Drmg095, Dragon
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D
RAGON
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SPECIAL ATTRACTION
Into the Forgotten Realms
A tournament adventure for AD&D
®
game characters
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8
OTHER FEATURES
Demi-humans get a lift Gary Gygax
The last word on level limits and ability scores
The influence of Tolkien on the D&D
®
and AD&D
®
games Gary Gygax
Why Middle Earth is not part of the game world
How taxes take their toll Arthur Collins
An interview with a guy who ought to know
The ecology of the cockatrice Ed Greenwood
Birds of a feather petrify together
Prices for the Roaring 20s Glenn Rahman
Helping modern adventurers stretch their dollars
Credit where credit is due Katharine Kerr
A nonviolent examination of experience-point awards
The many shapes of apes Stephen Inniss
Primates packaged for use in the AD&D game
Battles above the dungeon Tim W. Brown
Tactics for conducting combat in the wide-open spaces
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12
18
22
30
32
38
55
60
Desperate Acts Gordon Linzner
Action, suspense, and an out-of-this-world enemy
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6
14
DEPARTMENTS
Letters
15 Convention calendar
89 Wormy
Publisher
Mike Cook
Editor-in-Chief
Kim Mohan
Editorial staff
Patrick Lucien Price
Roger Moore
Graphics and production
Roger Raupp
Subscriptions
Georgia Moore
Advertising
Andrea Lee Anderson
Contributing editors
Ed Greenwood
Ken Rolston
Katharine Kerr
This issues contributing artists
Dean Morrissey
Roger Raupp
Bob Maurus
Marvel Bullpen
Jayne Hoffmann
Dave Trampier
Richard Tomasic
Daniel Flahive
Joseph Pillsbury
Denton Elliott
Tony Moseley
Larry Elmore
The forum
68 Coming Attractions
92 Dragonmirth
World Gamers Guide
69 The ARES Section
94 Snarfquest
COVER
Dean Morrissey, indeed the dean of all our cover artists, got the idea that there
should be a place where people can bring their old metal items and have them
fashioned into armor and weapons before embarking on the adventuring life. The
scene that resulted is entitled Toads Cloak Armorsmith Shop, and theres more
to it than first meets the eye.
In defense of advertising
If you havent read the first letter on the next page, please do so and then come right back.
I dont intend to refute Dans statistics or the method of his analysis. I wont take issue
with his facts or most of his opinions. But I cant accept his basic assumption: that the maga-
zine is worse because it carries more advertising than it used to.
The advertising in DRAGON
®
Magazine carries with it several benefits, some less obvi-
ous than others. For the readers, its a way of getting information about what sorts of
products are available in the gaming industry information that may be interesting and
helpful even if you dont intend to buy the products being advertised. A few people have
actually written in to compliment the magazines advertising; we dont expect everyone to be
that crazy about it, but you shouldnt resent advertising for the space it takes, either. Try to
appreciate its value to other readers even if you cant use the information yourself.
For the magazine, its a way of making money, some income that partially offsets our
operating costs so that we dont have to pay our bills by taking more of your money. The
explosion of advertising that Dan has documented is one of the reasons why weve been
able to maintain a $3.00 cover price on the magazine for nearly five years wed rather get
(Turn to page 4)
2
M
ARCH
1985
that answer is yes, is it possible for a high level
M-U to create one?
Bill Hilf
Orange, Calif.
Lets assume that the fachan has a typical
humanoid skeletal structure, down to and includ-
ing an opposable thumb on its upper extremity.
For the thumb to work the same way as it does
Hard of hearing?
the earned xp if the convert later changes his
mind or is converted again by a different cleric.
with other humanoids, it must be on either the
right or the left side of the fingers it opposes. If
the fachan didnt have this kind of hand struc-
ture, it would be implausible for the creature to
be as strong as it is.
Although there are two sides to the issue, I
think the conversion system should only be
applied to non-monster NPCs humans and
humanoids that can be of any alignment in the
spectrum, as opposed to humanoids (such as orcs)
that are, by definition, limited to a narrow choice
of alignments or no choice at all. An orc that was
converted to the worship of a lawful good deity
wouldnt really be an orc any more, not as we
know em. And whether or not the orc suffers a
reduction in level (hit dice) might be academic. I
can imagine a deity like Gruumsh repaying a
converted orc for his loyalty by striking him
dead on the spot and dead orcs all have the
same number of hit dice.
Dear
Dragon,
Thats about the best I can do for a logical
reason. Actually, Bill, you can answer this first
question for yourself just by stretching your
willingness to suspend disbelief a little bit further.
If you can accept the existence of a creature
with one arm in the middle of its chest, you
should also be able to accept the fact that the
fachans single arm has either a right hand or a
left hand at the end of it.
Your magazine is the finest FRPG magazine on
the market, but one aspect of your magazine
bothers me very much. The aspect that I am
speaking of is advertisements. A quick study
showed me the following: In issue #62, there were
9 full page ads throughout the magazine, and
only 7 altogether in the first 33 pages (I only
searched the first 33 in the interest of saving
time). Issue #72 showed an increase in full page
ads from 9 to 12, but 26 ads were to be found in
the first 33 pages.
The glasspane horror is armor class 2 in any of
its forms hard to hurt no matter what it looks
like. The second form is indeed solid, as anyone
whos been hit by its fists can tell you. And no,
the horror is not a magically created being, but a
lot of magic-users probably wish it was that easy
to get one. KM
Then issue #82 came along. Explosion! The
full page ads stayed at 12, but there were 22
advertisements in the first 33 pages. Issue #92
showed a decrease of full page ads from 12 to 9,
but 26 ads were to be found in the first 33 pages.
The other side of the issue is the good old
nothing is impossible argument. Sure, there
could be such a thing as a lawful good orc, and
allowing player-character clerics to try to convert
monsters might work well in the campaign you
run or play in. But the conversion system de-
scribed in the article was not intended to be used
for that purpose. KM
Finally, I received issue #93. You raised the
subscription price from $24 to $30. The number
of ads in the first 33 pages were lowered from 26
to 20, but the full page ads skyrocketed from
9 to 25.
Potion notions
Dear Dragon,
In short, since issue #62, you have nearly
tripled both the full page ads and ads throughout
the magazine (if the first 33 pages are indicative
of the rest of the magazine), put another publica-
tion inside your current one (virtually eliminating
the benefits of your 16 page expansion), and, in
my opinion, lowered the quality of both the
magazine and the paper it is printed on. I can
live with some advertisements, but at the rate you
are going, we will soon be buying a magazine full
of advertisements! People have made requests for
fewer advertisements at a higher price, but no
attempts have been made to rectify this. For a
magazine that listens to its readers, you seem
to be getting hard of hearing.
I have a question about the Potion of Mind
Restoration (Treasure Trove, issue #91). Does it
Ring removal
cure the effects caused by potions and magic
items that affect the mind? Also I would like to
know if it cures fear spells.
Dear editor:
Brian Cope
Neosho, Mo.
In the Treasure Trove (issue #91), the Ring of
the Eagle seems to have a contradiction. It states:
All the wearers worn or carried possessions are
merged with the giant eagle form while the ring
wearer is in that shape. Doesnt that mean that
the ring cant be removed because it has merged
into the shape?
As described by its author, Mike Persinger, the
potion seems to work against intellectual dam-
age to the mind, as opposed to emotional
damage. It will cure any form of insanity a
feebleminded condition, and all but the most
extreme forms of intellectual damage that a
defenseless psionic might suffer. It is not good
against, for instance, charm or fear magic, even
though the mind is technically affected by such
forces. The conditions that the potion works
against cause physiological changes; forces such
as charm spells or other will-force spells cause
psychological changes, which the potion cant do
anything about. To name a few others, the potion
David Schwam
Piscataway, N. J.
Dan Fejes
Aurora, Ohio
Exactly the point, David. The user of a ring of
the eagle cannot take off the ring, or have it
removed, while he is in eagle form. (If he could,
that might be very hazardous to an ex-eagles
health.) The ring merges into the eagle form, just
like all other possessions of the wearer, and stays
that way until he calls upon the ring to change
back to his true form. Then its right back on his
finger, and he can take it off any time. KM
Well, Dan, you certainly came in loud and
clear. For some editorial thoughts on the matter,
see the column to the immediate left. KM
also wont work against a potion of delusion, to
offset the effects of a rod of beguiling, or to
Un-conversion
counteract a helm of opposite alignment. KM
Dear Dragon,
Creature queries
Quick fixes
The article The more, the merrier in issue
#92 was excellent, but I have some questions. If
the NPC who was converted comes to his
senses afterward, does the cleric lose some or all
of the experience he earned? Also, can monsters
be converted, and if so, will the monster lose hit
dice (or experience) because of this?
Halina Adamski
High Falls, N. Y.
Dear Dragon,
When the problems are simple, the fixes are
quick. Such as . . .
The description of the fachan (Creature Cata-
log, issue #89) states that the enchanted/treated
hide of a fachan can be made into a magical glove
or gauntlet. The next paragraph says that it [the
fachan] will be either right or left handed, but
how can the hide be right or left handed if the
fachan has only one arm in the middle of his
chest?
Issue #94: The second sentence of the second
paragraph in the description of the lillend (p. 50)
should have read as follows: In addition, they
may activate the following spell-like powers at
will, one per round, at the 7th level of ability
(where applicable): emotion (three times per
day), fire charm (once per day), hallucinatory
terrain (three times per day), knock, light or
darkness (as a cleric), Otto's irresistible dance
(once per day), pass plant, polymorph self (into
humanlike form only), speak with plants, speak
If a player character kills a non-player charac-
ter and receives an experience-point award for
doing so, those earned experience points are not
taken away if the NPC is later brought back to
life. By the same reasoning, a cleric who performs
a successful conversion does not have to forfeit
In the same issue, the only stated armor class
for the glasspane horror is 2. Is that the armor
class for all three forms? In its second form, is it
solid crystal or just a crystalline image? And
finally, is the horror a magically created being? If
D
RAGON
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