Drmg016, Dragon
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The Magazine of Fantasy, Swords & Sorcery, and Science Fiction Game Playing
—
Due to the length of the conclusion of THE GREEN MAGICIAN,
we found it necessary to add an additional four pages this issue. Con-
trary to what some Philistines might think, this is not a fiction maga-
zine. The Philistines I refer to are the ones that don’t want to see any
fiction at all in these pages. To forestall the howls, the extra four pages
were added to compensate, not that the story NEEDS compensating
for.
It has always been THE DRAGON’s contention that roleplaying
gaming requires large amounts of stimulation to ensure fresh and via-
ble campaigns. Due to the fact that virtually all of the good roleplaying
games require liberal interpretation, fresh ideas are paramount. We
will continue to bring you quality heroic fiction.
On the opposite page, you will find this year’s
Strategists Club
Awards
ballot. We urge you to participate in this year’s voting. We feel
that this award is the most valid of all the awards given out this time of
year. The nominations were made by a panel of over 50 members of the
industry, as well as over a dozen Life Subbers. It is appearing in every
gaming magazine of import this year, and voting is expected to be very
heavy. The Awards will be presented at this year’s SC Banquet. Details
on the Banquet are elsewhere in this issue.
Ever since I got into this business, I have been troubled by some
persistent questions: Why is it that so few people in this hobby have a
sense of humor? Who do so many take themselves and the hobby so
deadly seriously? What is it in our collective psyche that prohibits us
from laughing at ourselves?
The manifestations of the deficiency are numerous: amateur ‘zines
(discussed in SORCEROR’S SCROLL this issue) are no longer what
they once were — now they are filled with vitriol and bickering; satire
goes unnoticed and/or unappreciated; humor is unwelcome. Recently,
I was reading some other magazine, I
really
don’t remember which one
—
honest, a review of someone’s space game. (I believe it was
Alpha
Omega,
by Battleline.) The reviewer seemed to take it as a personal af-
front that two of the ship types were called
Akroid
and
Belushi,
and
seemed to have no idea whatsoever where they came from. Now this
was a person that holds himself to be expert enough that someone
should care to read what he writes. Why have we become so parochial?
Are reviews being written by people that live in caves somewhere?
Far too many people take roleplaying gaming far too seriously,
often finding it difficult to disassociate the fantasy from the reality,
and tolerating no criticism or jesting at all. Judging from some of the
letters
TD
has received, some people sit about and do nothing but work
(continued on pg. 36)
FEATURES
Ninja — The Ultimate NPC
—
the
DM’s hitman
. . . . . . . . . . . .
7
The Green Magician
—
pt
II
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
25
VARIANTS
Near Eastern Mythos
— more deities for your campaign. . . . . . . . .
4
Metamorphosis Alpha
—
more muties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
DESIGN/DESIGNER’S FORU
M
Sorcerer’s Scroll
— Realism vs.
Game Logic;
Spell Points, and more
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. .
15
Game Balance
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
36
DRAGONMIRTH
The Adv. of Monty Haul
—
Thursday night
D&D
game . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .
..
. . . . .
30
Finieous Fingers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .31
Reviews
Fantasy Forge
— what’s new in molten monsters
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18-19
GenCon Preview & Update
— what’s coming
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22
a division of TSR Hobbies, Inc.
Publisher
E. Gary Gygax
Art. Dept.
Dave Sutherland
Managing Ed.
T.J. Kask
David A. Trampier
TD Editor
T.J. Kask
Tom Wham
LW Editor
Joe Orlowski
Circulation Mgr.
Joe Orlowski
If your mailing label says “TD 16”
this is your last issue . . . resubscribe
Publisher’s Statement
THE DRAGON is published monthly by TSR Periodicals. a division of TSR Hobbies. Inc., POB 110. Lake Geneva, WI 53147
It is available at better hobby shops and bookstores, or by subscription. Subscription rate is $9.00 per 6 issues. $18.00 per year. Single copy and back issue price is $1.50, but availability of back issues is not
guaranteed. Subscriptions outside the
U.S.
and Canada are
$20.00
per 6 issues, and are air-mailed overseas. (Payment must be made in U.S. 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.
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 1978 by TSR HOBBIES, INC.
Fourth Annual Strategists Club Awards for
"Creativity in Wargaming"
Outstanding Professional
Wargaming Publication - 1977
Imperium -
Conflict Games CAMPAIGN
Ogre
- Metagaming
FANTASY GAMING HALL OF FAME
“In recognition of their contributions to fantasy gaming.” Please vote for one in each
category. Present members are: REH, ERB, H.P. Lovecraft, JRRT, C.S. Lewis,
Roger Zelazny, Andre Norton and Fritz Leiber. Do not vote for any of them.
Fire & Movement
Squad Leader
- AH
LITTLE WARS
Traveller
- GDW
Strategy & Tactics
Victory In the Pacific
- AH
THE DRAGON
Posthumous
Lord Dunsanay
A. Merritt
Fletcher Pratt
Clark Ashton Smith
Jules Verne
Stanley Weinbaum
Living Authors
War of the Ring
- SPI
The General
Poul Anderson
John Jakes
Leigh Brackett
Katherine Kurtz
Outstanding Game Design - 1977
Air War -
David lsby
Citadel -
Frank Chadwick
Imperium -
Marc Miller
Squad Leader -
John Hill & Don Greenwood
Traveller -
Marc Miller
Warlord -
Robert Williams
War of the Ring -
Howard Barasch & Richard Berg
Terry Brooks
Ursula K. LeGuin
L. Sprague deCamp
Michael Moorcock
Stephen R. Donaldson
Fred Saberhagen
Philip Jose Farmer
Margaret St. Clair
Gardner F. Fox
Jack Vance
How to, and Who, May Vote:
Anyone reading this in any of the fine magazines running it is eligible to vote, but
only once. To that end, you must include your name and address somewhere on the
ballot. This must be done, as it is our only method of preventing ballot stuffing;
failure to do so will invalidate the ballot. DO NOT SEND IN THIS BALLOT! DO NOT
PHOTOCOPY THIS FORM! All votes must be cast on a postcard or 3 x 5 notecard.
Simply list your choices in numerical order. ONLY ONE CHOICE IN EACH
CATEGORY. Ballots must not accompany any order or other correspondence with
TSR Hobbies or TSR Periodicals; they must be sent separately. We recommend a
postcard.
Outstanding Miniature Figure Series - 1977
American Civil War
(15mm) - Grenadier
Carolingians, Franks
& Moors (25mm) - MiniFigs
Dungeons & Dragons
(25mm) - MiniFigs
Hoplites -
“Classical Ancient” (25mm) - Ral Partha
Modern Micro Armor (11285) -
GHQ
World Conquerors
- “The Mongols and their Allies” (25mm)
- Ral Partha
Outstanding Miniatures Rules - 1977
Chivalry & Sorcery
- Fantasy Games Unlimited
Cordite & Steel
- TSR Hobbies, Inc.
The Emerald Tablet
- Creative Wargames Workshop
Modern Armor -
TSR
Legions of the Petal Throne -
TSR
Mail all ballots to:
“SC” Awards
All ballots must be
postmarked no later
than 28 July 1978
c/o THE DRAGON
POB 110
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
Letters to the Editor
A Rebuttal to
“The Cthulhu Mythos Revisited”
by Gerald Guinn
Well, when one gets into religious controversy the first thing one discovers is
that the scriptures are themselves self-contradictory or are subject to varying in-
terpretations. Now here is Gerald Guinn, self styled High Priest in the Service of
Nyarlathotep objecting to the interpretation given to the Cthulhu Mythos in
D&D (The Dragon,
May 1978, page 22).
Mr. Guinn makes a number of specific complaints, and readers should refer
to his letter for his entire argument, but I am happy to comment on some of his
allegations, as summarized below.
Guinn claims:
1. That Ubbo-Sathla, not Azathoth, is the center of the Universe. And yet:
tion. Any appropriate hit point assignment can be used by the DM. One of my
concerns in writing up the gods was that players encountering them in a game
might well want to call upon Zeus or Thor or Ra for help and the gods should be
scaled to make this a reasonable confrontation.
4. Guinn maintains “the Elder Sign . . . cannot control Cthulhu in
R’lyeh.” I quote the
Necronomicon.
“In the land of Yhe as in great R’lyeh . . .
it shall have power,
but
even as the stars wane . . . so wanes the power . . . of
the five pointed star stone.”
Derleth’s “The House on Curwen Street”
5. “If Alhazred was eaten alive in Damascus what is he doing in the Name-
less city as an intact zombie . . .?”
My description of Alhazred’s fate is taken from H.P. Lovecraft’s “History
and Chronology of the
Necronomicon.”
I know Derleth had him reappear in a
later story, but Lovecraft’s account is probably the definitive one. Prof. Shrews-
bury (in Derleth’s story) says “Legend has it that he was snatched by an invisible
monster in broad daylight and devoured horribly before a great audience; this is
the story of the twelfth century biographer Ebn Khallikan, hands down; but it is
more than possible that the devouring was an illusion . . .” in “The Keeper of
the Key,” the story referred to by Guinn above. Ah, in a dispute like this, who is
to know what is illusion and what is reality?
6. “An Arabic volume of the
Necronomicon
. . .
does exist.” I know var-
ious authors have reported so, but again, to quote Lovecraft’s “History and
Chronology of the
Necronomicon”
“1050 . . . Arabic text now lost.”
7. “Try Primordial Ones instead of Old Ones from the Mountains of
Madness. Using Old Ones twice is not only redundant of another creature (the
Great Old Ones) but confusing.” I agree, but Lovecraft uses Old Ones through-
out most of the story.
8. “Instead of Shaggoths, these creatures are known as Shoggoths.” You
are right, Mr. Guinn, although Laney’s “Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary,”
gives both spellings. If you are going to complain about how to spell words not
intended (in the first place) for the human tongue, may I point out that in your
letter you have consistently misspelled August Derleth’s first name?
9. “If. . . Lovecraft . . . Derleth . . . or Howard saw your use, they’d
roll over in their graves.” If you listen very carefully over HPL’s grave, Mr.
Guinn, the sound you hear is not rolling, it is hearty laughter!
Sincerely,
J. Eric Holmes
Ed. Note: J. Eric Holmes, an author in his own right (Mahars of Pellucidar is my
favorite Pellucidar noval written by J. E. H.), was co-author of the original
article.
“Til neither time nor matter stretched before me But only Chaos, without
form or place. Here the vast Lord of All in darkness muttered Things he had
dreamed but could not understand.”
“Azathoth,” from
The Fungi from Yuggoth
from “Dream Quest of Unknown
Kadath”
It is true that Clark Ashton Smith’s Hyperborean sorcerer Eibon makes
some contradictory statements about Ubbo-Sathla, but with all due respect to
MU Eibon, he must be considered a secondary source.
Many of Lovecraft’s friends wrote stories using the Cthulhu Mythos and as
a result there are various versions of the more important events therein. Our arti-
cle draws most heavily on Lovecraft’s own works and the work of Mythos
Scholars Frances T. Laney, “The Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary,” published
in
Beyond the Wall of Sleep,
and Lin Carter, “H.P. Lovecraft: The Gods” pub-
lished in
The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces.
Both of these books from Ark-
ham House.
2. A major power of Cthulhu is the projection to sensitive minds of night-
mare and madness. Certainly true, I would hope anyone using the god in his
game would read “The Call of Cthulhu” and get some idea how fearsome he
really is. In an early version of “the Gods” I said “if Cthulhu breaks out of
R’lyeh,
everyone in the world
must make a saving throw or go insane.” I later re-
duced this as being a bit too gross.
3. Guinn objects to the various hit point assignments given to the Love-
craftian Gods and races. This is too arbitrary a subject to justify serious conten-
Outstanding Game - 1977
Air War -
SPI
Lin Carter
Emil Pataja
and
“the boundless daemon Sultan Azathoth, . . . which blasphemes and bub-
bles at the centre of all infinity . . .”
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