Dragon #26
Well, let’s continue. This adventure has not ended, and it won’t any time soon! The cover is quite nostalgic and simple, a visual representation of the typical wargame table with some creativity on it. And oh boy, this issue was a big one, I think the biggest one so far. 52 pages long, but over 47k words. This shit was 3k words from being qualified as a novel, and I read it in about 6 days, so yeah, that was a bit tiring. Still, the bigass size also brings with it some interesting articles and useful ideas here and there. While not exactly the most educating or entertaining one, it was an interesting read. Still not that keen on the Little Wars content, but it’s more bearable now. Solid 3 out of 5.
Miniatures are making a comeback in the ads pages! The very first ad is for some awesome looking wizards by Ral Partha. There’s also a pretty cool dragon by Dragontooth Miniatures.
One particular ad on the last pages looked quite gorgeous, for a game called Divine Right. That’s some 40k level of illustration right there.
Content:
Dragon Rumbles: This time, we have some interesting news! Plenty of new material, columns and articles coming to Dragon magazine. It’s a time of growth here, but, not only that, there’s a new assistant editor, which will replace Kask some time in the future: Gary Jaquet, charmingly known as Jake. A passionate gamer (that’s a requirement isn’t?) and long-time friend of Kask. He will be helping with the basic duties for now, but we’ll see how the magazine will evolve under his tenure once he’s at the helm.
GenCon XII Status Report: Remember that information package that they mentioned in the previous issue? Well it has been delayed, for a few months now. On the other hand, Dragon has agreed to include the brochure in this July issue. I actually had to google what a brochure is. The con has found some motels too, and there’s plenty of new cool merchandise to buy. I wish I could see that in some pictures. That’s the report, folks.
Convention Schedules: GLASCON IV (June 15-17), NANCAON II -88 (June 30 – July 1), Origins 79 (June 22-24), 1979 International Military Vehicle Collectors Club Convention (July 18-22), Chicago Wargamers Convention (July 21-22), Bangor Area Wargamers 3rd Annual Convention (August 4-5) and GENCON XII (August 16-19).
System 7: Miniatures Meet Boards: By T.J. Kash. The editor has a new article for us. Okey, a very enthusiastic article but it really goes into loquaciously unnecessarily. By the end of the article I still wasn’t sure what this System 7 thing is, so I did a bit of hastened research. It’s a miniature wargame that uses carboard minis instead of the common metal figurines of back then. It’s not a game, per se, but an extension that includes different carboards with points that equal to army and stuff like that, I think. From a quick view, it looks very unattractive to me. I guess the super cheap price is a good thing, but, ultimately, the gist of wargaming is, well, miniatures! And these cardboards lack that soul that you can find in the touch of a lovely painted figurine.
System 7: Napoleonic Miniatures No Longer Mean a Second Mortgage: By Wm. Fawcett. Another review, but this one goes into more detail explaining what this game actually is.
System 7: Necessity is the Mother of Innovation: By Rich Banner. A little article detailing how System 7 came to be. Pretty much as the title says, it was born out of necessity to accommodate for more quick and casual play without spending tons of money in minis and hours painting them. If you ask me, I think that’s the beauty of miniatures, so you kinda rip the color out of the painting.
System 7: The Designer Responds to First Volley: That’s a lot of System 7 articles. So, this is a Q&A with the designer, Bill Fawcett, and Kask, pretty much transcript from telephone conversations. If you’re interested in the game, you can learn a lot here, but I am not.
Giants in the Earth: By Uknown. I think. Title is a bit of a clickbait, but the content is still pretty nice. An illustrated small list of different real fiction heroes from various sources that you can use in your game either as NPCs or enemies. It includes Cugel the Cleaver, Kane and Tros of Samothrace. I appreciate that it includes a little snippet where it explains what is referencing or from where it comes from.
And What of the Skinnies? A Starship Troopers Variant: By John W.S. Marvin. Well, this add new units and a scenario to the Starship Troopers wargame. The new units, known as Skinnies, are part of the human army and pack a lot of punch. No new arachnids though!
Lords and Wizards: The Placement of Castles: By Edward C. Cooper. An interesting essay about the pros and cons of building a castle in a hex in the game of Lords and Wizards. It includes conceptual ideas, proposals and also tips relating to the mechanics of the game itself. While not necessarily useful to D&D, it does shower you with a lot of different ideas that you can use in your own game, particularly the consequences of building a castle. For example, I liked this one: Building a castle near a city will require the citizens to pay a tax to the castle, and such tax may cause rebellions. In that line alone there’s already a lot of potential. Like it.
35th Anniversary of D-Day Remembered: By Joe Curreri. A small and detailed tribute to the fallen during D-Day. It details the actions of the famous Overlord Operation, and it is narrated by crewchief of a C-47 that flew over Normandy, dropping troops. There’s a solemn sense of respect and dread in this little article. It’s very unique to read historical recounts from the people that lived through the hell of WW2. There’s actually a Joseph Luis Curreri on the American Air Museum archive. I believe this person is the writer. May not be, can’t be for sure.
The Solo Berserker for William the Conqueror – 1066: By James McMillan. Want to play as an army of berserkers? Well now you can in William the Conqueror 1066, a tactical wargame which recreates the Battles of Stamford Bridge and Senlac Hill. It includes all the stats needed and even rules for solo play.
Chinese Undead: By David Sweet. Jesus, that illustration is the stuff of nightmares. This little article details a list of six undead creatures you can use, including the Goat-Demon in the cover of the article, which, ugh, shivers. Also, it has one butt. Probably a typo.
Boot Hil Additions, Revisions, and Trivia: By Michael Crane. Pretty much a series of new mechanics and fixes for Boot Hill. The main gist is the addition of the Fast Exact Hit Location Chart, designed to shorten the combat duration and make it more accurate. I don’t know where the trivia part went to.
Another View of the Nine-Point Alignment Scheme: By Carl Parlagreco. A little article that tries to explain and differentiate the different new alignments added in AD&D (the classic system that pretty much became a meme on its own). It’s a short read, and I personally feel the examples aren’t the best given, but it works in giving you the basic idea to the core.
Deck of Fate: By Kevin Hendryx. A variant of the Deck of Many Things; the Tarot Deck of Unalterable Fate. Like it’s daddy, each card represents a different symbol and outcome, and also like the daddy, it’s pretty rare and extraordinarily powerful, both for fucking shit up and you, or both, or none, it’s hard to tell. The cards mostly affect your PC attributes and stats. Sometimes makes them worse, sometimes quite OP. If you’re bored of the Deck of Many Things, give this one a try!
D&D Meets the Electronic Age: By Rick Krebs. This article details some of the earliest attempts at trying to implement D&D into the computer. Being 1979, the PC still has some ways to go before becoming accessible, yet it already is quite popular. The author explains that he’s not a computer scientist, but an aficionado gamer that wants to adapt the game into the world of electronics. An interesting proposal that would still take many, many years to become a reality, well, at least in a more integral way, but as for other early attempts that did this, there were plenty. Colossal Cave Adventure, while not D&D, was a text-based adventure game heavily inspired by some of the early precepts of the TTRPG spirit, and it was released in 1977. Zork, the popular cousin, would go on to inspire even more and more. I think it wasn’t until Ultima by Richard Garriot in 1981 that we actually got to see the best example of a non-D&D game that was pretty D&D in a computer. I’m actually more knowledgeable about videogames than TTRPGs, but at this rate, I’ll probably go back to the stone age and play Pong.
Hirelings Have Feelings Too: By Charles Sagui. This article details different reasons and motives on why you should treat your hirelings better, and also how to pay them, interact with them and so on. Is not just for flair, but it tries to build the hirelings into something more other than simple followers that do as you will. An interesting read and one that has weight to it for some nice roleplaying experiences.
Notes From a Very Successful D&D Moderator: By Michael Crane. Well, this is probably sarcastic, but if not, this ‘moderator’ is probably a pain in the ass to play with. Creative, sure, but it pretty much recommends making the life of your players impossible and try to kill them in any chance possible. Nothing wrong with making a good challenge for the party, but when your sole purpose is to challenge every action the players do, no matter how creative or cunning they are, then you’re probably a kind of a douche.
D&D, AD&D and Gaming: By Gary Gygax. A little article retelling the origins of D&D and its influence across the world, with a tiny bit of arrogancy sparkled on some wording. You guys know it, Gygax made® D&D, with the help of his pal Dave Arneson, who was also a great campaign manager that created the first fantasy world-campaign with Blackmoor. Arneson used Chainmail and the fantasy supplement and made the changes that would switch wargaming into roleplaying. Instead of the focus being around entire armies, now, gamers would focus on a role, a single character, and they can gain expertise and become better and better, to the rank of superhero. And so, the story goes. A bit sad considering what happened to Anderson and how he went into near oblivion by the 80s, but well, this is a sad world. Also, there’s a disclaimer that explains that AD&D is NOT D&D, nor is it an expansion or supplement, it’s a full new game folks. He also mentions that Judges Guild is invited to use the column to talk about their products, and still spits a little bit more on amateur press and magazines, just a little bit more, because a few months between feuds is not a lot. Wink.
MUGGER!: By Kevin Hendryx. Ever wanted to play a roleplaying game in the current age? Yeah? No? Me neither. I’ve never found the appeal of playing anything set in either the modern or contemporary age, as I feel is just doesn’t have that gist that I look for in RPGs. I think the only one that has attracted me Call of Cthulhu, and mostly because it deals with Lovecraft Mythos, more than just being set in modern/contemporary ages. Anyway, Mugger! Is a D&D variant that allows you to play in Bronx, 1974. You’re a thief, and that’s how the game evolves. It includes new items, encounters, levels, weapons, and so on. Other than that, it’s just 3 pages long so I guess you’re going to do some heavy work of prep before playing.
Birth Tables and Social Status: Empire of the Petal Throne: By G. Arthur Rahman. Pretty much what the title says. There’s various social classes and titles that you can gain depending on the charts, and each one has different subtitles. For example: You can be born with a magic user title, and be a Seer, and so on. It then groups the titles and adds some spells depending on what you get, and it becomes quite complicated by the end of it.
Blueprint For A Lich: Vampires Blood, Belladonna & A Virgins Heart Well Simmered: By Len Lakofka. An article that details quite nicely how to make a lich and the different ways a lich works. I’m not sure how they were back in the golden days, but it seems the basic premise is still the same: Liches are immortal beings that transfer their souls to some sort or ‘recipient’ and that way they never die, even if their bodies rot. The formula to create the potion that allows you to become a lich (according to this article) is quite rich and full of different bizarre materials, including, of course, a virgin’s heart. I never quite understood what’s the exact implication with virgins and undead monsters, like vampires. I imagine it has to do with some legend coming from Christianism? Like how silver bullets kill wolves because Judas sold Jesus for silver coins? Don’t know, but anyway, this article is an interesting step-by-step to make one of the most gruesome and iconic monsters out there.
Putting Together a Party On the Spur of the Moment: By Gary Gygax. A quickguide, or primer, on how to start a game as fast as possible and as effectively as you can with newbies. It’s quite nice as a little tool for hasty DMs. Also, lucky people that can brag about having a party in the spur of the moment. It takes me a full year and a few sacrifices to Satan to get one.
Strength Comparison Table: By Thomas Holsinger. This table is designed to show DMs what happens when strength goes beyond 18/100 and below 3. I have no idea what that means.
Tribes of Crane: By Jeff Neufeld. A play-by-mail game where you control a tribe in the world of Crane. You accumulate warriors, gold and other resources to win, according to Wikipedia. Interestingly, the game costs you $1 to join, $1.50 for a monthly turn. Didn’t knew you had to pay for playing and turns back then.
War in the Frozen North: A Review of Ice War: By Tony Watson. A microgame sci-fi game set in 2007, which pits the US against the Soviets during WW3. People really had hopes that by the 2000s we would have power suits and rail guns, didn’t they? Well, I guess it’s not that different from a regular 7.62. Anyway, the reviewer ends with a positive note, noting the fast-paced action and clean style of the game.
Mercenary: A Review: By Mark S. Day. Lots of reviews incoming, so I’ll be quick. Mercenary is a supplement for Traveller that ads mercs to the game. The quality is fairly good but still some important things were left out, according to the reviewer.
The Battle of Monmouth: By Dave Minch. A wargame set in the time of the US Revolution, or Succession War, or the British yanking, as I like to not-call-it-in-public-because-I’m-bad-at-puns. The reviewer likes the game despite its faults. Admits that it needs some tweaking but, in essence, it’s pretty good.
Grenadier Figure Packs: By R. Forster. Not a game! A review of figurines. A variety of different figures for different themes and topics, from classic fantasy to WW2. The reviewer agrees with the price and says that the price is damn well worth it. I agree. Grenadier figures are great.
Battle Sphere: A Game Review: By Tony Watson. A creative and quite complete sci fi game focused on spaceships, warring factions, space repairs, search-and-destroy, and a lot of void combat. It has a fairly solid base of lore already, and a lot of cool looking illustrations. The reviewer ends with a slightly positive note, mentioning the simplicity of it and its easy-going nature. Still, he still thinks that it requires a bit of more work to make it more interesting.
Dragon’s Bestiary: Barghest: A hyena-type creature. While no illustration is included (sadly) the description works. Never heard of this one before, and it seems to be quite simple, a little generic. Only different is that it can jump between its humanoid shape and dog-like shape. It also heals by consuming energy levels from humans.
The Thief: A Deadly Annoyance: By Rod Stephens. A little article that defends the thief as a underused class that’s not properly executed by most players. It gives some tips on how to play it, ways to manage it, avoid OP instances and just a small guide on what a thief should do.
Endless Questing 