Drmg059, Dragon
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March 1982
Dragon
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Dragon
Vol. VI, No. 9
Vol. VI, No. 9
March 1982
There are a lot of nice things about
writing for a magazine that’s read by a
few hundred thousand people. One of
the less obvious “nice things” is this: If
we make a mistake, it doesn’t go unno-
ticed. At least one of those hundreds of
thousands of people will let us know we
goofed, and then we get a chance to set
things straight.
Case in point: Lauren Kingman of
Hyde Park, N.Y., wrote us to unmask
what he called “an attempt to reap ob-
scene profits from ignorant gamers (and
to successfully con the DRAGON’s editor-
in-chief).”
His gripe is with SPELLBINDERS, a
product of Orisek Industries. The set of
notebook/binders was one of several
new game-related accessories reviewed
by yours truly in issue #55 of DRAGON™
Magazine. The largest of the set, bearing
an $8.95 price tag, is, in Lauren’s words,
“neither original, new, or unique.... I can
detect no difference between SPELL-
BINDERS and what are known in the sta-
tionery trade as ‘easel-back presentation
binders.’ ”
Lauren chides me — and rightfully so
— for characterizing the product as
“original.” Honest, I never heard of an
easel-back presentation binder until I
got his letter. And now that I know, I
cringe when I scan the part of the review
that says, “Orisek Industries is a com-
pany that makes ‘How come nobody
thought of that before?’ products.”
Apparently, somebody had thought of
that before, and it was presumptuous of
me to suggest that the concept of the
easel-back binder originated at Orisek
Industries. I hasten to point out that the
company made no such claim.
Secondly, Lauren takes issue with the
price. “These binders have made my
DMing easier for a long time,” he writes.
“They can be bought at most stationery
stores for about $4.... I suggest that (a
DM) buy an easel-back presentation
binder and take the $5 he just saved and
apply it towards a game accessory whose
price is justified by development and
production costs.”
Since I’ve never seen an easel-back
binder in a stationery store, I don’t know
what Lauren’s getting for his four-dollar
investment. Maybe the SPELLBINDERS
notebook is significantly stronger or larg-
er or more durable than the average
easel-back binder. Maybe the differen-
ces, if there are any, make the Orisek
product worth its price. That decision is
up to the customer. In this case, all we
can really do — and should have done
four issues ago — is to let you know all
the facts when there’s a choice to be
made.
I’m far from convinced that SPELL-
BINDERS is “an attempt to reap obscene
profits from ignorant gamers.” Orisek
Industries is a small company that pro-
duces relatively small quantities of its
products. When you don’t manufacture
very many copies of something, each
one costs quite a lot to make. The com-
panies that make “normal” easel-back
binders presumably have a much larger
market for their product, and can afford
to produce more copies at a much lower
price per unit. Lauren has a right to com-
plain about the price, in a comparative
sense, but not the right to accuse any-
body of making “obscene profits.”
Surely other readers reacted the same
way as Lauren when they read the review
of SPELLBINDERS. I assume that to be
so, even though he was the only person
who called the mistake to our attention.
(If the stationery store in Hyde Park,
N.Y., is the only place easel-back bind-
ers are sold, I’ve just made a fool of my-
self twice over.) To Lauren and the oth-
ers like him, I apologize for my ignor-
ance. And this “ignorant editor” owes a
greater apology to all “ignorant gamers”
out there who might have been misled by
what was said, or not said, in the review.
Publisher..
. . . . . . . . . . . . . Jake Jaquet
Editor-in-Chief..
. . . . . . . Kim Mohan
Editorial staff
. . . . . . . . . . . Bryce Knorr
Marilyn Mays
Gali Sanchez
Sales..
. . . . . . . . . . . . Debbie Chiusano
Circulation
. . . . . . . Corey Koebernick
Office staff
. . . . . . . . . . . . . Cherie Knull
Roger Raupp
Contributing editors. . . .
Roger Moore
Ed Greenwood
This issue’s contributing artists:
James Holloway Roger Raupp
Joe Lee Larry Elmore
Bruce Whitefield Phil Foglio
Steve Peregrine
DRAGON magazine is published monthly by
Dragon Publishing, a division of TSR Hobbies,
Inc. Subscription orders and change-of-address
notices should be sent to Dragon Publishing,
P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147. Tele-
phone (414) 248-8044.
DRAGON magazine is available at hundreds
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ed number of overseas outlets. Subscription
rates are as follows, with all payments to be
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or Canadian address; $50 U.S. for 12 issues sent
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ordered. Payment in advance by check or mo-
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cannot be made through a credit card, and
orders cannot be taken nor merchandise “re-
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tomer nor an institution can be billed for a sub-
scription order or back-issue purchase unless
prior arrangements are made.
I
The issue of expiration for each subscription
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dress for the delivery of subscriptions must be
received at least 30 days prior to the effective
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.
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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
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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 1982 by TSR
Hobbies, Inc. USPS 318-790. ISSN 0279-6848.
Second class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wis., and at additional mailing offices.
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date of the change in order to insure uninter-
rupted delivery.
March 1982
Dragon
his issue of DRAGON™ Magazine is specially for
those of you whose versions of “fantasy” have more
to do with planets than planes of existence, more
with lasers than longbows. Counting the cover
painting and a spread of 23 pages inside, this maga-
zine has more science-fiction material in it than we’ve ever used
in a single issue before.
Our center 16 pages are filled with Exonidas Spaceport, a
setting described in meticulous detail by author Jeff Swycaffer
and designed for use in Traveller™ games. Rather than present-
ing one narrow situation for characters to figure their way into
and out of, Exonidas is a package of opportunities, an environ-
ment from which dozens of different sorts of adventures could
spring. Everything we and Jeff could think of is included in the
package, all the way from a diagram of the entire solar system
down to where everyone sits in the offices of Torman and Son.
Jim Holloway and his talented airbrush (or maybe that
should be “talented Jim Holloway and his airbrush”) provided
this month’s cover, a portrayal of the climactic scene from
Skitterbugging, a science-fiction tale which precedes the Exon-
idas section. Between the story and the spaceport is a page
devoted to descriptions of the people and things from the story
in Traveller terminology. Further connections are left for you to
make: Could the skitterbuggers prosper in a place like Hori-
theur? Are there mist wasps holed up in the hills of Theury?
All that talk about outer space doesn’t mean there isn’t plenty
of material inside for fans of the D&D® and AD&D™ games. First
and foremost among the “fantasy” features is From the Sorcer-
or’s Scroll, wherein Gary Gygax introduces you to the magic of
cantrips and provides official descriptions of two new AD&D
items, the Advanced Illusion spell and the Philosopher’s Stone.
We don’t need a fortune teller to be sure that A.D. Rogan’s
article on gypsies will be well accepted by AD&D gamers. The
historical and legendary characteristics of gypsies combine to
make a potent and playable new character type. Speaking of
potent, check out the Demonic Knights of Doom, as described
by Rob Kuntz in the debut of a new regular feature about
happenings in the WORLD OF GREYHAWK™ Fantasy Setting.
When one of these guys asks you whose side you’re on, you’d
better have a quick answer — and it better be the right one.
Following in the format of his articles on dwarves in our last
issue, contributing editor Roger Moore presents “The halfling
point of view” and “The gods of the halflings.” Just in back of
that seven-page section is a detailed story on particular poi-
sons from Larry DiTillio’s campaign that we hope you’ll find
easy to swallow.
Making up monsters is easy. Making up good monsters is
something else altogether, as Lew Pulsipher points out in
“Make monsters, not monstrosities.” After you’ve read about
Lew’s guidelines, turn to the Bestiary and see how well you
think this month’s monster makers have done.
A quintet of characters from famous fiction, ranging from the
(almost) ordinary to the extraordinary, are offered for your
edification in Giants in the Earth.
Reviewer Tony Watson gives his evaluations of Starfire III:
Empires and Demonlord in Dragon’s Augury. Chris Henderson
looks at new releases from the world of literature in the most
colorful installment of “Off the Shelf” we’ve ever published, and
two more pages’ worth of miniatures and other game accesso-
ries are covered in Figuratively Speaking. And miniatures are
also on Phil Foglio’s mind, as you’ll see in “What’s New.” Now,
get the lead out and start reading. — KM
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Exonidas Spaceport: An adventure
for Traveler™ characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Giants in the Earth:
Sir Roger de Tourneville ..............................
11
Harold Shea ......................................... 12
Anthony Villiers ......................................
13
Mark Cornwall .......................................
14
Sniveley .............................................
15
Dragon’s Bestiary:
Bleeder ..............................................
21
Stymphalian birds
.................................... 22
Spriggan ............................................
22
Convention schedule ................................... 67
Figuratively Speaking .................................. 68
Dragon’s Augury:
Starfire III: Empires .................................. 72
Demonlord . . . ........................................ 73
Off the Shelf ...... ..................................... 75
What’s New ............................................ 78
Dragon Mirth .......................................... 80
OTHER FEATURES
Gypsies: A curse or a blessing — or both!. ............... 16
The Great Kingdom and the Knights of Doom ............ 24
Skitterbugging — Futuristic fiction ......................
26
Translating skitterbuggers into Traveller .................
32
The halfling point of view ............................... 49
The gods of the halflings .................................
52
Poison: The toxins of Cerilon ........................... 57
Make monsters, not monstrosities .......................
62
REGULAR OFFERINGS
Out on a Limb
— Letters from readers .................... 4
From the Sorcerer’s Scroll — The magic of cantrips ....... 6
Advanced Illusion and Philosopher’s Stone ............ 10
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