The duvet is by Denis Beauvais and depicts a pair of knights battling on a multi-level chessboard. Beauvais painted many Dragon covers. Inside artists embody Harry Quinn, Roger Raupp, Dave Trampier, Dennis Kauth, Kurt Erichsen, Jerry Eaton, Craig Smith, Jeff Butler, and Larry Elmore.
This subject’s particular attraction is “Nice Stoney,” a miniature cardboard fortress designed by Arthur Collins and tailored for print by Dennis Kauth. This uncommon function presents readers an entire cut-and-assemble fortress, together with detailed flooring plans and campaign-ready background materials. TSR was experimenting with cutout terrain, which was additionally featured in B6: The Veiled Society, which was launched the identical 12 months. Arthur Collins later labored on DMGR2: The Fortress Information.
Ed Greenwood presents “The Ecology of the Slithering Tracker,” providing recent perception into this underutilized predator. Delivered because the notes of the wizard Aluthandee, the article describes the monster’s look, searching techniques, and replica. Greenwood now has these articles all the way down to a wonderful method, together with an evocative piece of fiction with the sport data within the endnotes and an appendix. The slithering tracker first appeared in 2E after which was dropped, reappearing in 5E.
In “Familiars with a Particular Use,” Stephen Inniss notes that evil magic-users appear to have probably the most potent supernatural familiars. To stability issues, he proposes new supernatural familiars known as the galadur and the lomendur. He additionally proposes the burzugdur as an general time period for imps, quasits, and different weak fiends. I like the thought of minor celestials, however none of those phrases caught on. Inniss printed many articles for Dragon.
In “The Suel Pantheon,” Len Lakofka introduces some gods worshipped by the Suel individuals of Greyhawk. Lakofka was a very good pal of Gary Gygax, and he notes that this data got here immediately from him. The article describes simply two gods: Lendor, Prince of Time, and Norebo, God of Luck, however future articles will add to the pantheon.
“Dragons and Their Deities” by Alan Zumwalt introduces the shocking (however logical) concept of dragon clerics. The article is okay, however the slender focus means it would not ship on the wonderful title. A broader take a look at the theological and devotional lives of dragons might have been unbelievable. Zumwalt printed two articles with Dragon however has no different RPG credit.
Craig Barrett brings us “The Warrior Different,” a DragonQuest variant introducing non-magical characters. The core guidelines severely penalize characters that do not follow magic, so this selection seeks to deal with that. Barrett printed a couple of dozen articles in Dragon and different magazines.
“5 New Enchanted Objects” introduces distinctive AD&D magic gadgets to shock seasoned gamers overfamiliar with these within the Dungeon Grasp’s Information. These things, by varied authors, are Workers of the Couatl, Scepter of Protection, Rust Mud, Necklace of Alteration, and Dragonhelm. General, they’re well-crafted and flavorful. Dragon used to have an everyday column of recent magic gadgets known as “Bazaar of the Bizzare”, and it is a disgrace they dropped it.
“Mzee” by Charles R. Saunders is the story of Imaro, a younger outsider hoping to earn his tribe’s respect. It’s set in a richly detailed African savannah and explores themes of resilience, belonging, and future. The writer skillfully develops Imaro as a sympathetic protagonist with a lyrical fashion specializing in character development somewhat than overt motion. Saunders was identified for pioneering the “sword and soul” sub-genre and featured Imaro in a sequence of novels.
The Ares Part has 14 pages of science fiction and superhero content material and contains 4 articles:
- “Know Your Enemy” by James Ryan is a information to supervillain teams.
- “A World Gone Mad” by James M. Ward describes the moon in Gamma World.
- “Quick and Lethal” by Carl Smith comprises new ships and eventualities for the Knight Hawks recreation.
- “Interstellar Athletics” by Michael Brown is a brand new profession for Traveller.
There are two recreation critiques on this subject:
- Battlesuit by Steve Jackson Video games is a man-to-man fight board recreation set within the Ogre universe. Gamers maneuver armoured infantry models on a gridless map and alternate lethal hearth, making a tense cat-and-mouse dynamic. The parts are eye-catching, and the eventualities provide nice replayability. It is an intense, fast-playing “shoot-’em-up” expertise, and reviewer Jerry Epperson thinks it “properly price choosing up.”
- Phantasy Conclave is a fantasy RPG boxed set containing cube and three small books. The foundations advanced from a gaming membership of the identical title, and although they’re clearly derived from AD&D, they lack depth and stability. No monsters, incomplete fight tips, and an underdeveloped magic system hinder playability. It’s a recreation by enthusiastic amateurs, and reviewer Steve Listing concludes it “can not actually examine to different merchandise of this sort in the marketplace.”
And that is a wrap! It was a strong subject, although not excellent, with the story by Saunders catching my eye. Subsequent month, we now have wilderness adventures, Star Legislation, and a Prime Secret mission!
