Drmg043, Dragon
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November 1980
Dragon
1
Tell them you saw it in Dragon magazine
Dragon
Vol. V, No. 5
(Editor’s note: Rumbles is normally writ-
fen by me, the editor, because traditionally
the editor writes Rumbles and I’m the editor.
That’s why my name appears at the end of
Rumbles. Usually. This month Bryce Knorr’s
name appears at the end of Rumbles, not
because he’s the editor, although the little
punk might like to be, but because he wrote
Rumbles this month. In fact, he even wrote
most of this editor’s note. If you’re confused,
read on. The plot thickens.)
they’re going to send the results to us — and
it better be double-spaced on a decent type-
writer with a self-addressed, stamped en-
velope to cover the cost of return postage, or
we probably won’t look twice at it and it
definitely will never get sent back.
But that’s only scratching the surface. Our
fiction policy covers a lot more ground than
how to type and how to mail what you’ve
typed. And here it is:
Vol. V, No. 5 November 1980
Publisher
E. Gary Gygax
Editor
Jake Jaquet
Assistant Editor
Kim Mohan
Editorial Staff
Bryce Knorr
Circulation & Sales
Corey Koebernick
Debbie Chiusano
Office Staff
Cherie Knull Dawn Pekul
This month’s
contributing artists:
Ray Cioni
Todd Lockwood
Alan Burton
Ed Greenwood
Erol Otus Chris Roth
Susan Collins
DRAGON magazine is published monthly by
Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR Hobbles, Inc.
The mailing address of Dragon Publishing is P.O.
Box 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147; telephone 414-
248-8044
You see, Exnur, your story is not really
what we’re looking for. Dragon Publishing,
in addition to putting out Dragon, publishes
collections of fiction from time to time. We
are not at this time, and do not anticipate be-
ing in the near future, publishers of novels
(and if we ever decide to do that, take a
number and wait; mine is going to be first in
line). And we aren’t interested in publishing
parts of a novel. “To be continued” might
satisfy you, but our readers feel a bit cheated
by incomplete material. People might look
at it as a cheap sales ploy if we published
half of a piece one month, promising the
other half the next month. So with future
submissions, remember the work must be
able to stand alone and on its own merits.
All characterizations, plot, imagery, and
everything else they teach in the Famous
Writers’ School — plus a beginning and an
ending — gotta be in the same envelope
when you send it to us.
And we have a fairly limited genre (or
whatever the plural of genre is). If you had
taken the time to send for a copy of our
writers’ guidelines (one of the first things a
professional writer does before attempting
to write for a publication for the first time),
you’d know that we are not into children’s
fiction, “regular” fiction, romantic fiction,
gothic romance, westerns, private-eye
stories, war stories (at least modern ones) or
pornography.
Since I’ve touched on the subject of sex, I
might as well tell you about that. We aren’t
prudes. A lot of our readers aren’t prudes. A
lot of our contributors aren’t prudes. A lot of
us think that sex is one of the fine and
wonderful things in which consenting adults
may engage. However, this magazine has a
way of showing up in households with
young readers. As such, we feel a responsi-
bility to in loco parentis, which roughly trans-
lated means that we have to act as our own
sensor (censor?) to watch out for the psy-
chological welfare of those youngsters be-
cause mom and dad can’t approve before-
hand of what we put in the magazine that
(Turn to page 58)
Dear Exnur,
We are returning your manuscript be-
cause it does not meet our standards for
publication in its current form . . .
Yep, another rejection letter. Hey, don’t
tell me about rejection letters. I know all
about rejection letters, because I’m a free-
lance writer when I’m not sitting at my Drag-
on desk. When you’re a free-lance writer, re-
jection letters (we call them slips) are as fre-
quent as the postman’s deliveries. Editors
don’t make rejection phone calls.
I’ve been writing a lot of rejection letters
around here lately. It’s that time of the
month, between issues, when we have a
chance to catch our collective breath and
whittle down the piles of incoming mail. And
with every batch of complaints about “How
come my Dragon always looks like it got put
through a trash compactor?” we get some
manuscripts from people who dream of writ-
ing fiction.
Once a month I settle down and read the
manuscripts, attacking them with a red felt-
tip pen until I can’t stand it any longer; then
I
just read them and write little notes to the
other folks here about them. The other folks
look them over and send them back to me,
whereupon I write rejection letters, usually
based upon my original criticisms. Oh, there
are a few non-rejection letters — but
very
few.
While writing my last group of rejection
letters, I got the brilliant idea that we ought
to tell our readers what we’re looking for in
fiction, under the assumption that anyone
smart enough to play fantasy and role-play-
ing games ought to be able to get the mes-
sage about this subject as well.
This is especially appropriate since we just
published the brand-new, available at your
local hobby store or book store, for only $3
(what a bargain!)
Dragontales.
Now that
we’ve gone and done that, a lot more
people are going to be sending us their ver-
sions of the Great American Fantasy Short
Story, in hopes of getting a piece of the ac-
tion when we publish
Dragontales II.
And
DRAGON is available at hundreds of hobby
stores and bookstores throughout the United
States and Canada, and through a limited number
of overseas outlets. The magazine can be pur-
chased directly from Dragon Publishing by in-
dividual subscription. The subscription rate within
the United States and Canada is $24 U.S. for 12 is-
sues. Outside the U.S. and Canada, rates are as
follows: $50 U.S. for 12 issues sent surface mail,
or $95 U.S. for 12 issues sent air mail.
A limited selection of DRAGON back issues is
available by mail from Dragon Publishing for cover
price of a particular issue plus $1.00 per issue
ordered for postage and handling. No issues prior
to #22 are available. The cover price for issues #22-
31 is $2.00, for #32-36, $2.50, and for #37 to
present, $3.00. Payment must accompany all
orders If one or more issues in an order is sold
out, a credit slip wiII be substituted which may be
exchanged for cash or merchandise from Dragon
Publishing.
The issue of expiration for each subscription is
printed on each subscriber’s mailing label.
Changes of address for subscriptions must be re-
ceived by Dragon Publishing at least 30 days prior
to the effective date of the change in order to
guarantee uninterrupted delivery.
All material published in DRAGON becomes the
exclusive property of the publisher upon publica-
tion, unless special arrangements to the contrary
are made prior to publication.
DRAGON welcomes unsolicited submissions
of written material and artwork, however, no
responsibility for such submissions can be as-
sumed by the publisher in any event. No submis-
sion will be returned unless it was accompanied
by a self-addressed, stamped envelope of suf-
ficient size. All rights on the contents of this publi-
cation are reserved, and nothing may be re-
produced in whole or in part without securing
prior permission in writing from the publisher.
Copyright 1980 by TSR Hobbles, Inc.
Second class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wisconsin 53147
2
November 1980
Dragon
ell, here it is November already. Thanksgiving
time. But if you’re in the market for a holiday
turkey, you’re looking in the wrong place. This is
Grade A prime
Dragon,
maybe a little tough to
chew but not at all hard to swallow. And when
issue. The eye-catching art includes a full-page witch painting by
Alan Burton
which leads off the NPC article on page 6. It’s a
relatively rare occasion when we can present our three color comic
strips in the same issue, but this is one of those occasions.
Wormy,
Finieous Fingers,
and
Jasmine
are all together again at the rear of
the magazine.
And in the middle, there’s more color—a full-page painting by
Erol Otus
of the TSR Hobbies art department which goes well with
the first entry in this month’s Bestiary; a color photo of the impres-
sive components from
Azhanti High Lightning,
the ultimate supple-
ment for
Traveller;
and, sandwiched between those pages,
Dragon’s
first
Traveller
adventure, courtesy of the imaginative mind and busy
typewriter of
Roberto Camino.
The main course among this month’s articles is the Witch, an
extensive look at that legendary figure as it might be portrayed in an
AD&D game or another role-playing context as a non-player charac-
ter. The original manuscript sent in by
Bill Muhlhausen
was pol-
ished and refined by yours truly and
Tom Moldvay
of the TSR
Hobbies Design Dept. to arrive at the pages of text which appear
herein. Mr. Moldvay, a witchologist of no small stature, also provid-
ed a short historical piece on how witches came to be called witches,
and how the legends and traditions concerning them evolved.
We move from the magical realm of the witch into the futuristic
territory of
Traveller
with
Canard,
an adventure specially for use
with the popular science-fiction role-playing game. Players will need
all the skills at their disposal to contend with the perils, obvious and
unseen, which lurk within the complex of rooms and chambers they
will explore. Accompanying drawings by
Chris Roth
help to con-
vey the intensity and suspense contained within the text.
As a concession to reality, we offer four pages of convention/
tournament coverage inside, led off by
Dragon
editor
Jake
Jaquet’s
informal examination and comparison of three of 1980’s
major gaming gatherings. He wrote the piece because he was the
only Dragon Publishing representative who attended all three con-
ventions—and because, since Bryce wrote Dragon Rumbles this
month, we had to come up with some other way to get the boss’s
name in print. Following Jake’s story are words of wisdom from
Dave Cook,
author of the new TSR module
Slave Pits of the
Undercity,
on the giant
AD&D
Open Tournament at Gen Con, along
with tips for future players on how to persevere against the threat of
the Slave Lords. Realism story number three spotlights
Frank
Mentzer,
who emerged as the DM with the mostest from the recent
AD&D
Masters Invitational, which was concluded at Gen Con.
Have you, as a DM, ever wished there was an organized, univer-
sally accepted way to find out from your players how you’re doing as
a world-designer? Have you, as a player, ever yearned for a way to
compliment and criticize the person behind your campaign without
resorting to raising your voice or grumbling under your breath? Then
take pencil in hand and fill out
DeAnn Iwan’s
Dungeon Master
Evaluation Form—a way for players to petition for help with griev-
ances, or to pass out well-deserved praise on a piece of paper.
There are plenty of other articles sprinkled throughout #43,
most of which will be of primary interest to
D&D
and
AD&D
players.
Philip Meyers
presents a detailed examination of the
AD&D
illu-
sion spells and how they ought to be played, with regard to the
creatures who view the attempted illusions.
Lenard Lakofka
sets
forth some more suggestions for conducting characters’ activities
during the melee round, and
Larry DiTillio
has a rebuttal to Doug
Bachmann’s rebuttal of Larry’s original piece on morality as it relates
to role-playing.
Mark Herro
is back with another installment of Electric Eye,
reviewing an offering of computer games. Sage Advice returns big-
ger than ever—nearly two full pages of questions and answers about
D&D
and
AD&D.
Stefan Neubauer
wrote an interesting and il-
luminating letter about
D&D
in Germany which we’ve reproduced
word for word, and our intermittent series of
Squad Leader
scenar-
ios continues with
Bryan Beecher’s
depiction of the fall of
Sevastopol.
And there’s more . . . so much more that I can’t possibly describe
it all and get home in time for Thanksgiving dinner. And I’m really
hungry, so . . .
you’re done digesting what’s on the pages that follow, we hope
hungry for more, because our Christmas feast in the Decem-
ber issue isn’t far behind.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s see what’s on this month’s
menu . . .
This month’s cover was produced by
Ray Cioni,
an artist/ani-
mator from Chicago who created Morley the Wizard, the cartoon
figure which was the main feature of television commercials touting
Gen Con XIII which appeared on many broadcast outlets in the
Midwest in Mid-August prior to the convention. He was happy to
provide us with a rendition of a witch for our cover, to serve as a
lead-in to our feature inside on the witch as a non-player charac-
ter—and we were happy to have it.
There are plenty more colorful pages on the inside of the maga-
zine—more color than
Dragon
has ever published before in a single
you’re
SPECIAL ATTRACTIONS
CANARD: A
Traveller
adventure —
R. Camino
...............
Brewing up a brand-new NPC: The Witch
35
—B. Muhlhausen, K. Mohan, T. Moldvay
................
7
OTHER FEATURES
Conventions 1980:
From the east coast to the west coast. .
.—J. Jaquet
.......
10
Survival Tips for the Slave Pits —
D. Cook
............... 12
He’s the top Dungeon Mentzer
.........................
14
“D&D is not very common in Germany. . .”—
S. Neubauer
.... 18
How do YOU rate as a DM? —
D. Iwan..
.....................
20
Now you see it. . . but is it really there? —
P. Meyers.
..........
29
Hate orcs? You’ll love this campaign —
R. Moore
.............
56
The sixth fantastic adventure of Reginald Rennup, Mu. D.
.....
73
REGULAR COLUMNS
Sage Advice —
W. Niebling, J. Ward, J. Wells
.................
16
Leomund’s Tiny Hut: Action in the melee round —
L. Lakofka
. . 26
Dragon’s Bestiary
Amazon —
R. Moore
............................
33
Tolwar —
T. Lockwood
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Lythlyx —
E. Greenwood
..............................
34
Dragon’s Augury
Azhanti High Lightning —
R. Camino
....................
48
DragonQuest —
D. Bachmann
..........................
49
Hero —
R. Camino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
50
Squad Leader #5: The Fall of Sevastopol —
B. Beecher
....... 52
Up On A Soapbox: Apples, oranges . .
. — L. DiTillio
.......... 54
The Electric Eye: Four from Space on Tape —
M. Herro
........ 70
DragonMirth
..........................................
. . 72
Finieous Fingers & Friends —
by J. D.
.......................
74
Wormy —
by Tramp.
......................................
75
Jasmine —
by Darlene
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
If your mailing label says TD-43
this is your last issue—resubscribe!
—Kim
3
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