The duvet, by Robin Wooden, depicts a spectacular battle between a wizard and an enormous bat. Inside artists embody Roger Raupp, the Marvel Bullpen, David Trampier, Ted Goff, A.J. Toos, Joseph Pillsbury, Richard Tomasic, E.B. Wagner, Stephen Hearon, and Larry Elmore.
This month’s particular attraction is “Betrayed!”, an AD&D journey by Jim Bengston for character ranges 3-5. Brannod Colnet, the nephew of a affluent spice dealer, was kidnapped by orcs whereas on a tenting journey. The characters are supplied a wealthy reward to retrieve him. It seems that Brannod is being held within the mountain residence of a firbolg named Gador, who’s aligned with a rival service provider household. Gador’s trickery and the household intrigue add some curiosity to this journey, however most of the particular person encounters really feel reasonably flat. This was Bengston’s solely RPG publication.
In “Leomund’s Tiny Hut,” Len Lakofka turns his crucial eye towards the brand new subraces launched in Unearthed Arcana. He finds that a lot of them (e.g. duergar) are overpowered and suggests some fixes. In an editorial postscript, Kim Mohan explains that the issue arose from an effort to maintain the subrace descriptions according to earlier depictions of those creatures in varied monster books.
“Journey works each methods” by Paul Vernon expands the encounter tables within the Dungeon Masters Information to incorporate many extra NPCs, akin to beggars, tinkers, scribes, and messengers. Every new entry features a capsule description containing some fascinating tidbits, although some are overwritten. Vernon authored many RPG articles throughout varied magazines, principally regarding the depiction of medieval societies.
In “Seeing is believing,” Geoffrey Meissner explores invisibility in depth. He divides the phenomenon into three classes: bodily invisibility, mind-control invisibility, and illusory invisibility, after which explains the properties of every. It’s a considerate article that features new spells and a Q&A piece. This was Meissner’s solely RPG publication.
“The remainder of the papers” is a quick follow-up to “The Centaur Papers” in Dragon #103 and contains refinements to the peak and weight desk, amongst different trivia. The simulationist tendencies of the period are on full show right here.
In “The well-equipped sufferer,” Ed Greenwood shares a sequence of treasure tables for 0-level NPCs, akin to labourers and farmers. It’s clearly properly researched, however only some of the objects can be of a lot curiosity to an adventurer.
“A world of distinction” by Fraser Sherman suggests introducing parallel worlds to boost your D&D marketing campaign. He describes a parallel world as one other prime-material-style world that sits alongside the participant’s residence world–similar however completely different in key areas. The enjoyable comes from altering a couple of premises in these new worlds and exploring the outcomes. Sherman offers examples akin to a flat world, a world the place everybody has psionic powers, and a world dominated by know-how. It’s additionally a chance to ship the characters into different recreation techniques, like Gamma World and Boot Hill. The article is lengthy however comprises an excessive amount of perception. Sherman printed a number of items in Dragon and has since printed varied tales, articles, and books, principally within the realm of geekdom.
Merle M. Rasmussen returns with one other version of “Spy’s recommendation,” answering the newest fan questions on Prime Secret. Examples embody “What’s the charge of fireside for the .45-caliber M3 submachine gun?” and “Why is high-explosive incendiary ammo simpler towards automobiles than armor-piercing incendiary?”
“On the Rocks at Slab’s” is a brief story by John Gregory Betancourt. A holy emissary seeks a strong relic inside a disreputable tavern, and the shifty proprietor should scramble to cover the reality. That is an entertaining and deftly written comedian piece with good pacing and a powerful premise. Betancourt went on to publish many brief tales and novels.
“The position of books” returns with John C. Bunnell’s opinions of the newest in Fantasy and SciFi literature.
- Deep Wizardry by Diane Duane is a couple of pair of teenage wizards on an underwater journey, and “could be the very best fantasy e book printed in 1985.”
- Liavek by Will Shetterly and Emma Bull presents a shared-world fantasy anthology whose eleven tales “are uniformly glorious.”
- Mustapha and His Smart Canine by Esther M. Friesner is an Arabian Nights-inspired story in an “exceptionally well-crafted world.”
- Youngsters of the Dragon by Rose Estes tells of three kids in a dragon-haunted kingdom and is “a welcome shock.”
- A Gathering of Gargoyles by Meredith Ann Pierce is the second e book in a trilogy and is “properly above common.”
- Masters of Glass by M. Coleman Easton centres on an intriguing type of magic labored by coloured-glass talismans however appears like “the primary draft of a novel.”
This month’s “TSR Profile” options Kim Mohan, Editor-in-Chief of Dragon, in addition to assistant editor Pat Value. The latter is the brother of Michael Value, who wrote a number of Gamma World modules and likewise edited varied D&D books.
Lastly, the ARES Part is again, presenting a couple of dozen pages of science-fiction and superhero gaming materials. It contains 5 articles:
- “Rites of Passage” by Danny Kretzer initiates you into Gamma World’s Cryptic Alliances.
- “The Marvel-Phile” by Jeff Grubb shares Marvel Superheroes stats for the Serpent Society.
- “Villains & Variants” by John J. Polojac suggests elective guidelines for Villains & Vigilantes.
- “The Massive Weapons” by William Wilson Goodson, Jr. has Marvel Superheroes stats for navy gear.
- “Increasing the Frontier” by William Tracy describes exploration within the Star Frontiers universe.
And that’s a wrap! This was a powerful problem, with the parallel worlds article my favorite. Subsequent month, now we have a plethora of paladins, the legal guidelines of magic, and the ranger redefined!
