Drmg022, Dragon
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February, 1979
Convention Schedule 1979
Dun Dra Con IV
(Feb. 17-19) at the Villa Hotel, 4000 South El Camino Real,
San Mateo CA. All-night dungeons. Fantasy Films. Fighting Demos. Tourna-
ments. Registration Fee — $10.00. Contact: DDC IV, 386 Alcatraz Avenue,
Oakland, CA 94618.
GENCON South
(Feb. 17-19) at the Jacksonville Hilton, Jacksonville,
Florida. D&D. Boardgames. Miniatures. Contact: Carl Smith Jr., 5333 Santa
Monica Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32207, or call (904) 733-3796.
Emperors Birthday Convention VIII
(Feb. 24) at Holiday Inn, 2725 Casso-
polis St., Elkhart, Indiana 46514 (Indiana Toll Rd., Exit 9). Dungeons and
Dragons. Miniatures. Dealers. Militaria Display. Pre-registration — $3.00. At
door — $3.50. Phone (219) 293-4298 for details or write R. Hagerty, 525 Mid-
dlebury St., Apt. 302, Elkhart, IN 46514.
Mon Con III
(March 30 - April 1) at Morgantown WV. Science Fiction. Fan-
tasy. Comix. Movies. Games. Star Trek. Contact: Mon Con III, Conference
Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506.
Spring Revel
(March 31- April 1) at American Legion Hall, 735 Henry Street,
Lake Geneva, WI 53147. Dungeons and Dragons. Miniatures. Boardgames.
FITS. Rail Baron. The whole TSR crowd will be there. Registration Fee $2.00.
No game fees. Contact Joe Orlowski, Spring Revel, P.O.B. 110, Lake Geneva,
WI 53147.
Tippacanoe (and Fantasy Too) Game Convention.
(May 4-6) Guest
Speakers include Gene McCoy (Wargamers Digest), Duke Siegfried (Heritage),
Tom Shaw & Don Greenwood (Avalon Hill), Bob Blake (Winner of the 1st D&D
Masters Tournament), Lou Zocchi (Designer of Luftwaffe, and Battle of Britain).
Contact: John Hill, P.O.B. 2071, W. Layfayette, IN 47906.
The Great Canadian Games Adventure
(May 18-21)
at
Ottawa University,
King Edward Street, Ottawa Ontario, CANADA. Tournaments, Seminars.
Games from Europe, England, and Canada (as well as the U.S.). Dealers.
Films. Auditions. 100 rooms on campus, costing from $6.00 to $12.00 a night.
Room reservations must be made before May 1. Registration fees are $8.00 be-
fore April 1 and $10.00 thereafter. Phone (613) 745-2073 for details or write:
CANGAMES 79, 201-360 Dundas St., Vanier Ontario, CANADA, K1L 7W7.
Michicon VIII
(June 1-3) sponsored by the Metro Detroit Gamers at Oakland
University, Rochester, MI. Contact Metro Detroit Gamers POB 787, Troy, MI
48099.
GENCON XII
(August 16-19) at University of Wisconsin-Parkside, Wood Rd.,
Kenosha, WI 53140. This could be THE convention of 1979. Over 20 dealers.
Over a hundred tournaments, tournies, and scheduled demonstration games.
Not to mention seminars, open gaming, and workshops. Pre-registration before
June 30 — $10.00. At door — $15.00. Special GENCON XII Information
Packet available in April. Contact Joe Orlowski, GENCON XII Coordinator,
POB 756, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.
ORIGINS 79: TO BE OR NOT?
As this issue goes to press, we have not received a single shred
of information regarding
ORIGINS 79.
Rumors, however, have
been rampant. As we are not in the habit of publishing rumors, we
will not share any with you at this time. We will, however, share
with you what we feel to be the most reliable account of what
seems to be going on. Be advised that we freely state that some of
this is unsubstantiated, all of it is the result of sleuthing we have
done, or deductions we have made in light of oft-conflicting
stories and accounts.
At first, reports had it that the con was to be in a giant motor-
lodge in or near King-of-Prussia, PA. The lodge was supposed to
be managed by a wargamer, and all the details were being worked
out.
(This bit of information was printed in a couple of publica-
tions.)
It was to take place in July.
The latest information has it that the con has been relegated to
tiny Widener College, in Chester, PA, and is in June.
Judging from the lack of planning that seems to be going on, it
would Seem that the whole thing is much too iffy. lf the organizers
are still this vague at this late date, we caution anyone considering
it to be very flexible, and not commit your summer schedule
around what could become a non-event.
3
— The Magazine of Fantasy, Swords & Sorcery, and Science Fiction Game Playing —
Table of Contents
The cover isn’t the only strange thing about this issue. I haven’t the foggiest
idea where to begin, so let’s start with the physical aspects of the magazine you
now hold in your hands. First, its much bigger than a normal TD or LW, 12 to 20
pages bigger then usual. Although it may not look like it, it’s actually two
magazines. This issue is an experiment, and you, the reader, can be judge and
jury and determine its future. For the first time, we have bound in an insert.
The insert is not your usual ad or subscription plug — it’s a survey question-
naire complete with
POSTAGE PAID
response form. All we are asking of you is
about 10 or 15 minutes of your time to let us know a few things about you, about
how you feel about
TD
and
LW,
your impression of this experiment, your gam-
ing preferences and a few other odds and ends that we hope will give us a better
understanding of you and what you want to see in forthcoming issues.
If your response to this combined format is favorable, we intend to put out a
56+ page issue monthly, very similar to this one. Contents will run about
50/50, although many articles are impossible to limit in category. A good case in
point is the article on assassins in this issue. It was slated for
LW,
but is of great in-
terest to role-players as background. The polearm article also falls into that amor-
phous middleground — part history, part background.
We will be using a new physical layout, with all articles in a specific area
grouped together under one division of the magazine, similar to the layout we
have utilized in this issue.
In short, we think that we will become a more desirable magazine, covering
all of wargaming inside the same cover.
You can tell us if you think we’re wrong; send in the survey response form.
For those of you that didn’t get a card, because you don’t subscribe, let me
fill you in on what happened to the non-existent Jan. issue. As you know,
magazines work months in advance. In late November, I went into the hospital
for two days for a little surgery to have my mouth rebuilt
(no, it’s not bionic)
that I
figured would only make me lose a couple of weeks. Was I wrong! Between the
after effects of the surgery, and the healing hassles, and a follow-up minor
surgery, and a most welcome
heavy
weight-loss which really debilitated me, I
lost over six weeks of working. The schedule being a shambles, we hit on the idea
of combining two to get back on track. The more we mulled it over, the more at-
tractive the combination idea became, and you have the end product of that ex-
pediency in your hands. Subs are in no way affected, as the numbering system
has always been the key on
TD
and
LW
subs, and the numbers have picked up
where they left off.
We have some extraordinary material in this issue. We were able to prevail
upon the parent organization to provide us with some material from the unfin-
ished
Adv. D&D® Dungeon
Masters Guide.
The charts and table provided,
plus the other accompanying material should prove invaluable to DMs, especial-
ly in view of the fact that the book is not due to be published until
GenCon
in
August.
Speaking of DMs, we have compiled the results of the First International
DM Search, and are printing that list in this issue. I was rather dismayed by the
rather light response, considering how many D&D players there are, and based
on sales of D&D. Perhaps the next one will be more extensive.
My next issue will be a regular
TD.
We can’t afford to wait for the survey
data, so we will be printing one more; perhaps the last under that format. If we do
decide to go with the new format, all existing
TD
and
LW
subs will be filled with
the new magazine, so current subbers will be getting a dividend.
Cont’d on page 54.
Convention News
...................................
3
The First Assassins James E.
Brunner
..................
5
The Irresistible Force Gary Gygax
.....................
8
Armies of the Renaissance Nick Nascati
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12
Reviews
Mike Cur, Gary Gygax, Dave Minch
......................
.
15
Mapping the Dungeon
..............................
. 18
Dungeons and Dragons
What It Is and Where It Is Going Gary Gygax
.........
. 29
4th Dimension
Allan Hammack
......................
. 32
ADD® Sneak Preview.
..............................
. 33
Stalemate at Kassala
John Gosling
................... .
45
Finieous Fingers J.D.
Webstors
......................
. 49
The Nomenclature of Pole Arms Gary Gygax
...........
. 50
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 TD22, LW13 — This is your last issue.
Publisher’s Statement
THE DRAGON is published monthly by TSR Periodicals, a division of TSR Hobbies, Inc., P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.
It is available at better hobby shops and bookstores, or by subscription. Subscription rate is $24 per 13 issues. Single copy and back issue price is $2.00, but availability of back issues is not guaranteed. Subscriptions outside the U.S. and
Canada are $28 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 contents 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.
Second-Class Postage paid at Lake Geneva, WI 53147
4
February, 1979
THE FIRST ASSASSINS
James E. Bruner
Sultan Sanjar awoke from a deep untroubled sleep with a pervad-
ing feeling of exultation. Each dawn brought his invincible army so much
closer to the mountainous lair of his relentless enemies the Assassins.
Within days, he mused, the Assassin citadel on the Rock of Alamut
would lay in smoking ruins and the Assassin leader Hasan, called by his
disciples the Master, would be writhing under the skilled knives of the
royal torturers.
As he was savoring these and less kindly thoughts his eyes focused
on the dagger: its long straight blade protruded from the pillow scant in-
ches from where his head lay, gleaming gently in the diffused morning
light. With a shriek he scrambled out of bed calling frantically for his
guards. After a thorough search of the pavilion had turned up no lurking
killers Sanjar ordered the puzzled guardsmen to depart and drew the
dagger from beneath the covers. With trembling fingers he removed the
scrap of parchment impaled on the needle-pointed blade. The note
contained but a single word, a command:
and be thankful your life will be spared.
As the ambassador finished speaking the corners of Hasan’s mouth
drew upwards in the semblance of a smile. He nodded almost impercep-
tibly to a young man standing next to the spokesman and while the am-
bassadors lept back fearfully the youth drew his long dagger from his belt
and drew its razor edge across his own throat. The body flopped at the
feet of the horrified ambassadors in a spray of blood. Smiling openly
now Hasan turned and nodded at a man stationed on the fortress wall
who lept silently into space to meet his end on the jagged rocks more
than six hundred feet below. Satisfied, Hasan turned back to the
stupefied ambassadors and announced that he had sixty thousand more
followers not unlike the two that had just died.
The ambassadors were still struggling to regain their composure
when they rode back into the Sultan’s camp to finalize the terms of the
agreement. In exchange for a large amount of tribute and immediate
withdrawal the Assassins would agree to refrain from proselytizing in the
Sultan’s domains and put their unparalled intelligence service at his
disposal. Sanjar hurriedly agreed to the terms and departed for the
relative safety of his capital.
Under the single blazing eye of the merciless sun the sultan’s ambas-
sadors made their way up the slope towards the brooding hulk of Ala-
mut. The place was well named the “Eagles’ Guidance.” Its bulk rose six
hundred feet from the surrounding plain, a natural eyrie detached from
the mass of mountains behind it. Varying in width from thirty to one
hundred and twenty-five feet along its four hundred and fifty foot
length, it hovered like a titantic bird of prey over the sweating ambassa-
dors. Even without the massive man-made walls and towers the Rock of
Alamut was a natural fortress. As the ambassadors climbed closer to the
single gate they decided that the sultan had made a wise choice in at-
tempting a negotiated peace before beginning a seige.
The heavily timbered gates swung inward without a sound and the
ambassadors passed into the chill shadow of the gate-house. In the
blinding sunlight of the courtyard beyond they could make out row
upon row of tall hardy youths clothed alike in red tunics and white
trousers. On the steps leading to the main keep stood an old man whose
erect posture belied the white of his hair and the map of wrinkles that
made up his face.
Hasan, Master of the Rock of Alamutand leader and founder of the
Order of Assassins, motioned the ambassadors forward with a flick of
one thin hand. Gathering their courage the ambassadors strode forward
and stopped at the base of the steps. Their spokesman stepped forward
to deliver the magnanimous terms set forth by the Sultan: acknowledge
the Sultan: acknowledge the Sultan as rightful ruler, abandon Alamut,
Hasan Sabbah the Iranian
In 1078 A.D. Hasan Sabbah the Iranian arrived at the House of
Wisdom in Cairo. The House, founded some seventy-four years earlier,
was the principal school for missionaries of the Ismaili branch of the
Shiite sect of Islam. Born Ca. 1050 in Ray, five miles north of Teheran in
the shadow of the Elburz Mountains, Hasan had been an early Ismaili
convert. By 1074 he was serving as a deputy
dai
under Attash, chief
dai
of Irak and western Iran. The
dais
were the lsmaili teachers or “Sum-
moners to the Truth” and were found throughout the length and
breadth of the Islamic world. At the House of Wisdom Hasan hoped to
delve deeper into the mysteries of his religion aided by some of the great-
est religious minds of the day.
The Ismailis are a branch of the Shiite sect of Islam whose beliefs
combine elements of the Islamic faith with Greek, Persian, Syrian, and
Babylonian philosophy. It has attracted followers from all religions and
walks of life. The central Ismaili belief is that God is incomprehensible to
everyone. Only the
imam,
or leader, may interpret, ellucidate, and ap-
ply the Koran. The office of
imam
is hereditary and he is considered om-
niscient and infallible. The
imam
is fiercely obeyed by the faithful who
are guaranteed reincarnation until a heaven of perfect wisdom is at-
tained.
5
Negotiate!
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