The duvet is by Denis Beauvais and is his sixth portray for Dragon Journal. Known as “Allegory,” it depicts a dragon’s lair affected by workplace paraphernalia. Inside artists embrace Keith Parkinson, Jeff Easley, Roger Raupp, Bob Maurus, Valerie Valusek, Jim Holloway, Dave LaForce, Tim Truman, Richard Hentz, Dave Trampier, Tony Moseley, Joseph Pillsbury, and Larry Elmore.
This difficulty’s particular attraction is the “Mutant Handbook,” a group of largely reader-contributed creatures for Gamma World. There’s loads of selection, with the whole lot from blade whales to concord bushes to bot bashers, although some entries are extra inventive than others. Your enjoyment will rely on your tolerance for Gamma World silliness, however this text appears lengthy overdue.
To have a good time the journal’s ninth anniversary, they’ve included a commemorative anniversary part referred to as Dragonlore, containing 4 function articles on their favorite topic.
Roger E. Moore leads with “Tailor-Made Treasure,” a richly developed essay on how and why dragons accumulate treasure. Drawing inspiration from Tolkien, Beowulf, and folklore, Moore portrays dragons as status-conscious predators whose hoards replicate their personalities, histories, and intelligence. It’s the type of excellent article that Moore excels at, combining cautious analysis with a watch for the gaming desk.
Gregg Chamberlain follows with “The Magic of Dragon Enamel,” a flavorful entry that vegetation a brand new magic merchandise into the AD&D sport – one which summons mighty dragon warriors. Drawing on Greek mythology, the article outlines the foundations for the use and creation of those outstanding gadgets. It is a stable piece that may have benefited from entire stat blocks for the dragon warriors. Chamberlain revealed many articles for Dragon.
Leonard Carpenter’s “Dragon Harm Revised” is a guidelines enlargement for DMs who need dragons to hit tougher. It is a commonsense answer to an actual downside within the design of AD&D dragons, and it is only one web page lengthy. Carpenter wrote a number of articles for Dragon and later revealed eleven Conan novels for Tor.
Lastly, Roger E. Moore returns with “The Dragons of Krynn,” fleshing out the titular creatures of Dragonlance. We find out about such issues as dragonsleep, the thriller of the Oath, and the motives of Dragon Highlords. It is stable (if transient) setting lore. Moore later revealed a number of Dragonlance books and tales.
We’ve a gaggle of different options. Ken Hughes contributes “Inventive Magic Gadgets,” which demonstrates how one can create new magic gadgets for AD&D. It is a a lot wanted article however does not present the type of perception I might like. Hughes contributed only one different piece to Dragon, again in difficulty #41.
Jim Dutton continues his sequence on marketing campaign design with “Detailing a Fantasy World,” aimed toward DMs constructing large-scale settings. He discusses the creation of political buildings, heroes and villains, and cultural uniqueness. As talked about final month, Dutton was president of a PBM firm referred to as Leisure Ideas Inc. It has been difficult to seek out details about this organisation, because it seems to have been short-lived.
John C. Bunnell evaluations Dragons of Autumn Twilight and Dragons of Winter Night time (each by Weis and Hickman) in “It is a Neat Thought, However…” He praises the sturdy character work, pacing, and the efficient transition from module to novel type. He concludes that the books are “a terrific deal higher than many readers are more likely to anticipate, and they’re ok to face alongside a lot of the fabric obtainable from the sector’s extra established publishers.”
Dave Rosene’s “Realizing What’s in Retailer” describes 4 store sorts generally present in fantasy cities: the blacksmith, leatherworker, silversmith, and tanner. It combines historic particulars with a short piece of fiction, illustrating what every store can be like in a fantasy setting. It seems nicely researched, although the fiction was hardly compelling. This text was Rosene’s solely revealed RPG credit score.
In “Auctions Aren’t Forbidding,” Tim Stabosz gives a useful information to gaming auctions, notably these held at conventions. He explains how bidding works, how one can keep away from frequent pitfalls, and the way several types of bidders behave. It is only one web page lengthy and gives a pleasant glimpse into the pastime tradition of the time. Stabosz revealed no different RPG content material.
Merle and Jackie Rasmussen current extra real-world outfits for Prime Secret play in “Genuine Companies, Half II.” As with the previous half, it is a superb useful resource for espionage video games.
Ardath Mayhar’s “The Forging of Worry” is a grim quick story a couple of blacksmith’s distinctive revenge for a horrible crime. It’s glorious, with nuanced characters and a hauntingly authentic idea. Mayhar revealed over 60 books throughout a number of genres.
The ARES part returns with 14 pages of science fiction and superhero goodness. It contains 5 articles:
- “The Volturnus Connection” by Stephen Bonario gives a marketing campaign backdrop for Star Frontiers.
- “When Historical past Goes Awry” by Mark Acres explores alternate historic parallels for Timemaster.
- “Alone Towards the Asteroid” by Stephen James provides a solitaire model of the Asteroid wargame.
- “Return to the Viper’s Pit” by Kim Eastland expands the Marvel Tremendous Heroes journey just lately revealed by TSR.
- “The Marvel-Phile” by Jeff Grubb presents the primary index of Marvel Tremendous Heroes characters.
And that is a wrap! It was a packed journal, although I used to be sorry there have been no sport evaluations. The standard was excessive, with the most effective article undoubtedly being Moore’s treatise on dragon treasure. Subsequent month, we’ve got Treasure Trove II, the will-o’-wisp, and cures for a failing sport!
