Drmg089, Dragon
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DRAGON
1
Publisher:
Mike Cook
Editor-in-Chief:
Kim Mohan
Editorial staff:
Roger Raupp
Patrick Lucien Price
Mary Kirchoff
Roger Moore
Subscriptions:
Mellody Knull
Contributing Editors:
Ed Greenwood
Katherine Kerr
Ken Rolston
Advertising Sales Administrator:
Mary Parkinson
This issues contributing artists:
Denis Beauvais Keith Parkinson
Roger Raupp
Larry Elmore
Bob Maurus Bob Lilly
David Sutherland Kurt Erichsen
Marsha Kauth E. G. Walters
Dave LaForce Craig Smith
Jim Holloway Dave Trampier
DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is
published monthly for a subscription price of $24
per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of
TSR, Inc. The mailing address of Dragon
Publishing for all material except subscription
orders is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147;
the business telephone number is (414)248-8044.
Time trouble
Vol. IX, No. 4
September 1984
One of the things we dont do very well
(and therefore dont do very often) is keep
up with happenings in the real world. Its
tough to be timely when you try to cover
something in a monthly magazine first of
all because it only comes out once a month,
and second of all because we finish produc-
tion of an issue one month before it gets
printed and mailed. In even the best of
cases, that usually translates into at least a
six-week time lag between when something
happens and our first chance to tell you
about it.
In the worst of cases, the time lag is
considerably longer than that. As an exam-
ple of how bad things can get, heres the
story of Comstar Enterprises and that com-
panys play-by-mail game, World of Velgor.
In late 1983, Mike Gray wrote an article
entitled PBM: Problems by mail. He said
some things about World of Velgor that
were apparently true at the time he wrote
them but which were outdated and not
true by the time the article finally appeared
in the May 1984 issue of the magazine.
Bruce Abrahams, president of Comstar
Enterprises, brought this fact to our atten-
tion after he (and, unfortunately, lots of
other people) saw Mikes article. The start-
up of the game was delayed, which was the
basis for Mikes comment that he looked
forward to playing in the game if and
when it is ready. By the time the article
came out, the game was up and running,
and according to Bruce it had been operat-
ing since February. In his letter to me,
Bruce pointed out that the outdated news
had confused a lot of people, who had seen
advertisements for the game in other maga-
zines and understandably were bewildered
about what was going on. He asked for a
clarification of the matter, which I hope
this piece of writing has provided.
The responsibility for delaying the publi-
cation of Mikes article is ours. But we
committed an even greater mistake by
printing the if and when statement with-
out checking to find out if it was still accu-
rate. I hope Comstar Enterprises hasnt
suffered any irreparable damage because of
our error, and I hope well never let old
information creep into our pages again.
SPECIAL ATTRACTION
CREATURE CATALOG. . . . . . .following
Twenty-nine new monsters
page 46
OTHER FEATURES
Survival is a group effort . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
How populations replenish themselves
Six very special shields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Protection and much, much more
The many types of magic. . . . . . . . . . . . .26
Alteration, invocation, explanation . . .
The Role of Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32
Sources for medieval warfare
DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby
stores and bookstores throughout the United
States and Canada, and through a limited
number of overseas outlets. Subscription rates
are as follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an address
in the U.S., $30 in Canada; $50 U.S. for 12
issues sent via surface mail or $95 for 12 issues
sent via air mail to any other country. All
subscription payments must be in advance, and
should be sent to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box
72089, Chicago IL 60690.
Halt! Who goes there? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
The sharp-eyed sentinel NPC
Beefing up the bureaus. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40
Skills for TOP SECRET® agents
Learn magic by the month . . . . . . . . . . .42
DRAGONQUEST game variant
What is a monster worth? . . . . . . . . . . . .48
Dissecting the x.p. value system
A limited quantity of certain back issues of
DRAGON Magazine can be purchased from the
Dungeon Hobby Shop. (See the list of available
issues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay-
ment in advance by check or money order must
accompany all orders. Payments cannot be made
through a credit card, and orders cannot be taken
nor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neither
an individual customer nor an institution can be
billed for a subscription order or a back-issue
purchase unless prior arrangements are made.
Dunkle Zee . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54
A story that sails right along
Monster in the Middle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
A really fantastic cross word puzzle
Index to advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
REGULAR OFFERINGS
The issue of expiration for each subscription is
printed on the mailing label for each subscribers
copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the
delivery of subscription copies must be received
at least six weeks prior to the effective date of the
change in order to insure uninterrupted delivery.
Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Letters and answers
All material published in DRAGON
Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the
publisher upon publication, unless special ar-
rangements to the contrary are made prior to
publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes
unsolicited submissions of written material and
artwork; however, no responsibility for such sub-
missions 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 if it cannot be published.
The forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Opinions and observations
Gods of the Suel pantheon. . . . . . . . . . . .20
Part 4: Pyremius, Beltar, and Llerg
The ARES Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
16 pages of SF gaming articles
DRAGON is a registered trademark for
Dragon Publishings 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 first obtaining
permission in writing from the publisher.
Copyright ©1984 TSR, Inc.
Gamers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
Convention calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82
Dragon Mirth ..................... .84
Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,
Wis., and additional mailing offices.
Snarfquest ........................ .89
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to
Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva
WI 53147, USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848.
DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, AD&D, TOP
SECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.
designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.
2 S
EPTEMBER
1984
ssue #61 was the last time
we published a Dragons
Bestiary column, which had
been our every-issue vehicle
for dishing out new monsters
contributed by our readers. We abandoned
our must run a monster in every issue
approach after that and a lot of you have
told us since then that you want the Bestiary
back. Well, we havent done that, but weve
put together something thats a lot better
than the next best thing. In the center 20
pages of this 112-page issue is the Creature
Catalog, a collection of 29 reader-submitted
monsters that should whet the appetites of
those of you whove been asking, Wheres
the beast? for the last 2½ years.
We expect the Creature Catalog to be
popular. We expect some of you to write up
and send in your new monster creations
after seeing it. And if those two expectations
come to pass, well plan on putting out
other editions of the Catalog in the months
and years to come.
Speaking of popular, this issues cover art
has probably knocked your socks off al-
ready. For those of you whove been buried
under a mound of dice for the last six
months, Check is the third and final
element in the series of chess-oriented fan-
tasy paintings from Denis Beauvais.
Checkmate and Stalemate, which
adorned issues #83 and #86 respectively,
were two of the most well-received covers in
our history, and were pretty sure that
Check will be regarded right up there
with the other two.
Now that the front-and-center talk is
over, Ive got precious little space left to
mention all the other great stuff in the table
of contents. Something for everyone is a
tough label to live up to, but well probably
never come any closer than in this issue.
You want magic items? Check out Ed
Greenwoods Six very special shields on
page 14. You want a new NPC? Andy
Pierces sentinel is standing guard on page
34. You want theory? See Stephen Innisss
essay
Survival is a group effort on page
8. You want theory thats put into practice?
Flip to page 48 for What is a monster
worth? by Roger Moore.
The next installment of Len Lakofkas
series on the deities of the Suel pantheon
features Pyremius, Beltar and Llerg. In
response to one of our wish list topics
(#82), Charles Olsen expounds on The
many types of magic in the AD&D game.
We managed to squeeze in articles on the
TOP SECRET® and DRAGONQUEST
games, plus features on four SF/superhero
games in the ARES Science Fiction Sec-
tion, plus our usual excursion into fiction.
And for something unusual, grab a pencil
with a big eraser and try to tackle Monster
in the Middle, the best crossword puzzle
with a gaming connection that weve ever
been offered. Well, of course its not an easy
puzzle: What do you think we think you
are? KM
We cant re-cover
surface level map did not reproduce well. I can
only see 12 barrels indicated by the tiny unla-
belled specks. There should be a total of 20
barrels. One barrel should stand diagonally three
squares from each corner of the main complex.
The other four barrels not shown should stand 30
feet away from the main complex between Quon-
set huts numbers 2 and 3, 6 and 7, 10 and 11,
and 14 and 15.
For those agents who can afford their own
equipment, I offer the following prices: inexpen-
sive parka, $111; moderately priced parka, $333;
expensive parka, $1000; custom-fit parka, $3000;
space suit, $9000.
I would like to acknowledge the original White-
out playtesters: Mark Elliott, Chris Johansen,
Eric Nelson, Scott Nelson, and Mark Ryerson.
Initial development and title credit should go to
James Pong Thompson.
Dear Dragon,
Over the years of reading DRAGON, Ive
been pleased to see such a high degree of excel-
lence in the cover art for the magazine. What I
would like to see is an opportunity, once a year, to
purchase a selection of the most popular covers
for the year. The covers offered would be decided
by a once yearly mini-survey to find out what
covers are the favorites of the readers. Why dont
you ask your readers if they would like this? I
know it would be complicated, but I think it
would be worth it.
David Heys
Scarborough, Ont., Canada
Wed like to be able to offer copies of our cover
art for sale, for two pretty obvious reasons: The
artwork is good stuff, and we could probably
make a decent hunk of money by offering prints
or posters of the most popular pieces. But we
cant do it, for one not-so-obvious reason: We
dont have the right to reproduce the paintings in
any other form.
We purchase first reproduction rights to the
cover paintings we publish we can use the art
once, but thats it. The original artwork and all
other rights remain the possession of the artist.
We could offer to buy the right to make prints or
posters, but chances are that many of the artists
we work with wouldnt be willing to sell those
rights and those who did agree would (quite
rightfully) want a lot more money.
David and all the other people whove written
letters to us on this subject seem to be under the
mistaken impression that we own the cover art we
publish. I honestly wish we did, but such is not
the case. Unfortunately, well all have to be
satisfied with seeing the artwork on the cover and
nowhere else, unless the creator of a painting
takes matters into his or her own hands and
markets prints or posters independently. If we
ever get word that one of our covers is being
offered for sale like this, you can be sure well let
you know. KM
Merle M. Rasmussen
Huxley, Iowa
Rakshasa ruling
Dear Dragon,
I was very pleased with Never the same thing
twicein issue #84. However, there is one thing
that troubles me.
When describing a rakshasa knight, the author
said that rakshasa knights despise paladins and
receive a bonus of +1 to hit and +2 hit points of
damage per attack. Later in the article, under the
editors note, it says that rakshasas are considered
to be creatures of the outer planes just as demons
and devils are. If this is true, how could a rak-
shasa knight gain any bonuses to hit or damage a
paladin in combat when paladins radiate a con-
tinual protection from evil? Wouldnt this protec-
tion prevent any contact in the first place?
Owen Seyler
Camp Hill, Pa.
If a rakshasa knight was summoned from the
Outer Planes to attack a paladin, then it would
not be able to do so. However, some rakshasa
knights (like other forms of rakshasas) dwell
naturally upon the Prime Material Plane, and
thus could not be considered summoned or
conjured. Rakshasas are not truly outer planes
monsters in the sense that demons are. Also, a
paladin lighting a rakshasa on Acheron (the plane
suggested by the author as the creatures home
plane) would not get the benefit of his protection
from evil aura, since the innate evilness of the
plane itself would negate it. RM
Merles reaction
Dear Editor,
I want to thank you and your staff for the
great-looking TOP SECRET® adventure pro-
duced in DRAGON #87, Operation: Whiteout.
Whiteout was used as the RPGA TOP
SECRET Tournament adventure at last years
GEN CON® XVI Convention. Only one of the
12 competing six-person teams completed the
mission in the given time. I appreciate the help of
all the events judges. A plaque was given to
Mike Taglianetti, who was voted the best role-
player on the highest-scoring team. Mikes team
members were Bryan Robert, Pat Kushel, Kevin
Price, Ron Sladon, and Mike Thomas.
The fuel oil barrels on the main complex
Adept at arguing
Dear Dragon,
Craig Barretts article The warrior alterna-
tive in #86 was so ill-thought-out that I question
his knowledge of the rules.
In the DragonQuest game, a non-Adept char-
D
RAGON
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