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IMAGINE Interviews Bob Shaw .............................................................. 16
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. . .IMAGINE
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. . . 47 No 29, August 1985 .....
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Editorial
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FOR MONSTERS, —
TREASURE
and... other things
tk_
• •.,'„ir-:•• , - " 5 • —
. • • • - •
•o. • . • -
The scene: A warm cave, an ancient red Alternatively the DM might decide to award spells — magic missile in the case of Olaf,
dragon dreaming o f its treasure. J u s t xp to e v e r y b o d y p r e p a r e d t o take risks. bless and s p i r i t u a l h a m m e r in the case of
outside, a party o f adventurers quietly Frederick would have helped had he been Pliny, and Frederick might gain xp for hiding
plans the next move; Job, Barabous and able. Call this Method 2. Asgaroth gets no in the shadows.
Asgaroth, a trio of fighters, would attack it xp, everybody else 350 xp.
with their swords, helped by Frederick - a Variation B adapts Method 4 to reward char-
thief, and Sheba - an out-of-spells magic Or the D M might award xp only to those acters not only for actions in keeping with
user. They would be helped by Pliny who who positively c o n t r i b u t e d to bring about their profession, but for other 'useful' actions
would bless t h e party before casting the dragon's death. Neither Asgaroth nor as well, i n particular slaying monsters. I t
spiritual h a m m e r, a n d t h e m a g i c Frederick get any experience points, whilst encourages the likes of Sheba to take an active
missiles of Olaf. the rest receive 420xp. Call this Method 3. part rather than feeling she has done her share
So much for the plan. Frederick faded and now it's the others' turn.
his Saving Throw and spent his time Now the first variation. Variation A holds In such cases non-fighters are usually con-
successfully hiding in the shadows, whilst that dying is not too conducive to furthering a sidered equivalent t o some fraction o f a
Asgaroth had a sudden rush of blood to character's career. Additionally, since the fighter — a half, say, or a fraction that relates
the head and decided that this particular dead adventurer missed some or all of the the hit die of the various character classes;
dragon was a bit too big. The dragon just fight, less experience would have been gained thus a cleric would be treated as 75% of a
survived the initial onslaught and man- anyway. Thus, those who die are awarded no fighter in Basic, 80% in Advanced. Exper-
aged an attack after being so rudely xp. Applying this to the above would result in ience is awarded appropriately.
awakened; exit Job. the survivors gaining 350 under Method 1A,
Still, a rich hoard, lots of treasure for 525 under 2A and 420 under 3A. For other characters, the DM may decide to
the survivors and they will all be several I f this variation is not used, it can be seen as award: 100xp/level of spell for each spell cast
hundred experience points better off o r a penalty on the survivors, acting as an (clerical or magic-user); 50xp or 100xp (less
will they? incentive for everybody to work together and the thieves' percentage chance) for thievish
keep as many of the party alive as possible. functions (backstab may be treated as a
This may, however, be too small to outweigh thievish skill whether Variation B is in force
Who Benefits?
the benefits of fewer party members — larger or not) and 10xp/level o f undead turned
In the above example the party's actions are shares of the treasure for example. (skeletons 10xp, zombies 20xp etc). These
relatively straightforward — they have slain a amounts vary, influenced by the way in which
monster for which the DM will award them a All these methods, used with or without the fighters are awarded xp and whether the DM
number o f experience points. The precise variation, have the advantage of being simple awards xp for gp (discussed below).
number will have been derived from the to operate; the DM determines the amount of With this approach, however, the amount
rulebooks; usually it will be so many xp for experience and divides by the appropriate of experience available would be virtually
the monster plus so many for each hit point. number. They may, however, be considered unlimited. Applied rigorously, it would give a
Later they may also gain experience for the too crude to deal with some circumstances or magic user 900xp for crushing a distant
treasure they have acquired; for now, how- to reflect the effort characters put into an skeleton under a meteor storm. Consequent-
ever, concentrate on the slaughter o f the adventure. To account for this, a DM may try ly a limit needs to be imposed, relating xp
dragon. For the purposes of illustration let us to reward characters for what they do. awarded to actions performed — usually the
assume that the D M decides t o award One method that might be chosen, call it xp awarded for the monster recently slain.
2100xp. To whom is a share awarded? Method 4, rewards characters for doing Thus, for killing a red dragon, 2100xp
The D M could divide the x p equally things t h a t a r e i n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e i r would be divided amongst the party —
between a l l w h o w e r e t h e r e — including profession. A common proviso is that all regardless o f how many spells o r other
Frederick hiding in the shadows and Asgaroth these activities must be 'actively' pursued activities (such as moving silently) were per-
the cowardly fighter, the idea being that during an adventure or similar. A pickpocket formed. T h e experience f o r non-fighter
everybody present learned something from will not become a master thief by repeatedly activities is awarded: 200xp to Pliny for the
the experience. Thus Frederick, who had opening the lock on the bedroom door. spiritual hammer, 100xp to Olaf, and let us
never seen a real dragon before, now knows A strong argument in favour o f such a say that Frederick's efforts are rewarded with
what one looks like, while Asgaroth should be system is that a character's xp total reflects 50xp for successfully hiding in the shadows.
less fearful in future — although the realis- the skill shown i n his o r her profession. This leaves 1750xp for those who took part in
ation that he too might have been killed had Under Methods 1-3 it would be possible for a 'fighting' the dragon. Method 3 is in effect for
he joined in the attack is also an experience. magic user who likes fighting to gain in levels 'fighters' as is Variation B, Sheba being
Let us call this Method 1, under which without ever casting a spell during a n considered a half-fighter. Thus Job and
each participant receives 300xp. Asgaroth adventure. Barbarous are each awarded 700xp and Sheba
and Frederick might receive less gp at the end Under this system the fighters would gain 350xp. Asgaroth again gets no xi).
of the adventure (if any) and so ultimately less xp for slaying the dragon. Pliny and Olaf Obviously there are numerous possible
xp; this, however, is discussed later on. would gain experience points for casting combinations, but by using a little fine tuning
2 I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
a group can find the balance they feel to be than a 1st level magic user who casts the same This is, i f you like, a more subtle cut-off
spell against a 1st level monster, while an than the 'one level and no more' rule. I t still
right a n d s h o u l d e x i s t between close-in
fighting and stand-off spell-casting. arch-mage should have no trouble casting a begs t h e question o f whether o r n o t a
magic m i s s i l e even i f the threat is over- character w h o acquires v a s t amounts o f
Although slightly m o r e complicated t h a n whelming. Y o u w o u l d have t o strive t o treasure can, as a result, become much more
Methods 1-3, Method 4 provides the basis of account for a fighter's new moves, a thiePs experienced but it does mean that the work of
a more flexible system for the D M to work new tricks and so o n t o d o justice t o the a D M who has carefully matched the treasure
with. A paladin overcomes numerous traps method. Such an approach is not easy. and t h e earned experience t h a t m i g h t b e
(no monsters) to rescue a church's ancient An alternative approach, then, is to try and gained on an adventure to the likely number
relate the treasure obtained to the dangers of characters/levels is not lost.
relic f r o m some evil power. T h e church is
poor and can give the paladin nothing b u t that were faced in overcoming it. This again The rule also encourages party unity, but if
their thanks. Does this mean the paladin gets stems from the philosophy of 'real experience' inter-party strife breaks out, the D M may use
Oxp ( O K , so some o f you dislike paladins)? and detracts f r o m t h e 'money i s used t o the t o t a l n u m b e r o f levels o f a g i v e n
Under M e t h o d 4 this type o f act can be further a character's career while not adven- alignment or grouping when assigning xi).
turing' position. This second fraction is additional to the
considered as a professional duty and reward-
first fractional modifier discussed above. A
ed accordingly, the D M assessing the degree
of difficulty involved. M e n and Magic and subsequent rule books party that defeats monsters whose level is 5
It is also easier to deal with characters who have sought to relate the level of the treasure times the treasure they gain, and lose h a l f
are not members o f a party, but a bunch o f obtained to the level of the dungeon in which their number doing so, are awarded 2'4xp for
individuals, say, out to get whatever they can it was found. Thus, if monsters twice as tough each gp (1 x 5/2 = 2'4).
with minimum risk to themselves — a typical as t h o s e n o r m a l l y assigned t o g u a r d a
trait of some alignments. This leads on to the particular treasure were overcome, 2xp might Dividing the Spoils
effect that a character's alignment/personal- be awarded for each gp. I f they were only half
as powerful, half an xp. A further element that needs to be considered
ity can have upon the awarding of experience.
I f a member o f a party stops attacking a I f the red dragon was sitting upon a pile of is how the treasure is divided up.
monster and turns on a fellow party member treasure w o r t h more t h a n t h e p a r t y ever A party may split the non-magical treasure
for some reason, should the D M penalise or dreamed of, millions o f gp, the D M may — gold, jewellery, gems — equally between
reward the adventurer f o r acting ' i n char- decide to award a fraction of an xi). I f not, the all who survived. O r it may be divided into
acter'? S h o u l d Asgaroth b e awarded a n y party will all be high-level adventurers by the shares — as m a n y shares as the surviving
time of their next adventure. W i l l they be as characters have levels, w i t h each character
experience f o r deciding that discretion was
the better part of valour? experienced as a group w h o have taken a getting one share per level, a method which
Before discussing t h i s p o i n t , however, goodly n u m b e r o f adventures t o reach a helps prevent low-level characters running
consider the xps a D M awards for treasure. comparable level? I n some ways, yes — they into the millions of gp problem.
will, a f t e r a l l , h a v e completed a l l t h e i r Magical items that are to be sold are usually
training outside the dungeon — and yet in considered part of the non-magical treasure.
For Treasure others not. T h i s is w h y the awarding o f a I f they are to be used, they may be divided
Having slain the red dragon, the surviving fraction of an xp downgrades the idea that the into packages of similar worth, with individ-
members of the party pack up the gold coins, treasure i s used t o f u r t h e r a character's uals rolling a d20 to decide the order in which
jewellery and wondrous items and head for career. characters choose. A modifier (about one and
home, leaving the dungeon far behind. a half per level of character) may be added to
I f the D M awards xp for the treasure taken Ideally, o f course, the adventure should be the d i e r o l l , thus ensuring t h a t t h e more
out o f the dungeon, commonly 1 xp for each sufficiently well designed t o ensure that a powerful characters (who will have done the
gp, then the amount o f treasure a character party does n o t gain m o r e g o l d t h a n t h e most work) are reasonably rewarded and that
acquires w i l l affect the final x p total o f a adventure merits. low level characters tagging along f o r the
character. Careful thought should therefore Yet even the best-planned dungeons can experience are less likely t o gain magical
be given to this process. take unexpected twists. F o r example, a items one might consider too powerful for
member o f a group nearing the end o f an their level.
Experience awarded for treasure is generally adventure stops to take a stone out of a boot;
assumed t o represent t h e increase i n a as f a r as t h e y k n o w there i s n o danger. Other ways of dividing the spoils can be more
character's a b i l i t y t h a t occurs w h e n n o t Rounding t h e c o r n e r t o c a t c h u p , t h i s chaotic and bloodthirsty. Claims to a parti-
adventuring, learning n e w feints w i t h the adventurer discovers the rest o f the party, cular item may also influence how the spoils
sword, new sleights of hand and so on. slain. They activated a trap at the entrance, or are divided. Being the first to test an item, for
Yet a dungeon is f a r f r o m relaxed and the lone skeleton standing over them had a example, is likely to provide a claim. Enforced
repeating something learned in the comfort of run of 20s. Our lone survivor avoids the trap within a group, i t helps prevent stronger
home can be considerably different when the or slays the skeleton and collects the entire characters 'bullying' their weaker comrades.
dragon is about t o t u r n you into charcoal. treasure t h a t t h e party had gained. Once
Pressure is the key and one school of thought again we have the millions o f xp situation.
holds that xp can only be acquired down a This time however — because the dungeon
dungeon. Thus, one approach is to award no was well designed — the amount of treasure
xp for the treasure brought out of a dungeon. relates to the problems overcome. Does the
The implications of this are often ignored. D M therefore award 1 xp for each gp?
I f a character is to get no xp for the gp because Again the feeling of 'real experience' comes
only in a dungeon does true pressure exist, into p l a y a n d t h e D M modifies t h e x p
then a D M should reconsider how 'earned awarded. A relatively common approach is to
experience' is awarded. A character should limit t h e experience t h a t characters a r e
gain x p f o r coping w i t h a n e w pressure awarded, to ensure that they advance no more
situation — possibly in addition to one of the than 1 level per adventure (or at a slower rate,
methods described above, t h e degree o f if that i t what is desired). A n y gold gained
pressure being related to the degree of danger above t h a t i s considered surplus f o r t h e
that the character faces. purposes of gaining experience.
For completeness c a l l t h i s M e t h o d 5 ,
under w h i c h a D M awards x p f o r t h e An alternative is to apply another fraction,
pressures that a character faces. It is not, equal to the sum of the levels of the survivors
however an easy method to apply directly. divided by the sum of the levels of those who
For example, a 1st level magic user could began the adventure. The D M has the choice
expect to gain more experience for the casting of using the levels that characters have at the
of a magic missile against a 4th level monster beginning of the adventure or at the end.
I M A G I N E magazine, Angust 19135
3
Lastly, the DM may award xp for acquir- A major problem with awarding exper- As a general rule, of course, the D M is
ing, rather than selling a magic item. I f so, ience points for actions that are in keeping always right, but the example illustrates one
this also needs to be taken into account in with a character's personality is that there is dilemma a player might face. A DM awarding
trying to design a balanced dungeon. only one person who really knows whether a too little experience does no damage to a
character really deserves such an award t h e player's characters. The player may feel
player who runs that character. Hence at the frustrated, but in such cases it is better to grin
For monsters, treasure and...? end of the day only the player can say whether and bear it and enjoy the game. In cases of too
A cleric of good alignment goes to the aid of a the character should be rewarded, and if not much experience the player may feel justified
wounded and helpless little old man and as a the player should be prepared to ignore some in reducing the total. Use discretion, however,
result the little old man lives. A D M may or all of the experience awarded. when having the final say.
reward the character's actions with xp. Why? I t is easier if the D M simply rewards acts of
In such situations the D M may not be particular note, or a whole series o f smaller
rewarding the character's compassion and acts — probably connected with an element
goodly nature — otherwise one might argue of personal risk. 1-200xp may be appropriate,
that a DM should reward an evil character for a sum large enough to be of note, but small
slaying a bound and gagged, totally helpless enough not to upset the general way in which
orc. What DMs are usually rewarding is a xp is awarded. Such acts must be performed
character's 'willingness' to face danger. That in the course of an adventure as before — a
little old man (as many o f us know) often pious cleric, w h o travels t h e l a n d giving
turns out to be a formidable foe. It is the same comfort to the sick when not adventuring, is
line of thought which leads to Variation B of simply using the treasure he has obtained on a
Method 4. previous adventure (for which experience has
A DM who does not reward such activity is probably b e e n given) i n p u r s u i t o f h i s
encouraging a policy of 'if it moves kill it'. A profession.
reward need only be made occasionally to
discourage this approach. Thus, a DM might
award experience to encourage players to act
The Final Say?
in a way which is 'good' for the game. I f y o u p l a y i n a particular group, y o u r
Should the DM do such a thing? Is it right characters will have been brought up under a
that Asgaroth the cowardly fighter should particular philosophy. So will everybody else.
receive no experience? When y o u m o v e t o a d i ff e r e n t g r o u p ,
Many DMs believe that the role-playing however, or take your characters with you to a
aspect should be emphasised. Penalising convention, y o u m a y f i n d t h a t t h e D M
adventurers for acting 'in character', either awards xp differently.
directly or indirectly, is not conducive to this
desire.
Once more, if xp are awarded for playing in
character, the idea that experience represents In Conclusion
an adventurer's ability in a particular pro-
fession is downgraded. Guidelines, suggest- In some groups the amount of experience
ing how much a DM should reward penalise awarded for the killing o f monsters, the
characters in accordance with whether they casting of spells, and other activities (at the
play in character or not, should be no more discretion of the DM) is small compared to
than vague, since so much depends on the the amount of experience awarded for the
individual. acquisition of treasure — something which
may unfairly favour the sly thief who pockets
a spare diamond or the thug who slaughters
the party at the end of the adventure. This
may be balanced by rewarding the good guys
for saving the innocent and not the bad guys
when they torture a prisoner.
What has to be achieved is a system which
feels fair and has a consistency about it. A
single DM in a group of players obviously has
the best chance of achieving this, balancing
all the factors as seems fit. The more DMs a
group has (with characters going down each
Consider a fighter who has averaged about other's dungeons) the harder it becomes.
three adventures per level and now, at 8th Flexibility is a cornerstone in the DM's
level, has a highly detailed personality and a armoury. Yet this very flexibility makes it
few magic items from having been down so difficult to achieve a consistent system; the
many dungeons. Then the fighter participates ADlicD, game is played in so many ways.
in an adventure run by a different DM in a Nationally, t h e commonality present i n
different group. The fighter joins a party that groups allows people to play wherever they
averages about 12th level but still appears to happen to find a spare dungeon, but if you do
be a formidable character — something that travel, be prepared for local 'quirks' that
turns out to be the case. A t the end of the might be present. How a group goes about
adventure, the D M awards the survivors awarding earned experience is high on the list
about 100,000xp each in total. The player of contenders. I f you are unsure — discuss
running the fighter is unlikely to be very the situation first; it often helps and at the
happy. So much xp for doing what — in very least provides several hours of stimulat-
comparison to previous adventures — was ing conversation!
very little. At this rate the fighter's character 1110 Chris Barlow
is going to get very little opportunity to New readers may be interested in What
develop further. After some thought the to do with a Dragon's Treasure, #17;
player decides to reduce the xp to 10,000 Turnbull Talking, #18, and the Letters
instead and goes home much happier. column, # 20.
4 I M A G I N E magazinef August 1985
Special Announcement
TM
• • • • •
magazine
&
module competition
with great prizes to be won, including:
First Prize: Two residential tickets to
GamesFair '86
Three Consolation Prizes: The choice of
an AD&D® BATTLESYSTEMrm game,
or a M D ® M A S T E R S set
or a £15 voucher
for the goods of your choice.
For the last three years, the AD&DTM Hang o n though, d o n ' t start writing are on your own. The scenario must
Team Competition a t GamesFair yet. This isn't going to be as easy as it then be sent to us, to arrive no later
has been one of the highlights of the sounds, and that's why we're offering than December 1st 1985.
weekend, as well as being something all these great prizes.
which everyone else could share i n That's where the fun begins. Before
afterwards. D i d y o u r p l a y e r s b e a t So before you get writing, this is what GamesFair i n A p r i l ' 8 6 , t h e w i n n e r
their breasts and rattle their spears you need t o do. W r i t e t o I M A G I N E will b e invited t o brief t h e D M s , g o
For The Honour of the Tribe (1983 — magazine ( G F ' 8 6 Competition), through t h e edits, and h e l p prepare
IMAGINE magazine, #2)? Were they The Mill, Rathmore Road, Cambridge the version that eventually appears in
flushed w i t h s u c c e s s a f t e r g o i n g CB1 4AD, enclosing a stamped, self- IMAGINE magazine. T h e r e s u l t s o f
Round The Bend (1984 — #15)? And addressed e n v e l o p e o f a t l e a s t the competition will be announced to
have t h e y just chased after glory in 7"x10". W e w i l l t h e n s e n d y o u a the rest of the world in the GamesFair
The Great Paladin Hunt (1985 — leaflet w i t h i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e edition of the magazine in 1986.
#26)? Well next year the scenario that various things you w i l l have to con-
drives 'em all crazy could be yours. sider before y o u w r i t e t h e module; Simple, eh? Well, it isn't as straight-
the scoring system, play length, etc. forward as i t sounds, s o d o n ' t start
Yep, G r a e m e , J i m a n d M i k e h a v e The closing date for sending out the until y o u ' v e s e e n t h e c o m p e t i t i o n
finally reached the end of their tether leaflet is September 15th 1985. leaflet. Remember, you cannot enter
and are taking a year off from writing the competition without sending
the Te a m C o m p e t i t i o n m o d u l e . S o The next job is to write the scenario, off for the leaflet first. So, if you've
what w e n e e d i s f o r s o m e o t h e r something c h a l l e n g i n g , w i t t y a n d got what it takes to write the next in
volunteers to come forward, and you fast-moving. Though we will answer this proud sequence of nutty modules
look like the right people to us. technical questions, at this point you send for the form today!
NORTH EAST
The Gamemaster, F.C, Parker. Graingers Models & Crafts,
Games, Games, 108, Caldmore Road,
13, Forrest Road, Toppers, 46-48, Royal Arcade.
Edinburgh, EH1 20H. 25-27, Grange Road West, Unit 20, Cardiff C F I 2AE Walsall,
Birkenhead 16, Mercia Square,
031-226 3354 Chester. Merrion Centre, 0222 21159 West Midlands, WSI 3RB.
051-647 4676 Leeds 2 0922 23382
0532 456376
Swansea Models & Hobbies Ltd,
The Gamemaster, Joto Hobbies,
The Model Shop, Trains & Things, Games N ' Models, Plymouth Street, 7, Lawrence Sherriff Street.
536, Great Western Rd,
45a, South William St, 116, Winter Hey Lane, Swansea. SAI 3 0 0 .
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Workington, Horwich, Hull, HUI 3AB. Warks.. CV22 5EJ.
Cumbria. Nr.Bolton, BI6 U P. 0482 24910 0788 6272
NORTH WEST MIDLANDS
Fantasy World, Odyssey 7, Wargames Guild, Games Store, Midland Games Centre.
10, Market Square Arcade, 145, London Road, The Gameskeeper. Shambles Arcade,
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Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, Oxford Road, Stoke-on-Trent, 105, Cowley Road, 21, Hales Street,
Middlesbrough. Oxford
Staffs, STI I N V Manchester. Staffs, Cleveland, TSI 4AG. Coventry,
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Gem poly inked E3 25 Adventures
Copper plated e a c h Er) 95 Octopussy £7.80 1. Adventurers (3)
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D30 (1-30) Gem El .45 Dr. No (solo) E7 80
D30 (1-30) Metal plated El .45 You Only Live Twice E7 80 4. Clerics (3)
Average Dice (pair) EO35 Live & Let Die E8.65
5. Were Creatures (3)
6. Skeleton Cavalry (3)
7. Halflings (4)
Lost Worlds @ E1.99 Latest Releases Best of Dragon 3 8. Goblins (4)
7. Barbarian from Grenadier include: 0.95 9. Orcs (3)
Fantasylords 7 (Dungeon Best of imagine
8. Fighter-Mage Raiders), Fantasylords 8 10. Dwarves (4)
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16 (Magic Users), Dragonlords
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12. Elves (3)
Dragonlords Dragons 7, 8 & 9 have made massive 13. Specialists (3)
Eagerly awaited which are Blue, Copper
here is FGU's latest improvements to their range.
and Bronze. See full
All of the excellent Endless
14. Undead (3)
offering - 'Flashing Blades.' lists opposite for
A historical RPG set in 17th Plans now come in sturdy boxes 15. Bugbears (3)
details.
century France. A must for - still at E3.99. Halls of the Dwarven 16. Golems (2)
musketeers. FGU have also threatened Kings combines a top class original
to release 12 new V&V adventures 17. Dragon Men (3)
in 1985. A re-released Swordbearer Standard
Tortured Souls
screen, scenario
scrolls, mapswith
& PC
is in the pipeline along with
Games have 18. Scorpions (2)
taken the plunge stats on floorplans. Great
another RPG ' M a d Dogs And and moved into a full value at E7.95- STOP PRESS 19. Hill Giant (1)
Englishmen.' A must for - now available the sequel t 20. Wing Folk (3)
mad dogs. role-playing game, it is
selling fast and looks to be 21. Knights (3)
of Kasar-Khan (E4.95
DRAGONROAR 22. Wizards (3)
one of the most sought-after games
in 1985. Complete with cassette The TUNNELS 23. Lizard Men (3)
AVALON HILL containing complete instructions, & TROLLS
background and spine-tingling 24. Greenwood Adventurers (3)
have released two game system has received
solo adventure. Excellent a'Halls'
boost-byThetheLost
release o
modules for Dune containing value at 02.95.
the usual 'spice'; Monster Coliseum the COLOUR range. This includes CTHULHU - VL50 each
the rulebook @ E5.95 and the boxed
for the ever-expanding Runequest (all 3 figures)
set @ £8.95. Also available - Sea
3 system; Perilous Lands and
Book of Tables for Powers Of Mystery, Beyond The Silvered 1. Federal Agents
The range of Pane, Gamesmen Of Kasar,
& Perils. All good solid best-selling de luxe 2. Hoodlums
stuff for expanding Naked Doom, Deathtrap
existing games.
dice has received double the Equaliser & Captif D'Yvoire. 3. Adventurers
colours originally available All A4 size at El .95.
and a set of six retails for a 4. Master Criminals
miserly 95p. Their range has
recently been joined by DE LUXE 5. Investigators
Victoiy Games' GEM INKED DICE. Six colours are Newitems from 6. Cops
latest additions to the available in each type of TSR cover just about
James Bond RPG range are die which sell for 25p every aspect of the D&D 7. Ghost & Horrible Companions
'Thrillinglocations' and The each or £1.45 range. 02 & X8 for Expert, ar e'vi 8. Undead
Man With The Golden Gun'. TL is for the set. DM's screen, Dragonlance 4 and
designed to expand the campaign 9. Ghouls
two new competition modules for
world; 160pp. Golden Gun details the exploits AD& D - C3 & C4. Basic is well 10. Mi-Go and Serpentmen
of Fransisco Scaramanga - the world's served with a new module - BEI -
most expensive assasin. Watch out for 11. Sand Dwellers
JB 'action episodes' -there are
MAYFAIR andThe Book of Marvelous Magic
(AC4). This is a very useful 12. Deep Ones
four board games available GAMES add-on containing 500 new
(8 years and up) - E8.95. now available magical items not contained (illustrated catalogues available -
in the 3 boxed sets. please send S.A.E.)
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Antons Hobbies, Games People Play, Victoria Models,
Midland Games Centre, Rainbow Games,
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Unit 8. T h e K nI, Swan Court. i b 5. Wellington
b Terrace, s , 1, Church Street. 147, Kings Road
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Smith Street. Chatham. Kent Brentwood. Essex
Hants, SPIO I E t Notting Hill Gate, London, W2 Romford, Essex
Warwick, 0634 814750 0277 227043
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Forever People. Games Room, The Model Shop, Southsea Models War and Peace,
The Place, 59, Park Street. 29a. Elm Hill, 190-194, Station Road, 25, Highland Road 8, Upper Orwell Street.
68, Worcester Street. Bristol 1, Avon Norwich, Harrow. Southsea. Portsmouth, Ipswich.
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Dw D&D 111, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10) A D & D 113, 4, 12, 20, 22, 23, 27)
S 1 7 U Fat, stumpy and heavily bearded; wears his chainmail 2(1, 4, 9) 2 ( 2 , 6, 15)
I 1 0 o p e n l y and with pride; sits in the corner quaffing beer;
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D 1 1 E I Ex-gladiator, seeking employment as a bodyguard
41b M a i l i c e a ; F, Fr2; L / L G ;
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Tarand (381) who's n o t only a 'damned elf' b u t a W 1 4 U Launderess
'sorcerous warlock' too; everyone knows him, but he D 1 4 0 Shy and very timid, speaks softly if at all; once she is
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Oh 1 7 U Knows only her family
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DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® 77
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A concluding look at some of th Aayfair Games' current range reveals The warehouse people at TS R UK must love months like these. Boxed sets
Shadows of Evil, a fantasy suppi ,nent 'suitable' for the ADSED'm game. are arriving in this sunny realm in profusion, and the summer promises to
Shadows gives some background on Celtic culture and Druids, plus a be one in which a visit to your local games shop will be well worthwhile.
couple of related 'major' adventures. Liberally supplied with maps and The arrival o f the A D & D I " BATTLESYSTEM'm fantasy combat
plans, and featuring, as is customary with Mayfair, a Boris Vallejo cover. supplement, the Unearthed Arcana book and the CONAISI r o l e -
Fantastic Treasures is 95 pages of 'enchanted treasures and items from playing game have been predicted in this column enough times that none of
the myths of all ages'; scores of weapons, treasure and artifacts are arranged them come as no surprise, but a few sceptics were surprised to see the
alphabetically, described in game terms and provided with background DSEDk MASTERS Set over here so early (the Assistant Editor of this
notes. The first entry is Aaron's Rod (biblical), but seeing as the final one is worthy journal even lost a bet on the question). This is no drill — it will be
Lychis (illuminating stones), I take i t that Mayfair are considering a on sale this summer. Those of you who were ringing the TSR offices twice a
sequel.... day asking when the Companion Set was due to arrive are forgiven for
Four fantasy adventures complete the selection of Mayfair role-playing treating such firm assurances with dismissive noises.
items I have to hand. These are Question o f Gravity (3-8 characters, Those others of you who remember the Companion Set as something
2nd-5th level); Evil Ruins — 'an ancient terror among timeless ruins' (4-8 that made everything that went before it in the D&DO game seem a bit
characters, levels 2-5); Throne o f Evil — 12th century England (4-6 small, might wonder what on earth 25th-36th level characters can get up to.
characters, levels 4-6); and Final Challenge, a solo module which invites Fear not — things are not as bad as they might be. If you can cope with the
you to defeat the cunning of the wizard, the powers of the lycanthrope, the 1000 20th-level MUs who run Glantri, you can cope with anything in here.
evil of the undead — all of this while clad only in a pair of underpants, New modules? Well, there's another American competition module, C5
assuming the cover has any relevance. Llewelyn's Bane. These aren't everyone's cup of tea, but this is better
We've mentioned before h o w Mayfair specialise i n 'based o n ' than most, by all accounts. The Dragonlance saga rolls on, with DL6
boardgames. Hammers Slammers is a tactical, SE armoured combat Dragons of Ice and DL 7 Dragons of Light. Several titles in this series
game with the look of Ogre about it, although the components are vastly are topping the sales charts in the USA over 1984-5, and they have done
superior. According to the box, it's easy to learn. The Company War is exceptionally well over here. CM4 Earthshaker marks a new departure —
from C Cherryh's Down Below Station; interstellar combat at strategic and a walking dungeon. According to the scale diagram, Earthshaker — a
tactical levels. I admit to being unfamiliar with both these books — for that god-constructed robot — is to an elephant what a dog is to a flea._ now you
matter neither of the authors has come to my attention before. But they get the chance to explore inside the machine. Also out, X9 Savage Coast
must be talented individuals producing work of great moment, or Mayfair and B9 Castle Caldwell and Beyond.
would not have gone to the bother of producing the games, would they?
Finally, i f you're tired of all this SF/F gaming, you can always try I must correct a tiny, but significant misprint that crept into last month's
Mayfair's Fic-tio-nar-y, a 'trivia boardgame'. 2000 definitions from the column. During typesetting, or some other moment of printing archanery,
American Heritage Dictionary. What do you reckon? No? No, well I can't the word Umberbulk became Umberhulk. The latter is not only incorrect,
say I blame you. but positively verboten. Fingers will roll.
At theVIRGINGAMESCENTRE,
we've gone to great lengths to
bring you the best. We've
travelled the ENTIREPLANET
in order to acquire the WIDEST
POSSIBLERANGE of...Science Fiction
FantasyGames, War Games, Role-
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GA ESCENTRE
172Union Street,Aberdeen•94196 Brig gate,Leeds• 22 Oxford Street, LondonW1
Please m e n t i o n I M A G I N E m a g a z i n e w h e n r e p l y i n g t o a d v e r t i s e m e n t s 15
4. TM
A i m • magazine interviews....
Bob Shaw
'The universe is wonderful, but only as long as
there's someone there to wonder at it.'
Probably one o f the finest exponents o f the sitting down and reading somebody else's picture of the scene and put the people into
well-crafted science fiction novel and short SF. You do have to read a little, however, to the setting. Next I sit down and stare at it for a
story today is Bob Shaw. Books such as Ship of see what the opposition is up to! while until I can actually see things happen-
Strangers and Orbitsville can hold their own ing. Then I write.
with the best writings within the genre. In this I Who would you put in your list of writers
exclusive interview, on the eve of the paper- today who w i l l live on? You may include I How long does it take you to write a novel?
back publication o f h i s n o v e l Orbitsville yourself. Can you match Mike Moorcock's 'a novel in
Departure, IMAGINE magazine takes a close three days'?
look at the writer and his craft. The interview B (Chuckles) M o s t w r i t e r s w o u l d include
took place at Andromeda Bookshop, Birming- themselves if they were honest. You've got to B Mike is a phenomenon. My best ever was
ham, in April. have a sort of egotism, especially if you've six weeks a n d t h a t w a s m y f i r s t b o o k
thrown up your job, which I did, to take a Nightwalk. I wrote it in my spare time whilst
I M A G I N E m a g a z i n e : When did you first chance and earn a living. I make a point of holding a job down. Now I'm a full-time writer
become involved with science fiction? And never boasting about my work, but I must it takes longer. The stories are becoming
what provided the catalyst? have some regard for it. Brian Aldiss is one I more complicated and there are more subtle-
think will live on. But it's difficult to select ties i n m y books today — subtleties o f
B o b S h a w : A s a youngster reading the someone who is going to be 'immortal' and personal relationships a n d environments.
boys' comics. When I was a kid, the boys' someone who won't be. On average i t n o w takes me four or five
papers weren't actually comics as we know months. I go a t great speed through the
them today. They were all print with f e w I Where does the inspiration for your work action sequences, though.
illustrations — The Wizard, The Rover and come from?
The Hotspur. There was always a science I Your characters are always very strong (real
fiction serial running in one of them. That B I've always suffered from an over-active people). Is it difficult creating them and how
was my introduction to the genre. I was about imagination. As a kid I couldn't sleep at night do you set about it?
seven or eight. There weren't many books; it and I'd lie in bed going on journeys in my
was very difficult to get hold of science fiction mind. I'd get off to sleep at three or four in the B Quite often they're taken from real people I
novels. In the late 30s and early 40s there morning. This shocked my father, who was a know, b u t I never take t h a t person a n d
were very few in existence. H G Wells and countryman from the deep south of Ireland. transplant him/her into the book wholesale. I
Edgar Rice Burroughs were about the only He didn't even approve of me reading. A n don't think I'd be right to do that. (Laughs) I
ones. unhealthy pastime — v e r y b a d f o r t h e might get into trouble as well. B u t every
eyesight w i t h a bicycle lamp under t h e writer has to borrow from people he knows. I
I What was your first active involvement? bedclothes. Today I f i n d a n awful l o t o f made a conscious decision when I started
writing can be born Out o f very little. It's writing to always ensure that my characters
B I realised very early that I wanted to write, surprising what can trigger off an idea. would be as strong as those you'd get in a
but I didn't know if I could do it. When I read a mainstream novel. This makes the stories
short story that had an ending which I didn't I How do you set about the mechanical side of more difficult to write. In a typical pulp SF
like, I'd rewrite the ending. Then I'd re-read it writing?Do you have a beginning, middle and novel the hero has no family relationships
with my ending. It developed from there. In ending? whatsoever. He can be whisked off to the
fact, looking back I sacrificed my education to other side of the galaxy with no trouble to him
science fiction. W h e n I w a s thirteen I B I always have all three. When I'm writing a or the writer. In real life a person can have
discovered Astounding Science Fiction, novel I always do a detailed synopsis — troubles with his wife and family just by
which is now called Analog. From then on I mainly f o r commercial reasons s o t h a t getting a job fifty miles away. People realise, I
read nothing but SF until! was twenty. When publishers will give me a contract to write the think, t h a t I ' m trying t o produce quality
I was supposed to be working for university I book. I f any reader of IMAGINE magazine science fiction, and not just hacking the stuff
was d o i n g n o t h i n g o f t h e s o r t . I w a s wants t o take u p writing a s a hobby o r Ut.
producing a carbon copy SF magazine which profession I can only tell him that it's a bit like
had a readership of three! being a burglar. The first thing a good burglar I Have you ever written under a pseudonym?
does is to make sure that he knows his exit.
I Who are your favourite SF writers? When you start staining a floor you must plan B No. (Laughs) It's hard enough getting one
it so you finish at the door. Writing a book or name established f o r m e w i t h o u t trying
B I haven't really got any. I find that I'll read a story is like that. I wouldn't have the courage others.
book by an author and think t h i s is really to start o f f without knowing t h e ending
good, I ' l l r e a d others t h a t h e ' s written. exactly and then working towards it. I Would it be true to say that hardware and
Usually I find they don't resemble the one I technology come second to how 'the future'
liked. In the western field, for example, you I Your language always contains a glittering affects your characters when you write a
discover a writer and all his books are pretty array of imagery. You obviously enjoy using new work?
much the same and you can have a feast. It's language. Does it come naturally?
to the credit of science fiction writers that B (Pause) Yes, I'd say that. I've always been
their output varies such a lot. B I have to work at it. The stuff which, for a interested in science and technology; I've got
reader, reads easily, h a s f o r t h e w r i t e r an engineering background. The universe is
I Do you read much SF? usually been hard to write. It is for me. When I wonderful, b u t o n l y a s l o n g a s there's
write a story I close my eyes and try to see someone there t o wonder a t it. Without
B I don't, in common with a lot of SF writers. what's happening. I then write down what I people in it the stories don't mean anything.
When you've been writing all day and you can see. Sometimes when I get to a compli- To me people are very very important in a
come down in the evening you don't feel like cated situation in a book I actually draw a story.
16 I M A G I N E n t a g a z i n e , A u g u s t 1985
Shot Tower Studios
MARBLED PILLARS
2 SIDLD - W A L L
Drill and put here
Outside, stone with
before assembling
the sturdy wood beam buttressing.
Inside, timbered
us C A S T- I R O N COOKER
Hinged to reveal a setzet
portal
BETTER WATCH O U T —
YOU CAN'T BEAT CLUBS A N D EVENTS: we will advertise these FREE if you send
details to the Game Company column. Garners who are looking for
CHAMPIONS
other roleplayers in their area can also write to us for help.
BORED SUNDAYS? Borednomorel S P A C E O D D I T I E S
Buy and sell new and used fantasy and science fiction books and
games. Wednesday to Sunday, 10am t o Spm; Oddity's Market,
Prices quoted are the R.R.P. 72/73 Chalk Farm Road, London NW1
'Wake up' Mike Targett shouted, his voice 'Receiving atypical data.'
thick w i t h excitement. 'The computer 'Repeat the details,' Targett said, with a
thinks there's a village ahead of us!' triumphant glance at his partner.
Dave Surgenor roused himself from a 'Five hundred kilometres ahead of you
light doze, sat up straight in the left-hand is a deep, narrow valley,' the computer
seat o f Module Five a n d looked o u t responded. 'It runs in a generally north-
through the forward screen. The survey south direction. Preliminary analysis of
vehicle was skimming along at maximum gases in the area indicates the presence
speed, one metre above the surface of of vegetation. Refined metals are also
Korrill IV, and the view was the same as it present which, together with traces of
had been for days. Beneath a sky which combustion products, indicates a small
was crowded with van-coloured moons, a colony of intelligent beings possessing
flat snow-covered plain stretched from rudimentary technology.'
horizon to horizon, featureless and utterly 'Hear these words,' Surgenor s a i d
devoid of life. quickly, using t h e code phrase which
'Either you or the computer has a wire gave him access to Aesop, the central
loose,' Surgenor said. 'And probably it's computer aboard t h e m o t h e r s h i p ,
you.' Sara land. 'What do we do next?'
'I'm telling you, Dave. Listen to this.' While waiting for a reply he winked at
Target touched a button and the com- his younger companion, consciously act-
puter, which had been muted to allow ing o u t the part o f the veteran space
Surgenor to sleep, began to speak more traveller who had lost the capacity to be
loudly. surprised at anything, but his heart had
'Receiving atypical data,' i t droned. begun a steady, powerful pounding...
19
IMAQ1NE magazine, August 1985
Korrill I V had presented special diffi- ly and formed a circle around the two
culties for the crew of the Sara fand, a fallen men.
Mark Six survey vessel o f the Carto- 'Are you a l l right, Mike?' Surgenor
graphical Service. 'They were lucky,' Targett said. 'If the breathed, discovering that, although he
Standard operating procedure was that people down there are the survivors from was unable t o move, h e still had the
the mother ship would land at a planet's a crashed ship, as Aesop thinks, they power of speech.
south pole and allow six survey modules were dead lucky to find this place before 'I'm just great,' Targett said bitterly.
to disembark. The mother ship, entirely they froze solid.' 'Welcome w i t h open arms, y o u said.
under the control of its computer, then Surgenor shook his head. 'It didn't have That's the last time I'll take your advice
took off, did a half-circuit and landed at to b e p u r e chance. They could have about any...'
the north pole. Its survey modules did the detected the valley from space and maybe 'Be silent, you devil creatures!' One of
same journey o n t h e surface, equally used their last remnants of control t o the n e a r - n a k e d c a p t o r s , a h e a v i l y
spaced around the planet, all the while bring t h e i r s h i p d o w n i n t h i s area.' muscled man with black hair, raised his
transmitting data to the ship for inclusion Signalling for Targett to follow him, he spear threateningly and moved closer to
in the planetary resources map being walked along the cliff until he came to a Targett.
constructed on the computer deck. place where the fall of the ground was 'Don't harm him, Chack,' said another
of the group in a commanding voice. He
was t a l l a n d coppery haired a n d h i s
Surgenor noticed that Targett had unsheathed his expression — in contrast to the hostility
ultralaser sidearm. 'What's the artillery for? You shown by his companions — was one of
intense curiosity.
feeling nervous?' 'Have you gone mad, Harld? This is
exactly what King Garadan told us might
happen some day.' Chack pointed accus-
In normal circumstances t h e s h i p less abrupt a n d carefully began h i s ing ly a t S u r g e n o r a n d Ta r g e t t . ' H e
would complete i t s half-circuit o f the descent. They had been working their prophesied that devils i n human form
planet in about an hour, in contrast to the way down the hillside for only a f e w might invade our valley and destroy us
survey crews w h o had t o spend days minutes when the icy conditions gave and all our families.'
toiling across the surface. Standard pro- way to a region of bare rock, and then to 'Two isn't much of an invasion force
cedure had not been feasible in the case grass and large clumps of shrubs. Soon — and h o w can they destroy us while
of Korrill IV, however, because the planet the two men found it necessary to lower they are paralysed by the juice o f the
was surrounded by a shell of forty-three their parkas and remove their thermal carpal plant?' The puzzlement in Harld's
major moons a n d approximately f o u r jackets. brown eyes deepened as he looked down
hundred minor natural satellites. 'At this rate we'll make it to the valley at the two captives. 'These seem more
The Sara fand had spent a long time floor in twenty minutes or so,' Surgenor like ordinary men than
waiting for suitable 'windows' — gaps in said, glancing back at Targett and noticing Chack sneered. 'The devils arepretend-
the ever-changing screen of satellites — that the younger man had unsheathed his ingto be human to catch us off guard, just
to enable it to land at the south pole and ultralaser sidearm. 'What's the artillery as the King warned. I say we should kill
get away again. And now with the survey for? You feeling nervous?' the monsters now.' There was a rumble
half-completed, it was parked in a safe 'I'm not taking any chances,' Targett of approval from others in the group.
orbit, awaiting its chance to put down at said. 'I still think about that time on Horta 'Listen to me,' Surgenor said urgently,
the north pole for its rendezvous with the VII when I found those killer robot tor- fixing his gaze on the man called Hand.
survey modules. pedoes and nearly got my head shot off.'* 'We are ordinary men, just like you. The
In all of Surgenor's many years with the 'This is an entirely different situation.' fact that we speak the same language
Cartographical Service that situation had Surgenor shook his head in amusement. proves it. We came t o this world i n a
cropped up only once before, and now 'I should think that after being stranded starship j u s t as you or your ancestors
another equally freakish e v e n t w a s on this ball of ice for a lot of years, these must have done...'
occurring. The Service was only assigned people will welcome us with open arms.' 'Lies!' Chack bellowed. 'There is only
to map worlds which were believed to be 'I guess you're right,' Targett said, one language and all must speak it. Our
uninhabited, and it was a very rare event lowering the weapon back into its holster. people have always lived here, and these
indeed for the survey crews to stumble He had barely done so when there was a creatures couldn't have come from the
across signs of intelligent life. faint whizzing sound and a small dark sky, because the moons and the stars are
object about the size of a wasp struck him all controlled by King Garadan. The devils
'How does anybody survive in a place like on the neck. He gasped and clapped his are trying to confuse us — I say we have
this?' Surgenor said, shivering as the icy hand over it and then, looking very sur- to finish them now.'
wind bit through his protective clothing. prised, sagged down on to the grass like a Several of the group started forward,
He glanced wistfully back at the beetle- puppet whose strings had been released. raising their spears, but they drew back
shaped outline o f Module Five, which 'What the S u r g e n o r grabbed frantic- when Harld leaped into the centre of the
was already obscured by swirls of dry ally for his own ultralaser as he detected a circle. 'I am the leader of this hunting
snow. movement in nearby shrubs, but in that party. I will decide what must be done.'
'It'll be a lot warmer when we get down instant something stung his arm. He just 'We await your decision, great leader,'
into the valley,' Targett replied. 'Aesop had time to see that it was a tiny dart as all a third man said sarcastically.
says the temperature could be as high as the strength departed his limbs and he Hand g a z e d u n c e r t a i n l y a t
fifteen degrees.' collapsed on the sloping ground. Surgenor and Targett. 'Bind their hands.
'Let's h o p e h e ' s r i g h t . ' S u r g e n o r A few seconds later a group of bearded We will take them to the King.'
advanced to the rim of the cliff which ran men emerged from the cover of the bushy Two o f the group immediately took
from north to south as far as the eye could vegetation. cords from their waist pouches, knelt
see. He looked over the edge and, in spite There were about ten of them, wearing down a n d t i e d t h e captives' w r i s t s
of his foreknowledge, caught his breath only loincloths and carrying blowpipes together behind their backs. Surgenor
as he saw the vivid greenery which lay far and spears. Their bodies were streaked was relieved to find that the paralysing
below. The valley was like something out with green and yellow pigments which weakness w a s beginning t o leave his
of a fairy story, a magical oasis of lush had enabled them to blend perfectly with limbs, but there was little comfort in the
vegetation a n d w a r m t h i n a n arctic their surroundings. They advanced silent- discovery. I t appeared t h a t t h e l i t t l e
wasteland. - Ship of Strangers, Gollancr 1978 colony of shipwreck survivors on Korrill IV
20
I M A G I N E magazine., August 1985
CARTOGRAPHICAL
21
I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
Hand took a deep breath. 'Sire, they Targett's words were lost in a sudden
seem more like men than devils.' hubbub of excitement from the crowd.
'That is part of their devilish trickery.' Surgenor turned his head and saw that
'But i f t h e y a r e s o powerful a n d the robed figure of Garadan had appeared
dangerous, why do they need to employ at t h e entrance o f h i s palace. S t i l l
trickery? And why was it so easy for us to carrying his carved and bejewelled box,
capture them if...?' Garadan walked slowly towards the altar
'Silence!' Garadan's face was pale with and the villagers parted to make way for
anger. ' D o y o u q u e s t i o n m y d i v i n e him. In the flickering light of the torches
authority?' his face was immobile and inhuman as he
'No, Sire.' Harld glanced at the watchful reached the edge o f the flat rock and
circle o f villagers. 'But our food grows stepped up on to it. He raised one hand
scarce and some of our children will die in imperiously and a n expectant silence
the coming winter. The strangers said descended over the crowd.
they could give us food and clothing. I 'The Blood Moon answers m y com-
thought it would be better mand,' Garadan proclaimed i n ringing
'You presumed t o know better than tones. 'Soon it will appear above you —to
your King!' Garadan stared coldly at the oversee and sanctify the execution of the
villagers, some of whom had begun to devil creatures.'
whisper among themselves on hearing 'You w o n ' t g e t a w a y w i t h t h i s ,
Harld speak of food and clothing. They Garadan,' Surgenor said fiercely, struggl-
shuffled their feet uneasily and lowered ing with his bonds. 'We're not alone on
their heads. this world. Our friends are on the way to
'Don't be alarmed,' Garadan said t o us right now.., with powerful weapons...'
them. 'The gods grow angry, but not at 'The devils are trying even more of their
you. I t i s Harld w h o has earned their lies and trickery,' Garadan said, glancing
wrath by bringing the devils here and down into his box. 'But nothing can save
sowing doubt in your minds.' Garadan them because...' He raised his right hand
glanced down at his ornately carved box, and pointed upwards at the eastern edge
'As a portent of their anger — and of my of the strip of sky. 'I command the Blood
divine authority t h e y are sending four Moon to appear... NOW!'
white moons. The light from the moons A dreadful fascination drew Surgenor's
will turn night in the valley into day, to gaze to the rim of the valley. His heart
remind you that the gods can see into began a frenzied pounding as he waited
your innermost thoughts and will punish for the emergence of the first sliver of
the unfaithful, The moons will appear...' crimson brightness which would herald
Garadan again glanced into the box he the end of his life. And in the midst of all
carried. n o w ! ' his fears and regrets was one persistent,
Garadan pointed upwards at the east- been using it ever since to overawe all the pounding question: Why had Aesop not
ern rim of the valley and there was a gasp others with their so-called divine powers. even tried to help them?
from the assembly as the brilliant white It's a neat set-up Garadan has here — The silence overhanging the strange
disk of a large moon appeared, closely living in luxury with hundreds of abject scene was absolute. Every eye was fixed
followed by three others. For a minute the slaves.' on the designated portion of sky.
valley was brightly illuminated by the four 'I thought Harld was beginning to get Surgenor had endured the suspense
speeding satellites, then they had crossed through to them when he mentioned food for perhaps twenty seconds, perhaps
the visible strip of sky and near-darkness and clothing,' Targett said. 'But you have thirty — time had ceased to have any
returned. There was a hushed silence. to hand it to Garadan — he made good meaning for him — when he began to
'The King i s all-powerful,' a woman use of those four white moons coming realise t h a t Garadan's computer h a d
cried in a thin, wailing voice. 'We must along when they did.' been slightly out in its prediction. The red
obey him and kill the devils.' 'It's what he's going to do when the red satellite was taking longer to show up
'That is your only way to appease the moon appears that bothers me.' Surgenor than expected. The watching villagers
gods,' Garadan shouted in a voice which made another futile attempt to loosen his must have thought the delay unusual
was hoarse with triumph. 'Prepare the bonds. 'How long do you think we've got?' because they began to stir a little.
devils for execution. I have commanded 'Who knows? Maybe a couple of hours.' Garadan put his hand into the carved
the Blood Moon to appear in a short time A d a r k coldness g a t h e r e d i n s i d e box, obviously interrogating the computer
— and the devils must die as soon as its Surgenor as he considered the idea that inside. 'The Blood Moon will appear,' he
light falls on the altar.' all o f Earth's vaunted technology was shouted, but now there was an edge of
powerless to save them from death at the panic in his voice. 'I, King Gari;dan, have
The altar was a flat circular stone close to hands o f a pitiful group o f primitives. ordered it so.'
the entrance of Garadan's metal palace. It 'Hear t h e s e words, Aesop,' h e s a i d More drawn-out seconds dragged by as
was ringed by flickering torches whose bitterly, addressing himself via his com- the sky remained dark, and there was an
light gleamed irregularly on the massive municorder button to the computer on increasingly restless murmuring from the
two-edged s w o r d w h i c h waited o n a board his ship. 'Where are you? What are crowd. Surgenor began to feel a flickering
gilded trestle. Surgenor a n d Targett, you doing up there?' of hope. Something had definitely gone
bound hand and foot, had been laid down 'There's nothing Aesop can do,' Targett wrong with the computer prediction and
beside each other in the centre of the said, with a gloomy fatalism. 'It may be therein lay his and Targett's chance of
rock. The entire population of the village days before he can get the Sarafand down salvation.
was gathered around the altar, watching through that screen of satellites and by 'The Blood Moon refuses to appear,' he
and waiting. that time it will be all over.' called out. 'The gods have turned against
'At least we now know how Garadan 'He must have told the other modules to Garadant It is a sign they want us set
does it,' Surgenor said to his younger change course and get here.' free.'
companion. 'One of his ancestors must 'Yes, but that won't make any differ- 'Be silent!' Garadan snarled. 'All of you,
have salvaged a small computer from the ence either. Even the nearest modules be silent! I am your king and I command
wreck of their ship and his family has couldn't possibly r e a c h u s u n t i l . „ ' you to...'
22 I M A G I N E tna9azinef August 1985
'He's just an ordinary man,' Surgenor 'Garadan had no way of knowing that I
cut i n , raising h i s voice against t h e had decided to discredit him in the eyes of
growing clamour among the watchers. his followers in order to preserve your life
One w h o has been tricking you i n t o eventual landing of the Sarafand. That and that of Michael.'
serving him while your children go cold would be the first step in the long job of 'Discredit him? How?'
and hungry. Don't be fooled any longer. rehabilitating a n d educating t h e l o s t 'By intercepting the red moon while it
This is your chance to...' colony o f humans, a n d ultimately o f was still at a distant point in its orbit and
Surgenor's voice faded as Garadan, returning them to Earth. detonating m y entire arsenal o f anti-
with a growl of hatred, dropped his box 'That was the luckiest escape we're meteor weapons on its northern hemi-
and ran to the trestle which supported the ever likely to have,' Targett said. 'Do you sphere.' Aesop continued speaking i n
ceremonial sword. Garadan snatched up realise that if Garadan's computer hadn't matter-of-fact tones, as though discuss-
the weapon, turned t o Surgenor a n d gone wrong just when it did, we would be ing a m i n o r adjustment t o a coffee
raised the gleaming blade above his head. dead men?' machine. 'The deviation i n the moon's
The blade h a d b e g u n i t s downward 'I don't need to be reminded o f that path was slight, o f course, b u t i t was
sweep when there was a sudden move- fact,' Surgenor replied soberly. 'And a fat cumulative and sufficient t o prevent i t
ment near the edge of the altar. A hunting lot of good Aesop was to us! When I get being seen from the bottom of the valley.'
spear swished through the air and h i t back to the ship I might take a hammer 'Holy...l'Targett halted, his jaw sagging
Garadan full on the chest. He fell back- and put a few dents in his memory banks.' with surprise.
wards, twitched spasmodically, and then 'I advise you n o t t o damage official 'So what you're telling us,' Surgenor
was still. property, David.' The voice issuing from went on, 'is that you calmly knocked the
Surgenor recognised Harld's coppery Surgenor's communicorder button was moon out of its orbit!'
hair as the hunter leaped up on to the flat unmistakably that of Aesop. Shocked b y t h e magnitude o f t h e
rock and held up his hands to quieten the 'So you're still functioning, Aesop,' concept, S u r g e n o r w a s o n c e a g a i n
circle of villagers. Surgenor said. 'I was beginning to think reminded o f t h e g u l f w h i c h existed
'Listen to me,' Harld called out. 'I have you had developed a short circuit.' between his own human mentality and
slain Garadan and the gods did nothing to 'My circuits are immune to that kind of that of Aesop. To a human being there
save him, which proves he was just an malfunction,' Aesop said pedantically. 'I was something blasphemous in changing
ordinary man — exactly as the strangers could not communicate with you while the appearance of the very heavens to
said. I believe that they, too, are ordinary you were within earshot of the people in suit the needs of presumptuous men —
men — not devils — and I also believe the village. A s you surmised, i t would but Aesop worked as a pure intellect,
they can do much good for all of us. Let us have been too disturbing for them.' unhampered by any emotion. To Aesop a
at least hear what they have to say. And if, Surgenor snorted t o s h o w h i s dis- problem was simply an exercise in logic;
when t h e y h a v e done, y o u a r e n o t pleasure. ' We got a bit disturbed our- nothing more, nothing less.
satisfied that they spoke the truth t h e n selves, you know. If Garadan's computer 'The direct approach to a problem is
you can put them, and me, to the sword.' hadn't fouled up...' often t h e most effective,' Aesop said.
During t h e s i l e n c e t h a t followed, 'His computer was working perfectly,' 'Don't you agree, David?'
Surgenor became aware of Mike Targett Aesop cut in. 'It is a TCM 84C — a type 'Oh, absolutely,' Surgenor replied
squirming closer t o him. 'You always which was widely used in colonisation airily, striving to regain his composure.
liked t o hear yourself talk, big man,' ships i n the last century and which is There had been a dry quality to Aesop's
Targett said, h i s voice quavering w i t h noted for great reliability. I might also add voice, one he had noticed on previous
relief. 'Now's your chance t h e stage is that Garadan had programmed it extreme- occasions and which h a d l e d h i m t o
all yours.' ly well — he must have had a natural wonder if Aesop could be poking fun at
talent in that respect.' him. Was it possible for a computer to
Early on the following morning, having 'But...' Surgenor struggled t o com- have a sense of humour?
said a temporary goodbye to the villagers, prehend w h a t he w a s hearing. 'What Surgenor considered the notion for a
Surgenor and Targett began the long went wrong with his prediction about the moment, then he shook his head and con-
climb to the rim of the valley. They wanted red moon?' tinued climbing towards the snowfields
to wait in their own vehicle for the arrival 'It was a simple lack of input data,' which gleamed in the sunshine far above.
of the other survey modules, and for the Aesop s a i d , e m o t i o n l e s s a s e v e r. 1110 Bob Shaw
12511
INSTANT
CREDIT
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24
Please mention I M A G I N E magazine w h e n replying to advertisements
The Saratand File
Paul Uernon Er Sean tlasterson
Source Files
Central Records, Cartographical Service
Ship of Strangers, Bob Shaw
All the sections of this TRAVELLER and STAR FRONTIERS® game adventure file, except the Mission Profiles, may be given to players at
the start of play in addition to any normal referee's briefing. The information in these sections is readily available to the player characters.
IMAGINE, magazine grants permission for referees to photocopy the relevant sections for their personal use only.
TRAVELLER Identify
Success Rate: 10 x skill level + equipment
1. Pilot/Team Leader, UPP 5A78C9, Terms 5, Pilot-4, Leader-2, Astronomers can identify objects in space, from planets to spaceships.
Nav-2, J-o-T-1, Veh*-1, Gun Cbt-1. Identifying takes half an hour for objects closer than 10,000 kilometres.
2. Navigator, UPP 4867C6, Terms 5, Pilot-1, Nav-3, Elec-2, Comp-1, Objects further away take 1 hour to identify.
Gun Cbt-1.
3. Medic, UPP 3877B5, Terms 5, Medic-3, Vacc-2, Gun Cbt-2, J-o-T-1, Calculate
Veh*-1. Success Rate: 10 x skill level + equipment
4. Computer Operator, UPP 685988, Terms 4, Comp-4, J-o-T-2, Astronomers can calculate the age, speed, mass or orbit (course) of any
Gun Cbt-1, Pilot-1. object in space. Astronomers can only make one calculation at a time.
5. Leading Engineer, UPP 9A8967, Terms 4 , Engrg-3, J-o-T-2, Each calculation takes half an hour.
Gun Cbt-2, Veh•-1.
6. Engineer, UPP C79778, Terms 3, Engrg-2, Gun Cbt-1, Elec-1,
Mech-1, Veh*-1. SYSTEM NAVIGATION (Spaceship)
7. Engineer, UPP AB9C98, Terms 3, Engrg-2, Pilot-1, Veh*-1, Mech-1.
8. Engineer UPP 687DB7 Terms 5 Pilot-1, Gun Cbt-2, Medic-i, This skill is used to guide a ship (usually one incapable of interstellar
Mech-3, Veh*-2, J-o-T-2. travel) within a star system. As such, it is a partial replacement for the
9. Engineer UPP 788A96 Terms 2 Engrg-1, Veh•-1, Gun Cbt-1, Elec-1. Astrogation skill given in the Knight Hawks Campaign Book. System
10. Engineer UPP 9 8 3 8 8 5 Te r m s 2 Engrg-1, Ve h • - 1 , Mech-1, Navigation requires foundation skill of Computer 2.
Gun Cbt-2.
11. Leading Gunner UPP 79DA77 Terms 5 Gunnery-4, Gun Cbt-2, Plot Course
Veh*-1, Comp-1, Elec-1. Success Rate: 40% + 10% x skill level - 10% per hour less than required
12. Gunner UPP 5 9 3 8 5 A Terms 2 Gunnery-1, Veh•-1, J-o-T-1, plotting time
Gun Cbt-1. Navigators make the complicated calculations required to plot a safe and
13. Gunner UPP A97468 Terms 4 Gunnery-3, Vacc-2, Mech-1, Veh*-1. accurate course f o r a spaceship. T h e t i m e needed f o r course
14. Gunner UPP 5A9767 Terms 3 Gunnery-2, J-o-T-1, Veh*-1, Elec-1, calculations increases for longer trips, because even small errors
Gun Cbt-1. become very serious as the distance increases. The required plotting
15. Gunner UPP CA8569 Te r m s 2 Ve h • - 2 , Gunnery-1, Vacc-1, time i s one h o u r per 100,000 kilometres t h a t w i l l b e travelled.
Gun Cbt-1. Navigators can cut the required plotting time in half by using computers
• Vehicle skills (Veh) pertain to driving the Sarafand Survey Modules. to aid them (typically with Analysis programs).
If the navigator spends less than the required plotting time, his success
The STAR FRONTIERS game rate is reduced. Every hour of the required plotting time the navigator
The crewing policy o f t h e Cartographical Service i n t h e S TA R does not spend reduces his success rate by 10%.
FRONTIERS game reflects the fact that Ship of Strangers is set in a
human universe. Mixed species crew are not usually employed aboard If a navigator fails the plot course roll, an error has been made, and all
Sarafand class vessels, and few non-humans ever bother to apply for the calculations must be made again.
this type of repetitive and boring work, even though it is highly paid.
The 15 crew members, other than the two or three 'oldtimers' aboard MISSION PROFILES
most ships, are only expected to have enough skills to operate the vessel
under normal conditions, while relying on AESOP's self programming Cartographical survey missions are supposed t o follow the same,
ability for major problems. Typically, Computer 2, Technician 2, Medical invariable pattern. On arrival in a target system, the plane of the elliptic
2 or Environmental 2 and some military PSA skills are required by short is determined a n d t h e f i r s t planet f o r scanning i s chosen. T h e
term c r e w members. Training i n the use o f Survey Modules (the exploration ship orbits the planet, deploying three communications
equivalent Technician 4 subskill Operate Machinery) is provided by the satellites into geo-synchronous orbits above the equator, and then lands
Cartographical Service. Characters can then fully operate the Survey at one of the poles. The Survey Modules are launched, and they fly (or
Modules i n normal circumstances. Success rolls (at the referee's drive) over preset courses which are plotted to allow the entire surface
discretion) may be needed under exceptional conditions. of the planet to be scanned by the Module sensors. Data is transmitted to
the ship via the satellites.
Long term crew members usually have spaceship skills and appropriate
foundation skills as well. The 'captain' of a Sarafand class vessel usually Meanwhile, the ship takes off and lands at the opposite pole to await the
has minimum skills of Technician 6, Computer 6, Piloting 4, Astrogation arrival o f t h e Survey Modules. Once a l l t h e modules have been
2 (or System Navigation 3) and Weapon 3, while the other 'oldtimers' are recovered, the ship then leaves for the next target world. Work for the
similarly skilful i n their areas o f competence, including t h e n e w Cartographical Service is, for the most part, very boring....
Astronomy skill detailed below. One of the long term crew members will
usually be designated as the ship's weaponry officer in addition to any The following scenario outlines are given in TRAVELLER-style 7 6
other duties, and will have Gunnery (Energy Weapons) 3, although this Patrons format, which w i l l b e unfamiliar t o S TA R FRONTIERS
character need not have the relevant Beam Weapons 6 skill (this is an referees. An outline of the situation is presented, but the specific details
exception to the normal foundation skills requirement for this NPC only). are left largely to the referee to determine, based on the experience and
temperament of the players involved. If the scenarios are used as a basis
The description of the Cartographical Service at the beginning of this file for a campaign, Mission Profiles 1 & 2 should be run consecutively, for
outlines its use as an alternative career to the UPF SpaceFleet (see reasons that will become apparent.
Knight Hawks Campaign Book). t u r n to page 31
26 I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
SARAFAND (Cartographical Service Mark 6 Exploration Ship)
Williams
Engineering
The deck plans also show that a great deal of internal space is devoted to
special compartments for fuel storage. This is because starships carry a
great deal of fuel within the hull in the TRAVELLER game. Furthermore,
the engines are built directly into the hull but they are heavily shielded
and can be jettisoned in an emergency. The crew is not exposed to an
increased level of radiation.
Referees may also notice that the Survey Modules carry out many of the
functions performed by landing drones (Knight Hawks Campaign Book
p22). Union pressures have forced t h e Cartographical Service t o
maintain its fleet of Mark 6 Exploration Ships, although the Marks 7 & 8
do exist (and are equipped with advanced automated landing drones).
AESOP AESOP H A T C H W A
AESOP is a very advanced type of expert system computer, apparently
capable of thinking, learning, self-awareness — 'he' may even have
emotions. W h e n f u l l y operational, AESOP does n o t need t o b e ENGINES I I I U DOOR
programmed, as he writes most of his own programs in response to
external stimuli. AESOP is capable of operating the ship on his own, but
normally acts in an advisory capacity unless the crew are incapacitated.
CONTROLS • - • L A D D E R
AESOP can write any and all programs for himself as though he has
Computer 6 skill, and, if necessary, can program other computers with
Computer 5 skill. He can also accept external programs, but these are
input with a -25% chance of success due to the (by now) somewhat
quirky structure of AESOP's internal logic due to his constant rewriting
of his own programs. AESOP runs all the programs necessaryto monitor
ship functions.
DECK PLANS
1. THE BRIDGE
All major ship functions and programming access are controlled from
various positions. The ship's sensors and individual Survey Modules
may also be monitored or controlled.
2. AESOP
The central processor is protected behind a series of armoured panels,
with no room for more than one individual at a time. Each crew member
has a security code to release the panels. A special combination key is
also available in the ship's locker (19) for use during major power
failures.
3. LIFT SHAFT
The shaft runs the length of the ship allowing access to all decks, and
acts as a distribution spine for the ship's utilities. The lift has a four
person or 1/2ton capacity.
4. BATTERIES/TURRETS
The ship's weaponry (see specific game system details) is located here,
controlled from positions on the bridge.
5. CAPTAIN'S STATEROOM
The only single occupancy berth on the ship, it is also the largest. The
Captain's stateroom is the only one with direct terminal access to
AESOP.
14. SICKBAY
6. CREW STATEROOMS The sickbay contains a medical computer/robot, which can be directly
Fitted out for double occupancy, all have built in fresher and kitchen programmed by AESOP, as the central feature of the room. In addition to
facilities, and limited partitions give a sense of privacy. administering its wide stock of drugs as required (the sickbay should be
treated as possessing Medical 3 skill), it can also monitor and maintain
7. GALLEY life support for a crew member too ill to be given immediate treatment.
The central galley is lareg enough for communual meals. Enough This effectively turns the sickbay into a low or storage berth.
supplies are carried to last a full crew for six months.
15. CREW AIRLOCK
8. COMMON AREA A two person capacity airlock to allow EVAs without using the hangar
An all-purpose entertainments and recreation lounge. Access to the deck (11) as an airlock. An external folding ramp is fitted.
ship's library o f books and films, physical exercise machines and
conference facilities are all provided. 16. CARTOGRAPHY ROOM
Part of AESOP's memory, the records of past and current assignments
9. POWER CIRCUITRY (which are classified informations), are held here, completely seperate
The ship's power supply and electronics are carried through the spine of from the normal library data. Any unauthorised attempt to enter this
the ship. area will be actively resisted by AESOP, to prevent commercial or other
subversion of the data.
10. DRIVE ROOMS
This area h o l d s t h e p o w e r plant, j u m p a n d manoeuvre drives 17. CARGO BAY
(TRAVELLER) o r shielded atomic engines (SF) and other ship's Like the hangar deck, the cargo bay has retractable bulkheads to allow
machinery (life support, avionics, etc). A terminal to AESOP is also supplies to be easily loaded, although it is rarely depressurized. The
included, as well as limited access to the galley and entertainments entire area is lit by red light at all times.
facilities.
18. FUEL COMPARTMENTS
11-13. HANGAR, MODULE W'SHOP, LAUNCH CONTROL Used as such in TRAVELLER, when using STAR FRONTIERS rules,
This entire area is a giant airlock, as each of the walls may be lowered to these areas are spaced hull armour, storage areas or inaccessible
allow the Survey Modules (which are stored here in pairs) to enter and machinery.
leave via the external folding ramps. The hangar deck is also used as a
maintenance garage f o r t h e Survey Modules and, short o f total 19. SHIP'S LOCKER
destruction, repairs a r e possible u n d e r m o s t circumstances. A Immediate supplies are person equipment are stored here. The exact
workshop (12) is provided for small scale repairs and the launch control nature of the equipment is left to the discretion of the ship's crew. If
room is normally used to oversee module operations using TRAVELLER rules, the referee should disallow items of TL 14+.
28
I M A G I N E m a a z u w August 1085
5
J 1 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
tt-c_ (73
A)›-) J20
100111111
3v)Ajr
THE SURVEY MODULES
TRAVELLER The STAR FRONTIERS game
The Survey Module statistics for TRAVELLER are given below in Cost: C r 100,000 (rental is inapplicable)
STRIKER format. Top/cruise speed: 9 0 / 5 0 kph
Water/NOE speed: 1 0 / 1 0 0 kph
Cartographical Service G-Carrier (TL1 3) Turn speed: 4 0 m/turn
Height: 3 m (plus communications turret, 1.2m) Passengers: 2
Width: 3 m Cargo: 1 0 , 0 0 0 k g o r 4 0 cubic metres (3,000kg o f spares a n d
Length: 6 m equipment, the rest is allocated to crew quarters).
Total volume: 5 1 m3 (useable volume 44.3m3).
Weight: 4 1 . 3 tons The Cartographical Service Survey Module is a heavy, long range
Price: 8 8 3 , 8 8 8 C r version of the standard Explorer van, hardened (100 + d100 structure
Max Road Speed: 2 6 5 ( + ) kph points) against a wide variety of external conditions and capable of a
Cross Country: 5 3 ( + ) kph rocketed-assisted Nap of the Earth (NOE) flight. The Survey Module is
Water Speed: 1 3 ( + ) kph powered by a type 4 hydrogen fusion generator with 850 hours of fuel in
Max Gray Speed: 5 4 0 kph reserve, giving a range of operation of 80,000 +km. Life support for the
Cruise Gray Speed: 4 0 5 kph crew of two (driver and co-driver) is also provided for this length of time.
NOE: 1 7 0 kph
Armour: 1 1 The Survey module carries a long range detector system (500km range)
Target Size DMs: + 1 high, +2 low which includes radar, energy sensors (see the Knight Hawks Campaign
Equipment: searchlight and image enhancement output t o view- book) and geological sensors, a camera system with IR enhancers, a
screen; 5 0 0 0 power radio; 5 0 0 power radar sensing equipment; video radiophone including a computer data transfer system, t w o
geological sound ranging gear; battle computer programmed t o spacesuits (for hostile environments) and a level 3 computer (powered
handle geophysical data. by the module's generator). The computer runs Analysis 4, Information
Power: 6 megawatt fusion powerplant (consumes 9 litres of fuel per Storage 4, Communications 2, Robot Management 3 (to run the sensor
hour, fuel capacity of 7560 litres gives 840 hours of operation). Gray packages) and Life Support 1 programs.
generators produce 1.453g.
A civilian version, lacking the geological survey sensors and flight
Survey Modules see service in a wide range of planetary variations and capability, is manufactured and sold for Cr 85,000.
are designed with this is mind. In addition to being capable of both
surface and gray movement, they are built to travel over or under water
where necessary.
0 la
The maximum awareness radius o f t h e sensors carried i s 5 0 0
kilometres, and they are sensitive enough to register all necessary data
when the vehicle is travelling at speeds up to 170kph (NOE speed in gray
mode).
As the crews (driver and co-driver) are often confined to the vehicles for ro M E I E R
days at a time, their living accommodation is quite extensive. Three tons
of cargo capacity is taken up by the supplies and spares necessary
during long treks in the wilderness.
*.411Tirt
•••,4
4 1 1 1 1 1 -
Nor
ma F M M
111WAW
AvateLimq-
c < 1 > -
Ii
•51 dAlkval
I I pa 1 I I I I 0
CD1
Tanzin's condition is due to the release of a
potent biological weapon into the atmosphere
of the planet over 5,000 years ago. The spores
mutated a s soon a s they were Out o f the
laboratory, a n d attacked a l l life, using u p
tremendous quantities of oxygen is the process.
Eventually, the biosystem broke down com-
pletely and all life on Tenzin 2, from the bottom
of the ocean to the tops of mountains was
dead. The oxygen i n t h e atmosphere w a s
locked i n t o complex chemical compounds.
During the intervening millenia, the spores
have been dormant, but now some have been
revitalised b y being carried i n t o a Survey
Module on the suits of the crew who repaired
the half-axle.
5. THE BONUS The authors would like t o thank Bob Shaw for his assistance i n
supplying the necessary background material which made this article
While surveying the planetary system of Oula, the F8 star in a binary possible.
system, it is discovered that the F3 companion star also has a planet, one
that the initial robot probe missed completely. This kind of discovery
occurs all the time, so mission commanders have the authority to alter CREDITS
the mission profile and explore newly discovered worlds in addition to Inspiration: Bob Shaw
those already targetted for mapping. As such initiatives are approved of Original Design: Paul Vernon & Sean Masterson
by headquarters, the crew often get the chance to 'enjoy' longer 'Bonus' Development: Mike Brunton with Jim Bambra
missions and see another very boring world. Art: Brian Williams
The survey of Oula 2/1 begins by following the usual routine. Soon after
the ship lands at the second pole, however, the module crews (including
the PCs) are contacted by the ship with the message that "We've just
discov...." before contact is lost completely.
1-2. The communications satellite linking the ship and the modules has
been struck by a tiny piece of anti-matter and destroyed. Contact is
re-established when (or if) the modules move into the zone covered by
32
I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
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LS T h e P y g h t l e W e l L i n g b o r o u g h , N o r t h a n t s NINS4FLP
by Andrew Swift
A Brief Encounter for parties of 5 - 8
AD&D® game characters of 9th level or
higher....
Introduction Civil w a r a n d r e b e l l i o n d r e w t h e g a r r i s o n a w a y, a n d t h e t o w n s f o l k
formed their own militia. Then came rumours of a giant dragon, greater
Brief Encounters are intended to introduce n e w game ideas in a ready- than a n y heard o f i n t a l e o r legend, leading a n a r m y o f creatures i n
to-play setting. Dungeon Masters can introduce this material as part of attacks o n villages, f a r m s a n d h a m l e t s . S u r v i v o r s b r o u g h t t a l e s o f
an adventure in their own game worlds, or as an encounter to keep the destruction and death a n d finally, i n the midst of a terrible storm, t h e
main temple at Rembus was burnt to the ground. W h e n the storm and
••• p l a y e r s on their toes.
fire h a d passed, the priests searched in vain for the W y r m h o r n , b u t it
If you will be playing a character in this Brief Encounter, you should stop was gone, taken by some attacker or destroyed in the fire.
reading here. The remaining i n f o r m a t i o n is for the D M alone.
W i t h t h e W y r m h o r n gone, crops burned and h u n t i n g scarce, R e m b u s
Unlike p r e v i o u s B r i e f E n c o u n t e r s w h e r e i n f o r m a t i o n h a s b e e n faces collapse. The To w n Elders sit in constant debate, and are able to
presented f o r a r a n g e o f c h a r a c t e r l e v e l s , T h e Ta u m e t C o d e x i s decide nothing. The priests are, in this crisis at least, more worldly than
designed o n l y f o r u s e w i t h p o w e r f u l , h i g h level characters. A l l t h e the Elders, and have turned to the player characters for help....
information n e c e s s a r y t o u s e t h e B r i e f E n c o u n t e r i s presented, b u t
standard data, such as statistics for simple monsters, has been omitted
because any DM running a high level campaign should have no difficulty Dungeon Master's information
in developing such details.
The t o w n s f o l k are ignorant of the true nature of affairs. The attacks on
One ' w a y in' to the adventure is provided by way of example. However, farms and villages are the work of the tribes, who have n o w increased in
the Taumet will provide a much more exciting challenge for your players numbers t o a s e m b l a n c e of t h e i r old p o w e r u n d e r a n e w leader, t h e
if it is introduced into a campaign gradually, a piece at a time.... human wizard, Kerinor. The tribes are n o w permanently camped at the
scene o f t h e i r defeat, t h e Gravevale, g r o w i n g i n strength a n d resolve
and a w a i t i n g Kerinor's spell casting.
Background
It is Kerinor, aided by the tribes, w h o has started t h e r u m o u r s o f the
In t h e s m a l l t o w n o f R e m b u s , f a r f r o m civilisation, t h e p e o p l e a r e dragon, aided by his sorcerous powers in creating illusions to scare the
confused and alarmed. A f t e r years of struggle against the surrounding simple a n d f i r e b a l l s a n d l i g h t n i n g b o l t s t o destroy t h e m . C o m p l e t e
humanoid t r i b e s , t h e t o w n k n e w p e a c e a n d p r o s p e r e d u n d e r t h e destruction and removal of all signs of magic have fuelled fears that a
protection o f i t s g a r r i s o n a n d t h e W y r m h o r n , a b a t t l e r e l i c s a i d t o dragon h a s indeed arisen as the n e w c o m m a n d e r o f those w h o w i s h
possess considerable p o w e r s of protection. For t w e l v e years Rembus humanity ill. The surprise attack on the Temple at Rembus, in the middle
prospered, after the decisive defeat of the tribes at the Gravevale, b u t of a fortuitous storm, and the taking of the Wyrmhorn, is the culmination
n o w the stink of w a r and death has returned. of the first part of Kerinor's plotting.
35
I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
Kerinor has now withdrawn to the Gravevale and the centre of the tribal Inside the tent is Kerinor, surrounded by his spell books, magical
encampment to work upon the next phase of his plan: the creation and impedimenta and the relics he intends to use in the creation of the
awakening of the Taumet, a construct-dragon, from the instructions he Taumet. If given a warning by Eidrial, Kerinor will cast protection from
has found in the Taumet Codex and the magical relics, including the good and begin the creation process immediately.
Wyrmhorn, that he has gathered over the years. With the Taumet at his
command, Kerinor believes his true power will be unbound, and all the K e r i n o r : A C 2 ; M V 9 " ; MLJ14; h p 45; A T 1 ; D b y weapon;
world will learn to fear and obey him. SA/D spells, bracers of defence AC 4, dagger of venom; AL NE; Size
M; xp 5000; THACO 16; S 9, 118, W 10, C 15, D 16, Ch 16.
The DM should place the town of Rembus on a route to one of his major Spells memorised: Any five from each of 1 st-3rd levels; fear, monster
adventuring sites, and allow the player characters to rest up after a trip summoning I I , polymorph other, curse; animate dead, Bigby's
across the wilderness. However the player characters get involved, by interposing hand, cloudkill, wall of force; anti-magic shell, invisible
agreeing to help the Rembus priests to discover the whereabouts of the stalker; and delayed blast fireball.
Wyrmhorn, by interfering on their own account, or by stumbling across
the tribes, they will have to stop Kerinor before he can complete the If not stopped, Kerinor will emerge from his tent one hour after the
process of creating the Taumet. Once the Taumet exists, the player player characters arrive in the camp, and carry out a meaningless ritual
characters will be in as much danger as everyone else.... dance. He will then bring out the relics, one at a time, and lay them out
on the ground. Making bold predictions of the fall of humanity, he will
begin donning the various relics; his troops will be too horrified or
The Course of Play fascinated by what is happening to intervene for 3-10 rounds.
The town o f Rembus is in turmoil following the destruction of the To create the Taumet, Kerinor must wear the relics that he has gathered:
Temple and the Elders' moral paralysis. Many of the townsfolk are in the the Wyrmhelm, the Cloak of Cloud, the White Shield, the Fire Claws and
process of leaving, selling what they can, and loading the rest Onto carts, the Venomlance. He will then read out a passage from the Taumet
wagons and pack animals, and the south road is thronged with people Codex which Eidrial will hold up for him, and the Taumet will appear,
and their animals. The north road is empty. although not in quite the manner that Kerinor anticipates....
Fifteen miles north of Rembus, the road climbs into dark and forbidding
hills, with ancient, scarred ruins on many hill-tops, reminders of the The Relics
area's recent violent past. As the road drops into the first of many vales,
the player characters will be attacked by a large sub-tribe of hobgoblins The Taumet relics are, for the most part, sentient rather than truly
mounted o n dire wolves, led b y a tribal shaman (7th level) and intelligent, but will still attempt to influence their current owners into
accompanied by a band of 2-12 ogres. These creatures will attack with finding the other relics and the Taumet Codex. Two or more relics can
little subtlety and no organisation, and withdraw once they have taken add their Ego scores together to give a new personality value, so that any
more than 10% casualties. The DM may repeat this encounter, i f creature will end up dominated sooner or later, given that the five relics
necessary, to goad the player characters into action. have a total personality score of 76.
The player characters may easily follow the retreating hobgoblins or, if The powers given below for individual relics apply only when less than
they have taken any prisoners, extract information about where the the full set of five is worn by a single character. If all five are worn by a
tribes are based; the Gravevale. This now noisome valley is a further single character they have a somewhat different and unfortunate effect.
three miles north, wreathed in the smoke of cooking fires and the stench The wearer's personality is totally subsumed by the relics and, if the
of hundreds of hobgoblins and their allies. Taumet Codex is present, the wearer will have no choice but to declaim
the passage that creates the Taumet.
The Gravevale Once this is done, the wearer collapses in agony, and his or her final and
fatal transformation into the Taumet begins.
The first illustration in the Brief Encounter shows the view over the
Gravevale, the hobgoblin encampment and is a map for the encounter The Fire Claws
that follows. T h e hobgoblins a r e divided i n t o several, mutually
suspicious sub-tribes. They and their allies, ogres, bugbears, a troll or These two clawed gauntlets of red metal scales are gem encrusted and
three, a family of hill giants, a festering of ghouls and several men and act as bracers of defence AC O. They act as shortswords +5 in combat,
dwarves occupy a large number of wattle shelters, hide tents and lean- and as the functional equivalent of a ring of fire resistance. Because
tos (1), built around and among a circle of standing stones (2). At the very they are unwieldy, it is impossible for a character to wear the Fire Claws
centre of the circle, separate from the rest, is a handsome and ornate and use any other item, except for its partner relics. The Fire Claws are
campaign tent (3), such as a general or noble might use, and tethered unintelligent, but have an Ego of 15 (Swords, DMG p167).
(and hobbled) outside this is a centaur. It is here that Kerinor lives, at the The White Shield
very heart of his evil army.
This is a single dragon scale, which has been carefully worked into a
Because of the rag-tag nature of Kerinor's forces, the player characters small shield +4. It provides immunity from any attack that causes less
will be able to sneak into the camp by pretending to be members of the than 10 points of damage, and a bonus of +4 to saving throws vs cold
army. Providing reasonable precautions are taken to disguise the demi- based attacks. Also, no dragon will attack the wielder of this shield,
humans in the party (making them appear to be captives, for example), except in self-defence. The White Shield has an Ego of 13.
the adventurers will not be challenged. The DM may even allow them to The Venom Lance
get away with starting minor fights (providing no magic is used), as
Kerinor's troops are very ill-disciplined. Once in the camp the player This evil (but otherwise non-aligned) polearm can be wielded as a spear
characters will have no difficulty in learning (whether by overhearing +3 by a foot soldier or as a heavy horse lance +4 by a horseman.
the hobgoblins talking among themselves or by asking questions) the Creatures struck by this weapon (Int 13, Ego 13) must save vs poison at
rough outline of what is really happening; that Kerinor exists, that he -4 or take an additional 3-18 points of damage for 1-4 rounds. The
intends casting some terrible spell to summon or create a dragon, and Venom Lance can also detect good and cause fear (once per day), and
that, once this is done, the army will be unstoppable and hundreds — communicate empathically with its wielder.
even thousands! - - will flock to Kerinor's banners. They will also hear The Cloak of Clouds
the word Taumet mentioned frequently. Any character who can speak
hobgoblin will recognise the word as meaning 'DragonFather' This grey, wispy and tattered looking cloak allows its wearer to cast the
following spells as though a 12th level MU, once per day: feather fall,
gust of wind, fly, lightning bolt, control weather. Any creature who
Kerinor's Tent touches the wearer of the Cloak of Clouds must make a saving throw vs
death magic or suffer 6-36 points of electrical damage. The Cloak has an
The hobbled and tied centaur is Eidrial Feathertail, who was unfortunate Ego of 13.
enough to be captured by the hobgoblins and has now been charmed by
Kerinor. The centaur has orders to announce the approach of anyone to
The Wyrm helm
Kerinor, who is inside the tent. This helm is cast in the form of a snarling dragon head, so elaborate and
stylised as to be utterly useless as armour. However, its wearer can
E i d r i a l F e a t h e r t a i l : AC 5; MV 18"; HD 4; hp 20; A T 2; D 1-6/1-6; understand the tongues of all dragonkind and cast charm monster (no
SA human weapons; Int Ave; AL N/CG (but charmed); Size L; xp 165; saving throw) on any dragon once per week. The wearer can also cast
THACO 15; MM14. command 3 times per day. It has an Ego of 9.
36 I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
New Monster (Unofficial)
The
TA U M E T
FREQUENCY: U n i q u e
No APPEARING: /
ARMOUR CLASS: Va r i a b l e
MOVE: 3 " / 1 8 "
HIT DICE: Va r i a b l e
% IN LAIR: N i l
TREASURE TYPE: N i l
No OF ATTACKS: 3
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Va r i a b l e
SPECIAL ATTACKS: B r e a t h weapon, spells
SPECIAL DEFENCES: Va r i a b l e
MAGIC RESISTANCE: S t a n d a r d
INTELLIGENCE: G e n i u s
ALIGNMENT: Va r i a b l e Evil
SIZE: S - L
PSIONIC ABILITY: N i l
Attack/Defence Modes: N i l / N i l
LEVEL/XP VALUE: X / 1 8 7 5 0 + 2 5 h p
Once the process of creating the Taumet has begun, it takes 13 melee
rounds to develop into the complete Taumet. During this time, the
wearer of the relics is used as the basis of the Taumet's body, dying in
the process. The Taumet takes some of the wearer's memories and
alignment during its growth, always remaining evil, but taking the
Lawful, Neutral or Chaotic attitude of its 'parent'. While the transform-
ation takes place, the Taumet can attack and be attacked, as it grows in
power and size:
The Taumet can breath 3 times per day, but can choose what form this
takes; either as a black, blue, green, red or white dragon. Once it has the
Round A C H D Damage SA/SD use of spells, it can cast, once per day, those spells that the relics knew
1842 5 1 1 - 4 / 1 - 4 / 1 - 6 I m m u n e to attacks causing at the time of the transformation or 5 x let, 5 x 2nd, 5 x 3rd, 4 x 4th, 4 x
less than 4 points of damage 5th and 2 x 6th level spells as though it were a 13th level magic user.
38(4 3 3 1 - 6 / 1 - 6 / 1 - 8 I m m u n e to 1st level spells, +1
or better weapons to hit If the Taumet is reduced to zero hit points, it will not be killed, but forced
5846 1 5 1 - 6 / 1 - 6 / 2 - 1 2 N o n - e d g e d weapons cause to disassociate into its component relics and the withered remains of the
original wearer. The relics cannot be destroyed except by the application
half damage
of earth-shattering magic (depending upon individual DM's campaigns),
7 0 7 1 - 6 / 1 - 6 / 2 - 1 6 B r e a t h weapon usable, +2 or
but they can be kept separate to prevent the Tau met reforming around
better weapons to hit another wearer.
8 - 1 9 1 - 6 / 1 - 6 / 3 - 1 8 I m m u n e to 2nd level spells
and attacks causing less than The bane of the Taumet is the Wyrmhorn. When this horn is sounded
8 points of damage within 60' of the construct it must make a saving throw at -7 against
9 - 2 1 1 1 - 8 / 1 - 8 / 3 - 2 4 + 3 or better weapons to hit death magic or dissociate into its component relics. A successful saving
10 - 3 1 3 1 - 8 / 1 - 8 / 3 - 3 0 I m m u n e to 3rd level spells throw still means that the Taumet has taken 8-80 points of damage, but
11 - 4 1 5 1 - 1 0 / 1 - 1 0 / 3 - 3 6 S p e l l use, immune to attacks is immune to the effects of the Wyrmhorn until the next sunrise. The DM
causing less than 12 points will have to decide how best to place the Wyrmhorn in the campaign.
of damage
12 - 5 1 7 1 - 1 0 / 1 - 1 0 / 4 - 4 0 I m m u n e to 4th level spells and
damage from The Taumet Codex
non-edged weapons
13 - 6 1 8 1 - 1 2 / 1 - 1 2 / 5 - 5 0 + 4 or better weapons to hit This t o m e has, over t h e course o f the centuries since i t w a s w r i t t e n ,
been b a d l y m i s t r e a t e d , b u r n t a n d p a r t i a l l y d e s t r o y e d . T h e o n l y
If the Taumet suffers more than 40 points of damage in a single round remaining p i e c e s o f t h e Codex, n o w b o u n d i n t o a n e w b o o k l i t t l e
during this period of growth, the process will be halted for that round, concerned with the truth of the Taumet, describe the relics and some of
and in the early stages this will be sufficient to cause the Taumet to their powers, although n o t the fact that they will a t t e m p t to d o m i n a t e
disassociate into its component relics. their wearer(s).
Like all normal dragons, the Taumet has a set number of hit points per The last stained and partial section of the Codex concerns the creation of
hit dice, but this depends on the original wearer of the relics: the Ta u m e t , a n d i s l i t t l e m o r e t h a n a p h o n e t i c s p e e c h ( i n a n
unintelligible, forgotten tongue) t o be read Out i n t h e presence o f the
Wearer hp/HD wearer of the relics. " T h e Ta u m e t " , says the text, " w i l l then be released
MU or Illusionist 4hp upon the World and all its kindred."
Thief, assassin 6hp
Cleric, monk, druid 8hp Dungeon Masters using the D&DR, game rules should note that the
Fighter, ranger, paladin 10 hp Taumet can be used as a variation on the drolem given on p31 of the
Dungeon Masters Companion in the Companion Set.
I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985 37
DISPEL CONFUSION SPECIAL
With Special Thanks To Carl Sargent
This month and next, we have a departure Find familiar: PCs should be aware that THIRD LEVEL
from t h e r e g u l a r D i s p e l C o n f u s i o n the summoned familiar cannot be re-
column. W e receive several questions placed by another while it still lives (even Fly: There are some penalties applying to
each month which concern those spells if sent away by the magic user) and that weapon use by flying characters similar
in the Players Handbook which were killing one's own familiar can have even to those affecting levitating characters
expanded or revised when the DMG was worse consequences than the permanent (see comments above), but they are much
published at a later date. Clearly, some of hit point loss mentioned in the PH. less severe and only affect 'slinging or
the information i n the DMG would be swinging weapons'. Once again, players
useful to players, and concern aspects of Message: An important extra detail given will have to reach agreement on what is
magic which would be known by spell- in the DMG is that this spell confers no known about this by their characters.
casting characters. extra linguistic abilities (ie, i t isn't a
variant of a tongues spell). FOURTH LEVEL
In general terms, the answer is always
that where the Players Handbook dis- Sleep: Although this is specified as an Charm Monster: See comments on the
agrees with the DMG, follow the DMG. area spell in the PH, the DMG notes that second-level druidic spell charm person
But since not everyone has access to a one can target it on a specific creature or mammal.
DMG here i s a b r i e f resume o f t h e within t h e spell range a n d t h a t a n y 11,1!
residual power will affect other vulner- I!!!1
alterations made, along with comments
and observations on some of the problems able creatures within the area of effect. If
that have come up since. this targeting option is chosen, the spell
does not necessarily affect the lowest hit
The TSR team w i l l s t i l l answer your die creatures first.
individual rules queries. Send an SSAE
with y o u r question(s) i f you w a n t a Tenser's Floating Disc: A n important
personal reply to: detail in the DMG is that the caster of this
IMAGINE magazine (Dispel Confusion), spell cannot ride upon the disc, although
TSR UK Ltd, The Mill, Rathmore Road, it doesn't specifically b a r others from
Cambridge CBI 4AD, doing so. It might be worth DMs extend-
ing this bar to include all characters and
creatures.
MAGIC USER SPELLS Dig: This spell inflict 5-20 (5d4) points of
damage if cast at a clay golem. No saving
SECOND LEVEL throw is mentioned, so none should be
FIRST LEVEL Detect Evil: This spell will only reveal the permitted.
Charm Person: Comments on various intensity of the evil, and not the alignment
aspects o f t h e c h a r m spells w i l l b e involved, so it is not the same as the first Extension I: The DMG makes it clear that
discussed next month under the second level clerical version (cf, comments on the this spell must be cast by the magic user
level d r u i d i c spell c h a r m person o r first level clerical spell detect evil — next upon himself on the round immediately
mammal. following the casting of the spell to be
extended or else the extension is useless.
Detect Magic: The PH states that, apart In the event of one magic user casting
from duration differences and the like, extension upon another, this must be
this spell is the same as the first-level done during either the same round or the
clerical version. The DMG makes it clear one following.
that this is not so. Magic users have a
10% chance per level of experience of Minor Globe of Invulnerability: A crucial
detecting t h e type o f magic involved detail only found in the DMG is that the
(alteration, enchantment/ charm, etc) in globe gives off 'a faint shimmering', so it
addition to detecting the strength of the Levitate: A crucial fact not mentioned in should automatically be visible in dun-
magical emanations. the PH is that levitating characters suffer geon settings, unless a strong l i g h t
extreme penalties on 'to hit' rolls with source such as continual light is affecting
Enlarge: Shrewd players may have noted missile fire, a n d also w h e n 'actually the location. Just howfaint this shimmer-
that objects are not so greatly affected by swinging a weapon (such as a sword)'. It ing is is not clear and the colour is not
this spell a s creatures, b u t the DMG is not clear exactly which weapons fall specified t h e r e may not be one!
makes it plain that one cannot 'squeeze into the latter category. Some weapons
someone to death in their armour' with are actually totally unusable by levitating FIFTH LEVEL
this spell, because 'all garments and characters (DMG, p52) b u t t h e D M G
equipment worn by a subject of this spell warns DMs to 'let your players find this Animate Dead: See comments on the
should b e considered t o automatically out for themselves!' Acting in the spirit of third level clerical spell animate dead
drop o f f i f held b y straps, fasteners, this, I shan't reveal the hit penalties with (next issue).
otherwise to split away during growth.... other weapons either; but players and
Coats of mail, however, will be ruined if DMs should sort out just what a character Cloudkill: The PH entry suggests clearly
growth occurs while worn.' Unofficially, might be expected to know about combat that only creatures of no more than six hit
DMs might like to consider the possibility while levitated, and what will have to wait dice/levels are affected by this spell. This
of giving magical armour a saving throw for the first experience. is not correct. The DMG states that 'any
(perhaps as against a crushing blow) creatures staying within the cloud for
here. An option mentioned by the DMG is Rope Trick: An important detail omitted more than one round, even though they
that an unwilling recipient of this spell in the PH i s that there i s a 'one-way have 7 or more hit dice/levels, will take
must be touched in order for the spell to window' effect w i t h t h i s spell; those 1-10 hit points of damage on the second
affect it, and of course there is a saving outside the extradimensional space can- and each succeeding round'.
throw. Players who like the idea of doing not see in, of course, but those inside can
in armoured enemies w i t h t h i s spell see o u t (into t h e 'normal world') a s Extension I I : S e e comments o n t h e
should negotiate this point with their DM. through a window. fourth level magic-user spell extension
38 I M A G I N E ma9azitte, August 1985
Wall of Iron, Wall of Stone: PCs would be SEVENTH LEVEL Serten's Spell Immunity: The PH lists
aware t h a t using t h e s e spells can raise only half the saving t h r o w bonuses t h i s
certain problems regarding the stability of spell affords, t h e r e s t a r e i n t h e D M G ,
the w a l l , n o t a b l y w h e n u s i n g w a l l o f with t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t ' a l t h o u g h i t
stone to bridge chasms, etc. Details are should be rather obvious, the spell works
found i n t h e D M G a n d p l a y e r s s h o u l d against nearly any form of e n c h a n t m e n t /
negotiate w i t h D M s a b o u t h o w m u c h charm', and lists the following bonuses:
exact information their PCs can be ruled
forget, hypnotism, ray of enfeeblement: +9
to k n o w. U n f o r t u n a t e l y, n e i t h e r t h e PH
a n t i p a t h y / s y m p a t h y, confusion, mass suggestion: +7
nor t h e D M G t e l l p l a y e r s h o w m u c h chaos, f e e b l e m i n d , O t t o ' s i r r e s i s t i b l e d a n c e : + 5
damage a falling wall will do to creatures
crushed beneath it when the spell is used The DMG also states that 'any other such
as an offensive weapon (walls of iron can spells can be adjudicated from the list in
automatically be created in the air; walls the PH', so that unspecified spells of this
of s t o n e o n l y h a v e t o m e r g e w i t h a n type should receive a saving throw bonus.
existing stone formation at one point, and Obviously this must be at least +5 for any
the PH states that they do not have to rest e n c h a n t m e n t / c h a r m spell, but I have not
upon a n y f i r m f o u n d a t i o n ) . L o g i c a l l y, been able to detect the logic determining
such i n f o r m a t i o n s h o u l d b e p a r t o f t h e which spells get w h i c h type o f bonus. I t
knowledge characters receive when they seems c l e a r t h a t t h e + 9 b o n u s applies
are taught the spell. only t o r e l a t i v e l y l o w l e v e l s p e l l s , b u t
some spells receiving t h e + 7 b o n u s (eg
antipathy/sympathy) are clearly higher
SIXTH LEVEL
level t h a n t h o s e r e c e i v i n g + 5 i n s o m e
Extension S e e c o m m e n t s o n t h e instances ( e g q u e s t ) . M o r e o v e r, s o m e
fourth level magic-user spell Extension very l o w level spells (scare, c o m m a n d )
get only a +7 bonus. Nor is the modifier a
Glassee: The DMG fills in the extra detail simple function of spell level or number of
that t h e m a t e r i a l a f f e c t e d r e t a i n s i t s creatures potentially affected, since r a y
original strength. o f e n f e e b l e m e n t (a s e c o n d l e v e l s p e l l
affecting o n e creature) gets a +9 b o n u s
Globe o f Invulnerability: Unlike t h e while c o m m a n d (a first-level spell affect-
minor globe (see c o m m e n t s above) t h e ing one creature) gets only +7. The sharp-
DMG d o e s n o t s t a t e t h a t t h i s m o r e eyed may also be wondering h o w t h i s spell
p o w e r f u l d e f e n s i v e g lobe s h i m m e r s . can possibly add +5 t o the saving t h r o w
Thus, i t s h o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d t o b e against g e a s w h e n t h e r e i s n o s a v i n g
invisible, e x c e p t t h a t s p e l l s s u c h a s t h r o w against this spell. It is unfortunate
d e t e c t invisibility, etc, should not reveal that the DMG claims that the mechanics
the p r e s e n c e o f a g l o b e , w h i l e m o r e Drawmij's Instant Summons: The gem for this are obvious, but DMs and players
powerful spells such as t r u e s i g h t / t r u e used as the material component will have will h a v e t o f i n d l o g i c a l h o u s e r u l e s .
seeing obviously would. a magical inscription upon it naming the There a r e s o m e i m p o r t a n t o m i s s i o n s
object to be summoned; t h i s is invisible from t h e t o t a l l i s t i n P H a n d D M G —
Otiluke's Freezing Sphere: The DMG and cannot be read by anyone w i t h o u t a f u m b l e b e i n g especially n o t e w o r t h y —
fills i n t h e detail t h a t , i f the sling-stone read m a c spell (except the spellcaster). and players should negotiate w i t h D M s
sized v e r s i o n o f t h i s spell i s used, t h e Also, while the PH notes that magic users on w h a t saving t h r o w modifiers Serten's
missile has an effective range of 40feet if of 1 5 t h level a n d h i g h e r may be able t o Spell Immunity actually gives.
hand-hurled (and a n y target w i t h i n t h i s summon i t e m s f r o m o t h e r p l a n e s w i t h
range is considered to be at short range), this spell, the DMG specifies that items in S y m b o l : T h e saving t h r o w against t h i s
but t h a t t h e s t o n e c a n b e f i r e d f r o m a a Leomund's secret chest (which are on spell i s given i n t h e PH a s 'special' b u t
sling, of course. the ethereal plane) cannot be summoned. with the exception of the s y m b o l o f fear
variant, e x a c t l y w h a t t h i s i s i s n o t
Reincarnation: J u s t t o t i d y u p a f a i r l y EIGHTH LEVEL specified in either PH or DMG. However,
trivial error in the DMG, a reference there in the PH the saving throw for the seventh
for t h e D M t o c h e c k c o m m e n t s o n t h e Clone: Only humans, d e m i - h u m a n s and level clerical version o f t h e spell (these
'sixth l e v e l c l e r i c a l s p e l l ' o f t h e s a m e humanoids may be cloned. spells do overlap; the magic-user variety
name obviously meant the seventh level contains m o r e options, b u t s y m b o l o f
druidic spell. Glassteel: the effective AC of glassteel is persuasion i s u n i q u e t o t h e c l e r i c a l
AC1. version) i s g i v e n a s ' N e g ' , s o f o r t h e
S p i r i t w r a c k : The DMG notes an import- magic-user v e r s i o n a s t a n d a r d s a v i n g
ant restriction; a m a g i c u s e r m a y o n l y Mass C h a r m : See comments on second throw versus spells m i g h t b e given. I t
possess o n e s p e c i a l l y prepared v e l l u m level d r u i d i c s p e l l c h a r m p e r s o n o r could be ruled that the s y m b o l o f death
sheet at any one time. Nor is it possible to m a m m a l . Obviously, saving t h r o w modi- should i n v o l v e a s a v i n g t h r o w a g a i n s t
prepare t w o s h e e t s n a m i n g t h e s a m e fiers are applied to each individual affect- death magic rather than spells.
creature a t t h e s a m e t i m e ; t h e second ed a s a f u n c t i o n o f damage inflicted o n
simply has no effect. that individual by allies of the magic user. NINTH LEVEL
I S S
COBRA p
L
P I 0 1 1 You know that phrase they use in cinema
1 0 I t 1trailers
star Galactica
for theor whatever: remake
umpteenth 'It's back!
ofAnd it's
Battle- r
P
0 0 0 I better than ever!' Well, this applies very well
0 e 1Cobra. The original
to the latest game
TSR/SPI was published
wargame in
re-issue, p 0
M 0 IIII, covered
SegT" magazine
the Alliedissue
194465, back inoffensive
summer 1937, and
I S • 1France, from the initial Normandy breakout
in L
I. alIF M 1 1 1 N 1 1 1 1 11111
A S A i r I S S N I M S 1110 E S U S
to • • to OA&&&•ACCCO,O,O,0'
entire So
o e , itself. Normandy campaign,
it is possible from
to play the first
through the
Allied footholds to the final collapse of the
E -I- STAR TREK III
0 SPI Germans. 0 Despite the sub-heading 'Starship Combat brief outlines of the possible/probable tactics
0 4 0 1 T h e expansion comprises an extra map- 0 4 Game', the Star Trek III boardgame is more effected by each 'nation', but players sticking
than a game of die-rolling fire-power. Tactics strictly to these will find the Federation an
0 111 sheet which fits Onto the north of the original 0 1 and a good working knowledge of the rules even tougher nut to crack than the rules
P Im0 0a Cotentin
p , andpeninsula.
shows the There
landingare also another
beaches and the I I I I possibilities play an all-important part, for already allow for. In a general one-on-one
this is quite a technically oriented system, situation the starship specifications favour
I • 2 0 0 counters so as to include the extra para-
necessary — for instance, the Allied units 0 I not the type that can be played and learnt the Federation ships slightly; however, good
troopers and commandoes. Many of the extra battle planning can counter and thus negate
111 simultaneously. this 'advantage'.
& I t features three booklets covering simpli-
counter set, b u t carrying t h e n e w set-up
l i e S c o u n t e r s are in fact duplicates of the original 0 fied and advanced play; two sheets of die-cut Damage is sustained when ships fire at
each other or when a ship explodes in the
0 0 k g positions f o r t h e expanded game, w h i c h b 4 counters depicting various starships, planets vicinity of others. Combat 'hits' are decided
play. ghP and basic markers; a n d a 'board' which
I l e 01.1 greatly facilitates getting the game ready for . by range, weapon type, and a d20 die roll. Hit
comprises two sheets of 22x16" black card
with white hex overprint. The board is quite location is important and therefore it is not
though the original rules have not been re-
p o , , , T h e rule-book has been newly laid out, and 4 left entirely to a random die-roll. There are six
1 eh adequate, though uninteresting and flimsy,
location charts for each Forward, Amidships,
" P written at all,landings,
cover beach new rules have been
capture added
of ports, to . a nattach
naval d with the latter
it securely to in mind
some it is ancard.
stronger idea to and Aft Shield (18 tables in total) and it is only
111 P I bombardment, and so on. / I 1 U s i n g Tactical Display Charts and the basic once the correct table has been decided upon
that the die-roll comes into play, when there
t e a T h e g a mofe play
sequence system
whichi sisbased around
essentially move,a 1 0 counters,
aspects ofplayers
keepingmtheir
u s t record t h e in
spaceships many
top are ten possible 'areas' t h a t could have
0 4 I l i fight, and mechanised units move again. The combat condition. All ships are controlled by received the damage. As ships can fire and
lab t h e number of Power Units (points) available move, the determination of the correct 'hit'
are to douse
i 0 • correct well
of at Cobra.
tanks The important
is very Allies must
if use
you OP t o them — supplied by the various engines, location takes a little discussion and deter-
0 4 PO t h e i r a r m o u r t o e x p l o i t breakthroughs 111 with each type of ship having varying types mining, combined with tactics and fair play
on behalf of all players involved. Hits on the
0 German must
9 achieved exploit toattacks,
b y infantry the full his
w hpowerful
ile the 0 andThere are three
numbers boardgame
of warp variations
and impulse —
engines. Bridge can seriously affect decisions as the
Officers on Duty can be shaken and taken out
i t 0 1 Panzer divisions, moving them up to make I I I Basic, Advanced and Expert, and basic rules
of play, in effect, in addition to the damage
14
heads,
l e i I I local and then retiring
counterattacks them
against behind
Allied the 0 aplaying.
spear- The difference
n d scenario for using between these
this system forlevels
role- suffered by the control system.
is more than sufficient to ensure that most Star Trek III i s certainly good value for
M I I lines ready for the next counterattack. players do more than just go through the money, though I found i t technically very
l e motions o f t h e l o w e r t w o variants, t h e difficult. Apart from the names E n t e r p r i s e ,
iC obalanced,
b r a is a n
good
d t hplayers'
u s a ggame—
o o d competitive
it is evenly
balance being such that one is not ready to Klingons, Romulans, etc — I found it bore
0 4 b dil challenge.
the whole Bear
of Normandy
in mind thatcannot
a game go covering
into the progress until the previous ideas have been little resemblance to Star Trek the TV series,
individual 0-Day landings in great detail, so if digested. but then I must admit to having never been an
e b you are looking for something on the fight for
Full details o f t h e Federation, Klingon, addict 'Trekkie'. I f you like good technical
0 4 PO t h e beaches you will have to look elsewhere. Romulan, Gorn a n d Orion Starships a r e combat in which tactics are more effective
given in Book Three, along with line drawings than lucky dice, disregard the name and read
11 0 0 Bon u tthe
to my mind this
Normandy is the best
campaign — playable game
it plays quickly of each ship. However, either separate data it as the Starship Combat Game. If you are a
0 4 I I and smoothly, and is very enjoyable. A most sheets or recognition markings on the play- Star Trek fan, but not technically minded, you
ing pieces would have been of immense help will be disappointed.
0 8 welcome re-issue. .010 Roger Musson during initial play. Short paragraphs give litits Chris Baylis
mbKeg
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1.11 I N D I A N A JONES: I 1 0
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Project Wideawake
OK, X - F a n s , t h i s i s t h e o n e y o u ' v e b e e n course, but they could hardly miss one of the
sol Judges Survival Pack 4 0
111 waiting f o r : a fairly complete list o f all original X - M e n . Phoenix is in and, as m i g h t 0 0 For
Fearthis
not,accessory to the A D—V E
intrepid explorers NTU
help isRatEhand!
S OF O f 11111
principal m u t a n t s i n t h e M a r v e l u n i v e r s e , have been expected, is tough enough to take
I N D I A N A J O N E S t " g a m e contains all t h e 0 101
plus many of their acquaintances, described on everyone else in the booklet put together
in terms of the MARVELSUPER HEROES'm 001
o
and w i n e a s i l y — t h e b o o k l e t s e n s i b l y bought ytohue ' voriginal
things e b e e n game.
w a i t i nFirstly,
g f o r s ti h
ne r e yare
ce o u O1 r p a l
game. M S H i s a l l a b o u t p l a y i n g M a r v e l recommends that she only enter games as an
characters, and if you have any interest at all NPC. T h e r e are, h o w e v e r, s o m e s u r p r i s i n g the
savei nt gheen inoeucse sCsoi tm
y boaft tCr yo im
n pg u tt e
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in t h e X - M e n a n d related g r o u p s t h e n t h i s omissions, i n c l u d i n g t h e S t a r j a m m e r s ,
II
mental a r i t h m e t i c w h i l e t h r i l l i n g t o l n d y ' s 0 1 0 11
product is essential. Shi'Ar Imperial Guard a n d A l p h a Flight.
Hmm, yes, well, enough of the hype. W h a t There are n o t m a n y m u t a n t s in t h a t lot, b u t exploits.
of a g i v eThese
n s k i ltell
l r oyou
l l a at
t aa glance
given mthe
o deffect
i f i e r, I I I 0 1
happens i f you're n o t mutant-mad? A n y o n e they're all part of the X - M e n circle. A n o t h e r although it must be said that the numbers are 0 1 0 4 1
who h a s already s e e n t h e A v e n g e r s book, perhaps?
A s s e m b l e d booklet w i l l have a good idea of I have got a f e w gripes as well. One or t w o times.
so small, they could be a bit difficult to read at I I I e l
what P r o j e c t W i d e a w a k e l o o k s like: 3 2 boobs seem to have slipped past the proof-
But t h i s i s n o t a l l ! M u c h o f t h e p a c k 0 1 0 4
pages o f c h a r a c t e r descriptions, t h i s t i m e readers; for example we are told that Magma
featuring the X - M e n and N e w M u t a n t s plus regains health points each round as long as consists
Fold-Up"offigures
cut-out-and-assemble Adventure
of cars, a lorry, a motor bike, d
V •
their r e g u l a r adversaries i n c l u d i n g t h e she is in contact with the ground, but we are
Hellfire c l u b , B r o t h e r h o o d o f Evil M u t a n t s not told h o w m a n y p o i n t s per round. H o w - crates a n d o t h e r wonders. H o w e v e r simple 0 1 0 1
I M A R V E L SUPER HEROES':
and Morlocks. There are also some plans of
Professor X a v i e r ' s e s t a t e a n d m a n s i o n ,
ever, if you w a n t to run MSH as it is designed
to be run, some things are essential, and this
these,
the d e sI i gh na ev res m
mya ydoubts.
c l a i m Ii t siuss tpoe cats a
s elm
a rbgl e
e 1 •
gpeR04 problems, a n d t h e y c e r t a i n l y l o o k q u i t e 1 1 I
0 1
•
T R AV E L L E R : Deneb Sector
Trailing t h e S p i n w a r d M a r c h e s l i e s t h e F o r merchants struggling t o make ends
•
0C 0i
I I f oprovided to liven
u n d in the
t c hya s eStreet,
s r o u nand
uprules.
basic the ingenious
d buildings,
Chase
Expansion ruleswith
and chases.
Countryside
are 1A. 2
n e w charts for
B u t the
0104 e l
Deneb Sector, f o r m a n y j u s t a n o t h e r sector m e e t , Deneb Sector is very useful. In addition 0 4 crowning glory o f the pack must be the 1 •
on the jSector
Deneb o u r n e yisfrom the
open f o rImperial Core.
adventure —N o w pt l oa n settasn' dm
vast aar dj o tr r raedseo ucrlcaesss iaf n
i cda ti ni odnuss,t r m
y o
a rset DI ul n eg eRoann -d B
oma sRuins
h i n tables,
g . Tho or,
s eIndiana
f a m i l i aJones
r w i t hGoes
the 0 1 0 4
fortunes are to be made and pleasure planets a l s o listed. This is very useful for finding t h e • 4 r a n d o m d u n g e o n generation r u l e s provided I g •
Deneb
await the S e c t o rholidaymaker,
eager i s produced i n st hue UpK pb y l ai ned rk nso wof
i n lucrative
g t h a t t hspeculative
e mining w o r l dgoods
trade one Ow Si l i nl t hseo AD8LIDF?
o n g r a s p Dt huen gc e
ono cne M
p taosft et h
r 'iss G
s euti doef k d 0 4
Graham Staplehurst and David Hulks, and is p a r s e c a w a y h a s n o u s e f o r y o u r c a r g o o f c h a r t s f o r providing daring explorers w i t h
sold in aid of the Save the Children Fund. The r a d l o a c t i v e s . 1
0 4 e x c i t i n g adventure locales. The charts follow , glIPI •
own S p iof
Instead n wjust
a r d supplying
M a r c h e s and Solomani
pages Rim.
and pages of pc roo uf el sd s b
i oeniaml psr toavnedda irnd splaces.
, a n d pFri en sd ei nngt ayt oi ounr F0 i n1 I aa l basic
l y ,scenario in corrects
the pack a matter one
of minutes.
of the major 1 1 1 I S 11
subsector m a p s a n d statistics, i t p r o v i d e s w a y around Deneb Sector is n o t easy. There 0 0 f l a w s o f the original game by providing rules ,
adventure i d e a s f o r m a n y w o r l d s a n d a n i s n o l i s t i n g o f adjacent subsectors a n d n o f o r generating y o u r o w n characters. N o
extended campaign adventure, i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e subsectors a r e m a p p e d S O l o n g e r w i l l y o u be forced to play one o f the 1 N
The c a m p a i g n a d v e n t u r e c o n c e r n s t h e fro m right to left, instead of top to bottom as c h a r a c t e r s dealing f r o m t h e films, o r bicker
0 0 ,
001
which,
secrets incidentally, bear more
held by mysterious than
alien a passing
artifacts — si enc tthe
o r Spinward
would have been very
Marches. useful,
A map as would
of the entire oc dr iill
e
i aa bto ue t wyour
h o gvery
e t s town
o pla 1heroes.
y Indy. Unfortunately,
N o w you can
resemblance to A r t h u r C Clarke's enigmatic s h o w i n g w h i c h subsector was next to w hi ch t
black monoliths. Following a series of clues, — there's certainly space along the borders
O i l
e Is i n g l e page
hgeneration d o e sonn'St tghiev esubject
y o u v eor fyMcharacter
much to
w o r k on, b u t w i t h a bit of imagination the 1
(I 111 OP I
visiting m a n y ethe
among others, x c i tUniversity
i n g a n d s tof
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Coventry and the primitive natives ot Yeilten. b o o k w o u l d also have saved a l o t of flicking 0 41 d o e s n ' t p r o v i d e a n y t h i n g t h a t m a k e s i t I 0 1
work to t uadventures
All the r n t h e m i nrequire
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amount In
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usefulness. w
If oonly
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e gr sr,u n
it is
a naygreat improvement.
adventures Even
in Deneb if you I I p e a l a W i r g Product
Sector, h l i g Ian f or r a
m al t ilo a
n T 1 1 1 4 1 1 I
a f e w o f t h e subsectors h a d been mapped, t h i s is well w o r t h the m o n e y for the i n f o r m - 0 1 Cobra is all SPlio' military histor) game, }mire L2-1.95; Judges
instead o f all sixteen, t h i s could have been
0
possible. A f t e r a l l , s e c t o r s a r e h u g e , a n d i n h e r e to e n h a n c e a n y Traveller campaign
there m u s t be very f e w Travellers w h o ever
visit every world. a t i o n provided. There are enough good ideas
JONES game. costs E-1.95; Project Wideawake• tot the
MARVEL SUPER HEROES game. t osis £2.95: all trom
TSR UK Ltd, 'The Si ill. Rathmore Rd, Cambridge CBI .IAD
Deneb Sector is for the Traveller game. price 0.75 dii en0 4 0 4 1 1
0 0I
or [2.95 f rom Games Workshop, VilginM Games and stnallei 0 4 1
independent shops. Proceeds to Save the Michel). S e l
1
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r y slade
t e l l e the
Emerlas, of Vengeance
o f Dorneryll
peaceful has returned
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/10 M f Vengeance, a UK-produced
o r a single player and DM. The Expert
playermodule
takes 0 0
the role of Erystelle, a 7th level elf, in a search
ollo a ' , 1
O N I I• I family's
f o r revenge upon
death. those responsible
However, for his f o l i o
it soon transpires
that this quest i s more than just simple
N O I vengeance: the fate of the Emerlas and its
inhabitants depend o n t h e success o f
111 1 011 ollighAi
o e I recalling the
Erystelle. Hegreat
mustelven hero
set off to Galannor,
find a wayonly
of f l e e
e l I ItI ofind that Ihe himself isI destined toI become
destiny alone.
o h i a s great a hero and that he must face this 1 0 % % % k
a l h i T h e action of Blade of Vengeance is spread 0 0 0 0 0
encounters, most of which provide some clue
0 0 IPI around t h e Emerlas i n a number o f set
l l 01 t major
o helpsetback
Erystelle(eg
on his
Erystelle's
quest. Without
death),some
the 10
- • • • • • • •0001011004
puzzling out what is required; the clues are
m 0Iplayer should have little trouble in eventually 0 . 0 0 0 •::••r
;0 1 Ei ms egiven b yensure
t h e other
.. r l a s to that inhabitants o f the
Erystelle cannot go o o s o s i g , - ......,...„,..„---
t i t o o far wrong. However, his enemies are not 1 0 I I 0 1 110•1101 1:1/1001I0 0 I 0 1 i t 0 01 .1I
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o f $ 1 t h e forest to slaughter and pillage, a factor 0
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nicely reflected at certain
by the times rather
list o f Events (en- I M D ' E• X P E R T : D r u m s o n F i r e M o u n t a i n O0 0f
NOI s
o a 1 1 t h a n at certain locations) and by a variable 0 T h e seaways southeast of Thyatis have never b e f i t s the slightly more fantastical than many
cenario involves
wandering monsterErystelle sneaking
table. The climaxinto the It hb eee nlegends
of the o f green-skinned
particularly safe, but now itpirates
seems and
that s( eb tut itn more
g . However, opportunities
believable than Castlef oAmber)
r role- I P
S t o i lPIw
l mi itdhs ttheir
of hisleader.
enemies' campthis
Actually andisdoing
whereaway
the s0 e strange
r i o u s l yliving fogs are
disrupted a ntrue:
d a nshipping is being
expedition to p
s li ag yhitn' gappear
seem only
limited:
too variations on 'attack
often — a pity on l e
because
I scenario i s a t its weakest, lacking i n the I I discover why returned crippled, with just one p l a y e r s could miss out on a lot of the culture
o e o r PI
i g ai n da almost
l i t y and atmosphere
a formality onceofErystelle
the earlier
haspart
got b
p prisoner. Rollo Bargmann
enough information from t hhea screature
extracted
t o wThhi ceh dungeon
is so painstakingly described.
itself is laid Out using the
rolling than the role-playing kind). e the r e a p e r s ' new p a c k e d areas with lots of room in between.
I I t h i sAllfar
in (the
all, challenges
a splendid are more of
module, thegood
with dice 4 pmaster.
o i n t a party
0 direction h eof needs
brave adventurers
w in the right m oAlso,
d u l the
a r design — severalofsmall
third dimension but action-
dungeon design
1 1 0 1 artwork and maps, clearly laid Out and easy to D M s will love X8: Drums on Fire Mount- ( u p and down) is used to good effect. These
1 1 4 I I ouse. The few new
u s variations on anmonsters are
old theme butnot gratuit- tI hsei nm - take
necessary it dumps the PCs
i t from on while
there, an island
theand
DMlets
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r s ' and combine
the DM'stointerest.
keep upThe
botharea
the 0 0
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consistent and there is aThe
well-developed
DM should sI et ch e
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knowledgehas
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I threatened this atmosphere
ofincursions
the the Emerlas (the 11
increasingly
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or be
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find The PCs
it themselves
towards therefore
one don't
eventually and
particular have
— naeAse ditefair
have
area can amount
d tobe theofmost
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getdifficult asofwell
toout thisas
unravel brawn
some is 0S 0 e0
of its
adventure,
1111 11 a n d the related sense of urgency, if necess- 0 p l e n t y of fun on the way. When the party does c o m p l e x i t i e s — players may be left with a 0 1 I
l e I ations meant the
r y ignoring f o r occasionally
t h e player twee
and perhaps
descrip- I aand t last
intostumble h of the
out
the 'dungeon' jungle
they e
wilderness
find themselves jumbledl idea
vn eo rt y necessarily of events
harmful which,
to their l although
enjoyment, L
Nol 14 1, speeding up events if Erystelle is progressing 1 i n an exciting adventure with lots of interest-
, t fascinating f o r t hof
o o quickly. Blade e Vengeance
less experienced a n d 1T i n
should prove h g elittle
storylme revolves
twists and very T
details. muchh around
e r
c o u l d be disappointing for the DM.
l ee a s' t tsw o enough
good gaming sessions,
in the module andforit's
to last at
IIPI
0 0
14goictufatplisty,„tessAL-0.2.-itopgAtefifidopitogbylapia.t.
11
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1 4 6
t h e new
Simon Forrest
'ship-bane').
a
e little
beasties (those
Apart fromgreen
these,men and p
there's r el ewnat ri fdui ln) gand
wide range of monsters and situations, as
in terms of material
enjoyment. Worth gain
a try.(loot is
A A Wendy J Rose L e
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CONAN® RPG 01
With the recent influx of RPGs based on increased by 5 if a weakness such as 'fear of a n y o n e , it has been made so time-consuming II11
specific books, films and TV series, it is not all
that surprising that we should eventually be
heights' or 'weakness for men' is accepted. a n d difficult to obtain as to be attractive to
Not more than 5 points may be spent on any o n l y the most foolhardy of characters. For PIPi
presented with the CONAN® RPG. Along talent, and the character must have at least instance, 'mind control' magic talent takes a
le
with the trend for this type of RPG has also
come the unfortunate tendency for such
one talent from each talent pool. t o t a l of six months' study. It does not end
Once talents have been chosen, a 'general t h e r e , however; once a magic talent is learnt, 101
games to be written in very simple English.
CONAN RPG is no exception, and although it
talent' score is obtained by taking the sum of t h e character does not gain the associated
each talent pool in turn, dividing by 10 and s p e l l s automatically but must research them ol
can be argued that the style encourages
younger players and enables them to grasp
rounding down. These general talent scores b y travelling, reading tomes and collecting
are perhaps the nearest equivalent to the PRs components. What exactly is needed for each
IN
the concept of the game more easily, one of other RPGs. Whenever a character wishes s p e l l is not stated, nor are the full effects
cannot help but feel that one is being talked to use a talent, the resolution table is cross- e x p l a i n e d in detail; it is almost as if by making PI01
down to by the authors.
This boxed RPG contains a 36-page rule
indexed with a d 1 0 0 roll t o determine m a g i c difficult to pursue the authors are
success or failure. A player may attempt an h o p i n g no-one will want to. The only interest- 111
book; a 16-page reference guide; a useful
reference sheet with resolution table,
action in which the character is unskilled; in i n g concept is 'obsession' which is set at 1
this case the general talent score is used, w h e n a character obtains a magic talent and
0101
equipment lists, etc; three character folios Continuing t h e 'simplicity i s best' ap- i n c r e a s e s each time another magic item is
could have been four but one has been
thoughtfully filled in with Conan's statistics;
proach, we next come to the combat system. g a i n e d or used. Each time a character is
The ubiquitous resolution table is used to f a c e d with the temptation to obtain more 01PI
a 48-page booklet describing The World of determine the results of combat, not only m a g i c , the player has to check on the resol- 1S
Hyboria — background information, complete
with very irritating 'handwritten' margin
giving success or failure of any attempt to u t i o n table against obsession. If unsuccess-
strike but also the amount of damage. A f u l , t h e character must use all possible Oo
notes, pencil drawings, smudges and arti-
ficial coffee stains; a full colour poster-style
'combat differential' is obtained, and cross- m e a n s to try and obtain the magic item.
indexed with a di 00 on the resolution table A d v a n c e m e n t is achieved by the awarding
1
map of Hyboria; and, would you believe, a to give a result a miss or 1-4 points of o f talent points (up to 10 per adventure) by
white wax crayon! damage. Damage is modified by weapon and t h e GM, who may also award fame points
In the main, the rules are kept as simple as
1
strength bonuses, and some points may be w h i c h affect the character's standing in the
possible a s illustrated by the fact that the stopped by armour. The attacker must specify community, and luck points which may be
most situations, combat or otherwise, are
resolved using just one table.
the aiming point, but since this only has any e x p e n d e d by players to reduce damage or to
real effect when a 'specific wound' occurs a l l o w a re-roll of the dice. The latter are kept 1
Character generation is short and sweet. and does not carry any bonuses or penalties, s e c r e t l y by the GM,
0100
Instead of the more usual primary requisite
generation followed by choice of skills and
the quick-witted will soon realise it makes I n conclusion, this game has some interest-
sense to aim only for unarmoured areas of i n g concepts but i s lacking i n certain s
professions, players jump straight into the
latter stage. They must choose skills or
opponents where possible. Damage itself is respects, notably the magic system and the
removed from a single characteristic which is s l a n t towards the younger gamer. I would M
'talents' from each of six 'talent pools' — one of the endurance talents, w e l c o m e enlightenment o n one subject: 1
prowess, fighting, endurance, knowledge,
perception and insight. The player has an
initial 3 5 points to spend, which may be
No system is without weaknesses; Conan w h a t is the white wax crayon for?? Answers
RPG's major weakness is its magic system. o n a postcard to
Although magic is theoretically open to * M i k e Dean
0104
111111pr m i l l i g p , i i i i h N i p P d 1 1 , 1 1 1 . 1 1 1 , 1 1 2 1 , 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 . P A T i l i p l i b T i g h i l l e p i l i T t i r d i N g p i P a l . 1 1 1 1 P a l l i r a l l p i l l i l l p a l l i p • - . 1 1 1 1 , ,Iiiirtittl"11.01,411111111,11p, N i b p - - N i p ,
0100000100 000•0011
Marvelous Magic, suitable for use with the D&D and ADSeD games, costs L4.95;CONAN RPG is a tie w game, price £9.95
All these products are twin TSR. I f you can't get them at your local hobby shop, write to "FSR UK Ltd at "Lhe Mill, Rathmorc
•01010110c_ , „ , , COO O N LIA Road, Cambridge c o ' I A D for a mail order form.
000004010000100110000•0000101011 1 M I A I)I
D&D®: The Book of Marvelous
I04
4004 Magic
SO'Wow,' I thought to myself, 'what a useful mage with spare time might create, since it empty, sends out a cone of magical flame 10
(k104
thing to have around. The ultimate source-
book on magic items for D&D.' It's another
saves all that tiring spell-casting. An example
of the second is the Cue Ball: whenever the
feet long? James Bond eat your heart out.
One of the problems of Basic-type games is
4040
step in the Basic upgrade series, enabling all user is in doubt about a decision of any kind, that magic items occur too frequently, much
more often than in the fiction from which
014
players of that game to have lists of items
comparable to those for the Advanced game.
the cue ball can offer its opinion, formulated
by use of ESP on the user's mind. It's obvious they are drawn. It shouldn't be necessary to
St*
If you play the AD&O!z, game, do not worry:
the items are compatible with your system
that no mage would waste time on such an
item. A n e x a m p l e o f t h e t h i r d i s t h e
produce this book: DMs should be capable of
creating what few items are needed to suit
0104
also. These items have clearly been created Handkerchief of Flirting: 'When this simple the scenarios. However, there will be people
m o m "amatempavg rossevagsmas e
r a l l t e A t t e P o l L I K S PA PAV I A
Quest Books
interzone
THE MAGAZINE OF
IMAGINATIVE FICTION
Quarterly £1.25
BRIAN A L D I S S M. J O H N H A R R I S O N
J.G. B A L L A R D GARRY K I LW O R T H
A N G E L A CARTER MICHAEL MOORCOCK
RICHARD COWPER KEITH ROBERTS
J O H N CROWLEY JOHN SLADEK
PHILIP K. DICK BRUCE STERLING
T H O M A S M. DISCH CHERRY W I L D E R
To: Arrow Publications, Dept, AC, 17-21 Conway Street, London, W1P6.10
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44
Please m e n t i o n I M A G I N E m a g a z i n e w h e n r e p l y i n g t o a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
Neil Gaiman, author of IMAGINE
short stories Featherquest and
Letters Finally, GamesFair. This is fantastic, and I don't look at this are right now. I hope that before the
think I have ever enjoyed myself as much as I did end of the year, we can start throwing a few
Controversy and comment; craft and conun- that weekend. It was exactly the right size, nothing new irons into the fire concerning the demi-
drums.... they're all here on the IMAGINEm was too expensive and the organisation was just human races - and maybe the humanoids too.
magazine letters pages. If you've got something right. I do have a few minor criticisms. The Team It seems as if players are demanding more
to say that your fellow garners ought to hear, competition is always pathetic, and never as light- and more from the games they play; and that
write to: hearted as intended.... as if anybody would start an means more from the likes of this magazine,
IMAGINE magazine (letters), The Mill, adventure with only his armour, a bent dagger and tool For example....
Rathmore Road, CAMBRIDGE CBI 4AD. a mildewed holy symbol. I thought the trade stands
were too remote, the shops by the entrance should Graeme Stickings, B u r y, Lanes: I n # 2 3 , in a
The first of the many who wrote in last month have been open all weekend, the selection of arcade very enlightening article, we were told how to
has obviously read the Letters pages before. games was pretty pathetic, the Snack Bar kept elevate mere high-level characters to the status of
running out of coke, the bar should have been open King (A Knight To Be King, Chris Felton). But
Robert Heil, Carmarthen, Dyfed: Don't let the until about lam, and it was pretty unpleasant.... this is not the only way a PC can become leader of
Welsh return address fool, I'm really from Texas. many. The French Revolution of 1789-1795 is a
I've never heard o f Butlins ( I assume m y Whew! Pretty comprehensive, Mark. I wonder very good example from modern history of how
explanation is forthcoming); I seem to suffer from a what you'd say about something you didn't normal, 'low-level', non-noble people can become
confusion spell when trying to watch cricket, and like? Anyway, thanks to you and to the others rulers and overthrow an entire royal family.
a comprehend languages would come in handy who responded to Don's column two issues To those who would cry that it would not have
when trying to deal with British accents and slang back. T h e o ff e r stays open; i f you've g o t happened if Louis XVI had had access to a good
(why can't everybody just speak Common?) something to say about the way TSR UK runs MU/Cleric, the French revolution was run by the
My first introduction to British ADSEDR game its part of the gaming business, then we want bourgeois, who could probably have afforded the
products were the Fiend Folio (so-so) and the U to hear it. I don't want to sound too big-headed, services of an M U themselves.... In fact, it would
and U K modules (incredibly fantastic and ultra- but I defy you t o f i n d another company's have been less possible for the French court to hire
incredibly fantastic, respectively). I had to wait journal that is prepared to print material as anybody, bankrupted as it was by the American
until I came to Carmarthen to discover what is now critical as this.... (sniff). War of Independence.
my favourite rpg magazine. As for the soldiers, most of them had fought the
One small beef; why do you degrade your fine B r i a n G a r r o d , P o r t s m o u t h , H a n t s : Some- British i n that war, and had experience o f a
magazine by wasting time on the tactless-likes of thing's been bugging me recently, and R D successful revolution.
Jack Jaffe? Tell me, would you find a game based Wilkinson's letter in #26 brought things to a head. With this in mind, a relatively low-leveller could
on an IRA attempt to blow up the British Prime For one, I don't believe that RQ is the game for become involved in politics in a country with an
Minister in her hotel at all amusing? Would you role-players; indeed, the problem with RQ is that oppressive tyrannical or (as in the case of Louis
bother reviewing it? the emphasis on a realistic combat system only Philippe in 1848) indifferent monarchy, and help to
promotes hack'n'slay gaming. Melee is just a start a 'glorious' revolution. First they would have
You'll have to leave that with us for a while.... portion. to make sure the grievances they decried were
In t h e meantime, b e comforted w i t h t h e The point I really wanted to make is that I take genuine, and convince the proletariat o f their
knowledge that But/ins i s living proof that issue that for rpgs to work they require unofficial qualifying leadership abilities.
concentration camps were invented by the rule expansions. They don't. The quality of the The players are then able to start the revolution.
British, that cricket can be simply understood rules is unimportant as long as everybody plays by If the old king is overthrown, they can settle down
by accepting that Essex are better at it than them, and in my experience, the new rule's author to being republican leaders, ruling within the terms
anyone else, and that buying a few videos of is often the only one to enjoy the addition. of the constitution. But watch out! — after the
Minder will soon have you speaking properly, This is probably why Matt Connell feels the way execution of Louis XVI there were three leaders,
just as if you was a native, know what I mean, he does about the Dragonlance modules. The Danton, Herbert and Robespierre, each executed
John? changes upset the balance and feel of the game. within months.
Apologies to the DM, but when I played Dragons I hope this gives some ideas to those DMs who
M a r k Ryan, Milford-on-Sea, Hants: I n # 2 7 of Despair I didn't really enjoy i t , but the believe low-level characters can get into politics.
(Turnbull Talking), you asked f o r readers' Sentinel/Gauntlet modules were great.
opinions of your company, GamesFair, and where Even i f o n l y briefly, e h Graeme? Strictly
you might have gone wrong. So here are mine. Hmmm, this seems to follow what Martin Keel speaking, t h e standard D S & campaign can
The modules you have brought out for the (Letters 7-.27) meant about rules giving "feel learn little from the French revolution, which
AD&D and Basic games have all been very good and direction" - change the direction, and you bene fitted to no small extent from the growth
and well-worth buying, normally because they don't have the same game anymore. Of course, of the democratic tradition i n Britain a n d
have new ideas, and are not just rehashes of older some people are crying Out for change. America something which is rather less likely
stories. UK1 is the best example of this, being in a medieval-style environment. But at a less
completely non-combat. Ms G Ta y l o r, Brecon, Powys: As an avid reader grandiose level, the points Graeme has made
Your staff f r o m the few I have personally met of Tolkien's works and an active player of the D&D are very true. Why do all PC politics have to be
— are informative, helpful, but possibly a little game, may I offer a 12th level elf protest that Jam national/ international? A local version of the
patronising about some matters, and not quick consistently beaten in level rises by my son, who above, aimed at getting rid of an unpopular
enough to give an opinion about a controversial has reached 15th level as a paladin in the same sheriff/ mayor/noble would not only be a n
matter. playing time as I have reached level 12! This does interesting activity in its own right, but the first
IMAGINE magazine was one of the best things not fit in with Tolkien's mythology — Hobbits, step towards the seizing of a greater power.
to happen to gaming in the last 2 or so years; the Dwarves and Elves are important characters and Of course, this magazine is about more than
first few issues were a little crummy, but since #10 very necessary to the story. Warriors on their own just the search for ever-greater sophistication
it has got considerably better until at about #20 it are useless against real evil — in Lord o f the in gaming mechanics; for some people, the
overtook its older competition. One or two minor Rings t h e quest i s actually carried o u t t o journey is only just beginning, as Pete Herridge
grievances though. Re-publishing old DRAGONt completion by two little hobbits! is about to remind us.
magazine articles (can't y o u f i n d something In the Silmarillion, elves are the main characters
original?); the absolutely terrible cartoon strips; and men are only of any use i f they have elven Pete H e r r i d g e , M a n c h e s t e r : I began r o l e -
some o f your reviews are incredibly biased ancestry. I feel it would make for a much more playing about 4 years ago with the Basic Set and
(especially of anything in the same league as the exciting game i f more were done for the demi- four friends who, like me, had never played before.
D&D(# game, see the C&S review, I M A G I N E humans. I looked forward to your 427 for MUs, I was elected DM. Since I wasn't very happy with
magazine #12) — are you sure you don't bribe your only to find that elves were not mentioned. the module included in the set, I started to write my
reviewers? So this letter is a protest on behalf of all demi- own, which we enjoyed.
Unless you completely update the D&D/AD&D humans; I can wield a sword or bow with the best of I believe strongly in the advice given in the Basic
games, you will quickly lose the lead you have, for them, I should — according to Tolkien — be faster, Set that "the information herein is for use as a
the simple reason that there are genuinely superior see further, be lighter on foot, not need much sleep guide only"; we adopted Advanced information
rpgs on the market. It seems to me that it might be or food.... So how about something devoted to the into our game a little at a time, and I altered some to
impossible to do this after you have just re-covered demi-humans alone? suit our style of play. I have DM'd some of the
the books and released all those modules, so why scenarios in IMAGINE magazine, and included
not bring back the DRAGONQUEST'q, game, as If that's not a challenge. I don't know what is. A parts of Pelinore — the only thing I have not done
these were the best rules by far. few of our worthy scribes are being asked to is to D M a TSR module!
46
I M A G I N E magazine, August 1985
letters.... letters..., letters..., letters..., letters—, letters.— letters..., letters..., letters..., letters.... letters.... letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters.— letters..., letters..., letters....
letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters—, letters..., letters..., letters..
letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters.... letters
The point of all this is that the most frequent DMing i f you have been a player for quite a Letters
comment I have had from players is " I ' d like to while? Share your experiences with us, and
have a go at DMing, but I wouldn't know where to we'll do what we can to make it easier for the systems are going to cost. The economics of
begin.... I couldn't remember all those details.... next generation of DMs. printing a hundred, five hundred or even a
how do you know how to handle the situations we Now, a more serious complaint. I hasten to thousand copies of a game in this country are
get ourselves into?" They have a point. As a DM, I say from the Outset that this letter is n o t such that you can't expect to price them in the
don't find it hard since most of the 'rules' I use have included to take shots at the individual games same w a y as the 'big' games, printed and
been developed from the guidelines in the DMG. mentioned, since I'm sure Peter Graylish is reprinted in tens of thousands. Few games can
Most players, having only read the Players' trying to make a point that is applicable to all stand on their own at the sort of prices you
Handbook, probably consider that all the inform- game products in this country. would prefer; i f you want others, then they
ation is concrete and unchangeable. have either got to be produced ultra-cheaply
Now I've read the print o ff most copies o f P e t e r G r a y l i s h , L i v e r p o o l : F r o m m y last few (no boxes, pictures, dice, maps, etc) or they
IMAGINE magazine and scanned the microscopic visits to games shops, I have become aware that have got to cost money. Your power, as the
details of WD, but nowhere have I found any help somebody must be getting very rich. Illuminati is consumer, is to tell the producers and retailers
for players who wish to move onto the enjoyable now £7.50, and I have been told that it is going up what you want (a sort of Campaign for Real
task of DMing, but don't know how to begin. I to £8.50! Many MERP and CoC modules will set Games) if you aren't satisfied.
agree entirely with your comments on the letter by you back a tenner, and Ringworld £25, Runequest Soapboxing over, onto the sales pitch:
R D Wilkinson in Letters, 426. I have always LLIO — there is no justification for these prices!
believed that the DM's Guide should be treated Do people not realise that a good percentage of Marc Read, Jersey: A year ago, I was playing a
like a Guide, and not a book of hard rules. I have garners don't have vast quantities of money to part Cavalier. While trying to get across his snootiness,
had many hours of pleasure as a DM, despite the with? I ' m on the dole, and some friends are I insulted a lower middle class MU who had won a
fact that my players have often lead the adventures struggling on University grants. scholarship to school, and I got fireballed. Is this a
into areas not defined in the Guide. Logic and It seems to me that now RPGs are becoming common problem with the Cavalier?
imagination have produced some interesting more popular and less of a cult, the manufacturers,
results, and we have had no arguments over 'rules'. importers and retailers have decided to screw us for John Young, Lincoln: I'm disgusted at the rules
The players are usually too busy enjoying as much money as possible. How about some fair in the AD&D game. Why should an elf be stopped
themselves! play, folks? at 1 Ith level in magic-use? We taught the art of
magic to you ignorant humans. And my good
Just the way it should be. We'd like to hear Heart-felt stuff, and well meant, I'm sure. It's dwarven friend Burberry is as good as any human
from anyone about the way they first got into not f o r me t o talk about anybody's pricing fighter. We demand more rights for demi-beings!
DMing. Like Pete, I started DMing 'cold' - policies, b u t I f e e l t h a t a f e w points o f
without having played - and with equally new explanation are i n order. The old cult days As mentioned last month, Unearthed Arcana
players. It was all pretty rough and tumble, but would not have seen t h e publication o f a contains many revisions to the game, including
we got going, a n d n o w I feel comfortable lavishly presented game like Ringworld (I the Cavalier and new info on demi-humans. If
enough playing my own version of the game. leave it to you to decide whether that is a good you end up buying a copy, let us know what you
Presumably, if I had been playing in somebody thing or not); these games are carried on the think; if nothing else we haven't had a single
else's group, things w o u l d n o w b e quite back of the more popular systems. The more mention of the Barbarian for ages.
different. Is it any more or less difficult to start choice t h a t there is, t h e more individual 4At5 Letters edited by Paul Cockburn
?RANIcE
PRANCE
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Mililliganomar
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Just complete the coupon using BLOCK CAPITALS and mail it with your cheque or postal order made
payable to TSR UK Ltd, for the subscription price of:
To: Subscriptions Department, TSR UK Limited, The Mill, Rathmore Road, Cambridge CB1 4AD
Please send me a subscription to
DRAGON Magazine A M A Z I N G Stories S T R A T E G Y & TACTICS Magazine
(Please cross out the title(s) you do NOT want to receive)
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Address
Many of you must wonder why so much whims of fashion. I haven't seen anyone
space is given to discussion of fanzines. doing a Rubik's Cube for ages, and in
After all, while it is difficult to get an two years' time no-one will play Trivial
accurate figure as to how many people Pursuit. Only a real classic like Mono-
read games fanzines, most estimates seem poly can survive through the years. I f
to settle at around the WOO mark, making rolegaming really is just a schoolboy fad
them a fairly small percentage o f This month's contributor: PETE TAM LYN that will soon have run its course, then the
IMAGINE Nmagazine's total readership. future for TSR and its competitors looks
Fanzine readers (and editors in particular)
are, of course, a fairly vocal minority, but Why Fanzines? fairly bleak. Perhaps this is why many
games companies have started to diversify
there are other good reasons for devoting their interests.
space to them in a professional magazine. As one that a video game does not have the imaginative Nevertheless there is some hope on the horizon.
of the people who lobbied for this sort of material input of rolegaming and this makes it more difficult Most of the people who currently buy rolegaming
when the magazine first started, I think it only fair for any sort of fan following to form. Nevertheless products are of school or college age, or at least
that I present my reasons to the readership as a there are people who believe that RPGs are 'just were that age when they started. If all those people
whole, rather than merely continuing to pester another schoolboy fad' and that they will be can be persuaded to continue playing rolegames,
Paul and Uncle Don. completely forgotten in ten years. and young people persuaded to take up the pas-
Many reasons have been advanced as to why Wargaming is at completely the other end of the time, then the industry is guaranteed an expanding
fanzine coverage is important. There are, o f spectrum. While the board wargamers have had the market for years to come. So how do you produce
course, some fanzine editors who believe that the likes of Avalon Hill and SPI to back them up, figure this miracle? One way is to use the mechanisms of
publicity is theirs by right, but then there are silly wargaming has survived quite happily with hardly fashion; if you continue to produce new products,
people in all walks of life. More persuasive are the any input from commercial organisations. A fair people will continue to buy them. But this
arguments that fanzines provide a useful outlet for few books have been published, and some small assumes that the fashion itself remains fashion-
the more innovative and obscure sides of rolegam- companies make a respectable living out o f able. Clothing manages it because some form of
ing which would not normally warrant profession- producing rules and figures, but the activity has clothing is a necessity; popular music succeeds by
al coverage, and that fanzines provide a useful never managed to spawn an organisation the size of completely changing style every ten years. Could
training ground for future games publishers. TSR. The reason that it has survived is that rolegaming survive as a fashion alone? I doubt it.
Evidence can easily be found to support both of wargamers have made their own entertainment. An alternative solution, and in my view the only
these propositions. Paul Mason's lmazine is a When they want a battle to fight they either one that will prove effective, is for games com-
fount of fascinating discussion which IMAGINE research one from history books or make one up, panies to get their customers to do the work for
and White D w a r f magazines would probably rather than buying a commercially produced them. Enthusiastic amateurs can provide just as
regard as too heavy for general consumption; scenario. They keep in contact through clubs and much valuable publicity as advertising campaigns,
Dagon and Superhero U K provide extensive amateur newsletters. Although magazines covering and they are a darn sight cheaper. By encouraging
coverage of games which get much less attention the field have come and gone, they tend to be fanzines and through them a keen, active amateur
in professional magazines. As far as the training produced by professional magazine publishers hobby, games companies are, I believe, providing
ground argument goes, Marc Gascoigne and Ian rather than games companies seeing a vehicle insurance for their own survival.
Marsh are merely the latest names in a long list of through which to promote their products, as is the By this time I may have got you thinking that
fanzine editors who have taken jobs with games case with IMAGINE and White Dwarf magazines. fanzines are only there to make more money for
companies. Indeed, Don Turnbull started the Like wargaming, rolegaming has a following of games companies. Not so; they provide means
first-ever British games fanzine. committed amateurs. Fanzines provide them with whereby innovation and minority tastes can be
In my view, these are side issues resulting from a channel of communication and a means o f encouraged, safe from the harsh pressures of
the main function of fanzines, that being to pro- advertising themselves, thereby sustaining their economic reality. Rolegaming is a very creative
vide a means of creating and sustaining an active interest and swelling their numbers. pursuit and therefore one which lends itself
hobby independent of the needs and desires of Just a minute, though; if fanzines are providing a naturally to producing a thriving amateur hobby.
professional games companies. means whereby rolegamers can carry on their It may take a little time to find a fanzine that
In order to explain what I mean by this, I would hobby independently of games companies, why suits your particular style but I am sure that
like to take a look at a couple of other gaming should I M A G I N E magazine give them space? almost anyone can get more out of their rolegam-
activities, one of which has got such a hobby and Surely it is in TSR's interests to have its customers ing by becoming more involved in the hobby. I f
one which has not. When the D & D . game was dependent on its services? From a short term point this also helps the commercial side of the pastime
first becoming well known in this country there of view this may be correct — it is far better for to survive, then so much the better because it will
was another games craze sweeping all before it: sales figures if everyone buys scenarios rather than mean a greater chance of good quality products
Space Invaders. Who plays video games now? It writing their own. However, as soon as you look at and lots of useful publicity. Despite their obvious
is becoming hard to find a pub with a machine, the long-term implications of such a policy, it sources of disagreement, the amateur and profess-
whereas three years back hardly a pub was without begins to look considerably less rosy. Games, like ional sides of rolegaming need each other. They
one. This is something of an unfair comparison in most other products these days, are subject to the need to recognise that fact and build on it. . 1 1 0
ARTS
produce excellent work, but who seldom get the
rpgs, is looking for mature players and clubs in his
recognition or exposure they deserve. It should area. 16 Clarence Gdns, Bishop Auckland, DL14 7RB
also serve to show the high standard of fanzine
art t o those o f you who haven't investigated DURHAM: Light Infantrymen Wargames Group is
looking for more members: board games, 1 5 and
fanzines yet.
25mm figure gaming, A D & D game, etc. Every
Our first fan-artist is H U D S O N S H A W .
Tuesday, 7-9.30pm, at the local Community Centre.
Hudson's work first began appearing in FRP Ring Graeme Dowdell on Spennymoor 815283 after
fanzines in D o o m B o o k o f Chaos, and early 7pm, or David Ostridge on Durham 64707 after 6pm
DragonLords. Since then, h i s w o r k has any night except Wednesday. Minimum age 14
appeared in nearly every FRP fanzine around! KENTISH T O W N , London: A 12-year-old boy i s
He is well-known for his single panel cartoons, looking for a club in North London. Please write c/o
and h i s preference f o r ducks! H i s w o r k i s Club Ref 291, IMAGINE magazine.
heavily influenced b y cartoons, and the late
M A I D E N H E A D , Berks: 17-year-old Steven Williams
Vaughan Bode. is experienced in a wide range of games and wants to
know of any wargaming groups in his vicinity. 126
Alwyn Road, Maidenhead 5L6 SEW.
SUNDERLAND: Two garners are thinking of starting
a club: phone Steve on Sunderland 43777 after
6.30pm on weekdays if you are interested.
WEYMOUTH, Dorset: Alan Mead, age 11, would like
help setting up his first MILD' game. If you can offer
assistance, write to him at 28 Overlands Rd, Wyke
Regis, Weymouth, Dorset DT4 9HS.
YORK: Anyone interested in joining an FRP club in
New Earswick?AD&D, Traveller, C o C , RuneQuest,
Middle Earth. Wednesday night 7-10pm. Age 13+,
beginners welcome. Ring Ian on 768950
Events
CAMCON, primarily a Science Fiction con, will offer
facilities for RPGers, and possibly a panel discussion.
GoH John Christopher. 13-15 September, New Hall
College, Cambridge. Details from Neil Taylor, c / o
Perspective Design, 9 Pembroke St, Cambridge
Also on 13-15 September, CONQUEST at Queens
Hotel, Hastings. This is a general games con. Write to
John Marsden, 17 Church Rd, St Leonards, Hastings
TN37 6EF for further details.
GAMES DAY will be at the Royal Horticultural Hall,
London, as usual: 28-29 September.
ARTICON will be at Hatfield Poly, 4-6 October. GoH
Bryan Talbot. Competition dungeon, films, talks,
games, live bands, stalls. Write to Jaine Fennell, 278
Chapman Hall, Bishops Rise, Hatfield, Herts.
M1DCON — the Star Trek version — will be on
October 11 - 1 3 a t Leicester International Hotel.
Seemingly this is a special media event; details from
Terry Elson, 8 Ennerdale Cl, Oadby, Leicester.
NOVACON will be at the De Vere Hotel, Coventry,
November 1-3, with guests Dave Langford and James
White. Details from 86 Bearwood Farm Road, Wylde
Green, Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham 872 1 AG.
KOANCON may take place on August Bank Holiday
1986 at Warwick University b u t the organisers will
not proceed unless there is evidence of interest from
youl W r i t e t o Trevor Mendham, 5 3 Towncourt
Crescent, Petts Wood, Kent, or Alex Zbyslaw, 197
Herbert Ave, Poole, Dorset.
play D I P L O M A C Y
expect. You don't? Seven players represent the three or four weeks between moves. You can you m u s t n e v e r m i s s a d e a d l i n e o r f o r g e t t o
principal p o w e r s o f Europe a t t h e t u r n of the promise w h a t y o u l i k e ; o n l y t h e G M k n o w s send in y o u r orders. A subscription o f E2 w i l l
century. Each is roughly balanced with armies w h a t your orders really are, at least until they get y o u s t a r t e d w i t h a f e w issues. A l s o , w e
and fleets. M o v e m e n t is childishly simple; you are published! would like to follow the game in The FanScene,
can move one space at a t i m e unless another So w h y don't you try a g a m e yourself? All it so as GM I w i l l be reporting on the progress of
unit is in the space you are trying to get to. In takes is a couple of quid to an editor and you the game, and inviting c o m m e n t s from you on
this case you c a n ' g a n g up', w i t h t w o pieces are away. A b i t w o r r i e d about the opposition, how you are enjoying it.
bettering one, three two, and so on T h e object perhaps? Think they may all be experts? Well, So t h a t i s t h e idea. J o i n a g a m e o f Postal
is simply to dominate over half the board. The never fear. IMAGINE magazine is sponsoring a Diplomacy. I f you a r e interested, prepared t o
subtlety is that by yourself you can never win; game o f P o s t a l D i p l o m a c y, o p e n o n l y t o c o m m e n t on the game, and think you can send
you n e e d f r i e n d s w h o w i l l h e l p a n d s u p p o r t readers w h o h a v e n o t played D i p l o m a c y b y in orders regularly for a c o u p l e of years. t h e n
you. B u t i f y o u k e e p t h o s e f r i e n d s y o u w i l l post before, to be held in m y o w n zine N M R ! write t o m e a t 2 5 6 C a n b u r y P a r k R o a d ,
never g r o w to be t h e biggest. T h e tactics are W h a t do we need from you? Well, most of all, Kingston u p o n Thames, S u r r e y K I 2 6LG, f o r
easy, the game is won and lost in the negotiat- commitment. A decent game will last anything one of the available places.
ions w h i c h occupy (in t h e postal version) the between t w o and three years, and to succeed Obi Brian Creese
1 IMAGINE ttutijazttw, August 1985
51
ILLUSIONIST SPELLS
FIRST LEVEL SIXTH LEVEL
Gaze Reflection: The creature which has Conjure Animals: See comments on the
its gaze reflected does, of course, get a sixth level clerical spell o f t h e same
saving throw against the effects of its name.
own gaze.
Demi-Shadow Magic: There is a bizarre
SECOND LEVEL anomaly here with respect to the wall
spells; victims can take more damage
Detect Magic: Oddly the DMG states from making their saving throws than if J:4
that this spell functions as per the clerical they fail them. A n illusionist has to be That covers the major changes i n the
version of the spell, and 'NOT the magic 12th level to have memorised a sixth level DMG for the MU and Illusionist spells;
user spell'. Thus illusionists do not have spell; he casts a demi-shadow wall of ice Clerical and Druid spells will be detailed
any chance of knowing the nature of the in the air above a party. Those who fail next month. I f D M s a n d players a r e
detected magic, only its intensity. their saving throws get 3-30 (average discussing these matters in the light of
16.5) points of damage and those who the 'changes', they might also review the
THIRD LEVEL make t h e i r saving t h r o w s g e t 1 2d4 whole question of just what spell casting
damage (average 3 0 points). T h i s i s characters are taught when they learn
Rope Trick: See comments on the second ludicrous, and there is a logical unofficial the spells for the first time, and what they
level magic-user spell of the same name. change. Since characters failing a saving have to gather from experience. It is clear
throw against, say, a demi-shadow fire- that the DMG is not just a DM's reference
ball takes 3 . 5 points o f damage ( o n tool, but that it contains some information
FOURTH LEVEL that PCs should know as a matter o f
average) per level of the illusionist, and
Improved Invisibility: PCs should b e those who make their saving throw take 2 course. This situation is likely to be all the
aware that this is less easily detected by points of damage per level of the illusion- more confused when Unearthed Arcana
monsters with an innate ability to detect ist (this i s specified i n t h e PH), w i t h is released i n t h e n e x t f e w weeks,
invisibility as a function of hit dice and respect to the wall spells one could rule containing information aimed a t both
intelligence than an ordinary invisibility that damage taken by those making a players and DMs. It is far better to have
spell. They might not know by how much; saving throw is 4/7 of that which would be talked the matter through before the first
details are given on p47 of the DMG. taken by those failing (a messy fraction, time the DM turns to a player and says
but things a r e k e p t consistent). T h i s "You do realise that won't work in these
Phantasmal Killer: This spell is powerless problem obviously requires a n official circumstances...."
against an unconscious creature, and if a rule revision, b u t the suggestion here
creature affected by the spell is rendered makes the effects of this spell uniform 00 Carl Sargent and the DC gang;
unconscious, the spell can do no more across all applications causing physical Jim Bambra, Mike Brunton,
harm. damage. Phil Gallagher and Graeme Morris
ZINE Z O N E
Thanks for all the fanzines listed below.
If you write to any fanzines, it's a good
idea to enclose a stamped self-
addressed envelope for the reply.
BOHEMIAN R H A P S O D Y, Malcolm Smith, B u s 2 6 ,
Astridplein 3 1 - 3 2 , A n t w e r p e 2000, Belgium (40p);
BOOKLET O F M A N Y THINGS, Stephen Gilbert, 1 5
Cross Lane, Dronfield, Sheffield S18 65H (50p); BORIS,
THE END
Chris Preist, 55 Exwick Hill, Exeter, Devon EX42AW (40p);
OF THE WORLD!
BSFA, Sandy Brown, 1 8 Gordon Terrace, Blantyre,
Lanarkshire G72 9 N A (E7 per year); CHAOS LORD,
Anthony Walker, 4 Upper Guakroge, Sowerby NE Rd,
Sowerby Bridge, Halifax (50p); CUT & THRUST, Derek
Wilson, 321 Headley Road East, Woodley, Reading, Berks
RG5 4SE (55p); DAGON, Carl Ford, 11 Warwick Rd,
Twickenham, Middlesex TVV2 6SW (85p); D E M O N ' S
DRAWL, Jeremy Nuttall, 49 Longdown Rd, Congleton,
Cheshire CW12 4 0 H (55p); D R U N E KROLL, Justin
Horrell, Sunny Bank, Stouthall Garage, Reynoldston,
The Viking Special Issue.
Swansea SA3 IAN (45p); HOCUS POCUS, Paul Holman,
296 Harrow View, Harrow, M i d d x H A 2 6 0 0 (50p); All you need to know to set your campaign in the
HOPSCOTCH, Alan Parr, 6 Longfield Gardens, l u n g ,
Herts (55p); I V O R Y TO W E R , G e o ff r e y Dean, 6 1
Swaledale Ave, Darlington, Co Durham DL3 9AR (55p);
lands and times of the Norse-men:
L A N K H M A R S TA R D A I LY, R o b e r t N o t t , F l a t 3 ,
6 Bradburne Rd, Bournemouth, Dorset (60p), M A D Vikings as Player Characters; Rune Magic;
POLICY, Richard Walkerdine, 1 4 4 Stoughton Rd,
Guildford, S u r r e y G U 2 6 P G ( 4 0 p ) ; M A R T I A N
CHRONICLES, Michael Wall, 6 Government House Rd, Lore, Lay & Legend; Icelanders; Norse Planes
Water End, Clifton, York (55p); M O U S E POLICE, Rob
Wilson, Penryn, 4 Campion Rd, Leamington Spa, Warks
CV325X0(40p); OBSCURITY INC, Tony Keen, Kitchener
House, 6 Gordon Tce, Edinburgh EH16 5 0 H (45p);
and a special introduction to the
PROTOPLASM, lean O'Brien, 20 Victoria Rd, Rathgar,
Dublin 6 (50p); ROLEPLAYING KARMA SUTRA, Dave AD&D® BATTLESYSTEMTm
Webster, 455 Loughborough Rd, Birstall, Leicester LE4
4BH (35p); S E WA R S , C h r i s Baylis, 1 2 T h e Fryth,
Basildon, Essex SS14 3PN (80p); SPAWN OF CHAOS,
Mark Pitman, 42 Heath Way, Blofield Corner, Norwich,
Norfolk NR13 4RS (40p), SPREADSHEET: Jez Keen, 1
Glenfield Rd, Stockport SK4 20P (?); STARQUESTER,
RAGNAROKI
Richard Mumford, 4 Alderson Square, Harrogate, N Yorks
HG2 8AX (60p); SWORD O F SYLVIAN, 4 4 Oakland
Drive, Upton, W i r r a l , Merseyside L 4 9 6 J L (60p);
IMAGINETm magazine # 3 0
TEMPESTUOUS ORIFICE, Patrick Fama, 15 York Close,
Morden, Surrey SM4 5HW(60p); VIENNA, Richard Egan, Special 'How On Earth Will They Follow That' Issue
64 Rookery Rd, Knowle, Bristol B54 2DT (40p)
54 I M A G I N E magazine, Alu3ust t e s t
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AIVAtA14ABOOrA-T121940A-1—
....that between the years when TSR's new easy-to-learn role-playing game
the oceans drank Atlantis and the years gives you the chance to adventure with Conan,
of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an fantasy's greatest hero! From the bleak wastes of
age undreamed of, when shining kingdoms lay spread Asgard to the jungles of Kush, danger is ever-present
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came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen-eyed, playing game contains all you need to adventure in
sword in hand. A thief, a reaver, a slayer to tread the Hyboria: three rule-books and reference guides, player
jewelled thrones of the Earth beneath his sandled feet. sheets, dice and a colourful map of Conan's world.