The duvet is known as “Bridge of Sorrows,” painted by Denis Beauvais, and captures a wizard, barbarian, and centaur going through off in opposition to a wyvern. The colors are beautiful! Inside artists embrace Jeff Butler, Roger Raupp, Bob Maurus, John Gilmore, Jeff Easley, Dave Trampier, Joseph Pillsbury, Denton Elliott, Richard Tomasic, and Larry Elmore.
This challenge’s particular attraction is “The Sword of Justice” by Jon Mattson, an journey for Primary D&D. A village decide enlists the heroes to retrieve an historical magical sword that glows within the presence of lies, which is able to assist convey a killer to justice. The journey is a simple dungeon crawl, with the celebration attempting to find the sword in an deserted mansion. There are some typical monster encounters, a number of traps, and some fundamental methods. It is a stable however unexceptional introductory journey. Mattson had been contributing to Dragon since challenge #24, however this was his last look.
Clerics take the highlight in a trio of articles. “Clerics reside by different guidelines” by E. Gary Gygax provides steerage on making clerics and druids distinct in your marketing campaign. Lengthy-time readers of Gygax will observe he was inconsistent on the desirability and permissibility of modifying the foundations of AD&D! On this article, he means that Dungeon Masters tailor the spells and powers granted by every deity, even withholding sure spells that battle with a god’s portfolio (for instance, a solar god may dislike darkness spells). Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing a part of this piece is the glimpse into how he runs clerics in his personal Greyhawk marketing campaign.
Subsequent, “First, unfold the religion” by Paul Vernon suggests folks ought to roleplay clerics as true champions of their deities. He’s likely appropriate when he says they’re handled as “strolling medical kits” slightly than devoted clergymen. Vernon states {that a} cleric’s motivations ought to revolve round serving and increasing their faith—preaching to companions, changing unbelievers, and upholding their deity’s tenets. I might reply that not each deity and priest will deal with proselytizing, however I agree that not less than some ought to. Vernon was a British recreation designer and frequent contributor to White Dwarf and Think about.
In the identical vein, “The extra, the merrier” by Bruce Barber introduces guidelines for clerics to transform NPCs and earn expertise factors as a reward. Your cleric makes an attempt conversions utilizing a mixture of roleplay and die rolls, incomes bonus XP primarily based on the problem and significance of the topic. It comes with a enjoyable response desk, with entries starting from enthusiastic conversion to violent rejection. This text was Barber’s solely RPG publication.
Lenard Lakofka brings “Gods of the Suel Pantheon” to an in depth with the ultimate three deities within the sequence: Lydia, Bralm, and Jascar. Lydia (goddess of music, information, and lightweight) is a benign deity whose clergymen worth studying and tune; Bralm (goddess of bugs and trade) permits her devoted to solid druid spells and take the type of an ankheg. Jascar (god of hills and mountains) grants his high-level clerics the power to shape-change right into a pegasus and immunity to petrification. I’d have appreciated somewhat extra details about what the worship of those gods really entails; nonetheless, it’s a well-crafted conclusion to a big lore sequence.
“Let the Horse Purchaser Beware” by Robert Harrison proposes an expanded strategy to horse purchases, with dimension, high quality, and coaching affecting worth, hit factors, and velocity. It isn’t one thing I might use at my desk, however I think about there are these wanting to differentiate between a primary stallion and a hopeless nag. This one-page article was Harrison’s solely RPG publication.
Ed Greenwood makes a double look this month. First is “The Ecology of the Ettin,” an exploration of the two-headed large. Greenwood as soon as extra frames the piece as an in-character account (this time by “Raujur the Ranger”) and enhances it with footnotes offering the sport stats and clarifications. We study concerning the ettin’s habits, weight loss program, and the dynamics between its twin heads (Greenwood surprisingly asserts that they by no means argue). It’s a competent however extra prosaic piece than some earlier entries.
Greenwood additionally contributes “Pages from the Mages III,” persevering with his sequence on the well-known spellbooks of the Forgotten Realms. By means of the persona of Elminster, he divulges the secrets and techniques of 4 extra arcane tomes. One instance is Aubayreer’s Workbook, the long-lost e-book of an historical mage, which comprises normal spells in addition to distinctive high-level magic like Section Entice and Thunderlance. Greenwood supplies a wealthy backstory for every e-book, together with the brand new spells or magical results they maintain. It is inspiring stuff for anybody who needs to counterpoint their subsequent magical haul, and it is no shock this sequence enjoys such a stellar popularity.
For followers of DragonQuest, Paul M. Crabaugh provides “Going Up and Getting Moist,” a sophisticated algorithm for climbing and swimming. The bottom probability is set by talent rank after which modifiers are utilized for floor sorts, ropes, armour weight, and so on., giving the sport a crunchy and sensible strategy. Crabaugh was virtually single-handedly supporting DragonQuest with new materials at this stage.
“The Multi-Dimensional Caper” by Mark Acres is a pulp detective story with a metafiction twist. Nick White is a hard-boiled personal investigator who encounters a mysterious swordswoman claiming to be from one other world. White is pure cliche however likable all the identical, and the story’s pacing is nice. Nonetheless, the battle feels underdeveloped, and the ultimate decision shouldn’t be almost as intelligent as wanted, given the unusual setup. Acres was a former TSR developer who was then working for Pacesetter.
The “Position of Books” is again, this time with three e-book opinions:
- The Title of the Rose by Umberto Eco is an intricate medieval thriller a couple of scholarly monk investigating weird murders in a distant monastery, and “is each helpful and engaging, nevertheless it’s additionally exhausting work.”
- The Riddle of the Wren by Charles de Lint is an evocative fantasy quest by which a younger heroine journeys throughout magical worlds and is “a remarkably expert mixing of sincerity and subtlety.”
- Castles by Alan Lee and David Day is a fantastically illustrated e-book exploring mythological, historic, and literary castles, and is “extremely advisable for many who have at all times loved the magic and thriller inherent in castles.”
This challenge has one recreation evaluation. In TOON: The Cartoon Roleplaying Sport from Steve Jackson Video games, you play Saturday morning cartoon characters partaking in ridiculous antics. The mechanics are very simple and encourage creativity over ways. Your character by no means dies—in case your hit factors hit zero, you merely sit out for 3 minutes earlier than popping again up once more, in zany cartoon style. It is the perfect beer-and-pretzels recreation. Reviewer Michael Dobson concludes TOON is “a real good concept – an authentic (if unlikely) idea.”
The ARES Part returns, presenting a couple of dozen pages of science-fiction and superhero gaming materials. It consists of two articles:
- “The Six Million Greenback Mutant” by Bruce Humphrey brings cyborgs to GAMMA WORLD.
- “The Marvel-Phile” by Jeff Grubb particulars recreation stats for the Heralds of Galactus – the Silver Surfer, Nova, and Terrax.
And that is a wrap! I assumed “Pages from the Mages” stood out amidst some modest competitors. Subsequent month, we now have guidelines for high-level druids, marketing campaign constructing, and a daring new journey!
