Drmg087, Dragon
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D
RAGON
1
Contents
Vol. IX, No. 2
Publisher: Mike Cook
Editor-in-Chief: Kim Mohan
Editorial staff: Roger Raupp
Patrick Lucien Price
Mary Kirchoff
Roger Moore
Layout designer: Kristine L. Bartyzel
Subscriptions: Mellody Knull
Contributing Editors: Ed Greenwood
Katherine Kerr
Ken Rolston
Advertising Sales Administrator:
Mary Parkinson
This issues contributing artists:
Jack Crane Ruth Hoyer
Roger Raupp John Pierard
Harry Quinn Dave Trampier
Jerry Eaton Bob Lilly
Clyde Caldwell Kurt Erichsen
Keith Parkinson Larry Elmore
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;
the business telephone number is (414) 248-8044.
The sources mouth
July 1984
Dear Dragon,
I was wondering what your status with
Tolkien Enterprises is. I have heard a rumor
that they have a claim filed against you all.
Is the reason that all of the back covers of
your magazine have their advertisement on
it? I was just wondering about the rights
you and they have figured out.
(Name withheld)
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
WHITEOUT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41
Adventuring in Antarctica
for TOP SECRET® agents
OTHER FEATURES
We get a few letters of this sort every
month people wanting us to confirm or
deny a rumor or a claim theyve heard
somewhere, or just asking a simple ques-
tion: Sometimes its flattering that you
think we would
know
(When will the D&D
movie be out?), even though we dont.
Other times, the questions are bewildering
or even astounding. And on occasion, peo-
ple ask us things we
can
answer.
The letter above doesnt fall neatly into
any of those categories; it just happened to
be in the mail the day I sat down to write
this. Im confused by the question, and by
the fact that its addressed to the magazine,
but I guess I can respond to some of it. Im
dismayed by the writers confusion over
what Tolkien Enterprises is, and Im as-
tounded to hear of a rumor about a claim
against us.
DRAGON® Magazine has no status
with Tolkien Enterprises, and I dont under-
stand why anyone would ask about some-
thing that has never existed. I dont know
anything about a claim, period. And Im
sure the people at Iron Crown Enterprises
would like me to point out that they not
Tolkien Enterprises have paid us to
advertise on our back cover for the last 19
issues.
We can answer questions that pertain to
the magazine, but we dont know anything
about whats going on in the rest of the
company, such as when the new AD&D®
game rule book is coming out or how many
AD&D modules will be released in the next
six months. Were no help at all on rumors
—
again, unless they have to do with the
magazine.
If you ask us a question we cant answer,
we might try to forward it to someplace else
within TSR, Inc., if we think thatll help. If
were pretty sure that your question doesnt
have
an answer . . . well, lets just say that
we dont take the time to write I dont
know letters.
But if you have a question you think we
can
answer, ask it this is not intended to
discourage people from writing. Instead of
letting a rumor influence your thinking, its
better to try to get the facts from the
sources mouth. If weve got em, well give
em to you.
Beyond the dungeon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Gaming in the great outdoors
The ecology of the dryad . . . . . . . . . .18
Femme fatale of the forest
The Legacy of Hortus . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31
A harvest of unusual plants
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., $30 in 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.
Simon Sidekick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Independence isn‘t always best
Index to advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
REGULAR OFFERINGS
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.
Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letters and answers
The forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Opinions and observations
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.
Convention calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Gods of the Suel pantheon. . . . . . . . . . .23
Part 2: Kord and Phaulkon
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.
Game reviews:
Stalking the Night Fantastic . . . . . . . .36
The Forever War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
The ARES Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
16 pages of SF gaming articles
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 ©1984 TSR, Inc.
Gamers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88
Wormy............................90
Dragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93
Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
Snarfquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
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, D&D, AD&D, TOP
SECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.
2 J
ULY
1984
dventure gaming is fun be-
cause players can experience an
environment through their
characters thats exciting and
interesting an environment
different from their everyday lives. We were
thinking along those lines when we decided
to print WHITEOUT in this issue.
If you think a different environment does
make an adventure better, then wait until
the next time the air conditioner breaks
down, get out your TOP SECRET® game,
and settle down for an evening of subterfuge
and snowstorms in Antarctica.
WHITEOUT
is the latest published
adventure from Merle Rasmussen, the
games author. Its a sequel to the story line
that he began with Doctor Yes (issue #48)
and
PBM response
That assertion struck me as odd, and so I read
again the appropriate sections in the Players
Handbook and the Dungeon Masters Guide. I
was not able to find any clause that prohibited a
cure spell from raising a characters hit point total
to above zero. Cure Wounds spells are truly
useless if a character is dead, but, according to
the DMG, a player character does not die from
wounds until he reaches -10 hit points.
The correct interpretation, rather, is that a cure
spell can indeed restore a character to a positive
hit point total, as long as that character is alive at
the moment the spell is cast. Once restored to a
positive point total, a character is still bound by
the Zero Hit Points section of the DMG: he
will be comatose for 1-6 turns and then will be
essentially useless for a week thereafter while
recovering.
Editors note: Glenn Holliday of Empire
Games sent a letter to Michael Gray at his home
address after Mikes Problems by mail review/
article appeared in issue #85. We received a copy
of the letter; excerpts are printed below.
(#56) but, like all good
sequels, you dont need number one or
number two to appreciate number three.
We hope the adventure will please all of you
whove been clamoring for more TOP
SECRET material, and maybe a few others
of you will be encouraged to try that game.
Jack Crane came up with a good idea for
a cover and turned it into a colorful piece
entitled The Enchanted Forest. Then he
went himself one better by expanding the
idea into The Legacy of Hortus, the
illustrated essay youll find starting on page
31. Have you ever wondered about your
snapdragons? . . .
If the characters in your AD&D® game
campaign have never ventured into the
wide open spaces, Katharine Kerrs advice
in Beyond the dungeon will encourage
you to make the transition to outdoor action
and help you do it more easily. Even if
youre an old hand at outdoor and wilder-
ness adventuring, check it out; there may
still be a few points in this article that you
hadnt thought of before.
As a service to those of you who are on
summer vacation and might be missing the
classroom atmosphere, we offer Shaun
Wilsons lesson on the dryad as our latest
ecology feature. If you dont learn anything
else from it, remember not to chase any-
thing that might end up catching you.
This months ARES science fiction section
is chock full of all-star stuff, including Kim
Eastlands description of the interstellar
police in the STAR FRONTIERS® game
and the latest in our series of articles on the
moon, this one by
Traveller
®
game de-
signer Marc Miller.
The second installment of Len Lakofkas
deities of the Suel pantheon features a
couple of chaotic do-gooders, Phaulkon and
Kord, who also happen to be father and
son. Especially if your campaign is based in
the WORLD OF GREYHAWK Fantasy
Setting, youll appreciate these guys.
. . .
And, of course, theres more inside
that I dont have room to write about. But
dont let that get you down: if youre
headed for Antarctica, youve already got
enough to worry about. KM
Dear Mike,
Today we read your article in DRAGON #85.
Im sure you expect and deserve a reasonable
response from us.
I think the most important thing to make clear
is that our problems have been a thing of the past
for some time now. The player whom you men-
tioned in your article is a happy player in Realms
of Sword and Thunder today. We have consist-
ently kept to a turnaround time of 2 weeks for
realms and 9 days for city positions since Christ-
mas of 1983. We have added many new players
since the first of the year, and are planning fur-
ther expansion.
We think we are a good example of a PBM
company being able to deal with its growing
pains, and we believe we have been very consci-
entious about serving our customers and satisfy-
ing their problems.
We welcome you, as well as reviewers of any
magazine, to participate in ROSAT and judge us
yourself. We are aware, of course, that
DRAGON Magazine carries a tremendous
weight in the gaming hobby, and we are very
concerned that people dont get a mistaken
impression of Empire Games from such an im-
portant source.
Anthony Ragan
Los Angeles, Calif.
Ill defer to Anthonys judgment, which is a
fancy way of saying that hes right. I was con-
fused (although I didnt know it at the time) by
the second paragraph of the Zero Hit Points
section on p. 82 of the DMG, and especially the
last sentence of that paragraph, which seemed to
be saying that only a heal spell was any good
when attempting to revive a character with less
than 0 hit points.
I agree with Anthonys correct interpretation,
and Id go a little farther in explaining it: A
character revived after being at 0 hit points or less
can be the beneficiary of a cure wounds spell (or
more than one) during his recuperation, but he
wont actually receive the hit points gained in this
way until the week of uselessness is over. At
the end of that week of rest, the character will
have gained seven hit points (one per day, for
resting) and will also get whatever other hit points
were re-bestowed by cure spells. Then the charac-
ter is able to resume normal activity. KM
Glenn E. Holliday
Vice-president
Empire Games, Inc.
Denver, Colo.
Mike Grays article was written several weeks
before finally being published. Were glad to hear
that in the meantime Empire Games was able to
solve the problems that the article described.
Neither we nor Mike meant any malice toward
Empire Games; that companys problems were
described in detail because that was the company
involved in the specific problem that Mike cited.
We hope that our readers understood the general
point the article made without paying too much
attention to the companies and games that were
singled out. KM
Spells and rituals
Dear Dragon,
I hope to see more on the DRAGONQUEST
game in your magazine. The section on the
Enchanter in issue #82 was helpful and interest-
ing; however, I dont agree with the author on
Ritual Spell Preparation.
Rule 32.1 states specifically that the adept must
state which spell he is preparing before starting
the Ritual of Preparation. This indicates to me
that ritual preparation is not itself a ritual but a
way of turning a spell into a ritual. Ritual prepa-
ration may not be invested independently of a
spell, and its advantages could only be applied to
the spell prepared. Since the ritual is an extended
version of the spell, the release of an invested
charge would be the same as the release of an
invested spell except for the increased cast
chance. (As an aside, the Ritual of Investment
[32.3] says that only spells may be invested; it
does not mention rituals. In a strict interpretation
of the rules, a ritual may not be invested.)
Curing a mistake
Dear Dragon,
Kim Mohans article on healing magic (issue
#85) was very interesting and useful; I have,
however, one major disagreement.
The article states that a cure wounds spell
cannot take a character currently at negative hit
points to a positive hit point total. It says that the
victim must rest at least a week for a cure spell to
be able to restore hit points, not just stop their
loss.
D
RAGON
3
Mad Merc
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