Dragon #20
Already on the two tens! This particular issue is the Horrible Halloween issue, and special that, you’ve guessed it, is themed around everyone’s favorite October holiday. There’s plenty of articles inside, and no fiction this time. While the theme is around spooky season, there’s still various off-season features to be found, mostly sci-fi. The article for D&D are pretty fun to read and offer new material to work, both for DMs and players, which is something I always applaud. The editor’s constant notes and fixes feel a bit off at this point. It has this whole corporate vibe to it, which I dislike, but maybe I’m just overthinking it much. I particularly appreciate the demon features here, and although I must admit I would’ve still liked to see more spooky articles (maybe something around monsters or undead creatures) it’s still a nice number of write ups with solid material. There’s also a little feature with photos from GenCon XI. A little trip of visual history there.
Not a lot of interesting ads or new miniatures this time around, which means I don’t have much to comment on. Only one that caught my eye was the advertising for the upcoming D series of modules, the iconic Drow adventures. There’s also a little JG ad on page 27, which presents GenCon IX Dungeon. I wonder if it was an adventure module or just a report.
A very solid issue and a fun read. Tempted to give it a 4, but I’ll give it a 3 mostly because it still lacks some of the historical articles I’ve come to appreciate in previous issues and my general preference regarding D&D articles. Unless editor’s ramblings count as historical, heh.
The content:
Dragon Rumbles: Convention season is over so no more entire sections of excuses and horror stories about the happenings at different cons. This section speaks mostly about the increase in price regarding the issues, mostly falling on the simple fact that inflation is a thing, and when all the materials increase in price, well, you gotta move too. Other than that, Kask also mentions some sneak peaks for upcoming issues, and, most importantly, announces that the following issue is going to return Out On A Limb, the letters section! Now what could go wrong?
The Making of a Winner: Imperium — Outstanding Game of 1977: By Marc Miller. A little article that talks about the origins and setting of the game Imperium, how it started, the inspiration behind it and some of the issues that the designers faced while creating it. An interesting article if you’re into board game or wargame history. Outside of the Dragon, I’ve never heard of it.
Rules Clarifications and Addenda for Imperium: By Marc Miller. Pretty much what the title says. Unless you’re interested in the game and now how to play, this article isn’t that in-depth or interesting, at least to me.
Dragon Rumbles #19 Redux: How It Should Have Read: Oh no, more convention problems. This is a literal re print of the previous article, but better organized so people don’t confuse the points of Kask with Gary. Not that they even diverge that much. There are also even more further clarifications at the end, where Kask apologies for being too harsh. You know, after some reading and 20 issues in, these guys really give me some mighty airs and seem to be a bit too serious at times. Either with criticism or comments in general. There’s always something to point out. And then apologies.
Distributing Eyes & Amulets EPT: By Mike Crane. Been a while since the last EPT article, but, sadly, this one isn’t really that interesting unless you’re a player of the game and are precisely looking for some eyes and amulets. It is quite specific, and I wonder what purpose eyes serve now.
The Mythos of Polynesia in Dungeons & Dragons: By Jerome Arkenberg. I’ve grown fond of this little series. Each article has a lot of content to offer and goes straight to the point. One of the longest running series so far too. I wish there was a bit more of fluff for each mythos, but, so far, I like it. This time around we go to the gods of Polynesia, another region I’m not very knowledgeable of. Other than that, you can expect the usual kind of pantheon here to, with most of the strongest gods representing some element of nature or human ideas. Plus, there’s some Heroes at the end, that I imagine DMs could use as NPCs or allies.
Another Look At Witches and Witchcraft in D&D: By Ronald Pehr. The editors note before starting the article, while it seems to have some good motives behind it, I still can’t help but associate it with the M’lady archetype. Moving on. This article is a buildup on a previous article that appeared all the way back in issue #5. It takes the same concept and adds some new stuff and fluff to it. Witches aren’t evil nor good and stay on a neutral alignment. The class is limited to females as the writer believes this is a good way to countermeasure the fact that female warriors tend to be weaker. They need at least 13 in both INT and WIS to be a witch. It also clarifies that the idea of witches being Satan worshippers or ugly (think Wizard of Oz) are false and mostly bad press from Medieval Times. The rest of the article goes on to the spells, levels, and new abilities. It’s a pretty complete variant and adds some interesting stuff. It also makes me realize that characters were probably way easier to create back in OD&D or Basic then they are now in 5E. It seems more class are just 1-3 pages long, while 5E can get quite crazy.
DEMONOLOGY MADE EASY: or, How To Deal With Orcus For Fun and Profit: By Gregory Rihn. I find it funny how the article starts with an editor’s note about how the writer is creative but not an expert on D&D. Is that some sort of backhanded compliment? Haha. Anyway, this is a very in-depth article regarding demons, how to summon, how to use them and their attitude towards the summoners. Using the base of the previous demonology article, there’s different types of demons and each one will demand different requisites to be summoned. Their services aren’t cheap, and they will usually try to gain more and do less, so it’s a double-edged sword. On the other hand, demons can be super useful and do a lot of things for you, but not directly. That means, you want to find a treasure? Sure, the demon can’t tell you but he won’t go for it. The stronger a demon is, the higher the price for summoning it, it can end up with your own soul damned to some hell realm. You also need assistants and sacrifices for a summoning. As usual, lower demons can be satisfied with simple sacrifices of any living being, but the higher the demon, the bigger the sacrifice. Funnily enough, a Pit Fiend is open to offer 100,000 years of service in exchange for your soul. That’s a lot of years, I guess time moves different for immortal demons. There seems to be no limit to what demon you can summon or bargain with. You can even contact Asmodeus, the ruler of all devils and overlord of the nine hells. I’m not sure what the lore of demons is back in OD&D or 1st Edition, but it’s odd that such an immensely powerful deity would be open to working for a mere mortal. There’s also a chance of failure depending on your level. You must be at least a level 20 MU to have success, for any level below 20 you gain a 5% chance of failure, meaning that low level MU have almost no hope of summoning a demon. If you fail, you roll a D100, 1 to 35% means no effect, but anything above means you summon a demon and it’s not under control. You done fucked up, boy. This is a lovely article and has a great balance of explanations that make sense and general usability. I always enjoy anything related to demons, so I had fun reading this article. The illustrations are also great. There’s that classic 1st edition Orcus and a little comic strip at the end.
See Africa and Die! Or, Mr. Stanley, Meet Dr. Livingstone: By Gary Gygax. A review for a semi-roleplaying game called Source of the Nile, which can be played both solo and with others. Players pretty much roleplay as 19th century explorers and must explore pretty much the entire continent of Africa. The premise of the game is already a spicy one due to, well, colonialism, but, luckily, the game focuses on a more adventurous aspect of the era: to explore. The game is quite complex and very challenging to the explorers, and offers a lot of depth, but it still is very enjoyable according to Gygax. Now, funny enough, Gygax proceeds to ”offer” some new rules, alterations, and fixes to the game. I thought Gary was against the idea of modifying original games and has been quite vocal about it. I guess this doesn’t count since it’s not being sold, but one could argue that it still kinda is due to being part of a pay-for magazine. Just a fact there for ya.
The Asimov Cluster: By William B. Fawcett. An interesting piece that presents the dilemma of facing against warmongering empires of varying technological levels. It mentions some classic sci-fi novels such as Foundation by Asimov, and also Analog magazine (also once known as Astounding Stories), one of my favorite magazines ever, where the novel, Berserker, by Fred Saberhagen was serialized. Other than that, the article offers a variety of planets to fight in the Asimov Cluster. Fun read even if you don’t play Traveller. The mentions to sci-fi novels also made my heart feel warm.
Preview: The Lord of the Rings: By Allen Hammack. Not a review, but actually some interesting insights into the production of the 1978 animated film. While I haven’t watched it fully, I know there’s some mixed opinions regarding its quality, mostly that the animation feels odd, even for its date. There are some interesting facts in this article, like how the legendary Stanley Kubrick tried to make a screenplay for it. Honestly, if Kubrick had made a LotR movie, I don’t think it would’ve been good enough. An interesting read!
It’s A Good Day To Die (Death Statistics of D&D Players): By Lyle Fitzgerald. A little and fun article that gathers the numbers of deaths and the causes in the campaign world of the author. More than 600 deaths have been counted (damn!) and it offers a list of the most common cause of death. The number one cause is: goblins! and the least common way of dying is by… war? It just says war. It’s an interesting little read. It makes me wonder what kind of game they had that there’s so many deaths. It would’ve been better to include the context of it. Perhaps there’s a ton of players, or they’ve been playing for years now. In any way, it’s something I would also like to do if I had the luck of playing constantly, and with a good group. *Sigh*.
War of the Ring Variant: True Hidden Movement: By Allen Hammack. Well, this is some rule that seems to make it so that you hidden movements are actually hidden, and it requires a referee for that. Can’t comment much since I don’t really know how this game is played.
Demonic Possession in the Dungeon: By Chas. Sagui. This small article gives some mechanics to tackle possession, and interesting concept that can lead to great adventures. Only type IV demons or higher are capable of possessing. Usually, there’s some sort of demonic item that acts as the conduit, and once a party enter a room where this is found, the possession beings at random. Clerics and paladins have higher chances to avoid possession. Players must roll a saving throw against spells, if they lose, well, possessed. The effects of the possessions are pretty basic: they pretty much retain their overall powers and physical abilities but are now under the full control of a demon. They can no longer use Lawful weapons or anything else in the same alignment. Holy water also sucks for them. A cleric can try to exorcise a possessed. If it fails, the cleric and the victim can suffer damage, and in the worst case, the possessed host dies. A possession has no other use than to cause pain and troubles for a party. Demons are already strong enough in their own forms, so I can see this as a way for more astute demons to ensue chaos. Lovely article!
Endless Questing 