Drmg006, Dragon
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
April ’77
It is a distinct pleasure to be writing this, the sixth installment of this column, to a readership that has grown fourfold in the past year.
When we started this venture, there was no guarantee on this issue. The past year has seen us increase our publishing rate from bi-monthly
to eight times yearly, and it need not stay at that rate forever.
These first six issues have been centered around two games, primarily, with a growing trend to get into other areas that will see in-
creased growth in the next Volume. THE DRAGON owes its very existence to the revolutionary success of D&D, and all of the entire field
that it opened up. EMPIRE OF THE PETAL THRONE is the most
noteworthy of the “D&D-type/inspired” games that have followed,
but the last year has seen a number of other good fantasy games come
on the market. The next year will see more attention to the rest of our
field, without giving up any of what we’ve provided in the past. The
last DRAGON RUMBLES (Vol. 1, No. 5) outlined the new policies
you can expect.
******************************************
Clone Bank Alpha—
ALTER. BACKGROUND FOR M.A. . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Sea Trade in D&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Legions of the Petal Throne Painting Guide . . . . . . . . . .8
As readers of THE DRAGON, you are now being invited to deter-
mine the winners of the
Strategist’s Club “Creativity in Wargaming”
Awards for 1976.
The format of the awards has been changed, to enable them to
more accurately reflect the opinion of the hobby. To this end, the
awards nominations have been determined by the TSR staff and mem-
bers of the Strategist’s Club. The highest rated nominees will be placed
on a ballot, ballot positions determined at random, and that ballot will
be printed in the next TD. You are invited to vote, ON POSTCARDS,
for the nominees of your choice. The directions must be followed to the
letter, or the ballot will hit the old round file. The awards will be pre-
sented at the Annual Strategist’s Club Dinner. Watch for it next is-
sue . . .
******************************************
The Forest of Flame —
AN ILLUSTRATED FANTASY TALE.. . . . . . . . .12
Designer’s Forum —
MA ADDITIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS . . . . . .15
From the Fantasy Forge — FIGURES REVIEWED .18-19
Gnome Cache — CH.6.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
Optional Psionic Determination in D&D . . . . . . . . . . . .25
Morale in D&D . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Featured Creature — DEATH ANGEL. . . . . . . . .28 & 29
Also something to watch for in the next issue, or possibly the next
one after that, is an art contest we will hold with all sorts of goodies for
winners, not to mention fame and fortune.
Yet another possibility for an impending issue is a game designed
by that reknowned designing team of Omar and Irving, guaranteed to
be exotic and involved, but rumored to give strange abilities of precog-
nition to the players.
In any event, the next publishing year looks to be even better than
our first. Hope you’re here to see what I have in store . . .
Editor — Timothy J. Kask
Staff Artist — Dave Sutherland
Assoc. Fantasy Editor — Gary Jaquet
Cover by Morno
Timothy J. Kask
Editor
THE DRAGON is published monthly, except during the months of Feb., May, Aug., & Nov., by TSR Periodicals, a division of TSR Hobbies, Inc., POB 756, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.
It is available at better hobby shops and bookstores, or by subscription. Subscription rate is $9.00 per 6 issues. Single copy and back issue price is $1.50, but availability of back issues is not guaranteed. Sub-
scriptions outside the U.S. and Canada are $20.00, and are air-mailed overseas. (Payment must be made in US currency or by international money order.) All material published herein becomes the exclusive
property of the publisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are made. Subscription expiration is coded onto the mailing list. The number to the right of the name, prefixed by “LW” or “TD” is the last
issue of the subscription. Notices will not be sent.
Change of address must be filed 30 days prior to mailing date (first of Feb., Apr., June, Aug., Oct., Dec.)
Unsolicited material cannot be returned unless accompanied by a stamped return envelope, and no responsibility for such material can be assumed by the publisher in any event. All rights on the entire con-
tents of this publication are reserved, and nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher. Copyright 1976 by TSR HOBBIES, INC.
Application to mail as second class postage rates is pending at Lake Geneva, WI 53147 and additional entry points.
3
Vol. 1, No. 6
Clone Bank Alpha
is activated only in case
of extreme danger or damage to the ship, causing breakdown of chain
of command. Upon activation, tissue samples are processed into clones
of ships personnel, who are then programmed with the technical and
general data necessary for operation of the ship. The clone bank com-
puter terminals are to provide equipment and authorization to the
clones, allowing them to reestablish chain of command and prevent di-
saster.
AN ALTERNATE BEGINNING
SEQUENCE FOR
METAMORPHOSIS: ALPHA
by Guy W. McLimore, Jr.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
YOU are one of these clones charged with the task of rescuing
the starship from disaster. But computer malfunctions have left you
without the special equipment and weapons you need to master the sit-
uation. What equipment you carry you must manufacture yourself
from materials available in the clone bank complex. Some of your team
are not even totally human, possessing strange mutant abilities and de-
fects. Worst of all, there are large holes in your memories. The ships
equipment seems strange to you, and you are not sure how to operate.
You remember almost nothing of the structure of the ship itself not
even where the clone bank you are in is located or how to find the im-
portant areas of the ship. The aged and broken-down computers in the
clone bank complex yield no information of value.
Still, you and your party have a job to do. You must leave the
clone bank, and wander the ship, gathering information, and putting
what skills you have to work. But it may already be too late. The disas-
ter that caused the loss of command in the ship was long ago, and what
remains is strange, and savage, and often deadly. You are entering an
unknown land. . .
This alternate scenario for beginning a game of
Metamorphosis:
Alpha
Warden,
an engi-
neering robot discovers a minor cable break. Drawing a small torch
from its built-in tool kit, the necessary repair is soon made. This cir-
cuitry interruption which has remained undiscovered and untend-
ed for many, many years is now closed, and a special computer
signal sent long ago finally reaches its destination. Relays close, and
a special computer unit is activated, setting into motion a special
genetic laboratory.
Immediately, micro-miniature manipulators withdraw samples
of human tissue from a freezer storage compartment. Unnoticed by
the electronic controlling device is a cracked and damaged radioac-
tive power capsule nearby which contaminates some of the with-
drawn tissue cultures. The quick-frozen cells are moved to tanks of a
special growth medium and are electrically stimulated. The cells be-
gin to multiply, rapidly
.
. .
Weeks later, the tanks hold full-grown adult human bodies. Some
appear normal; others have strange deformities and mutations induced
by the unexpected dose of radiation. All are limp, unmoving, devoid of
intelligence and identity.
Once again, micromanipulators move in, this time to attach wires
and sensor strips to the foreheads of the newly-grown clones. In a mat-
ter of days, computer tapes full of general human knowledge and spe-
cific ship-related skills are played directly into the clones brain synaps-
es. But again old computer malfunctions and worn-out circuitry com-
bine to leave large gaps in the intended programming of the new poten-
tial crew members. There will be unfortunateperhaps eventually tra-
gic lapses in their memories of the ship and its functions.
has certain advantages over the idea of beginning as a barbarian
from a shipboard tribe. Most notably, it eliminates the problem of so-
called barbarians who own a copy of the rule book and know decidedly
too much to be mere tribesmen.
CLONE BANK: DETERMINATION OF
MUTATION STATUS
% Die Roll
01-15:
16-25:
26-30:
31-35:
36-50:
51-00:
Thankfully, the all important final tape does play into the heads of
the clones, explaining their mission. That mission is of the utmost im-
portance to the hundreds of thousands of people in the ship.
Program codenamed
In a special hidden section of the lost starship
Mutation Status
MUTANT -1 mutation
MUTANT -2 mutations & 1 defect
MUTANT -3 mutations & 1 defect
MUTANT -4 mutations & 2 defects
LATENT MUTANT STOCK
HUMAN
April ‘77
Physical mutations are numbered 1 through 30. Renumber mental mu-
tations 31 through 67. Roll percentile dice for each indicated mutation
on the table above. A roll of 68 through 00 is ignored. Physical defects
are renumbered 1 through 12, and mental defects are renumbered 13
through 20. Roll a 20-sided die for determination of defects.
bandlocks (at referee’s option)
FOOD SERVICE TECHNICIAN: 25 per cent change to identify
harmful substances
SHUTTLECRAFT PILOT: Able to fly ship’s shuttle vehicles
TRANSPORT TECHNICIAN: Familiar with road systems, subshut-
tle tubes, anti-grav sled repair, etc.
GENETICIST/CHEMLIFE TECHNICIAN: Conversant with both
human genetics and android construction
SMALL UNIT REPAIR TECHNICIAN: Able to repair minor dam-
age to ship’s equipment depending on com-
plexity (referee’s option)
SURVIVAL TRAINING SPECIALIST: + 1 to hit with all weapons.
1-6 pts. damage hand-to-hand combat with
humans and humanoids (Only one per party)
SHIP SUPERSTRUCTURE TECHNICIAN: Familiar with hull con-
struction, including methods of working
with duralloy
PSIONIC HEALER: Can heal 1-6 points of damage per person
per day, or twice that (taking 1-6 pts. him-
self in the latter case)
MACHINE TALENT: Possesses instinctive affinity with all ma-
chines.
IMMORTAL: Totally immune to poison, radiation, and
disease. Regenerates 5 hit points per day.
Transfusion of blood into a non-immortal
cures 2-40 hit points, and can be done once
a month.
PROBABILITY SHIFTER: Can influence a die roll by investing hit
points (1 hit point = 1 percentage point; 5 hit
points = 1 20-sided die point; 10 hit
points= 1 6-sided die point). Use of this
power, and direction and magnitude of in-
fluence, must be declared before rolling.
This power can be used whenever the char-
acter affected by the roll is within 25 ft. of
the person with the power.
RESURRECTION TALENT: Can restore life by pouring own hit
points into another’s body. The amount of
points invested becomes the maximum hit
points for the resurrected person. This can
be no more than the original number of hit
points the dead character had. Each full day
dead adds 10 percent to the number of
points that must be invested. (Example: A
man three days dead must have 39 points in-
vested to gain 30.) Persons with bodies not
intact or not recoverable cannot be resur-
rected, nor can persons already once resur-
rected by this method.
MENTAL BATTERY: Can power any item within 20 feet with
mental energy, with 5 percent chance (cumu-
lative) of “burnout” each melee round.
Powering an item takes no real concentra-
tion, but power ends if person with battery
power is knocked unconscious or moved out
of range.
BURNOUT CHART
01-50: Unable to use power for one day
51-75: Unconscious 1-20 min. plus 1 -day wait
to use power again
76-85: Unconscious 1-6 hours plus 2-day wait
to use power again
86-90: As 76-85 plus take 1-20 pts. damage
91-99: As 86-90 plus take additional 1-20 pts.
damage
00: Death from energy burnout
ABILITY DUPLICATOR: May duplicate any one single mutant
ability (mental or physical) or one single hu-
man attribute (strength, constitution, dex-
terity, etc.) of any being within 100 yards.
Roll for burnout as above each melee round
but with 10 percent non-cumulative chance
of burnout.
LATENT MUTANT STOCK
These are humans who have latent mutant abilities that may be brought
out by radiation. Keep track of how many levels of radiation CUMU-
LATIVE have been absorbed by any one latent mutant. This is the per-
centage chance that the accumulated radiation effect will bring out the
latent mutations. Roll each time the character is affected by radiation
and lives. If the latent mutations are brought out, roll on the following
table:
% Die Roll
Effects
01-50:
1 mutation
51-75:
2 mutations & 1 defect
76-90:
3 mutations & 2 defects
91-00:
DEATH (lethal mutation)
Number of skills
1 minor skill
1 major & 1 minor skill
1 major & 2 minor skills
2 major skills
2 major & 1 minor skill
2 major & 2 minor skills
2 major & 3 minor skills
ROLL SPECIAL SKILL (humans only)
MAJOR SKILLS
(player’s choice)
Ecology Maintenance Technician
Astrogator
Computer Technician
Weapons Officer
Roboticist
Medical Officer
Power Room Technician
Engine Maintenance Technician
Radiation Technician
Band Unit Maintenance
Technician
MINOR SKILLS
(player’s choice)
Food Service Technician
Shuttlecraft Pilot
Transport Technician
Geneticist/Chemlife Technician
Small Unit Repair Technician
Recreation & Athletics Officer
Survival Training Specialist
Ship Superstructure Technician
SPECIAL SKILLS
01-15: Psionic Healer
16-30: Machine Talent
31-45: Immortal
46-60: Probability Shifter
61-75: Resurrection Talent
76-90: Mental Battery
91-00: Ability Duplicator
EXPLANATIONS OF SKILLS
WEAPONS OFFICER: + 1 on rolls to hit with ship’s weaponry
MEDICAL OFFICER: Can heal 1 point of damage per man per
day with minimum equipment
RADIATION TECHNICIAN: Can identify radiation areas from
condition of local plants, effects on animals
and players, etc.
BAND UNIT MAINTENANCE TECHNICIAN: Expert. with color
band circuitry. Has possibility of bypassing
5
PROGRAMMED SHIP SKILLS
% Die Roll
01-50:
51-60:
61-75:
76-85:
86-90:
91-95:
96-99:
00:
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]