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Oct/Nov 1988Number 83S3.50U.S.

SKY GALLEONSOF MARS

Living Steel, A Plaque In Westbrook (AD&D Scenario),

Star Wars , Role-Playing Mastery and much, much more!

1

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S C 1 ENCE-FICTION ROLE PLAYING

•>•>

Adventure in the Shattered Imperium

The vast interstellar Imperium has ruled its 1 1 ,000 worlds for more than 1 000years, straining to guard its borders and keep the peace within them. Until

• : now, the Imperial government has succeeded: But now the emperor has been

assassinated, and rival forces are competing for the throne. Powerful forces

are at work tearing the empire apart. VI >

- As former citizens themselves, the players must make their stand

inthe midst of this chaos, supporting one faction or another in the

ongoing civil war. They can be wary merchants, squeezing out prof-

its from those in heed of goods; mercenary soldiers, willing to

market their combat proficiency; or even valiant space-warriors,

fighting for the side they feel is right: Inany event, the adven-

turing environment is ripe for the bold traveller, who seeks

power or, glory amid the ashes of the crumbling Imperium.

.".. MegaTraveller is the first true updated: edition of

;Traveller,; incorporating only the most advanced rules

and systems developed oyer.the. last decade, tailored.

to fit the chaotic environment of .the shattered lm-'. -

perium. MegaTraveller consists of three rules books; '

plus a new map of the Spinward Marches. $30.

PLAYERS' MANUAL

:'-

" -

-

.:-.;-.

•:>

::

..<::S

¥?£• ):''/- •"•.'

REFEREE'S MANUAL IMPERIAL ENCYCLOPEDIA

Intended as a reference book for

every participant, it includes tasks,

character gen, skills, and more.Available separately for $10.

This book covers the essentials

of universe creation and manipula-

tion, including task resolution.

Available separately for $10.

MegaTravellerREFEREE'S MANUAL

& ; \

Supporting background material

for the Imperium and the ongoing

war is given in this volume.

Available separately for $10.

MegaTraveller["imperial

.

Since J97S

-

--".'

.'!:-;•:'

'

•vVv

PO;?<a; 1646, Blooniington. IL 61702-1646.

Number 83

Art CreditsCover Provided by GDW

Table of Contents

Editor-in-Chief

Jeff Albanese

Space Gamer Editor

PerrinTong

Fantasy Gamer Editor

Jeff Albanese

Publisher

3W. Inc.

Art Director

PerrinTong

Advertising

Jerry McKinnon

Circulation/Subscriptions

Ana Thomas

ShippingVivien Peach

SPACE GAMER/FANTASY GAMER(USPS 759-210) is published bi-monthly

by World Wide Wargames, Incorporated

located at 4070 West Street in Cambria.California 93428 USA (805) 927-5439.

Second class postage paid at Cambria.California and additional post offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toSPACE GAMER/FANTASY GAMER, P.O.

Box F. Cambria, CA 93428. All materials

copyright 1988 by SPACE GAMER/FANTASYGAMER. All rights reserved.

Subscription rates as of 8/1/88:

Space GamerSky Galleons Of Mars 5

Star Wars 10

A Question of Leverage 14

Robocop 16

Inborn Abilities for Mechwarrior 18

Rhand's Apocalypose 20

Space Gamer Reviews 24

The Ruler (Comics) 28

Fantasy GamerPlague in Westbrook 32

Necroworms 35

Aerial Combat in Call of Cthulhu 36

Call of Cthulhu is the Only Game Where 38

Bored of Castle Life? '. 40

Character Mis-Alignment 41

Ysgarth 42

Role-Playing Mastery 43

Regular FeaturesEditorial 2

Letters 3

Convention Calendar 3

Scanner 4

Book Reviews 44

Gamer's Guide Classifieds 46

Murphy's Rules 48

Changing Of TheGuard

On June 1st of this year, DiverseTalents, Inc., the publishers of SpaceGamer/Fantasv Gamer . Fire andMovement, and Battleolan maga-zines, as well as our fine STRATEGI-CON game conventions was boughtby World Wide Wargames, Inc. Thepaperwork is in the hands of thelawyers and the State of California.

They should approve the merger byOctober.

What does this mean to you,the loyal readers of SG/FG? WorldWide Wargames, or3W, intends to

produce role-playing modules, andwe want you to submit your designs

to us. With both the merger and theproduction of modules, SG/FG will

be back on a regular schedule, andnot cease to exist, as some wouldhave had it do. Also, due to thedelays and because of the un-certainty of SG/FG's future, the last

issue was 3 months late.

Now, about, the magazine?Starting with this issue, SG/FG'sformat will be changing, with fewergame reviews, and more scenarios

and variants. The format change,slight as is, reflects the fact thatrole-players tend to buy theproduct as soon as it hits theshelves, making reviews less ef-

fective than with boardgamers,who tend to wait for reviews of

games, in many cases, before theybuy - the number one reason whyFire and Movement has done well

these past twelve years. Also, since

SG/FG has only 48 pages (Hopefully

we will get to 64, if things go well),

and comes out bi-monthly, we needthe space for the backlog ofmaterial that is over-flowing ourfiles. As for P6M and computergaming, we will be covering themunder either the Fantasy Gamer or

Space Gamer sections of themagazine, depend-ing on the typeof game.

The other change is that I amthe editor of the whole shootingmatch, as well as the Fantasy Gamersection. The new Space Gamersection editor will be Perrin D.Tong,

President of Future Combat Simu-lations, the publisher of STAR-BATTLES (Mainline), who also

represent other game companies at

our STRATEGICON conventions, of

which I am in charge of as one of mymany duties here at DTI. Perrin will

also be the Art Director for themagazine.

In this issue of SG/FG we coverGDW's Sky Galleons Of Mars, their

SPACE 1989 boardgame, which wasby far the most talked about gameat GENCON/ORIGINS. Speaking of

GENCON/ORIGINS, over 8,000gamers attended the show, andmost of them enjoyed the show.Other articles in this issue include A

Plague In Westbrook- an AD&Dscenario, along with our regularfeatures, and a new column oncomic books.

We need feedback! Please tell

us what you like, or don't like aboutthe magazine. I can take the abuse- 1 am a high school history teacher -

I know how to handle it. Andspeaking of feedback, Perrin and I

have been trying to catch up on alot

of unanswered mail. If you sent us

any articles, letters, etc., and havenot heard from either of us by now,please drop us a line.

Oops!

In Space Gamer/Fantasv Gamer#82, we ran an article called Mix &Match, which also happened toappear in the July issue of theDragon . Because of the uncertainty

of the future of SG/FG, along withthe lack of answering letters, theauthor, hearing nothing from us,

submitted it to TSR, Inc. We didn't

know about this until we had beencontacted by the author, oneMarcus Rowland of England, whocalled us and told us about what hedone. I quickly got on the phone to

Roger Moore, the editor of theDragon , and explained what hadhappen. He understood, and theproblem was handled, •sg/fg

Feedback #82

1. Murphy's Rules

2. Mix & Match3. New Advantages & j

Disadvantages For GURPS I

4. Cover Art5. Issue Graphics6. Year of the Phoenix7. Fantasy Reviews8. Gamer's Guide Classifieds

9. Who is Rogue Trooper10. tet'er Rip11. ISSUE OVERALL12. Book Reports j

13. Computers in the MorrowProject

14. Superpower15. Editorial

16. Return of Werdna17. Slaver's Hold18. SCANNER19. Dragonmeet Report

Space Gamer / Funtasy Gamer Page 3

LETTERS

To the editor:

This is in response to FranklinDombrosky's letter in SG/FG #81.Twelve years ago, while a freshmanin high school, I played my first

Avalon-Hill wargame. I rememberbeing taken with the concept of"game as simulation", and I becamean instant devotee of boardwargaming. Later that year, mygaming friends and I discoveredD&D, and we were taken by thatgame for similar reasons; instead oftaking the role of military com-manders, we were playing in-

dividual wizards and warriors. Wedivided our time between war-games and role-playing throughour high school years. In the pastseveral years, my gaming time hasbecome entirely occupied withfantasy and SF gaming, because, asa devotee of fantasy and SFliterature, I find it more personallyrewarding.However, I have not forgotten my

gaming roots, and neither shouldyou, Mr. Dombrosky. Science fic-

tion/fantasy gaming is not "a leechthat has attached itself to war-gaming". Role-playing grew out ofwargaming, and all my role-playing

companions during those earlyyears started out as wargamers, notvice versa. D&D started as a fantasyvariant on medieval miniaturesrules (about as wargamey as youget), and many of the original D&Dcampaigns began as miniaturecampaigns.

Whether or not you recognizefantasy gaming as a part of yourhobby is your business. I myself havea respect and admiration for peoplewho design and play historicalsimulations, even though I am nolonger interested in them. I find thewhole SCA scene rather silly (for mepersonally), but I tolerate andrespect their presence at gamingconventions. The gaming com-munity does not need your kind ofintolerance, though. Indeed, if it is

to survive, we should all work atexpanding our respect for its

differences.

Faithfully,

J. M. Caparula

Dear Sirs:

I was gald to get issue #81. Thatwas in my opinion, an excellentissue. There was a little bit foreveryone in it and the variety madethe reading all that much better. I

want to thank you for publishingmy review of ORGE. It is appre-ciated. However, there is one cor-

rection - 1 reviewed the game on aCommodore 64, not an Apple 2.

In the magazine itself, I really

enjoyed SCANNER. While not every-thing in it is interesting to me, I wasglad to see and read about whatvarious companies are doing andpublishing.

The article, "So You Want ToBuild An ORGE. . .

" is one of thebest that SPACE GAMER has pub-lished in quite a while. I playedwith a design from your ORGEsystem myself for awhile, but I like

Mr. Ladd's system better thananything I ever came up with. Hedid a through job and deserves acompliment on a job well done.

BLOOD BOWL was interesting.

While I figured out what it wasabout, a short intro would havebeen helpful. "Manhunt" wasanother interesting adventure. It

gave me several ideas for some ofmy own role-playing games.Another enjoyable was the "Vil-

lian". I enjoyed some of the ideasand can hardly wait to use them.

Of the reviews, I really enjoyedthe "Siege and Fortress" review andthe "GURPS Autoduei:" Both wereinteresting and well done. How-ever, the review on GURPS Fantasy I

felt was a little harsh. I am not adedicated GURPS player, but I doplay the system now and then. I feel

that comparing the world of Ytarria

with the Harn system was not a fair

comparison. The Harn world is aseries of supplements, while Ytarria

is about 20 to 25 pages of GURPSFantasy, and is supposed to be asupplement that delt with magic.Also, the idea behind the history ofYtarria is a reasonable one.

To finish, I really do not care for

the book reviews. I guess they arealright once in a while, but I

wonder if they belong in a gamingmagazine unless a game has beendone about them.

Sincerely,

Tim Robinson

CONVENTIONCALENDAR

Toledo Gaming Con VI

October 1-2

University Of Toledo Campus -

Toledo, OhioFor more info, send a SASE to:

Mind Games, 3001 N. ReynoldsRoad,Toledo, Ohio 4361

5

Boardgames, Role-Playing,

Miniatures,

Auction, Computers, PaintingContest,

Demos, Seminars, and dealer's.

Council Of Five Nations 14October 7-9

Center City Convention Center -

Schenectady, NYPre-Reg: $10 by Sept. 22nd, $15At-The-DoorFor more info, write to:

Council Of Five Nations, c/o

The Studio Of Bridge & Games,1639 Eastern Parkway,Schenectady. NY 12309Boardgames, Role-Playing,

Miniatures,

Auction, and a Costume Contest.

DRAGON CON '88

October 7-9

Pierremont Plaza Hotel - Atlanta,

GeorgiaPre-Reg: $25, $30 At-The-Door,Plus $1.25 Per EventFor more info, write to:

DRAGON CON, PO Box 47696Atlanta, GA 30362or call 1-800-456-1 162 to chargeyour pre-reg.

Boardgames, Role-Playing,

Computers, Costume Contest.Guests Of Honor: GaryGygax,Larry Elmore, Alan Dean Foster,

Fred Saberhagen, Margaret Weis,and Tracy Hickman.

WARCON'89February 3-5, 1989

c/o MSC NOVAPOBoxJ-1College Station, TX 77844

Page 4 Space Gamer / Fantasy Gamer

1

1

1

LSCANNER

J

The following products have

been, or are scheduled to bereleased soon:

Palladium BooksMonsters & Animals for thePalladium RPG and Beyond theSupematural(Revised Edition)

RDF Accelerated Training Programfor RobotechThe Magic of Palladium Books - A16-page promotional tabloid for

their product line

Mutants Down Under for TeenageMutant Ninja Turtles

Invid Invasion for RobotechRobotectll: THE SENTINELS for

RobotechTMNT & Other Strangeness(Revised edition - 6th Printing!)

MicroProse Software, Inc.Pirates for the Apple llgs(256K)

Game Designer'sWorkshop(GDW)Kafer Sourcebook for 2300ADInvasion for 2300AD(Module)Bayern for 2300AD (Module)Ground Vehicle Guide for 2300ADKidnapped for Twilight 2000(Module)The Last Submarine for Twilight2000 (Module)Rebellion Sourcebook for

MegaTraveller

2300AD - Formerly Traveller 2300 -

Revised Rules, additions, etc.

Sky Galleons Of Mars - Boardgamefor SPACE 1889

Steve JacksonGames(SJG)Conan: Beyond Thunder River for

GURPS (Solo Adventure)AADA Road Atlas and Surival GuideNumber Five: The Midwest for CarWarsGURPS Basic Set - Third Edition

GURPS Space Atlas

GURPS Japan

GURPS SUPERS - Super Heros for

the GURPS systemUnnight - a GURPS Space adventureThe AADA Road Atlas And Surival

Guide Number Six: The Free Oil

States for Car WarsGURPS High-TechRoleplayer#12GURPS Time Travel

AADA Vehicle Guide 2 CountersUncle Albert's 2038 CatalogGURPS SwashbucklersBoat Wars - a Car Wars supplementGURPS Ice AgeAUTODUEL QUARTERLY Volume 6,

Issue 3

Also, SJG has acquired the gamerights to George R. R. Martin's SFnovels "Wild Cards"

StargamesStar Empries - a science ficton card

game

Strategic Simulations,Inc.(SSI)Stellar Crusade for the IBM and theATARI STDragonlance for the IBM, AMIGA,ATARI ST, and the C-64/128 *

Pool Of Radiance - AD&D adventurefor the IBM, Apple, and C-64/128 *

Dungeon Master's Assistant for theIBM, Apple, and the C-64/128 *

*Expected release for these gamesis in the September thru Decembertimeframe.

Iron CrownEnterprises(ICE)Target Hero for Champions andDanger International (Module)Enemies: The International File for

Champions and DangerInternational

Leap Of The Lion -A Narnia sologame bookTales From Deep Space for SpaceMaster (Module)Raiders Of Cardolan for Middle-Earth (Module)Space Master -revised edition

Red Doom - Soviet organizationsfor ChampionsHalls Of The Elven King for MiddleEarth (Module)

Mouth Of Entwesh for MiddleEarth (Module)Space Master Combat ScreenMiddle Earth Combat ScreenMinas Tirith for Middle Earth

(Sourcebook)Mirkwood for Middle Earth(Sourcebook)

Creature Of Middle Earth

(Sourcebook)Enemies: Villainy Unbound for

ChampionsA Spy In isengard and Treason AtHelm's Deep - Middle Earth QuestBooks

TSR, Inc.The Hunt For Red OctoberboardgameBuck Rogers - Battle for the 25thCentury boardgameDragonlance boardgameCommando - a Top Secret /S.I.

AccessoryCovert Operations Casebook #2 - aTop Secret/S.I. AccessoryBug Hunter - Sniper Companion #3boardgameGamer's Guide Of The MarvelUniverse #3 - for MarvelSuperheros. Look for #4 in

November.The Collected Works Of BuckRogers, Volume 2 - an art book ofthe first 60 years of Buck RogersBuck Rogers Graphic Novel #1 -

written by Flint Dille, the grandsonof John Dille, the creator of BuckRogersRevenge Of The Factoids -

expansion set #1 forGammaraudersThe Art Of The Dungeons &Dragons Fantasy Game, Book II

The Five Shires, The MinrothadGuilds, and The Ores Of Thar - D&DGazetteersGreyhawk Adventures - ahardbound sourcebook about theWorld of GreyhawkAD&D Dungeon Master's DesignKit -a tool kit for DM'sRuins Of Adventures and Curse OfThe Azure Bonds - two AD&Dmodules converted from SSI'sAD&D computer gameMertwig's Maze - a AD&Dboardgame designed by TomWham, designer of The AwfulGreen Things From Outer Space, so

Space Gamer /Fantasy Gamer ,,tm

Pace 5

! SCANNER 11

1

._ J

expect another barrel of laughsfrom him!Lords Of Darkness - a moduleanthologhy for AD&DThe Savage Frontier, Dreams Of TheRed Wizards, and City System -

AD&D Forgotten Realms campaignsets

Kara-Tur: The Eastern Realms -

Oriental setting of the ForgottenRealmsMad Monkey Vs The Dragon Claws- a module for Kara-TurAzure Bonds - a Forgotten RealmsnovelForgotten Realms 1989 CalendarKnight Of The Living Dead - aCatacombs adventure bookStormblade and Weasel's Luck -

Dragonlance Saga Heros novelsThe Dragonlance Saga. Book Three-graphic novelDragonlance Legends - all threenovels in one bookThe World Of Krynn - DragonlancesupermodulePrince Of Thieves and Night OfChaos -AD&D adventuregamebooks

FASAShrapnel - Battletech Art AnthologyCircus Imperium - Renegade Legionchariot racing

Warrior: Reposte (Novel)PlasTech - plastic mechs for

Battletech

Renegade's Honor (Novel)The War Book. Part I - battles of the4th Successor WarThe Kell Hounds - scenario pack forBattletech/Force/Mech WarriorCenturion Vehicle Recognition -

technical readout book forCenturionStar Trek: The Next GenerationOfficer's ManualThe Periphery - Battletech Housebook

R. Talsorian Games, Inc.Cyberpunk - A new role-playinggame set in the year of 20 1

3

Night Of The Living Teenagers forTeenagers From Outer Space(Module)Also, RTG is coming out with a newedition of Teenagers From OuterSpace, which also will be releasedthrough the book/comic trade by

TOR BOOKS. The scheduled releasedate is sometime in December.

GamescienceHow To Sell Your Game Design - A"how to" guide by Lou Zocchi. Veryinformative, and worth reading. It

costs $6.00, plus $3.00 for postage.Get it from Gamescience, 1512 30thAvenue, Gulfport, Mississppi 39501.

New infinities

Productions, Inc.Agaisnt The Horde - Volume I of theLegend Trilogy(novel)

Those Darn Dwarves - Book 1 of theIron Mountain Dwarvesseries(novel)

Those Darn Dwarves-Again! - Book2 of the Iron Mountain Dwarvesseries(novel)

Waylander - Volume II of theLegend Trilogy(novel)

The King Beyond The Gate -

Volume III of the LegendTrilogy(novel)

Dance Of Demons - The fifth releasein the GORD THE ROGUE bookseries( novel)

The Empire's Legacy - Book 1 of theTales of the Concordat(novel)Voyage Of The Planetslayer - Book2oftheTalesoftheConcordat(novel)

RevoltAnd Rebrith - Book 3 of theTales of the Concordat(novel)

Sleuth Publications, Ltd.Adventures By Gaslight - a gamesupplement for the SherlockHolmes Consulting Detective

C2 SimulationsNew Order - PBM space game.Rulebookis$5.00.Space 101 - Intorductory PBM spacegame. Rulebook is $3.50. and all

turns are $3.50, with no extracharges.

For more information, contact C2Simulations, 16081 Sherlock Lane,Huntington Beach, CA 92649

Eternity Publishing, Inc.Battle Armor - the story of a band ofarmored warriors fighting an alien

invasion. Will be released as both acomic series and as a role-playinggame.

Leading EdgeLiving Steel - second edition (Book)Trident RMBK for Living Steel

(Module)

Games Workshop (US)Blood Bowl-Astrogranite VersionWarhammer Mighty Fortress

Scanner is always lookingfor more news/gossip. Sendall press releases, products,scandal sheets, etc. toScanner, PO Box 8399, LongBeach, CA 90808.

GAMA & Strategicon

present. .

.

L.A. Originsf89

The National GameConvention

Strategy, Family and

Adventure: Board,

Role-playing, Miniature &Computer games played.

June 29-July 2, 1989 at

the Los Angeles Airport

Hilton Hotel.

5,000+ atendees!

Call (213) 420-3675 for more

information.


ALL

PA * ToThG llYlDerial SnarP * To explain even briefly Skyi rie lpenoi apace

Ga ,|eons of Mars {SGoM) ; tni*

Age is Here!

Title: Sky Galleons of MarsPublished by: Game

Designers' WorkshopDesigner: Frank ChadwickPrice: $24.00Complexity: LowHay Value: HighReviewed by: G.E. Smith

"With liftwood for power, andenormous sails or air screws for pro-pulsion, the Martian sky galleonshave become an important part ofMars' worldwide civilization.

"

review must start with the up-coming premier of GDWs new role-

playing system, SPACE: 1889, forwhich SGoM is the preview. Theentire system intends to invoke thegrand age of colonial expansionduring the Victorian Era and thenadd on to it the fantastic visions ofsuch authors as Jules Verne, A.Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs,etc. The kicker is to power the"science" of this universe by usingthe outmoded theory of an all

encompassing Ether (which duringthe 1800s' was considered to be thesubstance that filled all space, thusbeing the medium by which mostforces were transmitted though theheavens). GDW has set itself thetask of producing a rational, logical,

and truly Victorian role-playingsystem, true to the science thatpropels it and the idea that enlivensthe times.

The question is, does SkyGalleons of Mars have its ownintrinsic play value, or are theplayers really going to need SPACE:1889 to get full value out of thegame?

Visually, the product excels.

From the action cover art to the 1

5

page, full-sized backgroundbooklet on the history of the era,

GDW has obviously worked hard tocreate a "look" (and a polish to thatlook) that simultaneously recalls thetime as well as paints the mystery ofan exotic Mars. Add to this thebeauty of the two maps (especially

the city on the canal), the fifteen

plastic ships and stands, the easily

digestible rules book, etc. and onesees that GDW has given the buyera lot of visual "bang for the bucks".You certainly don't feel short-

changed at this point.

But it's steak, not sizzle, thatsells games by word of mouth. Verysatisfyingly, GDW has given us oneof the f iner cuts, not helper for thehamburger. When you assign the

"A" squad of designers to a game, it

shows.

The game itself can besectioned into three areas fordiscussion:

1

.

The boardgame itself

2. The Shipyard3. The Campaign system

While each section alone is almostdeceptively simple in its structureand feel, the combination of thethree produces a sum greater thanthe surface whole.

The boardgame itself pits singleships or small fleets against oneanother, either as side versus side oras a demolition derby, last survivorwinning. The concepts used do notbreak new ground. We are in

familiar waters (or is that skies?) in

that we receive schematic diagramsof ships with the major internal

systems done in boxes (hull boxes,crew boxes, weapon boxes, etc.).

Each weapon type is rated to do"X" amount of damage at eitherClose or Long Range. The basechance at hitting at Close Range is

66% and at Long Range is 33%,though modifiers can greatly varythe percentages. A very nice touchis the four page (two sheet) combatresults handout in the game. GDWthoughtfully placed all themodifiers, critical hit explanationsand turn sequence notes into this

handout, which speeds up play andcuts down on flipping through therules looking for that one last + 1

you want.Since these ships operate in the

atmosphere, players may varyaltitude between a maximum offive levels noted as: Very Low, Low,Medium, High, and Very High. It's

easier to lose rather than gainheight and there's a cost in move-ment points to do so. Turns are oneminute, hexes are 200 yards andcost 1 MP to enter, the fastest shiphas 6 MP and so ship speeds maxout right at 40 mph. Wind drivenships of course will be at the mercyof the elements.

Space Gamer / Fantasy Gamer Page 7

The meat of the system is theInitiative Phase (deciding who goesfirst), with the beginning personmoving and then shooting (but fire

may be held until a more oppor-tune time), the next gamer thenmoves and shoots, play continuinguntil everybody finishes. Damage is

applied as soon as it is taken andspecial Critical Hits can occur toreally ruin a bad turn. These canrange from a magazine explosionto jammed rudder/lifters and evenTrim Damage, this last sending aflyer tumbling out of control, losing

altitude (unless you make a savingthrow!) until you reach PlanetLevel, which is a hard and final

impact. All die rolls are done withone or two six-sided dice.

hotciikissRotatingCannon

There are no surprises in thesystem for applying damage. Hull

hits strip away the ability of a flyer

to ascend altitude levels, forcingships lower and lower. With crewhits though, players receive somelatitude on where they wish toapply them. Even so, the choicesaren't all that simple. For example,applying hits on the Deck Crew re-

duces the ability of the ship to put

HU.LLTTTKRLARGE SCREW GALLED

:KYyfiALLEO^&

WEAPON CHARACTERISTICS:•Martian Cannon

Weapon Pen DV ROF RangeSweeper

Light

Rod GunHeavy

Rogue

Lob Gun

2

1

(I)

I

(1)

(!)

0/1

1/2

3/6

2/4

3/6

-/3

WEAPON CHARACTERISTICS:Royal Navy Guns

Weapon Pen DV ROF Range

H'.li/IMI The ttwwwwi utMpui name rVu IVnciniaw

.it the weapon 0\ f>jnuft wljC'il IV »ca|»*l K"A Rjlc

.•I lire A Irk' »Oj|»>n R.M(< Matlinuiii ran;. .UI k-VMthe tt-jptwl mj) lire.

Device

INFERNAL DEVICESPen DV To Hit

Smutts Torpedo

Tether Mine (B)

Tether Mine (M)

Drogue Torpedo

12

6

4

10

As collision

6 (if released)

6 (if released)

6

MaximGardner

Nordenfelt

l-pdr HRC3-pdr HRC6-pdr HRC4" short

4" long5"6"

8"

10"

12"

14"

16"

1

1

2

3

4

5

9

10

12

14

16

P

P

P

I

I

1

2

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

6

2/3

,5

3

3

3

1

I

1

1

(I)

(1)

(1)

(1)

(I)

1/2

1/2

1/2

2/4

2/4

3/6

3/6

4/8

4/8

5/10

6/12

7/14

8/16

9/18

10/20

Dnur Thecommmdoicc lunic Ren h-nriraum of ihe device.

DV. Damage wluc <W Ike dcv-icc T- Mil: The die n>» on which Ilk!

Jok- hut ihe target B Bruivh. M. Minun

HRC- Hwchkiw Rntaling Cinnnn U'ni/om: The ixwnmnrt

weapon name. Pen: Penetration <>t Ihe weapon. DV: Damage.-alacof ihe weapon ROF: Race »l fire of Ihe weapon. Route.

Minimum range lin hcictl ihe weapon may fire.

HIT LOCATIONDieRoll Location

Hull

Hull

Crew

Crew

GunCritical

IhtRitll The mil ntime »>.«hJed die. hmiiiii The h«;a-

i»m Ihe hit iwuired (xe Hit

U«aiion E«pUniii.*i

Critical hit tableDieRoll Result

2 Magazine

3 Bridge

4 Fire/Boiler

5 Trim Damage6 Rudder Jammed7 Fire

8 Lifters Jammed9 Screw/Mast

10 Magazine

1

1

Bridge

12 Fire/Boiler

DtrRiti The uimoflhedi* roll result*

"f two ui'iided diet. Rn*U: The rantnf Ihe Cniical Hit (ice Critical Hit

Eiplutatioa).

TO HITDie

Range Roll

Close: 3. 4, 5, 6Long; 5, 6

To Hit Modifiers:

Different Altitude:

Green Crew:

Burning:

Crack Crew:

-I

-I-1

+ 1

Shrapnel or Grape: +

1

Scwjre The type of range U which

Ac atktmga lo hit a benkg nude. Dit

AjTf.-TVdierollotoncui-uJeJdie.

To «/ Unkfitn: Malifien to ihe itroll.


out fires once they break out.

Accumulate those hits on theManuever Crew boxes instead andthe ship slows down, unable toeasily decline combat. A simplesystem, but it can bite the unwaryplayer.

Naturally, there are rules for

collisions, deliberate rammings,boarding parties, small arms fire

and grappling. GDWfeeds the rules

to gamers a scenario or two at atime, making the learning curve abreeze. With one experiencedplayer and 3 first timers, it tookabout 20 minutes to set up and start

shooting (Scenario One), and thegame overall lasted about 2 and ahalf hours. Two days later, with 2experienced and 2 novices, thesame lasted in total about 70minutes.

The fun of the boardgame is ofcourse using more "advanced" rules

and the varied weapons types like:

dumping Martian Liquid Fire on anenemy as you fly overthem; orfiring a salvo from a Hale RocketBattery up at a target; of Tethermines that float above a ship andtheir cousin Drogue Torpedos thathang down from a ship. I could go

one (Smutts Discharges anyone?)but you get the idea. FrankChadwick wanted a wonderfulvariety of weapons (Martian LobGuns, then) to add to the fun andby George he has succeeded in

supplying them,But how does one use all these

marvelous devices, you ask? Well,now we get to the spice of this

game, the section I call TheShipyards. Here, players are giventhe necessary formulas to constructa ship to their own specifications!

No company trade secrets here tospoil the fun. You can take any oneof the created ships and "tweak" it

a bit, or madly (with infinite love, ofcourse) build the nastiest infernal

device to torment your opponents.While I haven't tried it yet, I'd

bet that with a PC and a simplespread sheet program a personcould quickly computerize theprocess to more rapidly create that"perfect" ship on a budget eachplayer is given for a particular gameor campaign. Being a technologyfreak regarding ships, I can't thankFrank and GDWenough for this

particular section. It's a streamlinedand very neat piece of work that

gives play a great boost. Incident-ally, the next issue of Challengemagazine I'm told will devote anarticle to hints on ship design.

B*2ICS5

\

^*m

K^ y^i^\ \

A flk

^§t

Barbaric fih IH MARTIAN

The Campaign system in SGoMallows players to do more with their

ships than simply dogfight-to-the-death, it actually is almostyearningly written to encouragerole-playing while providing thebasics necessary to do more thansimply fight duels. For example,"...if you survive by making a crashlanding. ..you must make your wayback to friendly territory. If you arealready in friendly territory, this will

be comparatively easy. If you arenot, it may prove to be nearlyimpossible. Nothing, of course, is

completely impossible." I mean,doesn't that start to awake thethoughts of all red-blooded gamemasters out there? Don't you wishyou had SPACE: 1889 in front of youright now to figure out how to

Space Gamer /Fantasy Gamer Page 9

handle all this? Do you supposeGDW kinda knows that?

The Campaign Rules section(five pages) provides one with aplan for running a campaign withplayers as Red Captains (privateers),

a starting budget, a map of theBritish sphere of influence andencounter tables players roll diceon, both for aerial as well as groundevents. GDWsuggests that players"win"by accumulating the mostprize money, though you groupmight want to convert money fromprizes into points and then assign

ALL£Ofi

points to good play, luck, mostsurvived combats, etc. See hoe role-

playing sorta creeps in here?Not in the rules, but a point

mentioned by Frank Chadwick atthe GATEWAY game convention is

that for campaigns, the length oftime to build a ship is: 2 x Hull size

= # of weeks.Summing up, Frank Chadwick,

Marc Miller, Loren Wiseman,Timothy Brown and brad r hay (yes,

no capitals there) are to becongratulated for Sky Galleons ofMars. With the mixture of the

advanced construction rules, TheCampaign section, and the 16 pagegeneral background booklet on this

"colonial" era, GDW has doneabout the best that they could do tomake SGoM an easy-to-play standalone game that gives its players

full play value for their money. Thequestion is, will SPACE: 1889 be upto the same high standards? I haveno doubts on that point and amanxiously awaiting January, 1989for the premier. For now, enjoy.

• SG/FG

Accompanying Artwork CourtesyGDW

ORIGINSAWARDS 1987

The Academy of AdventureGaming Arts and Designannounced the winners of theOrigins Awards for the bestadventure products of 1987. TheOrigins awards are given foroutstanding achievement in

miniatures games, role-playinggames, and adventure gamingmagazines.

The awards are presented an-nually at Origins, the nationaladventure gaming convention.The awards for 1987 werepresented at Origins/Gencon '88

held in Mil-waukee, WisconsinAugust 18-21, 1988. Over 8,000people attended the nationalconvention.

Best Historical Figure Series, 1987Shogun Hard Guys: The New Samuari,

Ral Partha Enterprises

Sculptors, Dennis Mize & Bob CharetteBest Fantasy or Science Fiction Figure

Series, 1987Julie Guthrie's Fantasy Line, Grenadier

ModelsSculptor, Julie Guthrie

Best Vehicular or Accesories Series, 1987Star Trek Series, FASA CorpSculptors.Randy Hoffa & Steve

Apolloni

Best Miniatures Rules. 1987Harpoon, Game Designers' WorkshopDesigner, Larry Bond

Best Role-Playing Rules, 1987Star Wars, West End Games, Inc.

Designer, Greg Costikyan

Best Rote-Playing Adventure, 1987Tournament of Dreams, Pendragon,

Chaosium.lnc.

Designers, Sam Shirley, Les Brooks &Greg Stafford

Best Rote-Playing Supplement, 1987Star Wars Sourcebook, Star Wars. West

End Games. Inc.

Designers, Curtis Smith & Bill Slavicsek

Best Graphic Presentation of a Role-

playing Game, Adventure or Supplement,1987

Miskatonic University Kit. Call of

Cthulhu.Chaosium Inc

Graphic Designer. Lynn Willis

Best Pre-20th Century Boardgame. 1987Shogun, Milton Bradley CompanyDesigner, Mike Gray

Best Boardgame Covering the Period 1900-

1946 for 1987Scorched Earth, Game Designers'

WorkshopDesigner, John Astell

Best Boardgame Covering the Period 1947-

modern day for 1987Team Yankee, Game Designers'

WorkshopDesigners, Marc Miller & Frank

ChadwickBest Fantasy or Science Fiction Boardgame,1987

Arkham Horror, Chaosium, Inc.

Designers, Richard Launius, Lynn Willis

& Charlie KrankBest Graphic Presentation of a Boardgame,1987

Shogun. Milton Bradley CompanyGraphics Designers. Alec Jutsum &

James Brenner

Best Play-By-Mail Game, 1987Alamaze, Pegasus Productions

Best Fantasy or Science Fiction ComputerGame, 1987

Pirates, MicroProse, Inc

Designer, Sid MeierBest Military or Strategy Computer Game,1987

Project: Stealth Fighter. MicroProse,

Inc

Designers, Jim Synoski & ArnoldHendrick

Best Screen Graphic in a Home ComputerGame, 1987

Pirates, MicroProse, Inc

Graphic Artist, Michael Hair

Best Professional Adventure GamingMagazine, 1987

Computer Gaming World, GoldenEmpire

Editor, Russell SipeBest Amateur Adventure GamingMagazine, 1987

Polyhedron, TSR, Inc

Editor. JeanRabeHall of Fame

Greg StaffordSpecial Award for outstanding

achievementAwarded 1987The DragonTSR, Inc

Special Award for OutstandingAchievement

Awarded 1987The Courier

Editor, Dick Bryant

Game Manufacturer's AssociationExecutive Director • Howard Barasch • P.O. Box 867623 • Piano, TX 75986 • (214) 247-7981

Assistant Executive Director • Anne Jaffe • P.O. Box 2712 • Fair-fay va ?7n*i • nr\*\ -ic* nc**


STAR WARS:Keeping the Force withyour Campaign

By David T. Okamura

It has been ten years since theadventures of a Tatoonie farmboyfirst captivated movie audiencesaround the world, but the realities

of filming virtually dictate that thefinal chapter of George Lucas' nine-episode "Star Wars" saga won't beseen for at least another twodecades. Fortunately, impatientfans can now blast off this

backwater planet and join theRebel Alliance in its heroic battle

against the Empire. Thanks to StarWars: The Roleplaying Came,gamers can experience firsthand

the wonders and excitement of themystical "galaxy far, faraway "

West End Games has done anadmirable job in transporting themagical essence of "Star Wars" into

a roleplaying format. Asagamemaster, I've thoroughlyenjoyed re-creating the action,

danger, fun, and good humor soevident in Lucas' trilogy. Yet, I haveoften come across players whothreaten to transform a thrilling

"Star Wars" scenario into a low-budget remake of "The Invasion ofthe Hackenslash Montyhallers fromthe Deeindee System". (I'm sorry,

but I don't do horror films.) Afterliterally pounding one monsterMinor Jedi's head into a stone wallto keep play balance, I have several

suggestions on preserving the spirit

of the game.

On Being A Rebel in GoodStanding

-Members of the Rebel Alliance

come from all levels of Galactic

society. Where else can you find aprincess working together with acountry kid, a smuggler of dubiousreputation and a Walking carpet?However, a sizable proportion will

consist of various outcasts andcriminals. Mercenaries, Outlaws,Pirates, Smugglers, and BountyHunters are all represented in StarWars: The Roleplaying Game. Theproblem is that these social misfits

are supposed to the the good guys.Portraying itself as the Forces ofLiberation against an oppressiveand corrupt Empire, the Rebel

Alliance is highly concerned with its

image. Players who commitheinous acts of wanton terrorismwill find themselves note welcomeat rebel bases. If these players

persist in staging atrocities

involving innocent lives, they mustgo it alone with a heavy bounty ontheir heads placed by the rebels.

The Alliance firmly believes thatresorting to such tactics will makethe rebels no better than the evil

Empire they seek to overthrow.Truly, the ends do not justify themeans. George Lucas would neverapprove, and neither should thegamemaster.

Jedi and other characters withsome knowledge of the Force muststrictly abide by the Jedi Code orrisk the Dark Side Points, but doesthat mean other players can runamok without suffering

consequences so long as they don'tuse their Force Points? No -besidesthe loss of Alliance support thesenon-Force-trained charactersshould also be penalized. I

advocate giving "Dark Side Pips" tothese players; three "pips" equalingone Dark side Point. The number ofpips issued depends on the severity

of the character's actions, for

instance: one pip for killing withoutgood reason, two for causing majorsuffering among innocent parties,

and a full Dark Side Point (evenwithout using a Force Point) for

annihilating an entire civilian

residential area with athermonuclear device. Life is

precious, and the wastefuldestruction of life is the Dark Side.

Dark Side Pips can be absolvedif that character shows he hasregretted his actions, or hasperformed some redeeming task.

This need not be the same type ofpenance a Jedi must perform, but if

someone has tree Dark Side Pips I

highly suggest that he go throughthe entire procedure. In additionplayers who receive Dark SidePoints should not be awarded theForce Points and Skill Points he/shewould otherwise be entitled for

that game session. Do theseguidelines take all the fun out ofbeing a Bounty Hunter or Outlaw?If your idea of fun is committingmass murder and mayhem acrossthe Galaxy, I'd say yes. I would also

recommend that you may find

other game systems more satisfying

than Star Wars. If you like the

challenge of playing someone witha shady background, possibly at

odds with other Rebels whodisapprove of your lifestyle butwilling to lend a hand for the teameffort, 1 think you have the right

idea and an interesting characterconception. Remember, the mostimportant thing about this gameisn't "Star Wars", it's roleplaying.

If the Bounty Hunter can't turnin his Rebel friends (unless they wishto pull the same stunt Leia andChewbacca tried in "Return of theJedi"), the Pirate ordered to raid

only Imperial shipping, and theOutlaw prevented from executingcaptured stormtroopers, whatkeeps these people loyal to theAlliance? The obvious answer is

security. A Rebel base provides asafe place to rest without worryingtoo much of being shot as yousleep, as important considerationfor fugitives. Outstanding arts ofheroism may well be rewarded witha general pardon or certain smallfavors once the Republic is re-esta-

blished. (A'Dirty Dozen" campaigninvolving condemned convictsunder the command of a hard-bitten disciplinarian has interesting

possibilities.) With the Empireruthlessly eliminating many"undesirables". Rebels withcriminal tendencies have a strongincentive to stay in line and assist

the team.

Jedi Knights Unlimited?I was always under the

impression that the Jedi werevirtually eliminated, and that thefew survivors were too insignificant

for the Emperor's attention. Such is

not the case in many Star Warscampaigns, where "SuperSkywalkers"are as thick as SandFleas on a Bantha. What is evenmore annoying about these MinorJedi, Failed Jedi and Alien Studentsis the cavalier way they use their

Force Ski I Is and their willingness toreveal closely-guarded Jedi secrets

to other PCs regardless of characterbackground. (Remember whathappened when Ben Kenobi tried

to teach Darth Vader:) Thisrecurring problem reflects bothpoor roleplaying and an incompleteknowledge of what it means to betrained in the Force.

The Jedi Knights were theguardians of the Old Republic,upholders of Truth and Justice in


1

those glorious years before theEmpire. (Somehow the term"paladin" comes to mind; I don'tknow why...) Despite their

positions of power and authority,

the Jedi were always gentle andemployed the minimum possible

effort when handling a situation.

Force skills were used sparingly andthe famed light saber drawn onlywhen absolutely necessary.

Restraint was a Jedi's major virtue,

as it was al I too easy to overly-

depend upon the Force and thusfall prey to the Dark Side.

Emperor Palpatine and DarthVader reaffirm that the maxim"Power Corrupts" is especially true

in regards to the Force. Thestronger a Jedi becomes, the morehe is tempted by the Dark Side to

abuse his abilities. Therefore,experienced Jedi rarely exhibited

their full potential. Usually theydidn't need to. In the old days themere presence of a Jedi was enoughto preserve order.

There is another compellingreason why Jedi are loath to usetheir skills. Since a Jedi receives his

power from the Force that

surrounds all living beings, he

leaves a distinct "signature" in thesurrounding environment. This

disturbance is magnified when aForce Skill is employed. Many Jedi

felt that drastic interference of thenatural ebb and flow of the Forcewould lead to disharmony andchaos throughout the universe.

Judging from the bad vibes emittedby Palpatine, they could be right.

For players with Force Skills, theimplications are far-reaching. If asingle Jedi can be detected andidentified by his "forceprint", alarge group of Minor Jedi, Failed

Jedi and Alien Students will

definitely attract the notice of

Darth Vader as he searches for LukeSkywalker. This is particularly trueif Force Skills are regularly used, so

rely more on your wits and save

Force Skills for dire emergencies.It's more dramatic that way. Topreserve game balance, no morethan two Jedi-type characters

should be in a single campaign. Asthe Jedi are nearly extinct, it strains

credulity for more than twosurvivors to share the sameplanetary system, let alone thesame Rebel base. If you want moreJedi PCs in your adventures, go

ahead - but keep in mind that

Someone will be watching.A note concerning Force

training: Taking on an apprenticeis the most important challenge aJedi faces. Certainly, Kenobi's

catastrophic failure in tutoring

Darth Vader should provide

sufficient warning. A teacher's

responsibility towards his studentdoes not end when the pupil

reaches the same level in Force Skills

and cannot learn any more fromhis/her master. It is the teacher's

duty to keep watch over a formerapprentice's progress, and to step in

when the Jedi-in-training goesastray. Likewise, a Jedi master whosimply teaches technique withoutstressing the wisdom and self-

control necessary to use Force Skills

for the purposes of Good will beheld accountable for producing awild, undisciplined talent highly

susceptible to the Dark Side. If astudent is completely devoured bythe Dark Side, his/her master mustattempt to destroy theabomination he helped create.

Jedi-type characters must be verydiscriminating when choosing anapprentice and should not casually

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bestow Force Skills to other PCs astrivial favors. While the Jedi

Knights are looking for newmembers, they will not lower their

admission standards.

A Jedi master may only instruct

one student at a time. I once heardof an Alien Student who wanted torun Force Skill seminars in a rentedauditorium. Not only does this ideasmell of crass commercialism, it

directly conflicts with the intensely

personal attention that true Jedi

training requires. (I suggested tothe gamemaster that if the PCpersisted in his folly. Darth Vadershould appear as a "surprise guestlecturer" and demonstrate MassTelepathic Kill. He did.) Youcannot learn Force Skills by merelyhanging around a Jedi! A PC mustspecifically tell the gamemasterwhen and for how long he/sheplans to study with a Jedi teacher-More advanced lessons cannot bedone between X-Wing patrols, butmay require weeks of intense

concentration and testing. Evenwith his considerable innateabilities, Luke Skywalker still had to

endure a rigorous 24-hour training

schedule at Yoda's retreat. Run asolo game session now and then so

your "Obi-Wanna-be" gets a real

taste of what Jedi training involves.

As the Jedi PCs grow in the Force,

increase the temptations of theDark Side until a crisis point is

reached. If the players pass this

crucial test (like when Luke refusedto kill Vader in "Return of theJedi"), they should be rewardedwith the knowledge that their

training is now complete.One other caveat: I earlier

remarked on the similarity betweenJedi Knights and AO&D paladins.

This comparison should be takenseriously. Like their Dungeons andDragons counterparts, Jedi will notcondone evil actions committed byfellow characters. This does notmean that a Force-trained Rebelcannot associate with Smugglers.Outlaws and the like. (Ben Kenobiproved to be quit familiar with thelow life of MosEisley.) However, aJedi must never turn his back andignore massacres performed by theparty's Bounty Hunter, for instance.

Unless the Jedi PC attempts tointercede he risks the same DarkSide Point penalty he would receive

if he had committed the act himself.

This keeps other non- Force-trainedcharacters from indulging in

atrocities, as nobody wants to pushthe Jedi PC into the Dark Side. Just

imagine being in the same starship

with a lightsaber-wielding Dr. Jekyll

and Mr. Hyde . .

.

Twenty-seventh LevelBarbarians in Rebel uniforms?

Frequently, I overhear someplayers brag about how their groupwalked into a Imperial base, killed

twostormtrooper battalions, re-

leased all the prisoners, overloadedthe fusion reactors and ambled off.

In the meantime they also destroy-ed an entire TIE fighter squadron,captured four AT-ATs and beat upDarth Vader. If you think that story

is sickening, you should glance atthose character sheets.

The major appeal of "Stars

Wars" was its depiction of awoefully-outnumbered RebelAlliance using ingenuity, lick andsheer bravery against a vastly

superior Empire. This atmosphereshould be duplicated when playingthe game version. As PCs, you will

probably never single-handedlyprevail in an encounter withImperial forces. Most likely, you'll

be running for your lives. Whilecharacters are expected to improve

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Space Gamer/ Fantasy Gamer Page 13

their skills, you're supposed to beroleplaying David, not Goliath.

I noticed that most of theobnoxious Star Wars players are

the same ones who have triple-digit

level, multi-class AD&D characters.

Dungeons and Dragons encouragesbuilding a PC into a minor deity, butthat is not the main objective in Star

Wars. Equally exasperating are

gamemasters who run Star Warscampaigns like AD&D modules,complete with a dungeon-likeImperial stronghold patrolled bywandering stormtroopers withkobold brains. There was even a"dragon's hoard" containing a

lightsaber six-pack!

It is relatively easy to spot a Star

Wars hackenslash Montyhallercharacter sheet, and the best way to

prevent a campaign from degene-rating into a space dungeon is tosimply bar players from runningoutrageously gross Rebels. Ob-viously, there must be another GMwho is a bit too liberal with his Skill

Points, but your game sessions

needn't suffer from someone else's

poorgamemastering. Pay at-

tention to the types of characters in

your campaign. Power-hungryplayers frequently opt for theBounty Hunter, with his armory ofweapons. Other favorites are theMinor Jedi (due to his lightsaber),

and the Smuggler with his stock

light freighter. I put a firm limit onthe number of Bounty Hunters in a

single campaign, both for play-

ability purposes and practical

reasons. Two Bounty Hunters mayteam up for a single contract, butany more tends to diminish

individual shares of the reward. Oh,if your Bounty Hunter insists ondragging his entire arms locker withhim on every mission, feel free toinvoke the likely consequences.Thermal detonators aren't immuneto "accidental" activation, and theten that are swinging from that

Hunter's belt could catch on some-thing.

Eventually, those Skill Points are

going to add up. If your PC's start

to act cocky, it may be time to

remind them that the war is far

from over. I don't mean you shouldmake an all-out effort to kill them(though I have tried at times!), butperhaps something to take themdown a notch. Personally, I've

found that simply introducing anEwok to the party does wonders in

humbling the most self-assured

Rebel. Everyday tasks suddenlybecome a challenge again, andMurphy's Law rules supreme. It is

also a devious way of trimmingdown those lists of personal poss-

essions while providing some comicrelief.

Though it is pre-ordained that

the PC's will never best Darth Vaderin a lightsaber duel or kill EmperorPalpatine, there is enough glory to

be had by all. If your group really

wants to confront the Big Baddie,

why not create a powerful MinorDark Lord to be their own personal

nemesis? A reappearing villain

greatly contributes to the sense of

continuity in a campaign. Then, if

the PC's actually succeed in

destorying Vader's underling

(despite your own best efforts), it is

time to bring the Dark Lord himself

into the fray, and boy will he bemad! If anyone survives, you're

being far too lenient.

Not the Same Place,

Not the Same Thing

Why is it that half the Rebels

I've met come from Tatooine?(Well, if you ever been on Tatooineduring the summer. . .). Seriously,

the sparcely-populated dustbowl of

Tatooine is one innocuous planet

among the tens of thousands that

make up the Galactic Empire.

When it comes to a PC's home-world, let your imagination takeyou to places that even Lucas hasn't

dreamed up yet. Perhaps certain

features unique to that planet mayeffect character abilities. (If youwere raised on Tatooine, for

instance, I'd doubt that you hadmuch experience in swimming.)Depending on where a character

was born, a GM may awardadditional languages or greater

proficiency in a skill. However, it

must be justified by the planet's

conception and the PC's

background. The more detailed a

character's history, the more inter-

esting it is roleplay.

As for player characters, there is

plenty of room for modification.

The designers at West End Gamescreated the character templates as a

general guideline; they encourageyou to run cautious Pilots and talk-

ative Scouts, or anyone else that

strikes your fancy. Why not use thesame stats for the tongue-tied

Engineer and play an absent-

minded Professor, or a slightly-mad

Scientist? If you don't want every-

one to know that you're a MinorJedi, keep the lightsaber out ofsight and pose as a Pilot who has

some problems getting used to anX-Wing. If you roleplay it right, theGM would probably welcome thedifference.

The bane that kills more camp-aigns is repetition, and if you keepsending PC's back to the Death Star,

more characters will die from bore-

dom rather than by laserbolts. TheStar Wars rulebook contains several

interesting scenarios to vary the

pace. I also occasionally borrowelements from other movies andgames in "cross-over campaigns"that pit Rebels against Aliens,

Lovecraftian Horrors, and Ogre MkV's (the Last one was mistaken for aJawa sandcrawler) . While I dislike

monster-bashing a'la D&D, I

actually had a party land on theplanet Deeindee, where magic-users employ (but do not complete-ly understand) the Force in their

spells. However, I will not introduce

giant transformable robots! Oncethe players get the idea that the GMis not being serious, it is impossible

to stop the silliness that inevitably

results. If you wish to run a "cross-

over" campaign, make sure that

your "guest star" is compatible withthe space opera miliieu of Star

Wars. Having the Rebels assist

Colonial Viper pilots may be inter-

esting, but sending the U.S.S.

Enterprise against Vader's Executor

is highly illogical.

Finally, I recommend that bothplayers and GM's take to heart thesuggestions in the Star Wars rule-

book adventure section. There are

many useful hints on how to main-tain a manageable and enter-

taining campaign. I'd like to thankthose brave Rebels stationed at theSanta Fe Springs GamersAssociation, where I received manycomments from players in mycampaigns as well as from those

who helped piay-test Star Warsbefore its release. Special

appreciation goes to Carol

Turrietta, whose Ewok always keptthe party on its toes. (By the way,Pocko, that Bounty Hunter is nolonger after your hide.) May theForce be with you, and I'll see every-

one at the big victory celebrationonEndor! •sg/fg

Page 14 Spuce Gamer / Fiinyt^y Gamer

A Question ofLeverage

by Greg Porter

So what if your character canbench press 1 7 tons? Can you twirl

it like a baton or use it like a

Louisville Slugger on villians?

Maybe, maybe not. If being strongisn't quite enough, you can alwaysthrow in a few brain cells to make it

better. You low-powered typesshould listen up, too.

You know exactly how muchyour character can lift. It says it

right there on page X of the rules.

And if you strain a bit, you canknock this up a bit more. This is aminor point, but when every last

thing in your favor counts (i.e.

when you are getting slagged), it

can be important. The informationhere can be adapted to mostsystems, but since I am a Championsfan, all the numbers here will be forthe Hero System. For other systems,remember that each 5 points ofstrength in a Hero System game is adoubling of lifting capacity (DCHeros fan take note).

Leverage

Using various types of leveragewill allow you to move objectsheavier than that you could other-wise lift. Take lifting a car by theback bumper. The mass of the car

essentially arts from the middle,while you're grabbing it at the endand pivoting it about the other tire.

This is about a 2: 1 mechanicaladvantage. In Champions, this

would mean you could get theeffect of an extra 5 points ofstrength without spending theendurance for it. A character with astrength of 1 5 would count as a 20.

If they pushed it by 10 points, theycould get a 30 and just be able toget the back end off the ground.Each doubling of mechanicaladvantage will add another 5

points of effective strength.

Advantage compared to extrastrength for Champions is below.

Mechanical ExtraAdvantaqe Strenqth

1:1

2:1 5

3:1 84:1 106:1 138:1 15

i12:1 18

|

16:1 20

These numbers are for

homogeneous objects. You mightwant to add or subtract 2 or 3 if theobject is unbalanced, like a car witha heavy engine in one end.

In most cases, using an objectfor leverage will damage it just like

an attack would. A normal personwould have trouble bending a rifle

(DEF 3) with their bare hands. Butstick it in a vise and lean on it, andyou will quickly have a bent piece ofmetal. The same could be said of asuper-strong character using a I-

beam.

Pushing things

It is usually easier to pushsomething along the ground thanto lift it. This depends on the objectbeing pushed and what it is resting

on. The effect may increase ordecrease the effective strength ofthe character relative to the object.

To get the object, judge thecharacteristics of what is beingpushed and what it is pushed over.

The result is the bonus or penalty tostrength the character will get.

FrictionVery High Medium Low VeryHigh Low

-5 +5 + 1 + 20

Examples of various types ofcontacts help to illustrate this.

•Very High - rubber onasphalt

•High -steel on asphalt;steel on rough cement•Medium - steel on steel;

steel on smooth cement•Low - ice on ice;

greased, smooth surfaces

•Very Low - wheels onsmooth surface; ball

bearings

A normal person pushing a car

could have an effective STR of 30for purposes of moving it.

However, if the wheels were locked,

their STR would only be a 5. Lockedwheels on ice would be normal, butthe character might be at adisadvantage if they were also onice. Pushing things up a hill wouldcount as a surface a level or twoworse, and downhill would make it

a level or two better. Very lowfriction contacts may allow theobject to move under its ownweight downhill. It will take less

STR to keep an object moving thanit took to get it started. Inmostcases this will be 3 points less.

Usually, the velocity an object can


be pushed is equal to the jumpdistance for the extra strength, witha minimum of 1 " per phase.Example: Joe, with a STR of 15, is

pushing a car on a level surface. Hegets an effective STR of 35, which is

5 more than he would need tomove the car. This would give a

jump of 1", so he could push the car

1" per phase.

Picking Things Up

Leverage may workagainst you when picking

things up. Being able to graba car and hold it over your head is

one thing, but can you hold it at

arm's length, or use it as a club?Essentially, for each hex of theobject's length, subtract 5 from theSTR you are using to wield theobject. A character with a STR of 30could pick up a small car, but theywould need a STR of 40 to hold it atarm's length or swing it as a club(40-10 = 30). Also, holding anobject in a way it wasn't meant to

be used could damage it. A generalguide is to use the damage modifierfor vehicle mass in Champions II.

This modifier will be treated as anattack on the object if wieldedimproperly. Example: Brickulus,

with a STR of 60, can easily pick up aGMC twin axle truck by the backend. However, the truck is none tohappy with it. Its damage modifieris + 6d6 and its back DEF is 4. So, thetruck takes 2 BODY just from beingpicked up wrong (creak, groan).This usually isn't too important, butit could be disconcerting to pick upa Greyhound bus and have it breakin half. Swinging objects like a clubwill also do damage unless thecharacter is careful, even if it

doesn't connect.

Smashing Things

Longer objects will do moredamage when swung, as well as

being easier to hit with because oftheir size. Due to the increasedvelocity of the object at the end, amulti-hex object will get + 1d6ofdamage per hex of length. Theobject used also takes this extra

damage. Example: Brickulus

swings the truck in the previousexample at an opponent 3 hexesaway. The truck has already taken 4BODY, 2 from picking it up, and 2

from swinging it. Normally hewould do 1 2d6 of damage with his

STR, but the extra length of thetruck gives him an extra 3d6. The

truck will be totaled by theattack, but there are alwaysothers. You can't do more

extra damage than thebase damage for

STR.

inertia

In low-gravity situations,

characters may be able to movesubstantially more than their STRwould normally allow. Lowergravity will act as leverage for

purposes of exerting STR. Half

gravity would give you the effect of2:1 leverage, etc. Zero-G allows thecharacter to move just aboutanything, albeit rather slowly.

Unfortunately, the object still has alot of inertia. A charactermanuevering an object in low or

null-G conditions will take a -1 toDEX for each point of STR theywould be lacking if gravity wasnormal. Example: Joe Normal is

man-handling a small car around in

zero-G. This takes 20 STR more thanhe has, were he to try and lift theobject in normal gravity. Therefore,his effective DEX is a -10 (10-20)when trying to do anything withthe object. Don't bite off morethan you chew. • sg/fg

Throwing Things

If a character doesa wind-up with an object,

much like a hammer toss, a ^s^'bit of extra range may be gained.Treat a throw of this type as aHaymmer, and use 1 1/2 normal STRto get the throwing distance.


i

i

i

f? B COPSA New Generation ofLaw Enforcement for

GURPSAutoduel

By Michael DeWolfe

A very popular 1987 moviebrought about the idea of cyborgpolice. The same idea seems tailor-

made for the world of GURPSAutoduel.

Cops in the year 2030 dieeveryday. Chasing outlaws andmurderers, they can come to theirends quite easily. Afterwards,however, they can be used in anelite corps: TheRobocops. Theirbodies and their razor sharp minds,are augmented with cybernetics.No longer human and not yetmachine, they are every outlaw'sworst nightmare.

ROBOSTATS

Robocops are exceptional,being 325-point characters and ableto take care of any criminal menacethey see fit. ARobocopautomatically has: +6 ST, +5DX,+ 4 IQ, +1 HT, Absolute Direction,

Absolute Timing, Alertness ( + 3),

Combat Reflexes, Eidetic Memory(Ivl 2), High Pain Threshold, LawEnforcement Powers, Peripheral

Vision, Strong Will (Ivl 3), a Patron(police force, appearing on a 6 orless), and a Reputation ( + 5 amonglaw abiding citizens, -5 amongcriminals.

They also have the followingdisadvantages: Social Stigma (as

property), Eunch, Duty (to upholdthe law), and a Sense of Duty (to all

law abiders).

Some Robocops (1-in-3) havepsychological problems because oftheir transitions from their last life

over to this one. Likely problemsinclude Paranoia, Split Personality,

Sadism, Berserk, etc.

Their ski I Is are as follows: AreaKnowledge at IQ + 2, Brawling atDX, Criminology at IQ, Driving

(Cars) at DX-1 , fast Draw at DX,Gun/TL 7 (Pistol) at DX + 3, Gun/TL 7(Rifle) at DX + 2, Gunner/TL 7(Machine Guns) at DX -f 1, Law at

IQ + 2, Mechanic (Robocops)/TL 8 at

IQ + 1 , Motorcycle at DX, Streetwiseat IQ -i- 1 and Tactics at IQ + 1

.

Their robotic bodies have thefollowing statistics: They act asarmor (PD 3, DR 7), covering almostall of the body. They reduce Moveby 2. They weight 475 lbs. andbring the Robocop's height to 6'5".

They have the ability to recordwhat they see and hear for later

recall, admissible in court.

Their guns act like AK-13 rifles

but have no stock, thus requiring aminimum ST of 12 to use. Each clip

holds 60 rounds.

Their squad cars are as follows:

Luxury, X-Hvy chassis, Hvysuspension, Super power plant, 4solid tires, driver, 3 passengers. 2

linked MG's in front, SD in back, Fire

Extinguisher, Roll Cage, TargetingComputer, Recharger and FeedingApparatus. Honeycomb CustomArmor Composition: F 2/14, L 1/10,

R 1/10, T 1/10, U 1/10. Accel 10. TopSpeed 100, Driving skill modifier:

+ 2, weight: 5950 lbs. (650 left for

crew and cargo). Value: approx.$19,000.

Robocops have one definite

weakness. For six hours of every 72,they must park and shut themselvesoff while they recharge their

biological metabolism and electrical

power supply. During this time,they are defenseless, so they choosea "safe" place like a police station

parking lot or a secluded spot. If

they don't do this, they lose energyrapidly and temporarily with it onepoint of ST, DX, and IQ per hour.When any of these reach zero, theyshut down, requiring techniciansfrom the police force to restart

them.

ROBOCOPS IN ADVENTURES

Robocops are no-nonsensetypes. They perform their duty, aid

anyone who needs help and thenleaves. One won't become friends

with anyone or play favorites. Theyremember people who they've metbefoi e but won't treat them anybetter or any worse.

Robocops travel alone, onlyinfrequently touching base with thelocal police department. Theysearch out their patrol vicinity,

looking for criminal activities andresponding to calls from the policestation.

At the scenes of crimes theyhave three priorities (in this order):

1) prevent the crime; 2) protect theinnocent; 3) arrest the criminal(s). If

a criminal is threatening aninnocent person, the Robocop will

not hesitate killing the criminal.

In combat, a Robocop will assess

the situation very well. If a target is

at -5 or worse to hit, he won't fire.

Robocops commit actions that seemvery daring because they are sure oftheir success. For Instance, if acriminal uses an innocent to shield

themselves, they'll be sorely

disappointed with the results. If

there are multiple targets, there aretwo considerations (1 . danger and2. range) that lets it choose whichwill go for first.

Robocops also patrol the roadsfor illegal autodueling. Whenencountered, they first issue awarning to the duellers. If thewarning isn't heeded, they destroyboth vehicles.

In places where there are speedlimits, it's not uncommon for themto give chase and issue a ticket

when the party is stopped. If theparty fires at a pursuing Robocop,they'll wish they hadn't.

CAMPAIGN IDEAS

If a group of player charactersare behaving exceptionally lawless,

they may come up against aRobocop. To survive, they mustdestroy him or surrender.

If the characters are instead in

the clutches of a gang of outlawsand there seems to be no hope atall, a Robocop may arrive on thescene to save them.


SAMPLE ROBOCOP

GURPSCHARACTER SHEET

Pt.

Cost

Pt.

Cost

Name ROBOCO P /2G5" _ Pbycr __

Appearance

Background _ . _..

ST/6FATIGUE

dx /r

10 v

BASICDAMAGE

Thrust:

Swing:

HT //

Mvmt

HITS TAKEN

BASICSPEED

(HT+DX)/4

ENCUMBRANCE

Sone(0) = 2xST

Light (1) m 4xST

Med(2) = 6xST

Hvy(3) - 12xST

X-hvy(4)=-20xST

MOVE

H-Basic - Enc.

PASSIVEDEFENSEArmor: _^

Shield:

I 3ACTIVE DEFENSES

DODGE

¥Move

PARRY

10Weapon/2

BLOCK

Shield/3

DAMAGE RESISTANCE

Armor * '

1ADVANTAGES.DISADVANTAGES, QUIRKSnw»n/t . Ptvxcrti'fii^

Atocbuit zJ±ll

ftfjU Pa JSiihii/«», G*f[*tt*~e«i Rverc flPjft)

.«jtiph cnLJ£ii*a

j&ntifiii

REACTION +/-

WEAPONS AND POSSESSIONSItem Damage Skill

Type Ami. Level

Pis-tml &«tU 2*3

Wt.

E«±L CntU HI

Total*: S Lh%.

WEAPON RANGESWeapon PB ISC •ADMG MAX

Date Created Sequence

Unspent Points Point Total

SKILLS Pt. Cost Level

4r-<*--K* m ''/t (JlCr ,

tSrnw/H**.

Caxsvsslsjjt,

Prt*owL (.t-irtl

Bi^ $.+*> J£ti *£}_Smh Z2k±££U&LL-te>J_Tt-31*i.faJGm*t+./T& ? _

(H*e\ft* JeuU.L**c

/7»jw«vil»

•Sfec«iwii<s

/.6

7£"

jjt.

ir

SUMMARYAttributes

Advantages

Disadvantages

Quirks

Skilb

TOTAL

Point Total

Copyright © 1986 by Sieve Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved.

The GURPS Character Sheet is a Registered Trademark of STEVE JACKSON GAMES

Page 18 nnng Space Gamer / Fantasy Gamer

NEWINBORNABILITIES FORMECHWARRIOR

By Barry Osser

/ have found that there is aneed for a greater selection ofInborn Abilities in Mech-warrior so that you do nothave carbon copy characters. I

started running into this prob-lem in my campaign anddecided to do somethingabout. Here is a list of thoseabilities that worked well in

my campaign and they neitherover-ba-lanced nor detractedfrom the game in any way.There is some latitude left tothe referee in these abilities sothat individual referees candetermine what works best fortheir campaign.

As in Mechwarrior, someof these inborn Abilities arepositive and cost CP, whileothers are negative and earnthe player character a CPcredit.

Personal Feud (-5 CP)The character has been in a

long-standing feud with a rival

Mech Warrior. This means thatthe character will have astrong negative reaction toany encounter with this MechWarrior. The gamemaster andplayer should create details

about this feud as a plot devicefor further adventureopportunities. This is a veryspecific ability involving theMech Warrior in a one-on-onefeud. The character will feel

strongly about dealing withthis particular Mech Warrioralone, even if he is outclassedby his rival.

Lance Feud (-10 CP)The character's lance or

company has been in alongstanding feud with a rival

lance or company. All memberof the lance or company mustagree to take this ability.

Similar to other feuds, this

feud will give the MechWarriors a strong negativereaction to the rival lance orcompany. The gamesmasterand player(s) should create

details about this feud as aplot for further adventureopportunities.

DisposessedFamily (-20 CP)This is a very damaging

ability. The character's familyhad been dispossessed ofsometime in its history.

Because of this, the character,even with a 'Mech, can neverhold a title higher thanKnight. In addition, thecharacter can never be a HouseRegular allowing him only tobe a Mercenary. Progeny ofthis character will have tochange their names in order tolose this dispossession,

otherwise this ability will beapplied to the progenyautomatically (for no CP).

Elder relatives of the characterwill always be considered to bedispossessed. The gamemasterand player will need to flesh

out the history of thedispossession.

This ability may only bepurchased once.

Passion (-5 CP)This ability is more to flesh

out of character than anythingelse. The character has apassion for some non-'Mechrelated thing. Non-'Mechrelated means that the passioncould not be dealing with the'Mech directly; i.e. "I must usemy 'Mech in a fight", or "I

must attack whoever hurts my'Mech", or "I must get my'Mech repaired every time it is

damaged", are not allowed.These are necessities, notpassions. This passion will bestrong enough that to followit will require the character toignore all other events toaccomplish it. This will oftenplace disciplinary action uponthe character as the passionwill force the character toignore combat orders and thelike.

Only one passion may bepurchased.

Example: The Mole has apassion for crickets and will

always try to catch as manyas he can and put theminside his 'Mech cockpit. TheMole may actually quit a

battle if he sees a field thatwill give up a lot of crickets,

thus, jeopardizing his Lance's

success. In time, as thecrickets become accustomedto the sounds inside the'Mech, they will begin chirp-

ing and hinder his audioreception.

Space (lamer / Fantasy Gamer Page 19

Raised HTK (variable)A character may buy up his

multiplier for total Hits-To-Kill

for CPs. The normal multiplier

is 10 and it may be increased ata cost of 5 CPs per point up toa maximum of 14. This wouldmean that a x1 1 multiplier

costs 5 CP, a x12 multiplier

costs 10 CP, a x13 multiplier

costs 15 CP, and ax 14

multiplier costs 20 CP. RaisedHTK does not change theMech Warrior's consciousnessrolls but affects his overall

resistance to body damagewhen he is in combat outsidehis 'Mech.

Lowered HTK (variable)A Character may buy down

his multiplier for total Hits-To-

Kill for CPs. The normalmultiplier is 10 and it may bebought down as low as 4 for

the following CPs. LoweredHTK does not change theMech Warrior's consciousnessrolls but affects him in combatsituations outside his 'mech.

Lowered multiplier CPx9 multiplier -5

x8 multiplier -7

x7 multiplier -10

x6 multiplier -14

x5 multiplier -19

x4 Multiplier -25

Natural ineptitude (-5CP)The character has a large

learning block in the trainingof one of the 25 training skill

areas (roll randomly with ad20 + d6-1 to determinewhich). All training costs in this

field are double the normal CPcost. This skill maybepurchased more than once butit should be noted that this

seriously hinders the character

as Natural Aptitude doesnothing if rolled on the sameskill area. Natural ineptitude(the defect) takes presidenceover the advantage of NaturalAptitude, •sg/fg

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Rhand'sApocalypse,Day 42:

The Destruction ofthe Imperial Guard

by David Mckenzieand

Barry Nakazono

On the first day of the Spectral

bombardment of Rhand, chaosdescended. Throughout the world,

the cities lay in ruins, and madmenmade war over the shattered

fragments of civilization.

One of the few groups thatsurvived the disaster intact was theImperial military. They had beensent to Rhand in preparation for

war with the rogue RMBK division

of the Trident Corporation, andthey adapted quickly to the crisis.

Ordered to guarantee that Rhandremained a part of the Imperium,they were intent on doing so;

regardless of the cost in lives, andthe Spectral invasion.

Forty-one days after theinvasion, the leaders of the entire

Imperium united to plan their

campaign. On the next morning,they were attacked and destroyed.

Only a handful of Imperials

escaped; the stories they told of thebattle were confused andincomplete. Some said they hadbeen attacked by soldiers in power

armor, others claimed it was theSpectrals, a few claimed they sawunarmored fanatics.

And some claimed that theImperium's power and leadership

had been destroyed by creatures

out of legend, by members of a race

which had ruled its own interstellar

empire for millenia, beforedisappearing overnight . . . theDragoncrests.

The sentry watched the sun rise

on the Imperial Guard landingzone. Looking around, he saw therest of the night watch at their

posts, the moisture on their powerarmor glistening in the early light.

The barracks, the command bunker,

and the grav vehicle pool were all

silent, awaiting the beginning of

the day.

It had been a quite week, butthe sentry knew that today there

would be a change. Late last night

the command elements of all

Imperial forces on Rhand had flownin, and this morning they wouldbegin their conference. Thedecisions of the commanders werevery important to the sentry; hewas more than just a Guardsman.His actual purpose was to pass

intelligence to his true leader.

When the Guard went on theattack, the Colonel would needspecific information.

The sentry stood at the edge of

the large clearing that served as thelanding zone. For miles in all

directions there was only the forest

that covered eastern Elandia.

Uninhabited, and scannedconstantly by the radar of the 7th

Imperial Guard Strike Battalion.

The 7th consisted of more than1 50 elite power armor soldiers, andwas the most powerful military unit

on the planet. They had come to

Rhand to defeat Trident's renegadeRMBK division, but their plans hadbeen radically altered by thesudden attack from space. And sothe military leaders of the Imperiummet at the landing zone of theGuard, to take the offensive in a

world of chaos.

The sentry's reverie wasshattered as a series of explosions

devastated the grav vehicle pool.

Most of the powerful gunships,

APC's, and carriers which gave theGuard its mobility were destroyedin a few moments. Swift,

unarmored figures raced from the

pool toward the barracks, firing lase

weapons as they ran.

The sentry had no time to think

about how he and the rest of thewatch had been bypassed or aboutwho had sabotaged the vehicles; hetoo was under fire. There werepower armor troops out in theforest, their camouflaged formsbarely visible. Rocket rifle roundspoured in from all points of thecompass. None of the rounds hit,

however; like warning shots, theywere directed into the groundaround the sentries' feet, or at

clearings within the base. As theother members of the Guard beganto return fire, the sentry ran for

cover. He was here to gatherintelligence about the Guard, andthat purpose would not be served

by his participation in a firefight.

Moreover, he had no doubt that

the Guard would quickly repel theattack; no force on the planet could

withstand the Guard.A second volley came in from

the forest, and the Guard took its

first casualties. Lase fire and rocket

rounds hit with devastating force,

and several of the watch wentdown. The rest fell back in disorder.

The sentry lay still behind a boulder,

his suit turned down to its lowestenergy level and his thermal damabsorbing all its heat.

The Guard was rallying,

reacting with speed and certainty,

defensive emplacements openedfire on the half-seen figures in thetrees, and a barrage of lase fire

came from the command bunker,

aimed at the unarmored intruders.

The alarms were soundingthroughout the compound, and a

few unarmored Guardsmanemerged from the barracks.

The sentry watched as theunprotected attackers camethrough the barrage untouched,and switched the focus of their

attack to the command bunker.They were clad in unarmoredcombat suits of odd design. His

mind raced; he had never seenthose suits before, but they weresomehow familiar. Moving fromcover to cover, they advanced onthe bunker, firing lase weapons of

equally strange design. Their fire

was of uncanny accuracy, and theyseemed to be taking few casualties,

despite their lack of armor.The sentry's attention was

broken by the sudden rush of a


warrior in power armor. The figure

raced past him into the camp,followed by several others. Thesentry was shocked to see thedesign of their suits. There was noway he could fail to recognize it.

Living Steel , he thought. That'sLiving steel. Across the compound,near the barracks, he saw threemore squads of enemy powerarmor. And those can only beDragoncrests . He abandoned all

thought of joining the fight, andbegan withdrawing carefully into

the forest.

Less than a minute had passedsince the beginning of the assault,

but the rest of the Guard was upand in their armor. They emergedfrom the barracks, moving quicklyin small groups. Despite thesuddenness of the attack, they werealready organized. The first squadsdeployed in blocking positions,

while others swept forward in acounterattack.

Their excellent responses werenot good enough, however. Theattackers had already overrun theouter defenses of the landing zone,and were only a few yards away.The sentry watched as small panelsopened on the forearm andshoulder panels of theDragoncrests' armor, and dozens offlechette darts erupted. Many ofthe Guard were caught in the open,and casualties were grave.

They attempted to fall back into

the barracks, but both Dragoncrestand human attackers were tooquick. The rain of flechette darts

continued, and more enemy werearriving every moment. As thesentry watched, the first figure in

Living Steel forced its way into thebarracks, firing its lase cannon andripple packs simultaneously.

Twenty minutes later, thesentry crouched within the woods,his armor displaying the forest

camouflage pattern. He hadsuccessfully slipped away during thebattle, and had returned for a final

look. The vehicle pool had beenutterly destroyed, and onlyoccasional bursts of gunfire in thedistance indicated that the fight

went on, as the reminder of theGuard fled. The command centerwas burning brightly, and theenemy moved through thewreckage. Their medics wereattending the wounded of bothsides.

The Guardsman studied theenemy, while his suit recorded everydetail of the scene. In the distance,

the unarmored attackers weregathering. His BiComp hadrecognized their suits; it was DRGNarmor, made by RMBK. Little

attention had been paid to thedesign when it was discovered, as it

seemed to be nearly useless.

Somehow, on this battlefield today,that useless armor had stopped lase

fire, and allowed its wearers toi nvade and destroy theheadquarters of the Imperial Guardon Rhand.

A pair of power armor troopsstood near the edge of the landingzone, part of a sweep through thecompound for concealed enemies

and injured personnel. Both werefigures from history books, and herecorded their movementscarefully. One wore armor with aclean, simple design, and on theshoulder was a green emblem; ashield, bearing a lion's head. Thatarmor design and that emblembelonged only to the warriors ofthe Seven Worlds.

The other armored figure waseven more astonishing. It wasbroad and powerful, with apronounced ridge running from its

forehead down its neck and back,and out onto the tail of its powerarmor. Only one creature in knownspace could fit that description; it

was a Dragoncrest.

The sentry waited until theypassed, and then slipped away asquietly as he could. He moved

northwest, towards RhandBondsmen Community 1 5. The 27thRegiment had troops posted there,

and he might be able to get amessage out.

RMBK. The Seven Worlds. AndDragoncrests.

They were working together,and the Colonel needed to know. If

the power for his armor gave outbefore he reached RBC1 5, he wouldcontinue on foot. The Colonelneeded to know.

The Dragoncrests

Humanity has encounterednumerous alien I ifeforms during its

time in space. Many have hadrecognizable intelligence. Somehave even had technology andcivilization.

None have been anything at all

like the the Dragoncrests.

The Dragoncrests are a highlyintelligent, technologically

sophisticated race which is built

along reptilian lines. They areextremely warlike, but they fight

only for their own unique motives,

and never for conquest orvengeance. This is a result of their

overwhelming devotion to their

code of honor in battle. Morever,they are certainly the most capable,powerful warriors known toHumanity.

More than any other race, theyshaped the development ofHumanity in general, and the SevenWorlds in particular. They lived onHumanity's borders for a century, aconstant test of honor and courage.Much of what is best in the SevenWorlds can be traced to that

society's long contact with the

Dragoncrests.

Mysteries surround theDragoncrests on Rhand. How theygot there and what they want areunclear; the only thing that is

certain is that they will continue toset an unparalleled example ofhonor and nobility in battle,

whenever they are encountered.

History

The early history of theDragoncrests is unknown. Whatfew facts about their past havesurfaced indicate that they are an


old race, and one which has beenhighly civilized for many miiienia.

They once ruled their owninterstellar empire, one which wasapparently far larger than theStarguild Imperium, and developedtheir technology to levels whichHumanity has still not matched.The development of both powerarmor and teleporter technologycan be traced to the Dragoncrests.

Humanity first encountered theDragoncrests on the Seven Worldsoutpost of MathisVI, in 2140. Thatmeeting quickly escalated into

conflict, and for the next centuryand a half the Dragoncrests wagednumerous wars with both theImperium and the Seven Worlds.Throughout this time they werefighting another war on the far side

of their empire, with the Spectrals.

They lost that war in 2289, anddisappeared suddenly.

They next appeared in 2333,allied with a collection of SevenWorlds renegades. This joint force

reached the Seven Worlds system in

2337, and the Third Seven Worlds -

Starguild War began. Imperial

interest in that war disappearedwhen the Spectrals attackedHumanity along a broad front in

2339. Contact with the SevenWorlds was lost, and for a decadenothing was known of theDragoncrests. Their appearance onRhand was a complete surprise totheir old enemy, the Imperial

Guard.

Physiology

Dragoncrests weigh about 240pounds, are built along reptilian

lines, and are warm-bloodedomnivores. Form the waist up theyare essentially humanoid; their

torso includes a spine and ribcage,

and their powerful arms have thesame general uses and range of

motion as those of humans. Their

legs and lower torso, however, arevery different. These areconstructed like those of a

dinosaur, with a wide carriage,

reverse-jointed legs, and apowerful, agile tail that is used for

balancing and in combat. Their

hands have three fingers and twothumbs, and Dragoncrests also

sport a spiked crest which earnedthem their name; it runs from the

forehead all the way down the backand onto the tail.

Dragoncrest vision spans into

the infrared, and their eyes areshielded by three sets of eyelids; in

addition to the normal type, theyhave a protective lid that is

transparent, and another layer that

filters out ultraviolet radiation.

Smell and hearing are likewise

good, and the Dragoncrests also

have extremely good eye-handcoordination. Consequently, theyare very talented in combat andwith manipulating technology.Their balance is also superb, aidedas it is by use of the tail.

Their needs for food, water,

and air are quite si milar to those of

Humanity. Despite this relative

similarity of physiology, they areapparently immune to bacteria,

viruses, and poison. This is probablydue to one of their mostnoteworthy attributes, their

exceptional regenerative ability.

Virtually any wound which does notkill a Dragoncrest outright will heal,

and without scaring or long-termdisability. In fart, the Dragoncrests

are fully capable of regrowningentire limbs when necessary.

Among themselves,Dragoncrests are telepathic. Theydo not speak to each other at all,

and their awareness of each other's

activities is phenomenal. Evidenceindicates that a Dragoncrest canbroadcast its experiences directly toany or all other Dragoncrests,

regardless of how near or far awaythey are; this ability spans light

years. This powerful telepathic

ability does not mean they are all

the same. They have definite

individual personalities, and areeach quite unique.

Dragoncrests can learn to speakHuman languages, although theyhave heavy accents and are very

difficult to understand. Whetherthey speak or not, however, all

Dragoncrests understand humanspeech, and most of them are

literate as well. The race as a wholehas an excellent grasp ofHumanity's history.

Dragoncrest Honor

In spite of their many oddities,

it is the Dragoncrests' unwaveringcommitment to their code of battle

which is their most unusual trait.

This code is absolute amongDragoncrests; it is not subject tointerpretation, and there are noDragoncrests anywhere who do notwhole-heartly live by its rules. Tocall it a code, in fact, is misleading;it is simply the way Dragoncrestslive, and is utterly unquestioned.

The code is built on warfare andhonor. Dragoncrests live to fight.

Not to kill, or to conquer, or for anyof the other reasons for whichHumanity wages war, but simply for

the fight itself. To them, all

learning and growth come frombattle, and for them this may betrue. They certainly do very little

else. Fighting alone, however, is

not enough.The Dragoncrests feel combat

must be honorable to be of value.

Battles should be one-on-one,whenever possible, and the oddsmust certainly never favor theDragoncrests. Technologies usedshould be balanced; a Dragoncrestthinks nothing of removing its

armor to do battle with a roving

beast of prey, for example. Theyalso have no interest in involving

beings which do not wish to fight.

A non-combatant is utterly safe

from Dragoncrest fire.

It is this code and this attitude

toward battle which led to the longwars between the Dragoncrests andthe Seven Worlds. In the SevenWorlds, the Dragoncrests foundworthy opponents, and theybelieved that wars were atremendously positive experience

for both sides. The idea may seembizarre, but it has some merit. It is

certain that the spirit and sense ofhonor of the Seven Worlds grewstronger because of their contactwith the Dragoncrests. The ability

of the society and the dream of theSeven Worlds to endure the defeatsand oppression of the Starguild

may be traced to their long warswith the Dragoncrests.

It is possible that much ofwhathumans perceive as odd about theDragoncrests is a result of their longmastery of their environment. Theydo not perceive anything in theuniverse as a threat or an enemy,because they were not threatenedfor the countless miiienia of their

development. Combat is simply atesting process, in which they seekgrowth.

Space Gamer /Fantasy Gamer Page 23

As indicated above, there are 4tiers of Dragoncrests, representingdifferent levels of maturity.

Roughly 30% of Dragoncrests are

1st Tier, 60% are 2nd Tier, and 10%3rd Tier. Only 1 Dragoncrest in 1000is 4th Tier.

As a Dragoncrest advancesthrough the four Tiers, a process

which may take many, manydecades, it acquires greater andgreater levels of wisdom andsophistication. 1st Tier

Dragoncrests are still somewhatinfatuated with the thrill andexhiliration of battle, while those ofhigher Tiers are increasingly

focused on the reasons behind acombat.

Gamemaster Suggestions

Dragoncrests are best usedsparingly in any campaign. They canbe brought into play mosteffectively if the players show a

high degree of interest in the ideals

of the Seven Worlds, and if theybegin to put these ideals into

action. The Dragoncrests have nointerest, either positive or negative,

in people who do not understandhonor.

If a player shows a particular

dedication to the ideals of one of

the Seven Legions, and if herepeatedly risks his life in pursuit of

those ideals, then it is possible, at

the GM's discretion, to introduce a1st Tier Dragoncrest of the samelegion to act as that player's

partner. The Dragoncrest can begenerally run by the player, but it

may be necessary for the GM to

take control of the alien to

guarantee that it behaves in a

suitable manner. Remember:Dragoncrests never abandon their

code.

Incidentally, the mystery of theDRGN combat suit is answered in

the Trident/RMBK supplement toLiving Steel. »sg/fg

Dragoncrest Characteristics

Ranking STR INT WILL HLTH A6IL Combat Level CA KV Armor Weapon

1st Tier 12 12 20 Spec 202nd Tier 12 13 20 Spec 203rd Tier 14 14 20 Spec 204th Tier 16 16 20 Spec 20

6 11 3008 12 60012- 13 270016 13 7700

* Dragoncrests use weapons and armor very similar to those of the Seven Worlds. The 7SLR8 Lase Cannon/RocketRifle and Living Steel Power Armor may be used to simulate this equipment; it is fully described in DragonstarRising.

New from STRATEGICON:

SonofORCCON,1988Novebmer 25th through 27th (Thanksgiving Weekend)

at the Westin South Coast Plaza Hotel

The return of the Orange County Game Convention!

For details contact: STRATEGICON, 5374 Village Raod, Long Beach, CA 90808; (213)420-3675

$20 pre-registration fee; no event fees (a STRATEGICON tradition!)


Space Gamer Reviews

TIMELORDSPublished by:

Blacksburg Tactical

Research Center

Designed by:

Greg Porter

Complexity: HighRules clarity: ReasonableGraphics quality: Fair

Reviewed by Rick Swan

Roleplaying designers havemade a few stabs at time travelgames, but the results have beenmixed, usually because the de-signers can't figure out what to dowith the characters once they getthem to different eras. Whenyou've fought dragons in Dwarf-land, Neanderthal cavemen don'tseem like much.

Timelords isn't particularly sat-

isfying in this respect either, butGreg Porter has come up withenough innovative ideas that thegame ranks as one of the best timetravel efforts to date. Porter'sinterpretation of time travel in-

volves a device called the Matrixwhich allows characters to explorevarious nexus of time to influenceEvent Class constructs to influencethe flow of history. The details areconvoluted, but the effect is to giveplayers a clear understanding ofwhat the game allows them to do(changing history is allowed, forinstance, while meeting yourself is

not).

Character generation is equallyclever. Players in Timelords playthemselves: that is, if you're a 21year-old college student namedJohn Smith in real life, you play a 21year-old college student namedJohn Smith in Timelords. Attributesare determined from a player'sactual abilities. For instance, if youcan hold a 10kg weight straight out

from your body for 5 seconds, youhave a Strength score of 9. If yourSAT score was 700 or you've takenan IQ test which ranked you at the50th percentile, you have an In-

telligence score of 10. All nine basic

attributes are determined in similar

ways. Skills and abilities are derivedboth from the basic attributes andthe player's real life talents. It's

contrived, but fun, and certainlyunique.

Porter warns up front that thecombat system is complicated, andhe's not exaggerating. It takes morethan 25 detailed pages to explaincombat, including a full page tableto determine arm damage andanother full page to determine legdamage. What saves the systemfrom being just another number-crunching nightmare are somemore interesting ideas, includingrecoverable Bruise Points and astrange Combat Effects Table thatgives damage results ranging fromOut of It to Eventually Fatal Wound.

The strength of the game is its

systems. Its weakness is the ap-plication of those systems. You'repretty much on your own todevelop adventures, as suggestionsare all but non-existant. Porter doesa good job of explaining his theoryof time travel, but doesn't do muchwith it; for some reason, his history

of the multiverse ends at 1980.

The game mechanics, however,contain so many innovative ideas,

that Timelords is worth a look byanyone interested in alternativeapproaches to roleplaying. Thegame may not be available in

stores, but you can write forinformation to Blacksburg Tactical

Research, 4415 Sprenkle Lane,Richmond, VA 23228 • sg/fg

NEWGAMES FOROLD!

With yourBuy/Sell/Trade

listing

in the Gamer'sGuide: Classified!

FUTURE WORLDSPublished by:

Stellar Gaming Workshop

Designed by:

Patrick Lester

Complexity: Moderate/HighRules clarity: Good

Graphics quality: Fair

Reviewed by: Rick Swan

New premises for roleplayinggames are few and far between,which is why I was anxious to givethe benefit of the doubt to FutureWorlds, a game claiming to blendscience fiction and fantasy "whereempires are won as often byintrigue and sorcery as by the deathdealing laser cannons of stardestroyers and battle cruisers".That sounded promising, as did theauthor's criticism of science fiction

games with "too much emphasis onscience and technology, and notenough on allowing significantdevelopment of the playercharacter".

So what happened? The bulk ofFuture Worlds is devoted to charts,

tables, and complicated rulesystems - where's all the characterdevelopment? As for the fantasy,it's confined to a tacked-on chapterabout Mystics consisting of fourpages of rules and 24-plus pages ofspell lists.

The roleplaying system is

nothing special. Six character racesare available, each with their ownprimary characteristic scores fromwhich skills and other characteristicsare derived. Actions are ridiculously

complicated for anyone less thanfanatic about detail. Combat is

modified by weapon type, move-ment, position of attacker, positionof defender, size of defender, evenwhich hand is being used. For thetruly obsessed, there's another

Space Gamer / Fantasy Gamer Paee 25

dozen or so pages of advancedcombat rules. It all seems to work,but no better than a dozen otherRPG combat systems that are muchless clumsy, so what's the point?

Future Worlds could've been areasonably good supplement forthose wishing to add an advancedcombat system to another game. Abrowse through the spell lists mightgenerate some ideas for an existingfantasy campaign. But as for thegame itself - not for me. • sg/fg

KILL THE COMMIEB/dVARDS!!!

The Ultimate Rotf-PIaying

Experience

Published by:

Crunchy Frog Enterprises

Designed by:

Paul A. Lindberg

Price: $3.00Complexity: LowRules clarity: Good


Reviewed by: Jeff Aibanese

Kill The Commie Bcensored'sU! -

The Ultimate Roll-Playing Ex-perience allows gamers to playArnold Schwarzenegger, ChuckNorris, and all those other actioncharacters, with a heavy dose ofHollywood thrown in for laughs.

The rules are very simple andeasy to learn. All one needs is two10-sided dice, paper & pencil toplay. The use of miniatures or evenplastic soldiers would add morecolor to the game.

A character has four statistics:

Mind, Body, Dexterity, andAccuracy. These are rolled up withthe two 10-sided dice, withadditions depending on your rolls.

The four stats are pretty clear, withyour mind and body scores beingused to figure out your hit points.

The next step is to determineyour character class. There are threetypes: Blasters - These are your gunnuts, Flamers - They love, flame-throwers, and Kung Fu Fighters -

These are your Chuck Norris/BruceLee types. Each class has its bonusesand very few drawbacks.

Characters may improve theirstats thru experience, and the onlyway one gains experience is bykilling commies, which leads us tothe combat and movement rules.

Movement is your Body stat dividedby 10, which allows you to move acertain amount of hexes(?) per turn.

Combat is very simple to do. First,

you roll for initiative, but after thecommies get their action for theturn, the PC's get a second action,

just like the movies! Each playergets two action points per turn, andthey have various options that theycan use each turn. Your Accuracystat determines how well you canhit, with modifiers for range, cover,movement, etc. For hand-to-handfighting, your dexterity comes intoplay.

Two nice rules that apply onlyto the PC's: 1) They cannot die if acommie shoots them, and 2) Theirweapons never run out ofammunition, nor do they ever jamup, just like in the movies.

The last few pages in the rule-

book give you three adventures("On the road to...), plus acampaign adventure, along with ablank character sheet for you tocopy.

After all of this, is the gameworth it? Well, if you want a changeof pace from "normal" role-playinggames, then you want to play this

ROLL-playing game. It was designedto mock action films that one seeson the screen, and it does a greatjob at that. It's easy to learn, and it

plays very quickly, so that you cankill lots of commies in your sparetime. So make Paul's day and buyKill The Commie F&hsqc&s! !! • sg/fg

THE 2nd EDITIONPARANOIA FORM

PACK

Published by:

West End Games

Designed by:

Steven Gilbert

Complexity: Huh!?Reviewed by: Don Towers

Greetings, Citizen Gamemaster!Are you tired of having to pretendthat those stained pieces of illegible

torn paper you've palmed off onyour players were really vital AlphaComplex documents, documents sovital that the very wheels of TheComputer's bureaucracy mightgnash to a halt should one playerdisbelieve their importance? If so,then fear no more!

Our Friend, The Computer hasprovided some (but not enough) ofthe various types of forms necessaryto:

•invoke the stench of waitinglines of non-processed people•mirror the futility of trying tobeat City Hall

•create triplicated bureaucraticnonsensical detail

•inform Internal Security aboutyou!

Yes! (or is that No! ?) Thesetypes of forms are now available inthis latest accessory pack from WestEnd. You receive ten (10) FormRequest Form 2212/HHK, which is

sort of a master request form fornearly 40 other forms (like theChapstick Cap Replacement Form[part 1 of 7] ); four (4) Equipment/Weapon/Vehicle Request Forms,with such necessary questions as *!lf

'No' please list all other ways inwhich you feel The Computer has


Space Gamer Reviewserred"; and lastly, four (4) copies ofthe ever necessary EquipmentComplaint Form 84379-10(398) 7Rwhich courteously attempts todefine blame as it applies to ruinedequipment.

You also get a three page mini-adventure that lets you, The Game-master, try out these examples ofgovernment by the best and bright-

est. This adventure is somewhatstyled on the PLC RunaroundFlowchart that appeared in theSend in the Clones module, in thatthere are more than a fewdepartments that must be correctly

satisfied before the mission is

accomplished. It's a fun romp.In rebuttal. West End only gives

you three different forms, whichlimits the amount of vicarious funyou can put players through. Unlessyou make up your own forms to fit

the Form Request Form titles, youmay find that throwing the samethree forms at your players will

quickly turn into no fun. PerhapsWest End intends to issue moreform packs down the road; theydon't say.

You should be selective as towhether you want to include this

accessory into your games. Thehumor might wear off too quicklyto be of lasting value, whereas themoney spent on the usually well-written modules is of better value.

• SG/FG

OPERATION: CONTACTis a domestic U.S. mailing of computersorted Opponents Wanted ads producedevery 6-weeks to its paid subscribers. Eachlist provides at least five of the closestwargamers seeking opponents in yourarea, their areas of wargaming interests,

addresses and phone numbers.Operation Contact is endorsed by alt

of these fine wargaming magazines:Battleplan, CounterAttack, Fire &

Movement, The Grenadier, Strategy &Tactics and The Wargamer.

To get all the information plus your"enlistment papers* for OPERATION:CONTACT, send a self addressed, stampedreturn envlope to: D.S. Computing, Attn.OPERATION: CONTACT, P.O. Box 2434,Sante Fe Springs,CA 90670.

STAR EMPIRES

Published by:

Stargames

Designed by:

Richard G. Mathews

Price: $9.95 U.S.

Complexity: Intro/LowRules clarity: Good


Reviewed by: Perrin D.Tong

"Star Empires is a fast-movingcardgame for two to six playersthat can be completed in an hour.Be the first to accumulate the rightnumberand type ofplanets andrule the galaxy!"

Well, it's got cuteness, it's gotpotential, it's got... it's got.... It's gotsomething missing (the 6-sided die

needed to play).

The game comes in a box, theBlack and White artwork cover art is

courtesy of Lou Zocchi. The gamecards are of sturdy, glossy stock.

The PLANET DECK contains 14"triads" of planets. A triad consists

of one red, one green and one blueplanet. It also contains six EarlyWarning Systems (EWS).

The SHIP DECK contains Scouts.

Tran%jorts, Merchants, Cruisers,

Battleships, Dreadnoughts andPlanetery Defenses (PDF).

The object of the game is toobtain a number of "triads" thatvaries with the number of players.

To begin with, each playerstarts with one Scout, oneTransport, one Merchant and onecomplete "triad". Planet cards areplaced face-up in front of theowning player while ship cards areheld in one's hand.

Players perform "missions" aspart of their turn. Each non-warship(Scout, Transport, Merchant) mayperform one mission per turn.

Colonizing with a Transportallows you to draw a card from thePLANET DECK.

Commerce with a Merchantallows you to draw a card from theSHIP DECK.

Warships (Cruisers, Battleships,

Dreadnoughts) allow players toattempt (or defend against) aninterception of a players mission.Combat is conducted by the roll ofthe die, with the higher numberrolled winning. If intercepting shipsare destroyed, the mission goesthrough. If the intercepting shipsare not destroyed, the mission is

aborted.

So, the player interaction is

there. And the more the merrier!Pirating, Spying, Combat, Colon-izing, Trading, and basic gamerswindling are all aspects of thegame that the players fill in. As it

states, it's a "fast-moving cardgame".

Although, after playing it a fewtimes, even though I still feel there's"a little something" missing, I still

think it's a FUN LITTLE CARD GAME.If you cannot find it in your localstore, contact Stargames at: 7153N. Atlantic, Portland, OR 97217

• SG/FG


P B M R e V i e w

Warp ForceEmpiresPublished by:

Emprise Game Systems

Price: Rules $4.50 U.S.

Set-up $18.50 U.S.

($450 set-up fee, $5refundable completion

deposit, and first two turns

at $4.50 each in USA, moreelsewhere)

Complexity level: ModerateRules quality: Excellent

(60 page booklet)Reviewed by: Sam Moorer

This isn't just another Starwebclone. True, they are both totally

computer-moderated, play-by-mail(PBM), space exploration and con-quest games. Both are set on a two-dimensional map which changesbetween games. Both run turnsevery two to three weeks. And bothpit a dozen or so players againsteach other. Each player may selectfrom a number of racial types, eachwith its own abilities, needs anddiffering ways of gathering pointstowards victory. This classical PBMarrangement builds into each gameinevitable conflicts and oppor-tunities for co-operation.

Finally, both companies havesimilar policies. Both keep individ-

ual player ratings for each racial

type. Both encourage stand-byplayers to replace drop-outs.Whereas Flying Buffalo, Inc. was apioneer in PBM with Starweb, andestablished the industry standardfor accuracy in turn processing andfiduciary responsibility, EmpriseGames Systems seems to be no less

accurate or responsible. One hopesthat they can make the transitionfrom a one-man-show into a suc-cessful business

So, what's the difference in

these two games? Well, to begin.Warp Force Empires (WFE) is a morecomplicated game. There are threedifferent kinds of raw materialswhich are required, in differingproportions, to build nine differentproducts. There are two differentship types, freighters which do thehauling and warships which canfight. Each type can be of seven tonine different sizes, and each can berepaired (for a price). There are alsoplanetary defense forts to hold thefrontier. There are warp engineswhich are needed at each starsystem for interstellar travel. Youralliance level may permit you to useyour neighbor's engines, which will

vastly expand your explorationabilities. And then there are thefour different planetary environ-mental types. Each as its owncorresponding type of colonist whomust populate each world beforethose valuable raw materials can beproduced. And of course, not every-body likes every possible climate, sothere are differing survival ratios

for mis-matched colonists andplanets. Somehow it always seemthat those type "L" raw materials I

need to build heavy warships all

seem to be produced only in mypart of the galaxy on those darnedtype "C" planets, which kill 100% ofmy hapless type "B" colonists. But,who said that galactic conquest wassupposed to be easy? The sixty pagerule book helps the novice morethan in any other PBM game. Therearen't really sixty pages of rules,

most are examples, sample print-

outs, and even demonstrationturns. The beginner will find a pageof hints for a successful opening.

But the biggest difference is

that this game requires that aUinter-player communication be con-ducted through the game itself.

That's right - this PBM game doesn'trequire expensive long-distancephone calls, or even post cards.You're not backing up all of your-promises and deals with your

personal word of honor. You don'tcarry your reputation from game togame. For once you can play mad-dog aggressor without risking re-

tribution from a disgruntled neigh-bor in a future game. WFE abolishesgrudge matches without abolishingall interplayer com-munication byusing CorGaSyL (CorrespondenceGamer's Symbolic Language). It's avocabulary of 476 words andphrases, each represented by a two-letter alpha-betical code which maybe mani-pulated by a number ofmodifiers of grammatical usage,punctuation, meaning reversal, andeven mood and intonation (Friendlyor Conciliatory, through Hostile, toeven Angry or Jubilant, etc.). Butthe limit of only sixty messagecharacters allowed per turn of all

communications forces greateconomy in diplomacy. Is my ally's

response so brief because he'stalking to other players, or is hehiding something? Emprise GameSystems makes a great, andapparently successful, effort to ex-clude ail phone numbers, addresses,or other identifying characteristicsfrom the messages. This keeps youfrom suddenly facing a prearrangedteam of opponents, the bane ofmany PBM games. It is this uniquequality of diplomacy which I feel

suits the PBM gamer. After all, hecould be playing face-to-face gamesa lot cheaper, especially if he lacksaccess to a WATTS line. It's theseterse communiques, often soundingstrangely like the inter-speciespigeon it's supposed to represent,which overshadow all of the tech^nical ideosyncrasities and whichgive WFE its own particular flavor.

For more information,contact;

Emprise Game SystemsPO Box 9078-51,VanNuys,CA914Q9

• SG/FG

Page 28 Space Gamer / Fanlasv Gamer

The Rulerby Martin A. Stever

Wowser! Did you know thatduring the month of February it

would have cost you about $670 topurchase every one of the topselling 200 comic books printed?Now, if you have the $670 and thetime to read 200 comics everymonth stop reading this column! If

you don't have that much money or

time read on. This is a guide to theten best comic books.

This is the first in what will be aregular column on comic books.Most columns will focus on comicsof special interest to gamers. This

issue's column is devoted to my tenfavorite ongoing comic series.

These ten should give you abenchmark or ruler against whichto measure your tastes againstmine. If you also enjoy these comicsthan chances are you'll like othercomics that I will recommend. If

you hate these comics then youmight as well give it up nowbecause I won't be writing aboutthe comics you do like. Chances are

you'll agree with some choices anddisagree with others, fair enough.

Although many of the writers

and artists on these series arementioned, just as many are not.

Every successful series probably hasa good editor, inker, colorist,

letterer, and perhaps some assistant

editors, senior editors, art directors

and others who have a significant

impact on the month-to-monthquality of the book. Here the spot-

light only shines on those who seemto be the driving force(s) in

achieving quality. This should in noway belittle the efforts of thosewho go unmentioned. A comicbook can never achieve greatness if

the team that produces it does notstrive together for greatness.

All these series are ongoing.That is, no mini-series, one-shots,maxi-series, super-cross-overs, gra-

phic novels, or series-within-a-series

were considered. They are given in

no particular order.

SUPERMAN

Written and drawn by JohnBryne, published by DC. Byrne'sname has become synonymous withquality. Byrne's run on X-MEN(where he was credited as co-

plotter as well as penciller) is theanchor that title's popularity is still

moored. Bryne's run on FANTASTICFOUR was a paradox. While re-

freshingly original, his stories drewon and paid homage to the FF aspresented by Jack kirby and StanLee. Byrne's work on ALPHA FLIGHTand HULK was no less exciting.

Now Byrne is working on thegrandaddy of them all, SUPERMAN,with terrific results. Byrne's cleanand crisp yet bold style of drawinglends itself well to the Man ofSteel's heroics. At the same timeByrne's tireless imagination has putnew energy into what had beenone of the most lifeless titles

running.

The new Clark Kent is no longera wimp but a well built, top notchreporter. Superman's first alleg-iance no longer lies with a longdead planet but with the good oldU.S. of A. Superman is no longerharrassed by an endless number ofdips carrying multi-colored Kryp-tonite; Byrne's Lex Luthor is a bigenough threat that Supermandoesn't need many other enemiesto keep things exciting. Perhapsmost importantly, Byrne has madeSuperman human enough that wecan understand and like him.Thank you John Bryne for makingSuperman super again.

JUSTICE LEAGUE INTERNATIONAL

Written by Giffen & DeMatteis,pencils by Kevin Maquire, publishedby DC. I hope the literary marriageof Griffen & DeMatteis is a longone. I haven't liked their pervioussolo work, but this joint effort on JLI

has struck the often sought, butseldom achieved, balance betweenaction and humor. The heroes tradepunchlines as often as punches.

Maguire gives individual at-tention to a large and everchangingcast of colorful heroes includingMartian Manhunter, Captain Atom,Rocket Red, Blue Beetle, BlackCanary, Green Lantern, BoosterGold, Batman, Miracle Man,Captain Marvel, Or. Fate, andOberon with great skill. Maguire'sstyle animates the Justice Leaguersmaking heroic efforts and takingverbal jibes with equal ease. Thanksto clever characterization and wit,this creative team makes team

moving day as exciting and as muchfun as a brush with Armageddon.

AREA 88

Story and art by Kaoru Shintani,

published by Eclipse. This bi-weeklytitle is reprinted in black and whitefrom the original Japanese versions.

If you like planes you'll like this

comic book. The main charactersare mercenary pilots in the tradition

of the Foreign Legion. They live in

and fly over Area 88, a combat zonein a nameless Middle East country.Each man has become a mercenaryfor his own reasons, usually toescape or recapture his past. Thehero. Shin, only wants to stay alive

in order to return to Tokyo and thegirl he loves.

Each issue includes one day'smission, but the underlying storyconcerns loyalty, friendship, andfutility of war. The art is impressive,especially the ability to rendermoving jet aircraft. True to real war,characters are killed with regularity

but not without remorse.

OMAHA, THE CAT DANCER

Written by Reed Waller andKate Worley, published by KitchenSink. This is the story about a girl,

her friends and lovers. The plot is sorich that it would be a disservice toattempt to sum it up in the smallspace available here. It is bettersaid that it is a story that does notpull punches and in its essence rings

more true to the values of our timethan anything short of Tom Wolfe.This book often contains nudity andexplicit sexual scenes, therefore, it is

not for children (read anyoneseventeen or younger) and in manycomic shops is not openly displayedbut must be asked for at thecounter.

STRIKE!

Written by Chuck Dixon, art byTom Lyle & Romeo Tanghal, a 4Winds Production published byEclipse. Strike! is a traditionalcostumed hero who has never readthe Comics Code. A teenage boyfinds the power belt of an almostforgotten Sgt. Strike, a tough, rudehero that fought for the US in WWIIand Korea and disappeared duringthe McCarthy years. Six issues intothe series the new Strike has killed


CIA agents, stolen money from thelocal pusher to set his Mama up in

style, been kidnapped and tortured,and is now in space working withthe mysterious aliens who havesearched the galaxy for the powerstone that gives Strike his powers.

The strength of this comic is

solid art and Dixon's stories. Thereader has absolutely no idea as towhat is going to happen next; soeach story is a real adventure. Thehero, the archetypal poor butbright high school student, is

written with realistic humanmotivations, making us verysympathetic to his cause, beatingthe tar out of the bad guys.

AIRBOY

Along with a variety of one-shots and mini-series featuringAirboy, Skywolf, and Valkyrie; all

written by Chuck Dixon withprimary artists being Stan Woch,Tom Lyle, and Willie Blyberg,published by Eclipse. Like STRIKE!,the Airboy comics, by Dixon,revamp a series that has been out ofprint for decades and whoseoriginal publishing company is dustin the wind. I liked this monthlymore when it was bi-weekly,probably because I can't getenough of It.

This Airboy, son of the original,

flies a computer-brained batwingedplane. His best friends are hismentor Hirota, a Japanese ace whowas shot down by the originalAirboy during WWII; Skywolf, anadventurer in his 60's who flies aheavily armed jet-copter; and TheHeap, a WWI aviator who hasbecome a walking compost pile.

Together the four, along withAirboy's love interest Valkyrie, anda cast of a half dozen otherairfighters, get into high-flyingpolitical intrigue and action aroundthe globe. Some of Airboy'sadventures are a wee bit on thesupernatural side. Misery, a leechwho feeds off of others suffering, is

out to kill Airboy, as are a group ofrats that live in New Jersey.

A highlight of this comic is theback-up feature. Along with themain story line, each issue includes afew pages from the lives of thesupporting cast, including Skywolf,Bald Eagle, Riot O'Hare, and TheHeap. The key to this book's successhas been the balance Dixon has

stuck between adventure, humor,mystery, and romance. This, alongwith break-neck pacing and plentyof action in every issue have madeAirboy a monthly event I lookforward to. This is the kind of comicbook John Wayne would read.

WARLOCK 5

By Gordon Derry and DenisBeauvais. Published by Aircel. Five

odd beings fight for the mostimportant thing that ever was; I

think. The lure of this book is thatthe reader is unsure of exactly whatis going on. Lots of magic, guns,swords, robots, babes, motorcycles,and very nice art. This titlesometimes features graphic vio-lence and partial nudity andtherefore sometimes isn't sold toanyone seventeen or younger.

ELEMENTALS

By Bill Willingham, Jack Her-man, and Keith S. Wilson, pub-lished by Com ico. This is the scariest

comic book.The four title charactershave died and been resurrectedwith the power of their respectiveelement, earth, air, fire, and water.Having already beaten Saker, theman who would have plunged ourworld into chaos, they must nowdestroy the evil, magical crea-turesthat are continually being createdfrom Saker's passi ng.

Although the Elementais ap-pear to be your standard everydaysuperheros with colorful costumesand neat powers, the Elemental'sadversaries are anything but run-of-the-mill comic fare. The things thatthe Elementais are called on tofight are SCARY! I had to set thelast issue down and pause to regainmy composure after a rather grisly

series of deaths. The villains inElementais are unusually cold,manipulative, often have no regardfor human life, and no qualmsabout killing an innocent if it will

give a temporary upper hand oremotionally hurt the good guys.Willingham's imagination must beon overdrive to come up with someof the far out ideas in Elementais.The title is often labeled, "Sug-gested for mature readers",because of sexual situations, lang-uage, and content.

GRENDEL

Written by Matt Wagner, pub-lished by Comico. This is anothercomic that features a new vision ofthe costumed "hero". This is one of.

most exciting, dynamic, andunusual comic books ever con-ceived. Grendel is a demon thathops from person to person.Although we never see the demonwe do see the effects of hispossession. Each of the demon'shosts, unaware they are possessed,takes on the name Grendel. Thefirst Grendel is a brilliant youngman who takes over East Coastcrime syndicates. The second Gren-del, biographer of the first, fightsthe vampire that killed her son. Thethird Grendel, lover of the second,attempts to avenge her death.

Each incarnation of Grendel is

rendered by a different artist,giving new emotional overtones tothe book. The first Grendel asdrawn by Matt Wagner in an ArtDeco style. He was followed by thePander Brothers and then BernieMireault. Each artist brings newperspective and a new slant to thecomic. Hence, it does not fall intothe rut of blandness so many comicseries suffer from. These artistchanges also allow Wagner tofurther his explorations of thecomic medium while maintaining atraditional ongoing title.

NEXUS

By Mike Barron and Steve Rude(with regularly scheduled fill-ins byPaul Smith), published by First. Thisis the best monthly comic bookbeing published today. Nexus is thestory of Horatio Hellpop, who hasbeen given great powers by themysterious Merk. Nexus suffersthrough violent dreams sent by theMerk, which are filled with the darkvisions of mass murderers. Nexus is

then forced to track down and kill.

the killers for reasons he doesn'tentirely understand because theMerk is so alien. Filled with guiltthat comes from killing, Nexusoften teaters on the brink ofinsanity and emotional breakdown.

The success of the book is due,in part, to its greatly detailedsetting. Together Baron and Rudehave fleshed out an entire futureuniverse that is as rich and originalas anything that I've seen in any


medium. Man has gone to thestars; there he has met manydifferent races. The conflict be-tween capitalists (The Web) andcommunists (The Sovs) has grownbeyond the confines of earth.Nexus' home, the moon Ylum, hasbecome a refuge for political dis-

sidents. Each planet Nexus visits hasit own charms, as well as at least

one murderer who thinks he/shehas escaped justice.

Nexus rates number one forseveral reasons. Often I find thecovers by Steve Rude alone worththe price of the book. Colorist LesDorscheid's work stands head andshoulders above any other colorist's

who is on a regular series. BothRude and Smith maintain suchconsistantly high quality art that mymind boggles when I look at thedrek that some companies pass offfor art in titles that outsell Nexustwo to one. If you have read this far

then do yourself a favor and go outand BUY A COPY OF NEXUS! I

guarantee you won't be disap-pointed. Clever, original, actionpacked stories along with beautifulart keep this book on the cutting

edge of creativity in the comicmedium.

So that's it, the top ten. Someof you are probably under eighteenand unhappy that three of my topten are not usually available to you.Don't worry about it. There's plentyof good stuff that didn't make this

list that isn't, so-called "adult"material. Some of you are probablydisappointed your favorite isn't in

the list. Sorry, there are lots ofcomics and ten is only twice five

and, "95% of everything is crap".

Send me your top ten, you readmine and I'd like to read yours.

Nexttime: Gaming and Comics,Which Superhero Teams are Best forRole-Playing.

Marty A. Stever works for Capital

City Distribution, the Largest comicbook distributor in the UnitedStates. He has been reading comicsfor some twentyyears and beenadventure gaming for fifteen. Agraduate of the University ofMichigan with a B.A. in Liberal Arts.

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either randomly, or to fit a specific campaign.

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twenty-one character types — and new advantages,

disadvantages and skills for a far-future campaign.

We've included three variant human races — heavy-

worlders, light-worlds and Spacers— and guidelines

for creating new and different sorts of genetically-

enhanced humans. In addition to the variant humans,

you'll also find four alien races. Meet the savage

near-human Gormelites; the graceful, aggressive

Sparrials; the weird, sex-changing Pachekki; and the

powerful half-plant Treefolk.

The Hardware — Included are science-fiction

gadgets, weapons and medical technology. Starship

construction rules cover everything from TL8 (just

around the corner) to TL15+ (science fantasy).

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quick but detailed. There are no ship counters or

maps . . . just roleplaying, for a quick determination

of fleet damage, individual ship damage and injury

to characters.

GURPS Space does not tie your game to a single background. Rather, it is designed to help you develop your ownuniverse! Choose the scale of your campaign — one star system, or a million. Choose the type of campaign — space

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Ham- 32 Space Gamer/ Fantasy Gamer

A Plague In

Westbrook

An AD&D Scenarioby Gary Reilly

The king's tax collector is

overdue. The collector and his

bodyguard of six mounted men-at-arms were expected back at thecastle more than two weeks ago,but they have not arrived. The last

stop in their planned circuit wasWestbrook, a small village only afew days ride to the east. It is

possible that the tax collector andhis troop fell victim to foul play. Yetthe people of the Kingdom havebeen loyal supporters in the past

Being nobly concerned for theofficial's health (as well as having afinancial interest), the King wishesto locate the missing troop andinsure their well-being. Thus, theKing selects your party of faithful

supporters to go to Westbrook anddiscover the reason for the taxcollector's delay.

The Village ofDeath

The journey to Westbrook is

uneventful. The adventures arrive

at the village outskirts late in theafternoon. An astute character mayobserve that something is out of theordi nary as the party approachesthe cluster of building that make upthe agricultural community.Although it is only late August and,therefore, still early in the season,

the crops surrounding Westbrookhave already been harvested. Thegrain fields have been trimmedclose to the ground.

Upon entering the village, it

becomes apparent to everyone thatthings are not right. No people areto be seen. An unnerving silence

hangs over the community. Closer

inspection reveals scatted boneslying among the vacant buildings.

Included in these remains are thepartial skeletons of small

domesticated animals: dogs, cats,

pigs. Many of the bones have beenneatly severed as by heavy axeblows.

The doors to several of thedwellings stand wide open. Othersare bolted from the inside and mustbe forced to gain entry. A search of

the interiors turns up more signs of

carnage. Here again, bones lie

strewn about, including those of

horses and cows in the stable. Thedisheveled state of some roomsindicates that the inhabitants hadstruggled. Dried blood lies in pools

around all of the remains. Anotheroddity is that all of the kitchens

have been cleared of their

foodstuffs. The party finds no trace

of food other than empty torn

burlap grain bags and overturnedbarrels.

At the Prancing Elk Tavern, oneof the larger buildings, theadventurers discover the tax

collector's party. Their bones lie in acommunal sleeping room. Underone of the rope cots is theundisturbed chest containing thecollected taxes. Consisting mostlyof copper and silver coins, theamount equals 184 gold pieces.

Another unusual item appearsalong the stream that flows alongthe village's eastern boundary (thus

the name Westbrook). The plants

growing on the banks of the streamare oddly overgrown andmisshapen. Quite a few display

abnormal colors including deepmaroon leaves, black stems, and soon. The rocks along the stream's

edge also are discolored. Somepossess an oily sheen. A brackish

odor rises from the slow-movingwater. Looking up and down thestream, one sees that the foliage

appears to be growing larger to thenorth (upstream).

Terror in the Night

Dusk approaches by the timethe party completes the search ofWestbrook. The characters mustdecide on their next course ofaction. Should they decide to stayin the village, about an hour after

sundown, it comes alive withhorror. From holes in thesurrounding fields emerges a large

army of giant ants. Hundreds of theinsects begin to scour theimmediate countryside for food,

much of which they have already"gathered".

These nocturnal creatures haveinvaded Westbrook and killed its

unsuspecting inhabitants. Stripping

the flesh from the bones withstrong mandibles, the ants atevoraciously and carried the excess

food back to their nest (under thefield nearest the stream). They also

cleared the grain crop.

If the adventurers remainwithin the village for the night,

they will be attacked quickly.

Severe losses probably will takeplace unless the party possessessuitable magic. Bright light holds

the ants at a distance for a while.

However, they will advance to claim

the "food" that they have found.Should the party survive until dawn,the ants return tothe nest.

If the characters make campoutside of Westbrook, they face less

danger. A sentry may observe themovement of the ants in the fields

and alert the party. Otherwise, arandom encounter roll indicates

that a small body of ants (4D12 in

number) discovers the campsite andattacks. Standing and fighting this

scouting party for too long a timeallows the main body to be called

for dinner! The best tactic may be

to run away, preferably onhorseback.


Follow the Yellowhrick Road 3.

As you may expect, the ants ofWestbrook are only a part of themystery. The adventurers should becurious as to the ants' sudden ap-pearance. None have been report- 4.ed anywhere in the kingdom beforenow. To find the answer, they mustfollow the stream northward (ashinted at by the general increase in

unusual vegetation along the banksto the north). As the adventurersmove northward, they encountersome odd occurs, roll 1D10 to selectfrom the following. Refer to theEncounter Table for creaturestatistics.

Giant Water Beetle. Enlargedto giant size, this insect

measures 6 feet in length. Its

huge mandibles are capable ofsnipping through any armor.

Rope Reed. Growing in deeppools along the stream, this

mutated plant lashes out toensnare creatures ven-turing within several

yards. The vinesthen drag thevictim to awaterygrave.

t. Giant Ants. Similar to thosefound in Westbrook.Encountered only at night,

otherwise roll again.

2. Crazed Bear. A large bear thathas been drinking from thesteam. Its mind is destroyed,causing the animal to attackany creature it meets in aberserker's rage. (Note: If thecharacters are foolish enoughto drink from the stream, eachmust make a daily saving roll

below his/her Wisdom or turnon their fellow adventurers in acrazed fury!)

Stinging Burdock.Twice the size of nor-

mal burdock, brushingagainst this plant results in

painful welts. The pointedburrs penetrate leather armor,injecting a mild poison. Thecharacter must roll a SaveVersus Poison or be paralyzedfor 4-16 hours.

6. Giant Water Snake. A commonnon-poisonous water snake,this specimen has grown toextraordinary proportions,reaching 30 feet in length.Although still non-poisonous,the snake's bite inflicts

considerable damage.

7. Diving Birds. These birds maybe of any common variety.

However, their brains havebeen affected. Attracted to theglint of sunlight on metallicarmor, they dive directly ontothe party. Dashing themselvesagainst the armor, there is little

chance of damage. A largerbird such as ahawk may unseatthe surprised adventurer.

8. Whip Weed. Coming too closeto this tall grass-like plantsolicits a violent reaction. Theindividual sprouts lash out withthe strength of bullwhips.Unarmored skin can suffer deepgashes.

9 Giant Newt. A 15 foot versionof the newt found along mostrivers. It possesses lightningspeed. The newt grabs its

surprised prey and carries it offto an underground lair dug outof the stream bank.

10. Hunter Hares. Descendants offast-breeding hares, thesecreatures have turned into

onmivorous terrors. They arethe size of large dogs and retain

the dashing speed of their

smaller parents. However, theirstrong front teeth canpenetrate armor and theforearms sport sharp three-inchclaws. The creatures hunt in

packs.

Roll CreatureNumberAppearing

Encounter Table

Armor MovementClass Rate

Hit

Dice

Numberof Attacks Damaqe

1.

2.

Giant AntsCrazed Bear

4-48 3....

-7--.

18

122

3 + 31 Bite

1 Bite

2 Claws

1-4

1-6

1-3/1-3

3.

4.

Giant WaterBeetle

Rope Weed

3

8

6

8

4

3

1 Bite

3 Grapples

2-12

Special

5.

6.

Stinging

BurdockGiant WaterSnake

1-3 8

5

8

15

2

4

2 Stings

1 Bite

Special

1-12I

7.

8.

Diving Birds

Whip Weed1-6 8

848

2

1 Dive

3 Whips|

1-2

9.

10.

Giant NewtHunter Hare 3-9

5

62418

3 + 3

2 + 3

1 Bite

1 Bite

2 Claws

2-8

1-4

1-3/1-3

PiijjejM Spuce Gamer / Fantasy Gamer

The Source of Trouble

On the third day out ofWestbrook, the adventurers comeupon the cause of the strangeevents. Theplantlife-alongthestream grows steadily larger andmore unusual as the party makes its

way northward. In a light forest,

the vegetation abruptly drops awayto normal. Near the edge ofthestream stands a rough-hewn stonecottage. Its windows shuttered.

Half a dozen of the hunterhares lie around the cottage, lying

siege to the cottage. Barricadedbehind the walls is Ensor Peppin-corn, the inadvertent cause ofthetroubles.

Peppincorn is an elderly humanwho has lived in this cottage forseveral years. Once a well-knownalchemist, he moved to this

secluded spot to continue his

research without the bothersome

interruptions from people seekinghis services. Peppincorn is some-what eccentric and downrightforgetful at times.

The source ofthe problem is asmall stone cistern wherePeppincorn dumps his chemicalmixtures after completing his

experiments. The cistern lies back in

the woods, about 50 yards from thecottage and the stream. When thewind blows in the right direction,

the noxious odor of the cistern canbe smelled around the cottage.

Several months ago, the wall ofthe cistern crumbled inward,releasing the chemical stew. Springrains washed this sludge into thenearby stream. Carrieddownstream, the diluted chemicalsinteracted with the plant, animaland insect life along the stream,resulting in the bizarre lifeforms.The most noticeable effects occur in

the lower forms of life and those

with a higher frequency ofreproduction.

Peppincorn failed to notice thechanges taking place about him ashe continued with his research.However, the mutated hares arriveda few weeks ago. Peppincornbarricaded himself in the cottage,surviving on rainwater collectedfrom roof runoffs and his meagerfoodstuffs. Spotting the arrival ofthe adventurers, Peppincorn calls tothem for rescue.

Assuming that the party rescuesthe alchemist, Peppincorneventually pieces together thestory. The chemical contaminationfinally loses its effect a few milessouth of Westbrook as the streameventually dilutes the chemicalssufficiently. The adventurers mustreturn to the King with the storyand begin the process of cleansingthe area around Westbrook of thebizarre and harmful lifeforms.

• SG/FG


NecrowormsA New Spell And

Creature for Runequest

By Michael DeWolfe

Necroworms are beings createdby sorcerers for particular tasks.

They are hideous and ghastly toconfront, having the head andchronological appearance of theircreator but a body equivalent tothat of a two year old.

They receive their name be-cause of their ways. They arecreated to perform one purposeand little of anything else. Theycarry out their purpose until theydie or are successful. Because oftheir limited intelligence, theyoften cannot be trained to eat orrest and often meet their end byexhaustion and starvation. They areferretous and are held in disgust byeven the creator they liken to.

The following sorcery spell is forthe creation of necroworms andthey are listed as creatures.

things such as following a certain

person, casting a spell, eating whenhungry, sleeping when tired, notwalking into fire, et cetera. Thetasks, when combined, formeverything the necroworm will everdo. The necroworm can have oneskill or spell per point of INT, if thecaster has the same skills or spells.

The necroworms chances with theseare equal to ( (INT x 4) + Pertinent

Skill Modifier) and the use of skills

must be included as a task or theywon't be utilized. For example, anecroworm could have the skill ofclimb which may pertain tofollowing a target; or it could havethe spell Skin Of Life, which wouldmean the necroworm may beallowed to also have Intensity,

Range and Duration for the spell.

But, keep in mind that only onespell or skill can be learned perpoint of INT. They have little

personal knowledge; their

personality, if any, is that of their

creator.

Though necroworms them-selves are not evil, usually only evil

sorcerers resort to using them.

Create NecrowormSorcery Spell

Ritual (Enchanting)

This spell can create a necro-

worm to perform a task of theenchanter's wishes. To create one,the sorcerer must start with(1 D4 + 3) SIZ points of dust to shapeits from. The sorcerer must lowerPOW by 1 D2 points and all othercharacteristics but INT, by one.Then the spell is cast. If it fails, thesorceror's abilities are still loweredand the dust has been spread into

the winds, if successful, thenecroworm comes into being withall characteristics but INT and SIZ

equaling 1/3 the caster's current

characteristics. The SIZ of the dustand the INT is generated using2D3 + 1.

Upon success, the caster cangive its creation 1 D4 + 4 tasks; addone if the caster's INT is over fifteen

and subtract one if it's undereleven. The tasks involve simple

Necroworms

Necroworms are beings created

by sorcerers with the spell CreateNecroworm (qv). They are small

beings with the bodies oftwo yearolds and the face of the sorcerer

that created them. A member of

any race can create them andnecroworms resemble their mastersto that extent. They serve only onepurpose or task with knowledge oflittle else. They are given 1 D4 + 4things to do so such as eating,

sleeping, following, casting a spell

when trapped, etc. Anything theywere told not to do, they cannotdo. Simple minded, they wanderoffto their death after completingwhat they were set out to do,though few do survive if implantedwith the knowledge of how to carefor themseleves. They are onlyoccasionally violent if taught howto be. If the creature is created byan adventurer during the course ofplay, use the characteristics

mentioned there over these.

The creator of the necroworm canimplant up to five (INT) skills orsorcery spells that involve its tasks.

All spells are equal to ((INT x 4) +Skill Modifier). Below is a sample ofa necroworm. •sg/fg

Necroworm

Characteristics AveraaeSTR 3D3 6CON 1D6 + 2 5-6

SIZ 1D4 + 3 5-6

INT 2D3 + 1 5POW 3D3 9-10

DEX 1D6 + 3 6-7

APP 1D6 + 3 6-7

Move 4Hit Points 6Fatigue 12

Hit

LocationRLegLLegAbdomenChestRArmLArmHead

Weaponusually

none

Melee Missile Points01-04 01-03 0/2

05-08 04-06 0/209-11 07-10 0/2

12 11-15 ,Q/3

13-15 16-17 W16-18 18-19 0/219-20 20 W.

SR Attack% Damage

Armor : Any that its creator puton it Usually none.

Skills and Spells:

Climb 20-2, Dodge 20-2, Plant

Lore 20-5, Drain 20-7, Intensity

20-7.

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A gamer's guide to the world!

Page 36 Space Gamer/ Fantasy Garner

Aerial Warfare in

Call of Cthulhu

by Bob Kindel

The piloting skills in Call ofCthulhu are fine for those whosimply want to get from point A to

point 8. But what happens whensomeone shoots at you as you'regoing?

Dogfights between two (ormore) planes use different skills

other than ordinary flying andshould he handled in a specialmanner to reflect this difference.

Some players resolve such fights

by switching to another gamesystem designed for such combat(such as Nova Games Ace OfAces orTSR tnc's Dawn Patrol). After thecombat is resolved. Call of Cthulhuis resumed . This method works buthas two major drawbacks:

It requires that you learn aseparate rule system, and ifyou andyour players already own and use aseparate system, fine. But if don't,

are you willing to go to the troubleand expense a new system entails

just to be ready for an occurrencethat is fairly rare. It also disrupts thegame flow. Good role-playing re-

quires that you get into a different

mindset; that you consciously be-come the character. Ifyou switch toa different system, you lose this

mindset, and lose some of theenjoyment of the game.

These problems can be avoidedby using an aerial combat systemconsistent with the game. SinceChaosium didn't include such asystem in the game, I designed onefor my campaign. The system hasthree major components:

Dogfighting, Maneuver Class,

and Damage.

Dogfight Skill

Dogfighting is a special aspectof piloting. The initial score is

(Piloting Skill-20) + DEX. It goes upas do other skills but can never behigher than the piloting skill.

Players with prior dogfightexperience, i.e. WWI fighter pilots

get a + 5% per 6 months of combatexperience.

The skill allows the pilot to

attempt one of the followingmaneuvers: Attack, Evade, Follow.

To find the result, divide eachpilot's skill by 5 (round down) andcompare the skills on the resistance

table to find the percentage chanceof success. The opponent may"parry" the maneuver by finding

the appropriate number on theresistance table and rolling it to

counter the maneuver.Each pilot may make 1

maneuver and 1 parry per round.The table below shows the

effect of maneuvering.A pilot must "follow" at least

one round to get into position toattack on the next round. Once apilot has attacked, he can attack

each round until his opponentevades.

TABLE ONE: DOGFIGHTING

MANEUVER PILOT OPPONENT RESULTATTACKATTACKATTACKATTACK

SUCCEEDSUCCEEDFAIL

FAIL

SUCCEEDFAIL

SUCCEEDFAIL

MISS*CAN ATTACK**MISS*MISS*

EVADEEVADE

EVADE

EVADE

SUCCEEDSUCCEED

FAIL

FAIL

SUCCEEDFAIL

SUCCEED

FAIL

NO CHANGE***OPPONENT CANNOTATTACK FOR D3 ROUNDSOPPONENT IN POSITIONTO ATTACK NEXT ROUNDNO CHANGE***

FOLLOWFOLLOWFOLLOW

SUCCEEDSUCCEEDFAIL

SUCCEEDFAIL

SUCCEED

NO CHANGE***|

CAN ATTACK NEXT ROUNDCANNOTATTACK FOR D3ROUNDS

NOTES: *:

I**•

A miss still requires thatthe pilot fire his weapons to determinesubsequent ammunition loss and the possibility ofjamming..

.

The pi 1ot must still roll to see if the allowed attack is successful . |

An attack is possible if the planeswere already in position to do sobefore the attempted maneuver.

Maneuver Class

Not all planes are created equal.

And so, for game purposes, I groupvarious planes into maneuverclasses.

These are:

A: Single engine fighter planes:

Military planes specifically

designed for dogfighting.

B: Normal single engine planes:

Planes with speed andmaneuverability not up tomilitary standards but still able

to fight.

C: Fast multi-engine planes: E.g.

military bombers/racing planes.

D: Slow multi-engine planes: Theslow plodding workhorses ofthe air.

TABLE TWO: THE EFFECTS OF MANEUVER CLASS ON DOGFIGHT SKILL

CLASS OF PLANE BEING FLOWN:MODIFIER TO PILOT'S DOGFIGHT SKILL: + 5% -5% -10%


Damage

The "hit" and "damage" is

rolled against the plane as with anyweapon. The plane's skin serves asarmor as follows:

TABLE THREE: DAMAGE STOPPED BY A PLANE'S SKIN (ARMOR)

PLANE'S EXTERIOR: CANVAS/WOOD THIM METAL ARMOR PLATE (MILITARY)HIT POINTS STOPPED; 2 4 6

Each section of the plane cansustain a varying amount ofdamage. After the amount is

exceeded the section becomesunusable and the plane must dowithout (generally by crashing).

A crash landing uses normalpiloting skill modified by terrain

landed and part(s) missing (a planewithout a propeller can generallyglide to a landing; one without awing has a harder time). Because ofthe variability of such factors, thekeeper will need to make individual

determination of the modifier.

Damage Location: The natureof dogfighting - twists, turns, anddives-- makes it unlikely that theattacker can "call" his shot and let aspecific area of the plane (Requires -

(25 + D20) % from normal "to hit"

roll). Table 4 shows where theattacking shots will hit and theamount of damage each part cansustain.

There you have it. It's not aperfect system, but it fits the spirit

of the game and is usable. Sacrifices

in realism were made to speed upthe system. After all, combat is aminor portion of the game, •sg/fg

TABLE FOUR: HIT LOCATION AND HIT POINTS OF AREAS STRUCK

D% AREA STRUCK HIT POINTS NOTE01-03 propeller

04-06 cockpit controls07- 1 cockpit inhabitants11-30 fuselage(front)

31-55 wings56-60 engine61-80 fuselage(rear)

81-90 tail flaps

91-95 landing gear96-00 grazing blow

12(each, if more than 1)

10

varies

6040(each)50(each)

804025(each)

NA

1

2-

1

3

1

2

4

no damage

NOTES:1 : If more than 1 , roll appropriate die to determine which is struck.

2: Loss of control modifies PILOT/DOGFIGHT skill by-2D20.3. Roll D2 for monoplane (1 = Right, 2 = Left) or D4 for biplane

(1 » UR; 2 = UL; 3 = LR; 4 = LL)

4. Roll D3 (1 = Front right; 2 = Front Left; 3 = Rear)

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. . . the gamemasterputs a miniature figure ofan encountermonsteron the table and the players haven't the faintest idea what it

is. i

*\

. . . the gamemaster says, "you see a large cave ahead, " and the

characters respond with, "I think my mother's calling me.

"

. . . combat skills are the weakest abilities on every charactersheet inthe party.

. . . the most experienced characters have the highestmovementrates.

. . . the big treasure ofthe adventure is a musty oldbook thateliminatesyour character from the nextscenariojust by looking at thepictures.

Space Gamer / Fantasy Gamer Page 3d

. . . the partysummons a Dimensional Shambierbefore they learn that there is a binding spell

to go with it.

. . . the party teams to cast "Summon Dimen-sional Shambier" even though they don'tknowwhat one is.

^;x-/:^.^.^^g^^^^^^^^^^>'^/^ %. . . theparty learns the summoning and binding

spells for the Dimensional Shambier, but the caster

goes insane after casting the summoning and >s tooflippedout to control the creature.

. . . partymembers wouldrather volunteerto throw themselves on agrenade than try out a newly-foundmagic item.

. . . halfway through the scenario, the investigators begin'

considering changing careers - to grocery clerks or encyclopediasalesmen.

. . . once theyhear the signal, they decide that this must be thewrong direction.


Bored Of Castle Life?

By Scott Barbee

After many years of toughadventuring, my player's characters

finally scrounged up enough moneyto build themselves a castle/stronghold. A castle was theirheart's desire, so a castle they all

three pitched in to build. Once their

dream was a reality, the castle built,

and the surrounding land cleared ofmonsters, I, their DM, ran into ablank wall as to ideas for futureadventures. They were all safe in

their castles, surrounded by guardsand earning a steady income of tax

money. If your game is like this,

here is a suggestion that might helpyou out. It did in my campaign.Here's what I did:

I encouraged my players to plot,

not against an evil enemy, butagainst each other. It became very

easy for me to introduce manyoutside events that influenced the

game.In the campaign I am DMing,

there are three characters: Amagic-user, a thief, and a fighter, all

of whom are ninth level. They are

all generally neutral. Each one's

hope that he would eventually

become sole ruler of the sprawlingtown and castle it surrounded wasthe necessary ingredient to makethis a great game. About twoweeks (game time) after thecompletion of the castle and thesurroundings, all three decided tolet the fighter be the official "ruler

of the town" as long as he cleared

everything with the other two. If

something debatable came upbefore the "three kings", theywould put it to a vote and themajority ruled.

So far, it seems rather ordinary,

but the first thing they voted onwas whether or not to let the magic-user build an imposing tower. Thevote was negative. The other twothought the magic-user wouldamass too much power by theattraction of other magic-users andtry to overthrow the castle. Instead

of letting him build a tower, theother two let him design and build

his own mansion within the town.The magic-user is now "importing"some of his friends (all magic-users,

of course) under the guise of

laborers. The thief is secretly

designing and building his ownthieves guild and is trying to locate

the newly founded assassins guild

(run by a NPC).

The fighter has not beenplaying it straight either. He hasdesigned and is beginning to build

up his own secret police with someof his tax money. None of these

players know what the other is

doing, and it becomes a greatintrigue when one of the fighters

secret police tries to slip into thethieves guild or vice versa. I, as theDM, have to be careful not to favor

any certain person.

If this does not cause enoughexcitement, there will be numerousNPC's and adventurers that will

begin showing up, looking for work(or loot). These adventurers mightbe recruited by one of these three

rulers of the castle to spy on one of

the others, etc. Also, if your cam-paign still is not exciting enough,there is always someone who is

claiming the land that the player

built his castle on, right?

Inside the town, allies

to a particular player arevery important to keep in

mind, therefore t keeptrack of most of theimportant people in

the town, such as aleading tradesman,

military leaders,

priests, etc.

On3"x5"filecards I keep in-

formation such

as name, age,

habits, net worth,alliances, etc.

If the players get too com-petitive, so that you feel some of

this plotting should be stopped, I

have a contingency plan that will

almost force the players to abandonat least some of their deviousthoughts and unite, for awhile. For

example, in the future an armymight arrive at the castle andattempt to take it over. If this

happens all three forces might haveto band together temporarily, orhave their castle taken from them, asituation that will usually unite thesquabbling parties.

I wrote this article in the hopethat you could learn aboutwhathas worked well in my campaign. In

turn I hope that you will tell us whathas worked well in yours. I just ask

one thing of you. PLEASE, do nottell my players what I have said. If

the fighter finds out that the thief

has made a thieves guild, and themagic-user finds out that thefighter is building up a secret

police force, then.... •sg/fg


CharacterMiS-Rpgnment

By Stephen Fulleman

In this article, we will discuss

those two most common, and feast

understood character alignment:Lawful Stupid and Chaotic Crazy.

Although not officially listed in anyof the AD&D manuals, these aretwo of the most common characteralignments. The reason for this is

the almost universal appeal of thecharacter type, and the ease withwhich the characters are played.

Lawful stupid is most commonlyfavored by fighter-types, and theUnearthed Arcana all but requires it

for paladins and cavaliers. This

alignment is not limited to theseclasses, however, and does notrequire a low intelligence score:

Your character can have as high anintelligence score as you like, solong as you refrain from using it.

The rules are very simple, and easyto follow: Charge every monsterblindly, avoiding the use of anytactic more subtle than hitting withthe left hand. Never retreat frombattle until more than half theparty is down (Cavaliers may notretreat even then). Mages will

favor brute-force spells like fireball,

even in small rooms and narrowcorridors, and will charge boldlyinto combat at the first

opportunity.

To recognize a lawful stupid

character is to examine both their

character sheet and their behavior.Is the "character name" section ofthe sheet blank? Does the character

follow a "code of honor" designedfor a short glorious career? Doesthe character carry several hundredpounds of gold in his or her belt

pouch? Does the cleric choose all

combat spells, and no healing ones?Does the thief pick his own pocket,for the practice? Does the fighter

sleep in full plate armor? If theanswer to more than one of these is

yes, then you are probably dealing

with a lawful stupid. This align-

ment is a favorite of power-gamers:75% of the characters above 20thlevel are lawful stupid!

Chaotic crazy is an alignmentpopular with mages, thieves, andassassin characters. Characters withhigh wisdom scores are not barredfrom this alignment, so long as theydo not actually use their wisdom for

anything but spell failure

percentages and saving throwbonuses. Chaotic crazies are easily

distracted, and are known for

losing track of where they are, andwhat they are doing. They will

often backstab party members in

order to get their wealth or magicitems, without worrying about themonster that the person wasfighting at the time.

Chaotic crazy thieves often

attempt to pick the pockets of city

guards, listen at doors whilewearing helmets, hide in shadowswhile moving or being watched,climb walls while carrying woundedparty members, backstab peoplefacing them, and pick locks withtools. Assassins of this alignmenthave occasionally acceptedcontracts on themselves, when thethe price was right.

Mages of this alignment canfrequently be seen trying to cast

several spells in the same round,carry at least 3 wands (1 of which is

a wand of wonder), and often try touse invisibility to sneak upondragons. They are seldom withoutat least 5 magic rings (all beingworn at the same time, of course),

and occasionally throw fireballs

into small rooms and narrowcorridors, without concern for theback-flash.

Generally, the way to recognizea chaotic crazy is to examine thecharacter sheet: Does it list moreweapons than the character canpossibly be proficient in? Does theequipment list fill several pages,

and include things like marbles andchewing gum, while leaving offfood and water? Are the hit pointshigher than possible for thecharacters class and level? Arethere several artifacts present onthe magic list? If the answers tomore than two of these are true,

then you are probably dealing witha chaotic crazy character.

Of course, this test does nothelp in any waywhen dealing withthe most fearsome manifestation of

this alignment of all: The infamousChaotic Crazy DM! These gain thefollowing powers, usable at will:

• Telepathy with monsters: This

is the ability to instantly com-municate the strengths and weak-ness of the party to every monsterin the dungeon.

• Monster Summoning 27: This

is the ability to summon exactly onemore monster than the party canhandle, to climates and circum-

stances where such monster neveroccur normally.

• Indetectabletrap: This is theability to create traps which are not

revealed by find trap spells, and are

beyond the ability of any thief to

stop and disarm. Such traps usually

do one hit point less than the thief

has, thus leaving him or her barely

alive enough to not find the next

indetectabletrap.

While technically speaking, all

DM's have these powers, they onlyoccur at full force with the chaotic

crazy ones.

The true beauty of the chaotic

crazy alignment is that it does notprevent the character from havingsome other alignment at the sametime (the one actually written onthe character sheet, for example).

This makes it a very popularalignment, especially with power-gamers, just as lawful stupid is. In

fact, 30% of the lawful stupid

characters above 25th level are also

chaotic crazy, at least part-time.

I think that we can all agreethat, while chaotic Grazy and/orlawful stupid might not be for

everyone, there is a place in thegame forthem (sword fodder), andthey do make the game moreinteresting for all involved. Just donot take them too seriously, andremember that the object of thegame is to have fun! • sg/fg

NOTE: THE AUTHOR IS

CHAOTIC CRAZY!

Faae 42 Space Gamer /Fantasy Gamer

F a n t a s y G a m e r Review

Ysqarth

Published by:

Ragnarok Enterprises

Designed by: David Nalle

Complexity level: HighRules clarity: Good


Reviewed by: Rick Swan

Ysgarth is a fantasy roleplayingsystem that is by no means for thenovice. I'm not sure it is the"Revolution in Roleplaying" it

claims to be, but it's certainly one ofthe most complex systems I've seenin quite a while.

The Ysgarth system comprisesthree deceptively short rulebooks.

RoleCraft explains charactercreation, SpeltCraft covers magic,and WorldCraft contains creatures,

NPC's, and adventure suggestions.RoleCraft is the heart of the system,detailing basic skills and combatprocedures and introducing a fewodd concepts unique to the Ysgarthdesign.

Gamers looking for detail will

think they've died and gone to

heaven with Ysgarth. There are 12

primary characteristics. For

instance, assigned numerical values

from a poll of 120 + 3d 10 points.

Twenty secondary characteristics

are determined from the primaries

by involved formulas; the formulafor Attack Rating, for instance, is (2

x Intelligence + 2 x Dexterity tStrength + Agility- Size Class)/10.

Skills are purchased according to a

CST value and may be acquired at

increasingly effective levels.

Combat is equal ly complicated,

based on allocating AP points to

various actions. Attacking, for

example, consists of the character

choosing a target area, rolling

1d100, adding his total AR points,

subtracting the target's DR points

and modifiers, checking a chart to

see if the chosen body part was hit,

paying the appropriate AP value,

then determining damage.

There's more. Characters whoperform especially good deedsacquire Karma Points. Bad deedsearn Dharma Points. RenownPoints measure a character's fame,while Influence Points keep track of

clout. There are also Deity

Influence Points which influence acharacter's god, especially helpful

for magic.

The magic system is also

complicated, but you get the idea.

As an integrated, seff-contained

fantasy system, Ysgarth moreclosely resembles Runequest thanDungeons and Dragons, but pagefor page is much tougher to digestthan either one. It's a remarkablegame, recommended for advancedplayers with dependable calculators

and a lot of patience*

Space Gamer / Fantasy Canier Paee 43

Role--Playing Mastery

Role-Playing

Mastery

by Gary GygaxPerigree BooksPrice: $7.95

Reviewed by:

Christopher Earley

Role-Playing Mastery. Thatseems to be a rather odiouspromise, one doomed to failure.

And yet, if it can be accomplished,Gary Gygax is among the fewpersons 1 would expect it from. Will

the reader of this book gleanenough information to experiencemarked improvement in their role-

playing approach? I am confidentthat such wilt be the case for many.Will the book provide what is

needed for its reader to achievemastery? Alas, I doubt this verymuch.

The major fault of this book lies

in its basic approach. As you may beaware Gary Gygax and TSR Inc.,

makers of the Advanced Dungeons& Dragons game, have had a falling

out. Gary's New Infinities Inc. hasdeveloped a line of generic role-

playing supplements which will betheir bread and butter until their

own game systems and otherproducts gain a following of their

own. Though New Infinities is notassociated with the publishers ofthis book, Gary Gygax has also gonefor the generic approach to this

project. As such, the work falls preyto pages of generalized rules andsketchy suggestions for improvingplay which are far from satisfying.

This is not to say that the work is

to be dismissed as without value. In

fact, each chapter seems to beheaded in a sound and relevant

direction. This however, serves onlyto increase the frustration of the

serious reader who feels that thetext brushes over subjects, movingto a different topic just at the pointwhere an in-depth examination of

the previous facet of the subject is

in order. Gygax is not unaware of

just what he does and does notpresent; he mentions more thanonce that, from the point he has

taken the reader, the reader mustthen examine the individual gamesystem that he or she wishes tomaster. There is no doubt in the

reader's mind that Gary Gygaxknows precisely what is needed to

master the various role-playing

systems. And this knowledge lies

just out of reach, buried beneathuniversal advice and general rules.

Had Gygax examined a single

game system (and I think the readershould know justwhkh system I

had in mind) and offered adetailed, individualized treatmentof that specific game, this workwould have have been much moreuseful to the players of that system.As it stands, this book serves agreater number of people to aJesser degree. Though this createda larger market for the work, it left

that market less satisfied thanwould the single-game bookwished for.

There came a point in myreading of Role-Playing Masterythat I realized what I was not goingto get. In order to retain a critical

perspective, I then concentratedupon what I did get. Consideredthusty, Role-Playing Mastery is atreatise on the philosophy andmindset behind the ever-growingfield of role-playing. The goal ofplayers, gamemasters and game

designers was presented as seen bythe premier catalyst of the entire

"movement". A universal system oftactics, strategies and procedures ofplay was presented and themechanics of game systemconstruction was discussed. Gygaxstressed the level and quality of

commitment required to truly excel

within the gaming community, andgave readers the essential "feel" of

role-gaming. As usual, Gygax'sthoughts are lucid and logical andthe reader benefits from this

exposure to the Gygax Precepts.

In summary, Role-Playing

Mastery is solid so far as it goes.

Therein lies the problem: It doesnot, due to its generic nature, go far

enough. Had this book been called

"Role-Playing Improvement", or

"Getting A Better Feel For Role-

Playing", perhaps I would not havebeen as frustrated anddisappointed as I was. Gygaxoffered general advice which, to

me, was common sense andpresented guidelines to which I

already adhered. Despite this, I

cannot consider myself a role-

playing master. What I possess is

"the feel" for gaming as a wholeand moderate skill in my particular

gaming system. If you the readerwould place yourself in a similar or-

higher category, I cannotrecommend this book. If, however,you are new to the community ofrole-playing and would like to

better grasp both the generalconcept of role-playing and theskills required to play, Role-PlayingMastery is a worthwhile andrecommended reading, written bythe (undeniably) biggest name in

the role-playing community, •sg/fg

Page 44 Space Gamer /Fantasy Gamer

Book Reviewsby Lynn Bryant

First Flight

by Chris ClaremontAceSF

nitl

Let's begin by saying First Flight

is a well paced, fast movingadventure that is tempered withsome good characterizations and a

bit of mystery. Beyond this thereare a number of other good reasons

to read this book.

The identity of the author is

one. For those of you who never,

ever looked at a comic book Chris

Claremont is generally regarded as

one of the top talents in the field.

He has been writing the X-men for

over 12 years.

There is always the concern that

when a talent in one genre trans-

lates to another his major field will

have too much influence on his

writing. Happily it appears thatChris has managed to bring withhim the best of comic adventures,

such as suspense and good dia-

logue, without any of the obviouspitfalls. First Flight does not readlike a written out comic. It reads as

a well crafted novel. (Others seemto agree as it was nominated for theprestigious Nebula award.)

Another reason to read First

Flight was the strength of the

characterizations. Surprisingly Chris

chose a female heroine. This worksand he avoids some of the moretrite female cliches that have begunto mar even the works of ScienceFiction's top talents. You actually

find yourself more aware of Lt.

Nicole Shea as a person who is a

naval officer and not only as a

woman (which she most definitely

is).

The book is set in the nearfuture where space is still a frontier.

Among other entertaining con-cepts, Chris points out that in spacethe most valuable thing any ship

will be carrying is itself. Thesuspense builds beautifully asdisaster follows crisis, all tightly knit

together. The situation and science

are readily gameable by most SF

game systems. Perhaps if wouldsuffice to say that the heroine is

assured by her superiors that this is

to be "only a routine mission".

Soldier of the Mist

by Gene WolfeTOR Books

hi ubi-ihu^fuJics;:?fco opening »sf'

Some fantasy novels workbecause of imagination. Othersbecause of the fascination of theworld they are set in, yet othersgain popularity by portraying vivid

characters. Soldier of the Mist hasall of these and more. Perhaps oneof Gene Wolfe's best novels, this

book tells the story of a Greeksoldier and is set during the Myceanage. This is the same period as werewritten about in the llliad and

Odyssey. But where those classics

are sweeping tales of cities andkingdoms, Soldier is the personaltale of one very special man.

The hero has a rare form ofamnesia which causes him to forget

virtually everything each time hesleeps. This causes him to be thefavorite instrument of the gods andelemental powers. It also gives hima unique perspective on one ofhistory's least understood and mostfascinating eras. The era whenheroes really did live and maybe thegods were a bit less subtle, or atleast more believed in.

The writing style is unique. Theadventures both historically sound(and they "feel" right for MyceanGreece as well) and gives us insights

into the culture that evolved tobecome our own. The soldier'sworld is filled with three dimen-sional characters with motives andpersonalities of their own. This is a

truly unique book which you will

either enjoy immensely or dislike

almost as strongly. Like many oflife's wonders it is one you shouldtry.

Take Off and Take Off Topby Randall GarrettStarblaze Press

Have you ever wished some ofthe greatest Science Fiction novelswere longer or had a sequel? Everwondered if anyone could writeabout the Gray Lensman with a

straight face? The Take Off booksare collections of short stories (andsome not too short ones) plusarticles by Randall Garrett. Theauthor is best known for his LordDarcy alternate earth/detectivenovels.

The stories covered in the twovolumes include parodies, such as

"Backstage Lensman" and pubtiches

(stories written in the same style asanother writer). There is a Love-craftian story which the masterhimself would have claimed. Thereare also a number of unpublishedstories and other works by Garrett,

many of which reflect his extra-ordinary sense of humor and re-

mind us he was one of the men wholed the way with humorous SF.

Finally, there really is onereason to read a book: because youwill enjoy reading it. By thisstandard both of these are mustreads. They provide an entertaining

Space Ganiur / Fantasy Gamer Page 45

chance to enjoy some more worksof a writer whose works arebeginning to gain well deservedrecognition as classics.

Came!ot3000By Mike Barr and

Brian HollandDC Comics

This graphic novel is animpressive blend of a punk future

(you can tell the artist at least visits

New York) and the Authurianlegend. Aliens from a planet whichhas appeared at the edge of thesolar system are successfully in-

vading the earth. Our hero, fleeing

them, stumbles into a newarcheological dig and opens thetomb of King Arthur. The king

emerges and takes out the three(literally) little green things. (Well,

he is supposed to appear whenEngland needs him. I suppose being

invaded qualifies.) Arthur and his

new friend have to find the re-

incarnations of his Knights. Alongthe way he finds Guineviere andLancelot, who still can't control his

hormones. Merlin and the rest of

the mythos are involved and the

climax comes on the new planet.

The art and the mix of high tech

and medieval techs are good. Theoriginal Camel ot 3000 story seemdisjointed when I first read it in

monthly comics. The longer graphic

novel format serves it quite well. Asto gaming? The potential to mix thenew Traveller or Star Wars systems

with AD&D is almost irresistible.

The visual aides are spectacular.

Planet in Peril

and Chase into Spaceby Kim Mohan and

Pam O'NealACE SF (New Infinity)

Often we see games which are

based upon novels. Here we havethe case of two books which are

based upon a game. The game is

Gary Gygax's newest role playing

game, Cyborg Commando. Youmay have recognized the name of

the first author. Kim was editor of

the Dragon for almost a decade. Heleft to work with Gary Gygax at

New Infinities and, evidently dosome writing himself.

The premise of both the booksand the game is that Earth has beeninvaded. Rather than destroy the

resources they wish to pillage, the

aliens employ half mechanical, half

animal robots to selectively eli-

minate the opposition, all of man-kind. This takes them way down to

a personal level. Unfortunately,

Earth has nearly lost when the first

book begins. To counter the alien

con-structs, man has to fall back onan experimental program of cyborg

warriors.

There is an almost automaticreaction to anything which is based

upon a game that the book will be

a poorly written exploitation. Someare, a surprising number aren't.

Among these are the Keith novels

based upon FASA's Battletechgames. They prove to be tightly

written, well plotted, full of action,

and just plain good reading. Youget insight into what it is like to lose

most of your body to mechanical

substitutes and then have to fight a

failing war. There is also a goodsense of the outrage all the race will

feel at being invaded. Even if you

never look at the game, you'll enjoy

the books. They are quite gameablein the Cyborg Commando system.

As good as these are this reviewer is

tempted to see if the game has the

same high standards.

Hammer's Slammersby David DrakeBaen Books

Whenever I have the privilege

of writing this column I am going to

include one classic book that is

extremely suitable for gaming. The

first of these will be David Drake's

Futuristic armored warfare series,

Hammer's Slammers.

The Slammers are a force of

mercenaries who have managed to

equip themselves with atomicpowered tanks that fire plasmacannons. So equipped, they havebecome the elite of all intersteller

mercenary regiments. Each of the

books in the series contain the story

of what happens on one or more of

their contracts.

The universe they operate in is

one where mankind has spread to

thousands of planets over hundredsof years. Some of these are not nice

places. Beside military concerns, the

Slammers always seem to getinvolved in ethical questions. All in

all there is a gritty feel to these

novels that make you feel theyshow how life really would be if

there ever are interstellar mer-cenaries. These are not nice guys. Afew of the Slammers are borderline

psychopaths. Most are professionals

whose job happens to be winningbattles.

Mayfair Games has alreadyproduced a boardgame based uponthe Slammers and recently a Com-bat Command choosen path game-book was released by Ace SFentitled Slammers Down.

Dave Drake, having beentrained as an administrator was, of

course, immediately assigned as a

tank commander in Viet Nam.Drawing on his own experiencesand one of the best private military

libraries in science fiction, he has

produced several volumes of hard

edged military fiction. The last

volume released was At Any Price.

Another volume is expected to be

out in the fall. For anyone inter-

ested in either Science Fiction or

armored warfare, this series is a

must. •SG/FG

OPERATION: CONTACTA computer assisted service to

help American wargamers find

opponents in their area.

Operation: Contact is a U.S.

mailing of computer sorted

Opponents Wanted ads

produced every 6-weeks for its

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vides at least five of the closest

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Gamer's Guide:Classified

The Gamer's Guide:Classified is a service weprovide our readers. As youuntightexpect with ads ofthis.kind, "let the buyer beware."This magazine makes noguarantee to any seller's claim,

nor is responsible or liable for

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: Allads should be sent,

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Opponents Wanted

ExpertDM seeks experiencedAD&D players for a newcampaign. Call or write.

Lenard Lakofka383Wisconsin Ave.Long Beach, CA 90814H-(213> 433-4521W-(714>892-3331,x-277

TFT/ITL/Wizard/Melee maniacseeks players for TFT campaign.Swashbucklers and woodsmenpreferred. Call or write.

Erol K Bayburt208 CarolineRochester,NY 14620H-<716>461-5181W-(716) 275-6991

Looking for GMs or players for

RQ3, Pendragon,or otherChaosium games, and wargames(e.g. Dragon Pass, Civilization,

etc.). Call after noon.David Dunham86 BrandonGoleta,CA93117H-(805) 968-7578

Looking for players in

DC/Rockville/Gaithersburg areafor GURPS, CW, will learnanything. Willing toGM orreferee. Call:

Otto KitsingerH-(301) 871-7942

Interested in strategy board-gaming, computer wargaming,(not miniatures or D&D). Also,any local clubs? Any local, maturetraveller groups? 35-yr. oldmarried professional. Call

evenings. Also big PBM fan.

Mark Buxton2387 W. Mystic LaneAnaheim, CA 92804-422511(714)999-0934

I p lay almost every FRP andboardgame made, but mostlyChampions, around the 200-300pt. level. Mature gamers only.Available weekends and possiblyweekdays. Please call after 4pm.

Kai R. Houston510 Walnut #1San Carlos, CA 94070H-(41 5) 592-8636

Looking for adventurers and/oropponents in the Washington DCarea. Interested in GURPS (asplayer orGM - especially fantasy)or boardgames - from Illuminati to

GEV to Squad Leader.Randy Divinski21 10 Forest Glen RoadSilver Springs, MD 20910H-(301) 588-6495

REACH OUT ANDCRUSH SOMEONE

Try an Opponents Wanted ad!

Buy/Sell/Trade

For sale: Extensive collection of

wargames, incl. many out-of-print

SPI, AH, GDW, SimCan, others.Magazines: old S&Twithunpunched games, others. Bookson military history, naval issues.

Send SASE for list.

RJ Blair1 Pond's Edge RoadOyster Bay, NY 11771H-(51 6) 922-5359

Die-hard TFTer seekingoriginal/copy ofINTERPLAY #1;$20/$ 10 respectively.

Paul Wagner1335 West Blvd. #3Cleveland,OH 44102H-(216) 961 -8235 (after mid.)

Fantasy Adventure Hats ($5), T-Shirts ($6), Leather Patches ($2),

Bookmarkers ($2)1 Choose from:Enchanter, Norse Halfling,French Warrior, ConfrontingKnights.

Patrick Gross7646 Ventura Cyn.Van Nuys,CA 91402H-(81 8) 782-8889

For Sale: Many SPI and non SPIgames, both old and nw. Alt in

very good condition. Some Sci-Fi.

Prompt reply assured. Send alarge SASE for list.

Jim Hambacher4758 E. 26th STTucson, AZ 857 11

H-(602) 790-5993

Selling: VARIANT, discountinuedFantasy/SF RPG fanzineincluding scenarios, magic items,starship deckplans, characterclasses. All 16 back issues $5.00ppd. Sample issue $1 .00. Willtrade for gaming magazines, etc.

Gary Reilly

395 Wimbledon RoadRochester, NY 14617

Dragon back issues, large

selection mint and used. Veryreasonable prices from reputablesource. SASE gets list. Pleasespecify fantasy and/or wargamesas two lists are available.

Timothy J. Stabosz45 Country ManorOrland Park, IL 6046211(312)361-2999

Game Clubs

Santa Fe Springs GamersAssociation. All types ofBG'sand RPG's. All ages. Newmembers welcome! Tues/Thurs 5-

9pm, Saturdays 9am-5pm. TownCenter Hall,Sl 1740 E. TelegraphRd, Santa Fe Springs, CA or call

(213) 863-4896 during club hours.

Gitroy Wargame Associationmeets at the Gilroy visitorsBureau, 7780 Monterey St. Gilroy,CA 95020. For more info contactDan Dellinger at (408) 848-4030.

ATTENTION WARGAMERS&RPGers in the DC area! TheMontgomery County GamersGuild needs you! For details

contact:Andrew Martin716RoxboroRdRockville.MD 20850H-(301) 424-21 15

Why not list your game club here?

See instructions at the beginning

of the Classified, and start finding

more gamers in your local area!

Publications

The Fantasy Forum is amonthly, amateur fanzine for TheFantasy Trip. Featuresprogrammed adventures, rulesvariants, short fiction, and more.Bring those old heros out ofretirement. Six-monthsubscription: $7.50. Sample copy:$1.50.

The Fantasy Forum34A Northmeadow VillageNormal, ILL 61761

ALPHA SUPPLEMENTOMEGA is the official Fanzine ofthe Star Battles Association (SBA)containing news and up to dateinfo on the SBA andSTARBATTLES (Mainline). Sendyour name and address for freesample and more info:

Future Combat SimulationsP.O. Box 9143Anaheim, CA 92812-9143

NorthCoast RolePlaying(NCRP) is an amateur fanzinewith articles on Traveller,AD&D,GURPS, Battletech, and more. Sixmonths subscription is $8. Sample:$1 .50. Checks to BarryOsser/NCRP.

Barry Osser1018FSt#lEureka,CA 95501

The Gaming Gazette is a monthlynewsletter by and for roleplayers.Packed with articles, reviews, newreleases, and more! Ten issues for$7.50: sample copy for SASE.Submissions welcome.

The Gaming Gazettec/o Otto Kitsinger1 Baffin Bay CourtRockville.MD 20853H-(301) 871-7942

Play-by-mail

Adventures by MailGet a free starter package and 2free turns in a major PBM game.No strings attached.Try it outbefore paying. Write to:

It's a CrimeP.O. Box 436Cohoes, NY 12047

XENOPHOBEArachnids, the race with the hivementality. Complete racial

integration and utilization, withnothing but "the goal' in mind. Youmess with their hives, they messwith your hides!

Pfodd EnterprisesDept. SGFGP.O. Box 83San Marcos, CA 92069

Fantastic SimulationsFor the best in tactical game play,

try Fleet Manuevers. Takecommand ofa starship and battle

aliens from around the world.Professionally moderated.Additional information availablefree

Fantastic SimulationsP.O. Box 1288Englewood, CO 80150

XENOPHOBEThe KICRedak, masters of battleglobe technology. Fearless in

battle, their only dream is to

conquer the known universe. AKKTtedak proverb: "Hewho kills

first laughs best."Pfodd EnterprisesDept. SGFGP.O. Box 83San Marcos, CA 92069

Schubel & Son, Inc.Wargamers and Play-by-mailenthusiasts write for free catelog of20 games. From sports to sci-fi, wehave them. Try out the best warsimulations in the industry.

Schubel & Son, Inc.

P.O. Box 254476Sacramento, CA 95865-4476(916)487-5722

Space Gamut-/ Fantasy Gamer Paye47

XENOPIIOBETerrans, the wizards of high-techand the leaders of massproduction. As they fondly say. "If

you can't beat 'em, outproduceem!" But what if they still beatyou?

Pfodd EnterprisesDept. SGFGP.O. Box 83San Marcos, CA 92069

Blue Panther EnterprisesDESTINY!PBM Diplomacy, Economics, andStellar Conquest on a Grand Scale

in the Zcta Cluster. Design all

aspects ofyour own race in yourquest for the stars!

Blue Panther EnterprisesP.O. Box 080003Staten laid., NY 10308-0009

XENOPIIOBEThose kings of industrialespionage, the pirates. Hardly a

weapon or defense has beensuccessfully withheld from their

clutches. With this advantage, cananyone put a stop to them?

Pfodd EnterprisesDept. SGFGP.O. Box 83San Marcos, C A 92069

Emprise Game SystemsWARP FORCE EMPIRES withCorGaSyL. All the many benefits

of traditional play-by-mail gamingwithout the usual drawbacks!SPECIAL OFFER; Buy a rulebook($4.50) and get a shortenedSampler game FREE.

Emprise Game SystemsP.O. Box 9078-51 EVVan Nuys,CA 90409

XENOPHOBEIfour other classified ads interest

you, send $5.00 today for ourfantastic 80-page rules. If not,

check your pulse for signs of life!

Money-back guarantee.Pfodd EnterprisesDept. SGFGP.O. Box 83San Marcos, CA 92069

CURIOUS about Piay-By-Mailgames? Before spending yourmoney, write to us for FREEINFORMATION about this

exiting hobby and also receiveinformation about games offered

by several companies.The ALLIANCEP.O.Box 11 69, Dept 4

Oregon City, OR 97045

Bounty Hunters WantedRiverside Games presents theultimate in Science Fiction role-

playing by mail. Bounty Hunter.Professionally moderated. Niceprice: $5.00 for rules, set-up, andfirst turn. Good Hunting!

Bounty HunterDragon's Den Publishing1 1 659 Doverwood, Dept. SGRiverside, CA 92505

Retail

REVIRESCOFree 25mm catalogue:Cthulhuloids, S.F., Gangsters,Medieval, Fantasy, Dragons large

and small, Paper Forts,

Starguards, Warbots and DeathMachines, Fighter Pilot, SuperHeroes, Etc.

REVIRESCOSuite 3452586 West 4700 SouthSalt Lake City, UT 84118

Starlance PublicationsFor Fantasy Gaming: Floor plansfor 25mm figures, withdescriptions and adventuresuggestions. Now available:IIARBOR FORT and WIZARD'SKEEP. $3.50 each (ppd). OrderNow! (WA residents include 7.5%tax.)

Starlance Publications50 Basin DriveMesa, WA 99343

Wholesale

STARBATTLES (Mainline)Distributors and Retailers, ask usabout our 1988 4th anniversaryspecial! Minimum order is only six

games.Future Combat SimulationsP.O. Box 9143Anaheim, CA 92812-9143(714)761-8027

Are you a "one product gamecompany"? Do you publish afanzine? Can't find anydistributors or rotuilors to take

an interest in your product?

Why not try our FREELANCECONVENTION SERVICES.We at Future Combat Simu-lations have been representing

"the other guy" and "the oneproduct game company" since

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might add. The best exposure is

at conventions and we couldmake it happen for you in the

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Future Combat SimulationsFreelance Convention Services

P.O. Box 9143Anaheim, CA 928 12-9 143

War Spre,

/ft ff.i (i 4ii iiwii u • jsi c twaui si

|

Edited byDavid Drake and Bill Fawcett

FEATURING ... ANNE McCAFFREY.

"TIHE POUL ANDERSON. GARY GYGAX.MARGARET WEIS AND OTHERS!

it tw- fjf r r.ir h«--, of '.pace they are mankinds

l.i'-t lin.» ol dcfon««- i>«jainst alien forces

Twenty years ago occasional Khaliam"pirates" began raiding the frontier

worlds. Five years ago this erupted into a

full war, and the Alliance was losing.

Overstretched and outgunned mankindhad only one hope, The Fleet.

For thousands of years The Fleet has

protected mankind. Now it must face theultimate test.

An exciting new shared world fron AceScience Fiction.

Editied by David Drake and Bill FawcettFeaturing: John Brunner, Anne McCaffrey, Poul Anderson, Gary Gygax, Margaret Weis and more!


ByTimCallender

In YAQUINTO's Swashbuckler,the CRT sheet notes that if

all the body or head is gone,the character is eliminated.

In addition, if he loses

an arm, he may nolonger throwwith it.

- Steve LaPrade

In SPI's Strategy I, aircraft counters are used to represent Viking Ships. - Steve Jackson

In STEVE JACKSON GAMES' Car Wars,

an armored car can accelerate at 1 5mph/sec - 25% faster than a Ferrari GTO - Karl Olkshaw

BattleTechnologyThe Magazine of Combat in the 31st Century

The only authoratative news magazine covering the Inner Sphere.

'BattleTechnology ... I give a subscription with every BattleMech I sell— it keeps customers from

becoming ex-customers and friends from becoming statistics

— Abraxis (Mo) Murasaki, Owner, Battletechnic Military Salvage

BattleTechnology, with its

BattleTech Simulator, is the

best Mech Warrior training

device short of actual combat -

and causes fewer casualties!

— Captain Mamluke 'ap Prentiss,

Drillmaster, The Faroes' OwnIndependent Lowlanders

'BattleTechnology is the

keystone publication to under-

standing the exciting and dy-

namic events shaping the In-

ner Sphere — nothing is moreembarrasing than showing up

for a demo and not knowing

which House holds that planet

this week!— Lieutenant Mike Stone,

Tactical Demonstration Expert,

General Optronics

Laser Weapons Division

BattleTechnology is available from finer merchants

throughout the Inner Sphere, from our publishing houseon New Avalon, or from:

BattleTechnology Post Office Box 23651 , Oakland, California, 94623

Subscription are available at $18US in the US, $21 US in Canada, $36US elsewhere on Earth.

Backissues still available postpaid at $3.95 in US, $4.95 US in Canada, $5.95 elsewhere on Earth.

0101, August 3027— report on Davion wargames, MechWarrior mental discipline, FLC-4N 'Falcon' Mech,

Battle of Kilgore, Engine Swaps, Combat drop on Scheat V, more.

0102, December 3027 — Combat Salvage, Camouflage, Hassid Ricol: The Red Duke, Black Luthien: the

Draconis capital, DVE-5B 'Devastor\ Long range combat, more.

0201, February 3028— Tharkad, Decompression, GLD-3R 'Gladiator', BattleMech Weapons— range versus

accuracy, Galaina the Pleasure Planet, Vacuum combat, more.

0202, April 3028 Hanse Davion Interview, Cavalry Tactics & Applications, Lasers, BansheeBattleMecn,

Dragonslayers, Battle at Wittengate, Late-Breaking News, more.

BattleTech is a registered trademark of FASA Corporation, Chicago, Illinois, and is used with permission.

t/m&k

a ;<

~-

/

Aliens stalk through the

ruins of the Starguild

Imperium...

Chaos and madnessrule a devastated

world...

And a small band of

warriors and survivors

are the last hope for a

shattered Humanity,

because they carry the

dream that makes them

LIVING STEEL

LIVING STEEL is now a top-quality Hardcover book, with a streamlined Combat System and the entire

contents of the Operation Seven Swords supplement included. Available now from your local retailer.

LEADING EDGEP.O. Box 70669, Pasadena, CA 91107. Living Steel is a trademark of Leading Edge Games. Copyright 1988, Leading Edge Games

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