, 1971)
Koch, H. W., Medieval Warfare (Prentice-
Hall, 1978)
Oman, Charles, A History of the Art of War
in the Middle Ages, Volumes I & II (Burt Frank-
lin, 1969)
Spaulding, Nickerson & Wright, Warfare,
the Infantry Journal (1937)
Tunis, Edwin, Weapons (World Publishing,
1954)
Warner, Philip, The Medieval Castle (Ta-
plinger Publishing Co., 1971)
Wise, Terence, Medieval Warfare (Hastings
House, 1976)
Yadin, Yigael, The Art of Warfare in Biblical
Land, Volumes I & II (McGraw-Hill, 1963)

55
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

EDITOR’S INTRODUCTION Bounty Hunter descriptions that seemed equitable, formidable,

and most of all playable. The playability of a character or a
Well, we asked for it. campaign is something that only the people in that campaign
When DRAGON magazine printed a letter in issue #46 from a can adequately define; all we can do is hope that at least one of
reader who thought a Bounty Hunter character class would be a these three Bounty Hunters is just as playable in your campaign
good idea, it was accompanied by a short response which said, as we felt it would be.
in effect, okay, all you writers, show us your hunters. Printing three versions of the same character class may seem
The response to that response was, shall we say, bountiful. like a waste of space. Why don’t we just publish one Bounty
Published herein are the three “best” Bounty Hunters out of a Hunter and leave it at that, like we’ve done with other non-player
dozen or so that we received in the four months following the character classes in the past?
appearance of the letter. Each is distinctly different — in some Well, first of all, we were sent a lot of Bounty Hunters, and we
respects, vastly different — from the other two. Taken as a don’t like to disappoint any more writers than we have to. Se-
whole, this three-part presentation illustrates how different cond of all, by printing three versions of the same NPC, we are
people can develop the same concept into a unique piece of (we think) virtually guaranteeing that any DM will find at least
work. one of the versions to be to his liking and appropriate for his
The word “best” is used in quotation marks because we’re campaign. Or perhaps a fourth version can be created by com-
really not in a position to tell you what “best” is. We chose bining elements of these three. The next step is up to you. — KM

by Scott Bennie Bounty Hunters who do not slay humanoids can rise only as
high as the ninth level of experience, while other hunters can
The wizard Herek sat in the corner, drinking his ale. He tapped aspire to 13th level, The Great Hunter. When a character gains
on his staff of the magi nervously while he sipped the brew, as if enough experience points to reach 13th level, he does not au-
he sensed some unseen menace lurking nearby. His compan- tomatically receive the title, but must first track down and kill
ion, Pallar, scoffed at this nervousness; magicians were perpet- whomever currently holds the title of The Great Hunter. An
ually uneasy, and besides, he was becoming apprehensive as aspirant who ignores this requirement or demonstrates coward-
well. ice has shamed the other members of his profession, and from
Suddenly the pungent odor of acid stabbed into nostrils. Pal- that day forward will be marked for death by all other Bounty
lar rose and drew his blade in one motion, but it was already too Hunters he encounters, or who seek him out. Killing a “coward”
late. Herek let out a short scream, then slumped in a heap, dead, in this manner brings almost as much prestige to the killer as
with an arrow of slaying lodged in his back. There was a hole killing The Great Hunter himself. At no other time will one
burned through the wall behind them — the acid had done that Bounty Hunter raise a weapon against another, except if fight-
— and through it Pallar glimpsed a figure escaping on a flying ing another hunter is necessary to bring about completion of a
carpet. He mouthed some curses in the direction of the killer and job.
then turned to the body of his friend. Bounty Hunters receive experience points for killing crea-
A note was tied to the shaft of the arrow buried in the mage’s tures and characters, just as any other character would, and
back: “Revenge now belongs to the Lords of the Dragon, they can also gain experience points through the accumulation
through the courtesy and efforts of the Master of the Bountiful of bounty monies. However, gold pieces or other valuables or
Hunt.” There were a few other words, but they were already magic items will never count directly toward earned experience
unreadable, smeared by wizard’s blood... except when they are received as payment for a job well done.

A Bounty Hunter is a character who specializes in the killing of 8-Sided

other characters or creatures for profit. A Bounty Hunter who Dice For
fights only non-humanoid creatures must be neutral in align- Experience Experience Accumulated Level
ment, while those who fight and slay humanoids must be neutral Points Level Hit Points Title
evil. 0-2,500 1 1 Seeker
Humans and half-orc characters may be Bounty Hunters, as 2,501-5,000 2 2 Shadow
long as they possess the following minimum ability scores: 5,001-12,500 3 3 Trophyman
strength 15, intelligence 13, dexterity 14 and constitution 14. If 12,501-25,000 4 4 Hunter
strength, dexterity and constitution are all 16 or higher, the 25,001-50,000 5 5 Collector
character gains a 10% bonus to earned experience. 50,001-100,000 6 6 Exterminator
A Bounty Hunter is in some ways a combination of ranger and 100,001-175,000 7 7 Master Collector
assassin. The character is not capable of having exceptional 175,001-300,000 8 8 Bounty Hunter
strength, but uses the combat and saving-throw tables for fight- 300,001-450,000 9 9 B. H., 9th level
ers and can use all magic items usable by the fighter class. In 450,001-600,000 10 10 B. H., 10th level
addition, Bounty Hunters have the back stabbing ability of a 600,001-750,000 11 11 Master Hunter
thief of equal level, and they are treated as rangers for determi- 750,001-900,000 12 12 Death Hunter
nation of initial number of weapons and weapon proficiency. 900,000+ 13 13 Great Hunter

56
August 1981 Dragon
Special abilities
A Bounty Hunter of third level or higher gains the ability to
perform assassinations with the same chance of success as an
assassin of two levels lower. A third-level hunter assassinates as
a first-level assassin, etc.
In some circumstances, a bounty may be more profitable if the
quarry is captured rather than killed. In this case, a successful
assassination by the Bounty Hunter can mean that the victim
was knocked unconscious for 2-16 turns. This will be enough
time to bind and gag the prisoner, and perhaps enough time to
allow delivery to the one who will pay the bounty. There is a
chance on any knockout attempt that the blow will kill the victim
regardless of the hunter’s intentions. It is 20% for a hunter of
seventh level or lower, and it decreases by 2% per level for each by Tom Armstrong
level of the hunter above the seventh, down to 8% for a 13th-level
hunter. The Bounty Hunter must employ a blunt weapon for a Bounty Hunters can be found in almost any large city, and are
knockout attempt to be made. usually contacted through the local Mercenaries Guild. They
A Bounty Hunter of fifth level or higher gains some thieving are not members of the Guild, but some members may know
abilities beyond the innate proficiency at back stabbing. Open- where they can be located. Bounty Hunters are loners, as a rule,
ing locks, finding/removing traps, moving silently, hiding in and do not often have many friends. They are difficult to be-
shadows, hearing noise, climbing walls and reading languages friend, but fiercely loyal to those whom they consider close.
can be performed by a fifth-level hunter at the same chances of Most Bounty Hunters are lawful neutral, but those of true
success as a first-level thief. These abilities improve with each neutral, neutral good and neutral evil alignment have been
higher level gained. known.
A Bounty Hunter of seventh level or higher can track as a Humans, elves, half-elves, halflings and half-orcs may be hunt-
ranger, and has the disguise abilities of an assassin. ers. All but humans are limited to the 10th level of experience. All
All Bounty Hunters of ninth level or higher gain the ability to hunters must have the following minimum ability scores:
make 3 weapon attacks every 2 rounds. strength 9, intelligence 11, wisdom 11, dexterity 14 and constitu-
Bounty Hunters do not attract followers, and they only build tion 12. A high charisma score is also highly desirable, to facili-
strongholds or keeps upon their retirement. They are by nature tate information-gathering when dealing with other characters.
mean and self-confident. In public, when not on an “assign- A member of this class is a hybrid of ranger and thief. The
ment,” they are liable to display incredible arrogance. On a hunt, Bounty Hunter uses the combat table for fighters and the
however, they become withdrawn and apparently passive. It is at saving-throw matrix for thieves. They cannot cast spells, and are
this time when Bounty Hunters are most dangerous. able to use any magic item not prohibited to thieves. They can

57
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

wear leather, studded leather, ring mail, scale mail, or chain mail and berries, wild game, and potable water if such items are
armor, preferring the first three types. They can use any weapon available at all in the area.
but will never carry a shield. A hunter has proficiency with 2 Hunters have some thieving, or thief-like, abilities. They are
weapons at first level and gains proficiency in one weapon every adept at setting traps, doing so at the same rate of success as a
2 levels thereafter. thief of equal level can find/remove traps. Bonuses for high
dexterity as it applies to locating traps are also applicable for
8-Sided setting traps. Bounty Hunters are masters of camouflage in
Dice for outdoor environments, and can hide in the wilderness as a thief
Experience Exper. Accumulated Level of the same level can hide in shadows.
Points Level Hit Points Title Bounty Hunters are only surprised on a roll of 1 on a d6 when
0-2,200 1 1 Searcher operating in the wilderness, and in such terrain they can sur-
2,201-4,500 2 2 Tracker prise others on a roll of 1-3 on a d6.
4,501-9,000 3 3 Trailer Although well able to defend themselves, most Bounty Hun-
9,001-15,000 4 4 Finder ters prefer to out-think their quarry rather than subdue or beat
15,001-23,000 5 5 Search Leader him/her/it into submission. Some have been known to wait for
23,001-41,000 6 6 Searcher Esquire days in one spot, knowing their quarry was nearby and that
41,001-95,000 7 7 Searcher Lord sooner or later the trap would be sprung.
95,001-150,000 8 8 Hunter A Bounty Hunter is able to have followers beginning at the
150,001-260,000 9 9 Hunter Esquire ninth level of experience. From ninth through 11th level, these
260,001-530,000 10 10 Hunter Lord followers can only be fighters, thieves or clerics of the same
530,001-800,000 11 11 Bounty Hunter alignment as the hunter. A hunter begins with one follower for
800,001-1,100,000 12 11+1 B. H., 12th each 6 points of charisma, or each fraction thereof (i.e., a cha-
1,100,001-1,400,000 13 11+2 B. H., 13th risma of 13 would entitle the hunter to 3 followers), and can add
1,400,001-1,700,000 14 11+3 B. H., 14th that number of new followers upon attaining 10th and again at
1,700,001-2,000,000 15 11+4 B. H., 15th 11th level. Starting at 12th level, a hunter can gain one new
300,000 experience points per level for each additional level follower per level for each 8 points of charisma, or fraction
above the 15th. thereof, and these followers can be of any alignment.
Bounty hunters gain 1 h.p. per level after the 11th. Some Bounty Hunters work strictly on their own, trusting no
one, and depend on an extensive system of contacts and
Special abilities double-checks for gathering information, in order to find and
All Bounty Hunters are natural woodsmen, having to live off capture those for whom the authorities have offered a reward.
the land in the pursuit of their quarry. They have tracking ability Bounty Hunters are a viable alternative to assassins for cases
like a ranger, although not to the same degree of expertise, in when a character doesn’t deserve death for an action, but is in
outdoor environments. The base chance to be able to success- line for punishment of some sort. The Bounty Hunter, if played
fully track a creature or character outdoors is 15% for a first- with fairness and consideration, can serve as an effective
level hunter, and it increases by 3% per level up to 30% at sixth “avenger” or “sheriff” for the DM, which may become a deterrent
level. Then it increases 5% per level until reaching a maximum of to some of the silly and unfair acts performed by player charac-
100% at 20th level. A Bounty Hunter can always find edible roots ters on other NPC’s.

by Robert L. Tussey and Kenneth Strunk have a minimum strength of 9, intelligence 12, wisdom 12, cha-
risma 13, dexterity 13 and constitution 14.
The Bounty Hunter is a subclass of fighter, adept in the track- The experience-point table for Bounty Hunters is identical to
ing and capture of fugitives from justice. Though they can be of that for rangers, in the number of x.p. needed to attain a certain
any alignment, the majority are neutral and only 5% are chaotic. level. However, hunters have lo-sided hit dice like a normal
A Bounty Hunter can be a human, elf (limited to 7th level), fighter. They also have the weapon proficiency of a fighter;
half-elf (8th level), dwarf (9th) or half-orc (10th). A hunter must however, at least one of the initial number of 4 weapons permit-
ted the hunter must be a capture weapon. (Three types of cap-
10-Sided ture weapons are described below.)
Dice for
Experience Exper. Accumulated Level Special abilities
Points Level Hit Points Title Tracking: A Bounty Hunter can track his quarry similar to a
0-2,250 1 1 Searcher ranger. Underground, the hunter must have observed the crea-
2,251-4,500 2 2 Trapper ture to be tracked within 2 turns (20 minutes) of the commence-
4,501-10,000 3 3 Man-Tracker ment of tracking, and the hunter must begin tracking at a place
10,001-20,000 4 4 Revenger where the creature was observed.
20,001-40,000 5 5 Hunter
40,001-90,000 6 6 Head Hunter Creature’s action Chance to track
90,001-150,000 7 7 Bounty Hunter going along normal passage or room 50%
150,001-225,000 8 8 Manhunter passes through normal door
225,001-325,000 9 9 Masterhunter or uses stairs 45%
325,001-650,000 10 9+3 Hunter Lord goes through a trap door 35%
325,000 experience points per level for each additional level goes up or down a chimney
above the 10th. or through concealed door 25%
Bounty Hunters gain 3 h.p. per level after the 9th. passes through a secret door 15%

58
August 1981 Dragon
Outdoors there is a base 70% chance of a hunter being able to the same chance for success as a first-level thief. Advancement
follow a creature, modified as follows: in these abilities is one level of thieving ability for every two
— for each creature above one in the levels the hunter rises, so that a 10th-level hunter (for instance)
party being tracked +02% has the abilities of a fifth-level thief in these skills. Also starting
— for every 24 hours which have at second level, the hunter can move silently and climb walls as a
elapsed between making the track first-level thief; however, skill in these abilities advances on a
and tracking -15% level-for-level basis thereafter, so that a 10th-level hunter has
— for each hour of precipitation -30% the abilities of a ninth-level thief in these two skills.
Capture weapons: Every Bounty Hunter must be proficient in
Charisma: A Bounty Hunter gains a bonus of +2 to his effec- the use of at least one device described as a “capture weapon.”
tive charisma for questioning purposes at taverns, inns, or other Three such weapons are the net, the lasso and the bolas.
large gatherings of people in an atmosphere which provides the A net may be thrown (short range 10 feet, medium range 20
opportunity for conversation. In any situation where a hunter is feet) or suspended. If it is thrown and the attempt results in a hit,
questioning to obtain information about his quarry, there is a the victim is entangled and immobile for 1-4 rounds thereafter.
10% base chance that a member of the party being questioned A lasso can be thrown over distances of no less than 10 feet
will know the hunter or know of his reputation. This base per- (the only distance which can be short range). Its limit for medi-
centage is adjusted upwards by +02% for each member of the um range is 20 feet, and long range extends to 30 feet. A suc-
party beyond the first; i.e., there is an 18% chance that one cessful hit indicates the victim is entangled for 1-4 rounds.
person in a five-member party will know the hunter. A reaction The bolas are a capture weapon which can be hurled over a
roll is made for that person without counting the hunter’s usual longer distance than a lasso. Like the lasso, the minimum range
bonus to charisma. is 10 feet, but for this weapon short range extends to 20 feet,
Knockout: A Bounty Hunter can choose to attempt a knock- medium range is 20-30 feet and long range extends to 40 feet. A
out blow on his victim, at the same rate of success as for an hit means the victim is entangled for 1-4 rounds, as with the
assassin of equal level performing an assassination. (Above other two capture weapons; however, if the hit is made with an
15th level, the percentages on the chart will increase 5% per unmodified roll of 20, the target must attempt a saving throw vs.
level until reaching the maximum of 100%.) A successful knock- petrification. If the save is failed, the target will take 1-4 points of
out blow means the victim is unconscious for 1-10 rounds. choking damage (in addition to being entangled) per round until
Pulling punches: During melee combat, hunters have the abil- he is disentangled or killed. If a throw of the bolas does not hit its
ity to pull their blows so that only half of actual damage (round intended target, the weapon has a chance to hit any other crea-
down) is assessed against the victim. When a victim is reduced tures in its flight path up to its maximum range.
to zero hit points by a blow administered in this manner, the Dexterity bonuses for missile combat apply to the use of
victim is unconscious for 1-10 rounds. hurled capture weapons. All of the capture weapons described
Thief abilities: Starting at second level, a Bounty Hunter can above receive +1 to hit at short range and are -1 to hit at long
perform the thief skills of opening locks and picking pockets at range, in addition to any other bonuses or penalties.

59
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Convention calendar
GEN CON® XIV GAME CONVENTION, Aug. 13-16 — The na- 49506. Tentative plans include an art show, a marathon film
tion’s oldest regular gaming convention, to be held for the fourth festival, and several seminars and panel discussions. Persons
straight year at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside between wishing to participate in or help organize such events should
Racine and Kenosha, Wis. The event is sponsored by TSR Hob- indicate their desire when first corresponding with BabelCon
bies, Inc., with the Parkside Association of Wargarners (PAW) officials. Registration costs are $15 for a three-day membership,
acting as official hosts at the tournament site. For more informa- $6 for a one-day membership, and $8 for a supporting member-
tion, write to Gen Con XIV, P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147. ship. To register or request more information, write to Steve
Harrison, BabelCon ‘81, 1355 Cornell SE, Grand Rapids Ml
MASSCON ‘81, Aug. 22-23 — This event, the third annual, will be 49506.
held at the University of Massachusetts Campus Center in Am-
herst, Mass. It is organized by the University of Massachusetts URCON, Sept. 25-27 — Dr. Isaac Asimov and L. Sprague de
Strategy Games Club. Overnight lodging is available at the Camp will appear at URCON, a simulation gaming and science-
convention site at a cost of about $20. For more information, fiction convention scheduled for the University of Rochester in
contact MassCon director Dennis Wang, 11 Dickinson St., Am- Rochester, N.Y. Tickets are $8 until Aug. 1; $10 before Sept. 24;
herst MA 01002. $12 at the door. Single-day tickets are $6. For more information,
write to URCON, Box 6647 River Station, Rochester NY 14627.
DENVENTION TWO, Sept. 3-7 — The 39th World Science Fic-
tion Convention will be held at the Denver Hilton. C. L. Moore SUNCOAST SKIRMISHES ‘81, Oct. 10-11— To be held at the
and Clifford D. Simak are scheduled to appear as guests of University of South Florida in Tampa, sponsored by the Levia-
honor. Memberships can be purchased at the door for $55. More than Wargaming Federation. All types of gaming competitions
information is available by contacting Denvention Two, P.O. and seminars are scheduled. Duke Seifried of Heritage USA will
Box 11545, Denver CO 80211, phone (303) 433-9774. be a special guest. More information is available by writing to
Suncoast Skirmishes ‘81, P.O. Box 40123, St. Petersburg FL.
GLASC VI (Greater Los Angeles Simulation Convention), Sept. 33743, phone (weekends only) (813) 345-3321.
4-7 — To be located at the Student Union of California State
University in Northridge, Calif. Tournaments, seminars, auc- RHEIN CON, Oct. 10-12 — The Sixth Annual Rhein Convention
tions, free gaming, and a dealer area are among the planned will be held at the Hainerberg Middle School in Wiesbaden, West
offerings. Pre-registration cost is $6, admission fee at the door is Germany. Tournaments will be conducted in various board
$8. Details are available from GLASC secretary L. Daniel, 20550 games, miniatures, and role-playing games. A small registration
Wyandotte St., Canoga Park CA 91306. fee (under $5) is payable at the door. For more information,
contact CPT Jody Sherrill at 06332-6255 or SSG Gary Brode at
DunDraClone, Sept. 4-7 —A rescheduled and revised version of 222L-7697/7694.
DunDraCon VI, originally scheduled to be held last February,
which had to be cancelled because of a lack of a large enough CHAOTICON, Oct. 17-18 — D&D games, RuneQuest and more
facility to house the event. DunDraClone offers all the normal fantasy gaming will be held at the Sunnyvale Hilton Inn, Sunny-
attractions: tournaments, miniatures contests, films, seminars, vale, Calif. Pre-registration is $8 through Sept. 15; $10 thereaf-
demonstrations, a large dealer area, and round-the-clock open ter. For more information, send a self-addressed, stamped enve-
gaming. The site is the Oakland Airport Hyatt. Admission for the lope to ChaotiCon, P.O. Box 485, Campbell CA 95009.
weekend is $15 by mail or at the door. One-day admissions will
also be available at the door. Further details are obtainable by VOLCON II, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 —The second Yakima Valley Games
writing to DunDraCon, Inc., 386 Alcatraz Ave., Oakland CA Convention, featuring science-fiction and fantasy gaming and
94618. science-related personal hobbies. More information can be ob-
tained from VolCon II coordinator Kenneth Peterson, 3605 Tie-
GATEWAY 1981, Sept. 5-7 — A strategy-game convention and ton Drive, Yakima WA 98902, phone (509) 575-2442 (office) or
exposition, to be held at the Sheraton-Anaheim Hotel, next to (509) 452-8838 (home).
Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. Admission is $9.50 for advance
pre-registration for all three days, $11 at the door for three days, ARMAGEDDON ‘81, Nov. 6-8 — To be held at the University of
or $7.50 at the door for one day only. Advance registrations must Houston Central Campus. Events will include competitions in
be postmarked by Aug. 22. For further information, contact the AD&D game, Squad Leader, Samurai, Air Force/Dauntless
GATEWAY, c/o Mark Snowden, 1864 Nutwood Place, Anaheim and other games. Admission is $5, plus $1 for entry in the AD&D
CA 92804. tournament. More information is available from Richard D.
McLeod, Chairperson, Armageddon ‘81, Program Council, Uni-
DRAGONFLIGHT, Sept. 11-13 — Sponsored by the Brass Drag- versity of Houston Central Campus, University Center N-23,
on Society, P.O. Box 33872, Seattle WA 98153. The convention Houston TX 77004, phone (713) 749-1435.
will feature role-playing tournaments, miniatures battles, a DM
seminar, painting competitions, and a dealer area. Other activi- CONTRADICTION, Nov. 20-22 — A science-fiction convention
ties will include the annual riddle competition, contests for de- to be held at the Buffalo Marriott Inn, Amherst, N.Y. Registration
signing tricks, traps, rooms, and monsters, and SCA demonstra- fee is $8 until Oct. 31. For more information, contact Linda
tions. The largest gaming convention in the Northwest, upwards Michaels, 27 Argosy St., Amherst NY 14226.
of 1,000 persons are expected to attend. More information is
available from the Brass Dragon Society at the above address. DETROIT GAMEFEST, Nov. 20-22 — This is the annual event
sponsored by the Metro Detroit Gamers which was formerly
BABEL CONFERENCE ‘81, Sept. 25-27 — The third running of known as WinterCon. It will be held in Cobo Hall in Detroit for
this StarTrek/science fiction/fantasy convention will take place the first time. More information can be obtained by writing to
at the Holiday Inn East, 3333 28th St. SE, Grand Rapids Ml Metro Detroit Gamers, P.O. Box 787, Troy Ml 48099.

60
August 1981 Dragon

To err is human, to repair divine

by Lewis Pulsipher assassin, or hire a magic-user to send an factor will be out of the game, though it
invisible stalker, or make a pact with a will still be in the background of the
Almost any inexperienced DM sooner demon, or even use a Wish to regain his campaign.
or later makes a big mistake. He lets a item. These are all natural parts of a fan- By either of these solutions, the DM
player character acquire a magic item or tasy world, and are not vendettas. It’s the can avoid incurring the enmity of the
gain an ability which is simply too pow- DM who manufactures a vendetta when player and avoid unfairly picking on one
erful, which enables that character to no need for one exists who is using al- person, but still eliminate the disruption
dominate the game so that other charac- ternative two. from the game. It is always better to re-
ters become onlookers instead of parti- Any outright attempt at retribution or sort to reason than to force; if all else
cipants. A newly devised character class revenge, even of a non-vendetta nature, fails, because of a player’s refusals of
could result in a similar situation. should be a last resort, not a first reac- less extreme solutions, a DM can still
Everybody makes mistakes. But when tion. Such action can make the involved resort to the vendetta, if he thinks it’s fair.
it comes to fixing them, many inexper- player, or all the players, feel that the DM Nothing is lost by trying other methods
ienced DMs have trouble finding the is unfair. The DM could find his friend- first.
right approach. How can a mistake like ships with the player(s), outside the Example: Let’s say a character has
this be rectified? game, suffering severely. It can led to been allowed to find a fully charged
The first possibility is to ignore the feuds at times when another person lightning bolt wand. Thereafter he starts
problem and hope it will go away. But serves as DM for the group, and the ex- blasting every enemy in sight while other
usually by the time the DM realizes his DM’s characters can be ganged up on. It characters look on and the DM grits his
error, it will be evident that the problem can even lead to a vendetta just like the teeth. If he is a 10th-level character in a
isn’t going to fix itself. one that started the whole dispute. high-powered game, the wand won’t dis-
Second (the alternative that inexper- There are two better methods of fixing rupt the game much, but if he and his
ienced DMs usually choose), the DM can a DMing mistake. The first one is to try to friends are fifth level something has to be
start a vendetta against the character, reason with the player involved. Show done. Those 100 charges could last a
throwing obstacles in the character’s him how the ability or item he gained is long time. Perhaps you could offer (via a
path until he kills him or steals his magic. harming the campaign, however much non-player character, with the gods me-
I’ve often heard of this happening. I fun he may have lording it over everyone diating) to trade a special ring of regen-
wonder how any character can survive and showing off. Convince him that the eration which would work only for the
for long against a determined DM, but game will be more fun for all, even him- character (fusing onto his finger) in ex-
apparently some do. Michael Stackpole’s self, if he voluntarily gives up the cause change for the wand. Or you might offer
article “The Bigger They Are the Harder of the disruption, possibly accepting a Wish (plus some interesting scrolls?).
They FalI” (Sorcerer’s Apprentice #8) some material compensation. Perhaps Think of some item or items which, while
describes how to eliminate an overpow- he’ll give his magic item to the church in valuable to the player, will not disrupt the
erful character — if it is simply your in- return for future favors, or to the state in campaign the way the wand would. In
tention to deliberately slaughter the vic- return for a noble title. He might accept general, the offered exchange should be
tim. Let’s assume, however, that the DM some non-reusable items for one indefi- defensive rather than offensive magic, or
already knows how to kill someone, or nitely usable item. The trade can be ar- perhaps information-gathering magic in-
how to neutralize his magic, in a short ranged in such a way as to reflect well on stead of either of the other types, be-
time. the character and offer him possibilities cause offensive magic tends to help ev-
This “vendetta method” is cruel treat- of gain, even in a campaign where all eryone in a character’s party while the
ment for characters when the means of other player characters have also be- other types, if carefully selected, will
revenge has no meaning in the context come more powerful. help only the character to whom they are
of the game. It is easy to concoct a pur- The other method is to persuade the traded.
suit or a conflict which arises naturally player to retire his character either tem- The DM who makes up for his mis-
from the game, and not directly from the porarily, until the other characters reach takes in a manner such as this, given a
DM’s realization of error. a similar level of power, or permanently, proper and reasonable amount of agree-
For example, if a character obtains a if the imbalance is really great. The play- ment and cooperation by players, stands
powerful item, the former owner may try er can enjoy the ego boost of possessing a far smaller chance of being looked
to get it back. He could hire magic-users a powerful and well-known character, upon as unfair or arbitrary — and his
or others to find out who has it, if he yet he will henceforth use another char- campaign stands a far greater chance of
doesn’t already know; he can contract an acter on adventures. The imbalancing surviving.

61
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

if it goes against the obvious intent of the

game.... You are creator and final arbiter.
By ordering things as they should be, the
game as a whole first, your campaign
next, and your participants thereafter,
you will be playing ADVANCED DUN-
GEONS & DRAGONS as it was meant to
be. ”
That statement says it all. To me, it is
the most important statement in the en-
tire DMG. If you are going to stick blindly

The best DMs will look to the books, use the charts in them ex-
clusively, and never create something of
your own, you may as well play a board

further than the book game such as Monopoly or Scrabble.

Their rules are written out, are not too
complicated, and are basically inflexi-
by Tom Armstrong Well, I decided to change a few items ble. An AD&D™ game is not inflexible
here and there. I do this on occasion and was not meant to be. The books,
The attitudes of different Dungeon anyhow, and, if things were going to im- even though they define a complicated
Masters towards the use of the available prove, it was darn near mandatory now! structure of rules (which in many partic-
books of rules for the ADVANCED Any DM worth the name can’t help but ular cases must be adhered to strictly),
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game are alter things just a little. It’s a trademark of are in general very open-ended. Much of
myriad. I have played in many campaigns his/her game to have certain things that the text of the rules is taken up with gen-
at various times and have heard and seen are different than all the others. eral guidelines and lists of possibilities,
all kinds of rulings. Monsters, of course, are an obvious leaving a multitude of options up to the
One DM of my acquaintance permit- place to twist things a bit. My players DM.
ted his players to read any and all of the have stumbled across such things as ko- Players might be upset after exper-
manuals during play. This naturally led bolds with 18/00 strength, a rock troll Fencing an unorthodox encounter. In the
to the players looking up the various (made of real rock), and lawful good long run, however, they will come to real-
monsters as they encountered them. At goblins — all designed to shake up the ize that the game is more fun this way.
the other extreme, I had one DM ask me average player’s complacency. A few of They will not become so easily bored,
not to look at the Players Handbook dur- my players were definitely upset after and will tend to pay more attention to
ing his game. (Since I prefer to play that single kobold wreaked all sorts of what is happening around them.
magic-users, this definitely put a crimp havoc by tearing into the group with a Your game must be challenging at all
in my style!) I’ve also seen just about two-handed sword. And all of the players times. If it is not, players will become
everything in between. were a lot more cautious and a lot less bored and may go looking elsewhere;
In my own campaign, the players are sure of themselves — as it should be! your campaign will die a slow (or per-
permitted only the Players Handbook, —for a while afterward. haps not so slow) death. It should be a
while I alone use the Monster Manual As for magical items, all is possible to personal Source of pride that your cam-
and the Dungeon Masters Guide. This he who thinks. The sky is the virtual limit! paign is exciting, unique, and consistent
makes the game fairer in the sense that, Most players ask for a description of the yet always changing.
if the players are able to look up the item first and go from there: “Sounds like This does not mean that you should
monsters, there is no challenge to dig for a phylactery to me, Fred, let’s see... immediately drop everything and start
knowledge, or to try different things until there’s one of Faithfulness, one of Long changing your game so that it is unrec-
the proper method is discovered. By the Years, and one for Monster Attraction.” ognizable as an AD&D campaign. Think
same token, permitting them to read the They then proceed to test the available carefully about anything you decide to
DMG means that they become totally choices and continue on to destroy more change. Will it make the game unneces-
self-sufficient, needing no outside help, monsters and gain more treasure. sarily complicated? Will it unbalance the
and therefore producing no interaction This time I threw a Phylactery of Fum- game? These, and many others, are
with the non-player characters in the var- bling at them, which they eventually de- questions that you must take into con-
ious towns and cities. cided was supposed to give the cleric a sideration before altering anything.
When the DMG came out, all the DMs I long life, and the next monster they ran On the other hand, if you feel that your
know were overjoyed! (I bought one of into was a vampire. The faithful cleric game has gone too “far to be revived,
the first copies available in Colorado dove into the fray with his trusty Mace of there’s nothing to stop you from scrap-
Springs.) The final answer to most of our Disruption — and promptly dropped it! ping it in favor of an entirely new cam-
problems had arrived! Imagine my com- Before he could pick it up, the vampire paign. I myself have had to junk two
plete happiness to find, not only those hit him twice for a loss of 4 levels. Such campaigns and start over. When you are
answers, but also new magical items — fun! a brand-new DM (particularly, although
even a couple of monsters that my group The books themselves are not neces- veterans do it, too) you often tend to turn
was not familiar with! sarily the final word on every question. the game into. a giveaway. Such was my
Unfortunately, some of the players There are statements in all of them to the problem, and the situation had to be rec-
also bought the DMG, reviving the same effect that they are meant as guides only. tified by scrapping the campaign.
problem I had before. Something had to To quote from the Afterword to the The players should not read the DMG
be done! It had gotten to the point where, DMG: or the Monster Manual. But if they do, all
no matter what they encountered, they “It is the spirit of the game, not the is not lost for the DM who wants to keep
had all the answers. All the magical items letter of the rules, which is important. some of the secrets of his world to him-
were totally familiar to them — even Never hold to the letter written, nor allow self. There are many things you can do to
though I had never included some of some barracks room lawyer to force rectify the situation, and improve your
them in my treasures. quotations from the rule book upon you, game at the same time.

62
August 1981 Dragon

63
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

maintain a type of monarchy. Life was

never so secure on the Barbarian Fronti-
er as it was farther north. Accordingly,
the king kept his throne in Jipols, in ex-
change for a charter guaranteeing polit-
ical rights to the newly powerful mer-
chant class.
The city-states of the South Plains
prospered under merchant rule. Says
the historian Shakaid of Zefnar: “The
great gods placed their blessing upon
the South Plains; peace and bounty was
the portion of all men everywhere, rich
and poor alike.” Art and literature knew a
renaissance under the plutocrats, while
the political sway of the cities spread
widely. Drawing soldiers from among
the huge ranks of their agrarian yeomen,
the cities seized great tracts of land.
Adeese, the mightiest of the city-states,
held sway from the Spires to the Sun to
the Altars of Greystaff. Then, not content

The evolution of with this dominion, the city attacked an-

cient Pon and annexed its tin-rich
mountains.

the Shucassamites
Despite outward appearances, the
city-states were already past their peak
of health by this time in history. As the
generations passed, the yeomen free-
by Glenn Rahman of aristocrat-owned land. A military feu- holders lost their lands, which the pluto-
dalism suited the conditions of the time crats turned into vineyards or livestock
Despite the great physical destructive- — a general shortage of food and other pastures. As the countryside emptied of
ness of the Cataclysm, civilization was essentials, and the constant threat of people and the cities burgeoned with
not totally extinguished on the South barbarian attack. As time wore on, a unwarlike clerks, merchants, scholars,
Plains of Minaria. Certain towns located semi-divine kingship came to be the craftsmen and dispossessed paupers,
near a source of water— Adeese, Jipols, norm. But after half a millenium this the state militias could not meet their
Khuzdul, Parros and Zefnar — survived. political-economic system was showing recruitment quotas. By 766, Adeese was
The fact that they had access to oases signs of wear. forced to hire outside mercenaries when
was critical, for desert-like conditions As the monarchs succeeded in sup- it went to war with Khuzdul over mining
prevailed throughout the area after the pressing barbarian attacks and baronial rights in the tin-rich Dry Mountains. Lat-
catastrophe. Deprived of regular rainfall, strife, the ensuing peace allowed farmers, er, when Zehr-hu-Pon was invaded, the
as well as its outlet to the sea, the giant herders and craftsmen to work more ef- Black Knight’s army was more than half
lake of Cephallen shrank and became fectively and create a surplus of goods. It composed of mercenary soldiers.
the bitter Sea of Zett. A land previously was found that these commodities could The danger of collapse of the civiliza-
celebrated for its bounty turned into a be carried between cities and sold at a tion was slow to become apparent. Men
parched waste over which rolled vast profit. The peddlers who carried the admired the great aqueduct that was
dust clouds. goods accrued great wealth, to the point built from the Wanderer to the fields of
Khuzdul was the first city to start on where some could afford to live like Adeese — but, ominously, the well wa-
the road to recovery. Out of the waste- noblemen. tered fields were worked only by slave
land came the lmmortal Lord — an un- Trade soon extended to the small oa- gangs. Slavery increased in the cities
conquerable soldier and peerless leader sis villages beyond the cities and then to themselves; hosts of slaves mass-pro-
of men. He laid claim to the city, and the tribal peoples of the coasts and duced goods at a cost that could under-
ruled wisely. Elsewhere, agrarian-based plains. Parros and Zefnar thrived when sell the goods of free craftsmen. The
democracies predominated. Alas, as the they converted the ships of their fishing craftsmen subsequently joined the de-
population grew and the barbarians be- fleets into merchandise haulers. scendants of the yeomen in pauperage.
came more menacing, the need for bet- By the beginning of the seventh cen- In Zefnar, the capital of the slave trade,
ter organization was felt. Finally, the tury, Zefnar was in commercial contact bondsmen and bondmaids were taught
democracies were supplanted by mil- with the Miviorian town of Colist. Ship- music, scribing, poetry, dance and cui-
itary leaders — kings — on the pattern builders experimented with new designs, sine. The spread of such “specialized”
set by the Immortal Lord of Khuzdul. and soon many trim galleys were plying slavery threw thousands of free artists
Each of the great city-states preserved the coasts of the Sea of Drowning Men. out of work, the same way the craftsmen
its own history in chronicles beginning Meanwhile, the merchant class of Adeese had gone. Prosperity, once general, was
shortly after the Cataclysm. One of the had grown numerous enough and rich now the privilege of very few.
most important sources for the early his- enough to demand a say in the ruling of Where this malaise was leading be-
tory of the South Plains is Maiko’s Eccle- their city. The king replied with repres- came manifest at the end of the ninth
siastical Chronicle, written in the sixth sion, until a revolt expelled both him and century. Then the Wisnyos, conquerors
century, but utilizing earlier records his aristocratic supporters. Events were from the Barbarian frontier, seized Par-
which are no longer in existence. much the same in Parros, Zefnar and ros, Jipols and Zefnar and threatened
Maiko states that the vast majority of Khuzdul. even mighty Khuzdul. Wisnyo rule
inhabitants of the city-states were tillers Only conservative Jipols continued to brought back the worst abuses of the

64
August 1981 Dragon
Age of Kings. Repression and taxation drove the excess population of the sa-

EXTRA!
by the rulers and their representatives vannas out of their homeland — as when
ground down the merchant class while the migrating Yanna tribe invaded and
doing nothing to stem the widespread overwhelmed the Gyhara Confederacy,
poverty and unemployment. founding the hybrid state of Yanna-
Fortunately, the Wisnyo mis-rule was gyhara.
brief. The Wisnyo warriors took to quar- In the early thirteenth century it was
reling and surrounded themselves with the turn of the Shucassami people to
enfeebling luxury. Their second genera- leave the trouble-beset savannas and
tion was a lazy, drunken and vice-ridden take their herds and families north.
lot. When the terror of the “abominations The Shucassamis were intelligent and
of the land and the horrors of the air” warlike— as a cattle-raising people must
threatened Zefnar ever so slightly, the be, to safeguard their herds against raid-
reigning Wisnyo king, Kanin, lost heart ers. The generation that left the savan-
and fled toward Parros. He was slain by nas was illiterate, but they have left
his guards on the road, for the treasures songs and stories — collected by scho-
he carried. After Kanin’s death, Wisnyo
rule collapsed and the city-states estab-
lished a variety of weak, civilian gov-
lars such as Bakufar of Hio — that allow
us to reconstruct their past.
To the Shucassamis, trade was re-
EXTRA!
ernments. garded as less honorable than armed
Adeese also declined over the latter robbery, and was resorted to only when
tenth century. Its southern frontier crum- violence failed. Their dominant interests NEWS RELEASE FROM...
bled, and it was unable to keep up with were war and the acquisition of cattle
the increasing cost of maintaining its and horses. Their young men were skilled
mercenary army. Squadrons left their in many weapons — spears, swords,
posts and marched on Adeese, demand- axes and the bow. The wealthy families
ing back pay. Unfortunately, one mer- were the aristocrats, but bards, smiths
cenary leader, Esheq of the Guinni tribe, and women had good social positions. BALTIMORE, MD. (H.S.D.)
turned the demonstration into a coup The most generous family head at- It was learned recently that poly-
and set up a strongman rule. During the tracted the most relations and, hence, hedral dice no longer pose a problem
disorders that followed the usurpation, the most manpower and status. Parsi- to the gaming industry. Mr. H. Ben
the great aqueduct was destroyed and mony was the most despised vice with Fine, president of The House of Seven
the last vestiges of Adeesi control in Pon which a Shucassami noble could be Dragons (a new firm in Baltimore,
were lost. charged. Kinsmen who attached them- Maryland) has created and
Taking a lesson from Esheq, the mer- selves to the chief comprised his body- developed a process to mass produce
cenaries in the cities of the former Wis- guard in battle and, if he were slain, they pre-inked dice.
nyo Empire rose up and ended civilian were duty bound to die with him. For many years problems have been
rule. Eventually, even the oligarchy of The Shucassami attitude to the super- created by an inadequate supply of
Khuzdul fell — ordered to disband by natural was not sophisticated. Priests good-quality, pre-inked, reasonably
Pollo, a mercenary captain from Beolon. were supported in noble households, priced dice. Today however, due to
For more than two hundred years the but their social standing was low. Wor- this revolutionary new process, Mr.
city-states remained in the grip of var- ship centered on a vague concept of Fine’s pre-inked polyhedral’s will be
ious tyrants, who often had violent and “Sky-borne Ones.” It was believed that available in high gross quantities,
short careers. Though they were certain- Fate was superior to both man and gods. opaque & krystal material in all colors.
ly devious, ambitious and unscrupulous, This idea made the Shucassami hero re- Retail prices will be reduced and
many of the tyrants were also intelligent signed to ill fortune, while justifying him allow merchants to sustain reasonable
and cultivated men. Occasionally they in his belief that he might win through profit per unit.
helped their cities prosper, reviving arts against any obstacle, even against the Dealer inquiries are now being
and letters by their patronage. The Age hostility of the gods themselves. Such solicited.
of Tyrants was characterized by warfare men — willing to take any risk — made
between the city-states, in which military fearsome foes. Other Minarians, with
adventurers sought to establish empire their elaborate rituals and pantheons,
and dynasty. The Black Knight of Stub- could find little of substance in the Shu-
staff Keep has left us a vivid picture of cassami faith and called the invaders
these times in his memoirs — especially “the people without gods.”
his The War of the Three Tyrants. This describes the people who burst COME SEE US AT GEN CON® XIV
Continual warfare and political insta- upon the South Plains. The city chroni- Booth #87
bility sapped the city-states of their po- cles have preserved the military aspect
tential during the period of tyrannic rule. of the invasion, and the legends of the
Gyharan refugees from beyond the Bar- Shucassami recount the marvels they
barian frontier conquered Jipols in the witnessed in the new land. CONTACT
early twelfth century, while the pirates of The clan of Ombos, for example, sent The House
the Westward Islands humiliated the ty- scouts ahead to locate water for the of The Seven Dragons
rants of Zefnar and Parros. crossing of the Withering. The riders ex-
Meanwhile, in the savannas of the far plored the arid landscapes until a beauti- 3103 Smith Avenue
south, a different kind of turmoil was dis- ful piping music wafted to their ears. In Baltimore MD 21208
turbing the cattle and horse-breeding hopes of finding a village or a foreign
tribes that dwelt there. Even in the best of herder to rob, they followed the sound (301) 486-3227
times, their lives tended to be turbulent. until they arrived at a small oasis. It was
Warfare, plague, and famine sometimes deserted, but the men were pleased to

65
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

have found the water their people needed. himself fled toward Pon, but Shucassami The poorer members of the conquer-
As the sun was setting, the warriors ate raiders chanced upon him and butchered ing Shucassami disdained city life and
their supper, reveled in their good for- him in an obscure part of the wasteland. either managed the herds of wealthy no-
tune for a while, and lay down to sleep Two years later, when Shucassamis bles or tended their own small flocks.
beside the pool. surrounded the city, Adeese fared less Sons of nobility were often sent to work
Alas, only one of their number would well. The tribesmen controlled the entire with their brethren in the country. There
ever wake again — and he would be a countryside, cutting off all relief and they learned horsemanship and were
madman ever afterwards. Dhonn, the supplies. After a few months of isolation, prepared for a later career of soldiery.
madman, told a tale of strange music starvation broke the will of the mercenar- The Shucassamite cattle-tender is known
that filled his dreaming mind. The warble ies in the city. Beniyan, the ataman as the gajoen (herd-man). His type fig-
seemed to lift his spirit from his body and (chief) of the Shucassamis, traded the ures as a hero in many a Shucassamite
guide him up into the starlit ether. As he sellswords their lives for the surrender of song and story. To the present day, the
opened his sleeping eyes, he saw his Adeese. The year was 1252, the official gajoens form the hard core of every
comrades similarly adrift in space. While founding date of the Shucassamite Shucassamite army. Without these dar-
he floated on, as if moved by a breeze, kingdom. ing, hard-riding men, the army— mainly
something else came into view of Dhonn’s From captured Adeesi engineers, the conscripts from native stock— would be
astonished eyes — a vast, formless mass Shucassamis learned more about the art far less effective in battle and pursuit.
with many tentacles of flowing mist. of siege warfare and applied the new tac- The cities of the South Plains have ev-
Around the mass danced and piped a tics to Khuzdul. After a long investment ery reason to be grateful to their Shucas-
myriad of hideous jinn, grasping the trying to withstand the siege, the tyrant sami conquerors. The decay of the Age
soul-bodies of the Shucassami as they of Khuzdul, Shiror, committed suicide of Tyrants has been reversed in a cen-
drifted close and hurling them into the and the city fell. tury of their rule. The learned disciplines
chaotic abomination. Dhonn screamed After taking over Khuzdul, Beniyan have rallied and scientists, magicians
in horror and thrashed like one fighting consolidated his power for more than a and poets enjoy the bounty of both royal
his way out of a nightmare. Suddenly he decade, then turned his military machine and noble courts. The cities glitter with
found himself back on the sands of the against the port cities of Zefnar and Par- new gardens, palaces and libraries. Their
oasis. He threw himself on his brethren ros. These cities entered into an alliance ancestors often suffered through inva-
and tried to rouse them, but they were with Queen Daring of Rombune, and the sions and the turmoil of war, but the
dead to a man. Dhonn remembers no- ensuing struggle was long and hard. Fi- present-day Shucassamite subjects be-
thing more that happened until other nally the queen accepted a political set- nefit from the protection of one of the
scouts found him wandering alone in the tlement, giving Shucassam special privi- finest and most effective armies in
desert. leges in Zefnar, while reserving Parros Minaria.
According to another legend, a war- for Rombune. The “special privileges” The expense of rebuilding the civiliza-
band of Shucassamis attacked a monas- soon became an outright annexation. tion of the South Plains was immense,
tery on the edge of Blasted Heath. The Within his lifetime, Beniyan had seen but the unification of this vast area makes
barbarians rounded up the brothers and the Shucassamite state grow from a it lucrative for Shucassam to control the
looted the temple of the god Naashu- dream to its vast present-day borders. trade routes running between Minaria
Pinboh. The monks invoked their deity Beniyan, a desert chief’s son born in a and, the subcontinent of Girion. Cara-
for deliverance and, lo, the raiders were leather tent, lived his old age in splendor, vans can avoid Shucassamite taxes only
stricken with leprosy. Griefstricken but entertained by dancing girls who had by expensive sea routes, or by the round-
acknowledging the power of Naashu- been the daughters of great tyrants. As a about way through the lands of Pon.
Pinboh, the Shucassamis remained at signal that his work was done, Beniyan Shucassam has fought sharp encoun-
the monastery and joined the holy order. expired in a peaceful sleep. ters with most of its neighbors, but the
The god rewarded their conversion by What Beniyan had accomplished had longest and most bitter conflict was
making them the most feared of all men. never been done before. For the first waged against Pon. The Shucassamites
When the raiders went to war in later time, all the city-states of the South hoped to close the trade routes which
years in the name of their Shucassamite Plains stood united. The union forged a were enticing too many caravans away
sovereign, they found few enemies wil- commonwealth fit to defy even the pow- from their king’s toll-stations, going in-
ling to stand their ground before the er of resurgent Muetar and Mivior. Under stead through the heart of Pon. The in-
dreaded Lepers. the patronage of the royal scepter, Zef- vaders did considerable damage, but
There are many such stories of peril nar’s decrepit fleet was rebuilt and did Archduke Phalor of Pon kept his defend-
and disaster which befell the Shucassa- frequent battle for trading rights along ing troops in the mountains and rough
mi invaders, but the conquest of the the Minarian sea lanes. country, where the Shucassamite caval-
South Plains progressed steadily non- The transition from nomad to urban ry was at a disadvantage. Finally, King
etheless. The horsemen spread their in- aristocracy was not easily made by the Metchu could no longer justify his coun-
fluence widely, taking Jipols by a ruse Shucassami nobles. Native merchants try’s losses. The Shucassamite army with-
and letting the inhabitants live to add revived trade on the South Plains, but the drew and the stubborn mountaineers
their civilized skills to the victors’ un- Shucassami took little direct part in it. kept their trade routes.
couth bravery. Raiders even ranged as Their noblemen could neither trade nor The government of Shucassam is one
far north as Muetar, until Emperor Egal- work the land without losing status. One of the youngest in Minaria. It is yet too
on repulsed their bold forays. might act as a patron of the arts and soon to tell if the king in Adeese will be
Proerno, the duke of Heap in the Hills, sciences, but was not supposed to dab- able to maintain the hard-won unity of
chose this troubled time to attack Adeese, ble in either endeavor himself. About the the realm, or whether it will fall victim to
then being ruled by the tyrant Yoritom. only gainful pursuit left open to the no- the decadence that has undone earlier
The ruthless Yoritom ordered that a ble was the breeding of horses and cat- barbarian conquerors. The son of Met-
large group of country people be ga- tle. Despite his power and wealth, the chu, Zanwee, begins his reign with the
thered together and driven to the Altars Shucassami noble was poorly educated; blessings of his diverse and far-flung
of Greystaff. Their sacrifice brought a his tutors were more interested in les- subjects. Whether he can live up to the
firestorm down upon the army of Proer- sons of character-building than practi- great tradition set by his ancestor, King
no, defeating the warriors. The duke cal knowledge. Beniyan, only time will tell.

66
August 1981 Dragon
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Practicing Game Design

I: Choosing a topic
Probably the main reason people get genres or historical periods are already designer to consider whether he is truly
into game design in the first place is that “gamed out.” The designer should not committed to the project before he is in
they get more and more into the games come in with a new version of an old over his head in terms of spent time and
and at successively higher levels of gen- topic unless there is something new and loss of other opportunities. The most
erality. First the gamer creates his own different in the vision he presents. frequent cause of designer “burnout” on
character or he adds variant rules to his When they were consulted on how a game is rushing into the development
board game. Then he is soon creating they choose the topic for a game, all of of system mechanics that later turn out
his own scenarios. It is but a short leap our expert panelists said the topic has to to be inappropriate or unwieldy during
from this point to creating your own role- be something that interests them. Clear- playtesting. The best method of preven-
playing or board game. ly a universal general conception, this tion is a gestation period for the prospec-
But just how do you go about making a can be defined as the first ground rule of tive designer to think about the range of
game? This question has often been selecting a topic. But to more sharply elements he wants to include and the
asked but seldom answered, and the define “interest” it is necessary for the level of detail to be given to each
lack of a widely available methodology prospective designer to ask himself ex- sub-system.
for making a game is the major reason actly what elements make for the interest The fourth ground rule is to identify in
why most currently published game de- he has in an idea. Is it something about advance what scale and type of game
signers learned their trade through work- the situation? The alternate-world realm? design is required to achieve its creator’s
ing for a publisher such as Avalon Hill or Or the period, or the type of conflict, or goals. Advance thinking about the ele-
Simulations Publications, Inc. the nature of the contending forces? It is ments to be included in the design and
Simulation Corner has made an effort in this way that the designer accumu- the size of the end-product game helps
to assemble a detailed but non-technical lates an inventory of elements for ex- the designer to identify the crucial in-
discussion of how to make a game. This pression in a game system. Moreover, formation he needs to create the system.
is the first installment of a five-part ser- specifying the elements which make a Moreover, it is impossible for the de-
ies. The discussion in this mini-series game idea of interest to the designer also signer to recognize what critical infor-
“Practicing Game Design” is based on provides the designer with a criterion for mation is missing without knowing what
the experience of professional game de- exclusion which serves him further along items he needs to build the system.
signers. One major source has been in- in the creative process to help prevent How do you identify what scale and
terviews in the hobby press. A second is his game system from becoming over- type of game is needed? How do you
the author’s experience, while the last is loaded by detail. While there is no ne- build an inventory of elements to be in-
a series of detailed commentaries from cessary relationship between designer cluded in the system? Must you wait and
three talented and widely respected de- interest and quality of a game system, not do anything on the exciting game
signers. The latter are Jay Nelson, a free- there is a definite correlation between idea that has popped up? Actually, you
lance designer in New York; Stephen designer disinterest and a poor game can indeed move right ahead, but the
Newberg, founder of Simulations Cana- product, as many designers of early- designer’s moves should be purposeful
da; and Jack Greene, who has recently period SPl “quad” format games would and effective. The designer should use
founded Quarterdeck Games out in attest. the gestation period to, as Jack Greene
California. As a second ground rule, the designer puts it, “read, read, and read.”
This first segment of the discussion should also identify what things he is not Up at Simulations Canada, Stephen
will focus on choosing the topic for a interested in. This further formalizes and Newberg has contrived to use this read-
game. In the early days, for me at least, amplifies the designer’s criteria for ex- ing time systematically. He reads a good
this used to be easy. Avalon Hill pro- clusion. It may allow him to choose be- deal, mainly history he says, and notes
duced maybe two games a year and they tween topics in close-call cases where anything interesting he comes across.
were always talked up months in ad- possible game subjects are related. In Periodically Stephen returns to these
vance. It was easy to do my own version one example from an early SPI game, the notes. From them he extracts possible
of whatever was announced. But after designer of a Pacific island combat game game topics plus concrete information
branching out into serious design, one chose among the different island battles for individual game systems on which he
wants to conceive and produce a game he could have done on the basis of which is already working. As of early 1981, Ste-
completely independently of any exist- islands had received reinforcements in phen had some two dozen game topics
ing product or idea. If the designer se- the course of the battles in question. on his list, aside from titles then in the
riously intends to sell his game to a pub- The third ground rule is not to move design phase at Simulations Canada.
lisher, in fact, this is essential. The wide too fast. It is good to pause after decid- Jay Nelson notes that other published
variety of game titles already on the ing that a topic is interesting, but before games may themselves stimulate his in-
market suggests that this exercise is executing a full-fledged game-design terest in a topic and lead him to read
harder than one would think; indeed, project. This is necessary to allow de- about it. He tries to “work through a
many designers complain that important sign ideas to germinate, and it allows the whole variety of sources, first to get an

68
August 1981 Dragon
idea of the scope of the ‘game’ portion of and must be dynamic to achieve this. Choosing a topic is only the first step
the subject and then to more specific The hobby is not as “gamed out” as in creating a game. Many are the game
‘intra-game’ material.” some people may think, a fact which is ideas that never go beyond this stage. To
Research is necessary for any game demonstrated in part by my simulation push the idea beyond this point, the de-
design, and all three experts alluded to it game Kanev: Parachutes Across the signer must bring to bear his skills in
in their comments on the first step taken Dnepr (People’s War Games, 1981), innovating game mechanics. Simulation
in creating a game design. Even fantasy which is an interesting concrete exam- Corner will turn to the whole question of
and science-fiction games, as opposed ple of choosing a topic for a game. In this building models for game systems in the
to historical ones, require research be- case I had been considering the general next installment of this series.
cause there the goal is to create a game question of small-format games and
universe with wholly consistent ele- thought there should be no reason why FOR FURTHER READING:
ments. In historical games, of course, “mini” and “micro” games necessarily Jacques Barzun and Henry Graff, The
the need for research has always been have to be uninteresting and repetitive. I Modern Researcher. New York, 1972.
acknowledged as a major component of also wanted to show that not all good Strategy & Tactics Magazine Staff, War-
game quality. Some games which are to- historical situations have yet been done game Design. S&T Staff Study No. 2, Simula-
tally unplayable are nevertheless prized as games. tions Publications, 1977.
for the quantity and/or quality of their
research content. Alternately, some high-
ly playable games on historical subjects
are not commonly or properly described
as “simulation” games.
Unlike most other aspects of game de-
sign, there has been substantial written
commentary on the process of research.
Consult Stephen Patrick’s contribution
to the SPI staff study Wargame Design.
For a more authoritative introduction to
the general methodology of research,
see Graff and Barzun’s The Modern
Researcher.
One other thing about game topics is
worth saying. There is always room for a
fresh vision, a new design in a bold direc-
tion. But the game must say something

69
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

RAL PARTHA CASTLE CREATIONS

25mm giants

Condor
Prop: 7 Det: 7
Anim: 8 Tech: 6
Two new giant sculptures, suitably scaled for use with 25mm This great bird, sculpted in a pose as though it is about to
figures, are offered by Ral Partha. The Hill Giant (left) is part of strike, has a wingspan of more than 6 inches. Each condor
the “Children of the Night” series, and the Storm Giant (right) is comes with a rider who is armed with either a sword or a lance. A
in Ral Partha’s “Personalities” line. smaller, but equally well done, hawk figure is also available from
this company.
Hill Giant Storm Giant
Prop: 7 Det: 8 Prop: 7 Det: 6 Skull Splitter Giant
Anim: 8 Tech: 7 Anim: 8 Tech: 7 Prop: 6 Det: 7
The high quality of the de- This sculpture succeeds in Anim: 6 Tech: 7
tail in the body hair and face giving the impression that This formidable fig-
make this a notable figure. the figure is leaning into a ure would work well as
strong wind, mainly because a Fire Giant. The shield
of the flowing hair and beard has an interesting face
and the animated posture. on its front, and the axe
has been molded to
HERITAGE USA taper toward the cut-
ting edge.

RAL PARTHA
Fantasy Collector Series
Cold Drake
Prop: 6 Det: 7
Anim: 8 Tech: 7
This reptilian-looking fig-
ure lacks front appendages,
but is otherwise suitable for
use as a small dragon or
Hill Giant Beholder wyvern. The mouth area and
Prop: 6 Det: 7 Prop: 6 Det: 7 scales are nicely done. The
Anim: 7 Tech: 7 Anim: 8 Tech: 6 wings come as one separate
This rendition of a striding This is a truly evil-looking piece and attach easily, leav-
Hill Giant should paint up eye tyrant (at right in above ing no sign of the junction
very nicely. It contains a good photo), which comes pack- with the body.
amount of detail, including aged with an unidentifiable,
subtleties such as bracelets but hungry-looking compan-
and a necklace of teeth. This ion (at left). The beholder is Reviews by Photographs by
figure, like most Heritage of- solidly made and can be
Bill Fawcett Kathy O’Donnell
ferings, is signed by the “stood up” on a base or other
sculptor on the underside of flat surface.
the base.
70
August 1981 Dragon
PENN-HURST/GREENFIELD HOBBY DIST. GRENADIER MODELS
AD&D™ series, The Dragon’s Lair

CASTLEKEEPS — Module One Prop: 5 Det: 7

This plastic castle is beautifully molded and detailed. The ceiling of the Anim: 7 Tech: 7
covered area and the towers all lift off to allow for the movement of This serpentine dragon, poised to strike, is the major
figures under and through those areas. The plastic is tough and will resist element in Grenadier’s newest set of figures in its offi-
chipping while taking paint easily. The structure is scaled primarily for cial AD&D line. Also included in the package are a
use with 15mm figures; only a few 25mm figures would fit in any of the treasure assortment, two very small young dragons,
towers, and the doors are definitely made to 15mm height. The price for and a set of eggs which are just hatching. The 6-inch-
this accessory is a hefty $44.95, but the quality of the castle makes it long dragon is nicely detailed and comes partially
worth checking into for anyone who does a lot of 15mm fantasy or assembled.
medieval gaming. Several additions to the basic structure, including a
tower and a keep, are now offered, and other modular add-ons will be
forthcoming, according to the producers. (The figures shown at the HERITAGE USA
bottom of the photograph are not included with the castle, but are
included for size comparison. The left-hand figure is 25mm, the right-
hand one 15mm.)

CITADEL MINIATURES

Supervillians and Superheroes

Prop: 7 Det: 6-7
Anim: 7-8 Tech: 6
These figures, for use with any superhero rules,
come in a boxed set with a well written painting guide
and a brief set of rules for gaming with them, in case the
Ogre buyer doesn’t already have a set of rules to use.
Prop: 6 Det: 6
Anim: 7 Tech: 6 Giant Spider
This fearsome figure, equipped Prop: 6 Det: 7
with hammer and shield, boasts Anim: 6 Tech: 6
deeply etched features, including Letters from readers concerning this feature are appreciat-
This figure, when painted care-
ed, but unfortunately Figuratively Speaking cannot provide
a skull-and-fang necklace and a fully, is realistic enough to give the more information for potential buyers of the figures which are
sinewy, hairy body. The mouth is jitters to the family arachniphobe. reviewed. such as addresses of the manufacturers. Those who
the most impressive single feature The legs are well positioned to give want to contact a figure manufacturer or dealer are encour-
— a gaping hole with distinctly the impression of movement, and aged to look through advertisements in this and other maga-
sculpted teeth and even a detailed sturdy enough to stand up to han- zines. Your local hobby shop is also a good source for this sort
tongue. dling without being out of scale. of information.

71
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

Basic Role-Playing made easy

by John T. Sapienza, Jr.

This is the second edition and the first

to be sold separately, as it originally ap-
peared as one of the components of
Boxed RuneQuest. The 8½” x 11” book
consists of 16 pages of rules, tables, and
character sheets; an insert on heavier
paper with playing pieces for characters
and monsters plus chits to substitute for
dice (most %” square, and which have to
be cut up for use); and a battleboard of
offset rows of ¾” squares. This gives you
the functional equivalent of a hexgrid
without its linear distortion, so when you
place a sheet of clear plastic over it to
draw in room walls, your square room
will be square instead of a rhomboid (fol-
lowing hexsides) or a rectangle (using
right-angle corners). I greatly prefer this
kind of battleboard to a hexgrid. It is true that the rules used to start the life of your character in terms that you
The book suggests that you photo- reader off for introductory scenario play already understand. This is a highly su-
copy the character sheets, playing pie- are simplified RuneQuest mechanics, perior teaching technique.
ces, and battleboard rather than cutting but this is really unimportant — BRP may From the introduction to role-playing;
them out, and points out that by copying be the best accessory you could buy for BRP moves to introducing the reader to
the battleboard multiple times you can $4 for a beginner, even if you are playing the materials used in gaming. Then the
have modular boards for larger play with a different set of mechanics in your text discusses how you generate a char-
areas. I find the ¾” squares on the board campaign. acter — not merely the numbers that
a bit constraining because I use 7/8” BRP is divided into an introduction to make up the statistics, but how to put life
bases on my metal figures, but BRP may role-playing as a form of gaming, and a into those statistics to produce a per-
be worth buying simply to get the battle- sonality. This is defined in common terms
board for gamers who find its size con- that the reader can quickly comprehend.
venient. Perhaps Chaosium can be talked Once the reader knows how to create a
into publishing an alternating-square character, BRP goes on to introduce the
battleboard with 1” squares as a Rune- player/character to the dangers and ex-
Quest accessory? citement encountered in life. The reader
BRP is designed as an introductory learns a basic combat system and is
guide to the hobby of role-playing games shown how it works with several sample
of all kinds, and is therefore written more engagements of different kinds. There
in terms of what the hobby is about than are a few points I would have liked to see
in terms of rules for all occasions. In fact, spelled out better, such as how you pro-
it is not a fantasy role-playing game as duce a d3 of damage, or why the shield is
such, but a handbook on how to role- listed as having 12 “breakage points”
play and a simple combat system to help and yet is described as not breaking
the beginner get into the act. There is no when hit, but by and large the system
magic system at all in BRP, and so it is writeup is clear enough to be mastered
more comparable to Melee by Metagam- quickly. This section includes a sample
ing than any other product in concept solo scenario, a simple situation that il-
(and in price). lustrates (without making a fuss over it)
Given these limitations, is BRP worth the fact that gaming doesn’t require a lot
buying? Yes, it is. BRP is one of the best of advance preparation to be fun.
introductions to the practical social in- BRP closes with some good advice on
teractions in gaming that I have read, where to go from there, including further
and will give beginning gamers the kind description of the mechanics used to il- reading, how to find players, the wide
of guidance they typically do not get in lustrate how you get started doing it range of games to look into, and finally a
the full-scale games they will graduate yourself. Both are written in parallel sec- quiet reference to Chaosium Inc, as a
to, since game writers usually spend tions of explanatory text and sample source of products to look into. When
their time on mechanics instead of on gaming situations featuring a character you consider that this could have been
the proper relationships between player faced with a series of decisions that illus- designed solely as a sales pitch through-
and player, player and referee, or player trate what the text is talking about. The out the book for Chaosium, and was not,
and character. BRP is a beginner’s text is written in a simple, conversational I think this was done with a degree of
course on how to think like a character style, and the sample gaming illustra- taste and restraint not often seen in the
and how to build the character’s person- tions use everyday situations in the life business world. BASIC ROLE-PLAYlNG
ality from what you begin with and from of a common country person to make the is a truly universal introduction to the
what develops with experience. quiet point that role-playing is living the hobby — highly recommended.

72
August 1981 Dragon

TIMELAG leaves a gap players. One or two fortuitous rolls by

the opposition can spell doom for a
player even before the fleets clash, es-
by Tony Watson to total loss for one side. There are also pecially if the doomed player’s own luck
provisions for a couple of more flashy at rolling economic values is below aver-
The entire aspect of Einsteinian rela- weapons, the warp and the sunburst, age in that game, The economic system
tivity and the very real effect this would which are placed in systems and used to also pumps a lot of EPs into the game
have on interstellar warfare is something scatter or incinerate enemy ships. quickly. It’s not uncommon for a player
that has largely been ignored in most SF Timelag’s components aren’t particu- to be able to purchase a higher tech level
games. For the most part, FTL (faster larly fancy, which isn’t surprising con- and most of the new ships at that level all
than light) drives are posited that neatly sidering the low cost. They consist of a in one turn, especially at the lower tech
circumvent this problem. Without FTL somewhat unappealing map, die-cut levels. The game system also tends to
engines, ships streaking along at ap- counters, “out of tech” sheets and a rules favor the player on the strategic defen-
preciable fractions of light speed would folder. sive since his ships won’t age as much
experience a much slower passage of While I was intrigued with Timelag’s (less movement) and subsequent battles
time than the time passage on their premise, I was a bit disappointed in the will tend to his favor since his ships will
home world. A starship on an interstellar game as a whole. The random method of Iikely be younger and of higher tech than
voyage might mark time by the year, determining economic values of systems the attacker’s.
while the planet it left from, and perhaps can lead to a vast disparity between the Timelag certainly portrays the effect
more important, the planet it was going
to, counted by decades. The effect this
would have, especially on the technolog-
ical aspects of warfare, would be
tremendous.
TIMELAG, by Gameshop (now known
as Nova Game Designs), strives to deal
with just this phenomena.
Timelag’s approach is to keep track of
the age of the starships in the game on a
graduated scale. Each game turn rep-
resents five years and a counter corres-
ponding to each ship encounter is moved
along this “out of tech” track every turn
this ship moves (not moving allows a
ship to lose five years of aging, reflecting
some technology “catch-up”). Relative
age of combatant starships is an impor-
tant factor in figuring combat strengths.
The game is a strategic simulation pit-
ting a presumably Terran society against
an alien race, on a 10” x 14” map depict-
ing seventeen solar systems. The units
involved are starships, rated for combat
value and tech level. The players vie to
control the star systems for the econom-
ic points they garner for their owner.
These points are determined randomly
when the system is moved into; a die is
rolled and the result multiplied by five.
The owner gets these points every turn,
and the output of particularly lucrative
systems can be doubled by building a
base in the system.
Star systems on Timelag’s map are
groups of four stars linked together by
jump routes. Ships can move in a stand-
ard fashion; that is, between contiguous
hexes, or can attempt to jump between
stars of a system. In some cases, jumps
can be made between stars of differing
systems. The exact movement capabili-
ties of a ship, the number of hexes and
jumps it may move in a turn, is deter-
mined by its tech level.
Combat takes place between oppos-
ing ships in the same hex, with combat
strength, tech level and age differential
all figuring into the final result. Results
range from one-for-one ship exchanges

73
Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

of time dilation on space warfare; but ings. Couple this with a tendency toward and broken weapons. Dark borders are used
other than that, it is not really that inter- poor play balance and you have a game to represent the dungeon’s interior walls.
esting. Other games such as Warp War which, sad to say, possesses a minimum Most of the tiles are 2½” square, though some
of Iong-lasting appeal. are a bit larger, as this conforms to 25mm
and Stellar Conquest have taken into ac-
scale.
count the factor of technology differen- Timelag was designed by Mike Vitale Also included are 108 die-cut counters that
tial, and in substantially more interesting and is available for $3.95 from Game- serve a variety of functions. Some represent
ways. Timelag relies on a a gimmick, and shop, 46 Dougherty Street; Manchester, objects such as doors, traps, grates, chests,
this device wears thin after a few play- Connecticut 08040. sacks of coins, fountains, rubble and trash,
and various items of furniture. Others serve as

DUNGEON TILES can take the indicators of the area’s condition: slime,
dampness, smoke, fire, darkness, footprints,
blood trails and the like.

guesswork out of game-playing A four-page folder comes with the set, ex-
plaining how to use the tiles to maximum ef-
fect, including discussions of sighting and
by Tony Watson that company’s first foray into the fantasy “stacking” (the number of figures per tile).
role-playing game market It should be em- Attention is paid to movement, combat forma-
The action in dungeon encounters often phasized that this is a game aid, and despite tion and special combat situations, such as
gets fast and furious, with fighters stepping the nice-looking box cover, is not usable as a fighting through doorways. An example of the
forward to wield their blades and axes, half- stand-alone game. use of tiles in an adventure is included as well.
lings and the like maneuvering to get a shot Dungeon Tiles is a set of components for Dungeon Tiles should be useful to those
off, and the magic-users stepping back to laying out the corridors and rooms of the un- groups who desire more precision in the con-
conjure up a couple of spells. Often the situa- derworld on a tabletop, complete with infor- duct of their encounters, or to the DM who
tion can be even more complex than this, as in mational indicators and furniture. Combined feels the need for a little help in presenting the
instances where the party is surprised while with 25mm figures (not supplied), the set al- situation to his players. While the set is fairly
looting a room or just resting up and tending lows both the players and the DM to better complete, players will notice that somethings
to their wounded. Circumstances where the visualize the turns and twists of the dungeon, are lacking — curved wall and corridor sec-
group is ambushed from more than one direc- and aids in setting up and conducting battles tions, for example. Task Force has stated that
tion or where furniture and other cover is be- and encounters. if this initial set is well received, supplemen-
ing used can be trying for the Dungeon Mas- The set consists of eight full-color sheets of tary sets will be forthcoming.
ter, since he must deal both with the resolu- punchout tiles. These tiles represent lengths Dungeon Tiles is published by Task Force
tion of combat and the ever-changing posi- of dungeon corridors, stairways and rooms. Games and sells for $10. Task Force does no
tions and locations of the participants. They are very nicely executed with brown selling by mail, so buyers will have to find the
A new gaming aid might prove helpful in stone motifs, replete with scattered bones set in their local hobby stores.
conducting dungeon melees. It is DUNGEON
TILES by Task Force games, and represents

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August 1981 Dragon

Reviewed by Chris Henderson Henderson picks his men and women, and sacrificed to the dragon. This diet appeases
the players move onto Lopez’s board. Play Vermithrax, and the dragon sticks to it, only
DREAM PARK begins, and the game areas are transformed coming out of its home to collect its meals.
Larry Niven & Steven Barnes into the South Seas through Dream Park’s Some of the residents of Swanscombe do
hologram and weather control center. not readily go along with the King’s lottery,
Ace Books 16726-8 In the meantime, while the game is played though, and wish to see the dragon destroyed.
$6.95 out in the parkland, below in the park’s R&D The risk is that if someone tries to kill Vermi-
labs a man is murdered and the park’s newest thrax and fails, the dragon will rampage as it
secret is stolen. All evidence quickly indicates has in the past. The conflict of the story thus is
The world of Dream Park is a role-playing that one of the game players is responsible. more between the peasants and the royalty
enthusiast’s dream come true. After the mas- The situation becomes very awkward; if the than it is between humans and dragons.
sive earthquake which ruined southern Cali- game is stopped and all the players detained, The most likely dragonslayer in the area
fornia, the Cowles Industry Corp. went in and Californian politics and outside business pres- (apparently in the entire world, since he is the
created the ultimate adult playland. In it, tour- sures could ruin the park. If the sample and only wizard left alive) is the sorcerer Ulrich.
ists could wander about, seeing actors and formula of Neutral Scent (a chemical which After being approached by the peasants, he
holograms do magic, wage battles, and die, would enable the park to make the games agrees to fight the beast. Before he can, how-
simply for their amusement. They could go on much more realistic) is not recovered, Dream ever, he is slain by the king’s men.
rides unlike those in any other park (such as Park will lose a great potential advantage over This leaves only Ulrich’s apprentice, Galen,
the gravity whip), or they could enter “The its rival parks. to face Vermithrax. The problem is that Galen
Games.” Thus, the only compromise seems to be to is untried in magical combat and he is not all
The gaming layout is simple. A Game Mas- send a Dream Park security person into the that good a magic-mover at all.
ter first sets up a scenario; it can be the finding game, in hopes that he can identify the mur- The stakes are raised for Galen after he falls
derer and recover the park’s stolen property. in love with a young woman who is very likely
Security chief Alex Griffin is sent in. Griffin’s to be the dragon’s next offering. Fearful,
problem is to carry out his mission without clumsy, and unskilled, Galen attacks Vermi-
either disrupting or becoming too involved thrax in its lair and wins — for a while.
with the game. He finds neither task easy. The menace of the dragon puts Galen, his
Dream Park is a fascinating study of the love, and all of England in danger, especially
role-playing mentality. In the book, one sees since the audience knows that Galen cannot
all of the familiar types, from the puffy-faced defeat the creature himself.
novice who doesn’t know what to put on his Dragonslayer is a powerful book. Using the
mule, to the tough, sharp-minded player who
always seems at least two moves ahead of the
competition.
The novel shows both men and women
playing, and shows what they get out of it. The
pace of the novel never slows, as the imagina-
tive Lopez duo throws obstacle after obstacle
in the players’ way, while Griffin tries to find
his quarry.
Dream Park is much better than some of
Niven’s other recent efforts (such as The
Patchwork Girl). One of the more interesting
aspects of the novel is that a reader tends to
find oneself much more interested in how the
game will turn out, rather than whether the
murderer/thief/spy will be caught. It only
goes to prove that truth may be stranger than
fiction, but fiction is usually more interesting.
of sunken treasure, saving a kidnapped prin-
cess from headhunters, waging interstellar war, DRAGONSLAYER
what have you. The game is laid out in typical Wayland Drew
fashion. If those playing the game can find
and follow the right clues (with the help of Dei Rey Books
their Loremaster), and make it through the 345-29694-X
entire game without “dying,” then they split $2.75
the points accumulated by their team, and the
profits from such things as the movie made
from the game and the sale of book rights. Dragonslayer is fairly traditional swords &
The game going on during Dream Park is a sorcery on the surface. The place is England;
meeting of the greats. Richard and Mitsuko it is the time of conflict between the early
Lopez are considered the most brilliant Game Christians and the Druids. To this area and
Masters in the field. This is their chance to time comes the dragon Vermithrax. Choosing
prove that they can design an unbeatable a cave outside the post-Roman village of
challenge. Their opponent is Loremaster Swanscombe, the creature settles in to enjoy
Chester Henderson. This is his chance to the pickings. A number of warriors attempt to
avenge his embarrassing defeat in Lopez’s rid the land of the beast, but all of them fail.
last game. That game brought charges of Over the years, a lottery is devised. All of the
cheating and unfair conduct from Henderson available virgins’ names are put into a pot
against Lopez. twice a year, and the unlucky winners are

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Dragon Vol. VI, No. 2

traditions of epic fantasy as a starting point, each of the small empires had begun to In previous volumes of the Horseclan ser-
Drew takes the Hal Barwood/Matthew Rob- evolve, different ways of life were chosen, all ies, Adams has consistently moved forward in
bins screenplay (on which the novel is based) based on what their cultures were like at this time. With this volume (and the next few to
far past the usual hack-and-slash conven- time. New York continued to grow upward follow it) he moves back before the time of his
tions, exploring the nature of the world he has and outward, a large man-made mountain of a first novel, The Coming of the Horseclans.
created and the people which fill it. city. Paris dug underground, becoming level The first book was deliberately left open at
Much of the novel differs from the simplistic after level of dark, windowless, both ends for this to be done later. Far from
and often predictable Paramount/Disney film family-owned suites. being confusing because of this “going back-
released in June. Galen is a young man of Some of the cities concerned themselves wards,” Horseclans Odyssey is well contained
intense character. He is sensible enough to only with survival, battling the elements in- between its covers, needing no previous read-
know he cannot beat the dragon, brave stead of their neighbors. Moscow has the ing to be understood. (It is in fact, a very good
enough to try, and young enough to be swept snow to contend with. Peking has the nomad- place for anyone who has not read any other
up in everyone’s enthusiasm when they be- ic prairie hordes to plague it. New York has its Horseclans novels to start.)
lieve the monster is dead. He is willful, proud, own unions to deal with, while London seems The book deals with the kidnapping of, and
intelligent and foolish. In Drew’s creation, bent on destroying itself. Paris plays games, search for, three Horseclan children. After
Galen leaves the foppish, one-sided charac- and Rome dreams. they are tricked into sharing supper with slav-
ter of the movie behind to become a much All of the stories are good. They would each ers, the eldest brother is slain trying to es-
more believable person in the book. Drew stand alone quite nicely, but there is an inter- cape, leaving his sister and two younger
does this with all of the novel’s inhabitants, dependency which makes them a fine expe- brothers in the slavers’ hands. From this point
bringing them forward, examining them in a rience when read straight in a row. Truthfully, on, author Adams takes the reader through a
much fuller and more human manner than the the full impact of London’s ghosts and Paris’s Burroughs-like twisting tale bounding back
film can manage. structure of reincarnation are not fully appar- and forth between the following points: (A)
This is not the author’s greatest accom- ent until the last story “The General” (Peking) Big sister escapes, only to fall into the hands
plishment, however. In Dragonslayer, Drew is read. of a sadistic hunter; (B) the brothers are sold
also examines the struggle between the early Cherryh has beaten Bradbury at his own to a perverted merchant who plans to keep the
Christian church and the hanging-on druids. game. Where the supposed poet laureate of older boy for himself while giving the younger
Both are portrayed as they most likely were: science-fiction has gotten away with mean- brother to a high official in the hopes of gain-
The Christians as mad zealots, sacrificing dering through his stories for years, defend- ing favor; (C) the Horseclan warriors, who are
themselves to an uncaring god. Some people ing his silly ideas and half-hearted story- searching for the children of their leader; (D)
of the time view them as foolish, others see telling with the beauty of his style, Cherryh the people they make war on during their
their antics as comical. Very few look upon has gone him one better. Taking his flowery search; and (E) the other countries the Horse-
them as martyrs for a great faith. Religion is style, she has crafted six strong, intelligent clan warriors attack, which are at war with
reduced to comparison shopping rather than tales, all of them wonderful in their language each other.
a matter of faith, which, in a time of worship- and yet powerful in both plot and character. Adams cleverly blends the battles between
ping a great number of gods, is as it should be. By the end of the book, there is no earth- the warring countries with the smaller prob-
Drew wraps his sub-plot of religious soul shaking conclusion; the sun is still red and lems of the major characters. At first, the
gathering neatly around the main storyline, swollen, and our planet and its cites are still sheer weight of the number of central charac-
never making it oppressive or monotonous. dying. The final picture is one of rot and de- ters gives the book an appearance of cumber-
Dragonslayer is good solid, can’t-put-it- cay. Man has not gone shining and gleaming someness. Luckily, the characters are so
down reading. It shows early England as it off to the stars. A prideful, insolent, lazy anim- sharply defined that Adams can leave one
really was, presenting a graphic picture so al, man has become mired in his own inade- group for two or three chapters at a time with-
real one can see the drab, hand-stitched clo- quacy, destroying those individuals who out having their images fade from memory.
thing and the mud-clogged streets without would rise above it all. Beyond all of this, however, it is the author’s
being told they are there. By adding the phys- Sunfall is not Cherryh’s best (an author can style which is the most appealing aspect of
ical and emotional dimensions left out of the only have one “best” and so far Downbelow the series. Robert Adams is a fencer, hunter
screenplay, Drew has taken a very standard Station is hers), but it is a fine collection none- and rider in real life. He makes his own histor-
outline and given it life, making it the best theless. More thoughtful than exciting, this ically correct military costumes. A man known
fantasy novel so far this year. grim tale of the future, while much more firmly for precision, with a sharp eye for detail, he
rooted in fantasy than in science fiction, is uses his personal wealth of knowledge to
SUNFALL one of the best “life-ahead-of-us” books pro- bring his books to life. His woodsmen are real
C.J. Cherryh duced in quite some time. woodsmen. They do more than just aim their
bows and bring down game. They know how
DAW Books 0-87997-618-7 to skin the animals they kill; they know how to
$2.25 HORSECLANS ODYSSEY butcher them, and then make good use of the
Robert Adams bones, horns, bladders and hides.
His merchants know how to haggle, trade,
Cherryh is best known for her science- Signet 451-E9744 play opponents off one against the other, and
fiction novels. Although they have almost all $2.75 so forth. His soldiers are real; his command-
been filled with a harsh action style not used ers attack using good, solid, inventive stra-
by most female writers, she has always tem- tegy. Basically, everyone in the world of the
pered them with her extremely solid charac- There is little doubt that Robert Adams’ Horseclans knows who they are and what
terization, making each work more detailed Horseclan series is one of the best science- they are supposed to be doing. And, although
and a little bit thicker than the one before it. fiction/fantasy series ever conceived. Al- some of Adams’ characters are standard sword-
This time, to the surprise of most of her though often labeled as a science-fiction ser- play-novel figures, none of them are of the Lin
audience, she has come out with a slim (158 ies, there is very little in the novels to justify Carter, one-dimensional variety.
pages) volume of interconnected short sto- such a characterization. Horseclans Odyssey is a welcome addition
ries, written in a mainly fantasy style. Sunfall Set in our future, the Horseclan books tell of to the Adams series. The story line does not
is a collection of tales from the Earth’s future. the reconstruction which takes place after the continue into the next volume, leaving the
It is a time when the sun is dying, a giant red wars. Man is reduced to barbarism. Civiliza- reader wondering what happens next. It does,
ball hanging in the sky, ticking off the years tion is a hodgepodge of histories, with ancient however, entertain from beginning to end.
left to the third planet and its inhabitants. artifacts popping up from time to time. The Covering everything from high adventure to
Each story takes place in a different city. How armor is from a number of periods, some war- basic city-level politics, it is an honest, candid
many cities are left, we do not know; Cherryh riors wearing full plate, some mail, some only look at what people are like: scheming,
tells us of only six (London, Paris, Moscow, boiled and waxed leather. Adams has con- greedy, cowardly, suspicious and lacking for
Rome, New York and Peking). They are never structed a world where he can make few mis- the most part, but in some rare instances hon-
mentioned by name, and they never interact takes. There can be no anachronisms, for all est, honorable and stolid.
with any of the other remaining cities. of history has gone before and is there to be
Each city is unique. Centuries earlier, when rediscovered.

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