DRAGON 1

PublisherMike Cook

Editor-in-ChiefKim Mohan

Editorial staffPatrick Lucien Price

Roger Moore

Graphics and productionRoger Raupp

David C. Sutherland III10

SubscriptionsIrene Swan

AdvertisingPatricia Campbell

This issue’s contributing artistsDavid MartinLarry ElmoreRoger RauppDave LaForceMarsha Kauth

Jerry EatonJoseph Pillsbury

Timothy TrumanMarvel Bullpen

Jim HollowayDave Trampier

Edward WagnerTony Mosely

Richard Tomasic

39Two dozen more monsters for added AD&D® game excitementCreature Catalog III

OTHER FEATURES

8 Update from the chief � Gary GygaxWhat�s happening in the TSR realm

All about the kender � Roger E. MooreA long article on a bunch of short subjects

16 Plan it by the numbers � Frank MentzerCalculate your way to challenging encounters

18 For king and country � Paul SuttieA different way to deal with the alignment issue

25 The role of books -John C. BunnellAssessments of six stories gamers will appreciate

29 Charging isn�t cheap � Peter JohnsonIdeas for creating and fixing magic items

37 The latest super-hero game reviewed � Jeff GrubbObservations from one designer to another

62 And Adventuring To Go . . . � Brenda Gates SpiehnanIf you thought the wolves were bad, just wait a few pages

DEPARTMENTS

3 Letters 56 Coming Attractions 9 1 W o r m y4 World Gamers Guide 69 The ARES� Section 92 Dragonmirth6 The forum 86 Convention calendar 94 Snarfquest

SPECIAL ATTRACTION

COVER

David Martin, whose work has graced the covers of a plethora of products in the gam-ing industry, makes his first appearance on the front of DRAGON Magazine with thisaction scene entitled �Deadly Encounter.�

2 SEPTEMBER 1985

For PCs onlyDear Dragon,

I am bringing to your attention something thatI myself just realized. In “Demi-humans get alift” by Gary Gygax (issue #95), the aquatic elvesare not represented in the “Elves, Other” sec-tion. Is this an oversight, or are the aquatic elvesto remain the same as usual?

Alen ParkerPort land, Ore.

The increased level limits for demi-humancharacters, first outlined in the magazine andfurther refined in Unearthed Arcana, do notapply to aquatic elves because that sub-race is notopen to player characters. New level limits areonly given for the races and sub-races to whichPCs may belong � although, to be fain the newbenefits should also apply to NPCs of the sameraces within the campaign. Aquatic elves shouldbe treated as described in the Monster Manual.The vast majority of them will be of 1st level(1 + 1 HD), with certain higher-level �leadertypes� present according to the number of elvesin an encountered group � but since aquaticelves do not use magic, there will be no magic-users or spell-casting clerics in the group, nomatter how large it is. � KM

Deep subjectsDear Dragon,

In Mr. Gygax’s article in issue #95, “Demi-humans get a lift,” he states that the duergar,drow, and svirfneblin “. . . will suffer severe sightproblems and sickness due to the exposure tosunlight.” However, in the descriptions of thethree of them, only the drow suffers any penaltiesdue to exposure. I am using the descriptions ofthe drow and svirfneblin from module D1-2, sothey might not be complete, although I think theyare. By the way, how do you pronouncesvirfneblin, anyway?

Todd KiehnLos Altos, Calif.

It could be that the penalties for duergar andsvirfneblin weren�t mentioned in their originaldescriptions because it was assumed that thoseraces would only be encountered underground,where sunlight is not a factor. But now that playercharacters are permitted to be of those races, it�simportant to specify how they operate above-ground; a subterranean PC is going to have tocome out of the darkness in order to be a viablemember of an adventuring group, unless you�rein a real strange campaign where all the activitytakes place below the surface of the earth.

The deeper reason simply has to do with gamebalance. Drow, duergar, and svirfneblin PCs asdescribed in Unearthed Arcana do not have all ofthe innate powers and abilities given for thoseraces in the FIEND FOLIO� Tome, MonsterManual II, and other sources � because if theydid, they would be too powerful in relation to

other PC races. And to help offset some of theadvantages that they do retain, these races areforced to operate with a handicap when theyventure out into the sunlight. This is a logicalreason from the standpoint of game design, eventhough it�s difficult to rationalize as a ��fact oflife� in the AD&D game universe. It�s times likethese when we have to remember that we�replaying a GAME here, and once in a whilerealism has to take a back seat to playability

By the way, I pronounce it "svirf-nebb-lin,�with the accent on the �nebb.� � KM

Sorry, no glowDear Dragon,

Mr. Findley’s article on the ecology of the will-o-wisp (issue #99) was great. I have a question,though. When a will-o-wisp is killed, does thelight keep emanating from its body? In otherwords, can you use a dead will-o-wisp as a lightsource?

Al PaceStratham, N.J.

I�d say no, judging by the fact that the will-o-wisp is able to regulate the brightness of its illu-mination; if it loses control over the light, then itloses the light, too. The answer would be differ-ent if the light were some form of natural phos-phorescence, but nothing in the creature�s natureindicates that this might be the case. � KM

Racial inequality?Dear Dragon:

“Tables and tables of troops” (issue #99) waswritten excellently, but I cannot understand whyall the remaining character races were excluded.In issue #95, demi-humans were allowed to attainhigher levels. With this official change, a PClighter of any race may reach 9th level (with theexception of hairfeet halflings). This means thatother demi-humans could attract men-at-arms.Would these PCs use the human tables andsimply substitute their own race for that of thefollowers? Or would they get only human men-at-arms? Would the normals be 1st-level fighters andthe sergeants 2nd level? What tables wouldgnomes and halflings use since their height is notfavorable to cavalry — the dwarf table?

Robert MarchMarlboro, Mass.

This is a perfect example of the �unplannedobsolescence� that has befallen a lot of our recentarticles, and which will be evident in some artic-les yet to come. The large-scale rule changes thatwe�ve published in the last few issues, and whichare incorporated into Unearthed Arcana, didn�texist when much of our current crop of articlemanuscripts were being accepted. In this particu-lar case, James Yates�s manuscript was acceptedmany months prior to its publication � at a timewhen we didn�t know that Gary was going to

Aren�t we all inthis together?

Making money might be the main reasonwhy anyone goes into business; the point ofthis essay is not to judge intentions. ButI�ve got something to say about methods.

As the deadline for submitting advertis-ing for this issue approached, we receivedsome copy in the mail for an ad that youwon�t find inside. As all advertising does, ithad some glowing things to say about aproduct put out by the company that waspaying for the space.

Yes, that�s okay. Anybody has the right tocall their own product the best of its kind,and we usually won�t hesitate to publish

such an ad. We�ve even used ads in thismagazine that referred to some other maga-zine as the best in the business. Whether weagree with someone�s claim or not is imma-terial, and it�s not our place to judge any-way � that sort of comparative decisionrests with you, the consumer.

Feathering your own nest at the expenseof someone else�s, though, is out of bounds.The ad we refused to run was a combina-tion of praise for one product and a blatantput-down of a product put out by anothercompany in the gaming industry.

Advertising that builds up one productwhile tearing down another is not a newconcept. Hamburger franchises, to nameone example we�re all familiar with, havebeen doing it for years. But I�d like to thinkthat the gaming industry is above that sortof tactic, and I don�t think that�s beingnaive or puritannical.

It would be a sad state of affairs if thewhole industry threw ethics and fair playout the window and decided that the best,or the only, way to get your money was totry to persuade you not to spend it on some-one else�s stuff. Of course, things are no-where near that bad � but if we haveanything to say about it, things aren�t goingto get any worse, either.

Removing this ad from our schedule isour way of striking a small blow in favor offriendly competition. Am I just being naiveagain, or aren�t we all in this together?

DRAGON 3

expand the level limits for demi-human fighters.We were afraid that the article would be seen

by some people as incomplete, but we decided touse it anyway. (See the editor’s column in issue#99 for more on this question of “incomplete-ness,“) It's good stuff, as far as it goes, and wedon‘t think it would be too difficult for people todevelop their own additions to the tables toaccommodate high-level demi-humans. If youneed a gnome table or a halfling table, createone. If you think the additions and alterations tothe tables are substantial enough to warrant afollowup article, send in a manuscript and we’lllet you know if we agree with you.

Even if we wanted to and we were sure theeffort would be well received, we wouldn‘t beable to print updates or errata for every one ofour recent articles that is affected by the publica-tion of the new rules. We’re going to count onyou to do that sort of thing for yourself, if you

have a desire or a need for the information, sothat we can continue to produce all-new materialinstead of using a lot of space and time on re-hashes of old subjects. Like it says above, we willconsider using followup articles on certain topics,but those will all be case-by-case decisions and inmany instances (like this one) we won’t be able tosay yes or no to a “rehash” until we see themanuscript that a writer has composed. — KM

Fixing the bugDear Dragon:

I have a couple of questions concerning thegiant lightning bug from Creature Catalog II(issue #94). First, what is the damage from its“sparking” attack? If a character or creaturetouched one of these bugs, would it take damage

as if it was “sparked”? Is there a saving throwinvolved when a creature is wearing clothingunder his armor?

Benjamin WeissDelmar, N.Y.

Instead of “See below,” the damage statistic forthe giant lightning bug should have read “2-5.”Anyone who touches a bug would not be harmed,assuming that the bug wasn‘t “sparking” atprecisely that instant. Anyone struck by a sparkgets a saving throw for half damage, but will takeat least half damage unless his body is insulatedfrom the electricity Whether wearing clothingunder one’s armor constitutes sufficient insulationis a matter for DMs to decide; a thin shirtwouldn‘t do anything, but thick leather probablywould absorb the charge. — KM

(Turn to page 89)

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Abbreviations in parentheses after a space considerations, only the first threename indicate games in which that per- preferences given can be printed.son is especially interested: The World Gamers Guide is intendedAD = AD&D® game; DD = D&D® for the benefit of gamers who live outsidegame; CC = CALL OF CTHULHU® the continental United States and Can-game; DQ= DRAGONQUEST� game; ada, in areas where nearby gamers are

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

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DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published monthly by TSR, Inc. The mailing address for all material except subscription orders is DRAGON Magazine, P.O. BOX 110, Lake

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available from the TSR mail order department, P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147. For a copy of the current catalog listing available back issues, write to the mail order department at theabove address. The issue of expiration of each subscription is printed on the mailing label for each subscriber’s copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the delivery of subscription copies

must be received at least six weeks prior to the effective date of the change in order to assure uninterrupted delivery. All material published in DRAGON Magazine becomes the exclusiveproperty of the publisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited submissions of written material and artwork;

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DRAGON is a registered trademark for the monthly adventure playing aid published by TSR, Inc. All rights to the contents of this publication are reserved, and nothing may be repro-duced from it in whole or in part without first obtaining permission in writing from the publisher. Copyright©1985 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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4 SEPTEMBER 1985

I am writing in response to Bruce Carlson�sletter in issue #99 of DRAGON Magazine. LikeBruce, I disagree with Gary Gygax�s system forlimiting the advancement of non-human racesand believe in slowing their advancement at alllevels. I disagree with the reasoning behindBruce�s ideas, however.

The imbalance that would result if non-humans advanced at the same rate as humans isnot due to the advantages they possess, as Bruceproposes, but due to their great life spans. Speak-ing generally, a human character at any level isno weaker than a non-human of the same classand level.

The imbalance is created when, say, 90 years ofgame time have passed. The human fighter whohas achieved 7th level suddenly drops dead ofnatural causes, but his buddy, an elven fighterwho has also achieved 7th level, is just nearingthe prime of his life and is looking forward tomany more years of adventuring and level-gaining. If this were how the game was set up,then the non-humans would be in control of theworld.

Gary Gygax�s answer to the problem is simple:stop the advancement of non-humans at a certainlevel. As far as I can see, there is no justificationfor this whatsoever. Bruce�s system offers a moreplausible solution: slow advancement at all levels.I disagree with his justification for this, however.He proposes that because non-humans havecertain �inborn advantages,� they should get lessexperience, possibly because they were not as�challenged� as a human might have been. Thisis not the case, however, as non-humans also havea number of inborn disadvantages.

The reasoning we are looking for can be foundin Roger Moore�s �Point of View� articles. Ifone generalization stood out, it was that thelonger-lived races have the philosophy of �wehave plenty of time to get it done,� and theshorter-lived races have the outlook of �let�shurry up and get it done so we can move on.�Because humans are always striving for more,they will get more experience, in general termsthan the longer-lived races who are not trying todo so much in so little time.

The experience received, therefore, shouldcorrespond to the average lifespan of a member ofa race. Assuming that the current experiencepoint system is based on humans, then an elfwould lose about 90% of his experience if nomodifications were made. This is obviouslyunfair. I would lower this figure substantially forseveral reasons: (1) The experience points neces-sary for advancement do increase geometrically,so it is harder to gain the upper levels; (2) theaverage lifespan of an adventurer is lower thanthat of an �ordinary� member of a race; and (3)

one campaign is not likely to cover a great num-ber of game years.

So, keeping the ratio of XP penalty to eachrace the same, but lowering the overall amountfor the above reasons, I propose the followingreductions: elves -30%, gnomes -28, dwarves25%, half-elves -22, and halflings -13%. Thesefigures can be rounded off to the nearest multipleof five if the reader wishes. The half-orc is adifferent case. The average lifespan is shorterthan that of a human, so it would seem logical toadd to their experience. However, because thisrace is �rude, crude, and generally obnoxious,�they do not tend to advance any faster thanhumans. For this reason and for simplicity�s sake,I would say that they get the same experience ashumans. The DM can make his own decisionhere.

Mike DombrowskiFairport, N.Y.

* * * *

Two brief comments on DRAGON Magazine#98.

First, Kim�s reply to Tommy Hendricks� letterregarding ranger tracking was on target. A secretdoor can be searched for when tracks are lost,and if the party being tracked passed through it,normal chances are again used. The key here isDM involvement. There are a number of wayswhich can be employed for tracking situations soas to cause the ranger to lose the trail. Suchdevices must be used, or else the trackers will bebrought to a secret door locale every time! Theproblems of adding �realism� to the game aremanifold and include all the facts of reality.Simplicity is sometimes more desirable in anaction oriented game. . . .

Second, I quite agree with the article �Dragondamage revised� by Leonard Carpenter. It is alogical step, considering the increasing damagedone by breath weapons of dragons, as well astheir hit points. The damage he proposes seemswell thought out, and I recommend that DMsgive the new addition a trial in their campaigns.My guess is that it will certainly put punch backinto the species, with allowance, as Leonard

points out, for introduction of young, smalldragons into lower-level games.

E. Gary GygaxLake Geneva, Wis.

* * * *

Urging the DM to fudge the die roll result, asDavid F. Godwin suggests in his article �Historyof a game that failed� (issue #99), is a good wayto cause the game to fail. Why use the dice at allif the DM �decides� what�s going to happen incritical situations? Players balk and complainwhen their character is killed fairly (by the tradi-tional way of reading what is rolled) � What isthe DM going to tell the player who asks abouthis character�s death? �Well, I thought it wastime your character was really challenged,and . . .� (Of course, the simple answer is to tellthe player that�s what the dice said and leave thefudge factor as an unknown variable. After all, ifthe DM doesn�t lie about fudging, the playerswill either walk out or start fudging on theircharacteristics, �to hits,� saving throws, etc.)

Of course, David�s point is clearly centeredupon preserving the character in an �unavoid-able� situation. I�m sure the DM would find itquite easy to fudge a die roll in favor of a charac-ter that was one he or she liked (or if it was runby a person of similar status), while an obnoxiousor irritating character or player might not receivethe same beneficial fudge roll. The DM usuallyonly has a few seconds in deciding �to fudge ornot to fudge,� and I�m sure personal bias plays abig role in answering the fudge question. Itappears that all fudging accomplishes is to add anelement of unfairness into the game.

Sam SwansonMorgantown, W. Va.

* * * *

The article, �Tables and tables of troops,� inissue #99, was excellent, but I believe that Mr.Yates may have inadvertently misled some read-ers with the statement, �Climate . . . cannotsubstantially alter the prevalent terrain, only thecreatures which reside in it.� In fact, climate,along with bedrock structure, is the primaryfactor in terrain development. Compare the steepcanyons of the arid Midwest with the rolling hillsof the more humid Northeast, and it can be seenthat changes in climate will cause changes in thetopography of a region.

Dan SwingleyWebster, N.Y.

* * * *

I am writing in reference to a letter I saw inissue #96. I wish to commend Mr. Dornbierer forsome excellent and thought-provoking material.

First of all, yes, there are some judges who use weapon speed factors and �to hit� adjustments.Encumbrance, too.

This is my fifth or sixth campaign. I can saythat, with more experience, as you go along, they

(Turn to page 59)

6 SEPTEMBER 1985

Update from the chiefAbout the past, the present, and a bit of the futureby Gary Gygax ©1985 E. Gary Gygax. All rights reserved.

Many thanks, Gentle Readers, for youroverwhelming response to the survey form(printed in issue #93) pertaining to a featurefilm based on the AD&D® and D&D® gamesystems. We are still tabulating the results,but it is safe to say that only 1 in 100 wasagainst such a project and that about 60%would see the movie multiple times if theproduction warranted it. Now . . . what arewe going to do? Dungeons & DragonsEntertainment Corp. (DDEC) will do itsutmost to get a major motion picture pro-ject going, of course. All that means, how-ever, is that we�ll get a script finished andtry to line up an actor and director inter-ested in same. The process is long andcomplicated. As usual, we�ll keep you in-formed through the medium of this Excel-lent Journal.

The immediate sales of Unearthed Ar-cana exceeded even our expectations, andwe have had trouble supplying sufficientquantities. Hang in there, for the pressesare running again, and more shipments willgo out as soon as a new load of books ar-rives. Unearthed has hit the best seller listfor hardbound books. Our sincere thanksfor your support!

This leads to mention of two other up-coming titles. Oriental Adventures is thenext in the AD&D game series, and youwill find it as interesting and enjoyable asUnearthed. Not only does it have all sorts ofcharacter classes for adventuring in anOriental campaign setting, but there arenew monsters and magic as well. Now allwe need is a series of modules to back thatup! Guess what the new offerings for 1986will include. . . .

Worthy of a Special Paragraph is thenews about the long-awaited T2. It is nowlabeled T1-4, the whole entitled The Templeof Elemental Evil, and includes a revisedand expanded version of T1, The Village ofHommlet. This �supermodule� offers DMsa great setting for a starting campaign, forcharacters can progress from 1st throughabout 8th level when the mission is finallyconcluded. This Neglectful Designer herebygives sincere thanks to Frank Mentzer, forhe took some 300 pages of manuscript,notes, and maps and turned all of that intoa most exciting finished product.

My Work Is Cut Out For Me Dept.:Loyal Readers are aware that this BusyDesigner (read Lazy Creative-Type) wasrecalled to perform the duties of Chief

8 SEPTEMBER 1985

Executive Officer of TSR, Inc., somemonths ago. That did not relieve me of theresponsibilities attendant to DDEC, al-though John Beebe (Senior Vice Presidentof Productions) and Ernie Gygax (V.P.Creative) manage to take care of most of thework. The third season of the DUNGEONS& DRAGONS� Cartoon Show airs laterthis year � a demonstration not only ofCBS�s confidence in the show, but also itsrealization of the audience who enjoyswatching. We are discussing a fourth seasonalready; if that is a go, you�ll see some newand different settings for certain! Of coursethere are also other projects, but those are. . . secret.

Meanwhile, before getting back into theLofty Office, I began the GREYHAWK�ADVENTURES books, number two beingjust completed and at least two more to go.As announced in the previous issue of thisjournal, the first volume in the series, Sagaof Old City is scheduled to show up instores by November. With the trilogy ofDRAGONLANCE� novels setting the paceit has, the GREYHAWK ADVENTURESnovels are going to be hard pressed to equalor surpass their popularity � a challenging,but not unpleasant, position to be in.

At the same time that these efforts aretaking place, Ernie and I are at work onsomething different in RPG creations. JimWard, Paul Yih, and I are undertaking agame and a companion book series basedon modern-day action adventures, too.There are quite a few innovative RPGs outthere, and �different� is a tough word tomeasure up to. The action-adventure seriesof six books is an untried market for TSR,and the game is family-oriented. Wish meluck, please. Anyway, now you know why Ihaven�t been contributing very much of lateto these August Pages.

TSR will be doing more fiction � suchas the new AMAZING� Stories Anthology,titled 60 Years of the Best Science Fictionand edited by the renowned duo of IsaacAsimov and Martin H. Greenberg. Morepaperbacks, as mentioned above, are alsoon the way. These, along with the newfamily-type games in the manner of ALLMY CHILDREN, CROSSCHECK,PARTY ZONE, and the SIROCCO�Strategy Game, will probably be marketedunder a series of brand-new logotypes.Why? Well, TSR is identified with the bestin RPGs, but we need to establish distinctentities and identities for fiction books,general-audience games, and even chil-

dren�s products. You�ll hear about it herewhen we begin using the new logos. (In themeantime, you might want to look intothose games mentioned above � they arefun!)

Contrary to rumors you may have heard,I am not trying to compete with Isaac Asi-mov in getting my name onto products.There is, however, a grain of truth in thatas far as anthologies are concerned. As areader of Amazing Stories since 1950 (and Icollected issues from most of the �40s aswell), I have put in a bid to edit one of thesecollections in the future . . . perhaps includ-ing some goodies from FANTASTIC�STORIES as well!

Greyhawk Update: There is an error onpage 3 of the Glossography in the WORLDOF GREYHAWK� Fantasy Game Setting.It slipped in because information was beingpicked up from the old booklet, and some ofit should have been updated first. Althoughthe inaccuracy is not major, those InterestedParties desirous of the true populationrange of settlements will be advised well ifthey make the following changes:

Settlement Population Dicetown 1,500 - 9,500 (3d6 + 1) x 500city 12,000 - 96,000 (12d8) x 1,000Urban Area: A town or city will have

suburbs which are a part of the greatercommunity. To determine the number ofpeople in these lesser settlements, simplyroll a six-sided die. The result is the totalnumber of additional, suburban residentsexpressed as a percentage, i.e. 10% to60%) of the population of the urban center.

For example, a town of 6,500 residents isfound to have a suburban population equalto 40% of the town proper, and 40% of6,500 is 2,600. Obviously, this is not an-other town unto itself, so there are at leasttwo other communities on the outskirts ofthe town. Since the town is average in size,it would be safe to assume that there is anearby village of 900 residents, another of700, and a pair of hamlets of about 300population each. This totals 2,200. Theremainder of the area residents (400) areassumed to be spread in individual dwell-ings and smaller-than-thorp clustersthroughout the radius of the area.

Nasty Stuff: The unscrupulous attacksand baseless accusations pertaining to role-playing games in general and the D&Dgame in particular persist. Despite the factthat there is no shred of proof to the claims,

(Turn to page 59)

All about the kenderA long look at the little people of Krynnby Roger E. Moore

As the DRAGONLANCE� saga hasgrown and changed since its conception, sohave its various elements, including theracial portrait of the kender. Originallythought of as much like halflings, kenderhave evolved into a distinctive race untothemselves. The following article brings tolight new information about this interestingrace. Some thoughts are also given on howto effectively role-play kender characters inAD&D® DRAGONLANCE campaigns.

10 SEPTEMBER 1985

History ones became much magnified and othersDL-5, Dragons of Mystery, describes the disappeared.

origin of the kender folk. All kender are Kender spread throughout Ansalon dur-descended from gnomes who were magically ing the Age of Dreams, though little is saidand permanently changed by the artifact of them in official histories. The earliestknown as the Greygem, or the Greystone of known kender hero was Balif, a close friendGargath. Gnomes were themselves de- of the elven lord Silvanos, who establishedscended from men who were magically the kingdom of Silvanesti. Balif fought inaltered by the deity Reorx. Kender thus the First Dragonwar and established hiscame to possess most of the personality own kingdom of kender, called Balifor. Baliftraits common to humans, though certain died in the year 250 of the Age of Dreams.

A second kender kingdom was establishedin northwestern Ansalon in the year 400 ofthe Age of Dreams. Known as Hilo (be-cause of the mountains and low plains), thissecond kingdom was brought into the em-pire of Ergoth in the year 800. Followingthe Rose Rebellion of Vinas Solamnus (alsoknown as the War of Ice Tears; seeDRAGON® issue #94, �My honor is mylife�), Hilo again gained its independenceand has kept it to this date.

Tragically, Balifor was destroyed duringthe Cataclysm. The few kender survivorswandered north and eventually establisheda city at Kendermore, renaming the areaaround it Goodlund. Kendermore is only ashort distance from the remains of an oldhuman city-state called The Ruins by thekender who explore it in droves. It is saidthat finding artifacts in The Ruins is easy,but leaving with them is impossible becauseof the local kender.

Many of the kender in Goodlund neverreturned to civilization, however, remainingin a state of semi-barbarism for centuries.One of these tribal kender, an unusuallypowerful and charismatic leader namedKronin, has begun organizing all localkender to combat the draconian and dragonarmies sweeping the area. Kronin is unusu-ally antagonistic for a kender, and those fewwho have met him have come away shaken.Whether Kronin and his army of kenderwill have any effect on the current warremains to be seen.

SocietyThe basic unit of kender society is the

immediate family (parents and children).Because kender wander so much, extendedfamilies do not truly exist. A detailed dis-cussion of kender politics, government, andsociety is beyond the scope of this article.Suffice to say that kender society is uniqueand everchanging.

Kender society can also be hard to take.Non-kender visitors rarely stay longer thana week in any major kender town, unlessthey have a sense of humor. �If an asylumhad turned loose its inmates and a jail itsthieves to run this city,� wrote one travelerof Kendermore, �the end result could nothave been more atrocious. I have beenrobbed a dozen times today, twice by con-stables and once by a child who couldbarely reach my kneecaps. I have beentormented by a hundred thousand ques-tions, been told a million lies, and been runto exhaustion by my guide. Half the popu-lation wants to make a gynosphinx theirmayor on the grounds that they have neverhad one before, and the other half has left insearch of one. Gods take me if I ever setfoot in this land again!�

PersonalityFour things make a kender�s personality

drastically different from that of a typicalhuman. Kender are utterly fearless, insatia-bly curious, unstoppably mobile and inde-pendent, and will pick up anything that isnot nailed down (though kender with claw

hammers will get those things as well).The fearlessness that all kender possess

gives them a strong sense of confidence.They are quite carefree or matter-of-factabout a situation, even if things look hope-less and grim. (�No sense in running awaynow. There�s five hundred goblins sur-rounding us!�) Kender react effectively todangerous situations, fighting hard andfearlessly. They sometimes come up withsome bizarre tactics which may carry theday in battle, and they don�t let their fear-lessness get in the way of self-preservation� most of the time.

Kender appreciate the need for caution,but their uncontrollable curiosity gets theminto trouble on adventures. They foreverhave to check out unexplored places andpeek into dark corners. They have no desireto be the second or third persons who everentered and left the Caverns of Unspeak-able Doom; they want to be the very first.Pointing out that no one returns from theCaverns of Unspeakable Doom has noeffect. In fact, describing what makes thecaverns so unspeakable might even excitethe kender further and make him or herdetermined to go to the caverns at once.(�An evil archmage and an army of ogres?Wow! Let�s go see �em!�) Some kendermight allow their curiosity to overcometheir common sense when facing unusualopponents, such as a dragon, though theyeventually learn to run when running isbest.

A kender�s fellows are often in the posi-tion of having to teach him that certainthings have big, nasty teeth, and that avoid-ing these things is often in the kender�s bestinterests, regardless of what the kender�sopinions are in the matter. Whenever akender displays an inordinately sensibleattitude about danger, it is probably becausethe kender realizes that performing thisaction will ruin any further chances of doingexciting things � ever.

A few legends suggest that kender canactually be frightened, though only bycreatures on the level of demon princes andarchdevils. No one is willing to test out thistheory, however, and most people believethat after the initial scare, the kender wouldbe back to normal, pestering the monstrousprince with personal questions.

Kender are intensely curious about every-thing. Magic awes and fascinates them, asdo any large, unusual, and dramatic crea-tures like chimeras, centaurs, unicorns,and, of course, dragons. Kender are drawnto beautiful things, but they may find cer-tain things that others find disgusting to beintriguing or humorous in some way (evensome gully dwarves).

Though strong-willed, kender are notprone to consider all the possible results oftheir behavior. A kender may quickly andimpulsively paint herself into a comer, thenwait for someone else to come along and gether out of the jam. Sometimes this meansthat the kender�s fellow adventurers arepainted into the same comer. (�I guess Ishouldn�t have opened that locked door

with the warning signs on it, huh?�) Expe-rienced adventurers quickly come to dreadthat most awful of kender sayings: �Oops!�

Another important point is that kenderneed action � and they need it now. Theythrive on excitement and yearn for newadventures. �I�m just along for the fun� isa common saying among wandering kender.It has been suggested that the worst torturethat could be inflicted on a kender would beto lock him up and simply give him nothingnew to do or look at. (Conversely, it is saidthat the worst torture one can visit on anynon-kender would be to lock him up in abare cell with a bored kender.) Some kenderbelieve that evil creatures are condemned toan afterlife where they will be eternallyb o r e d .

Most kender are encountered duringwanderlust, a peculiar phase that comes ona kender in his early 20s. Apparently thekender�s natural curiosity and desire foraction suddenly go into overdrive at thistime, and kender are driven to wander theland as far as they can go. Wanderlust maylast for many years, and some kender havea habit of making maps of their travelsduring this time. Sadly, most kender arepoor mapmakers, lacking the patience andskills to chart their travels accurately. Ken-der may collect other maps during this timeto satisfy their curiosity about other places.This wanderlust is responsible for spreadingkender communities across the continent ofAnsalon.

Risky deeds draw kender like dragons aredrawn to gold, but risk must be combinedwith action or else they�ll lose interest.Gambling with cards won�t hold a kender�sattention for long, but seeing if one canoutrun a mad owlbear is another thing.Bravery is easily confused with recklessnesswhere kender are concerned.

Kender are natural extroverts and enjoymaking new friends and seeing new places.The majority of them are very personableand friendly � perhaps too friendly forsome people, who dislike their nosiness,their extreme talkativeness (which growsworse when they get excited), and theirhabit of pocketing everything that intereststhem. Kender also resent being given or-ders; they want to do what they want to do,especially if they have their minds set ondoing it. Telling them to do otherwise isworse than useless, as they will complainloudly and disrespectfully, using their taunt-ing skills if they�re mad enough. The bestway to handle kender, say old adventurers,is not to give them orders, but to get themto volunteer.

Kender are sensitive and can be easilyhurt by indifference or intentionally cuttingremarks (triggering their taunting talentsalmost immediately). They treasure theirfriends; if one�s friends are injured or slain,the kender may become very depressed andupset. Death only seems to affect a kenderwhen it comes to one that the kender knowsand loves, or when it is meted out by disas-ter or warfare to innocent beings (includingany kender). In such cases, the distress that

DRAGON 11

the usually cheerful kender feels seemsextremely terrible. A story is told of a hu-man ranger in the Age of Dreams whowounded a deer that was the pet of a kendercommunity. The sight of an entire village ofsmall kender crying their hearts out was soupsetting to the ranger that he quested untilhe found a druid who could heal the ani-mal, then retired and took up fishing.

Kender are also masters of taunting,sarcasm, and outright rudeness when itsuits them to use it. (See the section onkender as player characters for details ontaunting effects.) Their intense curiositygives them shocking insights into the char-acter and nature of other people, thoughsuch an awareness is generally shallow. Itacute enough, however, for a kender to

is

forge an idea of another person�s characterflaws, giving the kender the ability to createthe most stinging insults that can be imag-ined. Full-scale riots have been reportedlystarted by irritated kender who opened upon someone with their verbal guns.

Taunting is one of the few defenses thatkender have. Physically small, kender re-sent anyone who takes advantage of them.A kender could not imagine taunting afellow kender; after all, they�re in this to-gether. Taunting is especially effective if akender has others to back him up or sometrap that a maddened attacker can be luredinto with little cost to the kender himself.Though not very effective against the larg-est creatures (who will not have their com-bat effectiveness reduced greatly), tauntingmight still give a hard-pressed kender anedge in a fight. It is best used only againstthose who are either attacking or are aboutto attack; there�s no sense in angering apotential friend.

HandlingThe kender concept of personal property

and theft deserves special attention. Becausemany kender develop thieving talents, mostpeople assume they are merely innocent-looking but sneaky burglars. This isn�t so.The intense curiosity that kender feel feedstheir desire to know how locks can beopened, how to approach people unseenand listen in on their conversations, and toreach into pockets or pouches to find inter-esting things to look at. Thieving comesnaturally to them � so naturally that theycannot see it as thieving.

Kender do not steal for the sake of profit.First of all, they have little concept of value.Faced with a choice between a 2000 gpdiamond and a huge, glittering chunk ofpurple glass, 90 kender out of 100 will takethe glass. (The rest will take both but willget rid of the diamond first.) They pickthings up out of curiosity and wander offwith them. Sometimes the owner of an itemleaves before the kender can give the itemback, or else the kender becomes enchantedwith the item and forgets to return it. Ifadventuring, a kender will regard anythingfound in an enemy stronghold as fair gamefor picking up, as such items are marvelouscurios and might prove useful later on.

12 SEPTEMBER 1985

Even if caught taking an item red-handed, the range of excuses a kender willoffer if found to have something thatdoesn�t belong to him is amazing:

�Guess I found it somewhere.��I forgot that I had it.��You walked off before I could give it

back.��I was afraid someone else would take

it.��You must have dropped it.��You put it down and I didn�t think you

wanted it anymore.��Maybe it fell into my pocket.�All of these lines are delivered with an

innocent sincerity that is all the more mad-dening because the kender is sincere! Akender might not necessarily rememberwhere she found something, even if shepicked it up half a minute before, and suchresponses are often delivered as part of anunthinking defense mechanism. Intensecuriosity is a trait ingrained in their soulsand minds from their racial creation by theGreystone of Gargath. They cannot beother than what they are � natural thieves.

No regular thieves� guilds operate inkender communities, and kender would notbelong to such guilds even if they did exist.(Tasslehoff Burrfoot learned Thieves� Cantduring his travels by overhearing conversa-tions between human thieves; he has neverbelonged to a guild.) Informal organizationsfor adventurous kender do exist, however,and thieving skills are taught as a matter ofcourse to anyone who is interested in learn-ing them. In addition, families of kenderoften pass along the knowledge of how toperform certain skills from generation togeneration.

Kender, like everyone else, do not like theidea of someone deliberately taking an itemfrom someone else without the latter�s per-mission. To be called a thief is still consid-ered a base insult. This assertation soundsremarkable in view of the fact that kenderconstantly �borrow� things from each otherand from visitors (without asking) in theirhome communities. Kender don�t regardtheir idea of borrowing as stealing, however.If they need something, they�ll take it. Ifthey see something interesting, they�ll pickit up and pocket it. A popular proverbdefines a kender heirloom as anything thatremains longer than three weeks inside akender�s home.

ReligionAfter their creation in the Age of

Dreams, certain kender were gifted withclerical and druidic powers. These spellcast-ing kender roamed the entire length andbreadth of the continent of Ansalon, spread-ing their various faiths. Clerical and druidickender were either incapable of or had nodesire for establishing fixed places of wor-ship. No evil kender clerics were ever seenor heard of.

The clerical kender proved to be trouble-some for the clerics of the more rigid estab-lished religions to govern. Aside from theirwanderlust, which made it impossible to

keep track of them and get them to settledown, kender clerics also displayed all ofthe less engaging traits shown by theirpeople: petty theft, name-calling, and ques-tionable wisdom in dealing with danger.Worse yet, kender clerics were quite good atseeing through false piety and sham, andtheir criticism of other clerics � whether oftheir own religions or of others � wasstinging. Religious kender themselves werededicated and sensitive, even if they wereincapable of maintaining close relationshipswith their flocks for very long. Sooner orlater, they would have to move on.

Clerical and druidic kender vanishedfrom the world after the Cataclysm, as didall other clerics. Nothing is known of wherethey went. During the centuries after theCataclysm, kender spent their time search-ing for their religious leaders and investigat-ing the various false religions that sprang upacross the changed world. Few kenderjoined such cults for long, and graduallythey forgot about the old gods and created anumber of their own philosophies on lifeand the world � philosophies in some waysas error-prone as the false religions of theland, but certainly more sincere andfriendly.

The most highly favored of all godsamong the kender were Branchala, Chislev,Mishakal, and Gilean. A certain degree ofhomage was paid by all kender to Reorx,who indirectly caused the creation of ken-derkind, and to Habbakuk, the Fisher Kingand ruler of animals and the sea. Bran-chala, the Bard King, appealed to the ken-der with his mastery of song, his love ofstories and legends, and his wayward na-ture. All true bards among the kender heldBranchala to be their lord, and they servedhim well on their endless travels. Clerics ofBranchala often learned to play musicalinstruments or sing as a part of their reli-gious training.

Chislev, the male/female deity who gov-erns all the natural forces of Krynn, wasserved by many druidic kender. Chislev�sworship involved immersing oneself in theharmony and peacefulness of nature, estab-lishing a oneness with the earth and itsseasons and cycles, and in the avoidance ofjudging things to be good or evil. If a thingwas troublesome, it was dealt with, whetherit was good or bad in nature. Peace andcommunity were emphasized highly. Dru-idic kender were often accompanied in theirwanderings by retinues of wild animals(some under a charm and some merelyfriendly).

A small cult dedicated to Mishakal couldalways be found in a large community ofkender. Clerical kender of this deity wereknown to be especially pleasant company,though they had not lost their talent forridiculing evil-natured beings to their faces.Kender who worshiped this deity were lessprone to wander than other clerics anddruids, and often followed a circular trailaround several small communities that theywould periodically visit.

A minor cult among the kender devoted

to the worship of Gilean was known fromseveral parts of Ansalon. Kender whosought knowledge of the world�s secretssometimes took up the gray robes of Gi-lean�s clerics and set out with pen and book,recording all they saw, heard, suspected,and imagined. Only a few diaries of thesekender have survived; they make wonderfulreading.

During the Third Dragonlance War, itwas reported that a kender had encountereda true, good cleric, and, to the cleric�s sur-prise, had gained a duplicate medallion offaith. Nothing more is known of this event,but it appears to foretell the return of holy

spellcasters among the kender of Ansalon.

Kender as PCsFor the most part, kender characters will

only appear in DRAGONLANCE cam-paigns set in the world of Krynn. However,it is entirely possible that kender have foundtheir way into other campaign universes bytoying with plane-shifting devices or byother means. Krynn is the only world oforigin for the kender race, and kender onother worlds will probably have legendsconcerning their old homes and how theyarrived at their new location.

Kender PCs may be of any non-evilalignment. A magical effect that forces akender to become evil will instead cause itto go insane with catatonia, as per theDungeon Masters Guide.

The initial characteristics for a kender aregenerated using 3d6 rolls, with a -1 modifierfor strength and a +2 modifier for dexter-ity. The following table gives the maximumand minimum values for their six principal,characteristics.

Strength: 6 - 1 6 *Intelligence: 6 - 1 8Wisdom: 3 - 1 6Dexterity: 8 - 1 9Constitution: 1 0 - 1 8Charisma: 6 - 1 8

* � Female kender may only havestrength scores as high as 14.

Kender gain a racial bonus of +1 tocomeliness, and virtually no kender areknown to have a comeliness of less than 7.

Kender may become fighters, rangers,thieves, thief-acrobats, and bards. Note thatkender thieves, thief-acrobats, and bardsmay be of any non-evil alignment, includ-ing lawful good and chaotic good. Kenderbards will only gain 1 hp per bard level,instead of a 6-sided hit dice, after the 1stlevel of bardic experience. Kender clericsand druids may also be used as characters,if the referee is able to work them into anongoing DRAGONLANCE campaign.Neutral clerics may exist, but druids mustalways be completely neutral.

Kender cannot learn to cast magic-useror illusionist spells because of their innatemagic resistance, a legacy of their creationby the Greystone of Gargath. They cannotbecome assassins because of their naturalempathy with living things, and they cannot

become monks because, regardless of align-ment, they lack self-discipline. No evilkender are known to exist. The maximumpossible levels that kender may attain insuch professions are listed below in tableform.

Class Maximum levelFighter 5 *

Ranger 5 *Cleric 6

Druid 5Thief unlimited

Thief-acrobat unlimitedBard 9

* � Kender who somehow gain 17strength can reach 6th level; those whomanage to get strength of 18 (as great ascan be permanently allowed; no percentileroll allowed) may become 7th-level fighters.

Kender may mix classes so long as align-ment and common sense prevail. They maybecome fighter/thieves (of any non-evilalignment) or ranger/thieves (of any goodalignment). If the referee allows cleric anddruid characters into his Krynn campaign,then fighter/cleric, ranger/cleric, fighter/druid, thief/cleric, and thief/druid kendermay be used as PCs, though such should beextremely rare.

Kender bards (like other bards) cannot bemulti-classed, and a class cannot be mixedwith a subclass of itself (such as a cleric/druid or fighter/ranger). Kender druid/rangers do not exist. The thief-acrobat splitclass may be mixed as per the thief class.

Kender who are not thieves are allowed abase 5% chance to perform any thievingskill except reading languages (nil) andclimbing (base 40% chance); these chancesnever improve except for dexterity andracial modifiers (treat kender as halflingswith regards to the latter). This also appliesto NPC kender who have no levels (who aretreated as O-level characters with 1-6 hp).

Unarmored kender, if moving in front ofa party by 90� or more and traveling onlywith other beings like elves who can moveas quietly as they do, can surprise oppo-nents on a roll of 1-4 on a d6. They can telldirections above or below ground with 50%accuracy, due to their innate sensitivity tothe environment. No kender has ever beenknown to have psionic talents. As a race,kender tend to be strongly neutral withgood and chaotic leanings.

Kender have the same lifespans and agecategories as halflings, though they begintheir adventures at age 20 + 3d4, regardlessof class. Starting money is as per the Play-ers Handbook, substituting steel pieces forgold pieces.

Kender have a base movement rate of12" due to their agility. They lack infravis-ion and gain a special saving-throw bonusvs. spells, rods, wands, staves, and poisonof +4, regardless of their constitutionscores.

Most kender will learn the languages ofany major human, demi-human, and hu-manoid peoples living near their villages. In

Ansalon, kender will become familiar withgoblin, ogre, elven, dwarven, and gnomishlanguages, as well, as local human tonguesand their own racial language, Kender-speak. Druidic kender will learn the secretlanguage of that class. Interestingly, kenderhave a chance to learn Thieves� Cant re-gardless of their own class, supposing thatthey have opportunity to learn it. The ideaof using a secret language is quite appealingto them.

The two special talents of kender, taunt-ing and fearlessness, are elaborated uponhere. Taunting any intelligent creature whocan understand the kender will cause it tosave vs. spells (with wisdom bonuses appli-cable), or else the victim will attack thekender wildly for 1-10 rounds, with a -2penalty to hit and a +2 penalty to armorclass due to the affected being�s irrationality.If a particular victim is assumed to be moreor less vulnerable to such abuse, the DMmay apply penalties or bonuses to savingthrows as desired. Long-time friends of aparticular kender will develop high saving-throw bonuses against this power as theywill have grown used to it.

Fearlessness applies specifically to anyform of magical fear generated by magicalitems such as wands and monsters such asdragons, androsphinxes, demons, and thelike, as well as to spells like cause fear,scare, emotion (fear), symbol (of fear), andfear.

In general, kender prefer the company ofother kender, though they aren�t likely tosee very many other kender for long periodsof time while wandering. They are very welldisposed toward elves, humans, half-elves,and hill dwarves, and will have neutralfeelings toward other, non-evil dwarves atworst (particularly toward gully dwarves).Gnomes are tolerated for the most part.Kender do not truly hate any other race onKrynn, feeling antipathy at worst towardgoblins, derro, and draconians. Kenderantipathy usually means that the kender willready a weapon and open fire on the oppo-nent at a moment�s notice � as a matter ofprinciple, not out of hatred.

At the DM�s option, a particularly brightor well-traveled kender could be given a 5%legend lore chance to know the answer to aparticular problem, based upon the kender�spast experience. Kender tend to collecttrivia in the same way they collect otherpeople�s belongings, and they enjoy songs,stories, tall tales, and legends. All kenderbards gain a +5% bonus to their legendlore skill rolls.

AppearanceKender are small and resemble human

children, though they are more heavilymuscled. Males are typically 3� 9" tall andweigh 80 lbs.; females are 2� and 6 lbs.,smaller. Adult kender are rarely more than4� tall, and their weight can be up to 100lbs. Kender lack the hairy feet and chubbyappearance typical of halflings.

Kender typically have sandy blond, lightand dark brown, copper-red, or even red-

DRAGON 13

orange hair colors. Hair styles are usuallylong, with many varieties of braids andpony tails being popular. Cheek braidsindicate a kender is of royal or noble blood.Often bits of colorful material such as birdfeathers, ribbons, or flowers are carefullywoven into their hair as well. Kender arefair-skinned but tan quickly, becoming nut-brown by midsummer. Their eyes are vari-ously pale blue, sea green, olive, light

der, despite their height, may learn to use alasso. They dislike the use of the garrot andwhip, and no kender are known to have anyexpertise with them.

Kender prefer using slings and staff slingsas missile weapons, though they have alsobeen known to use short bows of varioussorts. Blowguns and hand-held crossbowsmay be used by them. Kender have neverbeen known to build or employ large siege

brown, and hazel.Facially, kender are distinctive for their

pointed ears, giving them a faintly elfinlook. They are bright-eyed, and their facialexpressions are quite intense. No one seemsto look as happy as a joyful kender or asmiserable as a crying one. Angry kenderusing taunts and insults against someonethey particularly dislike can be shockinglyvulgar, as noted above, and can look quitedevilish for a few moments. This intensityof emotion can be infectious.

Kender have been called �wizened�because of the fine network of lines thatappear on their faces about age 40. Theseminute wrinkles give kender a curiousappearance when seen close up, though

weaponsmight be

on a regular basis, thoughfascinated with them for a

theyshort

time.The hoopak is a special weapon devel-

oped and used exclusively by the kender,who are the right height to make the bestuse of it. Its origins are unknown, lying farinto the earliest years of the Age of Dreams.A hoopak is a combination bo staff and staffsling (treated as a regular bullet sling, re-gardless of the type of missiles fired) that allkender are able to use, regardless of classrestrictions on weapons. Kender PCs shouldchoose a hoopak as one of the weaponslearned at 1st level; those who do gain a +2bonus to hit and damage on all attacksinvolving the hoopak, due to the years of

such lines are consideredder of all clans.

attractive by ken-

Kender have a wide vocal range, fromdeep and husky to high-pitched andsqueaky. Older kender tend to have deepervoices,-but they still maintain wide pitchranges and can often perform remarkablesound imitations. When excited, kendertend to speak very quickly and ramble atthe same time, making it hard to followwhat they�re trying to say.

PossessionsBecause of their small size and low

strength, kender prefer to travel light. Onlysmall shields will be used (if class allows),and leather or padded armor or furs makeup the heaviest armor that most kender willtolerate. A few warriors may use ringmailor studded leather armor, but will generallytake it off when traveling long distances byfoot or when scouting an enemy position.Elfin chainmail (if somehow obtained)would be much enjoyed.

The following one-handed melee weaponsmay be used by kender: aklys, hand axe,dagger, hammer, horseman�s flail, horse-man�s pick, horseman�s mace, sap, andshort sword. Kender may throw the aklys,hand axe, club, dagger, dart, hammer,harpoon, javelin, and the short spear andtrident using only one hand, and they mayuse the short spear and trident as one-handed thrusting weapons. Javelins may behurled with a throwing stick (atlatl). Light,small shields and spiked bucklers may beused with any of the above.

In addition, kender may carry and usethe following weapons (though two-handed): club, falchion, footman�s flail,footman�s mace, morning star, footman�spick, scimitar, spear, short quarterstaff andbo staff, khopesh sword, long sword, broadsword, and trident. A few of the taller onescan use the bardiche and battle axe. Ken-

practice with it earlier in life. Any kenderPC who does not choose the hoopak at 1stlevel will never be able to gain the +2proficiency bonus.

A hoopak can be easily made in 1-4 daysby any adult kender. They cost nothing,since kender never sell them, and a kenderPC may begin the game with a ready-madehoopak.resilient

A hoopak is made from a springy,wood; one end of the staff is forked

like a slingshot, and a leather pocket ismounted there as the sling. The other endof the staff is pointed and shod with metalor hardened by fire.

Being fairly inventive, some kender havedeveloped combination weapons similar tothe hoopak. A snapper is a hand axe, bal-anced for throwing, with an elastic-bandslingshot mounted on the back of the axehead. The kender using it simply points theshaft of the axe in the direction of an enemyand fires away. Other such devices, such asspears with removable spearheads (turningthem into staves), have also been noted, butthese are fairly rare. Kender also like add-ing extrawhistles,

things to their weapons such asnotches for tying bundles to the

weapon�s shaft, or hollow shafts that allowthe weapon to double as a snorkel or ablowgun.

All kender, whether thieves or not, invari-ably have one or more makeshift lockpick-ing tools, often no more than a length ofwire, hidden on their persons. Professional-quality thieves� tools are made and sold (orpicked up) at the same adventuring clubsthat teach thieving skills.

Kender clothing is widely varied andtends to be colorful and bright. Even rusticclothing will have bits of brightly coloredmaterial woven into it. Soft, thin materialsare much preferred, and soft leather ishighly valued (especially if dyed and tooledwith designs). Kender thieves generallyavoid wearing clothing that is too loudly

colored, since this inhibits their thievingabilities at hiding.

Beyond the above, a kender will almostcertainly have an assortment of other smallitems in his pockets or belt pouches thatwere acquired in one manner or another.Bird feathers, odd stones, rings (possiblymagical), string, animal teeth, toys, whis-tles, scraps of paper, necklaces, tinderboxes,small tools, chalk, purses, figurines, char-coal sticks, handkerchiefs, gems, pet mice,glassmeat

marbles, unusual daggers, bits ofor biscuits, foreign coins, and the

will fill a kender�scould conceivably

pockets. Anything thathold a kender�s attention

for longer than two seconds and that can bequickly hidden on a kender�s person willalmost certainly be taken.

Players using kender characters may havetheir DMs generate random-roll tables incase the kender quickly reaches into apocket to grab an item at random. If akender wants to find a specific item, it willtake one round to locate it among the ken-der�s possessions. A kender grabbing anitem on his person at random may hurl oruse the item immediately. Random-rolltables should be adjusted to keep track ofnew items acquired. If a kender exceeds themaximum possible number of items that heor she could possibly carry (as determinedby the DM and player before playthen items are randomly lost from

starts),the list.

Some degree of rational judgementbe used in figuring out these tables,

shouldbut

they add enormously to playing enjoyment.Players with kender PCs should also

make a habit of passing notes to the DMwhenever an item is seen that the kenderwishes to �handle.� The DM may roll forsuccessful use of the kender�s pickpocketingskill only if an item is being taken from aliving person or within plain view of an-other character. Otherwise, the item isautomatically and secretly transferred to thekender�s list of possessions.

Kender often �handle� items taken fromfellow adventurers. Threats are generallyuseless in preventing this occurrence. Infact, a kender PC who does not pickpockether friends probably has something seri-ously wrong with her, and she should beseen by a physician or cleric at once. Alowered �curiosity drive� is often a symp-tom of fever or insanity.

Kender have sometimes been known tomake pets out of stray animals, particularlycats, dogs, and small, friendly rodents like-mice. A-few stories are told of kender whomanaged to get even bigger and more unu-sual pets; one peculiar tale is told of Tassle-hoff Burrfoot and a mammoth he freed fromcaptivity, but this cannot be proven. Kenderonly rarely useeven over long

mounts, preferringdistances.

to walk

This article was prepared with the help ofHarold Johnson, who is to blame for creat-ing kender in the first place, and MargaretWeis and Tracy Hickman, who broughtthem to life in the DRAGONLANCE tril-ogy. Thank you all!

driedlike

14 SEPTEMBER 1985

Plan it by the numberssystem for tailoring challenges to charactersA

by Frank Mentzer(Author’s note: The following was in-

cluded in the original manuscript for theD&D® Master Set. It was, however,thought by the editors to be too heavilymathematic for easy use, and was replacedby an alternate system. But I still like thisone, and use it in my own campaign —though modified for AD&D® game use.)

It is possible to generate encounters byapplying a bit of math, using the experienceof the PCs as the major variable factor. Trythe following system; but be aware that itmay not apply to some campaigns. It can beeasily modified, applying the same generalprinciples to data found more accurate toyour own style of play.

By applying this or a similar system, youcan predict the game impact of a wanderingor placed encounter before it occurs. Thissystem is thus recommended when youcannot accurately estimate the monsterpower needed to challenge the characters.Give yourself enough time to use it; try tofind out what PCs will be played at least anhour, if not longer, before the game starts.

This system is also useful when, for enter-tainment reasons, you want to finish thegame session with a rousing encounter,designed (quickly and just before it is used)specially for a given group of characters. Ifyou can work the math quickly enough, tryit during a break, or while the players arebusy role-playing without needing you as ajudge. But don�t delay the game whilecalculating!

Preliminary calculationsBefore you start, find the Total Party

Levels (TPL) by adding all the levels of allthe characters being played. Divide thistotal by the number of characters to find theAverage Party Level (APL).

Multi-classed AD&D game characters usetheir highest single level plus one-half of thelevel attained in any other class(es); thus, afighter/magic-user/thief of levels 2/2/2 has afigure of 4 for purposes of this calculation.Dual-classed characters use the total of alllevels they have attained. Drop any frac-tions that remain after the TPL arithmeticis completed.

The difficulty of an individual monster, incomparison to a given level of PC, can beexpressed in terms of the APL, as shown onTable 1.

When the TPL is compared to the totalhit dice of monsters appearing, the overallimpact of the encounter can be estimated,as shown in Table 2.

16 SEPTEMBER 1985

Table 1: Monster HD compared to APL

HD of 1 Comparison to PCmonster abilities

Over 200% APL Extremely dangerousopponent

150-200% APL Tough opponent110-150% APL Major opponent90-110% APL Average opponent50-90% APL Minor opponent30-50% APL Easy opponent20-30% APL Very easy opponent

Up to 20% APL Nuisance opponent; omitor modify unless relatedto greater party goal.

Table 2: Total HD of monsters comparedto TPL

Total HD Game impactOver 200% TPL Extreme danger. If the

PCs do not retreat orflee, they will probablydie; you may need todrop hints to this effect.

150-200% TPL Tough encounter; mayrequire many partyresources to ensuresuccess, and may causedeaths.

110-150% TPL Major encounter; canbecome one of the gamesession�s major activities.

90-110% TPL Average placed en-counter, Tough wander-ing encounter.

50-90% TPL Minor placed encounter,Major wandering en-counter.

30-50% TPL Easy placed encounter,Average wanderingencounter.

20-30% TPL Very easy placed en-counter, Minor wander-ing encounter.

Up to 20% TPL Too easy for placedencounter, Easy wander-ing encounter.

ProcedureKeep track of decimals in all of these

steps, without rounding. An electroniccalculator is very helpful.

1. Select categories: Decide what impactyou want the encounter to have, in terms ofmonster strength (Table 1) and overallencounter impact (Table 2). Be sure youhave the APL and TPL handy, as well.

2. Select the monsters: Multiply the APLby each of the percentages given in theTable 1 category you have chosen. Select amonster whose hit dice are within thatrange, preferably near the average. (Thiswill often be based on those available in theadventure setting.) Make a note of its nameand hit dice, including the number of aster-isks (special abilities).

3. Find the Power Factor (PF): Find thenumber of asterisks by the monster�s hit dice, and use the following chart to find thePF (to be used in step 5).

Asterisks Power Factor0-1 12-3 24-5 36-7 4

8 or more 5

4. Find total hit dice appearing: Multiplythe TPL by each of the percentages given inthe Table 2 category you have chosen. Keepboth the smaller and larger figures. Youmay wish to note two or more ranges andtheir effects, to provide alternatives.

5. Calculate number appearing: Dividethe total hit dice (from step 4) by the hitdice of a single monster, then divide thatresult by the Power Factor. (Thus, if the PFis 1, it has no real effect.) The number(s) tothe left of the decimal point indicates thenumber of monsters appearing.

6. (Optional) Convert decimals to hitpoints: Find the average hit points of onemonster by multiplying its hit dice (withoutplusses) by 4.5 (average for 1d8), then addany plusses to the total. Multiply the entireresult of step 5 by this number of hit points.Round the result to the nearest whole num-ber; it is the total number of hit points to bedivided among all the monsters appearing.Divide it however you wish, as long as eachmonster has no fewer than the minimumand no more than the maximum hit points.

Example: A giant rockfish has 5 + 5 HD(5d8 + 5 hp); its average hit point total is4.5 times 5 (= 22.5) + 5, or 27.5 hp. If yourcalculations show 3.45 rockfish appearing,they have a total of 94.8 (rounded to 95) hp;you divide this as you like among the 3rockfish appearing (as shown by the whole-number part of the 3.45), so that each has10-45 hp.

(Designer�s note: This is the system I use,but a few hit points here and there don�t

mean much, and this last step is a bit time-consuming. Estimate, round off, or substi-tute if you wish.)

Examples

A. Low Level Party; size = 5, TPL 26,APL 5.2

Situation #1: Wandering encounter

1. Impact desired: Average opponent,average encounter.

2. HD of one monster: 90-1 10% APL, or90% of 5.2 to 110% of 5.2, or 4.7 to5.7. Average = 5.2; monster chosen:cockatrice (HD 5**).

3. Power Factor: 2 (asterisks).4. Total monster HD: 30-50% TPL, or

30% of 26 to 50% of 26, or 7.8 to 13.5. Number appearing: 7.8/5 to 13/5, or

1.56 to 2.6, each divided by 2 (PF) =0.78 to 1.3. One cockatrice wandersby.

6. Convert decimals: Average hp = 22.5,multiplied by 0.78 and 1.3. The cocka-trice has 18-29 hp.

Situation #2: Placed encounter

1. Impact desired: Tough opponent,Tough encounter; also consider Majorimpact as an option.

2. HD of one monster: 150-200% APL,or 7.8 to 11. Average = 9.4; monsterchosen: stone giant (HD 9).

3. Power Factor: 1 (may be ignored).4. Total monster HD: For Tough, 150-

200% TPL, or 39 to 52; for Major,HD 110-150% TPL, or 28.6 to 39.

5. Number appearing: For Tough, 39/9to 52/9, or 4.33 to 5.77; for Major,28.6/9 to 39/9, or 3.18 to 4.33. ForTough, 4-5 giants are placed; for Ma-jor, 3-4 giants are placed.

6. Convert decimals: Average hp = 40.5;for Tough, the 4-5 stone giants have175-234 total hp; for Major, the 3-4stone giants have 129-175 total hp(each with 9-72, or 9d8, hp).

B. Mid-level party; size = 6, TPL 122,APL 20.3

Situation #1: Wandering encounter

1. Impact desired: Average opponent,Easy encounter.

2. HD of one monster: 90-110% APL, or18.27 to 22.33. Average = 20.3; mon-ster chosen: tyrannosaurus rex (HD20).

3. Power Factor: 1 (may be ignored).4. Total monster HD: Up to 20% TPL,

or up to 24.4.5. Number appearing: Up to 24.4/20, or

up to 1.22. One dinosaur wanders by.6. Convert decimals: Average hp = 90;

the tyrannosaurus rex has up to 110 hp(minimum 20).

Situation #2: Placed encounter

1. Impact desired: Major opponent,extremely dangerous encounter.

2. HD of one monster: 110- 150% APL,or 22.33 to 30.45. Average = 26.39;monster chosen: NPC party (APL 26).

3. Power Factor: Assume 3.4. Total monster HD: Over 200% TPL,

or over 244.5. Number appearing: Over 244/26, or

over 9.38; divided by 3 (PF) = over3.13. Three NPCs are placed.

6. Convert decimals: Average hp =special. Each member of the NPCparty has about 104% of average hp.Recommended makeup: 1 fighter, 1magic-user, 1 cleric; all level 25-27,equipped similar to PC party but withabout 28% more power (NPC APLdivided by PC APL = 1.28).

C. High-level party; size = 4, TPL 132,APL 34

Situation #1: Wandering encounter

1. Impact desired: Easy opponent, Minorencounter.

2. HD of one monster: 30-50% APL, or10.2 to 17, average = 13.6. Monsterchosen: cloud giant (HD 13*).

3. Power Factor: 1 (may be ignored).4. Total monster HD: 20-30% TPL, or

26.4 to 39.6.5. Number appearing: 26.4/13 to 39.6/

13, or 2.03 to 3.04; 2-3 giants wanderby.

6. Convert decimals: Average hp = 58.5;the 2-3 cloud giants have a total of119-178 hp (each with 13-104 hp).

Situation #2: Placed encounter

1. Impact desired: Minor opponent,Average encounter.

2. HD of one monster: 50-90% APL, or17 to 30.6. Average = 23.8; monsterchosen: Huge red dragon (HD

* * * *20 ).3. Power Factor: 4.4. Total monster HD: 90-110% TPL, or

118.8 to 145.2.5. Number appearing: 5.94 to 7.26,

divided by 4 (PF) = 1.48 to 1.81; onedragon appears.

6. Convert decimals: Average hp = 90;the one huge red dragon has from 133

to 160 (maximum) hit points.

Reversing the processBy finding the total hit dice of a group of

monsters who are about to be encounteredby a party (according to your encounterkey), you can estimate the impact in ad-vance. If you feel that the result would besomething other than desirable, feel free tomodify the number appearing or their hitpoints � and the treasure, as well.

There are many good reasons for modify-

ing existing details (often called �wingingit�). If the hour is late, you might wish toavoid a long, involved encounter. If theparty is exceptionally damaged, you mightwant to avoid killing characters. If the partyhas been remarkably unlucky in treasure-finding during the adventure, you mightwant to add more, with a correspondingincrease in danger. Or you might simplyhave underestimated or overestimated thePCs� abilities. By using an effective impact-prediction system, you can avoid guessworkin making the changes. You may have trou-ble with the system at first, but stick with it.The more you use is, the faster it�ll become,until you can estimate impacts quickly andaccurately without even a calculator. Don�tbelieve it? Try it!

One final note. The concept of variablegame details may shock some DMs �especially those who wipe out whole partieswhile saying �That�s what it says right here.. . . Gee, isn�t that a shame?� But mostDMs fake rolls occasionally, announcing theresults they prefer � which could be to theparty�s advantage, or the reverse. Thedeadliest games I�ve ever seen are ones inwhich everyone (including the DM, inmelees) rolls the dice out in the open, forbetter or worse. I make up results regularly,to keep the game fun � and isn�t that whywe�re all playing?

You can do lots more with APL and TPL.Think about it, and write to me with yourideas!

DRAGON 17

For king and countryAn alignment system based on cause and effectby Paul Suttie

Alignment has always been important inthe making and playing of an AD&D® gamecharacter. Supposedly, by electing to belawful good, chaotic neutral, or whatever, acharacter chooses a broad set of moralswhich will guide his behavior in the game.Unfortunately, it is not nearly so simple. Ithas become obvious in the recent storm ofletters to the Forum that alignment is nolonger serving its primary purposes, thosebeing to rationalize each individual�s behav-ior and to prevent players from breakingcharacter in order to unfairly exploit gamesituations. Instead of answering moraldilemmas, alignment is creating them.Instead of preventing characters from tak-ing liberties with the game, it encouragesabuse or puts the player�s own better judg-ment in chains. What has gone wrong?

Good and evil were introduced into thegame at a time when the whole concept ofrole-playing was much simpler than it isnow. A typical campaign used to involve adungeon full of horrible monsters and traps,and a nearby castle or town where suppliesand rumors were readily available for thosewith the gold to buy them. Even playerswith cleric characters did not usually knowthe name or nature of the god they wor-shiped; they knew only that through prayertheir PCs could obtain various spells to aidthe party. The motivations of kings andchurches were unimportant, unless theywere offering bounties for the heads ofparticular monsters. War and politics wereunknown; adventuring in dungeons was themajor activity of the strong and bold, andall else revolved around adventuring. Need-less to say, a character in such a campaignneeded a reason to be making his living atkilling things and taking their riches, or elseadventuring would have begun to seemrather immoral.

Alignment provided what was needed. Acharacter could kill something with a cleanconscience if he knew that it was evil andthus ready to wreak whatever havoc it possi-bly could on society until it was destroyed.A character whose job it was to destroy evilwas quite obviously good, for he was theguardian of society. Alignment had anotherbenefit too; in the absence of actual lawsand religious beliefs, it was neverthelesspossible to tell a character when he wasgetting out of line. For instance, eventhough a certain merchant might have beena defenseless old man, and killing himmight have been the cheapest way to getsupplies from his shop, the players couldnot exploit the campaign in that way be-

18 SEPTEMBER 1985

cause their characters had morals to uphold.Killing the old man would have been abreach of good alignment.

So far, so good. At the most basic level ofplay, alignment is an indispensable part ofthe game. But this is not the only level ofplay. As they become comfortable with theidea of running characters, players begin tolook deeper than the sort of clear-cut situa-tions I described above; they want to knowhow PCs feel about other things, like poi-soning their enemies or killing the mon-sters� young, and they want to know whatthe morals are that make the characters feelthat way.

The first signs of the problem began toappear as soon as it became necessary todefine the various alignments. Perhapsknowing that a comprehensive list of �do�sand don�ts� would destroy the spontaneityof play and inevitably miss situations thatmight arise, the game creators opted instead.to give players a definition of the generaloutlooks which would guide their charac-ters� thoughts and actions. But how todefine good and evil?

In the real world, good and evil are in-vented concepts. Societies label their ownvalues as good, and those of the enemy (orthe threatening or the unknown) as evil. Inthe simple campaign described above, thiswould not do; a character who makes hisliving by killing things wants to know thatthe enemy is truly evil, not just a perceivedevil. So realism had to be abandoned.Alignment was approached in the same waythat magic was handled; that is to say, as athing common in literature and unknown inthe real world. Each and every intelligentbeing would be motivated by some absolutecause which would be perceived by all asthe same thing. Thus, a paladin not onlywould believe himself to be good, but wouldbe seen as good even by his enemies.

Once it is decided that there is a definitething called �good,� it is reasonable to tryto define it in absolute terms. This is thestumbling block. How does one defineconcepts that in the real world have noabsolute meaning? There is no way to do itexcept to choose a particular value systemand declare that it applies universally to thegaming universe.

The system that was chosen comesstraight from the perceptions of the crea-tors, and thus straight from twentieth-century America. While �life, relativefreedom, and the prospect of happiness�might satisfy the typical modern gamer asbeing part of the framework of good, they

would not satisfy most of the societies in agame universe. In fact, there is no systemthat could conceivably satisfy all the crea-tures in a gaming universe, because it is thedifferences in their views that put them atodds in the first place. No one has everdecided that certain values are good, andthen chosen to oppose them and be con-sciously evil, and there is no possible reasonwhy any sane person ever would, even if heis just a character in a game.

Absolute alignment is inevitably definedfrom one society�s perspective, and thusmakes no sense for any of the others that co-exist with it. In actual fact, the alignmentsystem which is spelled out in the AD&Dgame rules applies to a society which is noteven a part of the game, and so upon exam-ination, every character naturally findshimself incompatible with his professedethos. Alignment makes sense in a simplegame. But AD&D games today often oper-ate on a level so sophisticated that theworlds we create give rise to inhabitants noless realistic, events no less consistent, thanthose in our own world. Yet these characterswhom we seem to know as well as we knowourselves must still choose an absolutealignment, a label which upon examinationis rife with contradictions.

No wonder characters who take on evilpersonae find themselves appalled by theirown behavior. So would anyone who set outto be the opposite of what they knew wasright and good. Even the most �evil� vil-lains of history did not have the sort ofattitude that an assassin character is ex-pected to have � that is to say, that woeand suffering are desirable ends in and ofthemselves.

No wonder the typical paladin hypocriti-cally preaches respect for all life, while avalue system he would more realisticallypossess, that of religious intolerance, deter-mines his actions. Subconsciously, if notconsciously, we know that a paladin is notgood in the sense of the definition we havebeen given. But when a dilemma arises, wemake the fair mistake of turning to the rulesfor an answer, and find in retrospect thatmost of what our character does is wrongaccording to this supposedly absolute defini-tion of good. So where should we turn? To anew set of guidelines, invented with thepaladins of the Middle Ages in mind? Un-fortunately, this would not solve the prob-lem, because it would still be based on asystem of universal perceptions, where eachcharacter �knows� what good is, but somechoose to turn their backs on it. A system

invented for the paladin would fall apartwhen applied to his enemies.

For an alternative, consider this: In manygaming groups, the campaigns have out-grown one facet of their origins. The char-acters they play do what they do becausethey are loyal to a king or a god whosenature and beliefs are known to them, orbecause their land is in danger, or becausethe PCs are ambitious, kind, or greedy. Tohave to place their beliefs into narrow andabsolute slots only restricts their role-playing. By removing the current conceptsof good and evil from the campaigns, thesegroups would enhance, rather than cripple,their gaming. But it is a change not to betaken lightly. The alternative to a rigidsystem of alignments involves a lot of workfor the Dungeon Master.

If good and evil are not to be taken forgranted, there must be another way forcharacters to choose and adhere to a systemof beliefs. If there were not one readilyavailable, the task at hand would be tooenormous to even contemplate. But there is.Characters no longer worship intangibleforces whose only purpose is to grant spells,and they no longer serve kings whose onlypurpose is to provide bounties and ransoms.The Legends & Lore book, various articlesin DRAGON® Magazine, and theimagination of the DM can all provide godswho expect their followers to behave in acertain way. Kings and other people inpositions of power also will expect certainbehavior from their subjects � sometimesbecause of their own religious beliefs, andsometimes to promote their own selfishends. The list of logical motivations that acharacter can have goes beyond that. Heneed not be pious or loyal to find a slot inthis less absolute system, for he may wellhave selfish ends of his own.

In creating a campaign in which align-ment will be subjective, a referee must plancertain aspects of play much more carefullybefore characters may enter his world. Hemust consider religion � which gods existin his campaign, and which races and soci-eties worship which gods? He must considerthe rulers of the various states, decide whichgods, if any, they worship, and what otherconsiderations will affect the way they rule.Does the character�s king have fears ofbeing invaded, or does he have conquests ofhis own in mind? Does he worry aboutrevolution, or does he find no greater plea-sure in life than to see contented, well-fedpeasants? All these considerations will affectwhat he expects from his subjects, and whattheir level of loyalty to him will be.

Now the player may create his character.Instead of simply writing down a two-worddefinition of his PC�s beliefs, he must firstfind out from the DM which gods the PCmay choose to worship, and should selectone which is compatible with the characterhe desires to play. For instance, a paladinshould choose the official religion of thestate, whereas a thief might choose a sub-versive cult whose patron is a god of stealthor trickery. Or, upon consideration, he may

decide to be completely impious; while theedicts of a god will certainly decide much ofa character�s morality, they are not by anymeans the only considerations.

Next, he should query the DM about thenature of the local ruler, and whether thecampaign demands a certain degree ofloyalty or disloyalty to this ruler. Again,there is no need for a character to followany king�s principles; he may opt to becompletely independent of both church andstate. But this does not allow him to bedirectionless. Once he has adopted as manymorals as he wishes to glean from the PC�sreligion and society, he must fill out hischaracter with whatever values and princi-ples he will consider important in gaming.

In all of this, the PC need never decide tobe good or evil, lawful or chaotic. He willdecide whether he is pacifistic or pugilistic,whether he craves or shuns material goods,whether he has a hot temper or a slow fuse,whether he is merciful or vengeful, or what-ever else he thinks is important in under-standing his character. (Sometimes thesewill be determined in part by the character�sclass, especially in the case of assassins andcavaliers, whose moral code is partiallyspelled out in the class descriptions.) Unlikea traditional alignment, these guidelinesneed not be all saintly or all deplorable; amix is entirely possible, and will result infar more interesting and viable characters.A character need no longer be denied hon-esty and trustworthiness simply because hewishes to be materialistic and consider theslightest provocation an invitation to light.Also, unlike the standard alignmental code,additions and changes can be made to thelist whenever the player discovers the list tobe incomplete in some way, or if some valueturns out to be incompatible with the otherones.

This is not to say that this list may bealtered at the player�s whim to suit thesituation, for then other considerations willcrop up. Has a character abandoned a valueheld dear by his god? If so, then all theregular penalties of alignmental shift willstem from the god�s wrath. Will the charac-ter�s new tendencies put him at odds withthe law? If so, he risks imprisonment orworse. Maybe he is neither pious nor im-portant to the king, but if he acts radicallydifferent from how he did before, orchanges faces too regularly, he will certainlyalienate himself from those he knows. Inany case, he will probably discover thatmaintaining the PC�s values is a smart thingto do, and will certainly discover that thereis more enjoyment in playing a consistentpersona.

Once alignment becomes a personal andtangible set of values instead of a rigid slot,characters are free to act as they trulyshould, in their capacity as servants to aking or a god, or in their desire to build anempire, gain a fortune, or free an enslavedpeople. Cause and effect are a character�smotivation. If a being acts in the interests ofa character or his superiors, it is a goodbeing. If it opposes those interests, it is a

bad being. Consider these following exam-ples of characters in a cause-and-effectworld.

A paladin, a member of one class consid-ered inseparable from alignment, could beplayed just as effectively as a stalwart be-liever in the official religion of the state as inthe empirical concept of lawful good. Hewill still be expected to limit his materialwealth, to fight tirelessly in the name of hisgod and his king, and to heal the faithfulselflessly. If he does not, he will suffer theconsequences of alignmental deviation, forhis god will not tolerate such behavior. Andfaith still has its rewards; although there isno such thing as evil in an absolute sense,the state will certainly have religious ene-mies which it will consider evil. Againstthese beings, the paladin will have full useof his special abilities; he will be able todetect their presence, ward himself magi-cally against them during battle with protec-tion from evil, and should he have a holysword, wreak havoc upon them as he can doto no others.

This paladin could be a knight on a cru-sade to rid the holy land of the infidel. Onthe other hand, he could be an Arabianknight, defending the holy land from theinfidel. It is possible, in other words, forpaladins to fight one another, inflict damageon one another with their holy swords, andgain bonuses in their saving throws againstone another�s spells. The long-debatedquestion of whether there should be an anti-paladin class is quickly resolved; there is noneed for such a class when paladins canlogically oppose one another in any case. Toeach paladin, the other would seem to be ananti-paladin, a fanatical pagan intent on thedesecration of all that is right and pure.

Let�s consider another class which is oftenconsidered the epitome of a particular align-ment: the assassin. It may be hard to acceptat first, but a ruthless killer who makes hisliving through deadly subterfuge can sur-vive without a belief in woe for all. Merelyconsider his job description in comparisonto that of a typical fighter, and the need foran assassin to be evil begins to slip away.Who has not played a purportedly goodfighter whose sole occupation is to killthings that oppose his ethos? True, an assas-sin does his work in the midst of society, notin a dungeon, but this does not require himto be contemptuous of life. His motives maybe similar to those thatinto crime � a chance

lure many peopleto make it big, a

desire for vengeance, a discontentment withthe establishment, desperation to feed ahungry family, or loyalty to a foreign king.The fact that he often does not align himselfwith a god or king does not make him im-mune to retribution or punishment, for heis still a criminal and a murderer, subject togrievous punishment if captured by theauthorities or by his intended victim. Notonly is the assassin playable without the evillabel, he is virtually unplayable as a cam-paign character until alignment is restruc-tured. A human being with motivesdesires, and purposes can remain interest-

DRAGON 21

ing through many adventures. A blood-thirsty killer quickly becomes intolerable.

I have referred repeatedly to the moralswhich state rulers and gods impress uponthe character. It is reasonably easy to seethat a king would wish to instill certainbeliefs upon the populace. If war was aconstant threat, then a strictly pacifisticsocial value system would lead to the quickdownfall of the state. If the official religionof the state relied on human sacrifice, then ageneral belief in the sanctity of life would bea real problem. But what about the gods? Inthe absence of rigid alignments, what possi-ble reason could they have for demandingtheir followers to maintain certain sets ofvalues, convert pagans to the �true� beliefs,and oppose other religious sects violently?Has the whole question of alignment notsimply been shunted back one step to thelevel of the deities?

It need not be so. Consider the recentworks on clerics in DRAGON® issue #92,specifically with regard to the reasons whyclerics must spread the faith. The power ofany deity is proportional to the number ofdevout followers it has. This is a conceptwhich should be reinforced under the newsystem of alignment. The power of godsshould actually be made to vary with thepower of their followers to the extent thatthey would die if all their followers wereslain or converted to other faiths. As anexample, suppose the members of a Greeksociety were to overrun a Babylonian nationand convert the survivors to their own faith.Many of the Greek lesser gods might actu-ally be elevated to greater god status, andthe Babylonian pantheon would be rele-gated to demigods if not slain. In this way,pantheons may grow, prosper, and fadeaway, just as has actually happenedthroughout history. It may even be thatgods are created originally by the existenceof worshipers. If a large number of thieves,discontent with the state religion, begin tosecretly worship a god of stealth and trick-ery, such a god is created. Thus, there aregods to fit every intelligent being�s needs.

This answers many questions. First, aparticular god has particular values becauseits worshipers created it with those values inmind. Following the example of the thievesabove, asking why a god should treasurestealth is meaningless. Second, a god re-quires its worshipers to be devout and gainmore followers, because if its homage fadesaway, so in turn does the god itself. Not allgods need to encourage war and conquest toincrease their power, but they all must havesome method of maintaining old followersand gaining new ones if they are to survive.One of the biggest bonuses for a cleric of aparticular religion is that if he convertsenough pagans to the true faith, he mayactually help to make his demigod or lessergod become a greater deity. As Legends &Lore makes clear, this will give him other-wise forbidden access to sixth-level andseventh-level cleric spells. Conversely, if heallows the devoted followers of a greater godto slip away from the faith, he may cripple

22 SEPTEMBER 1985

his god and so lose access to the same spells.Another aspect of religion which must

dealt with is the traditional arrangementthe outer planes. Here again, the task of

beof

restructuring the game without the pigeon-holes of alignment may seem formidable,but here again the work has already beendone for you. In fact, you may agree onexamination of the current system that thearrangement of the outer planes has ham-pered the campaign of today as much as theconceptshave.

of absolute good and absolute evil

The structure of the outer planes, aspresented in the PlayersHandbookand inLegends & Lore, was created before therewas material available describing the vari-ous pantheons of gods from our own my-thologies. In a sense, the planes took theplace of a well-developed theology for thegame. If one knows that the lawful goodgods, whomever they might be, live in theSeven Heavens, and that devout followersof the �lawful good faith� can expect to gothere after death, then one is not requiredthe massive expenditure of time and effortthat it would take to develop a real mythol-ogy. But the game has expanded enor-mously in that direction in the last fewyears. It is now possible to know the exactnature of one�s religion and one�s gods.There are guidelines for worship, for divineintervention, even for adventuring in thehomelands of the gods. This detail bringswith it a new problem. In much the sameway that the characters of the contemporarycampaign have outgrown pigeonhole align-ment, so have their gods.

Legends & Lore describes the variouspantheons of gods as they existed in mythol-ogy� that is to say, as separate hierarchieswhich do not interact with one another.Each religion had its own homeland for thegods, and many of these homelands havebeen described in Legends & Lore or inrecent issues of DRAGON Magazine.Those which have not already been de-scribed in AD&D game terms can easily beconverted for game play from the wealth ofmaterial available on the topic at any li-brary. With all this material at hand, itseems criminal that we retain the traditionalstructure of the outer planes, in which themost fantastic creations of legend, thehomes of the gods, must be abandoned or atleast restructured.

There is an alternative, and the develop-ment of Gladsheim as a home for the Norsegods and the Norse gods alone (as presentedin both Legends & Lore and DRAGONissue #90) steers us in the right(To be fair to the author of the

direction.article on

Gladsheim, I must note that a place wasreserved there for gods of other mythos, butthis place was considered separate from thatof the Norse gods, and so the statement thatthere was a home described for the Norsegods and the Norse gods alone remainstrue.) For the first time, we have a viablehome for gods, a place which we can envi-sion graphically � a place where PCs canadventure. Why not give every pantheon a

plane of its own, with its own places ofglory, its own battlefields, its own blights ofevil? True, if this were done, virtually noneof the gods would end up living in the planeof their professed alignment, and characterswho died would go to the plane of theirmythos rather than their alignment, but Isay wholeheartedly that this is how it shouldbe. The gods should not live in ill-definedplaces, boarded with gods they have noright to know, just because alignment dic-tates it. They should be with their kin, inplaces that mythology describes to us, wherethey can reenact the myths which are cen-tral to their being.

Once this is done, there is no purpose toarranging the outer planes in a now-meaningless rectangle. Each plane would be,an island in astral space, with its ownshape, connected to the Prime MaterialPlane in whatever ways mythology dictates.A fine example is the great tree Yggdrasil,which was described as such an indepen-dent structure for the home of the Norsepantheon in issue #90. This vision wasmade compatible with the old outer planearrangement, but it stands far better on itsown, without the fetters of alignment.

It is important not to neglect the fact thatsome DMs prefer to create their own my-thos, or mix and match from existing ones.But, it is better to pick and choose with thegoal of having a god to represent eachgroup or attribute known to humans, ratherthan one to represent each alignment, andso to fill the spaces available in the outerplanes.

One distinct difficulty with fragmentingthe outer planes into their individual my-thologies is that some planes would seem tohave no place to go. For instance, to whatreligion do the Nine Hells belong? It hasbeen stated that devils have no worshipersamong humans, so how and where can theysurvive?

Many campaigns are basically Anglo-Saxon, and the Anglo-Saxon religion of theMiddle Ages did have a hell something likethe one described in the Monster Manual.There is no reason why such a religioncannot exist in the AD&D game. What Iam not suggesting is the introduction ofmodern Christianity into the game; thatwould be as confusing as the introduction oftwentieth-century morality. What I amsuggesting is that the religion of the MiddleAges was as different from ours in outlookas any of the religions presented in Legends& Lore, and that a religion resemblingmedieval Christianity is the single mostlogical religion for characters in an Anglo-Saxon campaign to follow. In fact, we havebeen subconsciously using such a religionfor years. Our intolerant clerics with holywater sprinklers, and our paladins with holymissions against the infidel, are drawnstraight from Anglo-Saxon mythology. Whynot make the religion a real part of thegame, and give the devils a reason to be outthere?

The devils fit nicely into the Anglo-Saxonmythos. For the faithful of this religion,

there is an eternal afterlife in paradise. Forthe sinners, there is eternal torment in thelands of the archdevils. The existence of thedevils without worship can be easily ex-plained; they draw their power from thesins of those supposedly faithful to the reli-gion. That is why they go to great length towin souls over to them. It is by luring theupright into sin that devils gain and main-tain their power.

When all is said and done, the Nine Hellsare more consistent without rigid alignmentin the outer planes than with it, because thedevils no longer need to find places for theevil gods who were previously expected toco-exist with them. Set and the rest of thebad gods can join their pantheons on otherplanes.

As for the demons of the Abyss, they doseem to have their worshipers, but notamong humankind. Demogorgon has theixitxachitl, Lolth the drow elves, andYeenoghu the gnolls. Presumably Orcusreceives homage from the intelligent un-dead, and Juiblex from the slimes, jellies,puddings, and other faceless beings. Thecommon trait of these races is that they areall dire and irrational enemies of all man-kind, so it is natural that they have createdgods through their worship which opposeman with relentless fury. Of course, theminions these gods have chosen to createare similarly irrational and dangerousamong men. It is because many men try tocontrol these beings for their own ends, andmany fail, that many souls end up in theAbyss as manes, having been cheated of their promised afterlife. This is arguably the worst fate possible � to be cast among thegods of mankind�s most heartfelt foes foreternity.

As for the rest of the lower planes, theywill disappear nicely once each religion in acampaign steals its own little piece of hellfor its own sinners. These planes never hadmuch life in the first place, and their inhab-itants will be happy to be relocated. (Nyca-daemons, it is known, will work for justabout anybody, as long as they get to benasty to the lodgers.)

This, then, is my thesis. In a well-developed campaign setting, there is noneed for absolute alignment. At all levels ofplay, thought and action will be more logicaland the setting more viable if alignment is astatement of specific morals and beliefs,formed by the influence of king and coun-try, and by the character�s own experiencein life. Having said this, it remains to dem-onstrate that this system will work, andwork better than the old one. For that rea-son, I will now describe a campaign which Idesigned, and show how my original night-mares faded once alignment was diversified,to be replaced by an exciting and vibrantcampaign milieu.

Originally, I envisioned an Arthuriansetting in a mythical counterpart to En-gland. The inhabitants of the land were toinclude the following. There would beAnglo-Saxons, ruled by the king and afeudal system of dukes, barons, and

knights. Many members of the court wouldbe paladins and cavaliers. The Anglo-Saxons were to co-exist with the high elves.A second group was to be the Celts, ruledby the druids. The elite fighters of thissociety would be trained by the druids tobecome attuned to the natural world, and sowould become rangers. The wood elves,who have shared the forest with the Celtsfor centuries, are their staunch allies. In thenorth would be the Scots, divided intovarious clans, and sharing their land withvarious dwarven and orcish bands. Alongthe coasts would be the ever-present threatof Norse Vikings, who make their living byplundering seaside towns. Across the chan-nel, of course, would reside the dangerousFrench.

In the traditional scheme of things, theknights of Camelot would be branded lawfulgood from the outset, because of their heavycomplement of paladins, one of whom is theking himself (as described in the Legends &Lore Arthurian Heroes section). But theFrench have a similar court, also laden withcavaliers and paladins. It may be possiblefor aggression to take place between the twocourts, but it could not be the focal point ofthe campaign it was designed to be. Whenlawful good fights lawful good (a tenuousproposition from the start), they must cer-tainly unite to drive off evil if it should enterthe picture. Evil was going to enter thepicture, but I didn�t want that to lessen theantipathy between England and France one

iota. But there was nothing to do; an obvi-ous political hotspot was practically deadbefore it had been born.

How about the wood elves, the rangers,and the druids? Their society, which onceowned all of England, has been overrun bythe Anglo-Saxons. But can they retake theland through violence? The fact that theirfighters and rangers share an alignmentwith the potential foe makes the whole thinga risky proposition. The rangers and elves,both good in outlook, would more likelyside with the knights than with the druids oftheir own society if it came to blows. But itshouldn�t happen that way! Celts should bea strong resistance movement with nostrings attached, but it was not to be.

The dwarves in the north are lawfulgood, just like the knights of the court. IfArthur pushes north into Scotland, they willalmost certainly ally themselves with him tobring law and unity to the land . . . eventhough this will destroy their traditionalway of life. Then there are the Vikings, areal headache for Arthur because in theabsence of an Anglo-Saxon religion, themost logical mythology for the court toadopt was that of a harsh land, with manygods who are lawful and good. You guessedit. . . the official religion of England was tobe Norse. If attacking the French was iffy,then attacking the Vikings, worshipers ofthe same gods, was quite simply asking forit. Come to think of it, that works bothways � maybe the Vikings will have to look

DRAGON 23

elsewhere for plunder. There goes anothersource of action.

Finally, of course, there are the orcs. Orcsare evil, and evil is evil no matter how youlook at it. There is no need to even justifykilling them. Good thing, too, because atthis point it was beginning to look likefighting them was going to be the onlyactivity for the characters in this static andmorally confounding campaign.

What happened? For a moment, thislooked like a plausible campaign. But witheveryone so neatly pigeonholed into abso-lute alignments, there was no place to takeit. I could have rearranged things, to besure. I could have postulated a French courtwithout a single paladin, where everyonewas a neutral fighter or a lawful neutralcavalier. I could have envisioned a Celticsociety where the druids ruled over ordinaryfighters instead of rangers. I could haveadvanced the extremely unlikely propositionthat the Vikings all worshiped the evil godLoki and so were at odds with the courtafter all. But before making those changes Iasked myself why I should have to. Whycouldn�t I make it run the way I wanted itto run, without altering the whole structureof my world?

Instead, I changed the alignment system,removing the concepts of absolute good andevil, to reconcile the whole campaign withcommon sense. This is what I achieved.

The court of King Arthur is benevolentto its people, but the knights are lethallyintolerant of pagan religions. Spurred on bytheir king and their Anglo-Saxon god, theywill fight for the unification of Britain withthe righteous fury that paladins have beenshying away from all these years.

The major threat to the court is the sub-versive society of druids, who still practicethe outlawed Celtic religion, along with itsallies, the wood elves and the rangers. Thepossibility is not only open for paladins tofight rangers to the death, but to receivetheir protection from evil bonuses whendoing so, because evil is now defined interms of religious enemies. No other crite-rion need be met.

Interestingly, Arthur�s friend and advisor,Merlin, is tied closely to the old religion,but Arthur can ignore this fault because heis not lawful good anymore. He is, as Idetailed him, courageous, trustworthy,chivalrous, and charismatic, but like manyof the medieval Anglo-Saxon faith, he isalso somewhat hypocritical in matters ofreligion. In the same way that the Norsegods allow their worshipers to take theirgods� names in vain, deface their gods�images, and break their sacred oaths (pro-vided they show bravery in battle), myAnglo-Saxon god allows his followers to besomewhat less than the ideals they makethemselves out to be, provided that theycampaign with relentless vigor to expandthe empire and convert pagans to the truefaith. It�s an example of the different strate-gies that different gods will employ to main-tain power. While some gods rely on a smallbody of absolutely devout followers,

Arthur�s god relies on having an enormousand ever-expanding number of followers,many of whom may be imperfect in theirfaith. That�s why the devils of the Anglo-Saxon religion take such a prominent rolecompared to those in other religions. InArthur�s empire, the sinners outnumber thesaints.

But back to the frontiers. The French arestrong and hostile; maybe a war now onFrench territory would save a war later onEnglish soil. Of course, the French arepolitical, rather than religious, enemies, soin confrontations between them neither sidewould be able to use spells which are effec-tive only against evil. There is now animportant distinction between a politicalwar, such as English versus French, and areligious one, such Anglo-Saxons versusCelts.

The Norsemen are still causing troubleon the coast, but now the Vikings are aboutas evil in the eyes of the English as anyonecould get, having no Anglo-Saxon morals atall. Driving them away would be a holyquest for any knight.

In the north, Arthur is looking for alliesin a potential conquest of Scotland. One ofthe Scottish clans, envisioning dominionover the others, is with him. Since he is anhonorable man, Arthur is indeed planningto give them a favored position in the neworder of things if the war is won, providedthey will embrace his religion. But he needsmore allies among the natives, and he can-not afford to promise anyone else a share ofthe spoils lest the victory accomplish no realunification at all. His choices are thedwarves and the orcs, but which should heapproach? Well, dwarves are still dwarves.They are tough fighters, but full of pride,and will want to defend their way of life. Hedecides to make non-aggression pacts withseveral of the more powerful dwarven lead-ers, knowing that both sides will benefitfrom the deal. The dwarves will keep theirmines, and he will keep the lives of thearmies he would have lost if the dwarves feltthreatened. But he still needs a body ofmercenaries to fight in Scotland. The other-wise unthinkable possibility of approachingthe orcs becomes very real now that align-ment is not a concern. Orcs are stillboorish, warlike creatures with crude life-styles and morals that would offend eventhe Vikings. But they are also stupid andgreedy, and Arthur knows he need offerthem nothing but money and they will fightwhomever he pits them against. After all,they fight all the time anyway, with not evenmoney at stake.

Once the conquest of Scotland is com-plete, Arthur has no further duty to thebeasts. The orcish religion is now a paganfaith in the lands of the king, and as such isoutlawed. The orcs can convert to the reli-gion of the court, flee from Britain, or facetheir just end. If they had been smarter,they could have seen that they would haveno place in a unified Britain, but theyweren�t smarter, and so they willingly cap-tured their own homeland for pay.

All in all, then, the abolition of alignmentmade the campaign setting come to life.Player characters can now fit into thescheme of things in just about any role theyplease. Think of these possibilities:

A paladin on a quest from Arthur todestroy a druidic shrine.

A ranger who defends druidic shrinesagainst attacks by the knights of Camelot,using her stealth and woodsman skills tosurvive in the dangerous forests.

A French assassin on a mission to killArthur�s senior military advisor before hecan present his plans to the king to takeover France. (As an added bonus, he couldbring back a copy of the plan.)

A wood elf who uses his thieving skills tobecome a highwayman, disrupting traffic inand out of the capital.

A dwarven fighter whose ambition leadshim to the court of England, where he mustovercome prejudice and undertake gruelingquests to join the ranks of the knights.

A half-elf, the illegitimate daughter of aduke, outcast and maligned from youth,now ready to seek vengeance against thecourt in whatever way she can.

A cavalier who questions the morality ofdestroying the Celts, the original owners ofthis land, and so joins with the enemy andbecomes England�s most wanted knave.

A magic-user, a member of the rarestclass, seeking a mentor who can teach himthe powerful secrets of sorcery. What can hedo to convince Merlin that he is a worthystudent? What will be the price of his stud-ies? What will he do with the knowledge hegains?

A cleric of the Roman gods, part of asecret cult that has survived since the daysthat Julius Caesar ruled this land. Whatdoes she stand for? How does she fit intothis cause and effect campaign world?

Once the shackles of alignment are bro-ken, the gaming possibilities are endless. Allof these figures are important player andnon-player characters in my own campaign.They interact with one another in some ofthe most unexpected ways, befriendingthose that alignment would dictate shouldbe violently opposed to them, and bitterlyfighting their traditional allies. As it cur-rently stands, there are three main groupsadventuring in the campaign. One of theseis a force of knights loyal to Arthur. A sec-ond group, once motivated by ambition andthe prospect of wealth, but now supposedlycommitted (actually to widely varying de-grees) to justice for the Celts, includes aViking ship captain and a turncoat knightof the court. A third group, composed ofcerebral members of various arcane cultsand studies, has fallen under the influenceof Merlin and now works toward a granderpurpose than even the besieged Arthur canimagine. How others will fall in with thesegroups, or how the groups will fall outamong themselves, one can only imagine.But two things are certain. It will not be atraditional campaign, and the players willnot go away after it is over to wonder whatmotives carried it to its climactic end.

24 SEPTEMBER 1985

The role of booksFantasy and SF stories for gamers to savorReviewed by John C. BunnellTHE DESTINY DICE

David BischoffSignet 0-451-13489-3 $2.95

To say that David Bischoff's newest fan-tasy tends to inspire mixed emotions maywell be the understatement of the year. Onone hand, The Destiny Dice shows signs ofbeing fantastically inventive and wickedlyfunny. On the other hand, it comes danger-ously close to being one of the most unfairlymarketed books in recent history.

The difficulty is that Bischoff has createda cosmos which encompasses at least threelevels of reality (and quite possibly severalmore), yet he has shown readers only bitsand pieces of that cosmos in what is adver-tised as the first book in a series of at leastthree volumes. While that might not be amajor criticism under normal circum-stances, there�s a catch: The missing piecesseem to have been held back more as atactic for inducing readers to buy the nextbook than for any reason integral to the plotor structure of the tale itself. (Note that TheDestiny Dice hasn�t been referred to as anovel. It isn�t one, and its relatively slimthickness and rather large print suggeststrongly that the Gaming Magi series maybe one rather long novel masquerading asseveral short � and therefore more profit-able � books.)

It would be tempting, after all that rheto-ric, to simply dismiss the entire series asunworthy of any interest whatsoever. Un-fortunately, Bischoff's multiverse is toointriguing to be tossed aside without asecond thought, and there are some genu-inely hilarious sequences involving puns tooawful and too significant to give away.

Beginning on the lowest level of the tale�sreality, there is the �game board.� Thoughits residents generally don�t know it, theyare merely toy soldiers of a sort, manipu-lated by game players on higher planes.Two �pieces� are of major interest: PrincessAlandra, a virgin in name only and a signif-icant political prize, is the key to something,though it�s hard to tell what that might be;and Ian Farthing, a very peculiar characterindeed, a sort of cross between jester andjigsaw puzzle, whose arrival on the board ishighly mysterious. (The book�s action isconfined to a medieval-style milieu, butthere are suggestions that other �gameboards� possess vastly different technologiesand characteristics.)

Crowley Nilrem owns the game boardand is one of the Gaming Magi for whomBischoff has named his sequence. To him,Ian and Alandra are metal figures con-

trolled by the dice and the rule books. Butsomething is wrong on his level; the novelopens as his feline familiar accidentallydisrupts a crucial dice roll with conse-quences that force Crowley to invoke vari-ous councils in an effort to repair thedamage. At one of these sessions, a strangebodiless being appears and hints that thecrisis has its origins at still higher levels.Whether this creature can be equated withthe living universe described in the book�spreface or whether it comes from a levelbetween Crowley�s and the Creator�s �neither is revealed.

There are other loose ends: Alandra�s bagof talking runes seems able to plug intoother dimensions, but for no discerniblepurpose; Ian Farthing possesses a �con-science� whose powers don�t match any ofthe known levels of Bischoff's world; and,someone on Crowley�s level is runningaround murdering Magi. And yet, despitethe holes in the plot, The Destiny Dicesomehow doesn�t seem incoherent. Perhapsits deliberately light, unpretentious tonekeeps things from disintegrating completely.

It�s possible that the full Gaming Magiseries will turn out to be an interesting,logically constructed novel. Certainly it�sencouraging to think so; not many writerscan match Bischoff's irreverent humor. But

Bischoff and his publishers should be se-verely scolded for presenting the tale in aform that so clearly puts financial consider-ations above the literary obligation to givereaders a complete story. (Anyone who doesbuy the book is strongly urged to send inthe response form printed on the last page.)

THE ISLE OF CLASSJudith Tarr

Bluejay 0-312-94237-0 $14.95At first glance, The Isle of Glass (which is

identified with an almost heraldic flourish asthe first volume of a trilogy) is simply an-other one of the �alternate England� novelswhich are rapidly multiplying on bookstoreshelves these days. But, a more attentivelook reveals that author Judith Tarr haswritten a strikingly thoughtful novel thatshould be required reading for any gamerwho plays a demi-human character.

The novel focuses its attention on oneBrother Alfred, a quiet, scholarly individualwhose origins are shrouded in a mystery heprefers to ignore. Unfortunately, the rest ofthe world isn�t content to leave Alfredalone, and his peculiar background propelshim into a series of explosive conflicts.

To begin, Alfred is an orphan. Some sixtyyears past, he was left on the steps of St.Ruan�s abbey as a babe, to be raised by themonks there and introduced to the religiouslife. Yet though time passes normally, Alfreddoes not seem to grow old; instead, heseems to possess elven blood � though hedoes not, as elves are said to do, recoil fromcold iron and holy water. He possesses sometalent for healing, even beyond the clericalnorm. He may have the powers of a wizardwithin him, despite his profound unwilling-ness to acknowledge them. And, he seemsequally at home with (and equally reluctantto employ) the sword and shield of a bornwarrior.

In gaming terms, that makes BrotherAlfred a typical multi-classed character,with aspects of the fighter, cleric, andmagic-user about him. But where anAD&D® game campaign would treat thiscombination as a walking arsenal, Tarrgives Alfred a meticulously conceived,three-dimensional background and revealsthat he is less concerned with using hisdiverse powers than with reconciling himselfto their very existence.

The world in which Alfred lives is equallyplausible and far from comfortable. Humannobles are involved in a difficult series ofpower struggles involving both the kingship

DRAGON 25

of Anglia and the status of various lesserholdings, and in uncertain dealings with theelven realm of Rhiyana, which has thrustitself somewhat unexpectedly into the situa-tion. Events propel Alfred into the center ofthe various political and personal conflicts,where he finds himself the target of religiouspersecution by a fanatical Christian sectknown as the Hounds of God.

In some ways, Tarr�s choice of setting andplot makes comparisons with KatherineKurtz�s Deryni novels inevitable, and thetwo sagas are not without parallels. But,Tarr�s writing has a less polished, moreimmediate flavor that may be a more accu-rate style for conveying the rough reality ofearly medieval existence. And although TheIsle of Glass almost certainly does owe itsorigins to an RPG campaign, it�s one of thefew good fantasy novels whose premisecould be easily and directly translated into agame setting.

That last fact may well be the most strik-ing aspect of Tarr�s novel. It�s a rare bookthat can blend a challenging tale of charac-ter study with a taut, suspenseful saga offast-paced intrigue and adventure, but TheIsle of Glass balances the two elements withsingular effectiveness. For once, readersshould greet the news that the novel is thefirst of a trilogy with pleased smiles, ratherthan bored yawns and sighs of, �Oh, no,not another one.�

CATS HAVE NO LORDWill Shetterly

Ace 0-441-09493-7 $2.75Riddles have been intertwined with fan-

tasy for almost as long as people have beenwriting fantasy novels, but Cats Have NoLord may well be the first fantasy novel togive itself over to a long, dangerous, andcomplicated variant of the old riddle game.Riddles are layered throughout Will Shet-terly�s tale, and that story has a considera-ble number of layers for readers to explore.

The obvious riddle, of course, is �Whydo cats have no lord?� Of all human andanimal races in the world, only cats seemnot to have a godlike leader, and no oneseems to know why. So Merry, a priest ofthe half-magical, half-religious Order, issent to ask half-elven Catseye Yellow andwandering performer Lizelle to go on aquest to find the Wisest One and ask himfor the riddle�s answer.

There seems to be more at stake, how-ever, than idle curiosity. Who is it that istrying desperately to prevent Lizelle andCatseye from accomplishing the quest?What is the connection between the missingcat lord and Catseye? What does Lizelle�sformer lover have to do with the matter?And what is the significance of the stolenmiststone necklace that Lizelle wears?

The answers to all of these riddles are allconnected in some way to the quest for theWisest One, whose very identity is a matterof some uncertainty. And, it slowly becomesclear that the fate of the universe is alsobound up in the pattern, though whose

26 SEPTEMBER 1985

actions are intended to preserve order andwhose are meant to bring chaos aren�tcertain until the last few pages.

Shetterly somehow manages to cloak thistale of cosmic crisis, which sometimes oper-ates on a spectacularly grand scale, in theunassuming guise of a low-keyed adventuretold primarily from Lizelle�s perspective,and laces it with a cheerful wit that seemsperfectly natural in its tone. He also has agood ear for dialogue and the skill to recordit accurately � both Darkwind, Lizelle�sintelligent steed, and the hill barbarianThraas have distinctive speech patterns thatreflect their unusual personalities.

Cats Have No Lord, for that matter, is anunusual novel, and one that�s hard to pi-geonhole precisely. Even after repeatedreadings, it�s likely to prompt differentspeculations and to raise more questionsthan it necessarily answers � unlike atypical RPG adventure in which the looseends are all accounted for, if not tied up, atthe end of the evening.

One thing, however, is certain. Theauthor�s biographical note (also a bit of ariddle) reveals that Shetterly is part of awriters� group that includes some of fanta-sy�s most promising new authors. That maymake the praise from other group memberswhich graces the novel�s back cover sound atrifle less altruistic, but the overall quality ofthe books emerging from the Scribblies�typewriters can�t be ignored. Will Shetterlyand his colleagues are definitely talents tokeep an eye on.

LADYHAWKEJoan D. Vinge

Signet 0-451-13321-8 $3.50Until very recently, novelizations of

science-fiction and fantasy films weren�t

worthy of serious critical attention �largely because the films on which theywere based were somewhat thinly con-ceived. But matters have steadily improvedlately, and Joan Vinge�s translation of La-dyhawke into book form proves once andfor all that the task is worth doing.

For those who haven�t seen the movie(which is itself a very well told tale), thestory chronicles the adventures of PhillipeGaston, also called the Mouse, a young butvery skillful thief who is both absolutelyuntrustworthy and impossible to dislike. Itis also the saga of Etienne Navarre and hisbeloved Isabeau, the victims of a diabolicalcurse placed upon them by the evil Bishopof Aquila. Navarre becomes a wolf fromsundown to sunrise, while Isabeau spendsher daylight hours as a hawk; thus, the paircan never be together in human form. Onlyan accident that sends Phillipe across thepath of the cursed lovers offers them anyhope of undoing the spell.

Vinge accomplishes a difficult feat intelling the story, managing both to retainthe dramatic visual character of the film andto give the narrative a distinctive freshness.This latter quality is largely due to Vinge�snarrative approach, which focuses consist-ently and perceptively on the innermostthoughts of the adventurers. What results isa lively tale that expertly plays Phillipe�susually cheerful roguishness against thegrimmer, sometimes vindictive moods ofNavarre. More unusual still, the novel isremarkably true to the screen story, and itsoccasional departures from the script gener-ally improve an already excellent story. (Inparticular, Vinge�s ending seems moreeffective than its cinematic counterpart.)

All this is of special interest to game-playing readers for the simple reason thatPhillipe and Navarre are first-class rolemodels for members of the thief and fighterclasses, respectively. Phillipe exhibits versa-tility and deft expertise at his craft and anentirely convincing dislike of crowded me-lees, while Navarre is a fierce and frighten-ingly competent combatant. The two makean uncertain but generally effective team,linked by their mutual feelings for Isabeau� or, as Phillipe christens her, ladyhawke.

Regardless of its relevance to gaming,though, it�s good to discover that someonehas at last made a quality live-action fantasyadventure movie � and even better to learnthat the story is also entertaining in print.

THE SWORD OF CALANDRASusan Dexter

Del Rey 0-345-29717-2 $2.95Three and a half years ago, a novel called

The Ring of Allaire made a relatively quietdebut, chronicling the adventures of anapprentice mage on a search for a lost ring,a kidnapped princess, and a king thoughtnot to exist. It ended with the words �andthey lived happily ever after,� which ap-peared to mean that the story was over.

Now, Susan Dexter has continued Tris-tan�s story in The Sword of Calandra, with

the promise of at least one more novel tocome. But Dexter�s second novel, like herfirst, doesn�t feel like part of a series. In-stead, it has the same kind of completenessas a single quest in a solidly constructedRPG campaign � while its charactersaccomplish the goal of their search andovercome powerful opposition, the potentialfor future adventures and conflicts lurkspatiently in the background.

This time, Tristan�s problem revolvesaround the recently discovered fact that heis the long-missing heir to Calandra�sthrone. While his right to rule is indisput-able, he must be crowned according toancient ritual in order to achieve politicalpower over a number of independent-minded lords. The ritual, however, involvespowerful magic that is certain to kill Tristanunless he can locate the legendary Sword ofthe Last King, an artifact needed to controland channel power.

Dexter weaves her narrative in a matter-of-fact style that lends plausibility to Tris-tan�s rather rambling search and that allowsDexter to explore the sometimes uncertainmotivations of her characters. Those char-acters are both numerous and well-drawn,

ranging from Thomas, Tristan�s devotedbut constantly cynical cat, to Dickon ofFalkerry, a young farm boy who is some-thing more than he appears to be, andJehan of Kinark, a refugee smith who isplagued by nightmares.

The novel�s plot has been crafted withequal care: Dexter engineers more than oneingenious twist on her way to a thoroughlysatisfying conclusion, and does so withoutquite seeming to give her cast too muchauctorial assitance.

The Sword of Calandra, in short, is anovel that follows the most traditional pat-terns of fantasy without making those pat-

terns look tired and obvious. Readers willbe entertained and made comfortable inDexter�s world. Luckily, the next tale shouldbe available in much less than three and ahalf years.

DAYWORLDPhilip Jose Farmer

Putnam 0-399-12967-7 $16.95Jefferson Cervantes Caird plays role-

playing games as if his life depended on it� and, in the first novel in what�s billed asa new series by the author of theRiverworld books, it does indeed.

Actually, that�s only partly true. Caird isa role-player, but not in the sense that hespends one night a week sitting around atable and rolling polyhedral dice. Instead,he spends six days a week masquerading assix different imaginary personalities, one toeach day. In the future society of whichCaird is a member, that makes him both ararity and a wanted criminal. Most citizenslive for only one day a week, spending theremaining days in a form of advanced sus-pended animation known as �stoning.�This regimen has been instituted to con-serve Earth�s resources, and it allows theplanet to support seven times the populationfor which it could otherwise provide.

Caird isn�t the only such outlaw in thisculture; there are whole networks of day-breakers, or immers, as Farmer describesthose who exist on more than one day of the�horizontal� week. But, Caird is unique inhaving created an entire week�s worth ofdifferent identities in three-dimensionaldetail. No one else seems capable of living atotal of seven lives without drawing theattention of government authorities. JeffCaird�s accomplishment involves more thanconsummate acting, yet just barely less thanschizophrenic insanity, and Farmer does afirst-class job of portraying the complicatedlayers of character development at work inthe situation.

That�s only one aspect of Dayworld,though. At the same time, the novel is alsoa fast-paced thriller involving the govern-ment�s struggle to smash the daybreakerorganization and the search for the secret ofa life-lengthening chemical that enables the

criminals to survive undetected for all theirmultiple lives. There are political conflictsand tense chase sequences that transcendthe normally impassable barriers betweenthe seven parallel �dayworlds� of the NewEra, and the novel�s pace never slows, evenwhen answers to Caird�s and the govern-ment�s questions are found.

All in all, Farmer has taken a fascinatingset of ideas and translated them into ahighly readable adventure, though onlyCaird seems to have any real depth in all hissurroundings. Perhaps the sequels may fillin some of the holes in the currently thintexture. Meanwhile, role-players will defin-itely have something to think about.

DRAGON 27

Charging isn�t cheapHow to make and fix rods, staves, and wandsby Peter Johnson

How does a character go about makingand recharging magic items in an AD&D®game campaign? The Dungeon MastersGuide lays down some general guidelinesfor characters to follow, but fails to go intospecifics on the topic � a potential sourceof problems for players and DMs alike.

A review of what the DMG offers isimportant. A cleric meditates for fourteendays, fasts for seven, then spends a daypraying over and purifying-the item to beenchanted, The cleric then places the itemon an altar and invokes divine favor toinstill it with the requisite magic. The invo-cation has a cumulative 1% chance per dayof succeeding. If the item needs charges, thenecessary spells are cast on the item. Fi-nally, the cleric sanctifies the item, and it isready for use.

can a DM ensure variety and individualityamong magic items in the campaign?

To answer these questions, it�s best tostart at the point when a character decidesto make a magic item of his own. If thecharacter is making an item that alreadyexists in your campaign, your job as DM issimplified. All you need to do is feed bitsand pieces of information to the character ashis research on how to make the item pro-ceeds. A magical formula here, half aningredient list there � some or all of theinformation may be taken from this article.After the character has learned the correctingredients and procedure, gathered all thenecessities, and gone into seclusion, theprocedure outlined above is followed. Theenchantment is laid, the charges are en-tered, and presto! A new magic item isborn.A magic user casts enchant an item on

the properly prepared raw materials for theitem. This enchantment takes sixteen hours(2 eight-hour days), at the end of whichtime the magic-user pronounces a finalmagical syllable. The item must make asaving throw equal to that of the magic-user, including all of the magic-user�s bo-nuses up to +3. If the item saves, themagic has worked, and the item is ready tohave the necessary charges entered. Duringthis time, the item may never be placedmore than 1� away from the magic-user,and it must be touched during all periods ofactive enchantment.

For either clerical or magic-user items,the raw materials must be of the highestquality. No more than twenty-four hoursmay elapse between any actions when en-chanting the item.

Obviously, this is a lot of work. A playercharacter cleric or magic-user cannot alwaysafford to spend days and weeks away fromadventuring just to make one staff. Amagic-user or clerical assistant or hirelingcould make such items if a suitable arrange-ment can be worked out. Creating a magi-

cal item should not be made too easy, tokeep PCs from shovelling them out of theirlaboratories by the dozens.

The above procedures leave many ques-tions unanswered. What basic materials areneeded to make each rod, staff, or wand?How do you recharge the item � do youmerely blast a wand of lightning with alightning bolt of your own? How does aDM handle the recharging of an item like awand of metal and mineral detection, whichhas no corresponding spell for rechargingit? Can the same magical spell be used tocreate different magic items? Finally, how

Nice, but it doesn�t always happen thatway. DMs learn never to make anything tooeasy and never to give out a lot of correctinformation all at once. So, many charac-ters will begin the enchantments withoutknowing the correct rituals or ingredients tomake the item. Some will experiment with-out any preliminary research, trusting tochance and the gods for success.

Most of these characters will fail in theirquests. Some will attain limited success, afew will succeed, and a few may even endup with magic items that do unexpectedthings, like a wand of magic missiles thatdoubles as a duck call. Not all variations onprocedures or ingredients should be disal-lowed out of hand, although thoughtlessexperimentation should usually lead tofailure or disastrous backfiring.

The use of imperfect rituals and variantingredients gives DMs the chance to intro-duce unique magical items into the game.Of course, no magic item should unbalancethe campaign. The power of a magic itemmay be curbed by letting adversaries havesaving throws against its power, by limitingthe amount of damage per charge ex-pended, or by building a percentage chanceof failure into the magic item. Characterswho create unique magical items may risk agreater chance of having the item turn outimperfectly, adding considerable uncertaintyand excitement to the campaign. (Is mywand going to blow up or just turn me intoa frog?)

If a player wishes to introduce a newmagical item into the game, the DM shouldlay down some guidelines on how thatcharacter does his initial research. Oneinteresting possibility is for the player of

that character to do some actual research bygoing to the library and learning which typeof wood is said to attract lightning, whichgems cure disease, which metals providegood luck, etc. A warning: Such research,even today, is not easy. Aside from a fewhistories of medieval England and severalbooks on herbal lore, information on suchfolklore is scarce. Such research should beentirely optional and, if it is performed, wellrewarded (do not let the player argue downthe cost of making the item as a result,however). The benefits include a greatersense of participation by the player, morerealism, and less work for the DM.

The information garnered by such re-search can be used to complement or re-place the following material. Moreconventional and less taxing methods ofresearch, such as consulting sages, oracles,deities, or divine servants, will allow theDM to use the following listings more orless as written.

The base chance of finding the properprocedure for creating a unique item de-pends on the money spent. The minimumcost of such research is 2,000 gp a week,which produces a base 10% chance of suc-cess. The chance of success increases by10% every time the amount spent is hikedby 2,000 gp, up to a maximum chance of50%; when the cost is 10,000 gp per week.This money is used to buy tomes, hiresages, etc. The minimum time spent onsuch research equals in weeks the minimumlevel a character must be in order to suc-cessfully make the item. A wand of magicmissiles has a preparatory time of twelveweeks, a staff of the magi has a time ofeighteen weeks, and so forth.

To find the actual chance of success perweek of research, take the base chance, add1% per level of the character, plus 1% perintelligence point of the character (if amagic-user; use wisdom for clerics), minustwice the minimum required level to makethe rod, staff, or wand. Example: Mae, an18th-level magic-user, decides to make astaff of the magi. Her intelligence is 18, andshe spends 2,000 gp per week. Her chanceof success is 10% + 18% + 18% - 36% =10% per week, non-cumulative, for discov-ering the proper materials and proceduresfor making the magic item. The usual pro-cedure would be to have Mae do her initialresearch for eighteen weeks, and then rollthe percentile dice. Each time Mae fails toroll 10% or lower, she must lay out another2,000 gp and spend another week on re-search. If she is successful, she receives the

DRAGON 29

procedural list, puts the raw materials to-gether in the prescribed fashion, then pro-ceeds with the enchantment.

The drawback to the above method isthat it does not allow for variety. An alter-nate method would be to have the DM rollfor success each week throughout the initialpreparatory period. Each time the DM rollsthe given percentage or lower, he hands outsome correct information to the player.Every time the roll of the dice is unsuccess-ful by 40% or more, the DM hands outsome inaccurate information. This not onlyallows for variety (because the player has noway of knowing if the information is cor-rect), it also more accurately parallels a trueresearch situation, where truth and false-hood can be easily confused and inter-mixed. A kind DM may hand out trueinformation that contradicts falsehoodslearned earlier. The DM should be sure thatno success is possible before all necessaryfacts have been gathered, although theplayer should decide when his or her char-acter has sufficient and correct information.

If the character uses false information tocreate a magic item, leading to the use ofthe wrong enchantments or materials, thenthe DM rolls on the following table to deter-mine the result of the enchantments.

Dice Result01-65 Outright failure66-85 Limited success (the item will hold

only five charges, there are harm-ful side effects with the item�s use,or a unique and unwanted kind ofmagic item was created)

86-98 Success99-00 Success, and the item has a

unique and helpful feature

An indication of failure is just that; theitem will never work as was planned, andthe character must start over. A uniquefeature might be an innate ego within theitem, the ability to detect evil 50% of thetime, and so forth. No such unique featuresshould unduly change the balance of powerin the campaign, and negative featuresshould be strongly considered. (See theMalevolent Effects Tables for artifacts andrelics, DMG, pp. 162- 163.) A new kind ofmagic item could be a different rod, staff, orwand from the DMG, an item derived froma previous DRAGON® Magazine article, orsomething the DM has prepared for theoccasion. This procedure should neverresult in the creation of an artifact orequally powerful item; the newly createdmagic should be limited in its capabilities.

A 10% bonus should be added to rolls onthe above table if the player performedlibrary research on creating a particularitem. A 5% penalty should be subtractedfor every variation made in item creationfrom the standards given below (or thoseadopted in a particular campaign).

Methods of magical creationThe following are suggested procedures

for creating the various rods, staves, and

30 SEPTEMBER 1985

wands listed in the DMG. The DM mayeasily craft similar procedures for creatingitems introduced in the Unearthed Arcanabook, DRAGON Magazine articles, andother such sources. The minimum levelsrequired for a character of a class that canmanufacture these items are given as well.

Dungeon Masters should feel free to alter,amend, omit, or otherwise use this informa-tion as desired, particularly in the sectionsdescribing command words. In certainplaces, the text refers to information thatwill have been obtained during the initialinvestigation on how to create the item.Such information includes certain com-mand words, special spellsthe like. It is assumed that

or scrolls, andthe magic-item

maker will have gained such materialsto successfully making an item.

prior

Note that the creation of certain itemsmay call for spells that are beyond the capa-bilities of a spell caster to use at his currentlevel. The successful use of scrolls, rings ofspell storing, hired spell casters, and soforth will overcome this handicap, thoughthe DM may add an increased chance forthe creation procedure to fail or produce avariant item.

Also noteitem cannot

that recharging of a particularoccur during combat, such

that, for example, an enemy magic-usercasting a magic missile at a wizard with apartially depleted wand of magic missilescould unintentionally recharge the wand.The owner of the item must recharge suchitems in a relatively stress-free situation,unless specifically noted below (such as perthe wand of lightning�s recharging proce-dure, which could prove hazardous).

Rod of absorption (12th-level cleric, 16th-level magic-user): Take a green shoot froman apple at harvest time. Apple is a luckywood, able to store and release magic easily.Bury it in a cedar crate with a topaz � thebest stone for absorbing magic � and thestrongest magic item the maker of the rodhad used in the last year. Clerics must alsoinclude their holy symbol. A limited wishmust be cast now, to create a magical con-nection between the items in the crate.After one month, the topaz turns to dustand the magic item is ruined, but the rod isready to be enchanted. If the rod takes theenchantment (see above for the process),then a second spell included in the instruc-tions is read. The vellum on which thesecond spell was contained will burst intoflames. The rod is run through the flames,and the command word appears on the rod.It is now ready for use.

Rod of beguiling (10th-level cleric, 12th-level magic-user): The instructions for thisrod are divided between two differentscrolls, which the character will locate if allinstructions for making this item are found.If the spell on the second scroll is cast toosoon, the maker ishumanoid seen for

beguiled soone month

that everywill be con-

sidered a �best friend� to be given money,aid, and much advice. The first scroll in-structs the maker to find an isolated ash

tree; ash is known for its charm potential.Cut one branch from the morning side ofthe tree and another branch from the eve-ning side. Thus, opposing energies aresymbolically joined so that the rod will joinopposing wills to the wielder�s own. Bindthe two branches together, then give themto a nereid to hold underwater for one year.Next, bake the rod in a mud oven built forthis sole purpose. Enchant the rod. Readthe second scroll, on which a beguile spelland the command word are written. As longas the beguile spell is used solely for thepurpose of charging the rod, the spell willvanish from the scroll in the typical fashionas it is cast, but will reappear whenever acertain rare incense is burned underneathit. The incense can be purchased for 1,000gp. If the beguile spell is used in any otherfashion, it will rebound upon the caster inthe manner previously described. Note:Beguile, if cast in combat, will function as amass charm spell with a one-turn duration.

Rod of cancellation (12th-level cleric,16th-level magic-user): Take a thigh bonefrom an enchanter who died of old age.Shatter the bone so that one end reveals ahollow marrow. Place a black sapphire,known for its power to drink magic, into thehollow, and bind it in place using wire thatonce grounded a lightning rod. Take the rodto a high place, and stand it upright withthe sapphire to the sky. Read aloud the spell(included in the instructions) during a thun-derstorm; a lightning bolt will strike therod. The bone must save vs. lightning at -2or shatter. If the bone saves, the rod isempowered, and the command phraseglows inside the sapphire.

Rod of lordly might: Legend claims theseitems are made only by servants of a god ofweaponry in their spare time. If such a rodis tracked down, however, it might have thefollowing variations: is missing one or moreaspects of a normal rod of lordly might; hasonly the flaming sword as a weapon, butwith a fountain of cool water which can bemade to jet out the other end (as per thedecanter of endless water); has no weap-onry, but casts a hypnotic pattern whentwirled, acts as a shield +3 when raised,and detects magic and enemies.

Rod of resurrection (16th-level cleric):Take a 3� branch from a tree of goodness,the rowan, under the care of a treant. Carvethe thicker end into the form of a human-oid, adding jet eyes and ruby lips. Bind anamethyst, the only true stone of resurrec-tion, over the slender end of the rod. Placea mandrake root over the amethyst formagical power, bind it with a cloth soakedin the maker�s own blood, and wrap thecloth with silver wire. The ceremony toenchant the rod must use special robes andincense, as well as a building erected for theceremony. The outlay must reach 100,000gp. At the end of the ceremony, the com-mand word will issue forth once from themandrake, which shows the rod is activatedand fully charged.

Rod of rulership (10th-level cleric, 12th-level magic-user): Take the crown of a king,

DRAGON 31

and have it reworked into a cylindricalshape. Give it to a succubus for one month,then take it back, being careful not to hurtthe demon. This gives the rod the necessaryassociation with magics of fealty and charm-ing. Enchant the rod, then read the spellthat will be found in the instructions. Therod is fully charged, and its command wordis the name of the kingdom the king ruled.Optionally, the rod will affect 1/10 the num-ber of hit dice of creatures that the kingruled over.

Rod of smiting (12th-level cleric): Traceone�s clerical symbol on a tome for themaking of a golem, and place the rodthereon. During the next month, petitionthe deity twice a day that the rod be en-chanted. The rest of each day must be spentfasting and meditating. (Nourishment maybe taken after the sun has set). Proceed withthe usual enchantment process, but at theend, when the item is on the altar (still atopthe tome) and divine favor is visited uponthe rod, the tome must save as a book vs.fireball. If it saves, the rod vanishes, thenpops out of the tome when it is opened. Thetome is undamaged. Otherwise, the tomeburns and the cleric must retrieve the rodfrom the flames, bringing 3-30 points ofdamage upon himself (no save). The com-mand word is the name of the first fighterthat the cleric ever met.

Staff of command (10th-level cleric):Engrave the entire contents of the mostpopular speech of a successful politicianaround the trunk of an ash tree no morethan 6� in height, and no less than 5�.When the tree dies, lop it down with oneblow (giant strength use permitted), thenboil it in an ointment made of chicory,hound�s-tongue (the plant, not the animal),and the hide of a spirit naga. All threeingredients add to the ability of the staff tocommand obedience. Enchant the staff.Add charges by praying over the staff, onecharge per prayer The command phrase isthe first three words of the speech.

Staff of curing (16th-level cleric): Take abranch from a rowan that stands in a holyplace (like the temple grounds). Carve aholy symbol into a ginseng root that hasnaturally grown in the shape of a man (thisis the greatest root of healing). Begin theenchantment process. When it comes timeto place the staff on the altar, lay the gin-seng root at the tip of the staff. When divinefavor has been successfully invoked, theroot and staff will be seen to have joinedmagically,nal rowan

assuming the shape of the origi-branch (about 5� long) with the

texture of the ginseng root. The commandword is the name of the cleric�s deity. Onecharge is added to the staff for each-week ofnon-adventuring meditation the cleric per-forms. This meditation must be done in asecluded area, with precious incense burn-i n g c o n s t a n t l y .

Staff of the magi (1 &h-level magic-user):Take a 6� shaft of the wood of all greatmagics, oak. At the thick end, place a buttof applewood, the wood of gentleness. Atthe other end, a splinter of blackthorn, the

32 SEPTEMBER 1985

wood of aggression. Join the pieces with alimited wish. Rub the staff with a page fromthe spell book of a living wizard, but notone�s own book. Soak the staff in an oint-ment of ground quartz and bloodstone, forthe abjurative and elemental energies of thestaff, and drip in the juices of mandrakeand henbane. These last two dangerousherbs boost magical ability. Leave the staffin the ointment for six months. In themeantime, obtain small amounts of yeti furnever touched by another humanoid andmetal heated by a hell hound�s flame. Placethe metal and fur next to the staff, wrap itup with poplar bark (for the alterationenergies), and bind together with the web ofa giant spider. Wish into one unit. Enchantthe staff. Absorption is the only way thisstaff can be charged or recharged; at leastone charge must be added in the firsttwenty-four hours. The command word isthe name of the wizard from whom the spellbook page was taken.

Staff of power (18th-level magic-user):Oak is used for the staves that shoot light-ning bolts; baywood, for the others. Oak isassociated with lightning and is a morepowerful wood, but bay is more adaptable.Stone shape two pieces of obsidian, thestone of the gods, into rings that fit aroundthe 5� length of wood at each end. Etch amace into the obsidian at one end, a shieldinto the obsidian at the other. Place a pro-tective star sapphire into a jeweled bandaround the center of the staff. Sprinklebasil, an herb of light and darkness, overthe staff, then cover with the skin of a pow-erful magic-using creature (such as a ki-rinor red dragon) and enchant the staff. Wishthe staff and a scroll bearing the appropriatespells (check the DMG) into one unit. Oneside effect of the wish is that the staff will take on a smooth, silvery appearance, as ifthe staff were shod in metal. Add chargesby casting a friends spell on the staff, whilea helpmate slaps it against a subdueddragon (one charge per spell). The com-mand word is the name of the creaturewhose skin covers the staff.

Staff of the serpent (10th-level cleric):Enter a swamp wherein lives a mist dragon.Into a hummock of the swamp, away fromsight of solid ground, bury a swatch ofsnakeweed with a sprig of clove as a catalyz-ing agent. Call out a prayer. Within anhour, snakes will leap from the spot. Somewill be red (adders) and some green (con-strictors). Catch one. (Note: The snake willfight back.) Turn it into a staff with a snakesto sticks spell. Enchant the staff in the nor-mal fashion. The command phrase willcome in a dream on the night after the staffis sanctified.

Staff of striking (10th-level cleric): Take a6� length of ironwood, the wood of fighters.Bless the staff in a week-long ceremony.During this time, there is a 5% chance thata malign spirit will enter the staff, whichwill then cause the item to act as do bracersof defenselessness when it is used, althoughits normal functions will not be impaired.After the blessing, bathe the staff in the

juice of the plant of courage, the marigold.Enchant the staff. Charges are entered witheach day of fasting and meditation thereaf-ter, one charge per day; the command wordmust be chanted continuously by acolytesduring this time. The command word is thelast half of the deity�s name.

Staff of withering (16th-level cleric): Cuta 5� shaft of elder-wood, the wood of evil,from a place near the lair of an abhorrentcreature at midnight. Carve one�s holysymbol into the handle, an act which has a5% chance of calling a servant from theranks of one�s deity�s enemies to attack thecleric. Bind a garland of betony, whichenhances withering, to the staff. Thenenchant the staff while it rests in a goldcoffer filled with (un)holy water. Addcharges by casting one wither spell per dayonto the betony garland for fifty successivedays. Each spell adds a charge. The com-mand phrase is the verbal component of thewither spell.

Wand of conjuration (14th-level magic-user): Smear brimstone over a 2� length ofthe magical medlar wood. Light the brim-stone, then plunge it flaming into a vatcontaining the blood of all the creatures thewand will summon. Enchant the wand. Callan unseen servant and magic jar it into thewand. Using limited wish, enter two scrollsinto the wand � one bearing all themonster-summoning spells (I-VII), theother continual darkness and prismaticsphere. The command word will be foundin the instructions. Add charges by magicjarring more unseen servants into the wand,one charge per servant.

Wand of enemy detection (10th-levelcleric, 12th-level magic-user): Bind sard,alexandrite, ruby, and sapphire stonesaround a hazelwood shaft no more than 2�in length. This gives a good variety of per-ceptive abilities to the wand. Plunge thewand into a vat of rakshasa blood. Pull itout and dry over a cedarwood fire. Enchantthe wand. Add charges by reading friendsor know alignment spells from a scroll, onecharge per spell. The command word is thename of the first person who ever beat up orteased the maker of the wand as a child.

Wand of fear (10th-level cleric, 12th-levelmagic-user): Using the same methods as toenchant a rod, staff, or wand, the cleric ormagic-user enchants a fresh mandrake root.Then, the root is planted near a manticore�slair. After five seasons, harvest the man-drake patch that results. Take a branchfrom an aspen in the exact middle of a largeforest � aspens reveal their connection tofear in their trembling voices. Slice the tipof the wand, then enchant it as well. Overthe slice, set a mandrake. Cast a fear spell

�at the mandrake, which will save as a 5th-level fighter. Any mandrake that fails tosave oozes into the slit and gives the wandone charge. The command words are theverbal component of the fear spell.

Wand of fire (14th-level magic-user):Take a branch from a hundred-year-oldoak. Pour the still-hot blood of a fire-breathing creature over the wand. Set a fire

opal in a red dragon�s claw (blood and clawcannot come from the same creature) andaffix the claw to the slender end of the 1�wand. Carve the command word � thepersonal name of the dragon whose clawadorns the wand � into the wood. Enscrollthe spells to be entered, enchant the wand,and join scroll and wand with a limitedwish. Charge the wand by casting fire-related spells of at least 3rd level on theopal, one charge per spell. 1% of such spellswill backfire, possibly destroying the wandand harming the spell caster.

Wand of frost (14th-level magic-user):Gather the thigh bone of a yeti, and coverwith the esophagus of a white dragon. Bindthese together with rings of clear quartz.Pour holy water over the wand, and freezewith these successive spells: cone of cold,wall of ice and ice storm. Enchant thewand, and add charges by pronouncing thepersonal name of the slain dragon while anassistant casts cone of cold spells on thewand. The command word must be foundwith a limited wish.

Wand of illumination (10th-level cleric,12th-level magic-user): Cut a 2� boughfrom a living holly, and tip it with a cap ofsterling silver � the wood and metal be-loved of creatures of light. Carve the symbolof a god of light into the wand�s thick end.

Place a continual light spell on a scroll (as aspell, not so it illuminates the scroll), en-chant the wand, then burn the scroll underthe wand. Add charges by casting continuallight spells, one per charge, onto the god�ssymbol (which will absorb them). Thecommand word is the god�s name.

Wand of illusion (12th-level magic-user):Take the lowest branch of a poplar thatgrows in the garden of an illusionist. Mashjimson weed, plant of the illusory, and cakeit over the wand. Bind two of the stones ofdual aspect, alexandrite, to the wand (oneon each end). Cover with the hide of alesser devil. Enchant the wand. Add chargesby casting phantasmal force spells in such away that both alexandrites are affected bythe spell at once. The command word is themaker�s own name spoken backwards.

Wand of lightning (12th-level magic-user): During a thunderstorm, gather apiece of wood splintered from an oak bylightning. Before the rain stops, attach anamber tip to one end of the splinter (amberis associated with lightning in many oldtexts). Fashion a handle for the other end,using neutral laurel wood, attaching it withcopper wire. Enchant the wand. Go to aswamp, corner a will-o-wisp, and throw thewand through it (any hit passes through thecreature). The wand is then fully chargedand may be completely recharged in thesame manner. The command word is in theinstructions the maker originally found, butis unintelligible until the wand is activated.

Wand of magic detection (10th-levelcleric, 12th-level magic-user): Hollow outone end of a 2� length of myrtle, a woodsympathetic to magic. Cover with a slip ofcedarwood that extends 3� beyond thehollow end. This will dampen out all magi-

cal energies coming from directions otherthan the direction pointed. Place a pearl inthe hollow, and seal it in place using pinesap. Enchant the wand. Cast detect magicspells upon the pearl, one charge per spell.The command word is the first word of themost holy text in the land that the makerinhabits.

Wand of magic missiles (10th-level magic-user): Take amber from a place with adismal, rainy climate, then a sprig of sting-ing nettle from a place with a wonderful,sunny climate. Carry them together in acedar casket on a journey of not less than500 days. Carve a niche in a 2� length ofblackthorn, and place it in the nettle andamber. Using magical means, warp theblackthorn so that the nettle and amber aretrapped inside the wood, thus joining threevery aggressive ingredients. Enchant thewand. Join a scroll bearing a magic missilespell to the wand, using a limited wish.Carve the command word listed in theinstructions into the handle of the wand.Cast magic missile spells to charge, onecharge per spell. Each missile should spiralaround the wand and strike it on the en-graved command word.

Wand of metal and mineral detection(10th-level cleric, 12th-level magic-user):Cut the highest branch of a hazel tree onthe first night of harvest time. (Hazel isgood for any divinatory magic.) Let thebranch fall from the tree and be caught by afat thief before it hits the ground. Let the

DRAGON 33

thief take one end, the maker the other, andthe two bend the wood double. The makerpinches the branch at the bend until it snapsoff, leaving at least a 2� section left. He orshe then takes that section underground,near a pile of metals and minerals worth50,000 gp. Enchant the wand. Cast the spellof empowerment found in the instructions.(This spell cannot be used for any otherpurpose; it takes one turn to cast and hasverbal components only.) The pile of metalwill vanish, and the wand will be fullycharged. It can be recharged by casting thesame spell, at the rate of one charge gainedfor every 1,000 gp of metal piled up. Thecommand word is the name of the thiefsgrandmother.

Wand of negation (12th-level cleric, 14th-level magic-user): Break off the last livingbranch of a dying peach tree. (Anti-magicalagents are found in peach.) Preserve thebranch in a mixture of snake oil and apotion of longevity Drink the mixture overone week. (No anti-aging effects will befelt). Cover the wand with a cloth wovenfrom the fur of any magic-resistant creatureand bind the cloth with gold bands thathave smoky quartz gems inset. Smokyquartz is famed for its ability to captureenergies. Enchant the wand. Add chargesby casting dispel magic spells on the cloth,which still retains some of its magic resist-ance from the creature; charging may go abit slowly. The command word is found inthe instructions.

Wand of paralyzation (14th-level magic-user): Find a magical mirror of any sortwhich no longer has its magical properties.Shatter it at a time of ill omen. Choose ashard, and hammer it into one end of arotting branch of elderwood no longer than2�. Disintegrate all other pieces of the mir-ror. Pour essence of ghoul over the wand.Enchant the wand. Charges are entered bybathing the wand in an ointment made ofextract of Portuguese man-o-war. The wandmust soak in the ointment one week forevery charge entered. Due to evaporation, a1 HD portuguese man-o-war will be suffic-ient for only one bath (one charge).

Wand of polymorphing (12th-level magic-user): Take a root from a beech tree, thetree of multiple aspect. Bind a bit of amberwith an insect occluded inside it to theslender end of the 2� wand. Carve the nameof the insect into the amber. Enchant thewand, and charge with polymorph spellscast on the beech tree from which the wandcame, one charge/spell. No illusory spellwill function within 10� of that beech untilthe wand is ruined. The command wordmust be a rhyme including the name of theinsect occluded in the amber and of thecreature to which the user intends the trans-formation. For instance, �Grasshopper toAtlantis, make him a mantis!�

Wand of secret door and trap location(10th-level cleric, 12th-level magic-user):Take a 1� length of ivory. Scribe into it theverbal component of a true seeing spell or a

limited wish specially worded so that secretdoors and traps will appear upon use of thecommand word. The command word is inthe instructions. Enchant the wand.Charges are added by holding aloft a lan-tern which has a six-sided star etched intoits glass. Inside the lantern is placed a gem-stone worth 100 gp. The wand is held in theother hand, and the spell read off the wand.At the end of the spell, light blazes from thelantern, the diamond vanishes, and acharge is entered.

Wand of wonder: This wand is alwaysmade unintentionally. There is a 10%chance of a wand of wonder resulting ifeither of the following fail to save againstenchant an item: a wand of conjuration or awand of illusion. 20% of such wands areactive only for their maker, being worthlessto anyone else. The reverse applies to theother 80% of wands of this sort.

Final notesClerics cannot read instructions aimed for

magic-users, nor magic-users those aimedfor clerics. Tools used in making magicitems must be of the highest quality andmade solely for this task. Substitutionsshould create the possibility of the rod, staff,or wand malfunctioning, perhaps a 5% persubstitute. Generally, gold or silver wiremay be used to attach the separate parts ofthese magic items � unless, of course, inyour campaign only demon ichor is aproper binding agent.

34 SEPTEMBER 1985

The latest super-hero RPG:Done Cleverly, but Definitely ComplexReviewed by Jeff Grubb

[A note to the reader: Check the name ofthe reviewer Right. That guy. The one whowrote that “other” super-hero game. Iprovide this caveat only because gamereviews done by people in the business aremore common than some of us might real-ize, and the responsible reviewer should letthe responsible consumer know about thisup front. Consider yourselves informed.]

DC Comics is represented in the super-hero role-playing game field with a powerfulnew entry, the DC HEROES ROLE PLAY-ING GAME. The release of this game hasbeen delayed several times, and has resultedin a hefty boxed game packing a hefty $17price tag.

The wait has been worth it. This is a nota bad game. In fact, it�s the best that May-fair Games has done yet.

It is not, however, the epitome of simplic-ity and easy-to-play mechanics as claimedin the promotional copy. It is a massivework encompassing five books ranging from16 to 96 pages each, plus a judge�s screen,character cards, stand-up counters (withbases), and two heavyweight dice. It is noteasy to get all the components back into thebox after unpacking them.

Designer Greg Gorden & Co. use thelarge amount of pages to explain the systemin a clear, reasonable fashion. They succeedin a very user-friendly set of rules that areenjoyable to read without making the readerlose track of what they are teaching. Therules have a bad case of Significant Capitals(where every Word of Importance is Capi-talized, dodging between Upper Case andLower Case), but in general the designerhas gone for clarity in defining the DCheroes.

Each DC hero has nine major attributes(along with a whole host of background,initiative, powers, and skills, but they ex-plain those later). The Physical Skills areDexterity, Strength, and Body. The MentalAttributes are Intelligence, Will, and Mind.The Mystical Attributes are Influence,Aura, and Spirit. The last three are for usein Magical Combat and with Powers.

Gorden then redivides these attributes ina different fashion. Dexterity, Intelligence,and Influence are used to determine if acharacter successfully makes a Physical,Mental, or Mystical attack. Strength, Will,and Aura determine how much damage onecan inflict in such an attack, while Body,Mind, and Spirit are effectively Physical,Mental, and Metaphysical hit points. It�s avery clean approach, aided by clear graph-ics on the description cards.

Each attribute has a number of attribute

points (sorry . . . Attribute Points), or AP.These AP range from about 2 for a normalperson�s characteristic to around 50 forSuperman�. The points increase on a loga-rithmic scale, so that each additional pointof AP reflects a doubling of ability. A char-acter with a Strength AP of 30 is twice asstrong as someone with a Strength of 29.This makes characters like Superman feasi-ble (and in fact, the system leans towardhandling the powerhouses better than thedarknight detectives). Superman merely has248 times more strength than Jimmy Olsen�.

Now, everything in this game is mea-sured in AP. Time is in AP (1 round = 1-4seconds = 0 AP of time, while 10 AP is anhour and 20 AP a month). Distance is inAP. Weight and volume are given in AP.Even information is measured in AP (thisarticle is 2 AP or so). This means that inorder to figure out what is going on, theGamemaster has to be able to convert our�real� system, with all its oddball units, toAP, and then back again. Fortunately, thetext provides some good guidelines forhandling this, though this makes the judge�sscreen a necessity. Once values are con-verted to AP, the mechanics for handlinghuge numbers is simplified. In one exam-ple, they explain why Wonder Woman� canthrow Mount Everest 40 feet, an examplethat illustrates the basic silliness of comics ingeneral.

All actions are resolved on two tables, anAction Table and a Result Table. Everyaction involves a character�s attribute andan opponent�s attribute, which are cross-referenced on the Action Table to produce anumber from 3 on up, called the SuccessNumber. The player must roll that number

or greater on two ten-siders to succeed inthe action, whether this be deciphering ariddle or pasting one on the Penguin�.Rolling double ones is always failure, butany other roll of doubles gives you an extraroll, and the two results are added together.If the result of the roll(s) is over 11, columnshifts are gained on the Result Table. If thecharacter succeeds, other attributes arecompared on the Result Table (with columnshifts gained again for rolling over 11) todetermine the degree of success, such as thenumber of points of Body damage metedout in an attack.

This system sounds complicated, and itis. But, as I said before, the designers/writers/editors broke this very complicatedprocess down and spread its description outbetween three books. Not the best situationfor finding information, but excellent forlearning a detailed resolution system.

In addition to all of the above, thecolumn or row referenced on a table may bemodified by spending Hero Points, similarto James Bond�s Hero points or Karmafrom the MARVEL SUPER HEROES�game. In this case, however, spending HeroPoints provides column shifts, and hero andvillain may engage in bidding wars to shovethe final number needed up or down.

While such social interactions as interro-gation, persuasion, and investigation arealso resolved using the same two tables, thetables� primary function is the resolution ofcombat. The Player�s Manual delineates awhole bunch of tricky maneuvers, includingblindsiding, pulling your punch, and multi-ple attacks. Combat is the basis of comic-book conflict, and it is well representedhere.

Hero points are awarded for defeatingsuitably powered bad guys and for complet-ing subplots. Subplots are small personaladventures of the heroes in their alter-egosand with their friends and family, and areset up in conjunction between the GM andthe player. The player will recieve a numberof Hero Points for successfully completing asubplot (example: prevent a nosy reporterfrom discovering secret identity). It is up tothe GM to set up the subplots, but theplayer has the right to �pull the plug� if theGM starts torturing the hero�s friends andfamily indiscriminately.

The game provides a lot of heroes to runwith, keying on DC�s most popular group,the Teen Titans�. Twenty-five heroes aregiven full stats in the books, with most ofthem represented on individual 3½-by-4¼inch cards listing their abilities and powers.Some of the attributes and abilities given inthe book are different from those given on

DRAGON 37

the cards (the cards are correct).The plethora of ready-made characters is

good, because the character generationsystem is so complex that it can take, in thedesigners� words, �up to an hour� to createa character. Character generation is similarto the system in the Champions� game, inthat the player has a certain number ofpoints to spend on building his hero, withthe option to increase his point supply bybuilding in limitations and vulnerabilities.The super-powers are listed in a separatebook under their physical, mental, andmystical headings, as well as skills available.In a nice touch, the rules include a�Batman� Option� where the character

is low on attributes and powers but high onskills and gadgetry.

The first three books (Introductory, Play-er�s, and Powers Books) concentrate pri-marily on the game mechanics, and the DCheroes do not appear except in examples.The Game Master Manual goes a long waytoward bringing out the color of the DCUniverse. Not only are there quick tours ofMetropolis�, Gotham City�, and CentralCity� (with maps!), there is also a 16-page,impossible-to-read-without-ripping-it-out-of-the-book map of the Titans Tower�. Thisis a nice touch, and in many ways is theicing on the cake.

A word on production quality and meth-ods, which often affect the playability of agame but are seldom mentioned: The inte-rior layout of this ruleset is a gem, withreasonable use of two-color (red and blacktype) that does not overwhelm but doeshighlight the rules. Art is minimal but goodwhere it appears, though more illos of theheroes, villains, and aliens would be appre-ciated (what the heck does a Grafalloon�look like, anyway?). The cover is badlymuddled, however, and the three-part logois a mistake. (It�s easy to misread the nameof the game as �Heroes.�)

The legal copy in this game, by the way,would choke a moose, and this RPG mayset the record for largest amount of legaltext in micro-type anywhere. They listevery trademarked character in the book,and then some, and even the thin playingpieces carry legal copy that totally fills oneside. This is not meant as a criticism ofMayfair, but rather a recognition of the taskinvolved in licensing.

In summary, this is the best product Ihave yet seen from Mayfair Games. As adesigner of the distinguished competition,Gorden�s approach had me nodding myhead in agreement over his handling of theDC mythos. But lest the point be lost, let�ssay it again: This is not an easy or an intro-ductory game. It�s more in the league of theChampions game, with better presentation,rather than an introductory game. Comeinto it with some background in role-playing.

And me? I�m going back to the lab. Ilove good competition.

38 SEPTEMBER 1985

ContentsAlcor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Avari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41Automaton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42Bogeyman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43B u r b u r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Creeping Pit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44Dracones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44F o r c h o r e a i . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 5Gargorian. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Gu�Armori . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46Hamadryad . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47Hawkdragon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Lhiannan Shee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48Mantimera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49Metal Mimic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49O r p s u . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 0Pilfer Vine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51Righteous Clay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51S e a G i a n t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2Tener . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 3T h e n d a r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4Tundra Beast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54Wind Thrower . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55Y a l e . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 5

C r e d i t s

DesignersMichael Persinger: Alcor; Gargorian.Alex Gray: Automaton.Scott Bennie: Avari.Gregg Chamberlain: Bogeyman; Sea Giant.Ed Greenwood: Burbur; Hamadryad; Orpsu.Dan Proulx: Creeping Pit.K.L. Campbell: Dracones.Peter Zelinski: Forchoreai.

Bruce Barber: Gu�Armori.Richard Stump: Hawkdragon; Pilfer Vine.Roger E. Moore: Lhiannan Shee.Gregory Detwiler: Mantimera; Metal Mimic; Yale.Howard Granok: Righteous Clay.Stephen Inniss: Tener.Douglas Lent: Thendar, Tundra Beast.Scott Stansfield: Wind Thrower.

ArtistsMarsha Kauth: Alcor; Bogeyman; Dracones; Gu�Armori; Hamadryad; Metal Mimic; Righteous Clay; Tundra Beast.Dave LaForce: Automaton; Burbur; Forchoreai; Hawkdragon; Orpsu; Sea Giant; Wind Thrower,Roger Raupp: Cover illustration; Avari; Creeping Pit; Gargorian; Lhiannan Shee; Mantimera; Pilfer Vine; Tener;

Thendar; Yale.

40 SEPTEMBER 1985

ALCORFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 2-8ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVE: 9" walking, 24" skiingHIT DICE: 3% IN LAIR: 10%TREASURE TYPE: K,MNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 tail strike;

or, 2 claws and 1 biteDAMAGE/ATTACK: 3-12 or 1-3/1-3/l-4SPECIAL ATTACKS: Tail strike, possible

missile fireSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Animal to lowALIGNMENT NeutralSIZE: MPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II/65 +3/hp

The alcor is a distant relative of the lizardman that has adapted itself to life in a frigidclimate. It has earned the nickname �theskier� because of the mode of travel it fre-quently uses. By balancing itself on itslarge, flat tail, the alcor can glide acrosssnow and ice (downhill only; no self-propulsion is involved) at a 24� movementrate. It can also move fairly quickly on itslegs, but generally only uses this form oflocomotion for short distances or if travers-ing flat or rising terrain.

The alcor is carnivorous and primarilyconcerned with obtaining food. However, afew groups (10% chance for each small

band encountered) are composed of rela-tively intelligent specimens that havelearned to fashion crude weapons. Thesealcors carry small darts and javelins fash-ioned from sharp stones and wood (doing 1-3 and 1-6 hp damage respectively) for use asmissile weapons. The more intelligent sortswill also carry spears for use in close com-

bat. When charging to attack using itsskiing movement, the alcor has a +2 bonusto hit and does double damage with thespear. When the charge is complete, thecreature will usually drop its weapon andengage its opponent with its claws.

The alcor�s razor-sharp claws do 1-3 hpdamage per hit, and it can bite for 1-4 hpdamage. These attacks may be used againsta single foe or divided between two targetsin a round. The creature can also attackwith its tail (when not skiing) at the rate ofone tail-slap every two rounds. A strike bythe tail does 3-12 hp damage, and a targethit by the tail must save versus petrificationor be knocked down. Opponents of size Shave a -4 penalty to this saving throw, andthose of size L receive a bonus of +5. Atarget that is knocked down forfeits anyattack(s) it would otherwise have beenentitled to in the remainder of the currentround, and also cannot attack during thefollowing round while it regains its feet. Allattacks against a target that has beenknocked down are made at +4 to the at-tacker�s chance �to hit.�

If an alcor chooses to attack with its tail, it cannot use claw or bite attacks in thesame round. If it knocks down an oppo-nent, it will attack that foe in preference toany others during the following round.

The two types of alcors will never befound in the same group or in the same lair,but if weapon-users and the less intelligentvariety are somehow brought together theywill work in concert against a commonenemy, thereafter going their separate waysagain.

AVARIFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: -4MOVE: 9”/15"(MC:C)HIT DICE: 9 + 3% IN LAIR: 15 %TREASURE TYPE: CNO. OF ATTACKS: 2 claws and 1 biteDAMAGE/ATTACK: 7-l2/7-12/7-18SPECIAL ATTACKS: poisonous bite,

screech, surprise on 1-5SPECIAL DEFENSES: Various immunities

and resistances, rarely surprisedMAGIC RESISTANCE: 35%INTELLIGENCE: Very to highALIGNMENT: Neutral evilSIZE: M (6’ tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IX/5700 + 14/hp

Avari are batlike humanoids native to theMiddle Lower Planes, where they are theunfortunate rivals of daemonkind for terri-tory. There they dwell in dank caverns filledwith bats, and are usually encountered insimilar surroundings on the Prime MaterialPlane.

Avari love the taste of human flesh, and

their saliva contains a powerful poison thataffects the victim�s nervous system; anyonebitten by an Avari must save vs. paralyza-tion or writhe in agony for 4-16 rounds,

with the same effect as a symbol of pain. Anavari may also screech like a mobat (6"radius), but may not bite in the sameround.

DRAGON 41

Avari telepathically command all bats andcan summon 1-4 mobats up to three timesper day. They are unaffected by non-magical weapons, paralysis, poisons, andacid attack forms, take half damage fromcold, electricity, and magic missiles, buttake full damage from fire.

Avari long ago dwelt in a central commu-nity, but their wars against daemonkindshattered their unity and forced them toexist as isolated clans in the most desolatereaches of their planes. They do not deservepity, for the avari are among the cruelest

races of the Lower Planes, and love torturefor its own sake.

In the few places where avari flourish,they have set up a feudal system usingslaves to satisfy their whims; as they oftenfeed upon these serfs, the efficiency of thissystem is questionable. They have beenknown to negotiate with humans, particu-larly for gold (which avari crave), and willmanipulate adventurers into attacking theirenemies. They will usually try to eat anyonewho appears incapable of resistance. Avarioccasionally come to the Prime Material

Plane via gates cast by other individuals,and certain forms of magic have provensuccessful in summoning them, through theuse of the personal names which all avaripossess.

Due to their acute sonar senses, avarisurprise opponents on a 1-5 on a d6, andare surprised only on a 1. They see into theultraviolet and infrared spectrums, andtelepathically communicate with all crea-tures of low intelligence or better. Theyhave huge leathery wings and are brown-green in color.

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 or byweapon type

SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: See belowINTELLIGENCE: Non-ALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: 5% S, 75% M, 20% LPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: Variable

Automatons are robotlike constructssimilar to golems. They are usually human-oid in appearance, although other forms arepossible. Unlike golems, they must be con-structed in such a way as to permit move-ment; i.e., if an automaton is to be able towalk, it must have legs with joints in theappropriate places. Automatons may beconstructed of many things: normal objectssuch as chains and thick ropes, suits ofarmor, full skeletons, mechanical arms, andso forth. Parts may be mixed and matched;for instance, an automaton may have atorso taken from a suit of plate mail, andchains for arms. The only restriction is thatan automaton�s body (torso) and arms(forelimbs) must both be composed of thesame substance, and that substance must begenerally classifiable as either bone, leather,metal, or wood. An automaton made pri-marily of bone has an armor class of 9; oneof leather or rope has AC 8, and one ofmetal has AC 3.

An automaton made entirely or partly ofmagical components will not retain any ofthe magical characteristics of those compo-nents; if a helm of brilliance is used as ahead, for instance, the helm will lose itsmagical powers when the automaton isenchanted.

Any cleric or magic-user of sufficientlyhigh level can create an automaton. First,the creator must acquire the necessarymaterials and have them assembled into the

42 SEPTEMBER 1985

A U T O M A T O N

FREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1-2ARMOR CLASS: See belowMOVE: 9�HIT DICE: 1 HD per foot of height% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 per pair of forelimbs

desired form by a tinker, engineer, armorer,or other such specialist. The cost for materi-als and labor is 1,000 gp per hit point, andit takes 1 day per hit point to acquire andassemble the materials. When the construc-tion is complete, the creator must cast asequence of spells upon it, in the ordergiven:

A cleric must use animate object, raisedead (if organic components are involved),prayer, bless, and quest.

A magic-user must cast geas, limitedwish, animate dead (if organic componentsare involved), and enchant an item. Ineither case, all spells must be cast personallyby the creator and not read from scrolls.

When the magicking process is complete,the automaton can receive and act uponcommands issued by its creator, in the samemanner that a golem is controlled.

An automaton can be repaired by itscreator (assuming the availability of suitablematerials), regaining 5 hp per day spent inrepairs, up to the automaton�s original hit-point total. However, if an automaton losesmore than one-third of its original hitpoints, it cannot be repaired. Automatons

take damage from different attack formsaccording to the primary substance fromwhich they were constructed:

Bone Leather Metal RopeAcid half full half fullBlunt

weapons half none none noneCold none h a l f n o n e n o n eEdged

weapons half full none doubleElectricity none none h a l f n o n eFire half ha l f none double

All automatons are unaffected by poison,mind-affecting magic, gases, normal mis-siles, and magic missiles.

Certain spells will instantly kill an autom-aton, depending upon its primary sub-stance. If it is a mixture of substances, thoseparts made of the material in question willbe affected. For example, an automatonwith a metal upper body and legs made ofbones will have its legs destroyed by a raisedead spell. It would theoretically retain itsmovement rate, but would have no meansof getting around, although it could stillattack with its arms if a target came withinreach. The spells that will destroy an au-tomaton are as follows:

Bone � animate dead, raise dead, rein-carnate, resurrection

Leather � blade barrier, Mordenkainen�ssword

Metal — disintegrate, transmute metal towood

Rope � blade barrier, fire storm, ropetrick

Any automaton can be destroyed by theapplication of three dispel magic spells orthree hold monster spells, or any combina-tion of the two types equalling three, if eachsubsequent casting is made within 1 turn ofthe previous casting. Each spell will lowerthe movement rate of the automaton by 3"for 1 turn thereafter, and if its movementrate is brought to 0� the automaton be-comes an inanimate heap of junk.

Any automaton has a strength of at least16, with 1 extra point for each 2� of heightover 6� up to a maximum strength of 25.Automatons of 10� or more in height willdo 1-10 hp damage per hit, or perhaps evenmore for exceptionally large creations.Damage figures do not include strengthbonuses.

BOGEYMANFREQUENCY: UncommonNO. APPEARING: 1 or 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 10MOVE: 12�HIT DICE: 2% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 2 clawsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3SPECIAL ATTACKS: Illusion, scareSPECIAL DEFENSES: DarknessMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Semi-ALIGNMENT Chaotic evilSIZE: SPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II/44 + 2/hp

A truly despicable creature, the bogey-man is a type of psychic leech that feeds onthe fear and terror it creates in its victims,who are usually young children. The bogey-man attacks at night when its victim isalone in a darkened room. It surroundsitself with a form of continual darkness witha radius of 5 feet and uses phantasmal forceand audible glamer to create night terrorsout of familiar objects in the room. If theintended victim proves resistant to theillusion, the bogeyman will use its ability toscare, causing the target to fall into a trem-bling fit and allowing the creature to feedon the fear that the victim exudes.

The bogeyman does not confine its choiceof victims to children. Lone travelers jour-neying through deserted woodlands or

desolate moors, or a solitary person walkingalong a dark city street, may also find them-selves victimized by this creature. A bogey-man usually appears alone, but in the citythere is a 5% chance that 1-4 of these crea-tures will gang up on some unfortunatetarget.

Anyone attempting to attack a bogeymanwill do so at -4 �to hit� because of thesphere of darkness surrounding the crea-ture. Infravision and ultravision are uselessagainst this magical darkness, but the bo-geyman can see through it to the area be-yond. When forced to fight, the bogeymancan attack twice per round with its claws. It

uses each of its innate spell-like abilities(phantasmal force, audible glamer, scare,and continual darkness) at the 5th level ofability, and can employ each type of magictwice per day.

If its darkness aura is dispelled, the bo-geyman is revealed as a puny-looking, 3�-tall creature with a bulging head, staringeyes, and dead-white skin. Because of itscowardly nature, the bogeyman will fleeimmediately from any strong opposition orupon losing its protective darkness. It willhead for the nearest large patch of darknessand attempt to conceal itself until it can re-use its continual darkness ability.

BURBURFREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: 9MOVE: 13�HIT DICE: 1-1% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 bite (vs. mosses,

slimes, and molds only)DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-8 (targets

as above)SPECIAL ATTACKS: NilSPECIAL DEFENSES: Immunities; also

see belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Animal to lowALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S (6 inches to 1� long)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: I/14 + 1/hp

Burburs are small, curious-looking worm-like creatures with large, glistening blackeyes, sucking tube-mouths of considerabledexterity, tiny forelegs like a sprite�s thatcan climb, grip, and manipulate objects,and a body that swells up like a balloon

when the animal is engorged.Burburs are always hungry, and

consists entirely of slimes, molds, andmosses - including all the sorts that arehighly dangerous to most other creatures. Aburbur can eat such things as olive slime,green slime, obliviax moss, or brown, yel-low, and russet molds (and any sporesproduced by any of the above) withoutharm to itself, and indeed prizes these deli-cacies, attacking them in preference to morecommon varieties of the species.

A burbur is immune to the attacks ofyellow musk creepers, zygoms, and violetfungi, but does not find these things edible.

It is affected normally by oozes, jellies,poisonous vapors, and other creatures orspell attacks.

Burburs wander constantly in search of

DRAGON 43

food, and are sometimes encountered feed-ing in groups of 1-4. They are valued byadventurers, who may pay up to 1,000 gpfor a healthy specimen. They are docilecompanions, and will not attack their keep-

ers, or stray, so long as they are fed regu-larly (a full meal at least once a day). Onceevery dozen years or so, a burbur will swellup to double size, develop a second mouthand set of legs, and split into two smaller

burburs. The creatures are ivory to yellowin color, and are able to absorb or give offmoisture through their skins. They have aspicy body odor, somewhat similar to thesmell of cinnamon.

CREEPING PITFREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: Not applicableMOVE: 12�HIT DICE: See below% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 engulfmentDAMAGE/ATTACK: See belowSPECIAL ATTACKS: Engulfment, cast

victims into Astral PlaneSPECIAL DEFENSES: Immunity to

physical and magical attacksMAGIC RESISTANCE: See belowINTELLIGENCE: UnratableALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: L (6� diameter, 10� deep)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/1000

An extremely curious and rare phenome-non, a creeping pit is created when a bag ofdevouring (see DRAGON® issue #89,�Ihagnim� in Creature Catalog I) is placedwithin a portable hole. The combination ofthese two magical items opens a rift to theAstral Plane, which closes in one hour. Theclosed rift then changes, for reasons un-known, into a creeping pit.

The creeping pit has a quasi-sentience,and it seems to stay in the general area inwhich it was created. The pit looks exactlylike a mobile portable hole, and it is always6� in diameter and 10� deep. It can movefreely over any fairly level surface, and cantravel up and down ramps (but not stairs).

Any live creature coming within 30� ofthe creeping pit will be �attacked� by it; thepit attempts to slide under the creature�sfeet, causing it to fall in. The only way toavoid falling in the pit is to jump to anyavailable area not occupied by the pit. Tosee if the creature has avoided the pit, roll a20-sided die; if the result is below or equalto that creature�s dexterity, then the crea-ture has avoided falling in. If the result is

higher, the creature has fallen into the pit.There must be available floor space towhich a potential victim can jump in orderto even try to avoid the pit.

A creature falling into a pit will usuallytake 1-6 hp damage when hitting bottom,but sometimes (10%) there will be sufficientgarbage at the bottom to break the fallwithout harm. Any victim may easily getout of the pit if the means are at hand, butthat creature will then be subsequentlyattacked by the pit, and the victim may findhimself in a new area. (The pit is always onthe move and can easily slide under doors).

Creeping pits are not affected by any typeof magical spell or weapon attack. The onlyway to affect a pit is to create another extra-dimensional hole inside it. This can be doneby casting a gate within it, or by throwing abag of holding or portable hole into the pit.This will reopen the pit�s interdimensional

rift, and creatures and objects within a 10�radius of the pit must make a save vs. spellor be swept into the Astral Plane. This riftwill then close in one hour, the creeping pitdestroyed. Creatures in the Astral Planewill not be able to use the rift to get backinto the Prime Material Plane, as it is aone-way opening only.

Even if a creature cannot escape from acreeping pit, it will probably end up in theAstral Plane. For every hour that material(living or non-living) is in the pit, there is a25% chance that it will �fade� into theAstral Plane.

Even though a creeping pit cannot bekilled in the conventional sense, experiencepoints should be awarded by the DM ifcharacters overcome it by creating a holewithin the pit as outlined above, or byfilling it with some substance, making iteasy to walk upon.

D R A C O N E S

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: -3MOVE: 15�HIT DICE: 9 (+3 hp per level of fighter

lord over 9th)% IN LAIR: 95%TREASURE TYPE: CNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 bite and

1 constriction

DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-9 and 3-10SPECIAL ATTACKS: Fear, blinding,

constriction, possible magic andpsionics use

SPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: 10% (+5% per

level of fighter lord over 9th)INTELLIGENCE: Average to geniusALIGNMENT: Any neutral alignmentSIZE: L (30� long)PSIONIC ABILITY: See below

Attack/Defense Modes: See below

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VII to IX/2500+ 12/hp to 5400 + 14/hp

A dracones is a large constrictor snakethat inhabits the tomb of a dead fighter lord(excluding all subclasses of fighters, butincluding dual-classed and multi-classedfighters). Through long association with thetomb, the snake becomes possessed by thewarrior�s spirit and is altered to become amagical creature.

Once per day, the dead warrior�s spirit

44 SEPTEMBER 1985

may separate from the serpent for up to onehour and manifest itself in a ghostly form(AC 0; MV 6�; HD and hp as per above;attacks as described below). The spirit willcause its viewers to save vs. spell or flee inpanic for 4-16 rounds. During this time, theserpent will return to its normal state as anonmagical snake. While the spirit and theserpent are united, the snake has the war-rior�s knowledge of battle (hence the hit diceand hit points) and all previous magicalpowers (if any) and psionic abilities.

In battle, the dracones can bite and con-strict in the same round; if it hits with itscoils, it need not hit again in order to inflictdamage by constriction. The draconesglows with a blinding light which causes itsopponents to fight at -2 on �to hit� anddamage rolls. If the dracones begins to losea battle, it may play dead or try to escape.If it truly dies, the warrior�s spirit will takeup residence in a new serpent, if any be-come available in the future.

A dracones drops the weaker half of thewarrior�s alignment and takes up partialneutrality when in snake form. For in-stance, a chaotic evil warrior will becomechaotic neutral or neutral evil in snakeform, depending upon whether he was moreevil or more chaotic in life. A dracones willonly fight to defend itself and its tomb, but

it is often lonely and will try to speak withtravelers; there are legends of draconesbefriending adventurers who pass the timewith them. Occasionally, a dracones canconvince a party to have the warrior lordresurrected or otherwise raised. The snakeand rejuvenated hero will refuse to be sepa-rated afterward, and still retain a kind ofmental communion effective at any range.

A dracones appears to be a 30� -longserpent with metallic scales that glow faintlywith magical energy Its eyes are jet black.It may speak the languages known to thedead warrior in either snake or spirit form.Treasure found with a dracones consists ofwhat was buried with the warrior and whatthe snake may have accumulated by fight-ing to protect the tomb.

F O R C H O R E A I

FREQUENCY: Common on HappyHunting Grounds; very rare elsewhere

NO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 2MOVE: 33�HIT DICE: 4 + 10% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 6-24SPECIAL ATTACKS: Surprise 95% of

the timeSPECIAL DEFENSES: Rarely surprised,

regeneration, spell use, save as a 10th-level cleric, +1 on reactions

MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: VeryALIGNMENT: Chaotic goodSIZE: L (7� tall at shoulder)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/330 + 5/hp

Forchoreai (for-KOR-ee-aye) are crea-tures found on the Happy HuntingGrounds, residing there naturally alongwith unicorns, pegasi, and scores of oddvarieties of wildlife. Forchoreai appear to belarge, white or gray stags, with pearly ant-lers valued as high as 750 gp per set on thePrime Material Plane.

Forchoreai are very quick; this is thereason for their low armor class and supe-rior saving throws. They gain a +1 on allreaction throws, and are surprised only on a1 in 8 chance. They regenerate at a rate of 2

hp/round and move silently, hear noise, andhide in terrain (like hide in shadows) as a17th-level thief, surprising opponents 95%of the time. In addition, they have thefollowing spell-like powers which they cast,one at a time, once per round, at the 10thlevel of ability: detect snares and pits, non-

detection, pass without trace, protectionfrom evil, and speak with plants and ani-mals. Once per day, they may use invisibil-ity mirror image, misdirection, and plantdoor. A forchoreai may cast heal on anybeing but itself, once per week. The powersabove will work on the wildlife and resi-dents of both the Happy Hunting Groundsand the Prime Material Plane.

Forchoreai that are killed as part of ahunt on the Happy Hunting Grounds willbe resurrected after a period of three days.This is a common trait of many of theanimal-like creatures of this plane, whichare hunted for sport and in ritual by theplane�s inhabitants. Forchoreai will onlyfight if cornered, and then only with theirpowerful antlers.

These beasts are very rarely encounteredon the Prime Material Plane, usually in theservice of a powerful, good (but non-lawful)ranger or elf. The circumstances underwhich such a character may gain a forcho-reai vary, but such help can be had but oncein a person�s lifetime.

G A R G O R I A N

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 0MOVE: 1 0 � / 1 8 � ( M C : C )HIT DICE: 12% IN LAIR: 80%TREASURE TYPE: CNO. OF ATTACKS: 4 claws, 1 bite, and

1 tail slash; or, 4 weaponsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-8/2-8/2-8/2-8/

3-12/1-6 or 4 weapons, by typeSPECIAL ATTACKS: Continuous damageSPECIAL DEFENSES: +1 or better

weapon to hit, regenerationMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AverageALIGNMENT: Chaotic evilSIZE: M (6’ tall)

DRAGON 45

PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

weaker cousin. This 6�-tall, four-armedmonstrosity is on friendly terms with regu-lar gargoyles, though the latter do not wor-ship them. They will almost always work incooperation with each other, though theyhave been known to clash at times. Like itssmaller relative, the gargorian can only behit by +1 or better weapons.

The gargorian can attack in two differentways, naturally (with clawed hands, a bite,and a tail slash) or by the use of weapons. Ifthe natural attack mode is used and two ormore arms hit the same opponent, theopponent is seized and takes an additional 7hp of rending damage. Anyone with astrength of 15 or better can break free im-mediately (though still taking damage thatround). Anyone with a strength of 10-14will be trapped for 1-3 rounds, afterwardbreaking free. During this time, the grasp-ing arms do not need to roll to hit; they donormal damage, as well as the 7 points ofrending damage. Arms that aren�t grasp-ing, as well as the tail and the bite, must

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII/4950 + 16/hp

A variant offshoot of the gargoyle race,the gargorian is far less common than its

roll to hit. Anyone with a strength of 9 orbelow will be trapped until the gargorianchooses to release him. Grasped charactersmay still attack with no �to hit� penalties,so long as they are using weapons 3� or lessin length. Other weapons may not be used.

The gargorian is sometimes armed withfour longswords (or other weapons 4� orless in length). If this attack mode is used, itdoes not get to utilize its bite or tail attacksand it cannot grasp-opponents. When usingweapons, the creature gets �to hit� anddamage appropriate for a being with 19strength (+3/+7).

On the round after it is wounded, the

gargorian begins to regenerate at a rate of 1hp per round. It can regenerate fire andacid damage, but when it is reduced to zerohit points, regeneration stops and the mon-ster is dead. The gargorian can direct itsattacks against multiple opponents.

The gargorian generally dislikes humansand will usually attack them. Despite this,gargorians are sometimes forced into serviceto exceptionally powerful humans andmonsters to guard their treasures. If some-one hits a gargorian with an arrow of slay-ing gargoyles, it will not automatically die,though it will take away 75% of its currenthit points as damage.

G U � A R M O R I

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1-4ARMOR CLASS: -4MOVE: 12�HIT DICE: 1 hp (but attacks as 12 HD

monster)% IN LAIR: 100%TREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 2 fists or 2

sword blowsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-1 6SPECIAL ATTACKS: See belowSPECIAL DEFENSES: See belowMAGIC RESISTANCE: 5%INTELLIGENCE: Non-ALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: M (6� tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII/5100

Gu�armori (singular: gu�armoru) areanimated suits of armor constructedthrough the combined efforts of a magic-user of at least 16th level and a cleric of atleast 11th level. The creation of a singlegu�armoru requires the fabrication of a suitof adamantite-alloyed armor, the life energyof a fallen fighter of at least 12th level, andthe casting of the following spells: animatedead, animate object, enchant an item,geas, magic jar, and raise dead. The exactprocedure is performed according to ajealously guarded arcane ritual � onlythree written copies of the instructions areknown to exist. The process takes at leastfour months to complete, at a cost of 35,000

46 SEPTEMBER 1985

gp for each gu�armoru.Gu�armori may be encountered stationed

at entrances, in treasure rooms, or in thecompany of their creators as personalguards. They will attack anyone who ap-proaches within 30� of the area or thin&they have been instructed to guard, unless aspecial command word known only to thecreators is spoken. They will never venturemore than 90� from that which they have

been instructed to protect. The originalpurpose of the gu�armoru cannot be alteredby any means, magical or otherwise, exceptby one or both of the creators.

The �life force� which powers a gu�ar-moru qualifies the creature to be classifiedas a special type of undead entity, and anycleric has a 2% -per-level chance of recog-nizing one as such. If recognition occurs, acleric of 11th level or higher may (if hechooses to make the attempt) affect a gu�ar-moru by rolling a 20 on d20, thereby �turn-ing� the energy-spark which animates thegu�armoru and resulting in the explosion ofthe armor, with effects as described below.

Gu�armori are formidable offensively,able to inflict 2-16 hp damage on a hit witheither of their armored fists (some are out-fitted with two-handed swords, but numberof attacks and damage per attack are thesame in either case), and are extremelydifficult to hit in return. A successful physi-cal attack requires a weapon of +3 poweror better. Gu�armori are immune to mentalattack forms, and are well shielded againstother magical attacks. In addition to their5% magic resistance, they are also allowedsaving throws against all spells capable ofcausing physical damage or any sort ofphysical effect (such as a levitate spell),�including those against which a save is notnormally allowed (such as magic missile)and those for which a saving throw nor-mally only halves damage (such as dragonbreath). In any case, a successful savingthrow indicates that the gu�armoru sufferedno damage or other adverse effect.

However, if a gu�armoru takes even 1 hitpoint of damage or is physically affected

(i.e., moved) against its �will,� the result is shards of armor in all directions. Any char-spectacular and potentially deadly. This acters or creatures within 5� of the explo-seemingly insignificant amount of �dam- sion automatically take 12 hp damageage� disrupts the delicate balance ofdweomers which maintain the gu�armoru,and it will instantly blow apart, sending

apiece, and anyone from 5 + � to 30� awaymust save versus wands to avoid taking 2-12hp damage.

Gu�armori may be found guarding anytype of treasure, and on occasion may be�on guard� protecting nothing at all, theircreators having died or been forced to aban-don them without having a chance to altertheir instructions.

H A M A D R Y A D

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1-2ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVE: 16�HIT DICE: 4% IN LAIR: 5%TREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 weaponDAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon typeSPECIAL ATTACKS: SpellsSPECIAL DEFENSES: Magic resistance,

spell-like abilitiesMAGIC RESISTANCE: 75%INTELLIGENCE: HighALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: MPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: IV/ 175 + 4/hp

This extremely rare creature is a guard-ian of the woodlands, found only in old,vast forests far from civilization. Like adryad, a hamadryad is linked to an individ-ual oak tree and will quickly die if the tree isdestroyed. But unlike a dryad, a hamadryadcan leave the vicinity of the oak tree andtravel any distance from the tree. A hama-dryad often carries daggers or daggerlikeweapons.

Hamadryads dislike non-forest environ-ments intensely and almost never leavewooded areas. They prefer well water ormineral water, and derive energy fromsunlight through the chlorophyll in theirbright green hair. Shorn or dungeon-imprisoned hamadryads will die in 10-20days if they cannot get sunlight and are notallowed to regrow their hair.

Hamadryads appear to be beautiful elvenor human females, but have deep, sparklinggreen eyes and long green hair. They areshy but noble of manner, and they rarely

speak. They will often cooperate with rang-ers and druids, acting first to protect theirown woods. Hamadryads can use the fol-lowing powers at will, one per round: ani-mal friendship, entangle, pass withouttrace, speak with animals, and quench fire(16� square area of effect). They will alwayssuccessfully detect snares and pits, andcannot be entangled. They can dimensiondoor from any tree to any other tree (maxi-mum range of this ability is 66�), and canenter inside any living tree. Hamadryadswill always see non-real trees (such as thosecaused by a massmorph or tree spell) forwhat they truly are. They also recognizetreants and treant-controlled trees on sight.

Once a day, a hamadryad can cast a holdplant spell, and thrice per day can cast apowerful charm person spell (save vs. magicat -3). If a person is taken away by a hama-dryad, he will be compelled to perform oneservice (usually aid in protecting the wood-lands from woodcutters or the like), and willthen be released in the depths of the forestin a dryad grove, whereupon he may becharmed in turn by a dryad. If not, noforest creature of good or neutral alignmentwill attack the person if he does not botherthem and is attempting to leave the forest.If a hamadryad enters a tree which containsa druid (cf. pass plant and plant doorspells), she can charm that druid if she sowishes with great efficacy (save at -6). Shecan converse with the druid normally, andthere is room for both within the tree.

Hamadryads speak the tongue of dryads,elves, pixies, sprites, and can speak withplants. Sometimes (33%) they can speak theCommon tongue as well (having learned itfrom charmed individuals). Hamadryadsare 90% likely to speak each of the follow-ing languages as well: centaur, faun, treant-ish, and the druidic secret language.Hamadryads are immune to the effects of acall woodland beings spell, but will feel itssummons and will usually (90% of the time)go to the caster�s location to observe; theygive aid of their own free will.

Hamadryads give any treasure they gainto dryads. They have exact knowledge ofthe forest in which they dwell.

A hamadryad�s tree is always old andlarge, but does not radiate magic. Thehamadryad will rarely fight other woodlandcreatures and is most friendly with dryadsand treants. She will often aid the latterwith her quench fire abilities.

The touch of a hamadryad is also said tocure nilbogism (see the FIEND FOLIO®Tome, Nilbog), but truth of this rumor is asmuch a mystery as the condition itself.

H A W K D R A G O N

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1 (1-3 in wild)ARMOR CLASS: 4MOVE: 12�/33" (MC: B)HITDICE: 1 +1 to 3 +3% IN LAIR: Nil (50% in wild)TREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 4DAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2/1-2/1-4/1-2SPECIAL ATTACKS: Diving attack,breath weaponSPECIAL DEFENSES: Immunity to

missiles

MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Low to averageALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S (11/2� to 3%� long)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III to IV/126

+ 2/hp to 240 + 4/hp

The hawkdragon is a rare creature thatdwells in forests and wooded hills. Namedbecause of its similarity in size and appear-ance to a hawk, it is quick on the groundand capable of highly complicated maneu-vers in the air.

Most hawkdragons are found in the wild,but occasionally one domesticated frombirth may be found as the pet of a powerfulor wealthy lord. As hawkdragons are small,fast, and vicious, domesticated ones havebeen used much in the same manner asfalcons for sport.

A hawkdragon attacks with a claw/claw/bite/tail slash routine, getting all four at-tacks even while airborne, as the tinyhawkdragon can land upon larger prey toattack. Since they can fly so well, 70% of allhawkdragons are able to dive on a target inthe same manner that eagles do. During adive, a hawkdragon can only attack with its

DRAGON 47

claws and tail, but all hits are at +4 on thedie, damage is doubled, and a �to hit� rollof 20 indicates a 50% chance of blinding thevictim in one eye. A heal alone will curethis blindness.

Hawkdragons, due to an innate form ofmagic resistance coupled with their highmaneuverability, are not affected by normalmissile weapons of any kind, and magicalarrows or bolts do -1 damage on each die(see 3rd-level magic-user spell, protectionfrom normal missiles). The -1 modifier alsoapplies to missiles from ballistas, catapults,and the like, but this resistance offers noprotection to the magic missile spell.

If a hawkdragon attacks a creature that istoo powerful for it or if the creature is badlywounded, it will use its breath weapon of a10� -diameter stinking cloud, centered onthe dragon�s nose. A missed saving throwvs. spell constitutes nausea (and the inabil-ity to attack) for 2-5 rounds, just longenough for the hawkdragon to flee. It isthought that some hawkdragons eat variouswild herbs and onions to intensify this ef-fect. A hawkdragon is immune to its ownbreath weapon and can use it twice a day

Wild hawkdragons have a natural affinity

for brightly colored objects, so their nestsmay contain treasure types K, L, M, and1-4 small gems (base 10 gp value). Domesti-cated hawkdragons often wear either a

silver, gold, or gem-studded collar bestowedupon them by their masters.

When encountered in the wild, ahawkdragon will be either a lone male, amated pair, or a mated pair and young.There is a 40% chance that a mated pair ofhawkdragons also has a clutch of 1-3 eggs.If sold, hawkdragon eggs can bring over1,000 gp on the market, and young 3,000gp. Adult hawkdragons will defend theireggs or young to the death, and cannot besubdued.

Hawkdragons range in color from darkgreen for young ones to brown for adultones. They are sized and gain hit points asdo normal dragons; i.e., an 8-sided die isrolled: 1-2 = small (1 + 1 HD), 3-7 =average (2 + 2 HD), 8 = large (3 + 3 HD).Ancient hawkdragons live to be 140 yearsold, and each growth stage is as follows:

Very young 0-3 yearsYoung 4-7 yearsSub-adult 8-18 yearsYoung adult 19-30 yearsAdult 31-60 yearsOld 61-90 yearsVery old 91-120 yearsAncient 121+ years

L H I A N N A N S H E E

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 2MOVE: 12�HIT DICE: 5% IN LAIR: 5%TREASURE TYPE: Q (x5), T (x5), XNO. OF ATTACKS: 2 clawsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-2/1-2SPECIAL ATTACKS: Draining kissSPECIAL DEFENSES: Selective invisibil-

ity, spell immunitiesMAGIC RESISTANCE: 90%INTELLIGENCE: ExceptionalALIGNMENT: Neutral evilSIZE: MPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/XI. VALUE: V/365 + 5/hp

Rare in the extreme, the lhiannan shee(LAN-an SHE) is a vampiric spirit with anaffinity for persons of high charisma andstrong poetic ability � in other words,bards. The lhiannan shee is feminine inappearance and looks like an extraordinar-ily beautiful human, elven, or half-elvenwoman.

However, she is visible only to her in-tended victim; she possesses the power ofselective invisibility and can become visibleor invisible to the victim at will withoutbeing detected by any other persons nearby.Anyone using a detect invisibility spell orpower to locate such a being has a 5%chance per level of the person searching ofdetecting the lhiannan shee, per turn ofsearching (e.g., a 7th-level magic-user has a35% chance of detecting the presence of a

lhiannan shee in one turn). Note that theusual chances to detect invisible creaturesthat beings with high intelligence or hit dicehave do not apply against these creatures.

As previously stated, this creature prefers

bards and almost never attacks anyone else.A bard above 10th level has a 1% chanceper month of encountering a lhiannan shee.She will seek out the bard (invariably male;female bards are not bothered by lhiannanshee) when he is alone and no one else isaround to confirm or deny her presence.She will use every wile at her command,from �subtle flattery to blatant proposition-ing, assuming every role from dignifiedmusical student to charmed trollop. Alhiannan shee usually observes her victimsinvisibly for a month before making herpresence known. Her knowledge of thevictim, combined with her intelligence andcunning, make her methods very powerfulindeed.

The bard must make a saving throw vs.magic at -2 upon seeing a lhiannan shee orhe will not be able to resist the lhiannanshee�s desires, as if he were charmed. It is95% likely that each time this creaturemeets the bard she will want him to kiss her.This act automatically drains 1 hp perma-nently from the bard and transfers it to thelhiannan shee�s hit point total (up to hermaximum total of 40). Hit points so lostcannot be recovered except by wishes (1 hpper wish). The bard may not initially noticethis life drain, there being only a 1%chance per day per hit point drained of thebard noticing it. Until then, the victim willresist all suggestions that his �lover� isanyone other than what she really is. Thecharm placed upon the bard is broken onlyby a wish, a dispel magic from a 10th-levelor greater magic-user, or remove curse froma cleric of 10th-level or greater, unless thebard discovers the life drain (breaking thecharm immediately).

While the bard is sharing the company of

48 SEPTEMBER 1985

the lhiannan shee, she will manifest herpower to teach the bard to improve hismusical talents. While the lhiannan shee isevil, she also appreciates fine arts, musicand poetry in particular. If the bard suc-cumbs to her charms, she will give him thefollowing powers for as long as he continuesto visit her:

1) The bard adds 10% to his charmpercentage when he plays a stringedinstrument;

2) The bard will increase the morale ofassociated creatures when he plays by an

additional 10%;3) The bard can cause all listening crea-

tures to save at an additional penalty of -2vs all relevant magical effects when playinga musically based magical item (e.g., drumsof panic, pipes of the sewers, etc.).

The lhiannan shee is immune to all magi-cal attacks from magical musical instru-ments (drums of panic, horn of blasting,etc.). It is affected by magical items givingprotection from undead (such as scrolls) andcan be turned away by a cleric as a vam-pire. Holy water does not affect it. Only

weapons of +1 enchantment or greatermay damage it, though silver weapons andcold iron weapons cannot.

A lhiannan shee is thought to be theundead spirit of a woman who killed herselffor unrequited love (generally for someparticular bard). It will share the companyof a bard until driven off by a cleric or slain.Note that unless the bard realizes what ishappening, he will resist any attacks madeupon his �beloved.� This being is, like mostundead, immune to all charm, hold, andparalysis spells.

M A N T I M E R A

FREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1-2ARMOR CLASS: 5MOVE: 11�/18�(MC:E)HIT DICE: 8% IN LAIR: 30%TREASURE TYPE: E, FNO. OF ATTACKS: 2 bites, 2 horns, and

2 clawsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-3/1 -3/1-4/1-4/

1-8/2-8SPECIAL ATTACKS: Tail spikesSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: LowALIGNMENT Neutral evilSIZE: LPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VII/725 + 10/hp

The mantimera is a sterile crossbreedresulting from the mating of a manticorewith a chimera. This creature has the hu-manlike head of a manticore as well as thegoat and lion heads of the chimera, andretains the spiked tail of the manticore.

Similar to its manticore parent, the man-timera prefers to lie in wait for prey alonggame trails or caravan routeas, firing atleast one volley of tail spikes before closingfor melee. Even without its tail spikes, the

mantimera is a formidable opponent, ableto strike six times per round. The human-like head can bite for 1-8 hp damage, thelion head for 2-8, the goat horns can buttfor 1-4 points each, and each of its forepawscan lash out for 1-3 hp damage. It candivide these attacks against as many asthree different targets in the same round,although the two goat-horn attacks mustalways be against the same foe.

The mantimera will not lie in wait indefi-nitely, and if no prey presents itself thecreature will take to the air and range farand wide looking for men (its favorite prey)or other food sources. However, it is a

clumsy flier, and will not choose to engagein aerial combat.

The mantimera is vicious and always onthe lookout for prey. It will not take on agreatly superior opponent by choice, butwill usually not hesitate to swoop downupon (for instance) a large group of armedmen; if the group proves to be too strong,the mantimera will simply lift into the airand fly away.

The coloration of the creature is similarto that of the body parts of its parents. Ithas the batlike wings of the manticore,rather than the dragonlike wings of thechimera.

M E T A L M I M I C

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVE: 3�HIT DICE: 8-11% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 punchDAMAGE/ATTACK: 4-16SPECIAL ATTACKS: Glue, spell useSPECIAL DEFENSES: CamouflageMAGIC�RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Semi- to averageALIGNMENT NeutralSIZE: LPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: Nil

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI to VIII/900+ 10hp to 3400 + 16/hp

The metal mimic is a more powerful

relative of the �ordinary� mimic, having allof the basic abilities and characteristics of itsweaker counterpart. In addition to beingable to imitate objects of wood or stone, the

DRAGON 49

metal mimic can take on the shape andappearance of items of raw or finishedmetal. It can take on the color, luster, andtexture of any pure metal (iron, gold, silver,platinum, etc.) except for adamantite, butcannot form into an alloy. Standard tacticsof the creature include forming itself into ametal coffer to attract treasure-seeking preyor taking on the shape of an iron column ina passageway through which prey is ex-pected to pass.

The metal mimic can duplicate the effectof a light spell up to four times per day,causing the illumination to come from itselfor from any other object within 20� of itslocation. This magical light persists for 6turns or until dispelled by some outsideforce. The mimic can cancel the light only ifit was cast upon the mimic�s body.

The metal mimic can exude a pseudopod,connected to the main body by a slendertendril, and shape that extremity into theform of a sword or dagger. With magicallight placed on it, this extremity will appearto be an enchanted blade. If the creaturewants to imitate a non-glowing magicalweapon such as a mace, or possibly a magicshield, it can project a form of Nystul�smagic aura once per day (duration 2 turns,or until dispelled by the mimic), causing theimitated object to register positively if detectmagic is cast upon it.

The metal mimic has no use for treasureas such, but will often use the coins andweapons of previous victims to lure otherprey, leaving such items where they havefallen and forming itself into a stone or ironcolumn next to the pile.

The metal mimic attacks in the samefashion as the weaker mimic, sending out apseudopod which hits as a weapon and alsosecretes a powerful glue. Each hit does 4-16hp damage, and a victim held fast by themimic�s glue will incur subsequent attacksfrom more pseudopods as if the target wereAC 10 (bonuses for dexterity and magicalarmor apply). The hold of a pseudopod�sglue is broken by any single hit upon themimic which causes at least 6 hp damage.

Metal mimics are of two basic types: thelarger (10-11 HD), relatively intelligentsort, and the smaller �killer mimic� whichis semi-intelligent and instinctively aggres-sive. The larger, non-belligerent types maylearn local languages and be willing tonegotiate for food instead of making anoutright attack.

O R P S U

FREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 4- 12 (usually 6 or 7)ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVE: /12� (MC: D)HIT DICE: 1 + 6% IN LAIR: 15%TREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 horn and 1 fang

slashDAMAGE/ATTACK; 4-7/1-3SPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell use, bleeding

wounds, blood drainSPECIAL DEFENSES: Spell and psionic

immunitiesMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: LowALIGNMENT Neutral evilSIZE: S (up to 2� �hornspan,� 3� overall

length)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: See belowLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III / 52 +2/hp

Orpsu (singular and plural forms are thesame) are predators found in temperatewastelands. They are nocturnal creatureswhich inhabit rocky places (such as cavernsor ruins) and tall trees, and hunt in open,rolling country (scrubland or plains). Theyprey upon sheep, cattle!, woodland creaturesof all types (having a particular fondness forbadgers, foxes, and otters), large birds, andmen.

They have ultravision out to a 20� rangeand infravision to 15�, both of which areuseful in their nighttime hunting. Theirgreatest threat to prey is the ability of eachorpsu to use, once per day, a weak form ofhold monster (as the 5th-level magic-userspell, against any single living target within6�; target saves at +2, success indicatingthe target is affected as if by a slow spell).This hold effect (or slow, if save is made)lasts for 2-5 rounds, and is the means bywhich orpsu catch and overcome most oftheir prey.

The coloration of orpsu ranges fromcrimson through mauve. They are hairless

50 SEPTEMBER 1985

and have mottled, veined, leathery skin, aprehensile tail (too weak to hold strugglingprey or wield any sort of weapon, but ableto drag small objects or coil around a treelimb when the creature is at rest), and fourunusual �horns.� These razor-sharp, blade-like bony appendages project out of anorpsu�s body like two back-to-back pairs ofcrescents, one pair curling forward on eitherside of its raking fangs and the other point-ing backward like wings on either side of itstail. (The orpsu has a row of 4 or morefangs, pointing downward, but no lowerjaw, and thus it cannot attack by biting inthe normal fashion.)

Orpsu can fly by some form of naturallevitation combined with propulsion pro-vided by the flailing of their tails. However,they are relatively slow and clumsy in theair, and generally only try to swoop downon prey after it has been held or slowed. Aslash or stab from an orpsu horn does 4-7

hp damage, and its fangs can inflict anadditional 1-3 hp damage. (Separate �tohit� rolls are required for horns and fangs;a swooping orpsu may not strike a victimwith more than one of its horns on a singleattack.) Any wound inflicted by an orpsuhorn will continue to bleed (the victimlosing 1 hp per round thereafter) until thewound is bound or some form of curativemagic is applied.

Orpsu feed upon the blood of mammals,drawing it through a cluster of white, flexi-ble, tubelike tentacles located on the under-side of the creature. Unlike the morecommon stirge, the orpsu (which is some-times mistakenly called a �night stirge�because of its diet; the two creatures are notrelated) has no barbs or claws with which togrip a victim securely. Orpsu will not at-tempt to drain blood unless a victim is heldor until it collapses from wounds and bloodloss. Its tentacles can penetrate a victim�s

skin and provide some holding power, andthe orpsu can also affix itself to a victim bycoiling its tail around the body or an ex-tremity of the prey. (The creatures have nolegs or feet, and cannot move across solidsurfaces.)

The blood drain of an orpsu will sap 1-2

hp per round from a victim until the victimdies or the orpsu is knocked or rubbed off� not difficult to do but requiring con-scious effort (and the ability to move) on thepart of the victim.

Orpsu can communicate only with othersof their kind, employing a sort of limited

telepathy (2" range) which is incomprehens-ible and confusing to others who may try to�overhear.� The creatures are immune tocharm, suggestion, domination, and holdmagic, and psionic powers of similar nat-ure, but otherwise have standard magicresistance.

PILFER VINE

FREQUENCY: RareNo. APPEARING: 1 patchARMOR CLASS: 6MOVE: 1" (main plant), 9" (vines)HIT DICE: 1-10% IN LAIR: 100%TREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: VariableDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-4 per vineSPECIAL ATTACKS: StrangulationSPECIAL DEFENSES: Resistances to

blunt weapons and coldMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Semi-ALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: S to MPSIONIC ABILITY Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: II to VII / 22

+ 1/hp to 2250 + 14/hp

Pilfer vines are sentient plants that havean unusual affinity for bright, shiny items.They are usually encountered in jungles orforests when wild, but the plant may also befound near a settlement or monster lair, forit otherwise would have little chance toacquire the items it has such an intensedesire to filch. Why a pilfer vine �steals� isa question no one has been able to answer,as it will take things for which it has nopossible use.

A pilfer vine is able to find shiny objectswith visual organs located upon its broadleaves. The images that the organs receiveare transmitted to its vegetable brain, whichis surrounded by a tough mass of twistedvines. The plant is color-blind. Two mobiletendrils are-possessed for each hit die that ithas. These tendrils can reach out up to 5�away and can lift up to 5 gp in weight pervine.

A pilfer vine�s base chance to steal anyitem from a being is 70%. Some of themodifiers to this chance are: victim standingstill, 0%; walking, -20%; running, -60%;sleeping, + 15%. More modifiers can bedevised if needed. A victim will notice theattempt if the die roll is 25% or more overthe number needed to pilfer an item. Char-acters of 5th level and above have an in-creased chance to foil the attempt; subtract1% from both the base chance to steal andnotice the theft for each level over the 4th.Thus, if an 8th-level fighter was the victim,the base chance of a successful theft is now70% - (8-4)% = 66%) and the person willnotice the attempt on a roll 21% over whatis needed. Tendrils can dig into pouches,backpacks, and the like to find

items, and more than one tendril can helpsteal an item. Lifting an item from a victimtakes 1 round per attempt. If the plant issuccessful in stealing a random item fromsomeone, it will hide the item amongst thegnarled vines of the main plant.

A pilfer vine will attack only if attackedfirst. It can lash out with its whiplike vines,doing 1-4 hp of damage per strike andgaining one attack for each mobile tendril itpossesses. Up to six vines may attack aman-sized creature at a time. A vine cantake 5 hp damage from edged weaponsbefore it is severed and becomes useless.These hit points are in addition to those ofthe plant�s central body. The plant�s struc-ture makes it resistant to blunt weapons,which do 1 hp of damage plus magicalbonuses per strike.

When a tendril�s �to hit� roll in combatis a natural 20, the vine has wrapped itself

around the victim�s neck. The creature sohit takes 1-6 hp damage, and will continueto take this damage each round until thevine is broken (only possible by those with18+ strength; use one-half of exceptionalstrength rounded up as the base number) orsevered. A being with a 19 strength has a75% chance to snap the vine, and 20strength or greater means automatic successat breaking the vine.

Fire (magical or non-magical) does dou-ble damage to pilfer vines. Because of this,a pilfer vine will never send its tendrilstowards anyone carrying a torch or otherheat source. A pilfer vine takes normaldamage from electricity, but cold only doeshalf damage and slows the plant�s move-ments by 50% for 2-5 rounds.

A pilfer vine�s treasure is hidden in oraround the plant. It consists of treasuretypes Qx2 (gems of less than 500 gp basevalue), and 20-200 coins of various types.There is a 40% chance for the plant to have1-4 pieces of jewelry, and a 10% chance fora small magic item (dagger, scroll in metal-lic case, glass potion bottle, etc.) to bepresent. There will also be various shinyitems such as bits of broken glass, metallicdarts, small mirrors, holy symbols, etc.,from 5-20 in number.

Sometimes a druid or magic-user willgrow and feed a pilfer vine, as well as sup-ply it with shiny items, in return for theprotection of his or her abode. Being semi-intelligent, the pilfer vine will recognize itsbenefactors and not steal from them or theirfriends, if so instructed (though it takes timefor the pilfer vines to understand that, evenusing speak with plants spells).

A pilfer vine is a large mass of tangledand twisted vines, not unlike those of acreeper. The vines of the plant are dullgreen or greenish-gray in color, while theleaves are broad and of green-brown colora-tion. Tiny, dark splotches appear on theleaves; these are the sensory organs used tosee bright objects. The plant is almost al-ways found coiled about a tree, column,post, or pillar.

R I G H T E O U S C L A Y

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 6MOVE: 6�HIT DICE: 1-12 (see below)% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1

DAMAGE/ATTACK: See belowSPECIAL ATTACKS: Soul gouge, surprise

on 1-5SPECIAL DEFENSES: Rarely surprised,

resistances to blunt weapons and variousmagical attacks, camouflage

MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AverageALIGNMENT: Neutral evilSIZE: S (2� diameter)

DRAGON 51

PSIONIC ABILITY: NilAttack/Defense Modes: Immune to

psionic attackLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III to VIII/65

+ 1/hp to 5400 + 16/hp

The righteous clay is a rather curious sortof horror which wanders about under-ground caverns looking for souls uponwhich to feed. It is basically a large, graylump of intelligent clay; due to its amor-phous nature and remarkable camouflageability, it can blend in with its surroundingsso as to surprise opponents on a roll of 1-4,A righteous clay is only surprised on a 1.

Righteous clays wait patiently on walls,ceilings, floors, etc., for would-be victims,having superb climbing ability. When avictim approaches within 10� of the clay,the blobby horror will attack the unfortu-nate creature with a soul gouge in an at-tempt to steal the victim�s soul. Note thateven elves and half-orcs, creatures that donot possess a soul per se, can be attacked bythe clay�s soul gouge and lose their spirits.For every soul that the clay steals it gains 1HD, permanently. A clay is assumed tohave stolen 0-3 (1d4-1) souls already, so itmay have 1-4 HD. The victim gets a savingthrow vs. death magic in order to repel thesoul gouge and, if successful, will fall un-conscious for 1-6 turns. A save vs. the soulgouge will instill a permanent immunity tothis particular attack, so that followingattacks by any righteous clay will be uselessagainst that victim. Failure to save indicates

the soul or spirit of the creature has beenstolen, in which case the victim�s body isreduced to a mindless state (0 intelligence,wisdom, and charisma). The victim willswallow food placed in his mouth, breathenormally, and have involuntary reflexes, butthat is all. The victim will not understandlanguage but can be physically moved fromplace to place with a gentle tug in the de-sired direction.

A soul gouge can be blocked by a mindblank, mind bar, helm of telpathy, tower ofiron will, or intellect fortress. Althoughpossessing no psionic ability itself, the right-eous clay�s attack will drain twice as manydefense points from a psionic defender as apsionic blast used by a psionic of maximumability. If a psionic makes his saving throw,

he will not fall unconscious due to his ownmental discipline.

Once a clay is slain, its stolen souls canbe regained by casting one of the followingspells on the mindless victims: reincarna-tion, remove curse (cast by a cleric of atleast 10th level), restoration, resurrection,or wish. If the soul isn�t returned to itsowner�s body before the clay rots away(about two weeks), no hope of soul restora-tion is possible. Elves and half-orcs canhave their spirits restored by these methodsas well.

Righteous clays are immune to bluntweapons due to their shock-absorbingbodies. Edged weapons do only half damageto them, and they are immune to poison,paralysis, hold magic, and death magic.Cold slows them to half speed, and fire andelectricity do reduced damage on a 1 hp/HD basis. A righteous clay always saves asa 1 HD monster. Righteous clays can stickquite well to most surfaces, and can bepeeled away from them at a chance equal to6% per point of strength used against them.

Righteous clays are so named because oftheir extreme arrogance and self-centeredness. They can understand com-mon and can converse by vibrating theirbodies rapidly, thus operating in the mannerof a stereo speaker. They can reproduce avariety of sounds, and some can mimic withperfection. A clay will split to form twoseparate organisms once it reaches 12 HD;each new clay will have 1 HD, and all soulspreviously stolen will be beyond recovery.

S E A G I A N T

FREQUENCY: Uncommon [Very rare]NO APPEARING: 1-2 ARMOR CLASS: 6 or betterMOVE: 12"//30" [//30"]HIT DICE: 12 [16-19]% IN LAIR: 25% [10%]TREASURE TYPE: E [E, Qxl00]NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 fist or weapon

[or tail smash]DAMAGE/ATTACK: 5-30 [8-48] or by

weapon type (see below) [or see below]SPECIAL ATTACKS: Rending, hurling

rocks for 2-20 hp damage [or spell use;psionics possible]

SPECIAL DEFENSES: Resistance to cold,pressure, and poison

MAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Very [Exceptional]ALIGNMENT Neutral good [Neutral]SIZE: L (15� tall) [L (25' long or more)]PSIONIC ABILITY Nil [See below]

Attack/Defense Modes: Nil [See below]LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII/4800 + 16/hp

[X/10,250 + 20/hp to 19,100 + 30/hp]Note: Figures in [brackets] are for

Type II sea giant.

The sea giant is an evolutionary offshootof giantkind which returned to the sea andreadapted to a marine environment. Thelesser form (Type I) is amphibious and

spends part of its time on land, while theother form (Type II) spends its entire life inor upon the ocean.

The Type I sea giant can be found livingin large coastal grottoes, on small islands orin small (for a giant) towers near desertedstrands. (Such a tower will have a water-filled tunnel or bore leading directly to thesea.) Of all the species of giantkind, this oneis the most friendly toward humans anddemi-humans. Amphibious sea giants areknown to have rescued small fishing skiffscaught in storms and people in danger ofdrowning. Fishermen sometimes reportseeing one of these giants swimming on orjust below the surface of the sea.

Type I sea giants have skin color rangingfrom light green for those in tropical watersto light blue for those inhabiting polarregions. This giant has webbing between itsfingers and toes, is as strong as a fire giant(22 strength) but taller and slimmer, andhas little apparent body hair except for thetop of its head. An amphibious sea giant iscapable of deep dives (as far as 500�) andlong submersions (up to an hour) beforeneeding to resurface for air.

The Type II sea giant has wholly adaptedto life in the sea. A solitary being, the ma-rine sea giant lives most of his life (possiblywith a mate) in the depths of the ocean andrarely ventures near the surface. This giant

52 SEPTEMBER 1985

possesses gills, but has also retained a pairof vestigial lungs which enable him to func-tion on the ocean surface for up to an hourat a time.The skin color of a marine sea giant variesfrom sea green to icy blue, with a mane ofwhite hair crowning the head. The handsare webbed much like a duck�s feet, but areable to grasp and hold objects. The lowerhalf of the body is shaped like the tail of awhale, ending in a set of horizontal flukes.The giant can use this tail to strike at foes,doing damage of 2-12, 4-16, 4-24, or 5-30hp depending on the giant�s hit dice.

The marine sea giant has strength equiv-alent to a storm giant (24 strength) and isusually encountered when carrying a hugetrident. For this reason, some individualshave mistaken the giant for Poseidon (oranother similarly powerful sea-dwellingdeity) and offered it treasure. Depending onhis precise alignment (50% are inclinedtoward evil, 50% toward good), this giantwill either accept such offerings and takeadvantage of the situation, or decline thetreasure and inform the individuals of theirmistake.

Sages speculate that the marine sea giantlives a nomadic existence, usually roamingthe depths but sometimes dwelling tempo-rarily in a great undersea cavern or in acastle constructed of stone, large sea shells,and the bones of sea monsters. If adventur-

ers come upon such a castle, the jewel-treasure they find within it will be mostlycomposed of large pearls.

Sailors believe that the sighting of a ma-rine sea giant foretells a coming storm; ifthe giant is looking toward the ship whenseen, then the storm will take a life, but ifhe is facing away from the ship then thestorm will be weathered without loss. Thisbelief may have its foundation in the factthat the Type II sea giant has some innatespell-like abilities. The giant can performthe following feats, each twice per day andone per round: control weather, predictweather, control winds, weather summon-ing, animal summoning III (sea creaturesonly), and polymorph others (into someform of sea creature).

There is a 5% chance that any Type IIsea giant will be psionic, with 140-190ability points and randomly determinedattack and defense modes. A psionic seagiant will have the following disciplines, allperformed at the 12th level of mastery:animal telepathy, body weaponry, clairaudi-ence, clairvoyance, and telepathy.

All sea giants have a natural armor classof 6 which they can augment. Amphibioussea giants may wear specially made armorof leather (improving AC by one or twoplaces) and carry a shield; marine sea giantsare often attired in armor made of giantshells or the hides of sea beasts (improving

AC by two to five places) and often bearshields made from the shell of a dragonturtle or an archelon. Although they can dogreat damage with their fists, sea giantsoften carry weapons; either type may befound carrying trident and net, spear, or aform of heavy crossbow which is usableunderwater � all sized appropriately for use by giants, of course, and doing twice(for Type I) or three times (for Type II) thedamage of a normal-sized weapon of thesame sort.

If a sea giant attacks barehanded againsta size L opponent and the �to hit� roll is anatural 18 or higher, the giant has suc-ceeded in grabbing his foe with both hands,and can do additional rending damage of 3-18 hp damage (for Type I) or 4-24 hp dam-age (for Type II) in the same round.

As a byproduct of their ability to with-stand the cold and pressure of the oceandepths, sea giants take only one-half normaldamage from cold-based attacks and thevarious Bigby�s hand spells (save, whenapplicable, for one-quarter damage). Theyare unaffected by injected poisons of anysort, since the toxin is simply absorbed bythe layer of insulating fat which protectstheir bodies. Both types of sea giant possessinfravision (12" range) and a form of under-water sonar which they use for navigationand identification in the lightless depths, toa range of 600�.

T E N E R

FREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 0MOVE: 12�HIT DICE: 9% IN LAIR: 5%TREASURE TYPE: A in lair; M, N, Q TNO. OF ATTACKS: 4 clawsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-6/1-6/1-6/1-6SPECIAL ATTACKS: Multiple attacks;

poisonous bite; spells; grippingSPECIAL DEFENSES: Spells; various

resistances and immunities; hit only bymagical weapons

MAGIC RESISTANCE: 50%INTELLIGENCE: LowALIGNMENT: Chaotic neutral or chaotic

evilSIZE: L (8� tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: 140

Attack/Defense Modes: ED/GLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VIII/3200 + 12/hp

The tener is a grey, hairy, spindly-limbedcreature. It is bipedal and has long claws onthe hands of its four arms. It has largeamber eyes set in a small round head, andspiderlike chelicerae flank its fanged mouth.The tener is greed incarnate and will jeal-ously guard anything of the slightest value.It regards all strangers as thieves, but ititself has all of the abilities of a 9th-levelthief except for backstabbing capabilities.

Teners may use the following powers, one

per round, at the 9th level of ability (whereapplicable): bestow curse (reverse form ofremove curse), darkness 15� radius, detectinvisibility, haste (self only), teleport with-out error (once per day), and slow (once perday). Teners have both infravision andultravision. They are immune to poisons,noxious gases, and paralysis, and take halfdamage from fire and cold. Teners areharmed only by +1 or better weapons, andcannot be petrified or polymorphed.

The tener has a powerful grip. If it scoresa hit with two of its hands, it holds its vic-tim, striking at +3 �to hit� with its othertwo sets of claws and biting (at +3 �tohit�) for 1-2 points of damage. The bite of atener is venomous and causes paralysis for6-36 turns (save at -2). Individuals held bya tener attack at -3 �to hit.� A character�schance of breaking a tener�s grasp is equalto his chance of bending bars, checked onany round that the attempt is made. Noother action is possible for the characterduring such a round.

Teners are better known for their greedthan for their malice, and they may bebribed not to harm a party. Such bribery isexpensive, however, and not particularlyreliable. Teners are native to the plane ofPandemonium and are also found, on occa-sion, in Limbo or the Abyss. They roam theAstral, Ethereal, and Prime Material Planesin search of treasure.

DRAGON 53

T H E N D A R

FREQUENCY: Rare on Astral Plane;very rare elsewhere

NO. APPEARING: 1 (5% chance of 2-8)ARMOR CLASS: See belowMOVE: 17" to 20" on Astral Plane;

12" elsewhereHIT DICE: 5 + 5% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: See belowNO. OF ATTACKS: 1 weaponDAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon typeSPECIAL ATTACKS: Spell useSPECIAL DEFENSES: Spell use, spell

immunitiesMAGIC RESISTANCE: 25%INTELLIGENCE: Genius to supra-geniusALIGNMENT: Neutral goodSIZE: M (6� to 6½� tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: Immune topsionic attack

LEVEL/X.P. VALUE: VI/550 + 6/hp

Thendar are native to the Astral Plane,though they may be found on any of theknown planes. They are a wandering race,seldom remaining in one place for verylong. Thendar are generally peaceful andhave a great thirst for knowledge of allsorts. They have life spans ranging in thethousands of years, and seek out new expe-riences to relieve the monotony of theirexistence.

Thendar appear to be tall, slender hu-mans with golden skin, silvery hair, andglowing white eyes. They prefer to wear

hooded robes of durable gray or blue mate-rial. Thendar do not usually collect treasurebut may carry a memento or two picked upduring their travels. Ornate jewelry, magi-cal staffs, walking sticks, and other suchitems are typical examples. Such items willnot usually have any great magical powerbut may have some value as antiques on theworlds where they were acquired, as theyare liable to be several centuries old. Weap-ons are rarely carried or used.

Thendar possess natural true seeing and

communicate by an innate ability to under-stand all spoken languages, as per tongues.They have normal ultravision. They mayuse the following spell-like powers, one at atime, one per round, at the 12th level ofability: change self, dimension door, light,magic missile (5 times/day), plane shift (2/day), project image (l/day), sunburst (asper wand of light, S/day), wall of force (1/day). Thendar have excellent memories,never forgetting anything that they haveexperienced. They are immune to the ef-fects of feeblemind or forget spells as well asall psionic attacks or powers.

Because of their long lives and far travels,thendar are great sources of information.They may answer questions as sages, withspecial categories in the inner and outerplanes and major fields in humankind,demi-humankind, humanoids, andgiantkind. The prices asked to provide suchknowledge to other races are often unusual.Minor questions have been answered for nomore than a demonstration of a simple knotor the telling of an old folktale. More exact-ing information has been gained simply byallowing the thendar to accompany theparty and observe their actions for a time (ifthe thendar found the journey interesting)or in exchange for an equally arcane bit ofknowledge. Thendar are only interested inlore that they do not already possess.

The githyanki hold a particular hatred forthe thendar, who respond with only anindifferent annoyance. The thendar are ongood terms with astral devas and star levia-thans (see DRAGON issue #89, CreatureCatalog I).

T U N D R A B E A S T

FREQUENCY: RareNO. APPEARING: 1-2ARMOR CLASS: 5 (back and head),

7 (underside)MOVE: 3�HIT DICE: 4 + 4% IN LAIR: 90%TREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 5-30SPECIAL ATTACKS: 4 En tangle, surprise

on 1-5SPECIAL DEFENSES: CamouflageMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: Semi-ALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: L (9� long, 4� tall at shoulder)PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V / 285 + 5/hp

As their name implies, tundra beasts arenative to subarctic and northern temperateplains. They are carnivorous, huntingeither alone or in mated pairs. Tundrabeasts usually stay in one area, moving ononly when prey becomes scarce.

Tundra beasts are large creatures withfour short legs and big, padlike feet. Their

54 SEPTEMBER 1985

upper bodies are covered with long, grass-like fur which can quickly change color tomatch that of the surrounding vegetation.Their undersides and vaguely triangularheads are hairless and brown. The eyes of atundra beast are dull red, and the manyteeth in its huge jaws are a dirty yellow.

Tundra beasts are able to pull both theirhead and legs beneath their bodies; whendoing so, they resemble nothing more thanlow, grassy mounds, and they are able tosurprise their prey on a 1-5 on a six-sided

die. Tundra beasts can sense ground move-ment within 15� of themselves, allowingthem to detect approaching victims whilecamouflaged. They have normal utravision.

Once per day, tundra beasts are able tocast an entangle spell. They will use this tostop or slow their quarry once it has ap-proached within 10� of them. Tundra beastsare immune to the effects of their own oranother tundra beast�s entangle spell, butnot those cast by druids or other creaturesable to use that spell.

W I N D T H R O W E R

FREQUENCY: Very rareNO. APPEARING: 3-24ARMOR CLASS: 7/3MOVE: 9�HIT DICE: 5 + 3% IN LAIR: 33%TREASURE TYPE: M, Q (x3), YNO. OF ATTACKS: 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: By weapon. type

(strength bon uses possible)SPECIAL ATTACKS: Wind blast, psionics

use, possible missile fireSPECIAL DEFENSES: Save as 8 HD

monster, immune to poisonMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: VeryALIGNMENT: Neutral evilSIZE: S (4� tall)PSIONIC ABILITY: 180

Attack/Defense Modes: A, D / HLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: V/ 450 + 6/hp

These evil demi-humans are quitedwarflike in appearance, being short,stocky, strong, and very hairy. Their skin islight blue in color, and their hair tends to bered or white. They appear to be a distantand rare relative of normal dwarves.

All wind throwers wear studded leatherarmor under their clothes, but over theirstrong right arms they wear plate mail. Thisarmor extends from the shoulder to thewrist, and over their hands are worn metalgauntlets. Anyone trying to hit this armmust do so against AC 3. This arm is soprotected because with it a wind thrower isactually capable of hurling blasts of wind.This swirling wind affects everything in a 6�line (1� wide) in front of the thrower. It lastsfor five rounds once it is thrown and it is sostrong that it will slow all avian creaturestherein by 50%, It will also cause all lightmissile weapons such as arrows, bolts,

darts, and sling stones and bullets to com-pletely miss their target. Against suchheavier missile weapons as spears, javelins,hammers, daggers, etc., a -4 �to hit� issuffered. Fire attacks within this area, suchas fireballs, flame strikes, dragon breath,

and the like, will suffer -1 hp of damage perdie. The wind blast will extinguish smallfires such as torches and lanterns. A gust ofwind spell cast against the wind blast willshorten its duration by one round for eachspell cast.

These dwarves save as if they had 8 HD,and they are immune to all poison. Theyare capable of attacking and defending withtheir psionics, and each has two minordisciplines, determined randomly for eachindividual.

Wind throwers hate goblins, kobolds,dwarves, and gnomes, and will always optto attack them over any others in combat. Atypical force of these dwarves will be armedas follows: hand axe 10%, hammer 5%,short sword 10%, mace 10%) mace andlight crossbow 15%, short sword and shortbow 15%, short halberd and dagger 20%,throwing hammer and two daggers 15%.

Wind throwers have 19 strength in theirright arms and 14 strength in their leftarms, and so will usually attack with one-handed weapons in their right arms. Theuse of two-handed weapons like the shorthalberd will gain no strength bonuses �tohit� and on damage.

Wind throwers are found in hills, moun-tains, and deserts, but in all cases their lairwill be underground. There will be youngin the lair equal to 50% of the number ofadults. Those young who are capable ofcombat attack as 2 HD monsters, but withno wind-throwing or psionic abilities. Thefemales and males both fight equally well.The leader of a clan is always a male withthe maximum amount of hit points (43) andwith the highest charisma of the clan.

These dwarves have 60� infravision andcan determine underground phenomena asdo dwarves. They can speak dwarven,gnomish, goblin, and as many other lan-guages as their intelligence allows. Theylive as long as mountain dwarves do.

Y A L E the base upon which each is fastened to the

FREQUENCY: UncommonNO. APPEARING: 1-8ARMOR CLASS: 7MOVE: 24�HIT DICE: 3 + 3% IN LAIR: NilTREASURE TYPE: NilNO. OF ATTACKS: 2 hornsDAMAGE/ATTACK: 1-8 orSPECIAL ATTACKS: Nil

or 2 hooves1-4

SPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: StandardINTELLIGENCE: AnimalALIGNMENT: NeutralSIZE: LPSIONIC ABILITY: Nil

Attack/Defense Modes: NilLEVEL/X.P. VALUE: III/60 + 4/hp

The yale is a horse-sized herbivore ofrather bizarre form. Built like a stag, it has

the head of a boar, with tusks (not used incombat) and a pair of 4�-long horns grow-ing out of it. The head is colored like that ofa normal boar; the horns are as white asivory (though they are not this substance),and the body, neck, limbs, and tail are asolid, dull black.

Yale graze in small herds and will aggres-sively defend themselves if threatened. Theanimal can manipulate its horns, pivoting

head so as-to be able to attack two oppo-nents at the same time (1-8 hp damage perstrike). The yale can also concentrate bothhorn attacks against a single foe, and canchange the configuration of its horns fromround to round if so desired. Against asmall-sized opponent or one which isdowned, the yale will prefer to attack withstrikes from its front hooves, doing 1-4 hpdamage on each hit. The animal cannot useboth modes of attack in the same round.

Despite their ferocity, yale are soughtafter in the areas they frequent, since theflesh is considered a delicacy (particularelyby elves). In some elven societies, a youngwarrior�s skill is tested by having him go upagainst a solitary yale with long sword inhand, instead of using a bow, which is seenas a fair test of the warrior�s ability since theYale�s prowess with its horns is roughlyequivalent to that of the warrior�s handlingof the sword.

DRAGON 55

your adventure-loving friends!

BULLETIN ** BULLETIN ** BULLETIN

Because you demanded it, the adventure willcontinue in early 1986, with the beginning ofDRAGONLANCE™ LEGENDS, a brand-new trilogyfollowing the adventures of the heroes of the Lanceafter the end of the wars . . . and through the darkhistory of Krynn!

DL9 DRAGONS OF DECEITAD&D® DRAGONLANCE® Game Adventure

by Doug Niles

Meanwhile, the DRAGONLANCE® module series con-tinues with world-shattering excitement!

T1-4 THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVILAD&D® Game Adventure

by Gary Gygax with Frank Mentzer

THIS IS IT! The most eagerly awaited adventure inAD&D® game history is here at last!

Two titanic talents have combined to produce the ulti-mate dungeon adventure— more danger, more thrills,more excitement than you’ve ever believed possible!

Four modules in one (for only a little more than the priceof two!), The Temple of Elemental Evil is an entire campaignfor characters of levels 1-9. This 128-page adventure bookcontains a complete revision of T1, The Village of Hommlet,and three exciting sequels all in a single package!

DRAGONLANCE™ Chronicles Vol. 3Dragons of Spring Dawning

by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

It all started with the discovery of a blue crystal staff andthe return of the true gods to the tortured world of Krynn.And now the Wars of the Lance reach their astoundingclimax with Volume 3 of the classic Dragonlance Chroniclesfantasy trilogy!

Armed at last with the legendary dragonlance, the heroesface deadly peril as they prepare for the final battle withTakhisis —Queen of Darkness!

The Dragonlance Chronicles will also be available as abeautiful boxed gift set —the perfect Christmas present for

THE SOULFORGESUPER ENDLESS QUEST™ DRAGONLANCE™ Adventure

Book by Terry Phillips

The secret history of Raistlin, the powerful, enigmaticmage of the Dragonlance saga, comes alive in this fascinat-ing gamebook. As Raistlin, you must take and survive thedreaded, mysterious Test that all practitioners of the mysticarts must survive in order to gain true power.

Terry Phillips played Raistlin in the original Dragonlancecampaign, and helped to create much of Raistlin’s personal-ity and background.

THE TOP SECRET® COMPANIONTOP SECRET® Game Expansion

by Merle Rasmussen

The Administrator returns with this brand-new collectionof new rules, new weapons, new bureaus, special campaignrules, and an abbreviated unarmed combat system for theTOP SECRET game. The TOP SECRET COMPANION con-tains the special new rules that have been printed inDRAGON® Magazine, plus many pages of never-before-printed material ready to be used in your campaign!

This 96-page book contains a brand-new TOP SECRETgame adventure, Operation: Meltdown, a thrilling raceagainst time to defeat a terrorist plot!

XS2 THUNDERDELVE MOUNTAIND&D® Expert Game Adventure

by Bradley Stock

You play a dwarf with a mission in this unique solo adven-ture for the D&D® Expert Rules Set. Princess Drona Marble-fist, beloved ruler of the dwarves, has vanished on adangerous mission to Thunderdelve, there to defeat an evilmenacing all who live under the mountain.

AC7 MASTER PLAYERS SCREEND&D® Game Accessory

Finally, a screen for the players!With the D&D® MASTER PLAYERS SCREEN, every

important table and chart from the D&D game system is atyour fingertips! No more paging through books to findspell use statistics, equipment tables, “to hit” rolls, orexperience point information.

The MASTER PLAYERS SCREEN contains a six-pagefolding screen and a 16-page booklet of charts and tables.Once you’ve experienced it, you won’t be able to live with-out it!

THE ART OF THE DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®FANTASY GAMEEdited by Margaret Weis and featuring

the TSR Staff Artists

A true collectors item! The Art of the DUNGEONS &DRAGONS Fantasy Game is a beautiful studio book featur-ing the work of TSR’s award-winning fantasy artists.Dragons and knights, wizards and ogres, ghouls and gob-lins, damsels in distress —all your favorite paintings arecollected in a gorgeous 128-page book you’ll be proud toown!

The secret of the draconians is held in the pits of Sanctu-ary, a dragon-controlled city at the feet of the Lords ofDoom. The Heroes of the Lance must infiltrate the city andfind the sinister secret . . .or face unspeakable conse-quences if they should fail!

Unless otherwise noted, ® denotes registered trademarks owned byTSR, Inc.; ™ designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.©1985 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

AMAZING™ STORIES Books

Strange, unexpected, startling!The AMAZING STORIESbooks combine modern horror and weirdness into excitingnovels of suspense and mystery!

In Book #l, The 4-D Funhouse, by Clayton Emery andEarl Wajenberg, a young man is lost in the strange andterrifying world of the 4th Dimension!

In Book #2, Jaguar!, by Morris Simon, an archaeologist inMexico discovers a tribe that appears to have the power toturn themselves into jaguars!

AMAZING™ STORIES books . . . they’lltake you whereyou've never been before.

IJ6 FROM THE FILES OF INDIANA JONES™*:THE 4TH NAILADVENTURES OF INDIANA JONES™* Adventure Pack

by Tracy Hickman

Indiana Jones™*is at it again! Ranging from the Austra-lian desert to treacherous Barcelona in search of the fourthnail of the cross, Indy™* must elude the nefarious Ben AliAloob™*. Plenty of action and adventure, and lots of addi-tional 3-D ADVENTURE FOLD-UP™figures!

MHAC7 CONCRETE JUNGLE ™* and ©1985 Lucasfilm, Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Used underMARVEL SUPER HEROES™ Game Accessory authorization.

by Jazzy Jeff Grubb

This is the city . . . New York. There are seven millionstories in the concrete jungle, and here are a few more of THE GAME BUYER’S PRICE GUIDEthem. More than fifty new good guys and bad guys who By Frank Mentzer, James M. Ward, and Jean B. Blackprowl the dark canyons of Manhattan are described in this32-page MARVEL SUPER HEROES™ Game accessory.

Includes the full and fabulous facts on your friendlyneighborhood SPIDER-MAN™ and his most famous foes!

MH8 FAULTLINEMARVEL SUPER HEROES™ Game Adventure

by Kinetic Kim Eastland

So how much is that original edition of SNIT’SREVENGE™ worth, anyway? If you’ve ever wondered howmuch your game collection is worth, The Game Buyer’sPrice Guide is for you! Based on the actual safes prices ofgames and accessories at the famed annual GEN CON®Convention auction, this book is the best source of informa-tion on going prices for many games and collectables —both of the present and the golden age past, from majorcompanies and hobby independents as well!

The fast word of a dying man: “Faultline . . .” CanSPIDER-MAN™ and the mighty AVENGERS™ unravel thiscryptic clue before the East Coast is doomed?

All Marvel Characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof aretrademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. ©1985 Marvel ComicsGroup, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. All RightsReserved.

TOWER OF DARKNESSENDLESS QUEST® Book #29

by Regina Fultz

Garan must face deadly dangers to save his father fromthe clutches of the evil Count Cristoph in this adventurebased on the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game!

REVENGE OF THE RED DRAGONONE-ON-ONE™ Gamebook #3

by James M. Ward

Everyone’s talking about the new ONE-ON-ONE™ Game-book series! The unique diceless combat system and spe-cial tricks, traps and stories that allow the story to beplayed over and over again are winning new fans daily!

In Revenge of the Red Dragon, the third in the series, youare the Red Dragon, on a quest to retrieve treasure baselystolen from your horde by the Black Knight — or you arethe Black Knight, trying to reach safety after recovering themagic shield from the evil dragon’s fair!

STOP THAT WITCH!CRIMSON CRYSTAL™ Book #4

by Mary Clark

Look at the special illustrations in this CRlMSONCRYSTAL™ book through the transparent redCoin of Link-ing to uncover the hidden secrets of the powerful witch!Then use your special ranger abilities to save the kingdomfrom her malevolent powers!

COMING RETRACTIONS. . .

CN2 CONAN® THE MERCENARYCONAN® Game Adventure

by Kim Eastland

In DRAGON® Magazine #99, we proudly announced theimpending release of the PROTON FIRE™ Robot Role-Playing Game, both in this column and with an article inthe ARES™ Section.

The Orb of Yama has been stolen! If it falls into thewrong hands, great evil of the most unspeakable kind willspread over the land like a dark shroud. The mighty-thewedbarbarian from Cimmeria, now in the pay of the Priests ofJhebbel Sag, must brave a terror-filled catacomb to preventthe destruction of the Hyborian world!

Well, it didn’t happen, folks. The truth is that after theoriginal information was prepared and printed, we decidedthere wasn't a big market for a stand-alone robot game—so instead, we're re-packaging it as a STAR FRONTIERS®game accessory. That way, your STAR FRONTIERS gamewill be enhanced with new options, and the fascinatingworks of PROTON FIRE will expand the Frontier Universe!

CONAN © 1985 Conan Properties.Watch this space for news asit

Inc.develops!

Update fromthe chief(From page 8)which are based on coincidence and specu-lation � mixed, I believe, with ignorance,prejudice, and the cynical desire of certainindividuals for publicity � the news mediapick up such stories and publish them withlurid headlines to catch the eye, with refuta-tion of the whole mess buried within thepiece or carried on page 47 of the ump-teenth section a week later.

This is brought up again, for it putspressure on you, the ones who understandand enjoy the pursuit of gaming, to defendyour choices and justify what you like to do.If you are in a situation which would benefitfrom TSR assistance, get in touch withDieter Sturm, Director of Public Relations,TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI53147. Dieter has pro-gaming materialuseful for preparing presentations to groupsquestioning the hobby.

Having said my piece, it is time for me toget back to work on the stack of projectsbefore me. No . . . Kindly Editor . . . don�tuse the whip again, please! I promise tomake my deadlines � honest!

(From page 6)all get easier to do. And, for the most part, morerealistic and more enjoyable, too.

No, I don’t believe in going by the book and Ithink Mr. Gygax may have sent out that articlehe wrote too hastily. Instead, maybe he shouldhave let it sit overnight and re-read it the nextmorning. It’s more than likely he wrote it whensomething was irritating him, and thus, he shouldbe forgiven. The Dungeon Masters Guide clearlytells us that it is to be used as guidelines to aid thereferee.

There are plenty of dungeon masters who cancarry out a legitimate campaign. What’s legiti-mate? Anything is legitimate. Some people likegoing up four levels in a one-hour session. That’sfine for them. Don’t spoil their fun by tellingthem that they aren’t adhering to the “truespirit” or the “right way” of gaming. Not that Iendorse this type of gaming. My guys have beenplaying in my current campaign for six monthsand they’re only about third level and they loveit. Believe it or not, Monty Haul campaigns arelegitimate as long as the players like it. It is notfair to use the word “degenerate” in reference tosomeone’s Monty Haul campaign when theplayers are loving every minute of it.

D R A G O N 5 9

When players don’t like it, that is anotherstory. I really feel sorry for those players afflictedwith the sadistic dungeon master syndrome. Ifyou’ve got one of those dungeon masters around,tell them to go fly a lurker above. Then go find adecent one. It’s people like that who give thegame a bad name. I once almost clobbered aclerk when I went to buy a module. I placed themodule, along with my $5.50, on the counter. Heproceeded to tell me what a great dungeon it wasand how he’d already killed three parties in onlytwo weeks. Needless to say, I told him what kindof dungeon master he must be, watched hisincredulous expression, and left.

All you dungeon masters guilty of this sort ofthing: Stop. You don’t have to kill your players’characters to prove how good you are. Any Tom,Dick, or Harry can kill a character. You have toshow your players a good time and help themenjoy playing with you. Don’t have them throw-ing dice, screaming, yelling, arguing, and stomp-ing out your back door in fits of rage. If you showthem a good time you won’t have to get them toplay. Instead you’ll be fending them off for lack ofadventures.

Jim AyotteSouthwick, Mass.

* * * *

After reading #98 and seeing the followingquotes, I feel moved to comment.

“Adventurers should give dragons ahealthy degree of respect.” — Roger Moore

“The largest and oldest dragons aretougher, and they provide an even greater

challenge to high-level characters . . .” —Leonard Carpenter

I agree, but even mid-level (7-11) AD&D®game characters go dragon hunting. Where arethe wyrms of fairy tales, the great dragons whoonce commanded fear and respect?

Glad you asked. Answer — in the D&D® gamesystem, specifically the Companion Set. Parties of20th, 25th, and even 30th level hear tales of bigdragons with incredible hoards — and go else-where, to save their skins! Doubt me? Picturethis:

The seven 25th-level characters are all invisi-ble, flying, wearing +5 everything, and carryingthe mightiest weapons known to man. Theycautiously proceed up a mountainside, toward thedragon’s reputed lair. Suddenly and soundlessly,gliding over the sprawling arms of the mountainon the gusty air currents, a great red dragonappears. In mere seconds, it swoops down, picksup three victims — one in each claw, and onehapless soul in its jaws — and flies on, disappear-ing over the next ridge.

The survivors know that a single breath fromthe beast may inflict over 150 points of damage.Thus, though still well-equipped, they quicklyretreat towards town for as many reinforcementsas they can gather. But the dragon returns afterits short snack, much sooner than expected. Thecharacters spot it coming, this time, and prepare. . . but there is not enough time. A vast wingedfury, the beast breathes as it swoops in. As ithovers briefly, it kicks over two characters with itsrear feet, knocks another head over heels with itsgreat tail (disarming him in the process), andadds the usual attacks from bite and claws. Endof round one.

In round two, the beast lands squarely on thecleric, crushing her. Though the two victims ofthe kicks are fleeing, now 60 feet away, thedragon lashes out at them with its wings, buffet-ing the victims soundly and stunning them. Itthen looks around, deciding which to eat first,and gets ready to breathe again, to have a niceh o t m e a l . . .but that’s enough of this sad tale.

They’re not indestructible, but they are power-ful. Woe to the unwary traveler, who heeds notthe tales of the great wyrms of the far mountains.And it is lucky that the dragons avoid the cities ofman, knowing full well the inherent danger ofthat species, hazardous even for them. Let ushope that they continue to live far away, out ofthe reach of all but the bravest and most powerfulof adventurers.

The new, revised D&D game — it’s not justfor kids.

Frank MentzerLake Geneva, Wis.

Write on!Got a question about an article? Asubject you�d like us to cover � ornot cover? What do you think of themagazine you�re reading? Drop us aline at �Letters,� P.O. Box 110, LakeGeneva WI 53147. We�ll read everyletter we get, and we�ll select certainletters of general interest for publica-tion � maybe even yours!

60 SEPTEMBER 1985

ARL STRUCK AT THE GREAT WOLFattacking Kye, but his attack was hur-ried and ill-aimed, doing little damage.The wolf jumped at him, its mouthopen and red-dripping from Kye�sblood. Jarl was off-balance from hisfumbled strike and could not defend

himself, but Diann�s bow hummed in his ear, and oneof her grey arrows met the wolf in mid-spring. A muffledthump told him that Leas�s staff had struck one of theother wolves. Given the moment he needed to regain afirm grip on his weapon, Jarl impaled the next wolf on hisbroadsword. Diann reached for another arrow. There wasno time to count the grey shadowy forms that merged withthe blacker shadows of the great trees.

Leas was knocked to the ground, but amazingly shedrove the end of her staff into the open, slobbering mouth

AndAdventuringTo . . l

by Brenda Gates Spielman

of a wolf as large as she was herself. Diann sent an arrowinto its grey side, giving Leas a chance to get to her feet.Jarl neatly divided the skull of the wolf nearest him, butnot before its teeth had torn open a long gash in his leg.

Kye, having gathered his concentration, reached out hishands toward the fire, one arm flowing with blood, horriblyrent. In answer to his spell, the flames rose higher, a fireformed of magic. Soon the clearing was brightly lit. The fourremaining wolves revealed by the light of that suddenly leap-ing fire hesitated, but they did so for only a� moment beforeattacking again. Fire or no, they had tasted blood. Leasknocked out the eye of a wolf leaping for Kye, beside her,but he did not notice � he saw only the dancing flamesformed by his will. Diann shot too fast and her arrowmissed, flying out into the heavy trees, but Jarl�s bladeshown in a bright half-circle and another wolf fell, a greatgash open just below its ribcage. He reversed the momentumof his blow to shear off the foreleg of the third wolf. As heturned to deal with the last one, Leas�s staff came down onits back, accompanied by the crunching sound of brokenbones.

Then, there was nothing but quiet and the small soundsof the flames. Jarl hurriedly added logs to the fire, build-ing a true blaze to replace the summoned one that Kyecould not maintain. Leas ignored her own scratches tograsp Kye�s arm at the proper place to slow the flowingblood. She fumbled one-handedly for the medicines in herpouch. Jarl moved to help, but fell to the ground when hetried to put weight on his wounded leg.

Diann watched the darkness, with an arrow ready inher bow, as Leas bound Kye�s arm. None of them spoke.

�Are you hurt? Do you need help?� a voice called outof the darkness under a large tree.

Jarl regained his feet, forcing his wounded leg to sup-port him by will alone. He saw Leas reach for her staffafter first tieing the last knot in Kye�s bandage. Jarl andLeas watched the stranger moving toward them, butDiann watched the woods with a roving glance to allplaces except where he drew their attention.

"I heard wolves and thought you might need help,� heslowly walked toward them, �for not many know thewoods as well as I.� He stopped, almost in mid-step, someemotion showing on his face. �But I do not come where Iam not welcome. If you would not bid me to your fire, I Illustrations by Jerry Eaton

DRAGON 63

will leave.�Jarl hesitated, knowing his fear-dried throat could not

produce words, but he heard Leas answer. She spokeclearly the word of Denial in a language that she usuallyonly whispered. Jarl looked at her with a question on hisface.

�The protective circle that I traced around our campthis evening lies directly beneath the half-step that he didnot take,� she answered.

The stranger�s face writhed in anger, making himappear wolflike. He moved as if to come forward, but hewas unable to cross the circle. With a snarl for Leas thatwas more than wolflike, he turned, perhaps walking onfour legs rather than two before he completely disap-peared.

Kye, Diann, and Jarl looked at each other with shockedeyes as they waited for sunrise. Adventure was turningout to be much different from what they had thought itwould be.

ecause they were young and confident that only otherpeople died, and because they had knowledge but practi-cally no wisdom, they had strode together in an earlydawn with their backs firmly to their home village andtheir faces eager for adventure. Two were fighters; one,with half truth, claimed to be a magician. (The wholetruth would have required the word apprentice.) Thefourth made no claims.

Jarl was leaving because he was tired of being the babybrother; Diann, because she was a fighter in a villagewhere most women were wives. Kye had declared that afarming village in a rural land was too poor a setting for asophisticate like himself, but Leas would not say why shewent, except that the first three would need someone toput their pieces back together again if ever they found theadventure they craved.

Diann�s father watched their leaving with approval.Though he was content enough to retire in the village, hehad never adopted village ways. Diann was his child andof his training. It seemed proper to him for her to seekadventure. Kye�s father watched unhappily. He had toldKye that he would find the rest of the world a bad placeand that he really should stay home. Kye did not listen.Leas was given a sedate good-bye from two of the novicesof the healing order that had taught and raised her, afoundling child with no name. The layleader herself alsocame to bid farewell to her most promising pupil. ButJarl�s family did not yet know of his going � he left aletter to be found long after no older brother or weepingmother could catch him.

Jarl watched Diann striding along. He envied herwoods skills. He had traveled the woods with her before,hunting wolves that the harsh winter had driven into vil-lage fields that they normally avoided. At first, he had feltdistaste for a woman wielding weaponry, but he had gonebecause he wished to hunt beside her father and to learnfrom him. A winter of hunting had changed his mind, andhe now accepted her uncanny ability with a bow. Perhapshe accepted it easier because he knew that his strengthmade him better with a sword. And in turn, she did not

64 SEPTEMBER 1985

stand aloof from him, as she did the other warriors, afterhe started taking it for granted that she would do hershare of the killing.

They had met Leas during the winter on visits to thehouse of healing to have various wolf bites treated. Jarlhad liked her from the first, even though her secretivenature made it difficult to truly get to know her. Diannhad brought Kye into their group, although Jarl still didnot know why she liked him. He was too boastful for Jarl�staste, always bragging of the magic dagger left him by hisgodfather, the Wizard. Jarl doubted both the magic andthe Wizard.

Then spring had come, and the village had seemed togrow smaller, offering nothing new to attempt, no experi-ence not dulled by repetition. So, one morning they left,firm of step and light of heart, striding down ways bor-dered by tame woods and timid creatures. But Man wasstill only in enclaves, and soon they left the bounds of theland that had been ordered. The woods were no longermild, and the animals were far from timid.

unrise chased away many of the shadows and dispelledmuch of the fear that had fed on night. As it became light,Kye slipped into a doze while Leas applied herbs to hiswound. Under her calm gaze, the rents in his flesh less-ened, grew together, but slowly. He was worse hurt thanJarl had been, and Leas�s spells worked less well.

At first, Jarl and Diann believed the man in the dark-ness to be a product of their overwrought imaginations,but his footprints had been clear enough even to Jarl, whohad been trained only in the formal duel fighting of theroyal court into which his mother had hoped to gain himentry rather than in the practical survival lore of Diann�sschooling. He and Diann traced the prints to the edge ofthe clearing where they had camped, but neither one ofthem wanted to venture into the shadows beneath thetrees.

The two of them skinned five of the wolves as Leas gotKye ready to travel. They left the rest unskined ratherthan wait any longer than was needed for Kye. Theywished to be far from that place when another nightarrived.

Jarl walked beside Leas. �Why didn�t you tell us thatyou knew how to use your walking staff as a quarter-staff?�

�You didn�t ask.� She shrugged.�You should have told us without being asked. It is

important for the ordering of the group.��Well, you know now.� She smiled at him. Jarl shook

his head and sighed.The trail that they had been following became clearer,

more well defined. At dusk they decided not to camp, butto push on to the village that they felt should be near. Thepath was too well worn to have been made by chancetravelers. Men passed this way often. And even if theywere wrong, none of them had any desire to sleep beneaththose trees again.

Full dark had fallen before they reached the log palisadearound the village, and at first the guards were loath toopen the gates to admit them, but they changed their

minds when they saw the five wolf skins tied to the packs.The village had suffered much from wolves of late.

The four found themselves the center of approval thatextended to a meal in the local tavern, and the terrors ofthe night before faded in the friendly glow of the fire. Infact, by the third (or perhaps fourth) drink they were feel-ing quite the hardened adventurers.

The small man indicating the pile of wolf skins, said,�A worthy deed, I must say. But not as great as you arecapable of, I am sure.�

�Well, perhaps,� Jarl pointed to an empty seat in invi-tation and waited for the man to continue, for he clearlyhad a purpose.

�My brothers and I� � he pointed to three other mensitting around another table � �have traveled from ourfarm three days� journey away seeking a solution to aproblem, and we believe you could help. It would be wellworth your time, for it is a matter of gold.�

The man continued, well aware that he now had theirfull attention. �My father was a strong man, and he ruledus all. When we were young and mother was still alive,things were well. He built a fine house, and we had all ourwants filled. But slowly in the years following her death,he grew to find it harder and harder to part with gold. Weendured it though, for he wed late and was an old man.When he finally died, we buried him decently andcounted his hoard. There was ample for all the improve-ments we wished to make and still leave a reserve. But thefirst time we spent his gold, his body came out of his tombin the night and howled about the yard, trying to get intothe house. It has been the same for two years now. Everytime we spend any gold, his body walks. During the daywe cannot enter his tomb, and during the night we darenot leave the house.

�In desperation we sent for a cleric. No matter howdistasteful it was to so treat one who was once our father,we knew that he had to be sent away. But the cleric failed,and he was so badly mauled by the Undead that herefused to try again. Finally we decided to come to thetown, and at great cost consulted a dreamer-of-dreams.

�She told us that our dead father�s unlikely powerscame from an amulet-that he took to wearing in his latteryears. (He made us swear to bury him in it, saying it wasonce our mother�s, curse him.) She said that it was astrange and ancient thing out of the distant east, but thatits power would end if we removed it from around thecorpse�s neck.

�He is, after all, our father, and it is not in us to fighthim, even though he be dead. But we would willingly giveyou reward if you were to remove the amulet for us.�

�I think it is more fear than filial regard that stays theirhand.� Diann whispered to Kye. But Jarl had heard it allthe same.

�Likely, but we could use silver, and he offers gold.�Kye�s reply was true enough Jarl thought as he

answered the man. �Gold and adventure are each hard toresist, and both together even harder; but, when speakingof reward, it is best of talk of hard figures so that disagree-ments do not later arise between friends.�

�This is an evil that must be ended, gold or not,� Leaschided him gently. But Jarl did not listen to her. He wastoo busy dickering.

The farm house was of sturdy stone with stout woodendoor and shutters, for it was on the very borders of thisenclave of Man and needed such protection. The tombwas well back from the house and was built into a cave onthe hill above. As the brothers claimed, the tomb couldnot be opened.

Kye, at Jarl�s suggestion, attempted to open the tomb.With many theatrics, some of which were only for show toimpress the brothers, he tried to raise the door of thecrypt.

�I have tried all the spells of opening I know,� Kyefinally announced to the watching brothers, �and I amunable to force an entry. Your father indeed has strongprotections. We shall have to fight him to remove thecurse.�

Jarl stared intently at the door, as if studying it, but themuscles of his face twitched slightly as he fought a smile.

�Kye knows but one opening spell, and that is goodonly against locks not the least bit magic.� Diann whis-pered tartly in Jarl�s ear.

�Yes, but the more difficult they believe our task, themore willingly they will pay us afterwards. And the fullamount owed.�

Diann looked at Jarl with sudden understanding in hereyes. �Well, court training might be of some use after all.�

�If we can�t get into the tomb, we shall have to lure theweird out.� Jarl leaned against a tree at the edge of theclearing as the four of them discussed tactics.

�That will be easy enough,� Diann added as she sat ontop of a small boulder, �just have the brothers spend somegold.�

�And what will we do after we get the Undead out?�Kye asked in a small voice.

�Attack it from a distance, of course,� Diann answered.�And when it�s down, remove the amulet.�

�Which leaves you out of it, Leas. Diann and I havebows and Kye has spells, but you have no distanceweapon. Your part will come later, healing any hurts wetake.�

Leas did not look pleased at Jarl�s words, but she saidnothing.

arl and Diann both stood silently to each side of thehouse, their still silhouettes blending with the tall shadows

of the trees. Not so calmly, Kye waited farther back, nearthe edge of the clearing, trying to convince himself that hisspells were more potent than they were. Diann, who hadordered their plan, would let him no closer because he hadnot yet learned to dull other�s senses to his presence, andshe said that his nervousness would cry, �ambush� if hewere closer.

All three, even Kye, saw the figure of the Undead as itapproached the house, for it glowed with unhealthy palelight much as some of the strange things that lived deep incaves. Diann shot first, as they had planned, because she

DRAGON 65

was best with the bow. Her arrow went deep into theUndead�s side, but there was no reaction, no welling ofblood.

Suddenly, Jarl realized what a mistake they had made.The being was already dead, what more could arrows doto it? The creature began to wail, even as their second andthird arrows entered its body. Jarl dropped his useless bowto pick up his shield and draw his sword. He closed withthe Undead to try to sever the chain that supported theamulet. He could see Kye standing tense, concentrating.But whatever spell he was trying had no effect on theUndead. Diann, too, drew her sword, but Jarl was aheadof her and reached the creature first. It turned to facehim, and the shriek coming from its open mouth struckhim like a physical force. It was so painful that his blowwas weak, only shearing unwholesome skin from a decay-ing side. Diann�s blow was better aimed and carved intothe decaying flesh of the weird�s neck. But, although theblow was strong and fell fully on the chain, it wasunmarked.

�Well,� thought Jarl, �If we can�t cut the chain, we�llhave to cut off the head.�

The body, shrieks rising even higher in tone, drew itsburial sword. Diann was in the full force of the shriek. Shefell as if stunned, but Jarl intercepted the blow meant forher. Kye ran to pull her aside from under the Undead�supraised sword. Jarl cursed that the sons had buried theirfather so proudly, for the sword was of true steel and wellforged unlike most burial swords that were merely forshow. The Undead was slower than Jarl, but stronger andwith better steel in his blade. Slowly, Jarl was being forcedto merely defend.

Kye attacked with his long magician�s knife from theside. The knife went in deeply, piercing the heart. But thatheart had stopped functioning long before, so it did noharm to the weird. Kye was thrown aside, smears ofundead flesh clinging to him as he fell hard to the ground,stunned. Jarl fought panic as well as the Undead, for heknew that he was overmatched by the demonic strength ofthe weird.

The Undead�s wail rose again, and Jarl cowered behindhis shield, as if the sound were a physical thing that theshield could stop. Then the creature faltered, held immo-bile and silent for a mere second that seemed endless.Suddenly, it turned and went toward its tomb in a lumber-ing run.

Jarl saw Diann rise unsteadily and go after it. Kye fol-lowed her up the hill, bent to one side from the pain ofbroken ribs. Jarl ran too, but dazed and slowly.

�Try to cut the chain,� he called to Kye, wishing that he

66 SEPTEMBER 1985

really did believe the magician�s knife to be magical andthus able to cut enchanted metal.

When Jarl reached the tomb, Diann was on the ground,unmoving and deeply unconscious or dead. Kye waskneeling beside her. Leas stood in the open door of thecrypt. She wore the long formal robes of her order, andamid lit candles she had just completed the chant Unevil.She stood now denying entry. Tension bent the airbetween her and the weird. There was a feeling of some-thing about to break. Leas was pale, trembling. Clearlyher strength was overmatched, and she had reached theedge of defeat. Kye ran forward. He brought his longknife down on the weird�s neck. The blow sundered notalready dead flesh, but the chain holding the amulet. Asthe charm fell, so did the mouldering body that was nolonger forced to unlife.

Jarl sat down on the ground, gasping for breath. Heheard Kye muttering, �Well, what do you know, it reallyis magical.�

n the late morning the brothers began to re-tomb thedecayed corpse of their father as Kye, Jarl, and Diannlooked on. Kye moved stiffly, his ribs tightly bandaged.Diann was foul of temper, and Jarl assumed that her headhurt as badly as his did.

�It seems to me that, for all the gold we promised forsuch a small job, you should have re-buried him too.� Theelder brother was not joyed at the task lying before him.

�Small job?� Jarl questioned in a silky voice.�Yes, small,� the younger brother entered the debate.

�You would have eight months wages for one night�swork. It seems an unreasonable thing.�

�If you doubt the worth of our work, we could alwaysreplace this, and let you try yourselves how difficult itwas.� Jarl lightly swung the amulet by its broken chain.

The elder brother started counting out gold pieces.At the foot of the hill, Leas was waiting with their

belongings neatly packed and ready to travel.�Now that you have our payment, we had best leave,�

she suggested as she deftly snagged the amulet Jarl wasstill swinging. �I have a longing to travel into the sun fora time today.�

Jarl picked up his pack and moved to walk beside Leas.As soon as his head stopped hurting, he had more than afew things to say to her about letting the group know whatshe was planning. But not until the pounding in his headstopped.

The sun in their faces made their shadows long behindthem as they walked.

68 SEPTEMBER 1985

LOGLOG

CONTENTS

ARES Log . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

STARSHIPS AND STARSOLDIERSRoger E. Moore.. . . . . . . . . 71Miniatures wargaming, science-fictionstyle

SORRY, WRONGDIMENSION!Mike Manolakes . . . . . . . . . 73Dimensional travel for hero gaming

THE MARVEL®-PHILEJeff Grubb . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76Beta Ray Bill� and Sif�

OUT OF THE SUN. . .James M. Ward and RogerRaupp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80The Man-Machines have arrived!

THE EMPIRE OF THE SUNRoger E. Moore . . . . . . . . . . 80Home of the Man-Machines

THE STELLAR DIOCESEMichael Brown . . . . . . . . . . 83The clergy in TRAVELLER® gaming

ON THE COVEREver want to play kickball with a DeathMachine? Then turn to the article on theMan-Machines and see what Gamma Bud-dies Jim Ward and Roger Raupp havecooked up for you! Art by Roger Raupp.

70 SEPTEMBER 1985

For some reason, I feel wonderful today. We�ve got a hotselection of material this issue, including my favorite MarvelUniverse� couple, but there�s something moore going on. . . .

Anyway, the response to �Tanks a lot!� (DRAGON® issue#99) was very strong. We may cover mounting vehicle weap-ons on robots or in buildings in a future article. Several read-ers discovered that the table headings at the bottom of p. 72should have read �screen cost (Cr)� and �spaces� in thefourth and fifth columns, respectively. �Spaces� refers to thenumber of weapon spaces that may be mounted on the vehi-cle, with or without turrets.

One of the projects we are considering for publication inthis section are mass-combat rules for the STAR FRONTIERS®game. Squads of Star Law Rangers could then go toe-to-toewith the Sathar, pirate raiders, and corporate mercenaries intable-top combat, linked with the regular rules system. If thissounds good to you, read the article on the following pageand send us your mail.

This editorial will be a short one. If you have any sugges-tions for future articles for the ARES� Section, write in andlet us know: ARES Section, DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box 110,Lake Geneva, WI 53147.

Cheers!

ARES™ Section 101THE SCIENCE-FICTION GAMING SECTION

Editor: Roger E. MooreEditorial assistance: Michael Breault, Eileen Lucas, Georgia Moore, Patrick

Lucien PriceGraphics, design, and production: Kim Lindau, Roger Raupp

New arrival: John Michael Moore � born 2:40 pm, 19 July 1985, 6 lbs. 10oz. It was a long day, but it was worth it!

All materials published in the ARES Section become the exclusive propertyof the publisher upon publication, unless special arrangements to the con-trary are made prior to publication. Unsolicited manuscripts are welcome,but the publisher assumes no responsibility for them, and they will not bereturned unless accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope ofsufficient size and volume.

ARES is a trademark of TSR, Inc.'s science-fiction gaming section inDRAGON® Magazine. All rights on the contents of this section are reserved,and nothing may be reproduced from it without prior permission in writingfrom the publisher. Copyright© 1985 TSR, Inc. DRAGON, STAR FRONTIERS,GAMMA WORLD, and GEN CON are registered trademarks of TSR, Inc.BATTLESYSTEM, STARSOLDIER, and DELTAVEE are trademarks of TSR, Inc.Copyright © 1985 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

All Marvel characters and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarksof the Marvel Comics Group. MARVEL SUPER HEROES and MARVEL SUPERVILLAINS are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. Copyright © 1985Marvel Comics Group, a division of Cadence Industries Corporation. AllRights Reserved.

Earth-l, Earth-2, Earth-X, Earth-S, and Earth-Prime are trademarks of DCComics, Inc. Copyright© 1985 DC Comics. All Rights Reserved.

TRAVELLER is a registered trademark of Game Designers’ Workshop.OGRE and G.E.V. are registered trademarks of Steve Jackson Games. STARTREK is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures Corporation. SPACEOPERA is a trademark of Fantasy Games Unlimited. STAR ACE is a trademarkof Pacesetter Ltd.

STARSHIPSAND

STAR SOLDIERSMINIATURES IN SCIENCE-FICTION GAMING

by Roger E. Moore

How popular is science-fiction minia-tures gaming? What rule systems dogamers prefer for such battles? Whatspecial problems do miniatures gamersencounter when running science-fictionevents, and how can they be cured?Now that TSR�s BATTLESYSTEM� andCitadel�s Warhammer rules for fantasywarfare have been released, it�s timethat science-fiction miniatures gamingreceived its fair share of attention, too.

Probably the most popular science-fiction miniatures games are the starshipvs. starship games like the STARFRONTIERS® Knight Hawks or Star FleetBattles systems. At last year�s GEN CON®17 convention, several massive fleetactions were run using computers tokeep track of the fighting. Aside fromship battles, land actions with laser-toting infantry and occasional tank-vs.-tank events (sometimes using vehiclesand rules from the OGRE® game) alsomade their appearance. (Though SteveJackson Games has no official OGREminiatures rules, they are rumored tobe working on them.)

Land warfare

The majority of gamers use infantryminiatures for land battles of small size,minor skirmishes, barroom shoot-ups,and shipboard hijacking attempts. Theterrain may be casually marked with afew poker chips and scraps of paper, orit may be laid out on a detailed map gridshowing building or starship interiors.

Miniatures games of this scale are easyto run because of the low number ofcombatants. Rules to handle such battlesare usually included with any science-fiction role-playing system, such as the

STAR FRONTIERS, GAMMA WORLD®,TRAVELLER®, SPACE OPERA�, STARTREK®, and STAR ACE� games, but suchrules don�t always lend themselves tobattles involving battalion-sized units.Some of the miniatures games that weredesigned for larger unit actions aregiven below.

Combat 3000, by Richard Halliwell andRichard Priestly; Tabletop Games (U.K.),1979. One supplement, Combat 3001, isavailable.

Final Frontier; Ral Partha Enterprises,Inc., 1980.

Galactic Grenadier; Ral Partha Enter-prises, Inc., 1980.

Laserburn, by Bryan Ansell; TabletopGames (U.K.), 1980. Supplements includeAdvanced Laserburn, Robot, ImperialCommander, and Forces of the Impe-rium. This system is a combination ofminiatures rules and role-playing.

DRAGON 71

MAATAC; Superior Models, Inc. Theseare tank-battle rules.

Snapshot, by Marc W. Miller; GameDesigners� Workshop, 1983. This systemconnects with the TRAVELLER gamesystem, and it specifically concernsshipboard combat.

Spacefarers, by Andy Murkin and NickHenfrey; Games Workshop, Ltd. (U.K.),1981.

Space Marines, by A. Mark Ratner;Fantasy Games Unlimited, 1980 (previ-ously by FanTac Games, 1977). Thissystem connects with the SPACE OPERArole-playing game.

Star Force 300, by Bob Connor; Table-top Games (U.K.), 1980. These are rulesfor tank battle scenarios.

Starguard, by Michael Scott Kurtickand John McEwan; McEwan Miniatures,1974. Orilla is the only supplement tothese rules.

Striker, by Frank Chadwick; GameDesigners� Workshop, 1981. This game isassociated with the TRAVELLER role-playing game. TRAVELLER Adventure 7,Broadsword, contains Striker gaminginformation.

Strike Team Alpha, by Michael ScottKurtick; Gamescience, 1978. This gameis connected to the Star Patrol role-playing game.

As noted earlier, the OGRE game isoften seen converted to a tabletop mina-tures system, though (to my knowledge)no miniatures conversion system hasbeen published for it. Other boardgamesthat would probably work well in aminiatures games format include AvalonHill�s Starship Troopers, Steve Jackson�sG.E.V.® and Battlesuit, Close Simulation�sHovertank, Dwarfstar�s Grav Armor, andSPI�s STARSOLDIER� games.

Space wars

Starship-vs.-starship rules are generallymore popular than infantry-combatgames. A number of starship combatsystems are designed to be played eitheron hex-gridded maps with papercounters or on ungridded surfaces withstarship miniatures on stands. A few ofthe space combat games are givenbelow.

Encounter One, by P. Brough and M.Booth; Tabletop Games and StarfleetStudies (U.K.), 1983.

Star Fleet Battle Manual, by Lou Zoc-chi and Michael Scott Kurtick; Game-science, 1982.

Star Fleet Battles; Task Force Games,1979.

Starfleet Wars; Superior Models, Inc.

72 SEPTEMBER 1985

STAR FRONTIERS Knight Hawks game,by Douglas Niles; TSR, Inc., 1983. Rulesfor miniatures battles (by Carl Smith)are included in the boxes of starshipminiatures for the game.

Starhound, by M. Booth and P. Brough;Tabletop Games and Starfleet Studies(U.K.), 1981.

A number of starship-combat boardgames may be converted to miniaturessystems without great effort. Task ForceGames� Starfire and GDW�s Maydaysystems would do well, and a few of theold SPI games (i.e., the DELTAVEE� game) might also work in miniaturesformats.

Feedback

How many ARES� Section readers areinterested in science-fiction miniaturesgaming? We�d appreciate hearing fromthose who are. In particular, we�d like toknow the following:

What science-fiction miniatures rulesystems do you use? Which rule systemsdo you feel are the best (or worst), andwhy?

What miniatures scale do you preferusing: 15mm or 25mm? Do you preferusing cardboard counters or leadfigures?

What particular problems have youencountered with miniatures gaming?How have you solved them?

Would you like to see a infantry-com-bat system designed for use with theSTAR FRONTIERS game? Would you liketo see more information on runningKnight Hawks space battles?

Would you like to see more articles onscience-fiction miniatures games in theARES Section? If so, which games wouldyou like to see covered?

Send your letters to the ARES Section,TSR, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI53147.

Cross-dimensional escapades are arecurring adventuring theme in comicbooks, and they open up infinite possi-bilities for the game master in a super-powered hero role-playing campaign. Inthe comics, the supposition is that ourentire universe is but one of a limitlessnumber of alternate universes or dimen-sions in the Multiverse. Many of thesedimensions are startlingly different fromours, and many are so similar that theycontain parallel Earths � worlds nearlyidentical to our own.

Each campaign also has one dimensionthat we will call the base-line dimension,the home of the player characters. InMarvel Comics, the base-line is oftencalled the Marvel Universe�, but thereare also universes such as the NegativeZone�, an antimatter dimension wherethe laws of science vary significantly,and alternate universes in which groupslike the Guardians of the Galaxy� andthe Squadron Supreme� exist. The base-line dimension in DC Comics is calledEarth-l�, but its heroes have discovereda host of parallel dimensions with suchdesignations as Earth-2�, Earth-X�,Earth-S�, and Earth-Prime�, in whichyou and I live.

Most heroic game systems allow fordimensional travel in various ways. Inthe VILLAINS AND VIGILANTES� sys-tem, for example, a character can havedimensional travel as a power, or hemight possess a dimensional-traveldevice. Also, a game master could createa dimensional warp as either a naturaloccurance or an accidental side-effect ofsome malfunctioning machine. Howeverit happens, a group of player charactersmight begin an adventure by leavingtheir base-line dimension. (Let�s call thatbase-line universe Earth-Major.)

A group of dimensional travelers mayor may not have a certain destination inmind when they begin such a trip; evenif they do, they might arrive somewhereelse instead. A character with the power

to travel through dimensions will have acertain chance to succeed, subject tovarious modifiers. A dimensional-traveldevice would probably have a betterchance of getting characters to the cor-rect dimension, depending on how reli-able it�s been in the past. (A newlyinvented device would have a greatlyreduced chance for success.) If the partydoes wind up in the wrong dimension,the characters might realize their mis-take at once � or they might not.

One method for designating differentdimensions and determining their char-acteristics follows. In this system, everydimension is identified by a set of sevencoordinates. Thus, our base-line dimen-sion of Earth-Major could be given thecoordinates of 7,7,7,7,7,7,1. Seven is avery useful number for the base-linedimension, as will become apparent. Allof the tables below assume that thebase-line universe has the particulardimensions given above.

Each coordinate in the dimensionaldesignation refers to a different charac-teristic of the dimension. The closer anydimension�s coordinate is to 7, thegreater the similarity to Earth-Major inthat characteristic. Here is what each ofthe coordinates refer to, calling each byone of the first seven letters of thealphabet.

Coordinate A: The first coordinategives the rate of time passage in thedimension (Table 1). As this coordinateincreases, the time flow of the newuniverse will be seven times slowercompared to that of the home universethan at the previous lower level. If anadventurer from Earth-Major spends aweek in a dimension with a coordinate Aof 2 and then returns home, he may findonly seconds have passed for his compa-triots who stayed behind. Adventurerswho tarry where coordinate A is 12need to hurry home, lest they return toEarth-Major centuries after they left.

Coordinate B: This refers to the bal-ance of science vs. magic (Table 2). Inmost comic-book universes, both thelaws of science and the laws of magiccoexist. Here in the real world, we areconvinced of the infallibility of laws ofscience, but scoff at the possibility thatmagic exists as well. In some dimen-sions, wizards might routinely cast spellson a world where Newton�s Laws oftenfail. The lower coordinate B is, the bet-ter the laws of magic work. The highercoordinate B is, the more reliable isscience. For Earth-Major, coordinate B is7 and both magic and science coexist,though one or the other might be moreprominently used.

Coordinate C: This gives the technolog-ical (either science- or magic-based) levelof the counterpart world to our currentworld (Table 3). If coordinate C is below7, the world is more primitive thanEarth; a value greater than 7 means it ismore advanced. Of course, alien planetsin an alternate dimension might havetheir own technological levels, just asthey would in the base-line dimension.

Coordinate D: This describes the biol-ogy of the dominant life form on thecounterpart world (Table 4). In a dimen-sion with coordinate D at 7, the inhabit-ants on Earth-Major�s counterpart wouldbe human; at 6 or 8, they would lookhuman but have minor biological differ-ences. The further the coordinate getsfrom 7 in either direction, the greaterthe differences between the dominantlife-form and humans (Table 4.)

Coordinate E: This coordinate givesthe balance between good and evil(Table 5). In the base-line universe, bothheroes and villains exist in equal num-bers, and coordinate E is 7. The higherthis coordinate, the more virtuous itsinhabitants, and the less familiarity theywould have with the concept of evil.With a very low coordinate E, the inhab-itants would be thoroughly nasty, andvisiting heroes from Earth-Major would

MARVEL SUPER HERO, the Marvel Universe, the Negative Zone, the Guardians of the Galaxy, and the Squadron Supreme are trademarks of the Marvel Comics Group. Copyright © 1985 marvel Comics Group, a division ofCadence Industries Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Earth-1, Earth-2, Earth-X, Earth-S, and Earth-prime are trademarks of DC Comics Inc. Copyright © 1985 DC Comics Inc. All Rights Reserved.

DRAGON 73

have a hard time finding a friendly face.Coordinate F: This coordinate refers to

the likelihood of finding individuals whoare analogous to each other on parallelworlds (Table 6). If Joe Smith fromEarth-Major travels to another dimen-sion that also has a coordinate F of 7, theodds are certain that somewhere on thatworld is another Joe Smith, even if he isa sword-swinging reptileman. If coordi-nate F is 9, the odds of finding anotherJoe Smith would be 75%. The furtherthe coordinate is from 7, the more therandom differences between universesmount up, until a visitor to a dimensionwith F at 12 can find almost no similari-ties at all to the world he left behind.

Coordinate G: Unlike the above coordi-nates, this one is merely a countingfunction. It is possible to have two dis-similar universes with the same first sixcoordinates, differing in numerousother ways. Coordinate G simply labels auniverse with another number to keepthe universes straight. All newly discov-ered universes with unique combina-tions of their first six coordinates shouldhave a coordinate G of 1.

Using this system, it becomes easy torandomly create new dimensions. Agame master will need to do this ifdimensional travelers have mistakenlywandered into the wrong dimension, orperhaps he can use it to create the homedimension for some interdimensionalvillainous invader.

The game master rolls two six-sideddice for each of the first six coordinates,the sum of the two being the coordinatenumber. This generates a number from2 to 12. with 7 being the most likelynumber rolled. This assumes that incases where a dimension needs to berandomly chosen, it is likely that itwould turn out to be similar to the base-line dimension in most of its characteris-

Table 1: Rate of time passage

time spent time passedA coord. in new in home

dimension dimension2 1 week 36 sec.3 1 week 4 minutes4 1 week 30 minutes5 1 week 3 hours6 1 week 1 day7 1 week 1 week8 1 week 7 weeks9 1 week 11 months

10 1 week 6.5 years11 1 week 46 years12 1 week 323 years

74 SEPTEMBER 1985

tics. If the game master wants the ran-dom dimension to be in the neighbor-hood of some other dimension, he canadd or subtract an appropriate modifierto any of the coordinates.

Let�s say that Earth-Major�s mightiesthero, Cosmic Charlie, is going on aninterdimensional vacation. Unfortu-nately, his dimensional travel deviceblows a fuse and sends him into a ran-dom dimension. The game master deter-mines that Charlie has arrived indimension 8,10,4,10,6,6,1. (Note that thelast coordinate was not rolled.) Our herowill probably first realize he�s in thewrong place when he sees that the localpopulation is decidedly non-human(coordinate D) and somewhat backward,perhaps at a medieval technological level(coordinate C).

Since coordinate E is 6, the inhabitantsof this dimension are slightly more evilthat those Charlie�s used to, but there�sstill a good chance he will find someheroic allies. But, if he needs to use hisMystic Flame Ring, Charlie will find thatthe magical item fails � coordinate B is10, and magic has little power here.Luckily, Charlie�s dimensional traveldevice is completely scientific in nature,and he is able to repair it and returnhome. On his return, he finds sevenweeks have gone by at home, since hisadventure took place in a dimensionwhere time passes at a slower rate(coordinate A).

Instead of rolling up the first six coor-dinates for a new dimension, a gamemaster might instead decide that anadventuring party was only slightly offcourse. He can randomly alter one ofthe coordinates (which itself can berandomly chosen on 1d6). If a party,

Table 2: Science and magiclevels

B coord. result2-3 Magic items always work,

scientific devices always fail4-5 Magic items always work,

scientific devices fail 60% ofthe time

6-8 Science and magic coexist andare equally reliable

9-10 Scientific devices alwayswork, magic items fail 60% ofthe time

11-12 Scientific devices alwayswork, magical items alwaysfail

The chance of failure is in addition toany chance for failure for the device oritem written into the game rules.

heading home to Earth-Major, ends upinstead in dimension 7,7,7,7,5,7,1, thecharacters might not notice right awaythat their friends and allies have sud-denly turned ruthless and villainous.

Player characters who, by reason oftheir powers or abilities, are naturallyfamiliar with the myriad dimensions ofthe Multiverse might be able to use thisnumerical system themselves. Theycould tell the GM, �Today I�ll transportmyself to dimension 3,2,7,4,5,12,2."Perhaps the numbers might even appearon the digital display on the dashboardof some interdimensional flivver. Ofcourse, player characters without suchfamiliarity with dimensional travelwould not be able to identify other uni-verses numerically. Whatever inter-dimensional travel they are involved inwould then be done blindly.

One last point. The range of numbersfrom 2 to 12 for the coordinates isstrictly for convenience, and in fact therange is not limited to these numbers. Ifa game master wishes, he can use anumber greater than 12 or lower than2, even negative numbers. But even if hesticks to the range of 2 to 12 for the firstsix coordinates, he still has 1,771,561possible dimensions to explore! Thatshould keep the player characters busy.

Table 3: Technological level ofEarth�s counterparts

C coord. status2 No written languages, early

agricultural systems3 Iron weapons, complex num-

ber systems4 Sailing ships, swords and

armor5 Gunpowder weapons, printing

press6 Steam engines, electricity7 Air travel, telecommunica-

tions8 Interplanetary travel, fusion

power9 Interstellar travel, most labor

automated10 Minor stellar empire, greatly

extended lifespans11 Instantaneous teleportation,

telepathic communicationcommon

12 Energy output of entire galaxyharnessed, planets and starsystems reconstructed

In a magic-dominated dimension, theseachievements would be magical in nat-ure; for example, air travel may meanflying carpets are commonplace.

Table 4: Biology of dominantlife form

D coord. result7 Identical to humanity

6, 8 Impossible to tell fromhumans without a scientificexamination (example: mayhave different blood chemis-try)

5, 9 Minor differences in appear-ance from humans (examples:unusual skin color, pointedears)

4, 10 Major differences in appear-ance from humans (examples:different number of eyes orlimbs)

3, 11 Resembles some other Terranlife-form (examples: intelligentapes, felines, reptiles, orducks)

2, 12 Resembles no Terran life-form(examples: creatures of pureenergy or silicon-based life)

Table 5: Good and evil levels

E coord. result2

3

4

5

6

7

Culture entirely villainous; no F coord. resultchance of finding good 7 Every individual has an analogcharacters in parallel dimensionCulture is criminal; 5% chance 6, 8 90% chance of finding anof finding good characters analog to any individualCulture is lawless; 10% chance 5, 9 75% chance of finding anof finding good characters analog to any individualCulture is corrupt; 15% chance 4, 10 50% chance of finding anof finding good characters analog to any individualCulture is somewhat cruel; 20% 3, 11 25% chance of finding anchance of finding good analog to any individualcharacters 2, 12 10% chance of finding anCulture is mixed or neutral; analog to any individual25% chance of finding eithergood or evil characters If two dimensions contain parallelCulture is somewhat virtuous; worlds, each individual in one dimen-20% chance of finding evil sion would have a twin, or analog, oncharacters the parallel world. Subject to the differ-Culture is moral; 15% chance of ences caused by the other five coordi-finding evil characters nates, the analogs would have similarCulture is peace-loving; 10% names, appearances, occupations, dispo-chance of finding evil sitions, and histories. The higher thecharacters difference in F coordinates, the greaterCulture is saintly; 5% chance of the dissimilarity between analogs andfinding evil characters the less their chance of existing.

12 Culture is innocent; no chanceof finding evil characters

8

9

10

11

Table 6: Similarity betweendimensions

DRAGON 75

The MARVEL®-Phileby Jeff Grubb

A quick personal note: The editor of theARES� Section of the magazine probablywon�t mention it in his editorial, so I�llmention it here. Roger and his lovelywife Georgia are the proud parents oftheir first child, John Michael Moore,born July 19, 1985. (I liked the namePinball Godzilla Ozone Moore myself,but only if it was a girl). Congratulationsto the new parents! (Do I get paid, now,Roger?) [No.]

Well, on to business. Dylan Nor-mington, of Portland, Ore., and a vasthost of others have put in votes to seeSif� and Beta Ray Bill�. As Odin� wouldsay: SO BE IT!

BETA RAY BILL�Adventurer, hero to his people

Fighting: UNEARTHLY (100)Agility: REMARKABLE (30)Strength: UNEARTHLY (100)Endurance: UNEARTHLY (100)Reason: REMARKABLE (30)Intuition: EXCELLENT (20)Psyche: AMAZING (50)

Health: 330Karma: 100Resources: GOODPopularity: 30

Known powers:

DENSE FLESH: Bill�s bio-engineeredbody provides him with Excellentbody armor.

STORM BREAKER: Bill�s hammer,crafted by Odin and the dwarves ofNidavellir, grants Bill several addi-tional abilities. Like Mjolnir, the ham-mer of Thor�, Storm Breaker is aunique weapon made of Uru metal.The hammer has the followingenchantments.

1. Returning. It may be thrown upto 10 areas and will return to Bill�shand the round after it is thrown.

2. Weather Control. The wielderof Storm Breaker has Unearthly con-trol over weather, and is able to sum-mon storms and strike opponents

76 SEPTEMBER 1985

with lightning bolts of Monstrousstrength.

3. Dimensional Travel. By spin-ning the hammer in a certain fash-ion, Beta Ray Bill can span thedimensions, including the dimen-sions of Asgard and Olympus, andcan use this power to span greatdistances of space as well. Bill doesthis with Unearthly ability.

4. Flight. By throwing his hammerand grabbing the thong, Bill can flywith Amazing speed while carryingas much as he can normally lift.

5. Shield. By spinning the hammerswiftly, Bill can deflect missiles, mag-ical bolts, and energy beams ofRemarkable strength or less.

6. Alter Ego. Bill�s inhuman visageis the result of biogenetic changesmade upon him by his race�s scien-tists. Odin has passed on an enchant-ment from Thor�s hammer thatallows Bill to regain his originalhumanoid form. In this orange,noseless form, he has the followingabilities:

F A S EExce Exce Exce Exce

R I PRema Exce Amaz

Health: 80 Karma: 100

SCUTTLEBUTT�: Scuttlebutt is Bill�ssentient starship and long-time com-panion. This huge warship maymove at Class 1000 speed throughspace and is armed with numerousUnearthly-class blasters. Scuttlebutthas Incredible Reason, Incrediblearmor, and is self-repairing. The shipcrashed on Earth while being pur-sued by his race�s demonic enemies,but repaired itself within two days. Ithas since fought alongside Lady Sifand Beta Ray Bill in later battles.

Beta Ray Bill�s story: Beta Ray Bill isa member of an ancient alien racethat lived in a distant galaxy. Theircivilization was destroyed by anexplosion in the galactic core, andthe survivors were forced to flee to anew home in ten thousand starships,

stored in cyrogenic sleep. Bill wasselected from among his people toserve as a guardian and protector ofhis people from a large field of con-testants by means of grueling mentaland physical tests. His leaders hadhim mutated and bio-engineered,giving him the genetic structure andtraits of the fiercest carnivore intheir former stellar empire. Theresult was a creature grotesque bythe scientists� standards but power-ful enough to serve aboard the stel-lar warship Scuttlebutt.

Bill�s race set out for the stars, butwere set upon by demons, agents ofthe lord of the Fire Giants, Surtur�,soon after leaving their homeworld.Bill and Scuttlebutt delayed thedemonic hoards, allowing his peopleto escape. In catching up with hisfleet, Bill and Scuttlebutt entered oursolar system, where the ship wasboarded by the mighty Thor on aninvestigative mission. Bill mistookThor for one of his demonic foesand defeated the Thunder God whenThor had been without his hammerfor one minute and unintentionallychanged into Dr. Donald Blake. Dam-aged, Scuttlebutt crash-landed onEarth, and Bill discovered the powerof Dr. Blake�s cane (Mjolnir), trans-forming himself into a alien versionof Thor. Being a worthy and noblechampion, Bill was able to wield thehammer against attackingS.H.I.E.L.D.� forces. However, Odinhad need of Thor at that time, andhe summoned the false Thorinstead, thinking him to be his son.

Odin quickly realized his mistakeand brought his true son to Asgard,where Thor regained his godlikeform. Thor and Bill fought for thehammer Mjolnir in a battle to thedeath, and Bill won. But, though hedefeated the Thunder God, Bill couldnot bring himself to slay his honor-able opponent. In gratitude, Odinrestored Mjolnir to Thor and, withthe aid of the dwarves, crafted asecond magical hammer, Storm

Breaker. Odin enchanted it with Bill has since left Asgard to guidepowers similar to those of Mjolnir, his people to a new home, accompa-and, in addition, moved the enchant- nied by the Lady Sif, and returned toment from Mjolnir to Storm Breaker aid in the defense of Earth againstthat allowed Thor to become Dr. Surtur�s demons in New York City. HeBlake. Storm Breaker�s enchantment has proven himself to be a noble andallowed Bill to regain his old human- dedicated fighter on the level of theoid form. Thunder God himself.

SIF�Warrior goddess of Asgard

Fighting: MONSTROUS (75)Agility: REMARKABLE (30)Strength: INCREDIBLE (40)Endurance: UNEARTHLY (100)Reason: GOOD (10)Intuition: INCREDIBLE (40)Psyche: AMAZING (50)

D R A G O N 7 7

Health: 245Karma: 100Resources: GOODPopularity: 15

Known powers:

DENSE FLESH: Like all Asgardians,Sif has Good body armor resultingfrom the density of her flesh. (Sheweighs 425 lbs.) In addition, she isimmune to all terrestrial diseases.

SWORDSMANSHIP: Sif is among thegreatest sword-wielders in Asgard,and receives an up-one shift whenwielding a bladed weapon.

ENCHANTED WEAPON: Sif�s normalweapon is a sword enchanted byOdin. She may inflict IncredibleHack & Slash damage with theweapon or Monstrous Slugfest dam-age with the flat of the blade. Inaddition, by spinning the enchantedsword in a certain pattern, she maybridge the dimensions, allowing herto travel between Earth and Asgardwith Unearthly ability, and to otherdimensions with Good ability. (Fail-

78 SEPTEMBER 1985

ure to make the FEAT roll results injumping to an undesired dimensionor to another realm within theintended target dimension). Thesword is made of Amazing-strengthmaterial.

Sif�s story Sif is the sister ofHeimdall�, the guardian of the Rain-bow Bridge, and is the betrothed ofthe Thunder God, Thor. She wastrained from an early age to be aShield Maiden, and is now one of themost accomplished swordswomenin the realm, exceeded in skill onlyby Brunnhilda (Valkyri�, fromDRAGON® issue #100).

Sif�s dark hair is the result of thetrickery of Loki�. Sif was a playmateof both Loki and Thor, but preferredThor to his half-brother. In retribu-tion, Loki cut Sif�s golden hair offwhile she slept. To make amends,Loki went to the trolls to have themforge artificial hair of gold to replacethe lost locks. The future god ofmischief cheated the trolls of theirpayment, but the troll smiths hadthe last laugh; after Sif donned thehair and it began to grow normally,the tresses turned jet black. Sif wasdistressed by this turn of events, buthas since learned to live with herebony locks � though she now bearsno love for Loki.

Though a playmate of Thor, Sifwas separated from the ThunderGod for some time as Thor adven-tured on Earth and in Asgard. Thetwo met again following the end ofThor�s relationship with Jane Fosterand were soon pledged to marry.Thor�s adventuring on and love ofEarth (Midgard) postponed the mar-riage, and recent enchantmentsplaced on the Thunder God byLorelei �, the younger sister of theEnchantress�, has strained theirrelationship even further.

Sif, meanwhile, has found a closefriend and companion in Beta RayBill, and fought beside the alien war-rior in his battles against the demonsthreatening his people. She is verystrongly attracted to Bill, and tosome degree now understandsThor�s previous affection for mor-tals. How the relationship betweenSif, Beta Ray Bill, and Thor willdevelop remains to be seen.

DRAGON 79

For over two hundred years, the DeathMachine had faithfully guarded theentrance to the Redwood UndergroundSupply Depot. The machine took consid-erable cybernetic pride in havingneeded only its eight cryogenicallycooled laser batteries to stop all opposi-tion from getting within one kilometerof the base. Humans, smaller robots, andstrange, unlikely animals had all foughtthe guardian, and all had died secondsafter entering range of the lasers.

In all those years, the only damage theDeath Machine had taken was from thepurple flowers on the perimeter of the

depot’s fence. Many years ago, the robothad trained its weapons on the flowerpatch to clear out its free-fire zone. Withthe first shot, the flowers had somehowfired back enough energy to strip themachine’s energy screens a way andpunch a hole a meter across through themachine’s hull. The flowers ceasedattacking the second the laser batterieswere cut off — and the purple flowerswere left alone from then on. The DeathMachine needed a week in the repairshops to recover

It was a bright, sunny day, and theDeath Machine was tracking small birdswith its trek guns for practice when itssensors detected two air units approach-ing, each equipped with a nuclear plant.Not willing to take any chances, theguardian brought all of its weapons tofull power and readied itself for battle.The units reached the boundary of the1500-meter free-fire zone — and the

Death Machine let them have it, itsblaster cannons and laser batteriessetting fire to the very air with theirmonstrous energies.

The enemy machines took direct hitsand kept coming. The Death Machinerechecked its sensor readings and sal-voed missile after howling missile in tothe attackers . .. but they still kept com-ing.

The Death Machine backed away,firing every weapon it had. For the firsttime in its long, mechanized existence,the Death Machine experienced a newfeeling deep within its inhuman con-sciousness. The Death Machine knewthe meaning of fear

The Man-Machines were among thelast great battle weapons built in thetime before the Shadow Years. Theywere created in three different models:the Aquabot (see POLYHEDRON� issue

The Empire of the Sunby Roger E. Moore

TECH: IIITYPES: PSH, H (see below)NUMBER: 1 per vehicleBASE: B (2d4 + 20); H (2d6 + 3)SECRET SIGN: None (see below)LOCATION: Scattered bases acrossPacific Ocean, east coast of Asia, andwest coast of North America; controlsisland of Honshu, JapanDESCRIPTION: The Empire of the Sunis not so much a Cryptic Alliance as it isa true nation, one of the few in exist-ence in the Dark Years. Its military isspread very thinly across the Pacificbasin and it has a low population base,

but its people, composed entirely ofPure Strain Humans and human-appear-ing mutants, are highly organized andmotivated. They control little land inNorth America, but have set up a fewbases from which their military is study-ing the local Cryptic Alliances.

As noted in the accompanying articleon the AATAAV, the Empire got its startfrom a group of pilots and ground crew-men working on the island of Honshuprior to the Social Wars. Honshu was atthat time a part of the Asian Coalition,which was at war with nearly everyother nation on Earth. During the Apoc-

alypse Week of 2322, these crewmenwere hustled into suspended animationchambers in a major undersea base offthe coast of Honshu, and thus survivedthe cataclysm.

The crewmen were revived in 2431,and since then have slowly spreadacross the Pacific Ocean, scouting outthe remains of the world. They willaccept any human or human-appearingbeing into their ranks, after a lengthyindoctrination program which includesa telepathic scan by mutant humans.The program is so thorough that thereonly a percentage chance equal to the

is

prospective character�s mental strengthscore of successfully hiding any traitor-ous thoughts.

Only military members of the Empireare encountered away from Honshu.The only sign exchanged by Imperialsoldiers is a salute given to officers, inwhich the right hand is placed over theheart (as if reciting the American Pledgeof Allegiance). About 70% of the

80 SEPTEMBER 1985

#20), the HATAAV (Heavy All-TerrainArmored Attack Vehicle), and theAATAAV (Airborne All-Terrain ArmoredAttack Vehicle). Manned war machinesof incredible destructive power, theyhad only been in the testing stage whenthe Social Wars and the Apocalypsebrought an end to all civilization.

Hundreds of years later, suspendedanimation capsules on the island of Hon-shu, Japan, released a force of AATAAVpilots and ground crew who had sur-vived the Social Wars by entering thecapsules at the last possible moment.Horrified at the devastation wroughtupon their world, the force began to re-establish civilization � on their ownterms, and under the banner of theEmpire of the Sun.

This article details the AATAAV fight-ing machine, which is likely to beencountered along the western coast ofNorth America. Player characters mayeither fight against or join the forces ofthe Empire of the Sun, or they maysimply try to stay out of the way. . . .

TYPE: AAATAVSTATUS: Two ranks

NUMBER: 1d4 ARMOR: 1HIT DICE: 300d8 CONTROL: ESENSORS: A/B/C/ + POWER: B

MS: Nil IN: NilDX: 1d4 + 14 PS: 250

LAND SPEED: 100/4500/80AIR SPEED: 200/9000/160 (see below)

Empire�s citizens and troops are Orientalor Polynesian, though the Empire�s peo-ple harbor no ill will toward any race.Mutant animals and plants are not per-mitted to be soldiers or citizens of theEmpire, as their status is still in ques-tion. Androids are regarded as enemies,and there are rumors of an Empire-android war going on in the northernislands of Japan.

After the failure of attempts to makepeaceful contact with the Iron Society(see POLYHEDRON� issue #18) and aRadioactivist city on the west coast (seePOLYHEDRON issue #20), the Empirebegan attacks against both of these Alli-ances with mixed success. The outcomeof this conflict has yet to be resolved.

The Empire�s basic policy is to bringorder out of the chaos of the world,using the most efficient means possible.If peaceful negotiation works, that willbe used. If fighting is inevitable � thenthe Man-Machines are brought in.

WATER SPEED: 65/2900/50 limited by power and cooling consider-ations). For long-range travel, the

DESCRIPTION: The AATAAV is a gigan- AATAAV can reconfigure itself into atic, manlike war machine, standing 90 m more aerodynamic form and fly nor-tall and 36 m wide. The body is com- mally, using antigravity pods and jetposed of energy-resistant collaplastic engines. The reconfiguration processwith a duralloy underbase. It must be takes only one minute, but during thatpiloted by a trained driver/gunner with time the machine�s weapons cannot bea Stage V I.D.; the pilot controls all func- operated. In full flight configuration, thetions of the vehicle, including flight, vehicle can reach speeds of up to 830hover, and walking capabilities, and all kph. Streamlining is provided by shap-

F R O N T

gunnery. Intensive training is necessary ing the force field around the vehicle.to operate the device at full efficiency, Because of the force field, no weaponsand such training is only available from can be used while the vehicle is in flight.certain military bases controlled by the The AATAAV has a force-field energyEmpire of the Sun. screen capable of absorbing 300 points

The AATAAV has standard, infrared, of damage. A high-intensity floodlightand ultraviolet sensors effective out to mounted on the vehicle�s head has a 110 km, and has radar good out to 200 km range and projects a 30° cone-km. It can walk over light terrain at 25 shaped beam. The floodlight will causekph, or use its hover thrusters to move temporary blindness in most light-sensi-over all terrain at twice that speed, for tive or nocturnal creatures within 300 m120 minutes every 24-hour period (being of the beam�s source.

DRAGON 81

Two smoke-screen projectors,mounted just below the visual sensors,are together capable of creating a cylin-drical cloud of smoke or gas 30 m wideand 250 m long within 10 seconds. Thesmoke negates all laser attacks, ruinsline-of-sight optical and infrared sensing,and can be mixed with a poison gas(intensity 3-18, as desired) useful againstground troops.

one launches matter bombs (type beta).Each mortar has a 2-km range and mayfire two bombs per action turn, with asupply of 40 bombs for the matter-bombmortar and 80 for the negation-bombmortar.

The AATAAV�s arms are each able topresent a universal firing arc, quicklydirecting attacks in any direction. Eacharm mounts three blaster cannon, doing20d6 damage each at a 2km range.

against massed troop concentrations.

The AATAAV is heavily equipped and

Two black-ray batteries, each holding six

was intended for use as a shock force

black-ray guns with a 600-m range, aremounted on the left and right hips ofthe vehicle. Each battery has a firing arcof 180° to its respective side.

Each shin of the vehicle has a mortar,concealed internally but hanging out forfiring. The left mortar is usually riggedfor firing negation bombs, and the right

eight plasma guns per arm. Plasma guns

These guns are mounted around a mas-

have the following statistics: WC 13,code FIII, range 500 m, damage 15d6

sive central plasma-gun battery, with

each. The plasma weapons cannot beremoved from the vehicle�s arms with-out destroying them. Because the plasmaweapons use so much power, theAATAAV cannot do anything else whilethese weapons fire and must standperfectly still.

Finally, four standard Mark VII blast-ers rifles are mounted under the vehi-cle�s chin. These weapons have standardranges and powers, and have a 90°firing arc to the AATAAV�s front.

The AATAAV is powered by a fusionpower plant with a ten-year life span.The machine is rigged to automaticallyself-destruct (regardless of the pilot�swishes) from a remote location, usuallyan Empire of the Sun base. (This is anexcellent way of keeping these devicesout of the hands of the Empire�s ene-mies.) However, the self-destruct mecha-nism and circuitry are considered secretknowledge, and no pilots are aware thatthese devices have been implanted intheir vehicles.

Because of the onboard guidance andfire-control systems, it is impossible forthe pilot of a AATAAV to accidentallyshoot his own vehicle in combat. AnAATAAV will always remain uprightunless it is depowered or purposefullymade to sit down. Very few AATAAVsare in service, perhaps less than ten;only three to six of them would be inoperation in North America. AATAAVsusually travel in small groups to providefire support to one another.

Only a minute had passed since thebattle had been joined. The DeathMachine’s energy shields were gone, andit had taken massive damage from themultiple attacks mounted by the twointruders. Within the cold consciousnessof the machine’s combat computer, factswere analyzed and a decision wasreached. It rocketed away from theattackers at full power, heading for theperimeter fence. If its plan failed, itwould be a smoldering hulk within thenext few seconds.

The gleaming titans raised theirplasma gun batteries and took aim as theDeath Machine suddenly droppedbehind the fence, beyond a patch ofpurple flowers. Earth and sky weresuddenly illuminated by the flash ofstar-hot plasma bolts that linked the twoattackers and the flower patch in abridge of blinding white energy.

It was over with in seconds. Theflowers remained untouched, theirmutant energy-reflection powerundimmed. Slowly, the guardian aroseand coasted back toward the flamingruins of the two invaders. Training itsremaining guns and weapons on thewrecks, the robot began to pound theremains until they were molten.

It was not called a Death Machine fornothing.

82 SEPTEMBER 1985

The StellarDioceseThe clergy in the TRAVELLER® universe

by Michael Brown

The TRAVELLER® game covers a diverserange of social aspects of the future,from the good to the bad, from the unu-sual to the mundane. Primitive culturescan coexist with high-tech societies, andmany different ideologies can come intoplay during a game.

One thing appears to be missing fromthis diverse universe, however � reli-gion. The only mention made of religionin the TRAVELLER rules are the reli-gious dictatorships that can occur inworld government generation. It wouldseem, even in the future presented inTRAVELLER, that religious beliefs wouldstill play a great role in the day-to-daylives of individuals. What of religiouspersonages not of religious dictator-ships? Aren�t there beings in theImperium and elsewhere who spreadthe word of their beliefs, as priests,missionaries, or religious wayfarers?

These tables detail the generation ofjust such individuals, along with descrip-tions of some of the many religionspossible within GDW�s TRAVELLERImperium.

Cleric character generation

The following prior service table is mod-eled after the standard character gener-ation tables in TRAVELLER Book 1,Characters and Combat. Character raceand sex are irrelevant in charactergeneration.

Enlistment 8+DM of +1 if Intel 9 +DM of +2 if Educ 8 +

Survival 3+DM of +2 if Intel 9+

Position 9 +DM of +1 if Social 8 +

Promotion 9 +DM of +1 if Social 8 +

Reenlist 5+

Clergy members receive an automaticskill of Religion-l upon joining this serv-ice. All clerical members age normally asper their race. No retirement pay ofpension is normally available, thoughmustering-out benefits may be receivedas usual. Though ranks 1-6 exist, thereferee should come up with rank titlesfor different religions as appropriate tohis or her campaign. Possible titles couldinclude Father/Mother, Priest, Deacon,Elder, Patriarch, Bishop, Cardinal, Rabbi,Caliph, Abbot, Pilgrim, or more exoticforms of address.

Mustering out is accomplished as perthe rules in TRAVELLER Book 1, usingthe table below.

Die Material CashRoll Benefits Allowances

1 � 1,0002 Low Psg 1,0003 Mid Psg 5,0004 +1 Intel 5,0005 +1 Educ 10,0006 +1 Social 10,0007 Travellers� �

DM +1 to material benefits table ifcleric is of rank 5 or 6.

Skill explanations

All skills given in the skills tables, exceptfor those detailed below, are asdescribed in TRAVELLER Book 1.

Carousing: See TRAVELLER Supple-ment 4.

Instruction: See TRAVELLER Book 5.Liason: See TRAVELLER Book 5.Recruiting: See TRAVELLER Book 4.Religion: This is a general term relat-

ing to a character�s knowledge of theparticular religious doctrines of a cer-tain sect of worshipers. The first skilllevel in this area is assumed to be anintensive study in the beliefs and doc-trines of the religion professed by thecharacter. Any skill levels beyond thatmay be the continued and advancedstudy of those particular doctrines.Second and succeeding skill levels do nothave to be of the same religion, how-ever; they can represent the study ofreligion in general, touching upon thefundamentals common to all religions,or they can be of another religionentirely.

Religion skill allows for reaction-throwmodifiers when dealing with religioussects and attempts to persuade groups

DRAGON 83

to convert or take part in religiousdoings. Religion-3 allows an individual tohave a regular following of worshipers,but all three levels must be of the char.acter�s professed religion.

Futuristic religions

The following are a few examples ofreligions that could be created for sci-ence-fiction campaigns set in theTRAVELLER Imperium and its environs.None of them are �official� GDW gameadditions.

Brotherhood of the Sphere — TheBrotherhood is a semi-popular religionin the Imperium that has proliferatedsince Imperial year 900. Its preceptshold that the universe is an infinite, self-aware sphere, and that other universesrevolve around it. The sect�s holy symbolis a spherical crystal (usually lapis lazuli)worn about the neck. The Brotherhoodhas an inner circle of twenty spiritualleaders (all TRAVELLER Rank 6) who,unbeknownst to the lesser members orto the Imperium, possess various psionicpowers.

Church of Divine Truth — The Churchof Divine Truth has a huge following,with a membership well into the billions.Its lineage can be traced back as far asthe First Imperium. Its precepts aresimple, proclaiming a Supreme Beingthat has at least one semidivine minionon each planet. Church members can beidentified by the small, four-pointed startatooed on the back of the right hand.

Terran religions — Terra (Earth) boastsa wide variety of religions, most of themancient, very sound, and enjoying greatnumbers of followers. One of the moreprevalent �new� religions which hassprung up on Earth in the latter centuryor so is the Disciples of Terran Purity. Itsprecepts involve the mistrust and non-use of technology in general, blaming itfor corrupting Terra and rendering herpeoples� spirits impure. The teaching ofthe Disciples combine religious andcombat discipline, all corresponding to atech level 0 or 1 lifestyle. Another fairlyrecent Terran

religion is the Order of the Unicorn, afollowing of doctors and other healerswho strive to preserve life and health inall sentient beings. The Order takes itsname from a mythical Terra animalsupposedly able to cure disease andpoisonings.

Children Trancendant — The Chil-dren Transcendant is a largely outlawedreligion in the Imperium, for it advo-cates the use of psionics, basing thatendorsement on the belief that theachievement of such powers is anotherstep on the road to a higher plane ofbeing. To that end, each and every mem-ber is required to try to achieve maxi-mum psionic potential sometime duringhis or her active career. (The term inwhich the training is undertaken shouldbe selected by the player and adminis-tered by the referee. The actual trainingwill be free.) Members identify eachother by telepathy, or, alternately, by aspecial hand signal.

Followers of the Suns — The Fol-lowers� philosophy is that each star is apowerful sentient being. As such, starsare deities to be worshiped in their ownrespective systems. As would beexpected, members of this sect arealways quite willing to help colonizenew worlds � it means more wor-shipers in more systems, and not manystars would lack for worshipers.

The Three � A religion surmised byImperial scholars to have begun in Zho-dani space long ago. It holds that thereare three deities, each of equal powerbut with different outlooks. One deity isgood, one is evil, and the third acts as amediator between the two and betweenthe gods and the Zhodani. A popularholy symbol is a group of three small,identical objects, preferably gems orcrystals, which are worn about thehead, neck, wrist, or waist (dependingon the degree of devotion). Worship ofThe Three has flourished in the Impe-rium due to the sensibilities of its philos-ophies, but it is nevertheless closelywatched by Imperial authorities.

The Vekkur — This religion is similarto the Order of the Unicorn on Terra

PersonalDevelopment

1 + 1 Dext2 + 1 Endur3 + 1 Intel4 + 1 Educ5 Carousing6 + 1 Social

Cleric Acquired Skills Table

Service AdvancedSkills EducationReligion RecruitingAdmin ReligionReligion LeaderReligion VehicleLiaison Religion+ 1 Educ Instruction

AdvancedEd. (Educ 8 + )StreetwiseMechanicalReligionElectronicMedicalJ a c k - o - T

84 SEPTEMBER 1985

(see above), but is much broader inscope. It is a noble philosophy indeed.The members of the Vekkur are truepacifists; they never seek to harm senti-ent life and will not take a life under anycircumstances. The Vekkur believe thatall beings have an equal right to live,and, to that end, learn the healing arts(gaining a Medical-1 skill upon joining).Members use no holy symbol, butalways wear some sort of white gar-ment. This religion is popular with doc-tors. The sect believes in a SupremeBeing, and takes its name from theVekkur, a mythical Vlandian creaturewhose spittle supposedly cured disease.

The Mediators — This group is dedi-cated to the precepts of law and order;as such, members act as lawyers andminor law-enforcement personnel.Members gain an automatic skill of Law-1; subsequent levels of this skill can betaken in place of Admin, if it is rolled.The doctrines of this religion hold thatthere is a Supreme Being who set downa Universal Law and gave it to intelligentbeings to use as they saw fit. A mem-ber�s fate in the afterlife is based on howwell the law is understood and utilizedduring life.

The referee should feel free to createother religions, staying within the guide-lines of playability and semi-realism.Certainly, there will be some hostile andaggressive religions for travelers to dealwith across the galaxy. Religions builtaround an unusual central concept con-cerning love, sex, light, space, intelli-gence, etc., would also be present. Ofcourse, fictional religions depicted inscience-fiction literature, in the movies,and on TV are usable.

The player and the referee shoulddiscuss what religion the characterwould profess based on past experi-ences, likes and dislikes, etc. The refereeshould then note the details of the reli-gion, including such things as originworld(s), precepts, history, and otherinformation.

The character variant described hereassumes that clergy will not normallytake up weapons skills. The referee maytailor this rule as he or she sees fit, per-haps replacing a lesser skill on the tableswith a weapon skill. Blade combat isrecommended for such changes, asblades seem more traditional for suchgroups, but militant cults may easily useany weapons available. The addition ordeletion of particular skills from theAcquired Skills Table may be made asdesired or needed.

AUTUMN CAMPAIGNS, Sep. 7This convention will take place at the

Holiday Inn North Bluegrass Pavillion inLexington, Ky. Featured activities will in-clude role-playing and board games, tour-naments, and miniatures events. Registra-tion fees are $5. For more information aboutthis convention, contact: Tim Wisner, c/oThe Rusty Scabbard, 513 E. Maxwell St.,Lexington KY 40502.

CANTON FANTASY AND WARGAM-ING TOURNAMENT, Sep. 14-15

This convention will be held at the Na-tional Guard Armory in Canton, Ohio. Anassortment of miniatures, role-playing, andboard games will be featured. Registrationfees are $6 for the weekend, or $4 for Satur-day only and $3 for Sunday only. For moreinformation, contact: Graig Lechner, 21233rd St. SW, Canton OH 44706.

COGACON �85, Sep. 20-22This gaming convention is sponsored by

the Central Ohio Gamers Asociation, and itwill be staged at the Airport Quality Inn inColumbus, Ohio. A variety of role-playing,board, and miniatures games will be offered.Registration fees are $5. For more details,contact: Paul T. Riegel, c/o WarGameDesigns, P.O. Box 124, Hilliard OH 43026.

EARTHCON V, Sep. 20-22This science-fiction convention will be

held at tthe Cleveland Hilton South. Guestsof honor will include David Smith, TedRypel, and Tony Isabella. Featured ac-tivities include a dealer�s room, an art showand auction, a masquerade, and videos. Formore information, contact: Earthcon V,P.O. Box 5641, Cleveland OH 44101.

1985 COI/COD FALL MANEUVERS,S e p . 2 1 - 2 2

For more details about this wargamingconvention, contact: Bill Thomson, 7081NW 16th St., Apt. 114, Plantation FL33313, or telephone (305)587-3315.

VALLEY CON 10, Sep. 21-22This science-fiction and fantasy conven-

tion will be held at the Holiday Inn in Fargo,N.D. Guest of honor will be fantasy authorPatricia Wrede. Featured activities will in-clude videos, an art show and auction,panels, a Tarot reader, and a wide variety ofgaming events. Registration fees are $5 foradults and $3 for children under the age of13. For additional information about thisconvention, send a self-addressed, stampedenvelope to: Valley Con 10, P.O. Box 7202,Fargo ND 58111.

86 SEPTEMBER 1985

NOWSCON �85, Sep. 28-29Sponored by the Northern Ohio Wargam-

ing Society, this convention will take place atthe National Guard Armory in Brookpark,Ohio. The convention will feature an officialRPGA� Network-sanctioned AD&D� tour-nament, and the winner will be awarded thecoveted Golden Pegasus trophy. For moreinformation, contact: NOWS, P.O. Box29116, Parma OH 44129.

TOL-CON III, Sep. 28-29This gaming convention will be staged at

the Ramada Inn Southwyck in Toledo,Ohio. For more details, contact: Tol-ConIII, c/o Mind Games, 3001 N. ReynoldsRd., Toledo OH 43615, or telephone(419)531-5540.

CRUSADER CON V, Oct. 4-6This gaming convention will take place at

the Metropolitan State College in Denver,Col. Tournament events will includeDiplomacy�, Kingmaker�, Champions�,Squad Leader�, and AD&D® games, andmuch, much more. Registration fees are $8until September 15, and $10 thereafter. Formore details about this event, contact: TheAuraria Gamer�s Club, P.O. Box 13395,Denver CO 80201-3395.

KING CON 1, Oct. 5Sponsored by the Knights of the Griffon,

this convention will be held in the communi-ty building at the Mt. Vernon city park.Featured events will include role-playinggame tournaments, seminars, a paintingcompetition, a fantasy and science-fiction artshow, and much more. Registration fees are$5 in advance, or $1 entrance fee for eachscheduled gaming event. For more details,contact: King Con 1, c/o The Dragon�s

WARGAMERS� WEEKEND, Oct. 5-6This wargaming convention will be staged

at the Disabled American Veterans� Hall onRoute 1, Newburyport, Mass. All eventswill take place in the main upstairs functionroom of the DAV Hall. Events will includetwo tournaments � WRG Ancients andWRG Renaissance � and many othergames. Registration fees are $5 for Saturdayand $3 for Sunday; most events will have a$2 charge. For more information, contact:Chris Parker, c/o The Toy Soldier, Ltd.,P.O. Box 148, Newburyport MA 01950.

MAINECON, Oct. 10-12This convention will be held at the

Waynflete school in Portland, Maine.Eventsinclude fantasy rule-playing games,miniatures, board games, and seminars.

On-site dormitory space available atreasonable cost; however, bring your ownbedding. For more details, contact: TheMaine Wargamers Association, 116 FrontSt. Bath ME 04530.

COUNCIL OF FIVE NATIONS XI,Oct. 11-13

This gaming event will take place at theUnion College in Schenectady, New York.Featured activities will include costume andminiatures contests, an auction, andaround-the-clock gaming. Contact: PamelaBoynton, Council, P.O. Box 4086,Queensbury NY 12801.

NEBRASKA LIN-CON VII, Oct. 11-13Guests of honor for this convention will be

Duke Seifried, his associate Dale Bruner,Ken Bunger, and John Boehm. Mr. Seifriedis the past president of Heritage Game andFigure Manufacturing, and also a past vicepresident of TSR, Inc. Mr. Bunger is theassociate editor of Courirer Magazine and arules designer with 25 years of gaming ex-perience. Mr. Boehm is the Nebraska Assis-tant Attorney General; he has been active inthe gaming field for over 20 years. For moredetails, contact: Merlin Hayes, c/o HobbyTown, 130 North 13th St., Lincoln NE68508, or telephone (402)476-3829.

WINGAMES VI, Oct. 11-13Held at the University of Manitoba, this

event offers one of the largest AD&D® tour-naments in Canada. Free admission; anentry fee may be required for some events.Contact: Wingames VI, Box 80 UniversityCenter, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T2N2.

FALLCON, Oct. 19-20This science-fiction and fantasy conven-

tion will be held at the newly built UniversityCentre Hotel in Gainesville, Fla. Guest ofhonor will be Piers Anthony. Events will in-clude videos, an art show, a cocktail party,and a costume contest. Registration fees are$10. For more information, contact: BillHatfield, c/o Novel Ideas, 1122 W. Univer-sity Ave., Gainesville FL 32601.

ADVACON �85, Oct. 20This gaming convention will be held at the

Polish Falcon Hall in Depew, N.Y. Fantasyand science-fiction role-playing games,board games, and miniatures tournamentswill be among the featured events. Fordetails, contact: The Advacon Fellowship,101 Floss Ave., Buffalo NY 14211.

MILE HI CON 17, Oct. 25-27Denver�s oldest science-fiction convention

will be staged at the Sheraton Inn inLakewood, Colo. Guests of honor include Somtow Sucharitkul and Leslie Fish; Ed-ward Bryant will be toastmaster. Featuredevents will include a computer game room, atrivia bowl, and a filk concert. For more in-formation about this convention, contact:Mile Hi Con, P.O. Box 27074, Denver CO80227.

NECRONOMICON �85, Oct. 25-27This convention will be held at the Holi-

day Inn in Riverview, Fla. Guests of honorwill include Andre Norton, Robert Adams,Robert Bloch, and Roger Zelazny.Autograph sessions, a caberet, a costumecontest, alien cooking, and a banquet areamong the featured activities. Registrationfees are $10 until October 1, and $15thereafter. For more details, contact:Necronomicon �85, P.O. Box 2076, River-view FL 33569.

RO VA CON 10, Oct. 25-27This science-fiction and fantasy conven-

tion will be staged at the Roanoke ValleyCivic Center in Roanoke, Va. Guests ofhonor include Richard Pini, Hal Clement,and Angelique Pettyjohn. Activities will in-clude filk singing, a variety of gaming tour-naments, and a costume contest. Fore moreinformation, contact: Ro Va Con, P.O. Box117, Salem VA 24153.

THE WORLD MYSTERYCONVENTION, Oct. 25-27

800 readers, book dealers, and profes-sionals will congreagte at this convention toshare crime fiction�s joys in San Francisco�sSir Francis Drake Hotel. For more detailsabout this convention, contact: BoucherconXVI, P.O. Box 6202, Hayward CA 94540.

DEF CON �85, Nov. 2-3This gaming convention will take place in

Middleton, New York. Activities will in-clude role-playing tournaments, wargamingevents, an RPGA� Network meeting, auc-tions, door prizes, and much more. Dealersand game masters should feel free to inquire.For more information, please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to: ChrisArndt, RD #2 Box 318, Pine Bush NY12566 .

DOCTORCON, Nov. 2-3This mini-convention will be staged at the

Ramada Inn (SW Freeway) in Houston,Texas. Activities include tournaments,panels, contests, and costume parties.Registration fees are $6 for a one-daymembership and $10 for a two-day member-ship. For more details, send a self-addressed,stamped envelope to: Doctorcon, P.O. Box540906, Houston TX 77254-0906.

ROCK CON XII, Nov. 2-3This convention will take place at the

Wagon Wheel Resort on Route 75 inRockton, Ill. Featured events include aselection of historical minaitures activities,an official RPGA� AD&D® tournament,board games, an auction, an expandeddealer area, and a flea market. For more in-formation, contact: Cliff Wilson, c/o BlackHawk Hobby Distributors, 14225Hansberry Road, Rockton IL 61072.

UNICON II, Nov, 8-10This convention will take place at the L.A.

Pittenger Student Center on the Ball StateUniversity campus in Muncie, Ind. Guests

of honor will be David Gerrold, NancySpringer, and Buck and Juanita Coulson.Movies, seminars, workshops, andminiatures competitions will be featured.Registration fees are $10 until October 15.Contact: The Quetors� Society, Unicon IIPreregistration, L.A. Pittenger StudentCenter Box 279, Muncie IN 47306.

CONTACT, Nov. 15-17This convention will be staged at the Air-

port Sheraton Inn in Evansville, Ind. Guestsof honor include author Jack L. Chalker andRPGA� Network coordinator Penny Pet-ticord. Panels, an art show and auction, andcomet gazing will be among the featuredevents. Registration fees are $10 untilNovember 1, and $12 thereafter. Contact:RCSFA, P.O. Box 3894, Evansville IN47737, or telephone (812)858-5419.

TROPICON IV, Dec. 6-8This science-fiction convention will take

place at the Holiday Inn in Ft. LauderdaleWest, Fla. Guests of honor include RobertBloch, Lee Hoffman, and Gary Alan Ruse.Activities will include panels, films, an artshow, and a banquet. Registration fees are$10 until November 1, and $15 thereafter.For details, contact, Joe Siclari, c/o SouthFlorida Science Fiction Society, 4599 N.W.5th Ave., Boca Raton FL 33431.

EVECON 3, Dec. 27-29This year EveCon will be staged at the

Holiday Inn in Gaithersburg, Md. Featuredevents include science-fiction and fantasygaming activities, videos, movies, music,singing, dancing, and an art show. Alsoplanned are a Friday Night pool party (withwaterfall) and a Saturday masquerade.Registration fees are $10 until December 1,and $15 thereafter. For more details aboutthis event, contact EveCon 3, P.O. Box 128,Aberdeen MD 21001.

RUSTYCON III, Jan. 17-19To be staged at the Executive Inn in Seat-

tle, Wash., this science-fiction conventionwill feature a number of activities. Guests ofhonor include author Vonda N. McIntyreand artist Ilene Meyer. Registration fees are$16 until December 31, and $20 thereafter.For more information, contact: RustyconIII, P.O. Box 47132, Seattle WA 98146.

BRIDE OF PANDEMONIUM, Jan. 18This event will be staged at the Ryerson

Poytechnical Institute in Toronto, Ontario.This third annual convention will include 17games, a figure and diorama contest, an auc-tion, and open gaming. Gifts certificates willbe awarded. For more details, contact:Dungeon Parties, Inc., P.O. Box 67, Stn. F,Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4Y 1N1, ortelephone (416)924-1989.

ORCCON, Feb. 15-17For more information, contact: Orccon,

P.O. Box 8399, Long Beach CA 90808.

DRAGON 87

88 SEPTEMBER 1985

(From page 4)

Not that oneD e a r Dragon,

In “History of a game that failed” (#99), itsaid that Murlynd has no ability score over 18.But in Beyond the Magic Mirror it statesMurlynd has intelligence of 19. How do youexplain that?

Jeremy OltmannCoon Rapids, Minn.

The article referred to Murlynd the quasi-deity,as described in issue #71 of the magazine — notthe character of the same last name (but a consid-erably different nature) in module EX2. — KM

Dragon teethDear everybody:

I don’t know if dragons have baby teeth, butI’m pretty sure there’s no such thing as a babydragon-man. What is he going to use as a weapon— a +2 rattle?

If you put a dragon-man’s tooth in the ground,what you’ll end up with is a dirty tooth.

Dragon-men come in one size only, no matterhow big or small the tooth is.

The chance of growing twin dragon-men fromone tooth is slightly smaller than the chance ofgrowing twin oak trees from the same acorn.

Dragon-men cannot become player characters,and vice versa.

It looks like we may have bitten off more than Judging from Gregg’s recounting of the legend

we could chew with our innocent publication of of Cadmus, I’d say that a dragon-man will spring

Gregg Chamberlain’s“The magic of dragon forth from a properly enchanted tooth as soon as

teeth” in issue #98. That article has elicited more the tooth is planted; for the sake of playability,specific questions than any other article in recent let’s say that the dragon-man appears at the start

memory. Here’s a roundup of responses, some of of the round following the completion of planting.

them nothing more than blatant speculation on (Don’t ask me how long it takes to plant a tooth,

our part. To save a little space, we aren’t printingthe questions, since they’re obvious from the waythe answers are phrased.

Other types of dragons weren’t mentionedeither because (a) they aren’t official, (b) they areunique, deity-level dragons such as Tiamat andBahamut, or (c) the article was specifically limitedto, as Gregg put it,“the ten major dragon typesfrom the Monster Manual.” Our position on thisis pretty well summed up in the response earlierin this letters column concerning “Tables andtables of troops”: If you want a dragon-man tospring from the tooth of an orange dragon, or aChinese dragon, or a faerie dragon, then sit downand make one up. Now that Gregg has laid thegroundwork, it shouldn’t be that tough to do.

Index to advertisersName of firm or product Page(s) Name of firm of product Page(s)Adventure Systems.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 Iron Crown Enterprises, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .1,AMAZING® Science Fiction Stories. . .87 back coverChaosium, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..5 Mayfair Games Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78DB Enterprises. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Nichols Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17DRAGON® Magazine.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Nova Game Designs, Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . .75Dunken Co., The.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 Pacesetter, Ltd.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Entertainment Concepts, Inc.. . . . . . . . .61 Palladium Books.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 5Fantasy Games Unlimited.. . . . . . .23, 33, RAFM Co., inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .67

60, 78 Ral Partha Enterprises, Inc.. . . . . . . . . .31Fantasy Unlimited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Reality Simulations, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Game Designers’ Workshop. . . . . . . . . .15 Sky Realms Publishing, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .58Game Systems Inc.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 TSR, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7, 9, 20, 28, 34,Game Towne.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 35, 36, 59Gamers’ Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88-89 West End Games.. . . . . .Inside back coverGames Workshop U.S.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .79,

inside front cover

please.) If you plant more than one tooth, likeCadmus did, then all the dragon-men will springforth at the same time, after the last tooth hastaken root.

Dragons probably can’t pull their own teeth —and even if they could, they wouldn’t be able toperform the enchantment process by themselves.

Dragon-men aren’t normal mortals, and assuch they don’t need to sleep, eat, breathe, ordrink.

As written, the article does not allow for thepossibility of dragon-men being anything otherthan lighter-types. But the whole thing is op-tional, and quite unofficial, in the first place; ifyou want a magic-user dragon-man to appear,change the requirements and specifications towhatever you consider appropriate and go to it.

Melf's acid arrow is a new 2nd-level magic-userspell, originally described in DRAGON® Maga-zine about three years ago and included in Un-earthed Arcana. As one of my favorite baseballmanagers always used to say, You can look it up.

A chaotic evil black dragon-man is sure to doonly one thing, and that is whatever he wants todo. If the character who controls him is obviouslythe more powerful of the two, then the dragon-man will probably want to do what he’s told — atleast until he can get away with doing somethingelse. Never turn your back on a black dragon-man, or a red one, or a white one, or . . .

For the answer to end all answers, to coverevery other question that could be asked, choosebetween this pair of three-word phrases: “I don’tknow” and "Whatever you want.” The next timewe get a manuscript about teeth, we’re going tomake sure all the holes are filled before we plantit in the magazine. — KM

One out of threeDear Dragon:

What happens to old issues of DRAGON thatare no longer available?

What would happen if I sent in an order formfrom issue #71, ordering issues not available inmy latest issue?

Is there any way that I can get a copy of theastral article in #67?

George EmbleyCape May, N.J.

Dear George:Nothing. They don‘t exist.Nothing. They don‘t exist.Not unless we reprint it in a future anthology

— and the chances of that are good, since you‘refar from the first person who has asked for a wayto get that article. — KM

DRAGON 89

90 SEPTEMBER 1985

DRAGON 91

DRAGON 93

94 SEPTEMBER 1985

DRAGON 95

96 SEPTEMBER 1985