Drmg051, Dragon
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July 1981
Dragon
1
Dragon
Vol. VI, No. 1
Vol. VI, No. 1
July 1981
The scope of what a gaming magazine
can cover is vast — as vast in scope, if not
more so, than the games themselves.
Consequently, neither DRAGON™ mag-
azine nor the other publications in the
field have to be overly concerned about
“duplicating” what some other magazine
has recently done. Then again, there’s a
thing called the law of averages, and
sometimes it catches up with all of us.
What’s this all about? Well, those of
you who have seen the June issue of
The
Space Gamer
may already know what
I’m getting at.
When we received our office copy of
the latest product from Steve Jackson &
Co., we were more than mildly surprised
to find that the cornerstone of
TSG #40
was a special section on
Traveller.
At the
time, we were within a few days of clos-
ing the books on the magazine you are
holding —which also has a big spread of
articles on that game. (If we had noticed
the “Next Issue” box in
TSG
#39 which
foretold the
Traveller
section coming up,
we would have been less surprised. But
we were, and usually are, too busy wor-
rying about our own next issue to take
heed of what the other guys have up their
sleeves.)
If it had been possible to completely
shift gears and pull the
Traveller
section
from this issue, maybe we would have
looked for a way to do that. But it wasn’t
possible to plug in more than 14 pages of
new material at the last minute, and I’m
not sure it would have been the “right”
thing to do anyway. After all, the articles
aren’t the same; the only similarity is that
our section and their section both per-
tain to the same game. And that’s not
hurting anyone, least of all the thou-
sands of
Traveller
players who want and
deserve a wealth of suggestions on how
to make their favorite game even more
enjoyable.
The point here, I guess, is to make sure
you realize that we didn’t do a
Traveller
section because
TSG
did one (Are all
editors this paranoid?). We did it be-
cause we felt it was high time to devote a
goodly amount of space to one of the
most popular role-playing games, and
we intend to make this section the start
of an effort to give
Traveller
more cover-
age than ever before.
And, in case any of you were wonder-
ing, neither us nor
TSG
(I feel safe in
speaking for Steve here) is getting any-
thing under the table from Game De-
signers’ Workshop for publishing a load
of
Traveller
material. The boys in Bloom-
ington didn’t twist our arms — you did,
by buying so many copies of the game
that it has become something we are ob-
ligated to cover, in an effort to do the
greatest good for the greatest number of
gamers.
Like I hinted at above, the law of aver-
ages can work both ways. Ironically
enough, DRAGON #51 and (according
to their announced plans)
TSG
#41
both
contain extensive reviews of
Triplane-
tary.
If our printing schedule, our ship-
ping operation and the U.S. Postal Ser-
vice all work the way they ought to, per-
haps all of you who read both magazines
will see our treatment of
Triplanetary
be-
fore you see
TSG’s.
If not, well, every-
thing I said above still applies.
Publisher
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Jake Jaquet
Editor-in-Chief
. . . . . . . . . Kim Mohan
Editorial staff
. . . . . . . . . . . Bryce Knorr
Marilyn Mays
Sales. .
. . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Chiusano
Circulation
. . . . . . . Corey Koebernick
Office staff
. . . . . . . . . . . . Cherie Knull
Jean Lonze
Roger Raupp
Contributing editors. . . .
Roger Moore
Ed Greenwood
This issue’s contributing artists:
Susan Collins Kenneth Rahman
Gail Gierahn Phil Foglio
Roger Raupp Mason Jones
Todd Lockwood Tom Mason
Paul Jaquays
Bruce Whitefield
Tom Wham
J. D. Webster
Darlene Pekul
David Trampier
David Sutherland
DRAGON magazine is published monthly by
Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR Hobbies,
Inc. The mailing address of Dragon Publishing
is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147; tele-
phone (414) 248-8044.
DRAGON magazine is available at hundreds
of hobby stores and bookstores throughout the
United States and Canada, and through a limit-
ed number of overseas outlets. The magazine
can be purchased directly from Dragon Publish-
ing by subscription. Rates are as follows, with all
payments to be made in advance: $24 for 12
issues sent to a U.S. or Canadian address; $50
U.S. for 12 issues sent via surface mail or $95 for
12 issues sent via air mail to any other country.
A limited quantity of certain back issues of
DRAGON magazine can be purchased directly
from the publisher by sending the cover price
plus $1.50 postage and handling for each issue
ordered. Payment in advance by check or mo-
ney order must accompany all orders. Payments
cannot be made through a credit card, and
orders cannot be taken nor merchandise “re-
served” by telephone. Neither an individual cus-
tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub-
scription order or back-issue purchase unless
prior arrangements are made.
The issue of expiration for each subscription
is printed on the mailing label for each sub-
scriber’s copy of the magazine. Changes of ad-
dress for the delivery of subscriptions must be
received at least 30 days prior to the effective
date of the change in order to insure uninter-
rupted delivery.
All material published in DRAGON magazine
becomes the exclusive property of the publisher
upon publication, unless special arrangements
to the contrary are made prior to publication.
DRAGON magazine welcomes unsolicited sub-
missions of written material and artwork; how-
ever, no responsibility for such submissions 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 to the contributor if it cannot be
published.
DRAGON™ is a trademark for Dragon Publish-
ing’s 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 prior permission in writing
from the publisher. Copyright 1981 by TSR
Hobbies, Inc. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.
Second class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wis., and at additional mailing offices.
Tucked between a couple of pages in-
side is the official ballot for the 1981
Strategists Club Awards. Anyone who’s
interested and has a few cents for a pos-
tage stamp can vote by writing in his or
her favorites in each of the six catego-
ries. The awards will be presented at the
annual banquet during the GEN CON®
convention next month.
An obvious change from previous bal-
lots is the absence of nominees for you
to choose from. We’ve decided that the
great number of games and gaming pro-
ducts put out every year makes it unfair
for the balloting to be restricted to just a
few potential winners. Your favorite has
just as good a chance of getting an
award as anyone else’s — but only if you
speak your mind and send in your ballot.
A not-so-obvious change is in the de-
finition of the categories for which awards
will be given. Rather than ask you to
compare apples and oranges, we’ve re-
structured the contest so that board-
games and role-playing games are con-
sidered separately, and there’s an entire-
ly new “open” category, for any card
game, computer program, playing aid,
or whatnot that doesn’t really fit into
either of the other two divisions. Ready,
set, vote!
2
July 1981
Dragon
EARCH FOR THE EMPEROR’S TREASURE is not
an easy game to describe in a few words. But, des-
cribing things in a few words is what this column is
all about, so I’ll try. EMPEROR’S TREASURE is the
latest creation from the fertile and somewhat strange
imagination of Tom Wham, who has been represented in this
magazine three times previously with SNIT SMASHING (#10),
SNIT’S REVENGE (#11), and THE AWFUL GREEN THINGS
FROM OUTER SPACE (#28). The latter two of those games
were published as boxed games by TSR Hobbies, Inc., after
their debut in DRAGON™ magazine. EMPEROR’S TREASURE
may someday follow the same path, but you don’t have to wait
that long to enjoy it: Just disengage the center 16 pages, the
map, the counters, and the cards from the magazine, set it up
and start looking for treasure.
The resemblance between EMPEROR’S TREASURE and the
rules for the D&D® and AD&D™ games is not coincidental. Tom
describes it as a simple board-game version of everybody’s
favorite fantasy games, and he gives credit where credit is due
under the line in the credits that begins with “Inspiration.” What
Tom (modest soul, that boy) doesn’t point out is that it is, first
and foremost, a Tom Wham game. That means it’s easy to learn,
it’s funny, it’s fun to play, and it never plays the same way twice.
What more could you ask from a game?
Now that I’ve failed miserably at spending just a few words on
this issue’s main attraction, I’ll see if it’s possible to sum up the
rest of this 96-page magazine in the little amount of space
remaining.
For starters, our green, green cover painting comes from the
easel of Susan Collins. It’s her first DRAGON cover, but the
second time she’s had a full-page color piece published by us,
and she’s produced dozens of black & white illustrations over
the last several issues. Another striking piece of color art is on
#page
6
— Gail Gierahn’s blazing sun which leads off a seven-
story special section on the popular Traveller game system.
The Traveller section includes a long and strong system deve-
loped by contributing editor Roger Moore for generating alien
characters; more charts and tables from Jeff Swycaffer; outlin-
ing a way for players to have some say in how their characters
are created; four short stories by Paul Crabaugh full of ideas and
opinions to enhance a Traveller campaign; and a piece written
by Marc Miller, designer of the Traveller game system, written
(with tongue firmly planted in cheek) especially for this edition.
To satisfy the never-ending demand for more material to be
used in an AD&D or D&D game, we offer a new character race,
The Winged Folk, by William Lenox with artwork by Todd Lock-
wood; plus a pair of stories discussing the difficulties and the
rewards of playing a paladin character; and a long treatise by
Len Lakofka in Leomund’s Tiny Hut on the unusual, but entirely
logical, concept of making a player character work his way up to
first level.
For variety, there’s a new cult to introduce into a RuneQuest
game; a new insect to bug the opposition in Chitin:I; and another
page from The Rasmussen Files to spice up a TOP SECRET™
campaign.
We welcome a new fiction writer to these pages with the
appearance of A Part of the Game by Darrell Schweitzer. It’s a
short but sandy tale with more twists than a chaotic roller
coaster.
Regular features we had room for this time around include a
two-page spread of Figuratively Speaking reviews centering
around science-fiction figures and accessories appropriate for
use with Traveller; a review section which takes a long look at
the new edition of Triplanetary and shorter looks at three
Traveller - related products; two new creatures in Dragon’s Bes-
tiary; a questionnaire for computer freaks in The Electric Eye;
and the story of Schardenzar the Sorcerer, the latest chapter in
the Minarian Legends by Glenn Rahman, who designed the
DIVINE RIGHT™ game.
Besides an extensive listing of conventions from now until
wintertime, you’ll also find a summary of the soon-upcoming
CWA-CON ’81 and an update on more offerings which have
been scheduled for the GEN CON® XIV convention next month.
And, as usual, we try to leave you laughing. The last six pages
of DRAGON #51 contain another episode in the What’s New
escapades of Phil and Dixie; a page and a half of cartoons; more
hijinks from Finieous Fingers and his gang of weirdos; and a
terrific (as always) two-page Wormy. Have a jolly July. — KM
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
SEARCH for the EMPEROR’S TREASURE
A new game from Tom Wham ....................39
REGULAR OFFERINGS
Out on a Limb — Letters from readers
..................
.4
Leomund’s Tiny Hut — Earning first-level status
.........
.22
Convention calendar
................................ .58
Figuratively speaking — Science-fiction accessories
.....
.60
The Electric Eye —
Questionnaire for computer fans ......62
The Rasmussen Files — College courses, vital statistics.
....
.64
Dragon’s Bestiary
Dark Dwellers .................................. .68
Pirahna bats ..................................
..69
Minarian Legends — Schardenzar the Sorcerer.......... .71
Dragon’s Augury
Triplanetary
.................................... .77
Traders & Gunboats ............................. .78
Ley Sector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Tethys and Fenris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Dragon Mirth
What’s New? —by Phil Foglio .....................87
Cartoon pages
.................................
.88
Finieous Fingers — by J.D.
.......................
.90
Wormy —by Tramp.. ............................97
The Future Is Here
Make your own aliens ............................. 7
Plotting a course for choosy players ................ .9
New ideas for old ships .......................... .11
In defense of computers ......................... .13
Planet parameters ............................... .15
Masers & cameras ............................... 15
The Miller milk bottle ............................ .16
The Winged Folk — A new AD&D™ character type ........19
The Worshippers of Ratar — RuneQuest variation ........28
A new breed of bug — Expansion for Chitin:l ............30
It’s not easy being good — General paladin guidelines. ... .33
Thou shalt play this way — Commandments for paladins. ....36
A Part of the Game — Fantasy fiction.. ................ .55
CWA-CON isn’t small any more.
......................
.58
GEN CON® schedule expanded
.......................59
3
OTHER FEATURES
— Special Traveller section
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