Drmg080, Dragon
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D
RAGON
1
Contents
Vol. VIII, No. 6
Publisher: Mike Cook
Editor-in-Chief:
Kim Mohan
Editorial staff:
Roger Raupp
Patrick Lucien Price
Mary Kirchoff
Roger Moore
Business Manager:
Mary Parkinson
Subscriptions:
Mary Cossman
Layout designer:
Kristine L. Bartyzel
Contributing editor:
Ed Greenwood
Program plea
Weve received more than a hundred
submissions of computer programs
last year and a half, since we first
in the
December 1983
announced we were interested in printing
programs for use in, and with, role-playing
games. Weve had to turn back all but a
scant few because, as we developed a clearer
idea of what we wanted, we discovered that
we werent getting what we had come to
expect. Now our files of program submis-
sions are practically empty, and at the risk
of again being inundated with large enve-
lopes containing printouts and diskettes,
were going to put out the clarion call once
more. But this time the rules are more
finely tuned. At least we have a pretty good
idea of what we dont want, and Im going
to squeeze as many of the no-nos as I can
into the space that remains.
We dont want programs (and here I
mean mainly character-generation pro-
grams) that dont exactly follow the rules of
the game for which they were written. That
doesnt mean you have to include every rule
for character generation; for a system like
the AD&D game, a complete character
generator might be larger than your com-
puters memory. Use the rules that you
consider essential and important, and do it
precisely by the book.
We dont want programs that
use the
computer as nothing more than
a random-
number generator and data selector, unless
you can convince us that the program offers
a substantial benefit in accuracy or effi-
ciency for the user. This category includes
things such as gems & jewelry tables and
encounter tables.
We dont want programs that dont
deserve to be programs all by themselves,
such as routines that simulate dice rolling.
Neither do we want massive masterpieces of
programming, even if theyre good, because
most people couldnt cram them into their
16K or 32K systems. Well look at pro-
grams for 48K or 64K systems, but theyll
only be accepted if they need to be that
long.
We dont want programs in any language
except BASIC preferably a version of
BASIC thats easy for people to translate
into other dialects of the language. Unless
you know your statements can be easily
translated, keep the PEEK
S
, POKE
S
, and
fancy graphics to a minimum, and youll
maximize your chances of getting printed.
We do want to publish FRP-related pro-
grams, but only if we can be reasonably
sure ahead of time that theyll meet the
expectations of our readers who are, in
the final analysis, even more picky than we
are.
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Barnacus: City in peril. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
Intrigue for AD&D characters
National advertising representative:
Robert Dewey
1836 Wagner Road
Glenview IL 60025
Phone (312) 998-6237
OTHER FEATURES
The psychology of the doppleganger . . . .6
Looks arent everything . . .
This issues contributing artists:
Clyde Caldwell
Phil Foglio
Roger Raupp
Dave Trampier
Harry Quinn
Larry Elmore
How many coins in a coffer?. . . . . . . . . . .9
Solving the vexing volume problem
DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is
published monthly for a subscription price of $24
per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of
TSR, Inc. The mailing address of Dragon
Publishing for all material except subscription
orders is P.O. Box 110. Lake Geneva WI 53147.
Five keys to DMing success. . . . . . . . . . .14
Reducing the work, increasing the fun
Dungeon Masters Familiar. . . . . . . . . . .17
Let your computer do the dirty work
DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby
stores and bookstores throughout the United
States and Canada, and through a limited
number of overseas outlets. Subscription rates
are as follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an address
in the U.S. or Canada; $50 U.S. for 12 issues
sent via surface mail or $95 for 12 issues sent via
air mail to any other country. All subscription
payments must be in advance, and should be sent
to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 72089, Chicago
IL 60690.
A limited quantity of certain back issues of
DRAGON Magazine can be purchased from the
Dungeon Hobby Shop. (See the list of available
issues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay-
ment in advance by check or money order must
accompany all orders. Payments cannot be made
through a credit card, and orders cannot be taken
nor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neither
an individual customer nor an institution can be
billed for a subscription order or a back-issue
purchase unless prior arrangements are made.
Who lives in that castle?. . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Every estate needs people to prosper
Treasures rare and wondrous . . . . . . . .30
A hundred unusual items of value
These guys really took their time . . . . . .54
Four gamers, four days, and four hours
A set of rules for game reviews . . . . . . . .56
Guidelines for writers and readers
REGULAR OFFERINGS
Out on a Limb ..................... .3
Letters from readers
The issue of expiration for each subscription is
printed on the mailing label for each subscribers
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 insure uninterrupted delivery.
Leomunds Tiny Hut. .............. .48
All-in-one tables for AD&D gamers
Game reviews:
Timeship ....................... .60
Illuminati. ...................... .61
Privateers & Gentlemen ...........
.63
Man, Myth & Magic ............. .64
All material published in DRAGON
Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the
publisher upon publication, unless special ar-
rangements to the contrary are made prior to
publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes
unsolicited submissions of written material and
artwork; however, no responsibility for such sub-
missions can be assumed by the publisher in any
event. Any submission which is accompanied by
a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient
size will be returned if it cannot be published.
Off the Shelf ...................... .66
Literary gift ideas
Gamers Guide .................... .70
DRAGON® is a registered trademark for
Dragon Publishings monthly adventure playing
aid. All rights on the contents of this publication
are reserved, and nothing may be reproduced
from it in whole or in part without first obtaining
permission in writing from the publisher.
Copyright © 1983 TSR, Inc.
Convention calendar ............... .72
Whats New. ......................
.74
Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva
WI 53147, USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848.
DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D,
TOP SECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
RuneQuest is a registered trademark owned by Chaosium Inc.
designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.
2
D
ECEMBER
1983
Snarfquest ........................ .77
ust about any night on
the evening news, you can
hear about the trials and
tribulations of one city or
another. Well, if you think
Chicago has troubles, or Cleveland has
problems, wait till your travels take you to
Barnacus: City in peril. Thats the title,
and the topic, of this issues AD&D
adventure, which earned its creator, Fran-
cois Nantel, first place in category A-8 of
our Module Design Contest. Getting
through the gate is a snap, but after that
things get a
lot
tougher.
If you want to think of this issue as a
Christmas present, then you couldnt ask
for better gift-wrapping than this months
cover painting. Crystal Visions is the
latest in a long line of Clyde Caldwell
creations to adorn our cover. Even though
Clyde now works for TSR, Inc., and
doesnt have a lot of time on his hands, he
has promised to work on another cover
piece real soon.
The features inside this issue range
from the practical to the philosophical,
with stops at several places in between.
David Godwin wrote How many coins in
a coffer? in an effort to keep a lid (so to
speak) on the eternal acquisition of trea-
sure that seems to be a fact of so many
characters lives: Remember, youve gotta
keep all those gorgeous gold pieces some-
where and you cant fit your life sav-
ings into the pouch on your belt. The
number-crunchers among you will also
enjoy
Leomund’s Tiny Hut,
wherein Len
Lakofka delivers unto us some revised and
reorganized tables for combat, saving
throws, and experience-point values.
Unofficial, but very interesting.
The philosophical extreme is repre-
sented by Mike Beemans article, Five
keys to DMing success. Perhaps it should
have been titled Five Cs, for a reason
that will become clear when you read it
and in our opinion, it should be required
reading for anyone running a campaign.
The next installment of our ecology
series isnt quite deserving of that label,
which is why we call it The psychology of
the doppleganger.
Fraser Sherman (at
least we
think
it was Fraser Sherman)
offers up this tale, which sheds a lot of
light on those shady shape-changers.
Katharine Kerr, a frequent contributor
who has emerged as our resident historical
expert, asks the question Who lives in
that castle? and then proceeds to answer
it with an overview of the many types of
people that every castle-owner needs to
keep his manor, ahem, well-manored.
And, leaping ahead several centuries in
time and technology, John Warren favors
us with his Dungeon Masters Familiar,
a computer program designed to take the
drudgery of DMing out of the hands of
humans and put it into the circuitry of a
computer where it belongs. KM
Discipline problem
Ive never had to send you a correction before for
anything of mine youve published all in all, a
very good track record!
Dear Editor:
I would like to congratulate you on the whole
issue of DRAGON #78. The articles on psionics
were well planned out and well written. They
cleared up many problems and misunderstand-
ings, and the new class and its psionic powers
make a new and different type of character (not a
subclass).
The only question I have is this: Can a psionic
person not of the psionicist class use the major
and minor disciplines under Table III, or are
those limited to that class only?
Arthur Collins
Indianapolis, Ind.
Die-sastrous!
Dear Dragon:
Fellows, the April issue is 6 months away. How
did Mr. Weeks article (Be thy die ill-
wrought?) wind up in the October issue?
First of all, who wants to test their dice for
bias? Secondly, the computer program was all
messed up (i.e., line 520 with goto 660, and no
line 660!). Thirdly, who wants to roll their twenty
siders 200 times each, and lastly, the formula
doesnt work!
After typing in the program, I tested my 4-
sider three times, and the result was biased. I
then split the numbers into groups and did the
whole thing over, and the result was no trace of
bias! That didnt bother me much. So I tested a
20-sider and a 6-sider, and they all came up
biased.
Seriously, if my first DRAGON copy I ever
bought had that article in it, I would have never
subscribed.
Chris Beck
Tucson, Ariz.
Arthur Collins, the author of the article on the
psionicist class, created the new disciplines partic-
ularly for that class to flesh out the Psioni-
cists abilities, as the article puts it. But that
doesnt mean you cant consider them new
disciplines usable by any psionic character. (Since
the whole psionics system is optional to begin
with, and the additions printed in the magazine
are not official rules, you can pretty much do
what you want, as long as it works for you.)
From a rules-structure standpoint, theres
something to be said for including the new minor
and major disciplines in the big list, since that
brings the totals to 24 minor devotions and 20
major sciences and makes random rolling for
disciplines a little easier. Be advised, though, as
with all of the material in DRAGON® Magazine,
that anything you use from an article or feature is
not a rule change that would be recognized in any
official tournament or competition; you wont be
able to go to an AD&D Open Tournament (for
instance) and play a psionicist character, or a
psionic character who knows the mental surgery
discipline. Only when (and if) the information in
an article is incorporated into an official rule book
can it be considered fair game for tournament
play and other official activities. KM
John Biederman
Ringwood, Ill.
Okay, John . . . first, apparently you want to
test your dice for bias, because you did check out
at least a few of the dice you own. (It does seem,
though, like you were motivated by a desire to
find fault with the procedure, instead of a desire
to find fault with your dice.)
Second, youre right: the computer program
was a little messed up. We made our apologies
for that, and fixed the mistake, in last months
letters column.
Third, I dont know of anyone who wants to
roll their twenty siders 200 times, but we were
willing to play the odds. Out of the hundreds of
thousands of people who read this magazine, we
figured there would be at least a few thousand
whod be interested in going through the
motions. Judging by the number of letters we got
with questions about the mistake in the program
listing, lots of people were interested enough to
type in the program and use it. We dont expect
to please everybody, but it seems like we pleased
enough people so that we dont have to feel like
printing the article was a bad decision.
And last, I dont understand why you came to
the conclusion that the chi-square procedure
doesnt work. Maybe the dice you tested were
biased. Maybe you didnt repair the mistake in
the program properly, so that it wasnt running
properly when you put in your test results. And
maybe your problem with the 4-sider arises from
the simple fact that random generation can
produce some strange results. For instance, the
odds against a 4-sider coming up 1 twenty
times in a row are very small, but it is possible.
Psionic repairs
Dear Editor:
A short note to pass on to you two corrections
that need to be made to my Psionicist article in
#78.
First, on p. 27, the attack and defense modes
were reversed in Table II. The Psionicist starts
out with 1 defense mode (mind blank) and 0
attack modes; not, as printed, 1 attack mode and
0 defense modes. The second paragraph on page
28 states this correctly, but the table had it
reversed.
Second, on p. 32, the examples under Sever-
ance got confused. The text reads 30 points x
the level of spell use severed, so the example
should say that the blocking of the ability to use
3rd-level spells would cost 3 x 30, or 90 points.
These are trivial, I know. And I must confess,
D
RAGON
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