Dragon 088 (august 1984).pdf

D RA GON 1

Publisher: Mike Cook

Editor-in-Chief: Kim Mohan

Editorial staff: Roger Raupp

Patrick Lucien Price

Mary Kirchoff

Roger Moore

Subscriptions: Mellody Knull

Contributing Editors: Ed Greenwood

Katherine Kerr

Ken Rolston

Advertising Sales Administrator:

Mary Parkinson

One little word

Vol. IX, No. 3

August 1984

Those of us who work with words are

seldom surprised by instances where one

little word makes a lot of difference. Thats

the way it is with words, we say knowingly.

But we got a letter the other day that was

surprising.

It came from Eric Dott, president of

Monarch Avalon Industries, Inc., and the

body of the letter goes like this: Please be

advised that from this date forward, every

reference to The Avalon Hill Game Com-

pany in your publication MUST be stated

as The Avalon Hill Game Company and

nothing else. It is important that the defi-

nite article The precede the words Avalon

Hill Game Company. Any deviation from

the full phrase The Avalon Hill Game

Company or any use of the word Avalon

other than as part of the full phrase The

Avalon Hill Game Company is improper

and may result in further litigation.

All of the hubbub over the word The

and the word Avalon came about when a

company named Avalon Industries, Inc.,

filed suit against The Avalon Hill Game

Company, apparently contending that the

game company was infringing on the other

companys possession of the trade name

Avalon. The agreement reached between

the two parties is summed up in the require-

ments spelled out in Mr. Dotts letter.

The whole thing would be none of our

business, except for the fact that this maga-

zine (or any other publication) could be

liable for a lawsuit if we dont help uphold

the agreement. And the issue may not mean

anything to you as a reader of this maga-

zine, except that it points out the impor-

tance and the sanctity of names that identify

companies or the products they market. For

the same general reasons, this is why we at

TSR, Inc., have to be eternally watchful

over the trademarks and other properties

that this company owns. It may seem harm-

less, for instance, if another game company

puts out a product identified as for use

with AD&D, or words to that effect. But if

the company that owns the AD&D® trade-

mark allows this to happen, unintentionally

or otherwise, then were running the risk of

having the ownership of that trade name

taken away from us.

Its going to be awkward if we ever have

to refer to a product as a The Avalon Hill

Game Company game, but well find a

way to deal with that, because it would be a

lot more awkward to get up in front of a

judge somewhere and explain why we

didnt do it. After all, we shouldnt need a

court of law to tell us that one little word

does make a big difference.

SPECIAL ATTRACTION

ELEFANT HUNT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45

Safari, so good: The latest game

from Tom Whams imagination

This issues contributing artists:

James Holloway

Keith Parkinson

Jeff Butler

Brian Born

OTHER FEATURES

Roger Raupp

Kurt Erichsen

Tom Wham

Dave Trampier

Falling damage: a matter of gravity

Physics and falling damage. . . . . . . . . . . . .12

The argument in favor of velocity

Scientific facts behind the system. . . . . . . .13

Kinetic energy is the key . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19

Mark Nelson

Larry Elmore

DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is

published monthly for a subscription price of $24

per year by Dragon Publishing, a division of

TSR, Inc. The mailing address of Dragon

Publishing for all material except subscription

orders is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147;

the business telephone number is (414)248-8044.

The

It chews what you want to use

. . .

. . 22

DRAGON Magazine is available at hobby

stores and bookstores throughout the United

States and Canada, and through a limited

number of overseas outlets. Subscription rates

are as follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an address

in the U.S., $30 in Canada; $50 U.S. for 12

issues sent via surface mail or $95 for 12 issues

sent via air mail to any other country. All

subscription payments must be in advance, and

should be sent to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box

72089, Chicago IL 60690.

Beyond the dungeon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

The great outdoors, part 2

Key to Ramali. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

A story about Camelot, sort of

Index to advertisers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87

A limited quantity of certain back issues of

DRAGON Magazine can be purchased from the

Dungeon Hobby Shop. (See the list of available

issues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay-

ment in advance by check or money order must

accompany all orders. Payments cannot be made

through a credit card, and orders cannot be taken

nor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neither

an individual customer nor an institution can be

billed for a subscription order or a back-issue

purchase unless prior arrangements are made.

REGULAR OFFERINGS

Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Letters and answers

The forum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Opinions and observations

The issue of expiration for each subscription is

printed on the mailing label for each subscribers

copy of the magazine. Changes of address for the

delivery of subscription copies must be received

at least six weeks prior to the effective date of the

change in order to insure uninterrupted delivery.

Gods of the Suel pantheon. . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Part 3: Syrul, Fortubo, and Wee Jas

All material published in DRAGON

Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the

publisher upon publication, unless special ar-

rangements to the contrary are made prior to

publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes

unsolicited submissions of written material and

artwork; however, no responsibility for such sub-

missions can be assumed by the publisher in any

event. Any submission which is accompanied by

a self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficient

size will be returned if it cannot be published.

Off the shelf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Reviews of fantasy & SF literature

Convention calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40

ICE can stand the heat. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64

Reviewing the Rolemaster series

The ARES Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69

16 pages of SF gaming articles

DRAGON is a registered trademark for

Dragon Publishings monthly adventure playing

aid. All rights on the contents of this publication

are reserved, and nothing may be reproduced

from it in whole or in part without first obtaining

permission in writing from the publisher.

Gamers Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86

Dragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88

Wormy............................89

Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,

Wis., and additional mailing offices.

Snarfquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .93

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to

Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva

WI 53147, USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848.

DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, AD&D, TOP

SECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unless otherwise indicated.

2 A UGUST 1984

ecology of the rust monster . .

ave you ever wanted to be

a big game hunter? If so,

youll have to keep on hunt-

ing, because we dont have

enough space to give you a

big game. But in the meantime, youll like

the little game inside this issue. Elefant

Hunt is Tom Whams latest exercise in

purposeful silliness, which is a big-word

way of saying that he makes good game

designs that are also fun to play.

Although he didnt know it was going to

work out this way when he painted it, Jim

Holloways cover art ties in pretty well

with an article thats also purposeful but

definitely not silly. If the damsel with the

dagger falls from the safety of her perch,

shes going to get hurt by the fall. And

thats where Physics and falling damage

comes in. Arn Ashleigh Parker, who has a

degree in physics as well as a lot of gaming

experience, applied her knowledge in both

areas to come up with yet another system

for calculating falling damage. Is it the

ultimate system? Well, as with so many

other things, that probably depends on

your point of view. Steve Winter, who

delved into physics before becoming a

game editor for TSR, Inc., offers a rebut-

tal to Ms. Parkers proposal in Kinetic

energy is the key.

In part 2 of Beyond the dungeon,

contributing editor Katharine Kerr con-

cludes her advice on how to leave under-

ground rooms and corridors and make an

AD&D® game campaign mesh with the

world in which it takes place. Although its

directed primarily at players and DMs

who havent tried aboveground adventur-

ing before, this article and its predecessor

have some thoughts and tips that even

experienced campaigners can use.

If the AD&D game universe contains a

more unusual critter than the rust mon-

ster, I dont know what it could be. In this

issues ecology article, Ed Greenwood fills

in some details about rusty that should

help play go more smoothly the next time

your characters sword becomes a snack.

This issues installment of the deities of

the Suel pantheon from Len Lakofka

includes the first two females weve pub-

lished, surly Syrul and wicked Wee Jas,

flanking good old Fortubo, whos a good

example of the strong, silent type.

One of the treats inside the ARES

Science Fiction Section is the first article

weve ever printed on the new MARVEL

SUPERHEROES game, written by one

who ought to know Jeff Grubb, who

designed the game system.

Noted SF/fantasy author Ardath May-

har makes her first appearance in these

pages with Key to Ramali, an intrigu-

ing story that makes some interesting

points about values and viewpoints and

just happens to be built around the con-

cept of . . . a mechanical camel?! Yeah,

thats what I thought I said. KM

Who wrote it?

some limits had to be set on what creatures could

be included, based on who was or wasn’t likely to

“duke it out” with player characters. Of course,

DMs can come up with their own statistics for

creature types not on the list. — RM

Dear Editor:

I have a problem that I think other DMs might

also experience at one time or another. One of the

players in a dungeon had an argument with

another player. I dont remember the exact

situation, but one of them said, Lets send it to

Dragon for the answer. I truly dont believe that

a letter was ever sent to your offices. However,

after about two months he showed us a letter that

was supposedly written by Gary Gygax stating

that he was in the right. The letter was not signed

and it was typed on normal typing paper.

My question is this: If a letter is not printed in

your magazine, will it still be answered, and if so

will it be typed on Dragon letterhead? I would

greatly appreciate any information you could give

me about this.

Why no numbers?

Dear Dragon:

In issue #87, you showed us the plant/animals

of Hortus, but you didnt tell us their attacks, hit

dice, armor class, etc. Will you please either send

me these facts, or put them in the next issue of

the magazine.

Eric Stauffer

Chadds Ford, Pa.

“The legacy of Hortus” was not presented as a

cavalcade of new monster types for the AD&D®

game, but rather as a bit of entertainment that we

hoped would spark the imagination of anyone

who wanted to install these “beasts” into a gam-

ing envronment. In fact, we aren’t even sure that

we could come up with statistics that everyone

would find acceptable. (For instance, can you say

for sure how many hit points of damage it would

take to cut through the stalk of a cowslip?) Sorry,

but we can’t and won’t try to turn Hortus’s

creations into actual AD&D game monsters —

which gives you a golden opportunity to give

them the numbers that you think they should

have. — KM

Andy Bowles

Litchfield, Ill.

If anyone representing DRAGON® Magazine

answers a letter from a reader, you can bet that

response will be signed, even if it’s only a “KM”

or “RM” at the end of one of the passages in this

column. I can‘t speak for Mr. Gygax, but I really

can‘t imagine him sending an unsigned letter to

anyone, either.

I also can’t imagine him or anyone else who

represents this company writing a letter on ordi-

nary paper. The letters we send out are either

typed on actual letterhead or they’re computer

printouts that are still unmistakeably identifiable

as coming from (in this case) someone on the

magazine staff.

No, we don‘t answer every letter that we don‘t

publish, but if we do send a response, we sure

aren’t going to conceal who wrote it or where it

came from. It sounds to me like someone tried to

pull a fast one on you, Andy — and I do mean

“tried.” — KM

Magic mysteries

Dear Editor:

Though Five new enchanted objects in #86

was very good, I still have a few questions.

The scepter of defense, as the article says, can

be used by all fighter classes, clerics, druids,

thieves, assassins, and monks. I would like to

know if this also applies to anti-paladins, samu-

rai, ninjas, or any other NPCs that have ap-

peared in DRAGON.

Also, can someone who uses the necklace of

alteration be affected by rust dust if they have

been bestowed a metallic composition? And if so,

what would their saving throw be? What do

metallic magical items get for a saving throw

against rust dust if their properties arent mea-

sured by a +1, +2, etc.?

A show of strength

Dear Editor:

I noticed what appears to be a typographical

error in How to finish fights faster (#83), in the

list that gave the average racial strengths. Half-

elves were placed under the strength of 11 and

12. I assume the former is correct, because its

midway between elf and human. Also, I would

like to know why strengths for other humanoid-

type creatures werent added. Is it just that

characters dont very often duke it out with

things like vegepygmies?

Charles Kluz

Schofield, Wis.

The scepter of defense can be used by NPC

classes which are similar to those listed in the

article; thus, anti-paladins, samurai, ninjas,

duelists, and so forth could use it. However,

magic-user subclasses (like the alchemist) could

not.

Someone wearing a necklace of alteration

cannot be affected by rust dust; the wearer’s body

Jon Kohl

Foxboro, Mass.

Half-elves should have been listed under the 11

strength category only; that was a correct as-

sumption, Jon. And your suspicion about why

other creatures weren’t included is also correct;

DRAGON 3

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