Where�s My Magazine?

Tthe next issue was forthcoming — and hope that it would besoon. Well, here it is, DRAGON Magazine #237. It has survived along and grueling dungeon, emerging slightly battleworn butvictorious.

he theme of the last DRAGON® Magazine to appear was,appropriately enough, “Faith and Hope.” Since that issue,you have been waiting patiently, demonstrating faith that

The “next issue” previews are now incorrect. The “Cons &Pros” and “TSR Previews” sections are very much out of date. itskind of like showing up at a wedding straight from a dusty cam-paign, smelling more like a moose than a wedding guest withhair dirty and unkempt. Well, this is the “Something Wild” issue,with new articles and fiction, and familiar friends like “Knightsof the Dinner Table,” “DragonMirth,” and “Sage Advice.”

So, the father of the bride says, “Why didn’t you tell us you’dbe late? And where have you been?” Well, we didn’t realize wewould be this late. We were certain there would be plenty oftime to clean up and change clothes. We were wrong, and weapologize. If we had any idea that issue #237 would be this late,you most certainly would have been notified. What we do knowis that we have survived many problems and crises over the pastfive months — have lost some hit points — but we are here.

Furthermore, we have built up experience points, and wepromise that we will never go away again. Once a month, likeclockwork, we’ll be there, in your mail box, at the hobby shops,and in the bookstores. All subscriptions will be fully honored,and in November, with the publication of the DRAGON MagazineAnnual #2, you will see us twice.

However, as in many campaigns, we came away with anew gaming buddy and friend. TSR, Inc. has been bought byWizards of the Coast, Inc. What better ally could we have thana company named after an AD&D® campaign?

When undertaking an AD&D adventure, a mixed party ismost viable. Clerics heal, warriors fight, and mages wieldmagic. Complementary skills enhance the group. One player’sweakness is another player’s strength.

Wizards of the Coast and TSR match up incredibly well. TSRproduces the world’s most popular role-playing games andbooks, and Wizards of the Coast produces the world’s mostsuccessful trading card games. We are both different, but whatwe do, we do well. We complement each other. Of course,DRAGON Magazine is the periodical of AD&D game material forrole-playing gamers, and we will continue to give you the bestarticles about role playing that we possible can.

We know that you have many questions about the currentchanges, so we’re compiling a Frequently Asked Questions listabout the sale of TSR to Wizards of the Coast. The answers toall those questions will appear with the next issue of DRAGONMagazine.

Under the Wizard’s protection, we will grow and thrive. Aspositively as the relaunch of DRAGON Magazine was received, weanticipate giving you an even better DRAGON Magazine in thefuture. Join us on this new campaign. Who knows whatwonders and sights are yet to come?

Pierce Watters

Publisher Associate PublisherTSR, Inc. Brian Thomsen

Editor-in-ChiefPierce Watters

EditorDave Gross

Art DirectorLarry Smith

Associate Editor Editorial AssistantMichelle Vuckovich Lizz Baldwin

SubscriptionsLinda Baerbock

AdvertisingCindy Rick

Printed in the USA

DRAGON #237 3

Volume XXI, No. 8

Issue #237

Wild at HeartSteve BermanFour new wilderness kits forevery class, including newwizard and priest spells.Page 8

Man’s Best FriendClayton R. Beal

What are you saying, Lassie?Timmy’s being attacked by orcs?

Page 18

On aWaterlessSeaToddStigliano

Big wheels for theheroes of Athas.

Page 23

Hidden TalentsWilliam W. Connors

A simple skills systemfor the SAGA™ rules.

Page 38

Fun with reincarnation.Page 65

I’m a What?!Lachlan McQuarrie

Columns

Wyrms of theNorth: Eldenser

Ed GreenwoodIs that a dragon in your sword?

Page 32

Dragon’sBestiary:Venomous!Kevin Melka

Poisonous reptiles from the jun-gles of the real world, plus more

poison types for your own newmonsters.

Page 42

Game Wizards:ALTERNITY� Game

Bill Slavicsekand Rich Baker

A first peek at the new science-fic-tion game by TSR.

Page 60

Campaign Classics:Lupins of theMYSTARA® SettingBruce HeardThe many breeds of lupinsmake fine canine PCs.Page 70

Bazaarof theBizarre: Long

Shots

3 ....................... The Wyrm’s TurnFlames and feedback.

6 ........................................... D-MailWhat’s on your mind about what’s in themagazine.

82 ........... RPGA® Network NewsIt starts at the WINTER FANTASY™ convention, butthe "Visions of Destiny” tournaments won’t stopthere.

90 .............................. Cons & ProsCan’t find anyone to play all those great newgames you got over the holidays? Try a localgame convention.

92 ........................... Sage AdviceWalls of force can stop pretty much anythingbut the Sage’s answers to this month‘s AD&D®game questions.

108 ........ Role-playing ReviewsFantasy from the DRAGONLANCE®: FIFTH AGE™campaign to the Necromunda* board game.

120 ................ The Current ClackThe state of the industry.

Other Material99 ............... Knights of the Dinner Table100 ........................................... DragonMirth102 ................................. Gamer’s Guide104 ........................................................ Floyd116 ........................................ TSR Previews

Brian DunnellNew magical itemsto set your archers

aquiver.Page 96

DRAGON #237 5

lf you have a comment, opinion, or ques-tion for the editors of DRAGON® Magazine,write us a letter. We’d love to hear from you.

In the United States and Canada, sendletters to “D-Mail,” DRAGON Magazine, 201Sheridan Springs Road, Lake Geneva, WI53147 USA. In Europe, send letters to “D-Mail,” DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB13LB, United Kingdom.

You can also send e-mail to us attsrdragon@aol.com. Requests for writersguidelines should go to tsr.mags@genie.com.Please use regular mail for change of addressnotices or subscription orders.

�Shocked, I tell you!�Dear DRAGON Magazine,

I, for one, was shocked by RickSwan’s review of the instant classic NightBelow and of Undermountain: The LostLevel in DRAGON Magazine #234. It wasn’treally the review that got me so much asthe elitist attitude revealed by his com-ments. He says any AD&D® game veter-an regards dungeon crawls as trainingwheels to be set aside when you’reready to play with the grownups.

Hello, Mr. Swan. My name is SteveShawler. I have been DMing since 1980,and dungeon crawls are #1 in my book.I’ve had my players free Daggerdale, use

DRAGON® Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) is published monthly exceptNovember (twice monthly) by TSR, Inc., 201 Sheridan Springs Road, LakeGeneva. WI 53147, United States of America. The postal address for allmaterials from the United States of America and Canada except subscrip-tion orders is: DRAGON® Magazine, 201 Sheridan Springs Road, LakeGeneva, WI 53147, U.S.A.; telephone (414) 248-3625; fax (414) 248-0389The postal address for materials from Europe is: DRAGON Magazine, TSRLtd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton, Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom,telephone. (0223) 212517 (U.K.), 44-223-212517 (international), telex818761; fax (0223) 248066 (U.K.), 414-223-238066 (international).

Distribution: DRAGON Magazine is available from game and hobbyshops throughout the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, andthrough a limited number of other overseas outlets. Distribution to thebook trade in the United Slates is by Random House, Inc., and in Canada

survival skills to make it through a cross-country midwinter trek, and try to catchthieves who steal their magic in towns,to name only a few of the non-dungeoncrawls that have been part of my six-year-long campaign in the FORGOTTENREALMS® setting. However, the adven-tures we all keep rehashing and nevertire of discussing are the monster-bash-ing dungeon crawls! Whether we aretalking about the running battle with theTriumvirate and their pet umber hulkwho took the ground out from undertheir feet, or their near-fatal brawl with asmall drow enclave deep in theUnderdark, these are the adventuresthat live on in our minds long afterthey’ve forgotten their “thrilling” conver-sation with Elminster. I’m sorry, butnothing beats a well-designed dungeoncrawl for sheer gaming excitement!

Mr. Swan’s attitude makes me won-der if that is why there are so few dun-geon crawls on the market today. Whatdo my fellow players think? Is my groupthe only one that still enjoys dungeoncrawls?! Is the game doomed to becomenothing but war games (as in theBIRTHRIGHT® setting), horror stories(RAVENLOFT® setting), and slave rebellions(DARK SUN® setting)?

Say it isn’t so, Joe!Steve Shawler

3306 Radiance RoadLouisville, KY 40220

Thanks from down underDear DRAGON Magazine,

Greetings! I have received my copy ofthe first DRAGON Magazine annual. It’s anexcellent idea to have something likethis. And to release it in Novemberinstead of waiting ’til December is tops.And to think that it cost U.S. $5.95, and Igot it for free. My deepest thanks!

It was nice to see a monster entryfrom the Philippines. The aswang in the“Vampires A-Z” article is just whatWilliam W. Connors described!

Thanks again!Emmanuel L. Abary

Victoria, Australia

by Random House of Canada, Ltd. Distribution to the book trade in theUnited Kingdom is by TSR Ltd. Send orders to Random House, Inc., OrderEntry Department, Westminster MD 21157, U.S.A.; telephone: (800) 733-3000. Newsstand distribution throughout the United Kingdom is byComag Magazine Marketing, Tavistock Road, West Drayton, MiddlesexUB7 7QE, United Kingdom, telephone 0895-444055.

Subscription: Subscription rates via periodical-class mail are as fol-lows: $42 in U.S. funds for 13 issues sent to an address in the U.S., $49in U.S. funds for 13 issues sent to an address in Canada; £36 for 13issues sent to an address within the United Kingdom: £49 for 13 issuessent to an address in Europe, $65 in U.S. funds for 13 issues sent by sur-face mail to any other address, or $119 in U.S. funds for 13 issues sentair mail to any other address. Payment in full must accompany all sub-scription orders. Methods of payment include checks or money orders

Online reunionsDear DRAGON Magazine,

I have been playing the AD&D gamefor about five years now. Unfortunatelyour group has begun to split up due tosome of the members moving to differ-ent cities and the like. However, sincewe all own computers and that we areall on the internet, we were wondering ifthere were rooms on the internet wherewe could continue to play. Any informa-tion that you could provide us would begreatly appreciated. Thank you

James Thornbrughvia e-mail

For five years or more, the DMs in theTSR Online area of Genie have been run-ning a variety of AD&D campaigns. As I typethese words, the chat-based games in theTSR Online area on America Online arekicking into high gear, with more DMs start-ing new games all the time. While mostfolks who join these games end up makingnew friends rather than meeting old ones,this could be the perfect way for old gamingpals to reunite after the years and mileshave grown long. (Hey, Bob! When’re wegoing to start up a game again?)

Oops!Dear DRAGON Magazine,

Congratulations on another fineissue, and the Annual to boot. I found apoint of interest, though. While readingthe “Mage on Deck” article, I noticed thatthe Wild Jibe spell on page 42 has a list-ing of “Components: V, S, M.” In thedescription of the spell, however, thereis no mention of a material component.Is this a typo for the components, or anomission of the material component?

While looking through the Dragon’sBestiary article on “Monsters of theDeep,” I noticed that there is no Hit Diceentry for the octo-jelly. Instead themovement rate is reprinted in the col-umn. What is the HD for the Octo-Jelly?

Dennis H. Groome Vvia e-mail

made payable to TSR, Inc., or charges to valid MasterCard or VISA creditcards; send subscription orders with payments to TSR, Inc., P.O. Box5695, Boston MA 02206, U.S.A. In the United Kingdom, methods of pay-ment include cheques or money orders made payable to TSR Ltd., orcharges to a valid ACCESS or VISA credit card; send subscription orderswith payments to TSR Ltd., as per that address above. Prices are subjectto change without prior notice. The issue expiration of each subscriptionis printed on the mailing label of each subscriber’s copy of the magazine.Changes of address for the delivery of subscription copies must bereceived at least six weeks prior to the effective date of the change inorder to assure uninterrupted delivery.

Submissions: All material published in DRAGON Magazine becomes theexclusive property of the publisher, unless special arrangements to thecontrary are made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes unso-

6

Ack! In our haste to put out both theNovember issue and the Annual on time, wemade some embarrassing blunders. Thesetwo are easily fixed:

The Hit Dice value for the octo-jelly is 10.While the original text of the wild jibe

spell does not describe a material component,it makes sense that it should be the same asfor a gust of wind spell, a legume seed.

Also, we omitted the last name of thecover artist for issue #235. Eddie Rainwateris the 3D artist animator who created thedragon that graced the cover. Before arriv-ing at Interplay, Rainwater was classicallytrained as an artist from the Otis Parsons ArtInstitute in Los Angeles. He explains, “I’vealways loved art. . . . the earliest memory Ihave is drawing dinosaurs as a kid.”

Six months in production for the Descentto Undermountain computer game,Rainwater’s job was to create an animateddragon from concept to animation. Hedrew a concept of the dragon on paper,then molded it into a clay head. The nextstep was digitizing the head into the com-puter. Then he added textures and colors togive it a “real” look. The final step was theanimation itself: “I created the dragon withTSR in mind,” he says, “due to having beeninspired by many of their talented staffgrowing up.”

Finally, in the Annual, we mistakenlyprinted John R. Prager’s name as Robert onthe table of contents. Sorry, John!

Something oldDear DRAGON Magazine,

I really enjoy the new format of yourmagazine. I do miss some of the old sec-tions of DRAGON Magazine. I loved read-ing the “First Quest” articles. I enjoyedhearing about people discovering D&D®for the first time. I guess it was probablyhard to keep finding new stories. I guessus sentimental folks just liked reminisc-ing about the old days. I know that westill try to get together with folks we metin college to game every few months,even though many miles and years sep-arate our lives. We like to open ourhome for a weekend and let our friendsescape from the real world and remem-

licited submissions of written material and artwork; however, no respon-sibility for such submissions can be assumed by the publisher in anyevent. Any submission accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped enve-lope of sufficient size will be returned if it cannot be published. Westrongly recommend that prospective authors write for our writers’ guide-lines before sending an article to us. In the United States and Canada,send a self-addressed, stamped envelope (9 ½” long preferred) to Writers’Guidelines, c/o DRAGON Magazine, at the above address; include sufficientAmerican postage or International Reply Coupons (IRC) with the returnenvelope. In Europe, write to: Writers’ Guidelines, c/o DRAGON Magazine,TSR Ltd., include sufficient International Reply Coupons with your SASE.

Advertising: For information on placing advertisements in DRAGONMagazine, ask for our rate card. All ads are subject to approval by TSR,Inc. TSR reserves the right to reject any ad for any reason. In the United

ber how nice it was to be adventuringfor the first time in both the real worldand the D&D® world. I just thought youwould like to know that it is good toremember the DRAGON Magazine of thepast and enjoy what is yet to come.

Rondavia e-mail

One-setting issuesDear DRAGON Magazine,

Have you ever considered doingissues that focus on the various TSRgame worlds? I remember one suchissue, long ago, that showcased theDARK SUN world when it was firstreleased, but since then it seems thatfew (if any) issues have had three or soarticles on a specific game world. Iunderstand that not every reader wouldappreciate such an issue, but if some ofthe articles were done in the context ofsome of your regular columns (i.e.,“Arcane Lore,” “Bazaar of the Bizarre,”etc.), then they could still derive somebenefit from the issue. No doubt thelegion of GREYHAWK® setting admirerswould be overjoyed at seeing an issuefocusing on Oerth (especially sinceRoger E. Moore’s “Orbs of Dragonkind”article was so well received back in#230), and I personally would love tosee a DRAGON Magazine issue specificallyon the Forgotten Realms. The upcomingAnnual will do a little to alleviate thiswish of mine, but I just thought thatyou’d appreciate the suggestion.

George Krashosvia e-mail

Well, George, now we’re dying to knowhow much the Annual fulfilled your wish.Our goal is to make most of every issue use-ful for everyone who plays the AD&D game,so we focus on articles that can be used inmost or all settings. With “Wyrms of theNorth” in most issues, the Realms receive agood deal of attention. We won’t rule out aworld-specific issue in future, but in themeantime, let’s hear how many other read-ers like that idea.

States and Canada, contact: Advertising Coordinator, TSR, inc.,201 Sheridan Springs Road, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In Europe,contact Advertising Coordinators, TSR Ltd.

Advertisers and/or agencies of advertisers agree to hold TSR, Inc.harmless from and against any loss or expense from any alleged wrong-doing that may arise out of the publication of such advertisements. TSR,Inc. has the right to reject or cancel any advertising contract for which theadvertiser and/or agency of advertiser fails to comply with the businessethics set forth in such contract.

DRAGON is a registered trademark of TSR, Inc. Registration applied forin the United Kingdom. All rights to the contents of this publication arereserved, and nothing may be reproduced from it in whole or in partwithout first obtaining permission in writing from the publisher. Materialpublished in DRAGON® Magazine does not necessarily reflect the opinions

On the Cover

What about Bob? I first ranacross this painting at David O.Miller’s table at the GEN CON®Game Fair a few years back. It’s alarge, impressive painting andwould have been nearly impossi-ble to miss. There was no doubtthat I wanted to publish it inDRAGON Magazine.

While making arrangementswith Dave to get a transparencyof the painting, I asked whether ithad a title I could put on the con-tract. Dave respnded dryly, “I justcall it Bob.” Well, we loved thepainting even more with that, andhardly a month has since passedthat we haven‘t made at feast onereference or comment about Bob.

Dave, thanks for your patiencein putting Bob before an audience.It was worth the wait!

of TSR, Inc. Therefore, TSR will not be held accountable for opinions ormisinformation contained in such material.

® designates registered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc. ™ designatestrademarks owned by TSR, Inc. Most other product names are trade-marks owned by the companies publishing those products Use of thename of any product without mention of trademark status should not beconstrued as a challenge to such status.

© 1996 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. All TSR characters, characternames, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks ownedby TSR, Inc.

Periodical-class postage paid at Lake Geneva, Wis., U.S.A., and addition-al mailing offices. Postmaster: Send address changes to DRAGON Magazine,TSR, Inc., 201 Sheridan Springs Road, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A.USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848.

DRAGON #237 7

New wilderness kits for every classby Steve Bermanillustrated by Susan Van Camp

T he mystique of the wilderness draws many to it, but fewcan survive deep in its heart. Those that can are well-suited for the dangers of a life of adventure. Here are

four new wilderness kits, one for each class. Each is perfect forthe next NPC your characters encounter in the wild, or forthose PCs who are just a little wild at heart.

FeralDescription: Ferals are primitive warriors who have bonded

their beings with those of their chosen animal spirits. This bondmay occur at the warrior’s choosing through a spiritual questperformed upon becoming an adult, or it may be the result of aceremony performed by the village shaman at the feral’s birth.Often, the animal spirit is also the totem of the tribe.

A feral warrior can call upon the strength of the animal spir-it to help him defeat his enemies. He should choose his totemanimal from one of the following types:

Raptor — birds of prey (eagles, hawks, owls, and so on)Canine — dogs, wolves, and foxesUrsine — bearsPorcine — boarsFeline — cats (ranging lynx to lions)Equine — horses

Of course the player and DM may agree to modify this listdepending upon the area in which the feral lives. So a feral fromthe arctic wastes could choose from Ursine (polar bear) or Feline(snow leopard), while one who dwelt in the mountains wouldprobably be more apt to choose a Raptor (condor) or Feline(puma), or he may even ask the DM to add a category formountain goats to the list.

As part of the acceptance of the animal spirit, the feral’s per-sonality slowly changes to resemble the animal’s. A feline feralmight become aloof, an equine feral could be driven to wan-der, and a porcine feral likely develops a quick temper.

A feral character must have a minimum Dexterity andStrength of 13, and a Constitution no less than 14.

Role: A Feral is a unique member of his tribe. He is the linkbetween the world of the warrior and the unnatural world ofthe spirit realm. In effect, the feral is the bridge

respect. At times of war, the feral leads his people into battle,while in times of peace he may roam the countryside, drivenby the animal nature within his heart.

Unless the campaign includes savage demihumans, feralwarriors must be human. Most tend to be Neutral in alignment,like the animals themselves, but both noble and base exam-ples have been known.

Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Knife. A feral’s remainingslots must be spent on primitive weapons: club, dagger, shortbow, dart, hand axe, sling, or spear. As the character becomesmore exposed to the world, he may adopt new weapons.

Secondary Skills: Hunter, trapper/furrier. These skills would beuseful ways of providing food and clothing for the warrior’s tribe.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required: Hunting, tracking.Recommended: Animal handling, animal lore, camouflage,endurance, foraging, set snares, survival.

Equipment: Ferals wear clothing only for warmth and pro-tection. They adorn themselves with fur and often the teeth,bones, or claws of their chosen animal. While some might con-sider this a strange irony, ferals believe that such remains area link that makes channeling the spirit far easier.

Special Benefits: The binding of the animal spirit to theferal’s soul gives him greater courage. Thus, a feral makes allsaving throws against fear and similar effects at +2.

The feral can also call upon the heightened perception ofthe animal. This allows him to roll as if he possessed the alert-ness proficiency at +1. (Should the character already have thisproficiency, he makes the roll at a +2 bonus instead.) Thischanneling can be performed a number of times a day equalto the feral’s level, and the effect lasts only a single round.

At 5th level, a feral can call upon the bonded spirit to granthim temporary prowess in one aspect of the animal. He maychoose to use one of the following abilities each day:

Increased agility (lowering AC by 1), increased fierceness(+1 to THAC0), or expertise in one of the below traits (profi-ciencies), listed according to animal type.

Raptor — Awareness rolls are at +4; if the skill is not knownthen consider character to possess the proficiency.

Canine — Tracking rolls are at +4.Ursine — Survival rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known

then consider character to possess the proficiency.Porcine — Endurance rolls are at +4; if the skill is not known

then consider character to possess the proficiency.Feline — Hunting rolls are at +4.

Equine — Running rolls are at +4; if the skill isbetween the common folk of the tribe and theshamans, so he holds a position of great

not known, then consider character topossess the proficiency.

DRAGON #237 9

At 9th level, the feral canshapechange once per day into the formof the animal spirit. The transformationis not an easy one and requires physicalactivity; thus the character must be run-ning hard, in the midst of combat, orperforming some other physical exer-tion. Whatever the character is wearing,barring furs or skins, will not transformwith him, so a feral wearing a suit ofchain mail and trying to turn into ahorse would injure himself in doing so.Thus, at this level, such characters rarelywear anything truly constricting. It takestwo full rounds to transform and four toturn back to human.

Special Hindrances: Due to his wildmannerisms and dress, the feral characterreceives a -2 reaction adjustment from allNPCs except for members of his tribe.

Ferals are naturally susceptible to anymagic that might provoke them to vio-lence. They suffer a -1 on all savingthrows against such magic (includingsuch spells as taunt, or hate caused byan emotion spell).

Ferals are naturally superstitious andbelieve greatly in animal spirits. Shouldthey ever encounter an unnatural exam-ple of their animal guide, they would be

entirely loathe to harm it unless in self-defense. Thus, the feral that has a horseas his guide would look upon a night-mare as something fascinating, eventhough the creature’s evil alignmentmay differ from his own.

Finally, due to their close ties to theanimals they worship, ferals are moreprone to contract lycanthropy. They suf-fer a -2 on their saving throw againstthe arcane disease, but only if bitten bya werebeast of the same type as theferal’s animal spirit (i.e., a canine feralattacked by a werewolf). If the feral war-rior is of a higher level than the were-beast that attacked him, he may stillcontract lycanthropy, but he will nothave his alignment changed by the dis-order.

Wealth Options: 2d6 × 10 gp.

GreenfellowDescription: A greenfellow is not

your average rogue. Now and then thefey folk who live in the wilds of thecountryside are known to steal away

Greenfellow thieving skill adjustmentsPick Open F/R Move Hide in Detect Climb Read

Pockets Locks Traps Silently Shadows Noise Walls Languages— -15% -5% +10% +10% +5% - -5%

human babes and substitute their ownchildren in their place. The human chil-dren are raised by the faeries as theirown, often becoming greenfellows.

A greenfellow has strong ties to thefey folk that fostered him. Usually thefaeries are brownies, leprechauns, or pix-ies. They know the language and waysof their fostering parents more so thanhumankind, and they seek to protectfaerie interests both locally and abroad.

Though most greenfel lows areh u m a n b a b i e s s w a p p e d w i t hchangelings, it is not unknown for half-elven and full elven babies to be takenby the mischievous fey folk. (In the latercases, the children are often raised asmulticlassed greenfellow/enchanters.)

Greenfellows tend to be short fortheir age, for fey food and drink stunttheir growth. Their features are oftenattractive and merry, with alluring, twin-kling eyes.

Role: Greenfellows are a wily butgood-natured lot. They mostly travelthe countryside, rarely setting foot inanything more urban than local villagesand hamlets.

Should they come across an instancewhere the fey are not honored as in thepast, the greenfellow uses his thievingtalents to ensure that enough mischiefhappens that the locals return to the oldpractices.

A greenfellow may take the road toadventure, hoping to see other feycultures or perhaps to act as an envoyor courier between faerie courts.

As greenfellows are always raised bygood-natured faeries, a character choos-ing this kit must be of good alignment.

Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Dart.Recommended: Dagger, short sword.

Secondary Skills: None. Due to theirstrange upbringing, greenfellows rarelylearn human skills.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required:Alertness, fey lore (new). Recommended:Dancing, directional sense, fast-talking,foraging, set snares, spellcraft.

Skill Progression: Greenfellows tendto become more skilled with MoveSilently and Hide in Shadows than theother thieving talents. This is simplybecause there is often more call forthem to be hard to catch than to pick amerchant’s pocket or evade a trappedlock in the king’s vault.

10

Special Benefits: Thanks to theirupbringing, a greenfellow learns notonly the common human tongue butalso the language of his foster fey race.

Because of their constant exposure tothe magic and illusion of the fey realm,greenfellows all possess a +2 bonus onsaves vs. Enchantment magic and a +1bonus against Illusion magic.

When having any dealings with theirfoster race, a greenfellow gains a +4reaction adjustment. As the faerie realmholds many allies, a greenfellow also hasa +2 reaction adjustment when encoun-tering any similarly aligned fey folk.

At 6th level, a greenfellow can sum-mon some of his foster fey race. Thiscan occur only when the rogue is in anarea where such faeries are known tolive. The summoning takes 1 full turnand 1-3 of the faeries then appear.There is no guarantee that the faerieswill listen to the rogue’s request, butbear in mind the reaction adjustmentmentioned above.

At 9th level, the greenfellow becomesimmune to charm and suggestion spells.

Special Hindrances: All the thievingskills of the greenfellow are meant to beused in rural and wilderness conditions.Stuck in an urban environment, thecharacter would begin to feel edgy anduncomfortable. Skill attempts would behalved for the duration of the charac-ter’s stay.

Much as the mortal world is split byfactions and nations, so too is the feyrealm. Greenfellows suffer a -2 reactionadjustment with fey folk of differentalignment than the sort that raised thecharacter. (This restriction includes evenslight differences, such as that betweenChaotic Good and Neutral Good).

And just as the character can callupon his foster kind for assistance, theytoo may one day need the greenfellow’shelp, to which refusal would strip thecharacter of all special abilities.

Wealth Options: 5d4 × 10 gp.

New proficiency: Fey lore1 Slot, Int -2Greenfellows possess this special new profi-

ciency, due to their upbringing in the fey world.Other characters may eventually learn fey lore,but they must either spend much time within thatstrange culture or gain it through through weeksof reading about the faerie races.

Fey Lore: This is the knowledge of the fey folkand their ways. A character can use this profi-ciency to discern what sort of faerie would lurk ina specific area or terrain, whether or not an itemwas made by the fey folk, or simply to gathersome clue in dealing with such creatures in adiplomatic manner.

StridesmanDescription: Stridesmen are priests

who travel the countryside, never rest-ing, as they make their way through theworld. Often this life of wandering takesthem into the wilderness, far from civi-lization.

As opposed to most wanderers — likebards, rangers, and tinkers — the strides-man cares little whether he becomeslost. All the world is to be seen, everycorner visited at least once. So a strides-man never truly understands the notionof being lost; his god obviously meantfor him to visit the place he ends up. Ifthe deity had not, the stridesman wouldnot be there. This sort of thinking tendsto exasperate other travelers.

Most of these priests worship a godof travel, who they feel they must emu-late from the time they wake to whenthey lay down to sleep. A few payhomage to deities of healing or comfort,and these are the stridesman who travelfrom village to village bringing relief tothe suffering.

Role: Most stridesmen are of eithergood or neutral alignment. Due to theirconstant roaming, they rarely care aboutsomething so transient as regional

politics or conflicts; after all, they spendso little time in one area that they cannotbring themselves to worry about whattomorrow might bring. A rare lot of thesepriests are actually evil, and these are thecondemned few who are doomed bytheir god to wander forever, their pres-ence hated in many villages for what bit-terness they sow.

Weapon Proficiencies: Required: Staff.Secondary Skills: Farmer, forester,

trader/barterer.Duties of Priest: Guidance, Marriage.

A stridesman is vigilant against thosewho would bar passage along any high-way or path; thus an enforced toll alonga road by the local monarch wouldseem as blasphemous as a band of brig-ands ambushing merchants along theirway. Though they are not a violentorder, they will do what it takes toensure that free passage is available toany traveler.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required:Cartography, directional sense, foraging.Recommended: Distance sense, endur-ance, herbalism, local history, survival,trail marking, weather sense.

Spheres of Influence: Major: All,Healing, Protection, Travel, Weather.Minor: Animal, Elemental, Plant.

DRAGON #237 11

Special Benefits: Meeting a stridesmanwhile traveling is considered good luck, sothe priest receives a +2 reaction adjust-ment from bards, rangers, and travelingfolk such as caravan leaders and gypsies.

The stridesman, when walking,adopts a trancelike state of relaxation.Thus, the character needs less sleep. At1st level, the stridesman needs only sixhours of sleep to function normally. Thisamount drops to five hours at 5th leveland falls to only four hours of sleep dailyat 10th level.

Special Hindrances: Stridesman carelittle for conflict and thus begin thegame with only a single weapon profi-ciency with a walking staff (quarterstaff).However, in their travels they learn newcultures and languages much morereadily than others. So stridesmen beginwith an additional nonweapon profi-ciency that must be spent on either alocal history or additional language.

Because they are constantly travelinga stridesman wears armor only when heknows his path passes through danger-ous territory and he might encountersomeone or something hostile. Eventhen, the stridesman would wear noth-ing more encumbering than leatherarmor, depending on the climate.

The stridesman’s preferred means oflocomotion are his own two feet. TheDM can decide whether the character’spatron deity views travel by horse, cart,or boat as sacrilegious or merely as anecessity under certain conditions. It is asin, however, for a stridesman to be toolazy simply to walk somewhere, and theoffending priest will suffer such penanceas spells withheld, ill luck, or poorweather conditions.

Since they are constantly traveling,stridesmen never employ retainers,hirelings, or other followers, though it iscertainly not unheard of for them totake acolytes along and train them intheir ways. Stridesmen cannot own anymore than they could normally carryalone, though they may take pack ani-mals to bear supplies on their journeys.

Wealth Options: 3d6 × 10 gp.

New priest spellsJourney�s Orison(Conjuration/Summoning, Abjuration)ReversibleLevel: 1Sphere: TravelRange: TouchComponents: V, S, MDuration: 1 week/level of casterCasting Time: 1 round

Area of Effect: 1 individual or objectSaving Throw: None

Using this spell, a stridesman can blessan individual about to embark upon along trip, or he can bless an object that isbeing transported over a long distance.The caster places his hands on the per-son or object, intones the spell, and statesthe destination of the journey. For theduration of the trip to a specific site —which must be one that can be reachedin a number of weeks equal to the levelof the caster — the blessed personreceives +2 on all saves from naturalmishaps and a +1 on reaction rolls forany fellow wanderer. A blessed objectgains a +2 on all saves as well.

The reverse of the spell, journey’s mal-ison, is rarely cast by good and neutralstridesman, though they may use it topunish brigands or unscrupulous mer-chants. Evil stridesmen might cast thespell and then demand that the only wayfor the affected person/object to surviveis to have the priest accompany the trav-eler as a well-paid guide.

Easy Road(Alteration)Level: 1Sphere: TravelRange: TouchComponents: V, S, MDuration: 1 hour/level of casterCasting Time: 1 roundArea of Effect: 1 mile stretch/levelSaving Throw: None

This spell is used to ensure that pas-sage along one path or road is quick andwithout mishap. The stridesman canenchant up to 1 mile per caster level,causing all all movement rates along thepath to be increased by 50% withoutany noticeable spell effect. In poorweather conditions, this spell simplyremoves the movement penalty.

In addition, for the spell’s duration,minor accidents, such as stones caughtin a horse’s hoof or a broken axle on awagon, do not occur while traveling onan easy road.

The material components are thepriest’s holy symbol and a handful ofdirt from the road, both of which areheld in one hand a moment before thedirt is sprinkled at the feet of the priest.

Pass without Notice(Enchantment)Level: 2Sphere: ProtectionRange: TouchComponents: V, S, M

Duration: 1 round/level of casterCasting Time: 1 roundArea of Effect: 1 individual or objectSaving Throw: None

A stridesman makes use of this spellto avoid confrontations with brigands orother hostile characters while he makeshis way along the road. The spell allowsthe caster to go unnoticed by anyhuman, demi-human, or humanoid inthe immediate area (up to 40’). Whilenot invisible, the stridesman can walkpast a person without being perceived.

For the spell to work, the priest mustmaintain a steady slow pace and cannotmake any sudden movements. Thussuch activities as running and engagingin melee are impossible. Also, the priestcannot make any sound louder than awhisper, so while passing without notice,the priest can cast no other spell.

For every three levels of experience,the priest can include an additional per-son under the affects of the spell, but allthose to be affected must link hands forthe duration of the spell. Any whoreleases his grip from the others isimmediately revealed.

The material component is thepriest’s holy symbol. The spell is also cast with the stridesman’s eyes closed.

MerlaneDescription: Many an adventurer has

given thought to where some of thestranger creatures encountered actuallycome from. Many a time these beastsare a weird combination of different ani-mals that would seem a mockery ofnature.

Remarks about such monsters wouldmake a merlane chuckle. Creating newand strange life is his craft: a specialistmage who transmogrifies animals to fithis imagination and whim.

Adept at Alteration magic, the mer-lane learns how to transform normalanimals or breed new life into the stuffof dreams — or horrors.

Only humans and half-elves maybecome merlanes. A minimum Dexterityof 15 and Intelligence of 13 is necessary.

Role: Merlanes are prone to spendmuch time traveling the world in searchof new creatures and source stock fortheir experiments. Some may spendyears holed up in a dismal tower untilthey discover that they need to find acertain beast, while others begin theirlives amid the danger of adventure.

It would seem rare to find a good-aligned person so willing to transformanimal life into what many would call

12

monstrosities. It is true; few merlanesare good-hearted. Such individuals tendto use their powers to create guardiansand creatures that hunt down evil andprotect the innocent.

More likely, a merlane is neutral orevil. Such mages enjoy playing withnature, twisting and experimenting. Theevil ones usually are responsible forsome of the more bizarre and fiendishcreatures that can be found lurkingabout in dark corners of the world.

Weapon Proficiencies: Required:None. Recommended: Dart, dagger, staff.

Secondary Skills: Forester, groom,hunter, trapper/furrier.

Nonweapon Proficiencies: Required:animal handling, animal lore. Recom-mended: animal handling, riding — land-based, herbalism, spellcraft, survival,veterinary healing.

Special Benefits: Due to their abilityto learn the nature of strange creatures,merlanes gain a +2 on all saving throwsvs. any attack from a mutated animalwith whose source stock the mage isfamiliar (i.e., he has had the opportunityto use his animal proficiencies on such acreature before). This includes giganticversions of species, like giant crawfish, to

ones magically enhanced, like winterwolves.

Special Hindrances: As a specialist ofthe school of Alteration, a merlane can-not cast spells of Abjuration orNecromancy. Many merlanes have beenslain by their creations, simply because ofthe lack of protection they can summon.

Because of their focus in warping ani-mal life, a merlane cannot use any spellsof Alteration magic upon humans, demi-humans, or humanoid races (even thosethat seem to have come from originalanimal stock, like bullywugs or lizardmen). This power is rumored to havebeen possessed once by long-deadmembers of the kit and has never beenregained. Plants also cannot be trans-formed by the wizard. However, forthose appropriate Alteration spells (suchas alter self, the merlane can still castthem upon himself without problem.

Because of their callous view of ani-mal life, a merlane cannot have a famil-iar as per the normal wizard spell. Insteadthese mages tend to raise lusus naturae oralter existing pets to serve them.

Finally, there is some stigmata tobeing a merlane. All druids despisethese wizards for what they do to nature

and will never have anything betterthan a Cautious reaction. So too willrangers and other sylvan races have a-2 on all reaction rolls.

Wealth Options: 3d6 × 10 gp.

New wizard spellsThe drawback of the polymorph other

spell is that no special abilities are trulygained. Yes, that lion you just trans-formed into a dragonne might be ableto fly, but he cannot create that terribleroar. To achieve that end, the merlanemust cast spells like lusus naturae or ter-atism. At the lower levels, their spells areused to alter a creature, either giving itadditional strength or weakening it sothat it may be more easily handled.

Enhance Trait(Alteration)Level: 1Range: TouchComponents: V, SDuration: 1 turn + 1 turn/level of casterCasting Time: 1Area of Effect: 1 animalSaving Throw: None

By means of this spell, a merlane canenhance one aspect of an animal. Thistrait can range from its ability to run fast,to the size of its claws, to its talent forstalking prey. This spell works only onnormal animals.

The following traits can be enhanced:the animal can gain one of the followingbonuses: an additional Hit Die; +1 toTHAC0; +1d3 to damage inflicted; +2 toany single MR; +1 to a single savingthrow; +1 to surprise rolls; +2 toIntelligence. Other special traits of ananimal can also be enhanced, but theserequire adjudication by the DM.

By using this spell, the merlane couldinduce his horse to run faster, his guarddog to be more ferocious, and the like.Several traits can be affected at oncewith additional castings of the spell. Forthe magic to be made permanent, a ter-atism spell must be used.

Discern Sire(Divination, Phantasm)Level: 2Range: 0Components: V, SDuration: 2 roundsCasting Time: 2Area of Effect: 1 creatureSaving Throw: None

This spell is very important to themerlane’s craft, as it allows the mage to

14

determine the origins of the moststrange hybrid creatures he encounters.It is a dangerous spell to cast, as the tar-get must be well within view; often it isperformed on the remains of truly fear-some beasts.

When cast, discern sire causes spectralimages to rise from the body of the crea-ture. These phantasms are of the origi-nal source stock used to create the mon-ster or found in its evolution. For exam-ple, when the spell is cast upon an owlbear, the merlane would see hoveringover the creature a great horned owland a grizzly bear.

If the merlane makes a successfulIntelligence roll, he also learns some ofthe secrets in the creation of such a crea-ture. In the above example, he might dis-cern that the images slowly coalesce intoa scene wherein an owl’s egg is bathedin the blood of the bear, then wrapped inthe pelt, all the while kept in total dark-ness. Now such practice alone will nothatch an owlbear, but with the rightmagic, a merlane may well succeed ingenerating such a creature.

Unbridle the Wild BeastLevel: 2Range: 0Components: V, SDuration: PermanentCasting Time: 2Area of Effect: 1 animalSaving Throw: See below

A merlane can use this spell to releasean animal from the effects of domestica-tion or training. Any mundane animal,ranging from a songbird to a bull to ahunting dog, is automatically affectedwith no saving throw permitted.

The only animals that are allowed achance to resist the effects of the spellare those under the personal care andattention of a trainer, animals affectedby an animal friendship or charm mammalspell, or followers of a druid or ranger.Familiars gained by the find familiar spellare immune to this spell.

An affected animal immediatelyseeks to flee the area and return to itsnatural habitat. If prevented from doingso it may become hostile. If the animalis hungry, injured, or frightened, it maylash out at the closest being.

The animal’s keeper may try to helpthe animal resist the spell if he is present.He gets one opportunity to roll his skill atanimal handling. For every point bywhich he makes the roll, the animalgains +1 on its saving throw. For thoseunder the influence of a prior enchant-

ment, the animal has a bonus to resistequal to the level of the spell used tobind the animal (thus a mare that hasbeen tamed via animal friendship gains a+1 on its saving throw). Followers of adruid or ranger resist the spell at the levelof their master rather than their own HitDice (i.e., a puma follower to an 8th-levelranger saves as if it were 8 Hit Dice).

An animal that becomes wild by thisspell may once more be domesticatedthough the DM may impose certainpenalties to any attempt to do so.

Teratism I(Alteration)Level: 3Range: TouchComponents: V, SDuration: PermanentCasting Time: 1 roundArea of Effect: 1 animalSaving Throw: None

As opposed to the more powerfulmerlane spell, lusus naturae spell, whichallows the mage to breed unnatural ani-mals and creatures, teratism transmutesan animal instantly with permanenteffects.

The first version of this spell is theweakest, causing only minor changes inthe animal. Some of the followingaspects of an animal may be alteredwith a touch of the caster’s hand:

❖ Minor changes to hide can bemade. This will lower (or raise) a crea-ture’s natural AC by only 2 levels. But atiger whose skin is like striped leatherwould be a remarkable sight. A sharkwhose skin is furred may fetch a greatdeal to some menageries.

❖ Strange coloration can be added toany feature of the animal. Thus the mer-lane can cause a hound’s eyes to glow asinister orange or endow a songbirdwith bright silver plumage.

❖ Unnatural sounds can be added.Though the animal is incapable of intel-ligible speech, it could be made to say aphrase over and over again. Or its nor-mal cries would be changed into some-thing different. Strange sounds can belinked to the animal’s movements, sothat when the hawk flaps its wings a res-onance of thunder is heard.

Other minor changes can be made inaccordance with the DM.

This spell has no effect on animalsthat have already been magicallyaltered by anyone other than the cast-ing merlane. So a giant insect cannotsuddenly have its carapace changed toscales unless it was enlarged by the same

merlane. Of course the spell (or its morepowerful variants) can be cast multipletimes on an animal, the end result beingsomething that rarely resembles itssource stock.

This spell allows Alteration magicspells below 3rd level to be cast upon ananimal (such as enhance trait or enlarge)with permanent effect.

The altered animals, known as ter-atisms, are sterile.

Note that in no way does the castingof this spell ensure that the creature willobey the merlane. If the wizard is wisehe will only make trained pets intoteratisms.

Degenerate Breed(Alteration)Level: 4Range: 0Components: V, SDuration: See belowCasting Time: 6Area of Effect: 1 creatureSaving Throw: Negates

This spell allows a merlane to degen-erate a monster back to its source stock.Only those creatures that are based on anormal animal can be affected. As withmost merlane spells, wizard familiars areimmune to the effects of degenerate breed.

Should a targeted creature fail its sav-ing throw against magic, it degeneratesthat round. Winter wolves transforminto normal pale wolves. Giant-sized ver-sions of a normal animal, such as spi-ders or snakes, simply shrink down twosteps in size (so from L to S, and so on).The DM has final say when consideringif some monsters may appear to bealtered animals in form but are trulysupernatural (such as shadow hounds)and thus unaffected by this spell.

The duration of the spell is depen-dent on how tough the affected creatureis. Should the merlane be of higher levelthan creature has Hit Dice, then thechange is permanent until dispelled.Otherwise, the effects last for a numberof rounds equal to the caster’s level.

Teratism II(Alteration)Level: 5Range: TouchComponents: V, SDuration: PermanentCasting Time: 1 roundArea of Effect: 1 animalSaving Throw: None

This spell is a more potent version ofteratism I. All the limitations of that spell

16

still apply. However, the merlane cannow induce stranger changes in an ani-mal’s form and magical capabilities maynow be imbued.

❖ An additional limb can be added. Itis fully functional but can be placedwherever the character touches.However, while this may allow an addi-tional attack, this also tends to hamper acreature’s movement, at least, for sever-al weeks depending on where the limbis located.

Lusus naturae modifiersSituation ModifierHave studied a similar creature before +10%Have cast discern sire on specimen of creature to be bred +20%Have created a similar creature before +25%New species 25%Creature is a combination of different animal classes (mammal, avian, insect, etc.) -10%/classEach Hit Die of creature 5 %For every additional spell that needs to be cast - 5 %For every additional week in experimentation spent in the past month +5%

❖ A lesser special ability may beadded. The merlane can grant the ter-atism an arcane trait equal to any spellof 2nd level or below. The merlane mustcast the spell within the round followingthe teratism casting. Thus, he can imbuea trained hawk with the ability to detectevil, so that it might better stop foes of itscreator. Or that large toad could breatheout foul vapors equal to a stinking cloud.Of course, since a merlane is unable tocast spells of the schools of Abjurationor Necromancy, a teratism cannot pos-sess such abilities either.

❖ Special limbs can be added orexisting limbs warped. Thus, wings orfins can be created, allowing the crea-ture to move in another environment.

Lusus NaturaeLevel: 6Range: TouchComponents: V, S, MDuration: PermanentCasting Time: 1 roundArea of Effect: 1 individual or objectSaving Throw: None

This is the spell for which a merlaneis infamous. Lusus naturae allows the wiz-ard to create new life and form newbreeds, for good or ill. This is no easytask, and failure is common.

This is not a swift spell like teratism;rather it takes at least a month toattempt to fashion a lusus naturae.During that time, the merlane must bedeeply involved in imbuing in his cre-ation all the traits he desires, an effortthat calls for painstaking research, care-ful administration of additional spell-casting or rare components (see below),and the casting of lusus naturae everythird day to ensure that the source stockis affected.

Before the casting of the spell, muchtime should be spent in preparation. Theplayer and the DM should meet andconfer on what sort of life the merlanecharacter wishes to create. The DM thencan consider the proposal and suggestthe means to that end in regards to

material components.Such components should be either

animal parts that will be related to thefinal result or actual living specimens.

The base chance of success is equalto the merlane’s Intelligence plus fivetimes his level of experience. Of course,there are modifiers, as shown in thetable above.

Unnatural abilities can be imbued to alusus naturae through the casting of simi-lar spells and/or rare material compo-nents during the process. For instance, ifthe merlane wishes to create a giganticscorpion with a stinger that can igniteinto flames, he may need to cast burninghands around the source stock every day,and perhaps let it lie on a bed of rarecharcoal specially imported from far-away lands.

If the spell fails to work, the DM thenrolls the percentage chance again,secretly to see if something horrible andunexpected does come from the experi-ment. If that roll succeeds then a crea-ture is created, but not the sort the mer-lane had anticipated let alone wanted.

Lusus naturae can breed amongst theirown kind. Their ecology will vary, but isstill dependent on the source stock fromwhich they came. Thus, a creature madefrom canine stock will be easier to train,be a carnivore, and tend to travel inpacks if let loose in the wild. Somethingfashioned from fish stock may be hard tocontrol, dependent on water, and beomnivorous. A merlane can never trulybe totally sure what the consequences ofshaping new life may bring.

Much like teratism, this spell does notin any way make the created creaturedomesticated to the merlane’s will. Hemust go through the slow process ofhandling and training the young crea-ture if he is to be its master.

Teratism III(Alteration)Level: 7Range: TouchComponents: V, SDuration: PermanentCasting Time: 1 roundArea of Effect: 1 animal

Saving Throw: NoneThis is the most powerful version of

the teratism spell to date. The traits listedbelow are only some of the possibletransformations that can be induced inan animal. The DM has the final say inwhat other traits can be bestowed.

❖ An additional head can be created.This would allow for an additional biteattack, perhaps increased senses thatwould make surprising the creature nearimpossible, and so forth.

❖ Greater special abilities can beimbued. The merlane can grant the ter-atism a special trait equal to any spell of4th level or below. Again the merlanemust cast the spell within one round ofthe teratism casting. Thus he can havelizard’s eyes burn with such brillianceequal to that of a fire charm spell, so thathapless victims will approach and beenthralled by the blaze until withinreach of the creature’s jaws.

❖ Speech can be given to an animal,but it will only be as capable of languageas its intelligence allows. The usualmeans of granting greater intelligence isusually through enhance trait, thoughsome have used teratism; the results ofthe latter are not always to be trusted, asinsanity has occurred occasionally.

❖ Unnatural hide can be given to thebeast. The skin can be radically changedto such materials as stone or metal. Somemerlanes have even hinted that theyhave created dangerous raptors withfeathers of silk but claws of glass. Suchreports have yet to be substantiated. Theteratism can benefit by an increase of upto 6 levels to its AC.

Steve Berman�s last foray into the wilder-ness resulted in a case of poison sumac, sev-eral contusions, a threat from a park ranger,no �pickinik� baskets, and a possum familiarnamed Thaddeus. He is currently recoveringfrom the experience � thankfully, indoors.

DRAGON #237 17

New tricks for old dogs Clayton R. Bealillustrated by Stephen Schwartz

hunder rumbles as rain pelts down against the stony bluff.Below, an orc warband winds its way through the jumbledrocks, searching for the killers of their chieftain. Little do they

realize that their prey, battered and exhausted, lie hidden but a stone’sthrow away. The warband is almost past when suddenly barking burstsout nearby. With surprising efficiency, the vengeful orcs douse theirtorches and quickly surround their quarry. They begin to move in . . .”

Groans erupt around the gaming table. Players grumble us theyreuch wearily for their dice. You watch helplessly as they turn theirmenacing glares upon you.

“Why’d you bring the stupid mutt, anyway?”“Some hunting dog . . .”“. . . ever does is eat and bark.”“If I weren’t a druid, I’d roast the damn thing.”“Wait a minute!” you protest to the DM. “Rex wouldn’t bark. I’d

have trained him.”“A little while ago you said he’d bark at anything that came near

the campsite.”“That’s different, we weren’t hiding then. Oh come on, dogs aren’t

that hard to train. I’d just —”“Hey Bill,” a fellow player interrupts, “Lucky just run off with my

dice bag again.”With a resigned sigh, you push away from the table. You wince as

the DM snickers and reaches for more lead figures.

On page 68 of the Player’s Handbook, one can see that a“dog, hunting” costs only 17 gold pieces, or a “dog, war” only20 gp. But what can the dog do? Who’s to say it won’t runaway? With the lifestyle a typical player character lives, noordinary dog is likely to last very long. A lasting canine adven-turing companion would be more akin to today’s K-9 policedogs than to your typical house pet.

This article provides a method for designing canine NPCs.Included are numerous skills and gaming suggestions to turn

man’s best friend into a furryadventuring companion.

18

Animal traitsThe first step in creating a canine

adventuring companion is determiningits animal trait scores. Unlike humanability scores, there are only four animaltraits, and their scores range from 1-10.These scores may be determined by aroll on a d10, or the Dungeon Mastermay simply select the scores for the ani-mal. In either case, some scores may beadjusted according to the animal’s breed(see Dog Types below).

Table 1: Animal trait modifiersTrait Intelligence Aggressiveness Strength

Score Training Time Multiplier THAC0 Damage AC HP1 0 × 1 / 2 + 2 + 4 - 2 + 39 × 5 / 8 + 1 + 3 - 1 + 28 × 3 / 4 + 1 + 2 0 + 17 × 3 / 4 0 + 1 0 + 16 × 7 / 8 0 0 0 05 × 1 0 0 0 04 × 1 0 0 0 03 × 1 0 0 0 02 × 9 / 8 - 1 - 1 0 - 1

1 × 5 / 4 - 1 - 2 + 1 - 1

During play, it will sometimes be nec-essary to roll trait checks for the dog. Todo so, simply roll 1d12, add any applica-ble modifiers, and compare the result tothe appropriate trait score. If the result isequal to or less than the trait score, thedog successfully passes its check. Notethat a natural roll of “1” always succeeds,while a natural “12” always fails.

Below are the four animal traits andtheir descriptions. Table 1 shows all thetrait-based variables for canine NPCadventurers.

Intelligence trait (IT) — Representsthe dog’s ability to learn new skills andbehaviors. Note that this score equalsthe dog’s initial number of training slots.

Loyalty trait (LT) — Represents notonly the dog’s devotion to its master butalso its trust and faith in him as well.

Aggressiveness trait (AT) — Representsthe dogs combativeness and determina-tion in the face of adversity.

Strength trait (ST) — Encompasses thepower, prowess, and overall hardinessof the dog.

Note that on the Table 1 there are nomodifiers for the Loyalty Trait. TheLoyalty Trait is used primarily for resistinstinct checks (see Training Skillsbelow).

As a final note, domesticated dogs donot make Morale checks as other NPCsor monsters. Rather, they normally makeresist instinct checks. In certain circum-stances (such as combat), an Aggressive-ness Trait check may be rolled instead atthe DM’s discretion. In either case, if adomesticated dog should fail its “morale”check, it may still roll a successful LoyaltyTrait check to remain near its master.

Dog typesDogs come in all shapes and sizes,

having been bred and trained throughoutthe years for various purposes. The endresult of this selective process is the emer-gence of a wide range of distinctivebreeds of dogs. For gaming purposes,

these breeds have been generalized intofive specific dog types: tracking dogs,hunting dogs, working dogs, war dogs,and companion dogs.

Tracking dogs. These dogs varygreatly in size, ranging from three toseven hands tall (at the shoulder). Mosttend to be of the mid-range size. Theyare particularly adept at tracking andare almost exclusively used for that pur-pose. Canine NPCs of this type automat-ically receive the tracking skill (seeTraining Skills below) in addition to a +1modifier to their Intelligence Trait.Breeds of this type include theBloodhound, Basenji, Wolfhound, andBeagle.

Hunting dogs. These lively, athleticdogs are typically mid-sized, rangingfrom five to seven hands in height. Usedprimarily to flush and retrieve game,they prove to be energetic companions.Canine NPCs of this type receive boththe water skills and retrieve skill at theoutset. Furthermore, they receive a +1modifier to their Loyalty Trait. Breeds ofthis type include the Golden andLabrador Retrievers, Pointer, Brittany,and the Irish Setter.

Working dogs. Bright and alert, thesedogs are used for tasks ranging from theherding of flocks to household protec-tion. They typically stand from four toseven hands high. Canine NPCs of thistype receive a +2 modifier to theirIntelligence Trait and a +1 to theStrength Trait. Breeds of this typeinclude the German Shepherd, OldEnglish Sheepdog, Collie, and ShetlandSheepdog.

War Dogs. These dogs are used pre-dominantly as a means of protectionand defense. Dogs in this category aregenerally large and sturdy specimens,standing six to nine hands tall. CanineNPCs of this type receive a +2 modifierto their Strength Trait and +1 to theirAggressiveness Trait. Breeds of this typeinclude the Great Dane, Mastiff,Rottweiler, and the Saint Bernard.

Companion Dogs. These dogs havenot been bred for any specific duties

other than companionship. Of all thetypes, companion dogs show the great-est diversity. They range in size from twoto seven hands high. Canine NPCs of thistype receive a +2 to their Loyalty Trait.Breeds of this type include the BulldogChow Chow, Dalmatian, and Poodle.

When considering the above dogtypes for canine NPCs, remember thatthey represent groups of purebred ani-mals. These types have received specificbonuses in certain areas because that iswhat the animal was specifically bredfor. This by no means implies that anyindividual purebred dog will turn out tobe a better companion than a mongrelor a “mutt.” All a pedigree will tell apotential master is what he can expectfrom the dog — though devious DM’smay have other ideas.

If the player desires a particular breed,the DM is encouraged to consider therequest. Obviously, certain restrictionsmust be made in consideration of thecampaign setting. (It may be difficult tofind a Boston Terrier on Krynn or an IrishSetter on Faerûn.) Allowing for appropri-ate modifications, choosing a particularbreed results in easier visualization for allinvolved.

The DM should also be aware thatpurchasing a purebred dog is no inex-pensive matter; prices can range fromtwo to ten times normal cost.Additionally, certain breeds of dogs maynot be found in all parts of the globe.Purchasing an exotic dog could involveeither a great deal of travelling orexpensive shipping costs, or both.

Training skillsTraining a dog is simply the systematic

modification of the animal’s behavior. Ingame terms, this is handled by a systemsimilar to that of the character’s non-weapon proficiency system. Each animalhas a number of training slots equal to itsIntelligence Trait. These slots may be usedto “buy” specific training skills.

Anyone can train a dog for its initialtraining. Once the animal’s initial trainingslots have been “spent,” however, only a

DRAGON #237 19

character with the animal training profi-ciency (for dogs) may train the animal foradditional (or “acquired”) skills. To do so,the trainer must make a successful profi-ciency check for each desired skill.

The time it ultimately takes to train ananimal in a given skill is called the finaltraining time. To find this, first determinethe initial training time. The initial train-ing time is based on the complexity ofthe skill being taught and can be deter-mined as outlined in the skill descriptionsbelow. After determining the initial train-ing time, multiply it by any applicabletraining time multiple(s). This yields thefinal training time. Any resulting fractionof a day is rounded up to a full day (i.e.,a quarter of a day would result in a fulladditional day). Note that more than onetraining time multiple may apply; theeffects are cumulative. In no case can thefinal training time be less than three daysfor any skill.

Characters with the animal trainingproficiency (for dogs) receive a trainingtime multiple of (×1/2) for Initial skills only.Additionally, characters with the animallore proficiency receive a (×3/4) multipleas do characters with the animal han-dling proficiency. Characters with bothreceive both multiples. These two multi-ples apply to all training (initial oracquired).

A skills training time assumes that2-3 hours will be spent per day in train-ing the dog. If the daily training time islessened, the duration of training is corre-spondingly lengthened. Increasing dailytraining time, however, does not shortenthe duration of tralning; the animal canhandle only somuch training at

training slots. Next is the skill’s complex-ity, followed by the initial training time.Skills marked with an asterisk (*) may betaught to the animal only if the previousprerequisite skill or skills have beenlearned. The training skills are as follows:

Alarm: 1 slot, Advanced, 10-21(1d12+9) training days

The dog remains in a given area andalerts its master (bark, whine, and howl)when strangers enter that area. The dogcan monitor any area that is well-defined (i.e., a room or chamber). If nosuch boundaries exist, such as in a fieldor forest, the dog alerts its master ofintruders within a 50’ radius. Alarm canalso be used to cover a party’s rear dur-ing movement.

Attack: 1 slot, Advanced, 10-21(1d12+9) training days

The dog attacks any creature desig-nated by its master. If no creature is indi-cated, the animal attacks the strangerclosest to its master. If the master isattacked while commanding the dog toattack a different target, the dog mustsuccessfully pass a resist instinct check.Failing that check, the dog disregardsthe command and attacks its master’sassailant. If the dog is ordered to attacka friend, it must again pass a resistinstinct check. Failing that, the dog does

one time. Trainingmay continue dur-ing normal travelproviding time is set asidedaily for that purpose.Training can not be conductedduring forced marches. Four Basic ortwo Intermediate skills can be taughtat the same time. Advanced orComplex skills must be taught one ata time.

Note that only the DungeonMaster should know at the outsetexactly how long it will take a givenanimal to learn a skill. The trainerknows only once the animal is per-forming the skill as desired.

Below are descriptions of theseparate skills that may betaught. The name of the skillis followed first by its cost in

not attack, instead returning confused toits master’s side.

Guard: 1 slot, Advanced, 10-21(1d12+9) training days

The dog closely watches the target(usually a prisoner). Should the targetmove, the dog growls menacingly as awarning. Should the target continue tomove, the dog barks furiously and nipsat it. If the target attempts to escape, thedog attacks until the target ceases itsattempt.

Heel: 1 slot, Intermediate, 7-14(1d8+6) training days

With this command, the dog remainsclose to its master. Unless ordered toremain alongside the master’s leg, thedog will remain within a 3-5’ radius ofits master.

Mounted heel*: 0 slots, Basic, 3-6(1d4+2) training days

Same as above except the dogremains within a 6-10’ radius of its mas-ter’s steed. This advanced form of heelcosts no additional training slot. It doesrequire, however, some time for the dogto grow accustomed to its masters steed.Note that the dog must be trained foreach type of steed (i.e., horse, camel, grif-fon, etc.)

House skills: 2 slots, Complex, 16-35(1d20+15) training days

This training modifies the dog’sbehavior so that it is a compatible livingcompanion. It corrects problems such ashousesoiling, excessive barking, andother destructive behavior. Note thatwithout these skills, the dog will not beallowed in most establishments.Furthermore, this ensures the animalinteracts civilly with strangers regardlessof standard animal behavior (seeHandling Canine NPCs).

Jump: 1 slot, Intermediate, 7-14(1d8+6) training days

With this skill, the dog can be com-manded to make exceptional leaps. Witha 10’ running start, the dog is capable ofmaking horizontal jumps equal to 2d4 +Strength Trait in feet, and vertical jumpsof 1d4 + (Strength ÷ 2) feet. If the dog isunable to run, it can jump horizontally1d4 + Strength feet, and vertical jumpsof 1d3 + (Strength ÷ 2) feet. Without thisskill, dogs receive no bonus due to theirStrength Trait, and must first pass a resistinstinct check before jumping.

Protect: 2 slots, Complex, 16-35(1d20+15) training days

The dog remains close by the target(be it a person or object) and allows nostrangers to approach within a 5’ radius.If a stranger approaches, the dog growls

20

menacingly and interposes its bodybetween the intruder and its target. If thestranger penetrates the safe zone, thedog barks and snaps viciously. If theintruder persists or attempts to touch thetarget, the dog attacks. If the target movesaway of its own volition, the dog whinesand attempts to keep the target in its placeby nudging it with its nose. If the targetcontinues to move away, the dog alerts itsmaster (if present) with a bark. The dogremains with the target, continuing to pro-tect it as they travel. It is up to the DMwhen the animal will give up and return toits master.

Recall: 1 slot, Intermediate, 7-14(1d8+6) training days

This command is an advanced ver-sion of “come.” On this command, thedog will return to its master’s side.“Come” may be learned as an individualtrick, basic (see below) or as part ofhouse skills. If the command “come” isgiven while the dog is engaged in anactivity (such as chasing rabbits, eating,etc.), the dog returns only if it makes asuccessful resist instinct check. The“Recall” version of this command obvi-ates any check; the dog returns immedi-ately to its master regardless of activity.

Resist instinct: 2 slots, Complex,16-35 (1d20+15) training days

In training for resist instinct, the doglearns to trust its master fully. The dogsresponse overrides its instinctual urgesand fears. When the DM calls for a resistinstinct check, a d12 is rolled. The dieroll is then compared with the dogsLoyalty Trait. If the result is equal to orless than the dogs loyalty, the dog pass-es the check and behaves as desired. Anatural “1” is always successful; a natur-al “12” always fails. Animals who haven’tbeen trained in resist instinct must makethese checks, though at a -5 penalty.Resist instinct checks should be madeany time a dog must perform an actionagainst its nature. Note also that resistinstinct checks replace Morale checksfor domesticated dogs only.

Retrieve: 1 slot, Intermediate, 7-14(1d8+6) training days

The dog recovers any object it sees itsmaster drop or throw. Upon recovery, itreturns to its master and drops the item.If the item is dropped or thrown into anarea where it can be lost (i.e., water, tallgrass, etc.) the dog must make a suc-cessful Intelligence Trait check to recoverthe lost item. This takes 1d3 rounds. Ifunsuccessful, the dog returns to its mas-ter without the item or with the wrongitem (DM’s discretion).

Advanced retrieve*: 1 slot,Advanced, 10-21 (1d12+9) trainingdays

As above, though it allows a doga second recovery attempt for lostitems. Additionally, it teaches theanimal a basic vocabulary of fouritems (selected by its master)which it can identify and recov-er. Examples would be “stick,”“ball,” “book,” etc. The dogwill search the area with-in a 50’ radius of its

master for the desired object. Upon find-ing the object, the dog immediatelyreturns to its master with the item.

Herd animal*: 1 slot, Advanced,10-21 (1d12+9) training days

Dogs trained in herding, upon com-mand, chase down any animal withinsight. Upon catching the animal, the dogattempts to herd it back to its master bybarking and nipping at it. Should theanimal attack, the dog must make a suc-cessful Aggressiveness Trait check toattempt to herd the animal. The dogmust make such a check every time theanimal attacks.

Should the animal the dog is herdingbe lost from sight, the dog must make asuccessful Intelligence Trait check.Likewise, if there is a chance of the dogbeing confused as to which animal toherd, a successful Intelligence Trait checkmust be made to herd the desired animal.

Retrieve specific*: 2 slots, Complex,16-35 (1d20+15) training days

With this skill, the master simplypoints at an object, which the dog thenattempts to recover. The dog picks up anitem in the designated area. It then looksto its master for a visual signal, such as anod or shake of the head. If correct, thedog returns the item to its master; if incor-rect, it drops the item and select another,repeating the process. Clearly, this couldbe a tedious process.

Silence: 1 slot, Intermediate, 7-14(1d8+6) training days

The dogs natural urge to bark andhowl can be repressed temporarily withthis command. The dog, when excited,still emits a low growl or quiet whine. Thisskill is especially useful when master anddog are setting an ambush or laying low.Note that this command may be used inconjunction with other commands. Anexample of this would be silent alarm;the dog only whines and growls insteadof barking upon detection of intruders.

Stay: 1 slot, Basic, 3-6 (1d4+2) trainingdays

The dog remains where it is untilrecalled by its master. Should somethingdistracting occur nearby, the dog mustpass a resist instinct check to remain inplace. The maximum time limit for thedog to remain in place is one hour. Afterthat, the animal reacts according to itsnormal behavior (DM’s discretion).

Improved stay*: 1 slot, Intermediate,7-14 (1d8+6) training days

As above, except maximum time limitis six hours. Resist instinct checks toignore distractions are made at +2.

Advanced stay*: 1 slot, Advanced, 10-21 (1d12+9) training days

As above, except maximum time limitis one day. Resist instinct checks are madeat +4. Note that both stay and improvedstay are pre-requisites to this skill.

DRAGON #237 21

Long-term stay*: 1 slot, Complex,16-35 (1d20+15) training days

The dog remains in an area for up toa week, awaiting the return of its master.This skill differs in that the dog is free toroam about, forage for food, and seekshelter. Throughout the waiting period,the dog remains in the same generalvicinity. Resist instinct checks do notapply, as the dog is free to move about.Note that stay, improved stay, andadvanced stay are all pre-requisites tothis skill.

Track: 1 slot, Advanced, 1-21(1d12+9) training days

The dog, upon finding a scent, maytrack the creature leaving the trail. Treatthis skill in the same manner as theTracking non-weapon proficiency. If thescent is lost, the dog must make anIntelligence Trait check to regain thescent.

Trick (Basic): 1 slot, Basic, 3-6(1d4+2) training days

These are any common tricksdesigned primarily to impress viewerswith the animal’s Intelligence and/orobedience. This becomes useful whentrying to convince skeptical innkeepersto allow the animal inside their estab-lishments. Common tricks include suchbehaviors as “speak,” “shake hands,”“play dead,” etc.

Trick: 1-2 slots, Intermediate—Complex, variable training time

This is any other behavior the trainerdesires the dog to learn. The DM mustadjudicate the complexity of the trick,determining the training cost and lengthof training. Examples of advanced tricksinclude chewing through ropes bindingmasters hands (Intermediate), leading ahorse by reins to a safe area (Advanced),untying a knot (Complex), etc.

Water skills: 1 slot, Advanced, 10-21(1d12+9) training days

This trains the dog to enjoy enteringthe water and swimming. Normally,without water skills, a dog must make asuccessful resist instinct check to enterwater over its head. No such check ismade for dogs with this skill. Further-more, dogs with water skills may diveand swim beneath the waters surfacewith a successful resist instinct check.Dogs without this skill may never beenticed to voluntarily submerge.

Handling canine NPCsBefore play, the DM should look at the

dogs animal trait scores and make cer-tain decisions regarding its personality.For example, a highly aggressive and

loyal dog may be devoted to its masterbut threatening to any stranger whodraws near. On the other hand, a dogwith a high strength but low aggressive-ness may prove to be a gentle giant.

When determining a canine compan-ion’s personality and standard behavior,consider the following factors. Higherintelligence may make training easierbut could also result in the dog beingeasily distracted or mischievous. A dogwith strong loyalty will be faithful to itsmaster — perhaps overly so. Low loyalty,on the other hand, could make the ani-mal unmanageable and unreliable.Highly aggressive dogs may be hostileand high-strung, whereas less aggres-sive dogs may be overly trusting or play-ful. Finally, strength will largely affect thedogs confidence. Stronger dogs may bemore domineering while weaker dogsmay prove to be more shy or skittish.

During game play, when gauging thedog’s reaction to given situations, theDM should keep in mind the canine per-spective of life. Essentially, the dog cate-gorizes anyone it meets as its “alpha,”fellow pack member, friend, or stranger.In the wild, a dog will normally run in apack that serves as the dogs “family.”The dominant dog in the pack, usuallythe strongest and most aggressive, isknown as the “alpha.” All other mem-bers of the pack follow the alpha andgenerally obey its wishes. In the case ofa domesticated dog, its alpha is usuallyits master. The master’s family, pets, andsteady long-term adventuring compan-ions serve as the dog’s “pack.” Anyoneelse the dog classifies as either a friendor stranger.

When the dog meets a character(player or otherwise) for the first time,roll on the Encounter Reaction Table(Table 59, p. 103, DMG). Any result otherthan “friendly” means the character istreated as a stranger. After 1-3 weeks,or on an initial “friendly” reaction, thecharacter will be considered a friend.After an additional 4-6 weeks of closedaily contact, a character may achievethe status of “pack member.” If by someunfortunate circumstance, the dog’smaster dies, another pack member may“adopt” the dog. It takes from 4-6months, however, before the dogregards the new master as its alpha.Note that dogs commanded to alarm,guard, or protect do not roll on theEncounter Reaction Table. In these cir-cumstances, all newcomers are treatedas strangers.

In unusual circumstances, the dogmay actually consider itself the alpha.This often troublesome and sometimesembarrassing situation is normallyfound only with a dog with high intelli-gence and aggressiveness, and low loy-alty. While such a situation is not impos-sible, it is always interesting.

Canine NPC recordsWhen designing a canine adventuring

companion, the player or the DM shouldmaintain a separate sheet (a 3” × 5” indexcard serves nicely) for the animal. On thefront of the sheet record the followinginformation: Dogs Name, Master, HD,hp, THAC0, Movement, Intelligence Trait,Loyalty Trait, Aggressiveness Trait, andStrength Trait. Also list on the front of thesheet all skills the animal has beentaught, as well as a brief physical descrip-tion of the dog.

On the reverse side of the sheet,maintain a list of the dogs “pack mem-bers” and friends. Notes can also bemade here of particularly memorableevents in the dogs life which could lateraffect its behavior (i.e., near drowning,attack by a strange monster, etc.).

This card can then be kept with theplayer character sheet. It provides ahandy reference and prevents later frus-tration when puzzling over undecipher-able notes scrawled in the margins ofsome obscure papers.

Prevent animal abuseFinally, the DM should be wary of the

mercenary use of canine companions.Granted, the very nature of the adven-turing life will often leave both dog andmaster fighting tooth and nail (no punintended) for their lives. Canine compan-ions should not, however, be treatedsimply as an extra attack roll. Characterswho mistreat or abuse their animalsshould quickly find themselves on theirown, preferably with the animal leavingat an especially critical moment. Even ifsuch behavior doesn’t lead to desertion,it surely will attract the unfavorableattention of local druids and rangers.

Clayton R. Beal has just returned fromGuatemala, where he was in the service ofthe Coast Guard. This is his second appear-ance in DRAGON® Magazine.

22

On Athas, home of the DARK SUN®campaign, the Sea of Silt is a nearly

impassable expanse that covers the entire Easternhalf of the Tyr Region. Few attempt to cross it; those

by Todd Stiglianoillustrated by Rob Lazzaretti

few who do are wither native to the Silt Sea or possess power-ful magic or psionics. A third group of daring travelers exists, throughout the ship. The silt then supports the ship and moves

those who pilot and man silt skimmers. Silt skimmers are vehi-the skimmer at whatever speed the pilot desires. This way, silt

cles that ride either on the shallow shoals beneath the silt or at any depth can be crossed. Many of these types of skimmers

on the very surface of the silt itself. With regards to this secondalso have slave wheels or sails for backup.

method, however, silt does not have the displacement andbuoyancy of water — so craft cannot simply “float” on the sur-

Movement

face. In this respect, silt shares more of the properties of quick- Both conventional and psionic skimmers have a Movement

sand — anything set upon its surface quickly sinks. The only Rating (MR). This number is roughly equivalent to the creature

way a skimmer can stay afloat in deep silt is through the chan- Movement Ratings described in the Player’s Handbook.

neling of psionic power through the ship. There are two types Skimmers that are moved by creatures walking in the hol-

of silt skimmers: those driven by conventional means and Iowed-out wheels of the ship have a Wheel MR of 6. This num-

those powered by psionics. ber means that this type of skimmer can travel 60 yardsthrough the silt in one round or minute (as in the PHB). In 10

Conventional silt skimmershours, this skimmer can travel 6 miles. Note that this statistic isdifferent from the PHB explanation. If the ship has no cargo,

These skimmers are essentially huge wagons that roll add 2 to its Wheel MR.across the shallow parts of the Sift Sea. In many places underthe silt, there are “paths” of rock and hardened silt that can

The creatures inside skimmer wheels can be subjected to aforced march, driving the skimmer 2.5 times its Wheel MR (15).

safely support those who can find them. Skimmers of this sortare sometimes powered by sail; the huge wheels of the skim-

At the end of each day’s forced march (10 hours), however, a

mer can also be hollowed and slaves made to “walk” in themConstitution check must be made against the average consti-

to provide movement (see The Valley of Dust and Fire and City bytution of the wheel-driving creatures (10 for typical slaves). Add

the Silt Sea accessories). Many of these vehicles have both ofa bonus of +1 to the Constitution score for each open sail. If

these methods of power at their disposal so that if one fails thethe check is made, the forced march can be continued for

other can be used as a backup.another day. A cumulative -1 penalty is applied to the averageConstitution score for each additional day spent in forced

Psionic-powered skimmersmarch. If a check fails, then forced marching stops, and nomore force marching attempts can be made until the staves

The disadvantage of conventional skimmers is that deep-silt rest for 12 hours per full day of travel. Even if a check fails,travel is essentially out of the question — unless the captain is though, normal movement can stilt be continued (althoughable to find a shallow path that just happens to lead where he normal movement does not count as rest). Most of this infor-wants to go. Though a great deal more expensive, psionic- mation is on page 120 of the PHB.powered skimmers solve this problem. These craft work by Skimmers that are strictly wind-powered are not popular, aseither a wild talent or a psionicist channeling psionic the wind on Athas is very unpredictable. Still, thoseenergy through an enchanted, symmetrical piece who have the skill, knowledge, and patienceof obsidian that distributes the energy can indeed go where they desire with the

DRAGON #237 23

wind. Here, the seamanship proficiencycomes into play (call it “silt seamanship”or “siltmanship” if you like; such a profi-ciency applies to an area of knowledgeabout traveling on the Silt Sea). If thecaptain wishes to move on windpoweronly, then he can attempt to “catch thewind” by making a seamanship profi-ciency check. First, 1d10 must be rolled(when using the PLAYER’S OPTION™: Skills &Powers rules, substitute a roll of 1d8); thenumber rolled on this die is a negativemodifier to the captain’s seamanshipproficiency score; it represents the avail-ability of the days wind. A roll of 1 is thebest, for it means high winds; a roil of 10is the worst, for such a roll indicates prac-tically no wind at all (the essence of thisroll is the same as AC; lower is better).This roll can also indicate the amount of“wind-blown” resistance from the silt, soa roil of 1 would indicate low silt resis-tance from all the wind “tossing itaround and “thinning it out, while a rollof 10 would be associated with high siltresistance and thick, “dead” silt thatresults from having hardly any wind. So,if the result of the 1d10 roll is a 5, theskimmer captain must make his profi-ciency check at a -5. The captain canattempt to make one of these checks persail opened on the ship, although themodifier remains for the entire day. Ifany roll is successful, then the skimmergains a Wind MR equal to one-half thecaptain’s proficiency score (drop frac-tions). A captain is able to keep the wind

(and MR) for a number of turns equal to Silt Sea, many skimmers have at leasthis whole proficiency score. two means of power.

Example: Rin, the captain of a skimmer,has a seamanship proficiency score of 14.His skimmer has one sail, which means hehas one chance to make his proficiencycheck. A roll of 1d10 results in a 4, whichmeans that Rin has a -4 penalty to hisSeamanship score. The windskimmermoves at a maximum speed or Wind MR of5, because his seamanship proficiency scoreis 14, less the -4 penalty from the wind fora modified score for 10, and half of 10 is 5.This modified score means that Rin cantravel 50 yards a minute. He can keep upthis movement rate for 14 turns (his regularseamanship proficiency score).

As long as Rin continues to succeedon his proficiency checks, his movementrate can be maintained for quite a while.If he could continue making “good” pro-ficiency checks and keep up his WindMR of 5 for 10 hours, he could conceiv-ably travel 5 miles that day. However,the maximum number of times that Rincan “catch the wind” is equal to his expe-rience level in his chosen class. Also, ifany proficiency check fails, and the cap-tain is unable to make any moreattempts (no more sails are left to trywith), then the skimmer is “dead in thesilt,” and no further attempts at catchingthe wind can be made until the next day(when a “new” 1d10 is rolled) — regard-less of experience level. Because

the caprice ofwind is so

importantin the

According to the City by the Silt Seaaccessory, most skimmers have onlyone main sail. The addition of a foresailadds 1 to that skimmer’s Wind MR inaddition to providing another chance atcatching the wind. Captains who areclerics of the Air add 1 to their Wind MRas well. The maximum number of sailsthat a skimmer can have is a function ofits Size, which is described later. If awind-driven skimmer is without cargo,add 2 to its Wind MR.

Psionic-driven skimmers are by farthe most costly, yet many who traversethe silt feel that these skimmers pay forthemselves with their speed and maneu-verability. Skimmers of this type deter-mine their Psionic MR depending onwho is powering the ship. If the “pilot”(the person using psionics to move theskimmer) is a wild talent, then that ship’sPsionic MR is equal to the pilots Wisdomscore. If, however, the pilot is a psionicist,then that ship’s Psionic MR is equal tothe sum of the pilot’s Intelligence,Wisdom, and Constitution scores. So, forexample, if a pilot who is also a psionicisthas an Intelligence of 12, Wisdom of 15,and Constitution of 13, then that ship’sPsionic MR is 40 (this skimmer can moveat a maximum rate of 400 yards perminute). However, the psionic pilot mustpay a PSP cost to gain such an MR. EachPSP channeled into the skimmer pro-vides 1 point of Psionic MR. So, if a pilotwants a Psionic MR of 15, then that pilotmust pay a cost of 15 PSPs. If a pilot withthe aforementioned ability scores ofIntelligence 12, Wisdom 15, andConstitution 13 wants to travel at hismaximum speed of 40, then 40 PSPsmust be channeled into the skimmer.

Psionic-powered skimmers also requirea maintenance cost to be paid in

order to continue with a currentspeed. The maintenance cost is

half the current PsionicMR in PSPs the

round after

24

the first (round fractions up) and one-quarter the current Psionic MR everyround after that (the longer the pilotstays in contact with the ship, the easierit is to control). So, with the earlier exam-ple, in order to keep up a MR of 40 forlonger than one round, an additional 20PSPs must be expended at the beginningof the next round, and 10 PSPs wouldneed to be expended at the beginning ofevery round after that. Naturally, then,such speeds are extremely tiring and areusually used only in an emergency.

Example: Resa is a wild talent whopilots a skimmer. Because she is a wild tal-ent, her Psionic MR is equal to her Wisdomscore only — which is 16. She has 30 PSPs.Now, she could start off at her maximumMR of 16 if she channels 16 PSPs into herskimmer, but doing this would mean thatshe could only travel 640 yards before shewould begin to run short on PSPs (the first160 yards cost 16 PSPs; the next 160 wouldcost 8 — half of 16 —; the next two rounds at160 yards/minute — would cost 4 each —one-quarter of 6. The total amount of yardscovered would be 640 at a total PSP cost of28: 16 + 8 + 4 + 4 = 28. Resa would haveto stop and rest in order to regain her PSPsbefore she could pilot the skimmer again.Realizing this problem, she decides to paceherself by starting with a Psionic MR of 6.She channels 6 PSPs into her skimmer thefirst round, which makes her ship move 60yards. The next round, she can keep hercurrent speed by paying only 3 PSPs (half of

6). At the beginning of the next round andeach round after that, Resa must expendonly 1 PSP (one-fourth of 6, rounded up —the minimum PSP cost for any amount ofmovement is 1) in order to —continue hercurrent movement of 60 yards per minute.Resa can move at this rate for a total of 24rounds and cover 1,440 yards — about 300yards short of a mile — when she paces her-self this way ( the first 60 yards cost 6 PSPs,the next cost 3, and each 60 yards after thatcosts 1 PSP per round for a total of 30 PSPsused: 6 + 3 + 1 (× 21) = 30).

If a pilot starts off at one speed, say,15, and later decides to go faster (theskimmer cannot have reached its maxi-mum speed yet), then that pilot mustpay the difference between the skim-mers current Psionic MR and the pilotsdesired MR. So, if a pilot is travelling at aPsionic MR of 15 and wants to go 17 (theship’s maximum Psionic MR), he simplyneeds to pay a one-time cost of 2 PSPsextra in the next round (in addition tothe maintenance cost) in order to attainthe new speed (if the ship has attained aMR of 15 by other means — like slavewheels or wind — the psionic pilot stillneeds to pay regular “first-time” costsand regular maintenance costs as if theship was starting from a full stop — inorder to “prime” the ship psionically forthe pilots use). Psionic-driven skimmersare the only other skimmers besides theslave-driven ones that can exceed theirmaximum MRs. If a pilot wishes to

exceed his maximum Psionic MR, addi-tional PSPs need to be spent for eachpoint of movement above and beyondthe maximum movement rating on aone-for-one basis plus the initial MR cost.If a skimmer has a maximum Psionic MRof 17, and the pilot wants to increasespeed to a figure above that MR — 20,for example — then the pilot mustexpend 20 PSPs in order to reach thisspeed — even if the skimmer wasalready moving at a MR 17 (exceedingPsionic MRs is very difficult and requiresa great deal of mental energy). To main-tain such a speed for more than oneround, the same PSP cost needs to bepaid at the beginning of the next roundand each round after (in this case, thecost per round would be 20).

Example: Resa’s skimmer encounters asilt spawn and she wants to get away —fast.She has been travelling at a Psionic MR of 6for only two rounds—and so has 21 PSPs left(she used 6 PSPs the first round; 3 PSPs thesecond — she has used up 9 of her 30 PSPsso far). Her maximum Psionic MR is 16, yet,as mentioned earlier, she wants to flee fromthe silt spawn as fast as possible. So, Resaimmediately channels 21 PSPs (everythingshe has left) into her ship and in one roundher skimmer is 210 yards away ( her move-ment has been increased to 21 which = 210yards/round). Now, this move would havebeen unintelligent in deep silt, for the skim-mer would have started to sink as soon aspsionic energy ceased to be poured into it.However, since her skimmer is in shallow siltand possesses wheels and a sail, the skim-mer’s wheels simply sink until they touchbottom; her captain, Rin, opens up a sail,and now the skimmer is safely moving

along at a Wind MR of 5.

DRAGON #237 25

Table 1: Silt skimmer sizes

Size Category Ship Size Cargo Limit Maximum No. of Sails Deepest Silt Level Minimum Crew Wheel Size1 4 0 ’ × 2 0 ’ 1,000 lbs. 1 11’ 5 + captain 20’ diameter2 50 ’×25 ’ 2,000 lbs. 2 12’ 6 + captain 25’ diameter3 6 0 ’ × 3 0 ’ 3,000 lbs. 3 13’ 7 + captain 30’ diameter4 7 0 ’ × 3 5 ’ 4,000 lbs. 4 14’ 8 + captain 35’ diameter5 8 0 ’ × 4 0 ’ 5,000 lbs. 5 15’ 9 + captain 40’ diameter

Because of their superior knowledgeof energy and movement, Psycho-kineticists add 1 to their Psionic MR.Anyone with some degree of psionic tal-ent can pilot a skimmer, provided that hepossesses the Seamanship proficiency.Psionic-driven skimmers with no cargoadd 2 to their Psionic MR. As mentionedin the beginning of this article, most siltskimmers have at least two means ofpower, which means that, in game terms,most silt skimmers have at least twoMRS. What must be remembered is thatonly one type of movement (and MR)can be used at a time. A skimmer with asail open and slaves moving two wheelsdoesn’t combine its Wheel MR and itsWind MR. About the only advantage aslave-driven skimmer with an open sailhas is a bonus to the Constitution checkof the slaves when rolling for fatigue dur-ing a forced march (as mentioned earli-er). Indeed, a typical journey in the life ofa silt-skimmer captain might go some-thing like this: a captain may be forcemarching his slaves to get a Wheel MRof 15; after three days he orders hisslaves out of the wheels so that they canrest. He then opens up a sail and contin-ues at a Wind MR of 7 (a roll of 1d10resulted in a 2, so this captain has a 2 tohis Seamanship proficiency score — hisscore being 16, minus 2, equals 14; halfof 14 is 7) for about an hour when sud-denly the skimmer is attacked by giants.The captain hastily helps take down thesail and orders his psionic pilot (whohappens to be a psionicist with the fol-lowing ability scores: Intelligence 15;Constitution 17; Wisdom 16) to get theship out of danger. The pilot hastilypours 48 PSPs into the skimmer and theship quickly zooms away at its maximumPsionic MR of 48 (15 + 17 + 16 = 48). Inone round the pilot has put 480 yardsbetween his skimmer and the giants. Hecontinues at this MR for 4 more roundsuntil the giants are safely out of sight, atwhich point the captain relieves theexhausted pilot and allows the wheels totouch bottom in the shallow silt. Heopens the sail back up but is unable tocatch any wind now (he has failed hisSeamanship proficiency check). So, in

order to keep his schedule, he has histired slaves crawl back into the wheels;and now his skimmer is moving at itsWheel MR again — this time at 6 (hisslaves cannot force march now due to alack of adequate rest).

ManeuveringSlave-driven and wind-powered

skimmers can turn in two-mile arcs — asmentioned in the City by the Silt Seaaccessory. This accessory also statesthat the addition of an aft sail for steer-ing reduces that turning arc to one mile.Such a sail provides another chance atwind-catching as well. When playing inyards instead of miles, however, consid-er the two-mile turning arc to be a 170°obtuse angle; and consider a one mileturning arc to be 160°. Speed is in noway decreased when turning in thisfashion. As far as stopping goes, both ofthese types of skimmers can stop imme-diately by either ordering the slaves tostop walking or by folding the sails.Psionic-driven skimmers can turn asmuch as 110° without losing speed. Anyturns sharper than 110° require the pilotto make a Seamanship proficiencycheck with a penalty equal to the skim-mer’s current Psionic MR. So, if a pilot istravelling at a Psionic MR of 8 and wantsto make a 90° turn, then that pilot mustmake a Seamanship proficiency checkat a -8 penalty to his proficiency score.Success means no speed is lost in theturn; failure means that the skimmer’scurrent Psionic MR is halved; more PSPsneed to be spent in order to get back upto the original speed. The advantagethat psionic pilots have, though, is thatthis roll can be modified. If a pilot wantsto, additional PSPs can be channeledinto the skimmer to reduce the penaltyand give a better chance for a successfulproficiency check. Each extra PSP spenton making the turn provides a +1 bonusto that pilot’s Seamanship proficiencyscore for the roll.

Example: Resa needs to make a 90°turn in order to avoid an outcropping ofrock. Her Seamanship proficiency score is 13and she is travelling at a Psionic MR of 10,

so her proficiency score needs to be rolled at-10 penalty (which leaves her with achance of 3 in order to make the turn — nota very good chance). in order to improveher chances, Resa expends 5 extra PSPs intoher ship — which lowers the penalty to herproficiency score to -5. Now, a roll of 8 orlower indicates that Resa has cleared therock (13 - 5 = 8) — still not a very goodchance but much better than 3.

Turns sharper than 90° are impossi-ble without first stopping the skimmerand then pivoting it in the desired direc-tion. Psionic pilots can stop in a varietyof ways: many pilots simply let go of theobsidian engine that they are required tokeep in physical contact with. This waythe skimmer loses half its speed the firstround and comes to a complete halt inthe second. After the second round, theskimmer also begins to sink unless morepsionic energy is spent into it or theskimmer itself hits “land” in shallow silt.For an immediate stop, the same proce-dure is used when making a sharp turn:the pilot must make a Seamanship pro-ficiency check with a penalty equal tothe skimmer’s current Psionic MR (extraPSPs can be used to modify this roll).

Building skimmers to sizeAll skimmers are classified in size on

a scale of 1-5 (smallest to largest). Table1 illustrates ship Size and how it relatesto other aspects of a silt skimmer.

Both wind-powered and slave-drivenskimmers require wheels and can onlytravel in shallow silt at the maximumdepths indicated under Deepest SiltLevel. Only psionic-powered skimmersthat are driven purely by psionics canavoid having wheels (although such askimmer would need a core team ofpilots to run a sort of “shift duty” in orderto keep the skimmer afloat). Also, psion-ic pilots do not count toward the mini-mum crew requirements listed above.

Psionic pilots do have certain require-ments when it comes to skimmer size. Inorder to operate a skimmer of a specificsize, a pilot needs to have reached thatsame level in his or her chosen class. So,in order for a pilot to operate a Size 4

26

Table 2: Ship and engine costs

Ship Size Skimmer Cost Obsidian Engine Cost Cost Per Sail Enchantment Cost (for Obsidian Engines Only)1 150 gp 15,000 sp 5 gp 10 gp2 250 gp 16,000 sp 6 gp 15 gp3 350 gp 17,000 sp 7 gp 20 gp4 450 gp 18,000 sp 8 gp 25 gp5 550 gp 19,0000 sp 9 gp 30 gp

skimmer, that pilot must be at least a4th-level character. Multi-class charac-ters use their highest level class; dual-class humans use the level of whateverclass they are currently working on. Nomatter what the size, slave-driven skim-mers always have a Wheel MR of -6.

CostsPsionic-powered silt skimmers need

what is called an obsidian engine, whichis basically a large, enchanted, symmet-rical piece (any shape) of obsidian thatpilots use to control a skimmer and keepit afloat. Such engines must be flawless-ly crafted; they are also very expensive.An obsidian engine costs 15,000 sp +1,000 sp for every Size level beyond 1;these engines weigh a great deal aswell. An engine weighs 600 Ibs. forevery Size level (this weight, however,doesn’t count toward cargo limits as theskimmer is designed to compensate forthis weight when it is built and when apreviously non-psionic skimmer is “con-verted” into a psionic one). Table 2 liststhe standard ship costs and the costs forobsidian engines ( a separate cost) as wellas costs for enchantment.

Table 3: Skimmer integrity

Skimmer Size Integrity Cost for Higher Integrity Maximum Integrity1 4d20 1 gp/point 802 5d20 2 gp/point 1003 6d20 3 gp/point 2 04 7d20 4 gp/point 1405 8d20 5 gp/point 160

Skimmer integritySkimmers have their own version of

Hit Points which fall under a categorycalled “Integrity.” Integrity is basicallythe ship’s Hit Dice (d20), and it’s rolledwhen the skimmer is first constructed.

No matter how much money is spenton “making the perfect ship,” Integritylevels cannot exceed the maximums list-ed above (the randomness in rollingIntegrity represents getting good or badcraftsmen to do the job and how muchextra it costs to “get the job done right”).

When a skimmer is hit by a ballista,boulder, spell, or any other damagingweapon, points of Integrity are lost —just as in person-to-person combat. If askimmer is hit by a ballista that inflicts2d6 hp damage, then that skimmerloses 2d6 points of Integrity. When hitby spells or psionics, skimmers use theItem Saving Throws table from the DMGand save as either bone (chitin) or thinwood — depending on the majority of

materials of which the ship is construct-ed. A successful save indicates half or nodamage, depending on the spell orpower.

When a skimmer suffers damage,there is also a chance that its MovementRating is affected as well. Every time askimmer is hit, roll percentile dice. If theresult is equal to or less than the skim-mer’s current Integrity score (after theIntegrity point loss) then the rate ofmovement is not affected. If the resulton d100 is greater than the Integrityscore, then any MRs that the ship hasare halved. If the skimmer fails itsIntegrity roll again when damaged, thenany ship MRs are halved again — and soon until the ship can no longer move.

Psionic MR are now halved until repairs canbe made. Resa can now only push the skim-mer (psionically) to its new maximum of 8(half of 16).

Combat is resolved using the normalcombat rules: the person firing one ofthe ship’s weapons uses his THAC0.Also, consider the AC of all skimmers tobe 0. Table 4 lists common skimmerweapons and their rates of damage.

WeaponsA skimmer can have a number of

weapons equal to two times its Size rat-ing. However, many skimmers have noweapons at all, as most captains wouldlike to keep the ships they defeat — not

Example: Rin is travelling at a WheelMR of 6, and his skimmer has 70 Integritypoints. Unfortunately, Rin doesn’t realizethat he’s being followed. Suddenly, a bolt ofgreen lightning hits the aft of the ship. Theskimmer suffers 14 points of damage (it nowhas 56 integrity). A roll of percentile diceresults in 50, so the ship can still continue atits present Wheel MR of 6. Rin wants to getaway with as little damage as possible,however, so he has his psionic pilot Resadrive the ship. She pushes the skimmer to itsmaximum Psionic MR of 16, but, unfortu-nately, another lightning bolt cracks into theship — this time into the skimmer’s port side.The skimmer takes 20 points of damage toits Integrity — leaving only 36 points left. Ad100 roll gives a result of 64, which meansthat the ship’s Wheel MR, Wind MR, and

destroy them. Furthermore, all weaponsare considered to be on fixed, immov-able mounts. Triple the cost of any skim-mer weapon i f a swivel-mount isdesired.

Option: If you are using the PLAYER’SOPTION™ Combat and Tactics supplement,feel free to utilize the weapons and rulesfrom Chapter Eight in that book — enti-tled “Siege Warfare.”

Some exceptions are of note, howev-er, in that only ballistae, catapults, andtrebuchets “fit” the DARK SUN campaignworld. Also, the crew of the skimmer isable to fill the Minimum Crew require-men ts needed to ope ra te theseweapons — as stated on theBombardment Engines table, p. 155 —provided that no more than half of the

Table 4: Silt skimmer weapons

MinimumWeapon Speed ROF Range Ship Size Damage CostLight ballista 8 1/2 30/50/70 1 1d12+ 10 gpHeavy ballista 15 1/3 70/90/110 3 3d6 20 gpCatapult — 1/2r — 3 — 8 gpBoulder 13 — 40/50/60 — 3 d 6 + 4 —Debris 10 — 30/40/50 — varies —

DRAGON #237 27

ship’s crew is allocated to firing the gun-nery — setting more than half the crewto the task of discharging weaponscauses all the ship’s movements to beset behind one phase, regardless of cur-rent MR or initiative. The cost of theseweapons on the Bombardment Enginestable mentioned earlier can be convert-ed by multiplying the listed gold piececost by 5 and using the resulting num-ber as the cost in ceramic pieces. Plus,the respective weights of these weaponstake up cargo weight. Finally, considerthe number in the Spaces column as theminimum ship Size needed to have sucha weapon installed.

�Ship-stopping� dartsOne difficulty in using an Integrity

system that is equivalent to the Hit Pointsystem of characters is that skimmerstherefore lose Integrity in much thesame way as characters lose Hit Points.So, say a DM were to put the informa-tion in this article to use, and while “run-

ning a silt-skimmer scenario, one of thecharacters throws a dart at an offendingskimmer; causing that ship to lose 3points of Integrity — going from 56 to53. Now the DM checks that ship’sIntegrity by rolling d100 and the result-ing roll turns out to be 54 — all the ship’sMRs are halved. Does this result meanthat a dart thrown from one PC can stop(or even slow down) a 50’ × 25’ vehicle?A reasonable way to adjudicate a prob-lem like this is to assign a “minimumdamage” number for any attack on a siltskimmer — 10 is a good “minimum dam-age” number. What this number meansis that any single attack that hits the shipmust be able to cause at least 10 hpdamage for that skimmer to have tocheck its Integrity — so in the aboveexample, that skimmer hit with a dartwould lose 3 points of its Integrity, butwould not have to roll to see if its MRwas halved. (Such a weapon is too smallto cause any significant reduction inspeed.) However, a lightning bolt spell

(that can cause 4d6 hp damage, forexample) that is cast at a skimmer andresults in a 4 (all “1s”) for damagecauses the skimmer to lose Integrity andrequires that ship to “check” its Integrityon d100 to see if its respective MRs arehalved (the lightning bolt spell cast bythis particular magician is capable ofinflicting 10 hp damage, enough to havea chance of causing the ship to slow,regardless of whether the materials ofthe ship made their saving throws).

Creating an obsidian engineAs stated earlier, an obsidian engine

must be a flawless, symmetrical, enchant-ed piece of obsidian. Because the use ofmagic is required, most psionic-poweredskimmers were in the Royal Fleets of thesorcerer-kings and illegal anywhere else.Trading houses, however, could securehigh-priced “licenses” from templars —which would at least allow these housesto hire a magician to create the enginefor them. Now, in the absence of most of

28

the kings, trading houses and even indi-viduals such as nobles are causing thedemand for psionically driven skimmersto rise very slowly.

The creation of a psionic skimmerrequires that either the obsidian enginebe blessed by an Earth or Fire cleric; orthat the ship itself be blessed by a clericof Silt. Afterward, the following 9th-levelspell must be cast on the engine:

Psionic Channeler(Enchantment, Alteration)Range: TouchComponents: V, S, MDuration: PermanentCasting Time: 1 day per Size levelArea of Effect: SpecialSaving Throw: None

This spell creates a magical web ofthread-sized conduits that covers theentire ship and culminates at the obsidi-an engine. These conduits are invisibleand have no truly physical substance,yet they can be seen with either the wiz-ard sight or true seeing spells. This spell iscast on a flawless, symmetrical piece ofobsidian (of the appropriate size) for oneday per Size level of the skimmer. Thewizard must keep in constant physicalcontact with the obsidian during thecasting time, as these psionic conduits“grow” slowly from the engine itself andeventually cover the entire ship. Thematerial component is the piece ofobsidian to be enchanted.

Before his untimely disappearance,King Andropinis of Balic had orderedresearch into this spell so that air couldbe channeled around a skimmer (i.e.,the skimmer could fly). Unfortunately, allattempts proved fruitless due to theextreme weight of the obsidian engineitself. Furthermore, silt, for some reason,is more of a conductor of psionic ener-gies than air (many scholars postulatethat the Sea of Silt’s origins have some-thing to do with this fact).

Skimmer designAs long as a skimmer fits into the

rules about ship construction, practicallyany design is possible. Skimmers havebeen built from materials ranging fromwood from the Crescent Forest to thechitinous bodies of dead giant beetles.Be creative.

Below are two “sample” skimmersthat are presented in order to give thepotential captain an example of what askimmer’s chart looks like.

Balican Silt-RunnerSize: 1 WheelMR: 6Wind MR: variesPsionic MR: 18Integrity: 65Captain’s Seamanship proficiency

score: 17Pilot’s Seamanship proficiency

score: 13The Balican fleet served as that city’s

only protection against the giants thatthreatened its walls. The strength of thefleet under King Andropinis’s reign wasin its simple organization: each skimmerin the royal armada was fitted with anobsidian engine; and no skimmer wasever to be allowed to travel alone. Sucha move cost the city hundreds of thou-sands of gold pieces in phenomenaltaxes, yet trade routes remained openbecause of this move and giants contin-ued to be outmaneuvered by the faster,psionic-powered skimmers. Indeed, thisfear of attack by giants was so success-fully instilled in the citizens of Balic thatthese taxes were paid two times over.

Balican skimmers are divided intothree classes: Silt-Runners (Size 1),Wanderers (Sizes 2-4), and Drakes (Size5). When Andropinis was king, Balicremained uncontested among the othercity-states with regards to the size andstrength of its fleet. Now, unfortunately,Balic’s royal armada operates at a merefraction of its former power. When newsof the kings disappearance reached thefleet, many captains took their ships andwere never seen again. Some, however,did return to find positions with HouseWavir: the trading house that now con-trols most of Balic (including the harbor)in the kings absence. At any rate, citi-zens fear that, in its weakened anddivided state, Balic remains at a con-stant danger from giants — even withrumors of a peace treaty underway.

The AmestineSize: 3Psionic MR: varies from pilot to pilotIntegrity: 79Pilot’s Seamanship proficiency

score: varies from pilot to pilotThe Amestine is a skimmer that is

piloted by eleven renegade psionicists.This skimmer has no wheels or a sail

and is strictly powered by psionics.These individuals were fleeing thepsionic organization known as theOrder when that organization split dueto some inner turmoil caused by one of

DRAGON #237

its members (see the Dragon’s Crownmodule). Now the pilots and crew of theAmestine have been able to come out ofhiding (cautiously doing so, of course)and are currently aiding Draj’s House ofthe Mind in leading silt-based commercefor the city.

Alternative methods ofpower (tricks of the trade)

Owning slaves is considered an evilact, and any character who persists indoing so should be subject to an align-ment adjustment by the DM. Havingsaid this then, how do those who areagainst slavery use skimmers poweredwith a Wheel MR? Well, many captainshave been known to use beasts of bur-den such as inixes

Earlier, this article stated that onlyslave-driven and psionic-powered skim-mers could exceed their maximum MRs;this isn’t necessarily true. A captain mov-ing via sail power with an Air cleric onboard is a lucky captain indeed. Clericsof Air can gate in a sheet of gail-forcewind 2’ wide for each level they possessabove 6th. This wind can travel about1,000 yards in one round and can begated right into the ship’s sails — causingthe skimmer to travel at its current WindMR plus 10 points of Wind MR for eachlevel the cleric has above 6th. The skim-mer, however, must check its Integrity(d100) with a penalty to the roll equal tothe extra points added to the skimmer’sMR. So, for example, if an 8th-level Aircleric summons these winds and add 20points to the skimmer’s Wind MR, thenthat skimmer must check its Integrity ata -20 penalty. Success means that thenew speed is achieved; failure meansthat the sails have either snapped off atthe poles or been ripped in two — thisskimmer no longer has any Wind MRuntil repairs are made. If the skimmermakes its Integrity check, the captaincan attempt to keep the wind bymaking a Seamanship proficiency checkevery round. The new speed lasts untilthe captain fails a proficiency roll or1,000 yards are covered — whichevercomes first

Some mages have been known to useundead or elementals as motive power(although animating dead is also consid-ered an evil act if used too often). Whatis important to remember is that, no mat-ter what creature walks inside thewheels, the Wheel MR of any skimmer isalways 6 — with a force march rate of 15(when checking for fatigue in a forcemarch with creatures that don’t have any

Constitution score, use a saving throw vs.death instead — undead and elementalsdo not have to make this roll).

Air clerics aren’t the only ones thatcan aid a wind-powered skimmer, how-ever. Any weather or wind affectingspell or psionic power (such as controlwind) allows the captain one extrachance at making a seamanship profi-ciency check (as if the ship had anothersail) to catch the wind (1d10 is rolledagain, although, to determine thestrength of this “new weather”).

A group of psionic pilots who eachpossesses the telepathic devotion,Convergence, can do amazing things.When two or more psionicists useConvergence while piloting a skimmer,the highest Psionic MR and Seamanshipproficiency score of the group is used. Ifany of the psionicists is a psychokineti-cist, then that bonus is used as well.Finally, every psionicist’s individual storeof PSPs is combined into a group pool —as stated in the description of theConvergence power.

To run a campaign based in the Seaof Silt, it might be good to secure a copyof the Valley of Dust and Fire and City by

resources detail islands and cities notlocated on the original map of the Tyrregion. The Dune Trader accessory pro-vides a look at the major trading housesof the land, and the new Expanded andRevised DARK SUN boxed set nearly dou-bles the size of the Sea of Silt.

Because of the cost of skimmers,many players who want to be in a SiltSea—based campaign might find them-selves disappointingly short of the need-ed funds. This isn’t as much of a prob-lem as it might first appear. Psionicistsand powerful wild-talents are in con-stant demand as pilots by both tradinghouses and cities (and even powerfulindividuals such as nobles). Crew andcaptains with the proper experience arealso needed to man these ships. Theonly important point to remember inthese work-for-hire situations is whoactually owns what — or whom . . .

Todd Stigliano is currently studyingEnglish, Linguistics, and Music Compositionat Youngstown State University. He is acomplete fanatic about the DARK SUN cam-

the Silt Sea accessories, as both of these paign world.

30

by Ed Greenwoodillustrated by Storn Cook

This time around, Volo has uncoveredone of the most unusual and inter-

esting dragons of the North: Eldenser,the Worm Who Hides In Blades.Whispered of in obscure legends of theNorth for some six centuries (anddescribed as frail with age even in hisear l iest ment ion), Eldenser is anamethyst eider wyrm of decrepit, weary-wise appearance. Long ago he masteredmagic that allows him to leave his with-ered, wasted body in a secure hideaway(reportedly a crypt in Waterdeep’s Cityof the Dead), and transport his sen-tience into the blade of any tempered,edged metal weapon.

In this way, Eldenser has cheateddeath down the ages, preserving hisslowly-crumbling form as much as possi-ble by leaving it unused and walledaway from air and elements, as he pass-es from blade to blade, able to see, hear,and speak freely out of the metal — andall metals in direct contact with a bladehe currently inhabits.

Authorities unanimously refer to thisdragon as a male, and the few thatmake mention of his true draconic body

say that his wings are little more thantatters hanging between the structuralspines, and that his scales are almostwhite in places, paling with age in thesame way that the ancient black dragonof Cormyr became “the Purple Dragon.”He is said to have tufted eyebrows andan extensive ‘beard’ of spines on hischin, both white in hue, and to havevery wise large eyes whose customaryappearance is “twinkling with inneramusement.”

In younger days, Eldenser was said tobe a solitary wanderer among dragons,who flitted about Faerûn (the SwordCoast North wilderlands in particular)without apparent rhyme nor reason, fol-lowing his own whims. It’s now clearthat he was enjoying his first love: theobservation of all living things, andlearning how they appear and “work” inall stages of life. The deep knowledge ofthis sort that he’s acquired down theages makes him both less proud andmore formidable than most dragons —he knows the causes and effects ofdeeds and events more than most livingbeings of Toril.

It’s also clear from the historicalrecord that Eldenser tends to avoid otherdragons — but to reveal himself as a wily,enthusiastic, and savage fighter whenattacked. Three women of the house-hold of the long-ago nomad lordTharnor of the North saw Lorragauth, ablack dragon of some reputation, swoopdown to attack Eldenser when the Lurkerwas intruding into Lorragauth’s territory.As Lorragauth spread his wings to slowand aim himself for a devastatingpounce, Eldenser calmly snapped hiswings once, rolling to rise sharply underLorragauth’s right wing — and the Lurkerburst up through it, tearing one of hisfoe’s wings almost right off the wyrm’sbody, sending the luckless Lorragauth“cartwheeling across the rocks and sky,to a broken and splintered death againsta mountainside some way off to thesouth.”

Eldenser is also said to have snatchedup a fishing boat while in full flight froma gigantic red dragon, and looped in theair to use the vessel as a crude spear,piercing his foe’s eye and slaying himbefore the racing red wyrm could slow

DRAGON #237 33

down or duck aside. Most of Eldenser’sexploits preserved in Realmslore, how-ever, concern his deeds while lurking invarious swords — such as the time hecaused the death of the notoriouslycruel and destructive mage Arnaglym ofArrabar by unexpectedly reflecting a fire-ball that Arnaglym had cast at Eldenser’swielder, hurling it back at the mage,who stood in a hall with a massive ham-merbeam ceiling hung with huge oldtinder-dry tapestries — which became asmothering inferno from which even thefell Arnaglym could not escape.

There are a score of similar surprisingtales of surprising powers bursting fromblades that Eldenser is known to be thecause of, and many more that he isn’tconnected to by present-day bards andsages — but for which he may in truth beresponsible.

It’s important to remember thatEldenser fights only when battle can’treadily be avoided; he prefers toobserve and remain undetected or atleast ignored. He likes just to watchsilently, and this habit has given him arich range of experiences and knowl-edge, from how to cook certain compli-cated recipes to the configurations ofsewers and back alleys in many cities, towhere certain treasures lie hidden. It hasbeen said (and repeated by some elderHarpers) that “Eldenser sees much, andnever forgets anything from an expres-sion on one face glimpsed in a crowd tothe position of gaming pieces on aboard seen through a doorway whilepassing in haste.” The Lurker will neverdo anything as crass as sell such infor-mation, but he’ll often trade a servicefrom some of it, to get adventurers orothers to do something he doesn’t wantto take a hand in directly — but wants towatch.

Elminster has corrected many of thesuppositions about Eldenser’s powersthat follow, but he stresses that adven-turers shouldn’t trust in what is saidhere; the Lurker’s true abilities may bemore potent. All of what immediatelyfollows refers to the dragon’s powerswhile he is within a metal object, almostalways a sword of fine make.

Eldenser knows Common and severalhuman and elven tongues. He can speakwith perfect telepathy at the same rangeas his maximum vocal “shout” (a boom-ing voice audible up to a mile away). Heprefers to speak in a dry, calm, much qui-eter voice. When operating out of ablade he can see and hear as well as ahuman with keen senses.

The Lurker can be hurt by all attacksthat harm the blade. Breaking a bladehe’s inhabiting deals him 4d12 hp dam-age instantly and frees him to “drift” (seebelow). There are two exceptions to thisrule: both natural and magical electricaland heat attacks cause Eldenser noharm. Furthermore, he can at will drawtheir effects into himself to protect hiswielder from all damage, though hetends to do this only reluctantly, as itrenders most blades he inhabits brittle.Note that this power steals half the dam-age inflicted by such attacks on their ini-tial round, negating any additional dam-age on subsequent rounds.

Eldenser doesn’t augment the physi-cal damage caused by a blade he inhab-its but does render it a +2 weapon forthe purposes of determining what sortsof creatures it can strike, without confer-ring an actual bonus on the blade.

Eldenser can jump invisibly from oneblade to another if they are within sixfeet of each other and remain so, immo-bile, for at least three consecutiverounds. During this time, he can’t speakor cast spells.

Otherwise, he travels by “drifting,”becoming a wraithlike apparition thatlooks like a human-sized amethyst drag-on head of great age and bewhisker-ment attached to a dwindling “tail” ofwispy substance. In this form he is AC 4,MV FI 8 (D), and can speak and workmagic. When drifting, he singlemindedlytravels in search of a new metal item toinhabit. (Once he has left a particularblade, he can never return to it.) As hedrifts in this wraithform, Eldenser“bleeds” 1d4 hit points per round. If hereaches 6 hp or less before the round inwhich he silently melds into a newblade, he vanishes, transported auto-matically, as a teleport without error spell,back into his true body, where heremains until time heals.

Eldenser dislikes the “feel” of metalitems that have alignments not at leastpartially neutral, and he won’t remain inthem for more than a minimally neces-sary time to bring about a likely transferto a more suitable home (i.e., until heperceives other metal items near; henever likes to go “drifting blind”). Hewon’t manifest any of his powers or castany spells when in such a situationexcept those that are likely to bringabout an immediate possibility of trans-fer. (He might spit out lightning to attractan adventurer’s attention, for example,to allow him to move into a weapon orpiece of armor of the adventurer’s.)

Eldenser also dislikes inhabiting intel-ligent weapons of any sort, but he canabsolutely control the actions and pow-ers of any weapon with an ego of 5 orless (weapons of 6 or greater ego, orartifacts, typically repel him into wraith-form upon contact). His entry into anintelligent weapon causes both he and itto go dormant for 1d4+1 rounds whileEldenser learns its abilities and estab-lishes control. If the weapon has an egorating, add its ego points to the numberof rounds of dormancy (as Eldenserwrestles with it and examines its intel-lect and memories for things of interest).Note that the Lurker has the ability tomake magical items temporarily usableby beings that the items are normallyunable to aid (by reason of class, race,alignment, level, or personal skills).

Eldenser is sometimes called “theLurker” in the lore of the North becausehe reveals himself only if he chooses,often spending much time silentlyobserving those who wield him (orrather, the blade he currently inhabits)before speaking to them or exhibiting hispowers. About 1277 DR, he told a daringHarper who questioned him about this: “Iprefer to watch the strivings of othersand act only when I must. From time totime something within me stirs, and I riseup to work my will on Faerûn with vigor-ous energy . . . but those risings comeseldom now; I must be growing old.”

When within a weapon, Eldenser cancast his spells by silent act of will, eitherby touch (of the blade), or by causingthem to erupt out of the blade. He doesthis independently of the will andknowledge of the blade’s wielder, whomay not even be aware that the swordin his hand is anything out of theordinary until it spits a lightning bolt or astream of magic missiles.

While inhabiting a blade, Eldensergives the weapon his Armor Class, savingthrows (use either the metal item savingthrow or his draconic saving throw,whichever is better), and hit points.

The Lurker’s relationships with otherdragons have been, in the words of thehuman sage Velsaert of Baldur’s Gate(fast becoming recognized as an author-ity on the history of dragons up anddown the Sword Coast), “A parade offriendly hidings — but ready deadliness.”Put into everyday words, that meansthat Eldenser prefers to conceal himselffrom other dragons, reacts with calmfriendliness if he is discovered — and isquick and savage in battle if forced todefend himself (or his wielder).

34

The key to Eldenser’s character couldbe said to be his interest in the rich vari-ety of the Realms, as it unfolds all aroundhim. He is patient, good-natured, andwise, able to draw on far more experi-ence than most mortal beings, to outwitfoes who plan ahead. He can cast pru-dence aside in an instant if he must,bursting into bold action, but he has nointerest into luring or trapping others(though he may manipulate beings toaid his wielder, or merely to observe theresult — particularly if it is likely to revealthe character of someone he’s interestedin, perhaps as a possible wielder of theblade he’s currently inhabiting).

Eldenser is said to be an accom-plished mimic and to to have a taste forriddles and puzzles. In recent years, hehas become increasingly fascinated bylove in all its forms, and what it canmake beings do.

The Worm Who Hides In Blades issaid to be a foe of whoever’s pesteringhim right now — he doesn’t bother pur-suing anyone on an ongoing basis,though he’ll certainly thwart the Cult ofthe Dragon whenever he can.

Eldenser�s lairThe Lurker has no known servants,

willing or unwilling, but he is thought toenjoy an alliance with The Simbul, Witch-Queen of Aglarond, and possibly with hersisters Syluné and, surprisingly, Dove(who has wielded him from time to timein big battles against Zhentarim, Thayans,or other magically-powerful menaces).He seems to have no true lair but rathera dozen or more inaccessible sea-isle ormountain-heart caverns in which to‘stash’ his immobile, stasis-ruled body.

For most of the time, this body lies ina crypt in the City of the Dead, a tombthat is reachable only by correctly pass-ing through several trapped gates thatfling the unwary to random destinations(e.g., a deep level in Undermountain orthe outskirts of ruined Myth Drannor)unless a user utters the correct pass-words while traversing them.

The crypt is rumored to contain ward-mists or similar protective magical barri-ers, including helmed horrors or similarautomaton guardians, but no precisedetails of such defenses are available.

Eldenser�s domainInside blades, Eldenser roams all of

Faerûn, considering none of it his “terri-tory” but all of it his to traverse. Heignores nearby dragons of any breed —unless they discover him, whereupon he

cheerfully defies any attempts to estab-lish authority over him (or anyone wield-ing the blade he currently inhabits).Eldenser usually has little interest in slay-ing other dragons of any sort, but he dis-likes fleeing from them. He prefers to bestother dragons or outwit them and thenleave at his leisure, rather than allowingthem to consider themselves victoriousover him.

The deeds of EldenserThe favorite prey of the Lurker is a

great cat of any sort, though he usuallyfeeds on cattle — and of course derivesnutrients from any gore he spills whileinhabiting a blade. He is said to enjoygood wine and sharp cheeses, too,drawing them into the blade when ittouches them.

It’s not known if Eldenser has evermated with another dragon. He isknown to have accompanied severalhuman females — and at least one elvenlady — for most of their lives, and tohave formed friendships with heroicindividuals of both genders and mostintelligent races. At heart, though, heseems that rarest of things, even amongdragons: a contented loner.

Eldenser spends his days in three pur-suits: observing the beauties of Faerûnand the entertaining strivings of itsinhabitants (half-elves, humans, andelves in particular), trying to influenceevents in the same way that rulers andarchmages do, and to follow Ossavitor’sWay to fruition.

Ossavitor was — or is (it is now eitherdead or dwelling on another plane) — adragon of forgotten breed, whoachieved something very important toall dragonkind some 20,000 years ago:his Way, or magical process for achiev-ing immortality.

Humans are warned that betrayal ofany knowledge of this process (evenmentioning its name in “confidential”inquiries at Candlekeep, for example)will attract the attention of both the Cultof the Dragon (who are anxious to elim-inate rivals in their bid to influence drag-ons into achieving dracolichdom) andpowerful dragons of all sorts.

Ossavitor’s Way is a long, exacting,and difficult process, the details of whichremain secret to this writer (i.e., Volocouldn’t discover anything more aboutit, and Elminster refused to). Khelben“Blackstaff” Arunsun, the Lord Mage ofWaterdeep (and presumably certainother powerful mages of his acquain-tance, such as his consort Laeral and

DRAGON #237 35

perhaps others of the Chosen of Mystra)has the entire process somewhere inone of his hidden libraries. Ambitiousadventurers should take note that drag-ons — after a long and increasinglyimpressive death-toll mounted alarm-

What I have learned thus far is theend result of the process, and certain of

ingly — long ago gave up any hope of

its ingredients. The end result is practicalimmortality: it gives the dragon’s sen-tience three bodies to inhabit (the

getting the secrets of Ossavitor from the

unused two are in stasis, and typicallyhidden away in remote mountain cav-erns, buried under sand in the hearts of

Blackstaff.

such vast deserts as the Plains of PurpleDust in Raurin, and so on), and allowsthe dragon to select the size and ‘age’ ofthese bodies. The dragon retains itsmagic resistance and spells regardless ofthe apparent age of its form, but its size,hit dice, breath weapon, and the likevary with the age chosen. All of thesenewly created bodies are vigorous andhave the power of regeneration (3 hpper round). How the dragon’s sentiencecan move from one body to anotheralso remains a mystery as of this writing,but the written evidence suggests thatthis can be done as often as desired, andwith ease.

The process itself has been the hard-est thing to unearth. I suspect that drag-ons or their agents, and folk of the Cultof the Dragon, have set about stealingor destroying as many references to theWay as possible. I’m confident that itinvolves gathering many draconic com-ponents, including: the talon of a topazdragon, a scale from a silver, someblood from a bronze, and so on. (Note:this confidence is Volo’s, but Elminsterdid not correct this statement.)

Eldenser can be presumed to know(or to believe he knows) the entire Way,and to be pursuing the collection of com-ponents in a patient, almost leisurelymanner. Certainly he has often influ-enced individuals who are wielding ablade he is part of to attack and slaydragons — and if they are successful, tosever certain of their body parts whichvanish at the blade’s touch (presumablyteleported away by a magic launched byEldenser, to some secret hiding place).

Eldenser�s magicThe Lurker is thought to have learned

and practiced many rare and strangespells. He has all of the spell roster andpsionic abilities of an amethyst great

wyrm, but his precise mind-powersremain mysterious; Elminster believesthat one of Eldenser’s achievements isthe ability to duplicate the effects of cer-

Three of Eldenser’s magics in particu-

tain high-level spells (beyond his normal

lar are sought by other dragons (and byambitious mages of Thay and the Cult ofthe Dragon), and these follow. (These

casting ability) as psionic effects, which

spells are drawn from the books ofKhelben “Blackstaff” Arunsun, who

he can unleash once per day.

apparently received them from Eldenserlong ago in trade for other magics).

Apparently this is an exhausting processthat involves hit-point loss.

Just Not There(Abjuration)Level: 5Range: TouchComponents: VDuration: 12 daysCasting Time: 1Area of Effect: SpecialSaving Throw: None

This spell affects Eldenser or a crea-ture under the effects of a steelsteal spell(q.v.) who is touched by him. It affectsboth the blade Eldenser inhabits or istouching and about to enter andEldenser himself. It has only one func-tion: to hide him — or any trace of adragon, intelligent entity, or anythingout of the ordinary at all — from all“seeking” magics.

To all known detection, divination,and contact spells, Eldenser is “just notthere,” unless he desires to be found.This spell doesn’t affect psionics per se,but it does foil minor psionic effects thatare the equivalents of widely-knowndetection magics. A just not there spellhas no effect on attacks, only on search-ing attempts. A spellcaster or psionically-gifted character who suspects thatsomething sentient is within a givenitem or weapon, and who attacks it, suf-fers no changes in the chances of suc-cess — unless the attack attempt requiresthat the caster sees or makes contactwith the being hidden in the blade.

Steelsteal(Alteration)Level: 5Range: 0Components: VDuration: SpecialCasting Time: 1Area of Effect: The casterSaving Throw: Special

This spell transforms the caster into amisty, wraithlike form that can driftabout and enter a metal (or primarilymetal) object, existing within it indefi-nitely. While inside the metal, the casterretains all normal senses (which func-tion normally) but doesn’t need tobreathe, eat, drink, or sleep. Naturalrecovery of lost hit points continues,however, as does aging.

As a steelsteal spell takes effect, itdrains 1d6+1 hp from the caster. It lastsuntil the caster speaks a certain phrasealoud. This ends the spell, strips the cast-er of another 1d4+1 hps, and forces himout of the metal item back into a wraith-like form.

This misty, intangible existence is AC4, MV FI 8 (D), and can carry nothingsolid. It lasts for 1d3 rounds before melt-ing back into the caster’s normal, solidform (unless additional magics havebeen cast that cause the failing steel-steal to place the caster into anotherform; in Eldenser’s case, he remainswraithlike). Use of a steelsteal avoids anynecessity on the caster’s part for facingsystem shock survival rolls.

Bright and Deadly Ring(Evocation)Level: 6Range: 60 yds. + 10 yds./levelComponents: VDuration: SpecialCasting Time: 1Area of Effect: SpecialSaving Throw: None

This spectacular spell brings intobeing a glowing ring around the casteror a chosen focal point. Such a pointmust be something solid, like a door,throne, or plinth, but it need not be sta-tionary — so a willing creature could bechosen. The magic fails, collapsing intofading, harmless motes, if cast around ahostile or unwilling creature.

The intangible bright and deadly ringgives off light equal to a faerie fire spell ofblue-white hue. (One can see to read byit, and/or unlock doors and performother exacting tasks.) The ring lastsindefinitely until triggered. It collapsesharmlessly if the caster dies or leavesthe plane of existence in which the spellwas cast, but not if the caster merelysleeps, falls unconscious, or undertakesother spellcasting. It may be of any size,is unaffected by intervening solidobjects or the limbs and movements ofa focal point creature, and moves aboutwith the focal item upon which it hasbeen cast.

36

Once triggered (by the caster’s silentact of will), a bright ring emits one pulseof magical energy for each level thecaster possesses (or in the case of drag-ons, age category; for Eldenser, this is12) on its first round of awakening, onefewer on the next (11 for Eldenser), andso on, until it can emit no more.

All of these emissions of the ringbehave as magic missiles; they are glow-ing blue-white pulses of flying light thatdeal 1d4+1 hp damage when they strikeand can’t miss opponents the caster cansee, within range, and on the same planeof existence.

Bright ring missiles strike silently butwith bursts of light; they may swoop atmultiple targets if the caster desires. Evenif a bright ring is cast to appear around aliving creature, the missiles remain underthe caster’s control — not that of the pro-tected creature. The caster may chooseto end the spell early by willing it intodissolution and may choose to strikewith fewer missiles in a round than needbe — but may not “hoard” unused mis-siles for subsequent rounds; the “oneless” countdown continues regardless ofactual performance. (Note that it is possi-ble to allow no missiles to fly during agiven round, or even for several rounds,without ending the magic.)

The caster may not hurl extra missilesin any round and may gain additionalharmful power in only one way: if a hos-tile creature blunders or charges intocontact with the bright ring itself, the cast-er can choose to let it pass through with-out suffering harm or may end the spellinstantly and blast the victim with all ofits raw unused magical energy. This blastcauses damage equal to 1d12 hp perunused round remaining in the spell (notcounting the round of contact).

If the charging creature was alreadythe chosen target of bright ring missilessent flying on the round of contact,those missiles still hit and cause theirnormal damage, in addition to any dam-age their target may suffer from a col-lapsing bright ring.

If multiple hostile creatures strike abright ring at the same time (and its casterdecides to let it collapse and harm them),divide its collapsing damage betweenthem. Otherwise, the first being to comeinto contact with the ring suffers all of thedamage. Any creature within range whodesires to strike a bright ring can do so; ithas no Armor Class.

Eldenser often uses this spell as aprotective ward around his bearer andcompanions. It provides them with light

and is a ready line of defense for as longas necessary until activation (severalnights, perhaps).

Eldenser’s fateThough his pursuit of Ossavitor’s Way

can fairly be described as leisurely andalmost unconcerned, with a high valueplaced on enjoying the full range of expe-riences Faerûn has to offer a patientobserver, it seems likely Eldenser willachieve the near-immortality of the Way.He has been working on it for so longand taking such care over the details that(in Elminster’s estimation, at least) he’sonly a last grace note or crowning touchaway from being able to enact the Way.

It’s possible that Eldenser hasachieved this state already and is simplyreluctant to leave his present lifestyle.Perhaps he is trying to craft or discovermagic that will enable him to inhabitblades and travel between them and histhree new bodies as freely as he doespresently between his old, original bodyand the various weapons of which he hasbeen a part. It is certain that he’s spent alot of time in and around Candlekeepand the Herald’s Holdfast in recent years— after having scoured both places cen-turies earlier for all references to the Way.

Against this rosy likelihood of successmust be placed Eldenser’s often danger-ous lifestyle. More than most dragons,he places himself at risk often, and forextended periods of time. Only the godscan decide if ill fortune will find himbefore he enacts the Way — and thatbrings to mind Volo’s last note about theWorm Who Hides In Blades: that thereare many and persistent, but admittedlyentirely unsubstantiated, rumors as toEldenser being an ally or servant of thisor that Faerûnian deity.

Elminster only smiled and shook hishead when he read those lines, refusingto confirm or deny the truth of this.Instead, he pointed silently to Volo’svery last words: “Bears watching. Keepan eye on this one — if possible.”

Ed Greenwood is a Canadian writer whofirst appeared in the pages of DRAGON®Magazine in issue #30, back when it was“The Dragon.” He’s found the time to writemore than a hundred articles for us since, andunleash his home campaign world, theFORGOTTEN REALMS® setting, on us all — but inall those years (though he’s moved thrice) stillhasn’t found the time to clean up his room.

DRAGON #237 37

An optional skills system for theDRAGONLANCE®: FIFTH AGE™ game

by William W. Connorsillustrated by Valerie A. Valusek

With the release of the DRAGONLANCE®:FIFTH AGE™ campaign setting, TSR, Inc.unveiled the SAGA™ rules system.Designed with an eye toward stream-lined role-playing and story telling, itstrives to capture the pacing and style ofa novel in game terms.

To expand on the simple rules with-out adding unnecessary complexity,here is an easy-to-use skills system thatreinforces the character-driven elementsof the game. There are no complicatedtables associated with any of theseskills, no skill points to be spent or accu-mulated, and no limits to the expand-ability of the system. If a Narrator wantsto add a new skill to his game, he cando so without much effort at all.

Starting skillsSkills are selected by players in the

wake of the normal hero generationprocess. The number of skills that a herobegins with is equal to the number ofcards in the player’s starting hand. Thus,an adventurer (who holds a 4-cardhand) has 4 skills and a champion (whoholds a 5-card hand) has 5 skills.

Additional skillsAs the hero adventures, he has the

chance to acquire new talents and learnnew skills. Immediately after the hero’sstarting skills are selected, the playershould pick another skill and note it onthe Additional Information block of hishero record sheet. The hero is nowassumed to be training in that skill while

he is not adventuring. There is no actualgame effect to this, but it can be workedinto stories and otherwise add role-play-ing flavor to the campaign.

When the hero completes enoughquests to increase his reputation, fromadventurer to champion for example, heis assumed to have mastered the skillthat he is training in. At that time, a newtraining skill is selected. When the heroagain increases in reputation, he mas-ters that skill, and so on.

Optional Rule:Dragons and Trump

It is recommended that Narrators adopt a houserule used during our playtests at TSR, one that wenever actually incorporated into the SAGA rulessystem. This rule states simply that cards fromthe suit of dragons are never trump. Thus, ifsomeone with the armorer skill plays the five ofdragons, he loses his trump bonus and cannotturn over another card.

Using sk i l lsThe use of skills during play is very

simple. Whenever a player wishes toattempt an action to which one of hisskills pertains, the card he plays toresolve it is automatically trump.

The normal rules for trump cardsapply. Thus, trump bonuses apply onlyto the actual card played, not to thoseturned over from the top of the deck.

In cases where a hero might havetwo skills that apply to an action, onlythe normal trump bonus applies. Thereis no such thing a “double-trump.” A cardis either trump or not trump.

Skill descriptionsThe remainder of this article comprises

brief descriptions of the most commonskills available to heroes and characters inthe DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE game. This listis by no means exhaust ive. BothNarrators and players should feel free toadd to it.

Each entry begins with the name ofthe skill followed by a parenthetical pre-requisite. While most skills have no pre-requisite, some require the hero to knowanother skill before selecting them. Forexample, a hero cannot have thealchemist skill unless he has first mas-tered the art of the herbalist.

Alchemist (herbalist): An alchemist is aperson who has studied the properties ofvarious chemicals and elements. Giventime, resources, and the proper equip-ment, an alchemist can make poisons,acids, and other dangerous chemicals.

Architect (scribner): Architects areable to design buildings and other struc-tures The length of time requireddepends upon size and complexity ofthe edifice.

Armorer (blacksmith): An armorer isa specially trained blacksmith who isskilled in the creation of armor andshields. Making armor is a time consum-ing task. For shields, three days arerequired per point of defense (thus, abuckler takes three days to make).Armor takes longer, requiring one weekper point of defense (so chainmail takes3 weeks to make).

DRAGON #237 39

Artisan (none): This is a very generalskill that requires the player to select anarea of expertise for his hero. Possibleexamples of artisans include painters,sculptors, poets, and musicians.Depending upon the choice, prerequi-sites might be required. For example, apoet should probably have the scribnertalent.

Astrologer (scribner): An astrologer isfamiliar with the stars, their movementsin the heavens, and the importance ofsuch transits in the world of men. Use ofthis skill may allow the hero to get aglimpse of the future, but certainly is noreplacement for divination magic.

Blacksmith (none): A blacksmith isskilled in creating common metal itemslike pots, pans, horseshoes, and tools. Askilled blacksmith can generally findemployment anywhere he travels.

preparation,assuming a

recipeis at

hand.

Boatsman (none): A boatsman is afreshwater mariner, skilled primarily inthe handling of small craft and rafts.Boatsmen work the barges and rafts thatply the rivers of Ansalon as well as thecanoes and rowboats that fish the lakesand ponds. This skill also applies to smallcraft carried on larger ocean-going ves-sels, like launches and dingies.

Bowyer (none): A bowyer is a talent-ed individual who is skilled in the cre-ation of straight bows (as opposed tocrossbows) and the arrows that they fire.Fashioning a bow takes two days perpoint of damage that it inflicts. Thus, agreat bow takes 16 days to make.

Brewer (none): A brewer is skilled atthe making of beer, ale, and other suchbeverages. For the purposes of thisgame, such a person is also assumed tobe a skilled vintner (or wine maker) anddistiller (a maker of spirits).

Carpenter (none): A carpenter hasthe ability to work with wood in manyways. He is skilled with a hammer andsaw but is also assumed to be a talentedwood carver.

Cartographer (scribner): A cartogra-pher is a maker of maps and, at least forthe purposes of the game, other dia-grams. This talent enables the hero bothto create his own maps and decipherthose of others.

Cartwright (carpenter): Cartwrightsare highly trained carpenters who areable to build and repair wagons, carts,and other conveyances. This ability doesnot, however, mean that they can oper-ate such vehicles — a groom is neededfor that.

Clerk (none): Clerks are the mainstayof business and government. They are

skilled in basic math, know enough writ-ing to get by, and are excellent at takingorders. A skilled clerk can run a store or

Clockmaker (none): Experts in work-

office fairly well during the absence of

ing with intricate mechanisms, clock-makers are noted for their attention to

the proprietor.

detail and the complex devices that theymake or repair.

Cook (none): There are as many dif-ferent types of cook as there are kindsof food. In game terms, however, a cookis assumed to be proficient at just about

any sort of food

Diplomat(scribner): As askilled negotiator, diplo-mats can be very valuable whenthe heroes are called upon to settle dis-putes between two factions (or evenwithin their own ranks). A trained diplo-mat can do anything from halting a warto patching up a failing marriage.

Engineer (scribner): Engineers areskilled in the design, construction, andrepair of large machines, like windmillsand catapults. Their talent can beinvaluable to an army which must main-tain siege engines and similar artillery.

Farmer (none): In game terms, farm-ers are assumed to be knowledgeablewith all manner of crops and agriculture.They can tend fields, care for ailingcrops, and otherwise oversee anythingfrom a garden to a sprawling plantation.

Fisherman (boatsman or seaman): Afisherman is assumed to be skilled at all

manner of catching fish. They can use aline, a net, and even a spear. Fishermenknow which spots, times of day, and

Gambling (none): A gambler is skilledat the playing of games of chance. He

other things are likely to produce the

has a better chance than most to beatthe house and may even depend upon

greatest harvest.

his luck to make a living. A skilled gam-bler may be able to cheat and get awaywith it or spot others who are not play-ing fairly.

Gamesman (none): A gamesman is amaster of chess, checkers, backgam-mon, and other games that emphasizeskill over chance. A talented, butunscrupulous, gamesman can cheatwith a minimal chance of being caught.

Groom (none): A groom is someonewho has learned to care for horses andother such animals. In addition, a groomis assumed to be able to drive a teamand operate a wagon or carriage.

Healer (herbalist): A healer has a lim-ited knowledge of the medical artswhich makes him more skilled at firstaid than other characters. Whenever ahealer plays a card for a First Aid action(see the combat section of the Book ofthe Fifth Age), that card is assumed to betrump.

Herbalist (none): An herbalist issomeone with a knowledge of the med-icinal uses of plants, spices, and herbs.This allows him to treat the victims ofpoisons, disease, and other such mal-adies. Successful treatment by an herbal-ist can halt (but not reverse) the loss ofcards due to poisoning and infections(as described in the Bestiary section ofthe Book of the Fifth Age). The difficultyof the action should be based on thenature of the ailment and the resourcesavailable to the herbalist.

Historian (scribner): A historianknows much about the past that hasbeen forgotten by others. In gameterms, anyone selecting this skill shouldselect one of Krynn’s five ages as hisarea of expertise. Thus, a given historianmight specialize in the Age of Starbirthor the Age of Despair.

Hosteler (valet): A hosteler is a skilledinnkeeper who can make his guests feelcomfortable and pampered. This skill issimilar to that of the valet, but can beapplied to many people at once.

Huntsman (none): A huntsman isskilled at the tracking and killing ofgame in the wilderness. In game terms,a huntsman is also skilled in the use ofsnares and other traps.

40

Jeweler (none): A jeweler is assumedto be skilled at cutting gems, fashioningadornments, and determining theirworth. An honest jeweler can be a valu-able friend and skilled merchant while acrooked one can be a fence or confi-dence man.

Lawyer (scribner): While there aremany varieties of law, a hero with thisskill is assumed to be familiar with allbut the most esoteric ones. A goodlawyer can help avoid trouble with thelaw, draft enforceable contracts, andotherwise make sure that everything theheroes do is on the up-and-up.

Mason (none): Masons are to stonewhat carpenters are to wood. A skilledmason can build or repair structures,roads, or otherwise work with stone. Forgame purposes, a mason can also beassumed to have a knowledge of quar-rying and other related fields.

Mathematician (scribner): The sci-ence of mathematics is a difficult anddemanding one. A talented mathemati-cian can serve as an instructor, bookkeeper, or even a numerologist. In thelatter case, the hero should be able togain some basic information from histalent, but not nearly as much as hemight with magical divination.

Merchant (clerk): A merchant isskilled in the appraising, purchasing,and selling of a wide variety of goods. Ingame terms, any card that a merchantplays when attempting an action usinghis wealth rating is assumed to be trumpif it involves the buying or selling ofsomething.

Miner (none): A miner is talented indigging new tunnels and exploringthose that already exist. He is familiarwith cave-ins, natural gas explosions,flooding, and other hazards of theunderground world.

Navigator (scribner): A trained navi-gator is able to keep a true course overland or sea by use of maps, compasses,and careful study of the stars and theirpositions. A skilled navigator can almostalways find employment on ocean-going vessels or with scouting expedi-tions into unexplored places.

Philosopher (scribner): A philosopheris a student of the human heart and aseeker of true enlightenment. In gameterms, these people are often able toprovide useful insights into the actionsor thoughts of others.

Physician (healer): Physicians areskilled in the medical arts, includingsurgery, bleeding, and amputation. As arule of thumb, a wounded person under

Master skills listSkillAlchemistArchitectArmorerArtisanAstrologerBlacksmithBoatsmanBowyerBrewerCarpenterCartographerCartwright

PrerequisiteHerbalistScribnerBIacksmithnoneScribnernonenonenonenonenoneScribnerCarpenter

ClerkClockmakerCookDiplomatEngineerFarmerFishermanGamblerGamesmanGroomHealerHerbalistHistorianHosteler

nonenonenonenoneScribnernoneBoatsmannonenonenoneHerbalistnoneScribnerValet

HuntsmanJeweler

nonenone

LawyerMasonMathematicianMerchantNavigatorPhilosopherPhysicianPotterRancherScribnerSeamanShipwrightTailorTannerValet

ScribnernoneScribnerClerkScribnerScribnerHealernonenonenoneBoatsmanCarpenternonenonenone

the care of a physician regains two lostcards every week instead of one. If thehero undertakes moderate activity, thenormal action must be made to see if hishealth improves. Even a physician can-not heal someone who undertakesmajor activity.

Potter (none): A potter’s knowledgeincludes not only the making of simpleclay vessels, but also the proper opera-tion of a kiln and the manufacture ofporcelain or ceramics. If combined withskill as an artisan, the work of a pottercan be nothing short of a masterpiece.

Rancher (none): A rancher is some-one who oversees the raising of cattle,sheep, and other domesticated animals.In addition, a rancher is skilled atslaughtering animals for market.

Scribner (none): Most DRAGONLANCE:FIFTH AGE heroes and characters areassumed to be functionally literate. Inorder to pursue higher education, andqualify for many of the more advancedskills, a hero must be a trained scribner.Those with this talent are able to writequickly and legibly, coherently express-ing his ideas. Any card played for anattempt to write detailed instructions,understand complex texts, or otherwiseuse higher level reading and writingskills is assumed to be trump for atrained scribner.

Seaman (boatsman): Seamen workthe great craft that travel the oceans ofAnsalon. They are skilled in all aspectsof seafaring, including the tying of com-plex knots, the mending of sails, and thehandling of cargo.

Shipwright (carpenter): A shipwrightis a specially trained carpenter whosetalent allows him to build or repair boatsand ships. Work is always available forthese folk in harbor towns or on oceangoing vessels.

Tailor (none): A skilled tailor’s knowl-edge of needle and thread allows him tocraft or repair any manner of clothing orfabric. Like blacksmiths, these folk canalmost always find employment.

Tanner (none): This skill allows a per-son to make and work leather. Itincludes the skinning of animals, the actof tanning itself, and the crafting ofgoods from the resulting leather.

Valet (none): A valet is a highlytrained servant charged with making hismaster’s life as comfortable as possible.A hero with this skill can become thesteward of another hero provided thathis would-be master agrees and has awealth score of at least 6 (that is, a socialstanding of “gentry”).

William W. Connors (Bats R/ThrowsR/Infield) has been with TSR since Octoberof 1989. He was the co-designer of theDRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE role-playing gameand creator of the SAGA rules system. His cur-rent projects are all meager attempts towhile away the winter until baseball seasonstarts again in the spring.

DRAGON #237 41

by Kevin Melkaillustrated by Valerie A. Valusek

Table 51a: New poison typesClass TypeQR

NeurotoxinMethod OnsetInjected 1-6 minutes2

StrengthDeath/Paralysis3

Hemotoxin Injected 1-4 minutes Death/04

S Cardiotoxin Injected 1-4 minutes Death/Debilitative5

T Tetrodotoxin Contact 1-4 minutes2 Death/0

1. A combination of these venom types incur a cumulative saving throw penalty of -1 to -2.2. Symptoms such as swelling, dizziness, and numbness of the affected area occurs within one round.3. An additional saving throw vs. poison is required to avoid permanent nerve damage (loss of 1-3 points

from a random ability score).4. Unless neutralize poison spell is applied, another saving throw vs. poison is required in 1d4 hours to

avoid death, since the venom remains in the victim’s system.5. Unless neutralize poison is applied, additional saving throws vs. poison are required when the victim is

excessively active for the next 1-4 days. Failure results in death from heart arrest.

Many reptiles of the jungle are as

amphibians do not reflect the truenature of these real-world creatures. Inmost cases, death caused by the venomof poisonous reptiles can be a long andpainful process, with terrible side effectsfor those fortunate enough to survive.

dangerous as they are exotic. Standardentries in the MONSTROUS MANUAL™ tomeof poisonous snakes, lizards, and

The venom of the most lethal reptilesfalls into one or more of the followingcategories: neurotoxic poison, hemotoxicpoison, cardiotoxic poison, and tetro-dotoxic poison. Neurotoxins affect thenervous system, hemotoxins alter theflow of blood, cardiotoxins inhibit thefunctioning of the heart, and tetrodotox-ins hinder various bodily functions. Twodifferent neurotoxins may have differentspecific results, but only these generalcategories are used for game effects.

Only reptiles indigenous to jungleand temperate regions are presentedhere, though there are many other ven-omous reptiles in the world. While thosedescribed on the following pages haveunique poison effects, DMs can createtheir own new venomous creaturesusing the new Table 51 a (an appendix toTable 51: Poison Strength, in ChapterNine of the DUNGEON MASTER® Guide).

42

Snake, poisonousCLIMATE/TERRAIN:FREQUENCY:ORGANIZATION:ACTIVITY CYCLE:DIET:INTELLIGENCE:TREASURE:ALIGNMENT:NO. APPEARING:ARMOR CLASS:MOVEMENT:HIT DICE:THAC0:NO. OF ATTACKS:DAMAGE/ATTACK:SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:MAGIC RESISTANCE:SIZE:MORALE:XP VALUE:

BushmasterTropical ForestRareSolitaryNocturnalCarnivorousAnimal (1)NNeutral15123+31912-5 (1d4+1)Poison, surpriseNilNilM-L (6-12’ long)Average (9)420

Bushmaster (lachesis mutus)The bushmaster is a deadly, powerful viper sometimes mis-

taken for a member of the boa constrictor family. The averagebushmaster reaches a slender 12’ long, making it the longestmember of the viper family. Rare individual bushmasters havebeen known to grow larger.

The bushmaster has pronounced dark, diamond-shapedreddish-brown blotches on a gray or brown background. Thetail of the bushmaster ends in horny spikes, much like the tail

Fer-De-Lance

3+3

Temperate/Tropical ForestsUncommon

17

SolitaryNocturnal

1

CarnivorousAnimal (1)

1-3

NNeutral

Poison

16

Nil

9

NilM (5-6’ long)Average (11)420

GaboonTemperate/Tropical Forests

4

UncommonSolitary

17

NocturnalCarnivorous

1

Animal (1)N

2-7 (1d6+1)

Neutral

Poison, ignore armor

159

NilNilM-L (6-9’ long)Average (10)650

of a rattlesnake, though without the characteristic rattle.

Combat: The bushmaster strikes quickly and withoutwarning, imposing a -4 to surprise checks and +4 to allinitiative rolls. The snake has a reach of nearly half itsbody length (45%), allowing it to strike victims that maybelieve themselves to be out of reach. Because of theviper’s extremely long fangs and the ability to delivermassive doses of venom, encounters with it are oftenfatal. Victims of the bite must immediately save vs. poison

at -2, and even those that make their savesuffer ill effects. The venom of the

bushmaster is hemotoxic, attackingbody tissues and the blood of thevictim. Victims failing their saving

throws experience intense pain aroundthe bite, followed by numbness

in the area, swelling, andsevere discoloration. For

10-30 minutes after thebite, the victim drifts inand out of conscious-

ness, feverish and vomit-ing when conscious.Death resulting from a

loss of blood pressureoccurs within one hour.

Should a victim be luckyenough to make an initial save

vs. poison, he is not safe yet. Over a

period of 1-4 hours, the victim suffers from weakness, fainting,sweating, thirst, high fever, and terrible nausea. After thisperiod, the victim must make a second saving throw with nopenalty to survive the more deadly symptoms of the venom. Ifthe saving throw succeeds, the victim’s fever breaks and he issafe. If not, death (as outlined above) occurs in one hour.

Habitat: The bushmaster is found in remote mountainous jungleregions. These nocturnal vipers are extremely bold and danger-ous, often stalking anyone intruding into their territory, regardlessof size. The bushmaster never appears in broad daylight.

Ecology: The bushmaster is an egg-laying viper. It usesheat-sensitive pits on the sides of its head rather than eyes todetect prey. The venom glands of the bushmaster are exceed-ingly large, and it is possible to extract its venom for otheruses. However, the nasty disposition of the bushmaster makesthis a difficult task at best.

The bushmaster feeds on small rodents and can often befound in the abandoned burrows of small mammals.

Fer-De-Lance (bothrops asper)Often called the “spearhead” viper, the fer-de-lance is a par-

ticularly aggressive pit viper and a formidable adversary. Thefer-de-lance goes by many other names, depending on thelocale, such as “yellow beard” (because of a yellow belly) and“velvet viper.”

The fer-de-lance can grow to a length of 8’, though thisoccurs rarely. More often they range between 6’ and 7’ andare often thicker than a man’s arm. The fer-de-lance hasgray-olive or gray-green colors, with diamond-shaped blotchesthat mark it as a viper.

Combat: When initially encountered, the fer-de-lance raises itshead and coils itself in preparation, then attacks with a ven-omous bite. The poison of the fer-de-lance is both neurotoxicand hemotoxic, attacking both the nervous system anddestroying red blood cells. The bite itself is not overly painful,but it soon causes localized bleeding, intense pain, and

DRAGON #237 43

swelling around the wound. Victims of the fer-de-lance’s bitemust make an immediate saving throw vs. poison at -2 todetermine how much venom has actually been injected. Themore venom, the more deadly the poison’s effects.

If the saving throw is failed, the bitten area painfully swellsto twice its normal size in 1-4 minutes. The venom inhibits theclotting of blood, and bleeding occurs from the internal organs,gums, nose, mouth, eyes, ears, and other locations — anywhereexcept the bite itself, which is usually too swollen to bleedfreely. Hemorrhaging soon follows, and the victim progressesquickly into muscular and nervous system shock, followed byrespiratory distress, paralysis, and death. While death occurswithin 10-20 minutes of the bite, the victim can do nothingafter the first few minutes due to bleeding and intense pain.

If the victim rolls a successful saving throw, he still suffersfrom wracking pain for one hour. The bitten appendage stillswells to excess and cannot be used for 1-4 days afterward oruntil magical healing is applied. If magical aid is not applied,there is also a chance (an additional save required) that the vic-tim contracts tetanus in the bitten limb, possibly requiring itseventual amputation.

Another dangerous aspect of the fer-de-lance’s venom isthat cutting or sucking the snake bite is extremely dangerous.The poison can enter another person’s bloodstream if swal-lowed or through small cuts or abrasions.

Habitat: The fer-de-lance is found on the floor of deep and lightjungles. Like all pit vipers, they hunt prey with the aid ofheat-sensing organs on either side of their head and hollowfangs that inject large amounts of venom.

Ecology: The fer-de-lance is a prolific breeder, giving birth to asmany as 70 live young at any one time. The venom of a youngfer-de-lance is more potent than that of a full grown adult(apply an additional -1 to the saving throw). The fer-de-lance’sdiet consists of small rodents, which may cause it to be drawnto jungle villages where garbage attracts its favorite food.

Gaboon (bitis gabonica)Not only is the gaboon one of the largest (by weight) vipers,

it has the largest fangs of any snake in the world — up to 2”long. While most snakes move in an S-curve movement, theweight of the gaboon causes it to use ribs movements to carryit forward; hence, they crawl in a straight line.

Colored like the jungle in varying shades of brown, cream,and purple, the gaboon viper blends in perfectly with theleaf-covered jungle floor. Their markings make them virtuallydisappear in the different shades of the jungle foliage.

Combat: The gaboon is a puff adder. It can inflate its body tonearly twice its normal size when threatened. Unlike creatureswho use such a tactic to avoid combat, this viper can delivernearly instantaneous death with its venom. The gaboon viper’slong fangs can bite through a limb, but in most cases theyserve to inject venom deeper into the victim’s body. Thesefangs also allow the gaboon to ignore leather, padded leather,or hide armor. The snake’s concealing coloration also imposesa -1 penalty to surprise rolls when encountered in the wild.

The venom of the gaboon viper is both neurotoxic andhemotoxic, affecting the nervous and circulatory systems. Thepoison saving throw vs. the bite of this snake is made at a -2penalty, or a -4 penalty if the attack roll is a natural 20, indi-cating an extremely deep bite.

If the saving throw is failed, the bite turns the victim’s skinred-violet around the wound as the long fangs deliver a doseof poison deep into tissue full of blood vessels. Swellingappears all over the body, as well as at the site of the wound.This is accompanied by immediate cold sweating, internalbleeding, depressed heart action, and difficulty breathing. Thevictim is immobilized by the venom after one round, and deathoccurs 1-6 rounds after.

Even if the victim makes his saving throw, tissue death andgangrenous infection may be extensive around the bite andthe limb may need to be amputated. A second saving throw vs.poison with the same penalty as the first is required to avoidthis effect. Regardless, a surviving victim must rest 24 hoursbefore being able to resume normal activities. Victims ofgaboon bites who know of the snake’s virulent poison havebeen known to amputate their limbs immediately rather thanrisk death.

Habitat: Gaboons are nocturnal and can be found in any jun-gle environment, preferring ground to tree activity.

Ecology: Gaboon’s are egg-laying vipers, whose females staywith the eggs until they hatch. Their heat-sensing pits aid themin the hunting of small mammals, and gaboons have beenknown to eat small monkeys or even young antelope.

44

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:FREQUENCY:ORGANIZATION:ACTIVITY CYCLE:DIET:INTELLIGENCE:TREASURE:ALIGNMENT:NO. APPEARING:ARMOR CLASS:MOVEMENT:HIT DICE:THAC0:NO. OF ATTACKS:DAMAGE/ATTACK:SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:MAGIC RESISTANCE:SIZE:MORALE:XP VALUE:

Black MambaTemperate/Tropical ForestsUncommonSolitaryAnyCarnivorousAnimal (1)NNeutral1618/3051521d4+1/1d4+1PoisonNilNilL (8-14’ long)Average (12)650

BoomslangTropical SavannahRareSolitaryDiurnalCarnivorousAnimal (1)NNeutral141221711-2PoisonNilNilS-M (3-6’ long)Average (9)270

Black Mamba (dendroaspis polylepis)The black mamba is one of the largest poisonous snakes

known, reaching lengths of up to 14’; even young black mam-bas are larger than most full grown vipers. At any age theblack mamba is probably the most aggressive, and feared,snake of the jungle.

This snake is actually not black, but a combination of darkgrays and browns that make it appear black when viewed inthe shade of jungle trees. Its scales are smooth and arearranged in diagonal rows. Young black mambas are darkgreen and are often mistaken for various non-poisonoussnakes rather than members of this deadly family.

Combat: The black mamba is highly aggressive, attackingrepeatedly in a series of lightning-fast bites, gaining a +2 to ini-tiative rolls. It also strikes up to a distance of 40% of its bodylength, giving it an average reach of 5” or more. The mambacan also raise itself straight up to a height of nearly half itslength, as well as slither across the ground with its head 2’from the ground.

The initial bite of the black mamba requires a saving throwvs. poison, with each additional bite receiving a cumulative -1penalty. This directly reflects the amount of venom introducedinto a victim’s system (see below). The venom of the blackmamba is neurotoxic and hemotoxic, affecting the circulation ofthe blood through the body by attacking the nervous system.

If the save is missed, a high concentration of venom hasbeen introduced into the victim’s bloodstream. Such a concen-tration acts as a coagulant, clotting the blood. This plays havocwith the victim’s circulatory system, but death from respiratoryfailure usually occurs before the victim goes into circulatoryshock. There is no initial pain or swelling after a bite, but thereis profuse salivation and dizziness followed by restlessness andpsychological disturbances. Then there is difficulty breathing,followed by a drop in blood pressure, coma, and then deathfrom respiratory failure. This occurs over a 20 minute span;however, the victim’s lack of regular breathing and dizzinessmakes him incapable of actions after the first 1-6 minutes.

Snake, poisonousCobraVariesUncommonSolitaryNocturnalCarnivorousAnimal (1)NNeutral15123+31711-4PoisonNilNilM (5-7’ long)Average (9)420975 (King Cobra)

A successful saving throw indicates that a low concentrationof venom has been introduced. This has the opposite affect onthe victim, causing the venom to act as an anti-coagulant, thin-ning the blood. This causes wounds on a victim to continue tobleed after several minutes. After a few minutes this alsoaffects wounds other than the snakebite. For 4-5 turns follow-ing a successful save all wounds on the victim bleed a numberof points equal to half the original damage for 2-8 roundsbefore the blood finally clots.

Habitat: The black mamba is an arboreal (tree dwelling) snake,though it can be found on the jungle floor as well as in smallburrows or decaying trees. It always lives in the thicker por-tions of the low-lying jungle (below 4,000’) where food isabundant. On open ground the mamba’s movement increasesto 30.

Ecology: The black mamba feeds on tree dwelling birds,lizards, and frogs. They are extremely territorial, more oftenattacking from anger than from hunger. The mamba hunts bysight, and one can sometimes remain perfectly still to avoid itsattention.

Boomslang (dispholidus typus)Though the boomslang is small and relatively docile, its bite

is not only fatal but deals a gruesome death. This species is dif-ficult to identify and is often mistaken for various other typesof non-poisonous snakes.

The adult boomslang ranges from 3’ to 6’ long, varyingcolor from brown to bright green with smooth narrow scalesand a thin build. Unlike other poisonous snakes, the boom-slang has rows of grooved teeth instead of fangs. However, itonly takes one bite to deliver its lethal poison.

Combat: The boomslang would rather flee than confrontsomething not a part of its normal diet. If cornered, it inflatesits neck to twice its normal size. If this doesn’t frighten off theopponent, the snake strikes.

DRAGON #237 45

The boomslang is an opisthoglyph, or rear-fanged snake,and has its venomous teeth at the back of its mouth. Thoughnot the most effective way to deal poison, it only takes a smallamount to cause death. Drop for drop the venom of this snakeis more toxic than a cobra or a viper. Though the venom of theboomslang appears to be hemotoxic, the actual method inwhich it brings about a victim’s death is not fully understood.

Saving throws vs. the venom of the boomslang are at a -3penalty. If the saving throw is successful, the rear teeth of theboomslang failed to poison the victim.

The most outstanding characteristic of the boomslangs poi-sonous bite is the illusion of complete recovery, followed by asudden relapse and death. If the saving throw is failed, the biteproduces swelling and discoloration, and causes open woundsacross the body to instantly clot. About a half hour afterwardsthere is dizziness followed by severe headaches, nausea, vom-iting, and acute abdominal pain. One turn after that symptomsdisappear for 1-8 hours as the venom spreads throughout thebody. The original clotting then reverses itself and there is pro-fuse bleeding from open cuts (1-4 hp damage from all ban-daged wounds), and then from all body openings — mouth,eyes, ears, etc. At this point, the victim suffers from a severedrop in blood pressure, and death follows within moments.

Habitat: The boomslang is found in temperate savannahs, lightjungles, and areas with plentiful trees. They are not found indeep rain forest jungles or near desert environments. In itsarboreal habitat (though its also found on the ground as well)it has the ability to disappear quickly into the trees at its nor-mal movement rate.

Ecology: Active only during the day, the boomslang feeds onbirds and their eggs, along with an occasional frog or chameleon.

Cobra (genus naja)One of the most famous poisonous snakes, the cobra is

often the center of superstition in various primitive cultures.The word cobra actually means “serpent” in more than one dif-ferent language.

There are several sub-species of cobras, though most havethe expandable hood that is commonly associated with thespecies. Arboreal cobras tend to be different shades of greenand brown, while others range from a pinkish-tan to black.Their heads are broad and flat, and several species have deco-rative formations on the scales of their hoods.

Combat: Cobras can either spit (actually squirt) or bite to usetheir venom. Only 40% of cobras can actually spit their venom,and this should be determined prior to any encounter. In eithercase, the venom is extremely toxic (one gram of dehydratedcobra venom can kill 165 people). The attack of a cobra isalways preceded by a fearful hiss.

Cobras that spit their venom can do so from up to 7’ away,aiming specifically for the eyes. A saving throw vs. paralyzationis required to see if the victim is able to turn their head away intime to avoid the venom. If the save is missed, the venomenters the eyes and begins to painfully destroy eye tissue likean acid. Blindness occurs in 2-5 rounds unless the eyes areirrigated with water or some other liquid.

Victims bitten by a cobra must make a saving throw vs. poi-son with a -2 penalty. To be fully affected by a cobra’s venom,the snake must have its teeth firmly implanted in the victim’sflesh and its jaws firmly pressed together. Hence, if the save issuccessful it means the snake only dealt a glancing blow thatis not considered deadly.

If the saving throw is missed the victim instantly begins tofeel pain radiating from the bite, along with swelling andnumbness. One round later there is progressive paralysis of thefacial muscles, tongue, and larynx. Within 2-3 rounds the eyescease movement and begin to drop, and the victim can onlyspeak with great difficulty. Within five rounds the muscles ofthe victim become paralyzed, from which they ultimately die ofasphyxiation accompanied by violent vomiting. Death occursin 2d4+2 minutes depending on the severity of the bite.

Habitat: Cobras are found in a variety of tropical environmentsdepending on sub-species. Those that are considered to bespitting cobras are never arboreal, preferring tall savannahsand light jungles.

Ecology: Cobras are egg-laying snakes that are active only atnight. They feed on small rodents, reptiles, and insects, andhave been known to go for several months without food orwater. Contrary to popular belief, cobras cannot be “hypno-tized” by music. Those that are used in this manner usuallyhave their fangs removed.

King CobraThis rare variation on the cobra reaches a length of 18’ and

dwells exclusively on the ground. These cobras deliver greateramounts of venom with effects detailed above, but with a sav-ing throw penalty of -4 and with all onset time halved. Theyare 6 HD creatures and their bite delivers 1-8 hp damage.

46

Gila Rough-skinnedMonster Newt

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Temperate Forest/ TemperateSavannahs Savannahs

FREQUENCY: Uncommon UncommonORGANIZATION: Solitary SolitaryACTIVITY CYCLE: Nocturnal DiurnalDIET: Carnivorous CarnivorousINTELLIGENCE: Animal (1) Animal (1)TREASURE: N NALIGNMENT: Neutral NeutralNO. APPEARING: 1 1-2ARMOR CLASS: 8 day/4 night 7MOVEMENT: 6 day/9 night 3HIT DICE: 2+3 1-1 (1-2 hps)THAC0: 19 20NO. OF ATTACKS: 1 1DAMAGE/ATTACK: 2-7 (1d6+1) NilSPECIAL ATTACKS: Poison, latching bite PoisonSPECIAL DEFENSES: Nil NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: Nil NilSIZE: S (2-3” long) T (2-4” long)MORALE: Average (9) Average (9)XP VALUE: 270 65

Gila Monster (heloderma suspectum)One of the few poisonous lizards, the gila monster is a slow,

sluggish creature with a terrible, painful bite. Though small instature, the gila monster is incredibly strong for its size.

This lizard has a massive head, tiny legs, and a short, stouttail. It has brightly colored, bead-like scales that form gaudypatterns across its body. The gila’s scales do not overlap likethose of a snake, and are rough in texture.

Combat: The jaws of the gila monster are extremely strong,and it can hold its tight grip for up to 15 minutes. An OpenDoors roll is needed to remove the creature — or its death. Thegila monster has 35 poisonous teeth that it uses to introducelethal doses of venom. The teeth are not hollow, but grooved.Venom flows from sacks in the mouth, down the grooves, andinto the victim.

The longer the gila monster is attached, the more chancethere is for a victim to become poisoned. Following an initialsaving throw vs. poison a penalty of -1 is applied for everyround the gila monster remains attached, saving each roundas more venom is introduced. The poison of the gila monsteris hemotoxic, elevating the victim’s blood pressure.

Failing a saving throw means the venom has entered thebloodstream, causing extreme pain followed by sweating,vomiting swelling, and an unbearable ringing in the ears.Symptoms become gradually worse until death in 1-2 turns.

Habitat: The gila monster is found in temperate zones rangingfrom savannahs to light jungle regions. This creature is shy bynature, and does not attack humanoid creatures unless pro-voked. They seek shelter under rocks or in small burrows,which it often takes over from other animals.

Ecology: Gila monsters are nocturnal and very sluggish duringthe day. They feed on birds, eggs, and small mammals. Thegila monster can go for months without food, living on fatstored in its tail.

Lizard, poisonous

Rough-Skinned Newt (taricha granulosa)This newt is often mistaken for a small lizard, salamander,

or other non-dangerous creature. The rough-skinned newt haswarty skin, four clawless toes, and a tail that is longer than itsbody.

Combat: The rough-skinned newt is non-aggressive to all butits natural prey, and it’s small teeth could barely scratch a nor-mal human’s skin. What makes the newt dangerous is itstouch. The creature’s embryos, skin, and eggs contain a pow-erful poison. This poison is tetrodotoxic, a contact poison thatacts on the nervous system of the victim to prevent nerve cellfunctions. The poison is a milky substance secreted in the tailregion. One newt contains enough poison to kill a grown manunless he makes a saving throw vs. poison.

Failing a save against the newts poison causes numbnessand weakness throughout the body within 1-4 rounds, inca-pacitating the victim. Unconsciousness occurs 1-2 roundslater, with death occurring in 1-4 turns. There is no known nat-ural antidote to this poison (making the herbalism proficiencyuseless against it); it is curable only by magic.

Habitat: Males prefer wooded areas, while females remainnear the water, where they lay their eggs.

Ecology: Like many amphibians this newt can regenerateamputated parts such as a tail, leg, or even portions of theirhead. They feed on worms, slugs, snails, insects, and frogs.Unlike other newts, the females lay only one egg at a time,rather than large masses.

DRAGON #237 47

Amphibian, poisonousFrogs

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Tropical Forest

FREQUENCY: UncommonORGANIZATION: SolitaryACTIVITY CYCLE: AnyDIET: CarnivoreINTELLIGENCE: Animal (1)TREASURE: NALIGNMENT: NeutralNO. APPEARING: 1ARMOR CLASS: 8MOVEMENT: 3, hop 3HIT DICE: 1-1 (1-2 hps)THAC0: 20NO. OF ATTACKS: NilDAMAGE/ATTACK: NilSPECIAL ATTACKS: PoisonSPECIAL DEFENSES: NilMAGIC RESISTANCE: NilSIZE: T (1-2” long)MORALE: Average (10)XP VALUE: 65

Poisonous Frogs (physalaemus)

Neotropical ToadTemperate/Tropical ForestsCommonSolitaryAnyOmnivoreAnimal (1)NNeutral1-283, hop 31201NilPoisonNilNilT-S (3-9” long)Average (8)120

Though there are several sub-species of poisonous frogs, allare brightly colored with vivid streaks of pink, yellow, green,red, or orange. The brilliant colors are usually a warning signthat the secretions of the frog are fatal. There is no known nat-ural cure for this venom.

Combat: Frogs pass on their poison to others through touch,most likely someone steps on one with bare feet or picks oneup because it looks “pretty.” Its poison glands are found oneither side of its head, and when the frog feels threatened itsecretes a creamy substance from its skin.

Anyone touching a poisonous frog must make a savingthrow vs. poison for every round they remain in contact withthe creature. If there is an open wound in the general areathere is a cumulative penalty of -2. The venom of poisonousfrogs is both cardiotoxic and neurotoxic, containing. a varietyof chemicals that affect the nervous system in different ways.If a saving throw is successful, it means the poison was notabsorbed into the victim’s system that round.

Failing the poison save means the toxin has been absorbedinto the bloodstream in some measure. If the poison was notintroduced into an open wound (such as a cut on the hand orthe tip of a dart), the victim suffers from nausea, vomiting,abdominal pain, and inflammation of the area. If introducedinto the bloodstream the toxin causes instant paralysis, severeconvulsions, and death in 1-4 rounds.

Habitat: Poisonous frogs are only found in tropical environ-ments where water is plentiful. Male frogs scent mark their ter-ritories in an effort to attract females, and “chirp” loudly whentheir territory is threatened by other frogs.

Ecology: Tadpoles are born in a pool of water inside abromeliad plant. They then wiggle onto the back of their father,who carries them to deeper water, where they are left to fendfor themselves. The venom of the poisonous frog can beextracted by roasting it over a fire, causing the poison to flowout of the glands as the skin contracts.

Neotropical Toad (genus bufo)Also known as the giant or aga toad, neotropical toads are

characterized by horizontal pupils and enlarged poison glandslocated behind the eyes. They measure 6-8” long and canweigh up to 1 lb., while a marine sub-species can grow up to 9”and weigh 5 Ibs.

Combat: Like poisonous frogs, neotropical toads secrete avenom when irritated or threatened. The venom of this toad iscardiotoxic, disrupting normal heart. rhythms if ingested orintroduced in the blood stream. If simply touched, the victimsuffers from stinging, burning, and numbness in the exposedarea for 1-6 hours. If this is a hand, nothing can be held forthat period of time due to irritation.

A poisoned victim must make a saving throw for eachround of contact with the toad, with a -2 penalty if the poisonis introduced into an open wound, swallowed, or delivered viaan envenomed weapon. If this saving throw is failed, the vic-tim suffers from tightness in the chest, convulsions, salivation,and seizures, followed by death in 1-4 minutes. A successfulsave indicates only irritation as outlined above.

Habitat: Neotropical toads can be found in most temperateenvironments from deserts to jungles. They live in areas whereinsects, the toads’ only source of food, are plentiful.

Ecology: The neotropical toad can be helpful to farmers, feed-ing on crop-destroying insects. When mating there is fiercecompetition for females, who may have to contend with up to12 suitors at one time.

48

A first look at the ALTERNITY�Science-Fiction Roleplaying Game

by Bill Slavicsek and Richard Baker

Science fiction is the mythology ofthe modern age, built with girders oftechnological wonders, riveted with

ideas and morality plays, and decoratedwith facades of “what ifs.” What if we dis-covered a way to travel faster than light?What if we really could travel throughtime? What if alien spaceships appearedin the sky over Washington, DC.? Youget the idea. Just ask the question “whatif?” — suddenly the possibilities are end-less. Of course, not just any “what if?” willdo. It needs at least some element oftechnology and how that technologyrelates to the human condition to makeit science fiction.

elegant at its core but infinitely expand-able, with layers of complexity that couldbe added as players and gamemasterssaw fit?

In just a few short months, theanswers to these questions will be readyfor everyone to see in the pages of TSR’snew science-fiction role-playing game.Until then, here’s a preview of what youcan expect.

SF and TSRTSR, Inc. invented the role-playing

game about 20 years ago and has been

A while back, we asked our own

busy producing the definitive fantasyrole-playing rules and settings eversince. Today, ADVANCED DUNGEONS &DRAGONS® is the model to which all otherRPGs are compared. There are otherfantasy RPGs out there, but none canmatch the scope, majesty, or variety ofthe AD&D® family of products. Fantasy isgreat, and when we want to creategrand sword-and-sorcery epics or magi-cal dungeon crawls, AD&D is the gamewe turn to —just like most of you read-ing these words. But fantasy is only oneaspect of roleplaying. It’s time for TSR toexpand its horizons and look to thefuture. And the future is science fiction.

The ALTERNITY game is one of unlimitedpossibilities and exciting potential. Thegame system is flexible, allowing formany different styles of play in a varietyof sf settings. Think of it as the AD&Dgame of science fiction, with lots of cam-paign settings building upon the corerules. These rules are presented in thetime-tested TSR tradition. They come intwo hard-cover books — one for playersand one for gamemasters. The twobooks combine to create a complete anddynamic role-playing game.

Is ALTERNITY just the AD&D game withray guns and spaceships?

No. Not even close.The rules use terminology similar to

that of the AD&D game, but themechanics are completely different.Game play is faster and more intuitive,characters are more than just the sum oftheir ability scores, and the philosophybehind the design opens up more possi-bilities for campaigns.

The ALTERNITY game mechanic“what if?” questions. What ifInc. decided to expand itsrole-playing market

ALTERNITY has a sleek, moderndesign that employs a uni-

fied game mechanicthroughout. This

makes it easierto learn and

beyond the tradi-tional fantasygenres forwhich it’sfamous?What if wetackled sci-ence fictionwith the samededication andenthusiasm we’vedemonstrated on the

faster to play.It’s still tooearly for us

to show youthe specifics,

but we can giveyou a general idea

of how it works.Many role-playing

AD&D® lines? What if wedid it with a new, moderngame system that was simple and

games were developedover a long period. Every time

a new mechanic was required for

60

these games, the designers added oneto do the job that was required, but theyoften didn’t address the rest of the gamesystem. This made for rules that wereharder to learn and harder still toremember, as every mechanic workeddifferently from every other.

With ALTERNITY, we developed a sim-ple core mechanic that handles every-thing in the game. Engaged in combat?Looking for a scientific solution to aproblem? Seeking to charm a hostilealien into not using its rather large anddeadly looking weapon? The samemechanic works in every situation.

In addition, we incorporated a modulardesign that allows levels of complexityand detail to be layered on top of the coremechanic. So, if you’re more interested inthe story and role-playing aspects of thegame, stick with the basic rules. However,if you’re into heavy-duty power gaming atits finest, you can add as many layers asyou see fit to the basic game. Do the morecomplex rules work differently? No, theyjust provide more guidelines and modi-fiers for those players who want to knowexactly how far away an opponent is, forthose interested in the exact differencebetween two top-of-the-line computerprograms, or for those who require morerealistic rules for radiation and the effectsit has on characters.

Alternity heroesIf the dice mechanic is the heart of

the game, then the heroes are its soul.Players can build exactly the type ofhero they want to play, using a skill-based character generation system thatincorporates level advancement. Playerscan literally create any kind of hero theycan imagine, then watch that herobecome better and more skilled witheach adventure.

In ALTERNITY, every player characterbelongs to a specific Profession. AProfession is a general category thatexplains a character’s background andtraining in very broad terms. Dependingon the Profession of a character, hereceives certain benefits that set himapart from characters of otherProfessions. For example, a playerwhose character belongs to the Tech OpProfession starts with a general ideaabout that character — he’s comfortablearound high-tech machinery, he workswith his hands and his brains, and he’sconsidered a professional in a technicalfield of the player’s choosing.

That brings us to the next step in cre-ating the character concept — the Career.

Every Profession has a number of Careersassociated with it. The Career defines theplayer character in more concrete andspecific terms by placing a label on exact-ly what this hero is good at. A Tech OpCareer, for example, can be scientist, doc-tor, pilot, hacker, or engineer. Onceyou’ve selected both a Profession and aCareer for your hero, you go aboutdesigning his game statistics to match theconcept you’ve come up with.

In the ALTERNITY game, a hero isn’t arandom assortment of numbers. Everycharacter has a number of ability pointsand skill points to use to build exactlythe kind of hero you want to play.

The game uses six abilities to definea character’s statistics. These abilities areStrength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelli-gence, Will, and Personality. Heroesreceive 60 ability points to divideamong these categories. Human mini-mums and maximums are 4 and 14, andthe human average is 9. Every abilityhas a number of skills associated with it.Depending on a hero’s Intelligencescore, he receives an allocation of skillpoints to use to purchase skills. Skillsrelated to the character’s Profession areless expensive than those related to oneof the other Professions. A characterisn’t restricted to skills in his Profession,but to go outside the group costs a bitmore than staying inside it.

For players who prefer a more ran-dom method for creating player charac-ters, one is provided in the ALTERNITY

game. It allows you to generate randomability scores, but you still must selectskills and make choices about yourhero, as with the build-from-scratchmethod.

The ALTERNITY game philosophyScience fiction is experiencing a

renaissance of astonishing proportions aswe race toward the year 2000. It wasn’tall that long ago that science fiction wasthe poor cousin of the publishing tradeand the top of the “B list” in the moviebusiness. But right now, we’re experienc-ing a tremendous upswing of interest inspeculative fiction. There have beenstrong science-fiction films coming outevery year for the last decade, andscience-fiction novels top the bestsellerlists with surprising regularity. Evenprime-time TV, the medium that has tra-ditionally churned out science-fictionshows that barely survived a single sea-son, now supports a half-dozen popularand well-produced series — with moreappearing all the time.

You might wonder what this has todo with the ALTERNITY game. The time isright for TSR to release a multigenre sci-ence-fiction role-playing game. Epicspace operas, invasion stories, edgycyberpunk, alternate histories, tech-nothrillers, time travel, tales of explo-ration — everything is flourishing today.It’s clear to us that we need to come upwith a game engine that can supportjust about any kind of sf universe ourplayers might want to create. In short,the time is right to build the science-fic-tion equivalent of the AD&D game.

Just as different fantasy genres areserved by different product lines underthe AD&D banner, in the coming yearsgame universes that reflect a wide spec-trum of classic science-fiction themeswill carry the ALTERNITY game logo.Therefore, the ALTERNITY Player’sHandbook and Rulesmaster Guide aren’ttied to a specific sf setting. You can runa variety of wonderful and detailedcampaigns, from modern espionage tosuperheroic science fantasy, just usingthese two books. With this in mind, wetook a long look at what makes sciencefiction work, at what each of us lovesabout this amazing field, and incorpo-rated it into the game system.

While many of the grand old ideas ofscience fiction have been around for along time, we seem to have maturedgreatly as readers. We demand flawedheroes, cynical megacorporations, andexamples of how it isn’t always bright,shiny, and morally superior to behuman. A new science-fiction role-play-ing game simply has to embrace thecharacter-driven, story over the science-driven story in order to be relevant totodays audience. After all, most science-fiction readers and role-playing gamersare normal humans, and they want toknow what it’s like to be normalhumans in the future.

So, our philosophy is simple. Providea set of game mechanics that allow youto play any type of story, from contem-porary times to the far future, then pro-vide you with examples of these storiesin a variety of campaign settings.

Why you�ll want to bean ALTERNITY player

The ALTERNITY game was purposelydesigned for players who like to havecomplete control over the heroes theycreate. From the initial character cre-ation system to the mechanics forimproving heroes, every decision is leftin the hands of the players. And,

62 JANUARY 1997

because its a skill-based system, thereare a lot of decisions to make. Careerpackages and professions are includedto provide players with plenty of ideas,but you can create and play the exacthero you want, and you can guide hisimprovement in the manner that makesthe most sense to you.

Another aspect of the ALTERNITY gamesystem that should appeal to players isthe simplicity of the game mechanics.Once you master the basic dice-rollingscheme, you’ll know how to accomplisheverything in the game. Simplicitydoesn’t equate with simplistic, however.The rules have so many levels of playbuilt into them that it will take players avery long time to learn how to bestmake use of them. They’re straightfor-ward for those players who prefer to getright to the roleplaying, but the com-plexity is there to take advantage of ifyou’re a strategy and numbers kind ofplayer.

Finally, the ALTERNITY Player’sHandbook is written for the player. Itstarts with how to create heroes, andsubsequent chapters add layers of detailto that basic information. The rules,examples, and advice are all set down tohelp a player perform his role in anALTERNITY adventure or campaign.

But we haven’t left out the gamemas-ter. In the ALTERNITY game, we call thegamemaster the “Rulesmaster.” A goodRulesmaster needs to know what’s inthe Player’s Handbook, but he also has

his own volume to help him accomplishhis role in the game . . .

Why you�ll want to be anALTERNITY rulesmaster

We’ve given Rulesmasters a wonderfulvariety of tools in the ALTERNITY game. Itstarts with the game’s core mechanic,which handles everything from abilitychecks to attack rolls. You don’t have todog-ear page after page of special tablesand new rules; once you’ve got a handleon the basic system you can run thegame without ever looking at the books.This is a game that can be played fromthe character sheet and the Rulesmaster’snotes alone.

The core mechanic is a surprisinglypotent tool for running a game. As youmight expect, we play a lot of gameshere at TSR, and we cover the wholespectrum of role-playing styles. We’vefound that the ALTERNITY system runsequally well for the Rulesmaster whojust eyeballs things or the Rulesmasterwho likes to run a tighter game.

While the mechanic is simple, thegame doesn’t have to be. We’ve layeredin special game options (mutant powersand psionics, to name a couple) that youcan incorporate into your game orignore as you see fit. The options youhave at your fingertips for creatingheroes, guiding their advancement, andchoosing special powers and talentseasily exceeds the variety of the AD&D

game. You won’t outgrow this system orits possibilities for a long, long time.

This game system has gone undermore intensive scrutiny and receivedmore comments and suggestions thanany release since AD&D 2nd Edition. It’sa great engine that can handle justabout anything in the spectrum ofscience-fiction roleplaying. If you want acutting edge, top-notch sf role-playinggame that gives you lots of detail andchoices without immersing you in anexisting universe, we think ALTERNITY isthe game for you.

In the future . . .Before its summer debut, more arti-

cles covering different aspects of theALTERNITY game will appear in DRAGON®Magazine. For example, we have a lot totell you about the first campaign setting.It’s a great place to play your initialALTERNITY adventures, and as with theFORGOTTEN REALMS® setting, a lot of youwill decide to make it the place to setyour science-fiction campaign.

Beyond that, the ALTERNITY game isdesigned to let you create and play anykind of science-fiction adventure youcan imagine. It all depends on youranswer to an important question — aquestion that’s the key to exciting sfworlds of our making . . . and yours.

Which future do you want to play?Think about it, and let us know.

Bill Slavicsek’s work on Star Wars: TheRoleplaying Game and Torg: Roleplayingthe Possibility Wars fills a large room in hishome, and his Guide to the Star WarsUniverse is in its 11th printing. As the coor-dinating designer of the ALTERNITY game, hekeeps busy churning out pages for thePlayer’s Handbook and guiding the direc-tion of the line.

Richard Baker, primary designer of theRulesmaster Guide, loves classic sf. Henames among his favorites Doc Smith’sLensmen books and Robert Heinlein’sStarship Troopers. Before joining theALTERNITY team, Rich helped launch theAD&D PLAYER’S OPTION™ series and theBIRTHRIGHT® campaign setting.

64

When your PC becomes a real animalby Lachlan MacQuarrieillustrated by Valerie A. Valusek

fter a heroic battle (or a really stupid mistake), the playercharacter has perished. The death of a PC is usually a pretty

traumatic event, but now (thanks to a kindly high priest) he�s back inaction.

Sort of.The surroundings are the same, but everything looks a bit larger.

It�s all in black and white, too, and it�s hard to focus on things. He triesto stand, but can just get to a crouch � anything more feels way toowobbly. He calls out for help, but all he can manage is a coughing orshrieking sound. When he looks up at his friends, they�re all staring athim . . .

Uh-oh.But look on the bright side � at least he�s retained enough of his

own mentality to keep adventuring. The claws might come in handy,too.

The 7th-level Priest spell reincarnate is better than a raise deadbecause it automatically succeeds and its fun to watch theplayers expression when he realizes his PC has become a pixie.

However, the spell has a good chance of returning the PC inthe body of an animal or bird. Although the original DUNGEONMASTER® Guide says, “. . . allow the new form to progress as far aspossible . . .” Little else was given in the way of guidelines toallow the experienced player and DM to enjoy this new role-playing challenge.

Animal PCsHumans, demihumans, and humanoids may all become

intelligent animals through magic. In addition, some DMs mayallow animals as an interesting optional character class.Abilities and ability modifiers

Animal PCs have ability scores (Strength, Dexterity, etc.), justas any other character, with the same effects. That is, an animalPC makes an ability check just as any other PC does, and deter-mines specific game effects based on the tables in the Player’sHandbook (i.e., a dog with a Strength of 7 suffers -1 to hisTHAC0, can lift 20 Ibs., move 55 Ibs., opens doors on a 4 or less,and has no chance to Bend Bars), with the following exceptions(see Note 3):

Table 1 (Strength): An animal PC’s weight allowance may notbe more than twice his own body weight, and maximum pressbecomes maximum towed (with proper harness), quadrupled ifthe weight is on wheels or rollers.

Table 2 (Dexterity): Animals do not have a Missile AttackAdjustment.

Table 3 (Constitution): No modifications.Tables 4 and 5 (Intelligence and Wisdom): Number of lan-

guages becomes number of languages comprehended. AnimalPCs do not normally learn or cast spells, so references to thechance of learning a spell, number of bonus spells, and so on,should be deleted.

DRAGON #237 65

Table 6 (Charisma): Animals do not Size and weight guidelines are givenattract henchmen and receive Reactionrolls from a character only if they cansomehow communicate for a time. TheCharisma of an animal PC is largely ameasure of how “well-kept” it looks, withthe DM deciding how a particular NPCshould react to a mangy-looking wolver-ine or a sleek, well-fed wolverine.

Generating the scores: Since animalPCs keep their original mind, they alsokeep their Intelligence and Wisdom, whilererolling new Strength, Dexterity, andConstitution scores for their new body (seeTable 3 for specific notes). Charisma is alsorerolled, but PCs with a Charisma of 15 ormore before death gain a +1 on this roll.

in Table 4. Hit points are gained as percharacter class, with a one-time modifiergiven in Table 3.

Allowed classesLike all characters, the animal PC has

a class and a level. If he qualifies for aclass he held previously, he may takethat class (fighter, ranger, or thief), butloses half his levels (round up), with cor-responding losses in hit points, savingthrows, proficiencies, and so on. If hedoes not qualify for a class he held pre-viously (for example, if he was a mage),then he must choose a new class andstart over again at first level. However, he

*There are no level limits for animal PCs. They’ve got enough problems.

4 1-2/1-2/1-3 6, Br 3 +3 F, R7 1-3/1-3/1-6 12 +3 F,R6 1-6/1-6/1-8 12 +6 F7 3-12 15 +3 F6 1-2/1 5 0 F, T7 1-4 15 +3 F,R

+3 F7 1-3 156 1,F30(B)

0 F, T1-2/1-2/1 +3

7 1-6/1-6 +6 FF

5 1-2/1-2/11 8

+39 5 0 F, T

F

71-22-5 18 +3 F, R

+3 F, R

6 1-2/1-2/1 1,F30(C)

5 1-4/1-4/2-5 2

Bear, brownBoarCatDogEagleFoxHawkHorseOwlRaccoonWolfWolverine

BadgerBear, black

Table 1: Combat and classes*Animal AC Damage Move Initiative Classes

1,F27(D)

may retain half his old hit points (roundup), to a suggested maximum of twicethe usual hit points for that species. Sinceanimals can’t talk and don’t have hands(with the partial exception of the rac-coon), no animal may be a mage, priest,or bard (see Note 1). Since only humanscan be paladins, no animal may be apaladin, although the DM may allow thecharacter to revert to a fighter of thesame level. Since all animals can fight, allcan be fighters (although none maywield weapons). Many are at ease hunt-ing and tracking in the wilderness, so canbe rangers (without the spells). Finally,some are naturally sneaky, so may bethieves (but see Table 5 for additionalpenalties). Table 1 shows which classesare allowable.

Common combat abilitiesAnimal PCs, having the mind of a per-

son but the claws of an animal, use theTHAC0 and saving throws of their class,but do damage according to their naturalattack modes (claw/claw/bite, or whatever,with no “off-hand” or nonproficiencypenalty).

“Fighter” animals may use weaponproficiencies to “specialize” in one attack(bite, right-claw, or whatever). Thisreplaces whatever weapon specializationthey possessed previously. “Ranger” ani-mals get one extra attack every 2ndround, and rogues may “backstab” withone attack mode, multiplying damage asusual. Otherwise, animals do not gain orexpend weapon proficiency slots.

It is possible for an animal PC to weararmor. This is called “barding” (after horsearmor) and gives the PC an improvedarmor class (even if the PC’s natural AC isbetter than the barding’s AC, the PC stillgains a +1 bonus to AC for wearing some-thing). All other effects of armor are as perthe PHB (thieves and rangers should wearstudded leather or less, and so on).Barding has two main drawbacks: in mostcases, someone else has to put it on andtake it off the animal; and cost. Regardlessof size, all non-standard barding costs 2-5times what horse barding costs, and takes2-5 times longer to make, assuming onecan even find an armorer with the skillsnecessary to make such an odd item. Thegiven weight (see individual entries) is forchain barding. Leather weighs half this,and plate 150% more than this.

Common advantagesAll animals have natural weapons of

some sort or other, and most have nat-ural leather armor (see Table 1). In addi-

66

-tion, their sense of smell is usually supe-rior, making detection and tracking ofmonsters a breeze (give a +4 to anyTracking chance where a scent isinvolved, with an additional +4 for foxes,dogs, and wolves). Most importantly, ananimal PC may be seriously underesti-mated by casual observers. A guard whowould sound the alert for a humanintruder might toss a small stone at awandering cat, or ignore it completely.

Common disadvantagesOr he may decide to have the cat for

lunch.

Social handicapsThe major disadvantage all animals

share is their status — in most worlds, ani-mals are either pets, “varmints,” or food.The DM must decide which of these threecategories a given NPC will choose,depending on the type of animal and thetype of NPC (to a human, a cat is a pet. . .to a kobold, it’s lunch). A “pet” may bei g n o r e d , s h o o e d a w a y , o r e v e nbefriended, while “food” will either becaptured or slain outright if the NPC ishungry enough. A “varmint” is any dan-gerous or pesky animal . . . NPCs will takeimmediate action to either drive the ani-mal away, or kill it outright.

In any case, the animal PC will experi-ence considerable social prejudice (“Idon’t care how quiet it is, no pets in theinn!”), and restrictions on his movement(“Zeke! Somebody’s prize pig is wander-ing around loose! Let’s get it!”).

Note that an animal that acts too intel-ligent is either a curiosity or a threat andmay attract a lot of attention. IntelligentNPCs may know about wizards, familiars,or shapeshifting monsters.

Physical handicapsAnimals don’t have hands or speech,

which stops spellcasting (and the use ofscrolls and magic items with commandwords), social communication, and theuse of weapons and lock-picks. Manyproficiencies become useless (see Table 2for useful ones), and the PCs will have atough time communicating with anyone,even other party members (see Note 2).Many magic items will not fit the newbody, and are thus useless.

In addition, most animals (with theexception of birds) have worse eyesightthan humans and demihumans. Pooracuity, shades of gray instead of color,and less range will all plague the PC(reduce all ranges of vision by a factor oftwo, and a factor of four for bears).

Animals by categoryThe animals listed under reincarnate

(P7) fall into five main categories: tinyanimals, small animals, medium animals,large animals, and birds, each with itsown advantages and disadvantages.

Since the lynx and the stag are miss-ing from the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM®tome, they have been replaced by thehousecat and the horse, respectively. Intribute to Lassie, the dog is included. DMswith favorite animals are encouraged touse them, as well, using the examplesgiven here as guidelines (see Note 4).

Tiny animalsThese very small creatures (the house-

cat, fox, and raccoon, etc.) are the weakestof the animals, rolling 3d3 for theirStrength, and losing a hit point from theirfirst Hit Die (see Table 3). However, theirsize makes them maneuverable (+1Dexterity, initiative modifier of 0), andallows them to hide in small places. Tinycreatures can walk tightropes by making asimple Dexterity check (raccoons can usethe rope use nonweapon proficiency, too).

Cats are socially acceptable just aboutanywhere in human domains. Cats mayrake with both rear claws (roll to hit, dmg.

1-2/1-2) if their front claw attack hits(dmg. 1-2). Raccoons have forepaws withamazing Dexterity; allow any reasonable“use of hands,” but with a -2 penalty toDexterity. Foxes can move quickly andhave the “canine” bonus for tracking).

Tiny animals weigh 10-20 Ibs. and con-sume less than one-eighth normal rations.Their barding weighs about five pounds(and the author has seen cat barding).

Table 2: Usable nonweapon proficienciesGeneral PriestDirection sense Ancient historyHeraldry* Local historyReading languages Writing (with difficulty)Rope use** ReligionSwimming SpellcraftWeather sense

RogueAppraisingRead lipsTightrope walk***RunningSurvivalTracking

WarriorAnimal loreEnduranceHunting

* -4 penalty for color-blindness** raccoons only*** size T animals only

Note that comprehension is not affected by theloss of speech and hands. A fox PC with theArmorer NWP can still recognize a good piece ofarmor, even if he can’t work on it. Similarly, animalPCs have no trouble understanding people’sspeech, although they might have to work out asystem of signs to communicate their own wishes.

DRAGON #237 67

Small animalsThese dog-sized animals (including

the badger, wild boar, dog, wolf, andwolverine) are physically weaker than afull-grown man, but not by much (roll3d6 - 2 for Strength), and make up for itwith their natural weapons (the wolver-ine, especially, is a real killer).

Badgers are excellent burrowers, andhave a good AC. They are avoided bymost predators because their flesh isgreasy and unpalatable. Boars are fairlytough, but have a hard time “passing” aspets. True omnivores, they can eat almostanything (+4 bonus to save vs. ingested

poison). PC boars, however, do not havethe ability to fight at negative hit pointsmentioned in the MC. A thick layer of fatand hide also protects them from any sortof insect venom — unless the insect has astinger more than 6” long.

Dogs are socially acceptable every-where (perhaps a wolf could wear aleash?), and are excellent trackers.Wolves track as well as dogs do, and canhowl, which has a 50% chance of panick-ing any herbivore within earshot which isnot being held and calmed by its owner.

Wolverine PCs do not gain the +4 toTHAC0 mentioned in the MONSTROUS

Table 3: Ability scores and size modifiersStrength Dexterity Hit Die Bonus* Size

Badger 3d6-2 3d6 0Bear, black

S3d6 (min 12) 3d6 +3 S

Bear, brown 3d6+2 (min 14) 3d6-1 +5 LBoar** 3d6-2 3d6 +3 SCat 3d3 3d6+1 -1 TDog 3d6-2 3d6 0 SEagle 3d6-2 3d6 -2 SFox 3d3 3d6+1 0 THawk 3d6-2 3d6 -2 SHorse 3d6+2 (min 14) 3d6-1 +2 LOwl 3d6-2 3d6 -2 SRaccoon 3d3 3d6+1 -1 TWolf 3d6-2 3d6 +2 SWolverine 3d6-2 3d6 +3 S

*This bonus/penalty is applied to the die rolled to determine hit points for first level. Animal PCs who kepttheir old hit points apply this to their total hit points once, during the conversion process,

**In addition, a bonus of +1 to Constitution, and -2 to Charisma.

COMPENDIUM volumes but are otherwisevery dangerous fighters. The wolverinemusk attack is not gained by a PC untilhe attains his 3rd level as a wolverine,and is usable once per day. The effectcauses all in a 10’ × 10’ × 30’ cone to therear of the wolverine to save vs. poison.Failure causes blindness for 1d4 hours,while success still causes loss of 25% ofStrength and Dexterity for 1d4 turns dueto disgust. All hunters know of thewolverine’s musk, and take precautions.

Small animals weigh up to 75 pounds,and consume half what a full-size humanwould. Their barding weighs about 20pounds.

Medium animalsRoughly man-sized, medium-sized ani-

mals (including the black bear) are smallenough to come indoors but big enoughso they don’t get stepped on. They havethe same effective strength range ashumans (but with a minimum of 12), andare roughly as maneuverable, but dohave better natural armor.

The black bear has good combatcapabilities, and can often be passed offas part of a circus act. If it rolls 18 orhigher when attacking with a paw, it hashugged its victim for an additional 2-8hp damage.

Medium animals weigh up to 400pounds, and eat as much as a full-grownman (and sometimes more). Their bard-ing weighs as much as human armor ofthe same type.

Large AnimalsLarge animals (such as the brown bear

and horse) enjoy tremendous strength(roll 3d6+2, with a minimum of 14, andalways roll for Exceptional Strengthregardless of class). Note that this is their“effective” strength — they can movemuch heavier loads with proper harness.On the down-side, they are rather bulky(-1 Dexterity, +6 initiative).

Brown bears have good armor andcombat capabilities, but are not allowed towander around in town. Their hug causesan additional 2-12 hp damage, but PCbrown bears do not have the ability tofight at negative hit points mentioned inthe MC. Horses aren’t so deadly, but fit inanywhere (outside of china shops). PChorses do not panic at unexpected noisesor smells (unless the player wishes to). Inaddition, packs, harnesses, barding, shoes,and other tack for horses are readily avail-able and reasonably priced.

Large animals weigh up to half a ton,and consume fou r t imes wha t a

68

full-grown man does. Barding is given inthe PHB, but bear barding is non-stan-dard and costs 2-5 times as much horsebarding.

BirdsThe birds are all size S (barely) and

thus roll 3d6 -2 for Strength. Their majoradvantages are their wings and theirkeen eyesight. The DM should quadrupleall vision ranges and award surprisebonuses (bird PCs are surprised only 5%of the time, though eagles and hawkslose this advantage at night, and owlslose it during the day). The birds in thissection can all dive-attack, gaining a +2to hit and doubling damage (claw only:beak attacks are not allowed in a dive).

Eagles and hawks can dive to attack(both must dive at least 100’, unlike theowl, who only has to dive 50’). Owls haveexcellent hearing and nightvision, able tosee perfectly in anything short of magicaldarkness, but they are effectively blindedduring the day (-4 penalties to surpriserolls, attack rolls, saving throws, andarmor class). Owls fly silently (-6 penaltyto opponent’s surprise roll).

Note: Flying is a novelty for most PCs,so it takes two weeks of falling out oftrees, short hops, and glides, before fly-ing becomes as natural as walking.

In addition, their frail constructioncauses them to subtract 2 from their firsthit die. Finally, their deficient sense ofsmell means that they do not gain the +4Tracking bonus mentioned above.

The social status of birds varies fromculture to culture. Some barbarian tribesactively revere them, but other culturesmight hunt them for their plumage.

Table 4: Size and weightLength (inches)* Weight (pounds)

Base Modifier Base ModifierBadger 2 0 2d6 3 0 2d10Bear, black 60 2d6 200 2d100

Bear, brown 6 0 4d8 400 4d100Boar 3 0 2d8 7 5 2d10Cat 18 2d4 9 2d8

D o g 30 3d10 2 0 3d20Eagle 24 2d4 12 2d8Fox 20 2d4 9 2d6Hawk 18 d6 10 2d6Horse 96 6d6 800 10d100Owl 2 0 d10 10 2d8Raccoon 2 0 2d8 16 2d8Wolf 3 6 2d8 40 2d20Wolverine 2 4 d20 30 2d20

*For animals, this is length from nose to rump. If the animal has a tail, it will be 5d8% (5-40%) of thislength. in addition, the wingspan (wingtip to wingtip) of a bird is approximately three times its length.

Leaving the animal formEventually the PC is going to get tired

of growling, dodging kicks, and wearinga pack-harness (and well he should), andhe will start looking for the wish (or othermagic) necessary to regain his old form.Naturally, this will be hard to come by,and the quest can fill many adventuringsessions. Alternatively, the deity whogranted the original reincarnate mayimpose additional requirements before itwill release the PC.

Whichever path the DM chooses, thePC will eventually regain his old form(with a considerable sigh of relief, nodoubt). This will be identical to his oldbody (dig out the old character sheet),but with some loss due to the shock oftransformation. The PC reverts to his oldcharacter class, regaining all of his for-mer experience, minus two levels (reduce

XP total to the minimum necessary toqualify for the reduced level).

The character has learned somethingfrom the experience, however, and mayadd all XP earned while in animal formto his new XP total. Any proficienciesgained while in animal form are lost,although the character will have a newempathy for others of that species (theequivalent of the animal lore NWP forthat animal only).

General notes1. DMs who use psionics must decide

if the new animal form will have any ofthe psionic abilities of the old. Sincepsionics are based on Intelligence,W isdom, and Constitution — two ofwhich stay the same — it seems reason-able that animal PCs can be psionicists.However, since the body (Constitution) isdifferent, the animal PC must start againat 1st level, and requires double XP toadvance to 2nd. From then on, advance-ment is normal, as the PC has learned tocompensate for his differences.

Wild Talents may be kept, but anyPSPs the old form earned after first gain-ing the Talent are lost (the animal muststart over again).

If the PC wasn’t psionic before thereincarnation, the DM may allow him toroll for a new Wild Talent, as the shock oftransfer opens up previously-unused por-tions of the character’s intellect.

2. Many works of fantasy include“talking beasts,” either using human

speech, or their own special animal lan-guages DMs who allow this are againtaking the sting out of being an animalPC, which may be a good or bad thing.For example, with some research intoalternate somatic methods, mages whoare turned into talking beasts may beable to cast spells. Players should remem-ber that a talking cat will attract a lot ofattention.

Animal PCs who can talk to other ani-mals of their species will notice immedi-ately that other animals of their speciesare cooperative, but rather stupid . . .

3. Any bonuses/penalties due to highor low attributes are in addition to theanimal’s normal abilities and bonuses.

4. The animals used in this article areall from the MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM vol-umes. When adding new animals, the DMshould read the guidelines for creatingnew character races in the DMG. Classifythe animal by size, and compare to theanimals presented in this article. For playbalance, it is advisable to avoid convertingcreatures with too many special powers.

Lachlan MacQuarrie is a freelance writerliving in New Brunswick, Canada. This is histhird appearance in DRAGON® Magazine, butnot his last. He dedicates this article to thememory of a certain raccoon thief.

Table 5: Thief ability modifiers (supplement to Table 27 in the PHB)

Skill Cat FoxPick Pockets* -45% -50%

Raccoon-10%

Open Locks* -40% -40% -10%Find/Remove Traps* -40% -35% -5%Move Silently +30% +15% +10%Hide in Shadows +20% +15% +15%Detect Noise +25% +35% +10%Climb Walls +15% +5% +15%Read Languages +0% +0% +0%

*In these cases, the cat or fox is using his forepaws and mouth to grip — clumsy, but better than nothing.

DRAGON #237 69

Lupins of the MYSTARA® settingby Bruce Heard

illustrated by Bob KlasnichThis is a sequel to the Princess Ark

episode titled “A Glass of Wine & aShaggy Dog Story,” originally publishedin DRAGON Magazine issue #179 and laterin the Champions of Mystara boxed set.Raman Nabonidus, the ship’s sage, pro-vides a supplemental entry to the ship’slog as he attempts to describe lupinbreeds of Mystara, from the KnownWorld to the Savage Coast.

Nyxmir 9, AY 2001As His Highness, Prince Haldemar,

was off to research the whereabouts ofa fine wine vintage, I, RamanNabonidus, endeavored instead toenrich our knowledge of the creatures inthis world. Thus would the ImperialLibraries of Alphatia gain from the jour-neys of our illustrious Princess Ark.

I received an invitation from SireMuseau d’Aboisfort, the Kings sage, andtook this opportunity to go ashore anddiscover for myself this wondrousKingdom of Renardy. To properly mis-pronounce his name without offendinganyone, as I did numerous times, Iwould suggest the following: seer mew-zoe dah-bwah-for. It appeared that lupins,dog-faced humanoids, made up the vastmajority of the local population. I hadexpected gnoll-like primitives butinstead discovered a clever and sophisti-cated culture, almost as advanced as thenations of the Known World. Whatstruck me most was the variety of thepeople in the streets. Everything aboutthem was different, their demeanors,their wealth, social standings, and espe-cially their physical appearances.

I finally reached the Aboisfort Manor.Sire Museau welcomed my arrival in acourteous and pleasant manner. Hedemonstrated great curiosity about theways of Alphatia, and after many ques-tions promised himself to visit us oneday.

We spent the rest of the day in hiscomfortable study, exchanging ourexperiences of this world, sampling thisoutstanding Renardois wine, and poringover countless tomes from his shelves.Sire Museau quickly proved a well-learned person and gained my respectand appreciation.

Much later during that night, hebegan explaining some of the problemsof being a lupin nowadays, and howthey affected the secular Kingdom ofRenardy. This is what he said.

In the Beginning, most human sages Ispoke to believed us lupins to be an offshoot

of the gnoll breed; however, this isn’t exactlytrue. According to ancient scripturesunearthed a few years ago, gnolls, like Pflarrhimself were ancient Nithian creations.

Pflarr rose to Immortality and createdthe Hutaakans, a race of jackal-headedhumanoids. Pflarr truly liked the Hutaakans;brilliant and refined, they were created in hisimage. Hutaakans established control overthe Traldar, the ancestors of today’sKarameikos, getting most of Pflarr’s lovingcare and attention. Meanwhile, the gnollishpopulation exploded. These ravenous andbrutish hordes ran out of control and even-tually invaded Traldar, causing theHutaakans to hide in a secluded valley.

Ancient legends, which I suspect weretrue, say that as a result of the Hutaakandemise and of the mysterious disappearanceof the old Nithian empire, Pflarr was offendedand lost interest in surface world affairs.

Over the following centuries, gnolls andTraldars practically annihilated each other.It is also said the stagnating, inbredHutaakan race also dwindled while ele-ments of their original civilization were rele-gated to a mythical Hollow World preserva-tion land — if such a place truly existed.

Not all Hutaakans stayed in their valley,however. Some travelled the Known worldand beyond, eventually creating new fami-lies. New blood, including some pervasivegnollish blood, was brought to the weaker,original Hutaakan stock, which created sev-eral initial breeds of lupins. To humanobservers, lupin breeds appeared soon afterthe gnollish invasion; thus, humans believedthem to be directly related — an unfortunateand disparaging misconception I might add.

Our early ancestors eventually forgotabout their Hutaakan heritage. They begunforming clans and spread throughoutMystara. The heads of the clans were thosewho could show proof of a certain lineage,Hutaakan blood, without really knowingwhy. It had simply become clan tradition bythen. As centuries passed, the tradition grew

70

Table 1: Racial modifiers and other statisticsNPC Generator(Roll two d2O’s)

Statistics Known SavageBreed S D C I W Ch Height Weight MV Bite Senses World CoastGuardians (min. 12 Strength, max. 16 Intelligence) 1-3 1-3Doggerman +1 - - -1 - - 57 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8 12 d6+1 Med. 1-6 1-2Maremma +1 -1 - -1 d6 3-6Mastiff +2 -1 +1 -1

- +1 57 + Strength 12 Med. 7-1 -

Pit-Bull +1 +1 +1 - - 262 + Strength

(Size × Strength) ÷ 3.5(Size × Strength) ÷ 2.8 12 d6+2 Low 8-1

- 2 d817-10

12 Low 12-13 11-14Shar-Pei +1 - +1 - - -2

52 + Strength54 + Strength

(Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8(Size × Strength) ÷ 3.5 12 d6+1 Low 14-16 -

Wolvenfolk +1 - +2 -1 -1 -1 58 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.2 12 d6+1 Med. 17 15-17Ye Great Dogge +2 -1 -1 - - +1 66 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3 15 2d4 Med. 18-20 18-20

Hunters (min. 12 Intelligence, max. 16 Strength) 4-6 4-5Basset Hound -1 - +1 - - - 46 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 9 d4+1 High 1-3 1-2Beagle -1 - - +1 - - 47 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 9 d4+1Bloodhound - -2 +2 - - - (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.5

High 4-7 355 + Strength 9 d6+1 8-9 4-7

Chow Chow - -1 +1 - - - 51 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8 12High

d6 High 10-13 -Foxfolk -1 +2 -2 - +1 +1 47 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4.2 12 d4+1 High 14 8-10Golden Retriever - +1 - - -2 +1 56 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8 12 d6 High 15-17 11-12lspan Pistolero - - -1 +1 - -Nithian Rambler -2 +1 -2 +1 +2 -

48 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 9 d4+1(Size × Strength) ÷ 4.5

High - 13-1556 + Strength 15 d4+1 High 18-20 16

Renardois Folk - +1 - - -1 - 55 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8 12 d6 High - 17-20

Shepherds (min. 12 Wisdom, max. 16 Strength) 7-8 6-8Heldann Shepherd - - - - - - d6 Med.Shag-Head

57 + Strength 12 1-12 1-3- -1 - - +1 - 54 + Strength

(Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8(Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8 12 d6 Med. 13-19 4-9

Stagovich Herder +1 +1 - -2 - - 58 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.5 12 d6 Med. 20 10-20

Workers (min. 12 Constitution, max. 16 Intelligence) 9-11 9-10Eusdrian Bulldog +1 - - - - -1 55 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3 9 d4+1 Low 1 1-7Glantri Mountaineer +2 -1 - - - - 57 + Strength 9 d6+1(Size × Strength) ÷ 3 2-8 -Gnomish Snoutzer -2 +1 - - +1 - (Size × Strength) ÷ 4

High12 d4+150 + Strength

Norwold Malamute - - +2 -1 -1 - (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8High 9-15 8-13

56 + Strength 12 d6+1 Med. 16-19 -Zvornikian Sentinel -1 - - -1 +1 +1 55 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.8 15 d6 Med. 20 4-20

Vermin Hunters (max. 12 Strength and 19 Dexterity) 12-13 11Blue Bandi t - - - - -2 +2 56 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 12 d4+1 Med. 1-4 1-6Burrow Bandit - +1 +1 - -2 - d4+1 Med. 5-12 7-16Das Hund

53 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 6

-2 +2 - - - -- +2 - 2 - - - 6 d4 Med. 13-16 17-20

Fennec47 + Strength31 + Strength

(Size × Strength) ÷ 46 d2 Med. 17-18 -

Hound of Klantyre - - -1 - +1 - 45 + Strength(Sire × Strength) ÷ 4.2(Size × Strength) ÷ 4 6 d4 Med. 19-20 -

Wee Folk (min. 12 intelligence, max. 10 Strength) 14 12-13-Bouchon -1 - - - +1 1-7

Carrasquito47 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 9 d2 Low 1-5

- +2 -2 - - - 31 + StrengthCimarron Hairless - - -1 +2 -

(Size × Strength) ÷ 4 6 1pt Low 6 8-14

Ochalean Houndling - - - - +2 -2-1 50 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 9

6d2+1 Low 7-9 15-16

37 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 d2- - -1 +2 - -1 9 d2

Low 10-13 -Ochalean Crested Low 14-17 -Papillon

47 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4- +2 -1 - -1 - 47 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4 9 d2 Low 18-20 17-20

Nomads (min. Dexterity 12, max. Strength 16 15 14-15Long-Runner, Borzoi - +1 - -1 - - 59 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 4.5 18 d4 Med. 50% either breed

Mongrels (min. 8 Strength for basic Lupins, else all other statistics min. 3 and max. 18) 16-20 16-20Basic Lupin +1 - +1 -1 -1 - 64 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.3 12 d6

d6High - -

Random Breeds * * * * * * 64 + Strength (Size × Strength) ÷ 3.3 12 Med. Roll NPCs individually

Ability adjustments for random mongrel breedsRoll 1d20 for each statistic. A roll of 1 indicates a -2 adjustment for the ability. A roll of 2-5 indicates a -1 adjustment. A roll of 16-19 indicates a +1 adjust-

ment. A roll of 20 indicates a +2 adjustment. If the total of all adjustments is +1 or more, the mongrel is afflicted with a short life span (-10 years for each pointabove +1). If the total of all adjustments is -1 or worse, the mongrel has high senses (see Table 2). Specific racial adjustments and other features only have a 25%of being passed on to the mongrel’s progeny (roll d%: 1-25 father’s, 26-50 mother’s, 51-00 random).

weaker and more obscure, to the point ofbeing almost completely forgotten. By then,scores of new lupin breeds had adapted towidely different regions of Mystara andformed varied and thriving species. Theyalso endeavored to incorporate elements ofhuman or demi-human civilization, asshown with our Fair Kingdom of Renardy,for example.

The issue of the Hutaakan ancestry, how-ever, is now coming back to haunt our kind.With civilization came the age of reason, andsome of us began to wonder about our trueorigins. Almost regrettably, some found out,and the result is now a sensitive issue. Thereare the ones who believe nobility lies in ones

ancient Hutaakan blood lineage. Then thereare the others who adopted human-stylenobility based upon feudal rulership. Theproblem became worse when some of ourpeople openly questioned the legitimacy ofthe Clairvault Dynasty over the throne ofRenardy, since clearly the Clairvaults show nosuch bloodlines. Although it has remained aquiet one so far, Renardois remain evenlydivided on this issue.

The problem grows even worse when theclergy becomes involved. Some people alsohave begun questioning the legitimacy ofSaimpt-Renard as the long-established headof the lupin Immortal pantheon. They believethe only true lupin Immortal should be Pflarr

This thinking has sparked an undergroundreligious movement to re-establish Pflarr. Itmakes no doubt in my mind they are theunwitting pawns of pflarr himself. Since hefirst turned from the Hutaakans, pflarr hasfinally noticed our success as a race. Now hewants to reclaim our kind, just as a parentwould his lost children. In response to this,high priests of all our established templesbranded the honoring of pflarr a heresy, fol-lowing the wisdom that pflarr had aban-doned the Hutaakans and thus relinquishedall rights over lupin flesh and spirit. This, myfriend, is our quandary, and I fear things maybecome quite unsightly before this issue isever resolved.

72

The Sign of PflarrSire Museau went on about some of

the more obscure lupin theology:

Hutaakan clerics and later clan shamansknew ancient Nithian rituals related toPflarr’s bloodlines. It is said that, with theproper incantations and a pinch of sacredincense from Ylaruam, a few drops ofHutaakan blood trickling over glowingembers would invoke the image of Pflarr’shead among the fumes. The more vivid andlonger-lasting the image, the purer theHutaakan bloodline. I sheepishly mustadmit that unscrupulous lupins would con-sider a vague jackal face enough to claim atie with the great spirit. Others still showpure enough a bloodline for a recognizableimage to appear, regardless of well-breed-ing or mongrelhood.

Believers ought to beware, however:blasphemous spell-casters resort to illusionsto manipulate the result of the ritual. Greatcare must therefore be taken to avoid suchperfidious trickery.

Creating lupin PCsLupin PCs are generated much as any

other kind of character, using the racialability modifiers given in Table 1. Unlessstated otherwise, racial minimums andmaximums are 3 and 18. Size and weightcomes next since they are largely basedupon the lupin’s breed and Strengthscore. Should you decide to make femalecharacters a bit smaller, a 1” difference isrecommended for lupins up to 60” tall,2”-3” if taller. A lupin’s weight requires abit more calculation, but it is also basedupon size and Strength.

Example: The doggerman is listed as57 plus Strength. A 13 Strength dogger-man would then stand 70” tall. Itsweight is listed as Size × Strength ÷ 3.8.This means multiply the lupin’s basicheight in inches time its Strength score.Then divide the total by the indicatednumber. This doggerman should there-fore stand (57 × 13) ÷ 3.8 = 195 Ibs.

Table 1 provides unencumberedmovement rates for each breed, the dam-age caused by a bite attack, and the gen-eral keenness of their sensory skills. Thelatter are detailed in Table 2. Table 1 alsoprovides a random NPC generator forboth Known World or Savage Coastencounters. Roll one d20 to determinewhat lupin group is involved and a sec-ond to determine the specific breed.

Note: The basic lupin statistics areincluded here as a comparison with the

Table 2: Lupin senses

Not all lupins have perception senses as good as the basic lupin’s (fisted as high — in the Racial Table).The following table compares the various sensory abilities of lupin breeds.

Ability & Description (High Senses) Medium Senses Low SensesInfravision: 60’ 60’ 30’Detect Werewolf: 99% chance 83% 66%Detect Invisible & Ethereal Beings: +2 +1

+4 bonus (see chapter 13 in DMG)Blindfighting: Free proficiency Free proficiency No free proficiencyTracking: At one-half Wisdom score Tracking at one-third Tracking at one-quarter

(rounded up). A lupin Ranger tracks Wisdom (rounded up). Wisdom (rounded up).at one-half Wisdom score +6. Ranger tracks at one-third Ranger tracks at one-

Wisdom +3. quarter Wisdom +1.Recognize Smell: Automatic success Race, Intelligence at +2; For a race, Intelligence

to recognize a race. To recognize an for a person, -2. check; for a person, checkindividual person, Intelligence check. at -4.

Detect Noise: 35% chance, +2% 30% +1%/level 25%, no bonusSpecial Weakness: -2 penalty to -1 penalty No special weakness

saving throws vs. odor- or sound-based attacks (a stinking cloud, abanshee’s wail, etc).

other breeds. It is assumed the basiclupin (originally developed in the SAVAGE

COAST™ campaign) is only one of themany mongrels. Should you decide touse this material, the basic lupin shouldthen no longer be available. Instead, rollup a random mongrel.

Table 3 lists the classes availableto the various lupin groups. Althoughlupins cannot be multi-classed, theycan be dual-classed following conven-tional game rules for human PCs.

Furthermore, lupins cannot be wizards,only mages of the following schools:Divination, Abjuration, Invocation, andNecromancy.

Table 4 provides thieving skill adjust-ments. Be sure to know the size of thecharacter, since it makes a differencehere, and also later for armor andweapon limitations.

Finally, Tables 5 and 6 delve into thepossibility of determining a lupin’s lin-eage and its game effects.

DRAGON #237 73

Table 3: Class level limitations

Fighter Paladin Ranger Wizard Cleric Druid Thief BardGuardians 15 12A 12 9B 15 9 9C 9Hunters 9D 9E U 9 15F 13G - 9 H

Shepherds 13 - 12 9 U 9 - 13Workers 13 9I 15J 15 UK 9 9Vermin H. 9 9 9 15 9 U 6Wee Folk TextNomads 13

15L 15 9 M 13 615 9 15 13 6 13

Mongrels 13 U 12 15 13 13 9

A. Maremma only G. Foxfolk have no level restriction as druidsB. Wolvenfolk only (necromancer only) H. Beagles have no level restriction as bardsC. Pit-Bull only I.D. Renardois Folk have no level restriction as

Zvornikian Sentinel onlyJ. Glantrian Mountaineer and Norwold

swashbucklers Malamute onlyE. Golden Retriever only K.F. Nithian Ramblers have no level restriction as

Norwold Malamute onlyL. Ochalean Crested can reach 18th level

clerics when worshipping Nithian Immortals;no Foxfolk clerics allowed.

M. Carrasquito only

The merry lupin gallerySire Museau was generous enough to

give me one of his beautiful tomes. I wasawed by the number of different types oflupins populating our world and by theextent of their geographic expansion. Imust admit these pages revealed morethan I could possible describe here. SireMuseau had classified his kin into maingroups. Many centuries ago, thesegroups acquired specific specialties andtraits, but with time most lupins grew indi f ferent ways. The classi f icat ionremains, however, a simple way to orga-nize their countless pedigrees.

I found the following groups, most ofwhich where self-explanatory: theGuardians (mostly warrior types, big,strong, but not geniuses), the Hunters(an important group as one wouldguess, with some of the most colorfuland talented creatures to set a paw on

Weapon and armor limitationsIn addition to normal restrictions character

classes impose on weapon proficiencies, lupinsizes also have an impact. Up to 40” tall, a lupinis limited to Medium or Small weapons of 5 Ibs.or less, regardless of Strength (long swords arenot allowed, but the blowgun is). Between 41”and 50” tall, a lupin suffers no limitation onweapon weights but still cannot use a Largeweapon of any sort (bastard swords are still notallowed).

Generally, lighter-built lupins stay away fromheavy armor as a matter of racial preference.Lupins listed with a weight divider of 4 or more(see Table 1) avoid armor whose standardencumbrance exceeds 25 Ibs. Lupins with aweight divider of up to 3.8 avoid armor whosestandard encumbrance exceeded 40 Ibs. Lupinswith a weight divider of 3.5 or less have noarmor restrictions, other than those usuallyimposed by the chosen character class.

Armor weight should then be reduced orincreased, as appropriate to the lupin size. Hereare summarized guidelines:

For lupins up to 40” tall, armor encumbranceis 60% of normal listed weight. For every extra 4”size (or fraction thereof) add another 10% (retainfractions).

For example: normal plate mail is listed at 50Ibs. For a 40” tall lupin this armor would weighonly 30 Ibs. For each extra 4” size add +10% (+3Ibs.). For an 80” tall lupin, this armor shouldweigh 30 + (10 × 3) = 60 Ibs.

this world), the Shepherds (these are thequieter types on whom everyone relies),the Workers (who found a niche forthemselves in this old world), VerminHunters (I smiled when I ran across thisentry; these are quick and adroit fellowswho once made a life of scouring ratsand other rodents), the Wee Folk (frailbut diverse; these are gifted ones), theNomads (now a very small group of tall,lanky characters, although fairly impor-tant in this region), and finally theMongrels, listed last, but by no meansthe tail end of lupinkind.

Here are just a few for your perusal. Ihope you’ll enjoy my pale summary asmuch as I enjoyed discovering this newpeople myself.

Basset Hound, Royal: This ancientlupin breed once specialized in huntingclose to the ground, mainly for rabbits.Some of the more imposing lupin breedstend to look down on the royal bassets,as humans do halflings. They are, how-ever, quite capable as hunters. Theymastered the ability to hide in high grassor heavy vegetation when motionless(90% chance), and developed keen sightcomparable to infravision, allowingthem to see through vegetation as if itwere mere darkness. Royal bassets havea free outdoor survival and hunting pro-ficiencies. AL: Any Good.

Beagle, Greater: This is one of themost adventuresome lupin breeds. Likethe royal basset hound, the greater bea-gle originated from rabbit-hunting clans.Many wandered away for years to dis-cover the world. One actually joined upas a pilot on the gnomish flying city ofSerraine. Specially talented for howling,called “singing” among lupins, beaglesmake excellent bards (no level limitation).Beagles also have a free exploration pro-ficiency. This Intelligence-based skillallows the greater beagle accurately to

map and record discoveries, to communi-cate through sign-language, and to inter-act with natives naturally (+3 bonus toencounter reaction checks). Greater bea-gles also have an uncanny talent forstumbling onto interesting places (forgot-ten tombs or lost temples) or to witnessunusual events (religious and other tabooceremonies) often likely to get the greaterbeagle into some trouble. AL: Any non-Lawful; generally Good.

Bloodhound, Grand: Rumored to bethe finest trackers, they make up fortheir generally placid temperament withan unusual tenacity. Grand blood-hounds proved very successful investi-gators for the King’s Gendarmes inRenardy. People say bloodhounds nevergive up on a fugitive of any sort. Twice aday, bloodhound characters may rerolla failed attempt to track or recognize ascent. Once per adventure, they alsomay follow a hunch with a successfulIntelligence check. This allows them tocome up with a new course of actionwhen a party runs out of ideas to solvea problem. The solution may not neces-sarily make sense at the time. For exam-ple, a bloodhound may suddenly thinkthat investigating a particular place orperson overlooked earlier could helpsolve a problem. Although this may notbe true, it could bring the party to wit-ness useful events or discover otherleads putting the party back on track.AL: Lawful Neutral to Neutral Good.

Blue Bandit: The blue bandit gainedits Mystaran name from its short andcurly dark blue fur. Contrary to the con-notation of its Vermin Hunter classifica-tion, the blue bandit often remains anelegant lupin, often a gambler or a spec-ulator. The breed’s most notorious indi-vidual, Arsäne Lupin, is a debonair thief

Life spanThe basic life span of a lupin is 90 years

(maximum longevity is 90 + 2d10). A few lupinbreeds, such as the Foxfolk, GlantrianMountaineer, Great Dogge, and unusual mon-grels, however, have shorter life spans. The basiclife span of the Foxfolk, Glantrian Mountaineer,and the Great Dogge is only 80 years.

Middle age for a lupin comes at about half itsbase life span (45 years for a basic lupin). Old agecomes at about two-thirds of its base life span (or60 years, minimum 40 years), and venerable ageat its base life span (90 years, minimum 60years). These ages should be readjusted forbreeds with shorter life spans. A middle-agedlupin loses a point of Strength and Constitutionbut gains a point of Intelligence and Wisdom. Anold lupin loses two points of Strength, Dexterity,and Constitution but gains a point of Wisdom. Avenerable lupin loses a point of Strength,Dexterity, and Constitution but gains a point ofIntelligence and Wisdom. A venerable lupin’ssenses also drops one category (from high tomedium, from medium to low, from low to nobetter than a human of comparable age).

74

by a borzoi. When reaching aConstitution of zero, a lycanthropereverts to its normal shape and passesout. Borzoi are immune to lycanthropy.A borzoi family that has reached noblestatus among Nova-Svoga society headsa secret werewolf-hunting sect. AL: AnyLawful.

Bouchon: This small lupin breedgained its notoriety on the Savage Coastas prestigious wine makers, thus thenickname bouchon (cork). A happy folk,this white powder-puff of a lupin easilygets along with anyone. Bouchon havedeveloped a special resistance to liquor(treat as 19 Constitution), which theyoften use to fool others, and over theyears the ability to resist poison as well(save vs poison as a dwarf). Bouchon PCsgain a free wine-making proficiency (sim-ilar to the brewing skill). AL: Any Chaotic,mostly Good.

Bulldog Eusdrian: This is a ratherlarge and heavy lupin version of the com-mon bulldog. The Eusdrian bulldog is aburly worker, often with some degree ofauthority over common people (aninnkeeper, a foreman on a constructionsite, a city official, the captain of a mer-chant ship, etc.). Usually strong and

with charm and flair, and a weakness forrich ladies. Arsäne, wanted by the KingsGendarmes for years, has consistentlymanaged to outfox the King’s blood-hounds — a remarkable feat. The bluebandit can mask his scent to send pur-suers after the wrong lupin (automaticagainst any lupin tracker except blood-hounds, who suffer a 50% penaltyinstead). A blue bandit may have one ofthe following proficiencies free: gam-bling, forgery, or finances. The latter isan Intelligence-based skill for dealingwith investments, banking, and businesstransactions. AL: Any Chaotic.

Borzoi, Nova-Svogan: This lupin, ashaggier long-runner, originated from aclan devoted to hunting werewolves inthe great northern wastelands. To alllupins in general, lycanthropy remainsan aberration, one that they perceive asan insult to their own natural origins,and which must be scoured from theworld. The borzoi is the best suited forthis task, since its saliva is harmful to alllycanthropes. As a result, Nova-Svoganborzoi fangs are equivalent to silverweapons when fighting lycanthropes. Inaddition, lycanthropes must succeed asaving throw vs. poison or temporarilylose a point of Constitution when bitten

DRAGON #237 75

Table 4: Thieving skill adjustmentsGuardians Vermin Hunters

SkillS & Nomads Up to 55” Taller Workers Wee FolkPick Pocket

Mongrels-5% +5% - - - -

Open Locks -5% +5% +5% +5% - -F/Remove Traps +5% +10% +10% +10% +5% +5%Move Silently +5% +10% +5% - +10% -Hide in Shadows - +10% +5% - +10% -Detect Noise +10% to +20%*Climb Walls Dependent upon physical size**Read Languages -5% - -5% +5% -

* A lupin with high senses could start at 1st level in any class with a 35% chance to hear noises (Base15% + 20% bonus, +2% bonus per experience level thereafter). Comparatively, a lupin with low senseswould start with a 25% chance (base 15% + 10% bonus). If they are thieves, they can further increase thisability by spending the usual extra thieving points.

** Lupins up to: 40” tall:50” tall:60” tall:Lupins taller than 60”:

-20%-15%-10%-5%

downright intimidating to many, it isn’t astough or mean as it wants others tobelieve. The bulldog has a free intimida-tion proficiency (see the doggerman

Burrow Bandit: Clans of burrow ban-

entry). Its thunderous bark also instills

dits are best at vermin hunting (foxes inparticular, but also rabbits, moles, rats,

fear within a 30’ radius for 1d4 rounds

and the like). They gained unequaledtalent among lupinkind at finding theirway through burrows, tunnels, and

(save vs. paralyzation to negate). AL: Any.

other underground lairs. They can sense

Table 5: Random lupin lineage

A 5d10 dice roll indicates the lineage of alupin (if any at ail) and the strength of this her-itage, as shown on Table 5. Remember that thestrength of a lupin’s lineage has no bearing on itsbreed or physical appearance.

Roll 5d10 Ancient Lineage4-5 tens Strong Hutaakan bloodline

3 tens Weak Hutaakan lineage2 tens Faint traces of Hutaakan blood2 ones Faint traces of gnollish blood3 ones Weak gnollish lineage

4-5 ones Strong gnollish bloodline

It is possible to have mixed heritage (rolling 2or 3 tens and 2 ones for example). Rolling any-thing other than tens and ones or different num-bers would indicate a total lack of a clear blood-line, other than the lupin’s own breed.

Lineage generally is hereditary (it stays in afamily) but can be weakened or strengthenedthrough successive family generations. If either ofthe parents has no clear lineage at all, then roll5d10 on Table 5 for each child. If both parentshave at least a trace of a bloodline, roll 1d20 foreach child. An odd result relates to the father’slineage, an even number to the mother’s. With ascore of 19-20. lineage is strengthened by onecategory. On a roll of 7-18, lineage is passed onas is. On a roll of 1-6, lineage is weakened byone category. If either parent had equal traces oftwo different bloodlines, then choose one at ran-dom (50%) as the one passed on to the child.

Feel free as a DM to assign different dicenumbers to additional bloodlines for use withTable 5, as appropriate to your campaign. Foo-dog blink-dog, or wolvenfolk lineages could existas well, assigning for example nines, eights, andsevens to these bloodlines. As an option, here areeffects inherent to these bloodlines (faint blood-lines of any sort have no game effect whatsoev-er). Effects are otherwise cumulative. Table 6shows the effects of the stronger bloodlines;however, these may not necessarily prove to beentirely desirable.

depth and direction underground muchas gnomes do. Melee combat within theconfines of a small burrow should nor-mally entail a -1 or -2 penalty to attack

Carrasquito: This lupin breed gainedits name from its native land, El GrandeCarrascal, a cactus wasteland near the

rolls, to which burrow bandits are

lspan Baronies. The tiny carrasquitodeveloped the natural ability to move

immune because of their ability to fight

easily through overgrown areas (as a

in this manner. AL: Any.

3rd-level druid). The carrasquito alsocauses gnolls and humanoids of equalor greater size to attack it with a -4penalty to hit, due to the lupin’s smallsize. Despite its relatively high intelli-gence, however, the carrasquito some-times shows excessive bravery for itsphysical size and requires a Wisdomcheck to break away from a fight will-ingly. AL: Any non-Evil.

Chow-chow, Ogrish: Ochalean ogre-magi had originally bred the chow-chowlupins as slave hunters, but also for theirthick, red fur and their flesh. With helpfrom foo-dogs and clans of friendly lupins(shar-pei mercenaries and Ochaleancrested) ogrish chow-chow rebelled andgained their freedom. As a result, chow-chow do not take kindly to slavers, espe-cially ogre-magi. Chow- chow have a50% chance (plus their level) of recogniz-ing polymorphed creatures, or 90% forogre-magi. Furthermore, they benefitfrom a +1 bonus to initiative in combatdue to their ferocity. AL: Any.

Cimarron Hairless: Also known byshadow elves as Xoloitzcuintli, thisancient, dark-skinned breed relates tothe original followers of Atzanteotl. Theywere notor ious for being sacredguardians of Atzanteotl’s inner temples.After the Immortal had betrayed andabandoned them and their shadowelven masters, most of these lupinsresettled northwest of the Broken Lands.Some however did remain with theshadow elves since. Because of theirinherent vulnerability to sunrays, theyoften wear garments covering theirfaces and entire body. Like shadowelves, they have 90’ infravision and theyare immune to paralysis from ghoulsand other undead. They can also spotsecret doors and other details with a1-2 score on 1d6. AL: Any.

Das Hund: This short-legged butlong-bodied critter has become anadroit rogue, excelling as a thief or spy.Several have gained enough notoriety

Table 6: Effects of bloodlines

Lineage Strength E ffectHutaakan

(tens) Strong You are blessed by Pflarr for He now gazes upon you. You derive no supernat-ural powers from your heritage, only fame or a deadly hatred if your secret were

Weakever unveiled. Gain +1 Wisdom (max 19) regardless of original lupin breed.Your heritage is strong enough to warrant a claim to ancient lupin nobility,should you unveil your lineage. No special abilities.

Gnollish(ones) Strong Your ultimate faith now lies in the hands of Yeenoghu, a pawn of darkness (NPC

only). Roll up a new character at once! Your alignment must now be utterly evil,regardless of the original lupin breed.

Weak Gain +1 Constitution (max. 19) -2 Intelligence, regardless of racial minimums(see Table 1).

Foo-dog(nines) Strong The Grandees of Ochalea will honor the path upon which you tread. May you live

in interesting times! You age (no saving throw) unnaturally if failing to perform agood act: 1 year for merely ignoring an opportunity to do some good, 5 years ifactually causing harm. The loss is permanent. You gain a +2 bonus to all savingthrows (except vs. poison) and naturally radiate a protection from evil once per day

Weak(as the wizard spell, cast at half the lupin’s experience level, rounded up).Your basic life span is only 70 years, compared to 90 for most other breeds. Youralignment must be good, regardless of the lupin breed. You cannot be a thief.

Blink-dog(eights) Strong

Weak

You can blink once per experience level, per day, with an 80% chance of suc-cess. Each blink temporarily weakens you; treat as a point of stun damage (seeMastiff description for stun mechanics). Failing an attempt to blink with a roll of“00” causes the permanent loss of a hit point.Your alignment must be good, regardless of your original lupin breed. Gain +2to AC due to your innate dodging ability.

76

within noble circles of the Savage Coastthat several different rulers actuallycompete to acquire their services, includ-ing the Heldannic Order. Das Hundeither gains 90 discretionary points forits initial thieving abilities instead of 60or, with a successful Wisdom check, itcan guess someone’s next immediatecourse of action provided it can stareinto the other person’s eyes for at leasta round. The DM must limit such infor-mation to six words or less. AL: Any.

Doggerman: This black-and-rustHattian breed originally specialized inguarding palaces and military barracks.It can often be found working as acareer soldier, an officer, a professionalbodyguard, or in a secret police caste.Many found permanent employmentwith Thyatis’s Hattian legions and theHeldannic Order. Its natural senses arenot as keen as those of hunting breedsfor example; however, it has sharpmemory, observation, and deductionskills (+2 bonus to Intelligence checks inthis regard). The doggerman also bene-fits from a free intimidation proficiency.This Strength-based talent allows thedoggerman to force NPCs into submis-sion. The doggerman does receive apenalty to this check equal to a third ofthe NPC’s experience level (or HD),rounded down. AL: Any Lawful.

Fennec, Fighting-: This tiny, sand-color critter is about the size of the car-rasquito. It looks like a miniature foxwith very large ears. A nat ive ofYlaruam, the fighting-fennec relates tonocturnal hunting clans living fromsmall desert prey and furtive raids onhuman caravans. Nomadic Alaysiansknow the fennec is a follower of Al-Kalim and respect it for that. Mostimportantly, a fennec joining a party isbelieved to be a good omen, a sign ofgoodwill from Al-Kalim. This is becausethe fennec is a lucky fellow with the abil-ity, once per day, to reroll anyone’s sin-gle die, including a foe’s or a friend’s.Very keen of hearing, it can Hear Noisewith a 40% base chance + 2 per experi-ence level. AL: Any non-Evil.

Foxfolk: This reddish lupin, as can beexpected, is perfectly at ease amongwoodland beings. Unlike to other hunt-ing breeds, a foxfolk cannot be a cleric,however, it can attain unlimited druidiclevel. A Norwold cousin exists, withwhite fur, but otherwise no game differ-ence. A foxfolk benefits from an innateability to smell a trap this is a dangersense alerting it of an impending danger(the DM must score a 1-2 on 1d6 for the

ability to be activated). The foxfolk, how-ever, knows neither where the trap liesnor its nature, just that danger lurksnearby (a mechanical trap, a hidden pit,a magical snare, or even a foe waiting inambush). AL: Any Chaotic, usually Good.

Glantri Mountaineer: Where else butin the Glantrian Alps could this placidlupin feel best at home? Sturdy, slob-bery, but loveable, this benevolent char-acter knows every corner of its nativemountain, even in the worst blizzard.This lupin has free mountaineering, ori-enteering, and yodeling proficiencies. Italso has the ability to lay on hands,exactly like a paladin. AL: Lawful Neutralto Neutral Good.

Gnomish Snoutzer: Just as gnomespride their nasal appendages, so do theschnauzers their snouts. Their sense ofsmell is so good they can accurately pre-dict natural weather for up to 6 hours inadvance (wind speed & direction, tem-perature, and precipitation). These work-ers became good friends with forestgnomes. In exchange for benefittingfrom the snoutzers’ natural abilities,these gnomes taught them how to passthrough wooden terrain without leavinga visible trace and how to become invis-

If outdoors, lupins may use their baying tocommunicate simple messages to others of theirkind (1d4+1 words per round). Their ability to doso depends on their physical sizes (assuming thelarger the lupin, the more powerful the voice),weather conditions, terrain, and the hearing abil-ity of the receiving lupin.

Howling

A lupin must succeed a Hear Noise check tocomprehend the message. If the attempt missesby 30% or more, the lupin doesn’t even hear ornotice the howling at all. For each inch in sizeabove 40” of the howling lupin, add a bonus of+1%. If the howler is a bard, add another +10%bonus. If the howler is a beagle, add another+20% bonus. For each full mile of distancebetween the two lupins, apply a 10% penalty(under half a mile, add a +30% bonus instead). Ifthere are trees, hills, winds, loud noises (a river forexample) near the one listening, or other relevantobstacles, add penalties as appropriate or disal-low the attempt altogether, If the listener is sleep-ing at the time, allow a 10% chance waking up.

ible in woods when motionless (80%chance of succeeding either attempts).AL: Any non-Evil.

Golden Retriever, Greater: This lupinrelates to an ancient hunting breed thatbecame very skillful with archery and, asthe name implies, at retrieving its quarryfrom whence it fell. As a result, the goldenretriever benefits from a +1 bonus to hitwith bows and slings (non-mechanicalweapons). Its peculiar background gavethe retriever an unusual trait, however.

DRAGON #237 77

Any time a hand-held object is thrown ator away from the retriever, it must suc-ceed a Wisdom check to avoid runningafter the object (unless consequencesinvolve obvious death). The DM mayassign bonuses to the Wisdom check, asdictated by the situation. When failing aWisdom check, the retriever can tem-porarily increase its Dexterity for the nexttwo rounds. It does so in the followingway: subtract half the retrievers presentDexterity score from 10; add the resultrounded up to the retrievers Dexterityscore. Despite this unusual trait, someretrievers have been able to become pal-adins because of their benevolentdemeanor. AL: Any Good.

Heldann Shepherd: The original clansof this proud and versatile lupin breedrelied on their talent as sheep and goatherders. Over the centuries, this lupin hasexpanded its fields of knowledge com-monly to include the duties of constable,soldier, guide, and guard. Because of itsversatility, the Heldann shepherd startswith an additional two non-weapon pro-ficiencies, plus one more every time newproficiencies are normally acquired.Furthermore, the Heldann shepherdgains a +1 bonus to its initiative rolls. AL:Any Good or Any Lawful.

Hound of Klantyre: This small lupinis an archetypical vermin hunter. Whenlaunched against rat-sized creatureswith no particular defenses or magicexcept their great numbers, the “scottie”can make an additional attack per expe-rience level (short sword or smallerhand-held weapon only). Furthermore,because of its origins, the hound ofKlantyre has a particular understandingof undeath. When confronted withundead creatures, this lupin has eitheran innate protection from evil or, if acleric, the ability to turn undead as if twoexperience levels higher. Klantyre andBoldavian nobility, notorious Glantrianundead, generally treat hounds ofKlantyre with suspicion at best, unlessthe latter unequivocally demonstratetheir will to serve them. Some havebecome powerful minions of theseundead, others skillful undead hunters.Hounds of Klantyre can recognize thesmell of undeath (i.e., its type) as theywould a common race. AL: Any.

Ispan Pistolero: This small, drooping-eared lupin relates especially to lspanwoodcock-hunting clans. Most of theirclans migrated to the Ispan lands wherethey managed to acquire unusualrespect for their kind from the humanpopulation. In so doing they developeda singular attraction to firearms avail-able on the Savage Coast, which earnedthem their present name lspan gun-dogs. They can use firearms, from pis-tols to arquebuses, with a +1 bonus totheir initiative and attack rolls. They alsohave a free gunsmith proficiency. AL:Any.

Long-Runner: This tall and skinnylupin draws its notoriety from the abilityto run fast and far. Its origins go back tonomadic clans that roamed the vaststeppes, peddling their goods from onesettlement to another. As a result, thelong-runner gains free endurance andappraisal proficiencies. As far as thelong-runner’s ability to run or movequickly over long distances are con-cerned, its Constitution score should bemodified in the same way the goldenretriever’s Dexterity is altered (see earli-er entry). The long-runner has thenatural propensity to run after smallprey suddenly darting away (unless con-sequences involve obvious death). Asuccessful Wisdom check can preventthis from happening. The chase lasts1d6+2 rounds or until the prey is cap-tured. AL: Any

Maremma, Narvaezan: Dubbed theSerene Master of All He Surveys, this tall,

snow-white lupin is as brave as it is ami-able. It draws its origins from sheep-rais-ing clans whose members were praisedfor their guarding and fighting skills. Assuch, the Maremma stands as one of thevery few lupins that can become a pal-adin of significant level. The maremmacan be surprised only on a roll of 1 on ad6. Furthermore, this lupin’s visualsenses allow it to notice details thatcould give-away the presence of hiddenfoes with a successful Wisdom check(footprints on the ground, grass andshrubs disturbed, a branch bendingunnaturally, an abnormal rustle ofleaves, an odd shadow, a sudden move-ment in a crowd, someone staring, etc).AL: Lawful Neutral to Neutral Good.

Mastiff, King-: Generally of greatstrength and dignity, this lupin can be amost formidable guardian. The king-mastiff generally devotes its life to amaster or to a cause. As a result, themastiffs determination in combatremains unequaled among lupins.Anytime it suffers damage of any typethat is a third or more of its current hitpoint total, half of this damage (roundeddown) counts as stun damage only. Themastiff passes out when it reaches zerohit points due to combined stun and

78

physical damage, and dies if it reaches-10 hit points. If not slain, the mastiffwakes up 1d6+4 rounds later (minus itsConstitution bonus to hit points), shrug-ging off all accumulated stun damage.Furthermore, the mastiff is immune tonatural or magical fear. AL: Any.

Nithian Rambler: One could betempted to think that Pflarr’s bloodflows through the hearts of thesePharaoh hounds than in any other lupinbreed, but in truth they only preservedthrough the centuries a spiritual and cul-tural affinity with ancient Nithia. Nithianramblers desperately cling to shreds oftheir ancient ways and to a devotion toPflarr (or Thanatos), as if to atone for (oravenge) the loss of their true bloodlines.Nithian ramblers either do not revealtheir background or remain in secludedcommunities, away from other lupins.Clerics of Pflarr are sometimes involvedin breeding schemes planned out overcenturies, to try to purify their bloodlinesand bring back a true Hutaakan whomthey would revere as some sort ofenvoy from Pflarr, possibly a prophet.Clerics of Thanatos would instead try toeliminate such a creature. When suc-ceeding a Wisdom check with a -2penalty, a Nithian rambler can smellwhether another lupin has any trace ofHutaakan blood. AL: Any.

Norwold Malamute: This northerneris accustomed to roam the icy reaches ofNorwold. It has free running and orien-teering proficiencies the latter of which itdeveloped to an unparalleled degree.The Norwold malamute naturally knowsits way through the dark, polar rim lead-ing to Mystara’s Hollow World. Early on,malamute clans learned to follow migra-tory paths across the frozen NentsunChannel and the Hyborean Ice Pack. Fastand tireless, an unencumbered mala-mute can move across snow at a normalspeed; it also saves against all cold-based attacks with a +2 bonus. AL: Any.

Ochalean Crested: Almost entirelyhairless, this small lupin has a darkbrown to black skin, with a long tuft ofwhite hair flowing from the top of itshead to its shoulders. Long white hairalso grows on its feet, the back of itshands, and the end of its tail. It oftenoccupies positions of authority (man-darins, magistrates, governors, orOchalean nobility) or those associatedwith erudites (sages, wizards, scribes, etc).Magic generally fascinates Ochaleancrested lupins, much like it does withelves. They developed a natural abilityallowing them, once a day, to switch one

memorized spell for another of a lowerlevel, duplicated from among othermemorized spells. In other words, thelupin can decide to forfeit its fireball spell,and duplicate another lesser spellalready memorized, like a feather fall. Italso has a free spellcraft proficiency. AL:Any.

Ochalean Houndling: Thanks to theirwrinkled faces, pushed-in noses, andundershooting jaws, these Beitungese arethought truly ugly by human standards.Nevertheless these tiny lupins evolved tobecome the most common lupin breed inOchalea’s capital city. They are the work-ers, merchants, shopkeepers, servants,artists, and everyday folk one couldexpect to find in the streets, had Ochaleabeen a lupin setting. Numeroushoundlings live at the palace in Beitungeither as servants or as courtesans. Thehoundling has the unique talent of elud-ing trouble when adopting a meek andsubmissive countenance. Whenever twopeople face any kind of trouble (angerfrom an important person, a foe in com-bat, etc.) this Beitungese may beg andkowtow, prompting the source of thetrouble to ignore the houndling and focusits attention oh the other fellow instead.

DRAGON #237 79

For this, the houndling need only succeeda Wisdom check and move away fromthe source of trouble at MV 3 until com-pletely out of its sight. Houndlings have afree etiquette proficiency. AL: Any.

Papillon, Neo-: Despite its large, hairyears, this lupin learned to use its smallsize to its own profit, namely that ofbeing an escape artist. It can slip out ofnon-magical bonds with a successfulDexterity check (-5 penalty if magical). Itcan also squeeze through very smallspaces to escape a prison, bending pasttight corners in the process. The escaperoute can measure as little as a foot indiameter for a neo-papillon to crawlthrough (MV 3). As a thief it also has a+15% modifier to its chances to OpenLocks. The most famous of these lupins,a Renardois called Papillon, was wrong-fully deported to the penitentiary in theFortress of Boa Vista, far away at the tipof The Horn. It has escaped severaltimes in the past 20 years, only to berecaptured in the swamps and deserts ofthis desolate peninsula. AL: Any non-Lawful.

Pit-Bull, Torreón: This breed early onmade it a specialty to fight in Thyatianarenas as professional gladiators. A fewindividuals earned their modern breed

name after becoming illustrious tore-adors in the bull-fighting arenas ofTorreón (+1 bonus to attack rolls againstall bull-like creatures, including mino-taurs). These pit-bulls are excessivelyaggressive, proud, impatient, and unpre-dictable by nature. Other than profes-sional arena fighters, pit-bulls unfortu-nately often end up as hired-hands,thugs, and other shady characters. Theselupins are so ferocious that they behaveas berserkers when involved in combat(either a +2 to attack rolls or an extraattack per round, and immunity to fear).Furthermore, a pit-bull requires a suc-cessful Wisdom check to break fromcombat once it has started. Recent rumorhas it that pit-bulls have strong gnollishbloodlines, but there is no proof of such.AL: From Chaotic Neutral to Neutral Evil.

Renardois Folk: Typical hunters,Renardois folk appear as medium sizedlupins, with short brown, black, and whitefur. The most common lupin breed inRenardy, they naturally gather in groupsof 4-10 at any opportunity, a strangehabit going back to the times theyroamed the steppes in great huntingpacks. They sit by, quipping aboutpassersby, whistling at ladies, and other-wise acting a tad obnoxious, if generallyharmless. Renardois folk make the bestlupin swashbucklers (no level limitation).They excel at causing others to enrage,which earned them a free taunting profi-ciency. With a successful Wisdom check,this proficiency causes a victim tobecome outraged for 1d4+2 rounds. Anoutraged victim’s Wisdom and Dexterityscores are temporarily halved (round up)and the victim must then succeed its ownWisdom check to avoid immediatelycharging into combat. AL: Any Chaotic,usually Good.

Shag-Head: This bob-tailed lupinearned this affectionate nicknamebecause of its big and hairy appearance.If one could see its eyes, their gazewould betray unfathomable intensityand spiritual depth. The nickname alsocomes from this lupin’s propensity towander the trails of Mystara dishevelledand somewhat confused, in search ofImmortal Truth. Shag-heads often per-form the functions of sooth-sayers ormystics due to their ability to sense ema-nations from beyond. This ability is notunder the shag-head’s control (it is aDM’s tool only). The shag-head cansense events happening elsewhere (thedeath of an important person or some-one of significant relation to the party,the crowning of a monarch, a battle, a

storm, a building collapsing, a sinkingship, the anger of an Immortal, theawakening or birth of a creature of greatgood or evil, an approaching peril, etc.)at least once per adventure. While utter-ing auguries, which takes 1d4+2 rounds,a shag-head enters into uncontrolledtrances during which it levitates and anaura of light surrounds its body. The lightrenders the lupin totally immaterialalbeit still visible (then existing partiallyin the ethereal plane) and cures any of itswounds. The shag-head can suppressthe urge to enter into trances with a suc-cessful Wisdom check, which delays theprophecy as follows (roll 1d4): 1 — around, 2 — a turn, 3 — an hour, 4 — a fullday. Such omens, either specific to theadventure or totally unrelated, shouldremain fairly obscure but solvable withsome clues. The shag-head can remem-ber what was said with a successfulWisdom check. Shag-heads are a perfectoutlet for powerful entities to communi-cate with the rest of the party. Shag-heads also have any two of the followingproficiencies free and with a +1 bonus:religion, spellcraft, astrology, ancientlanguages. AL: Any Lawful.

Shar-Pei, High: Another illustriouslupin from Ochalea, this one is most

80

famous as a warrior and a mercenarywhich has been an ancient tradition withhigh shar-pei clans. Some under-employed mercenary clans also gainednotoriety by resorting to piracy on landand at sea. They excel with pole-arms, forwhich they have a natural +1 bonus totheir attack rolls. Because of their superi-or combat techniques with pole-arms,Shar-Pei warriors can forfeit all theirattacks in a given round to try to keepmultiple foes at bay. For this effect com-pare the Shar-Pei’s attack roll to itsTHAC0, the difference indicating thenumber of subsequent melee attackautomatically missing. For example, if aShar-Pei warrior with a THAC0 of 14rolled an 18, the next 4 melee attackswould automatically miss, regardless ofthe attackers’ scores. If an attacker’s scorewas naturally insufficient to hit a Shar-Pei(for reasons other than the defensivepole-arm tactics), the attacker would alsosuffer a point of damage (plus Strengthand magical adjustments). AL: Any.

Slagovici Conic: Pronounced“Slagovitchi gonitch,” also known as theSlagovich Goat Herder, this large andpowerful lupin cannot be mistaken forany other because of its very long whitecoat falling in thick, felt-like cords resem-bling a string mop. Several clans ofthese lupins live in the hills aroundS lagov ich , mos t l y ra i s ing goa ts .Naturally suspicious of strangers, theyalso have an 80% chance of detectingevil intent toward them, their immediateparty, or their flock; they cannot, how-ever, pinpoint its location or its nature.These lupins have free appraisal, animalhandling, and animal lore proficiencies,although all three remain strictly limitedto goats and sheep. AL: Any Chaotic,mostly Chaotic Neutral.

Wolvenfolk: These hardy creatureshave an innate tie to Saimpt-Loup, theImmortal of death, mercy, and survivalof the fittest. Contrary to natural lupinevolution, Saimpt-Loup created originalwolvenfolk bloodlines. It gives them theability to sometimes conjure death itself.Whenever they meet an untimely death(poison, magic, exceeding 10 hit points,etc) wolvenfolk can make a Constitutioncheck. If they succeed, they lose twoexperience levels and a point ofConstitution, but awaken 1d4+2 roundslater with one hit point left instead.Furthermore, the wolvenfolk’s align-ment moves one notch closer to Saimpt-Loup’s (lawful evil). Once a wolvenfolkreaches this alignment future use of theability is forever negated. As a result of

their special bond with Saimpt-Loup,wolvenfolk can neither be raised fromthe dead ever, nor have any otherbloodline (see Tables 5 and 6). They canbecome mongrels after successive gen-erations, at which point the magicalbond with Saimpt-Loup is broken. Otherbreeds, however, could eventually gainwolvenfolk bloodlines but would thenfall under the powerful Immortal bondas well. AL: any except NG, CG, and CN.

Ye Great Dogge: Locally known asthe Ostland Stövare this huge lupin is anancient and proud warrior amonglupinkind. Its origins relate more to ahunter of large predators and a gentlegiant. It often surfaced in lupin history asthe breed of local heroes. Once a dayand for six rounds, the great dogge canradiate a 25’ radius aura of inspirationcomparable to a bless spell. The greatdogge has a free leadership proficiency.This Wisdom-based skill allows the greatdogge to remove fear (one attempt perperson, singly or in a group). AL: AnyGood.

Zvornikski Gonic: The Zvornikiansentinel is a short-hair and all-white lupinwith black dots. A branch of this clan isfamous for staffing the fire squad inZvornik. They prevented a major disaster

in the capital, directing a desperate effortto stop a raging fire from engulfing theentire city. Of their clan of 20, four diedin the disaster, but the city was saved.Their entire clan was knighted andearned the hereditary charge to controlthe Order of the Ember (a brotherhood ofknights comparable to real-wor ldHospitaliers). They also have a perma-nent +2 bonus to saving throws againstall fire-based attacks, natural or magical,+3 if a knight of the order. Sentinels canalso smell fires larger than commoncampfires with a +2 bonus to theattempt (+5 bonus for a blaze; 1 penaltyper mile away). AL: Any non-Chaotic.

Bruce Heard has a knack for creatingraces and cultures for the MYSTARA setting. Heoccasionally finds the time to type at hiscomputer, sitting among fossils, ancient arti-facts, and dusty skeletons leaning over hisshoulder, but otherwise hasn’t a mean bonein his body.

Where to find the Mystara® campaign

Both the MYSTARA and SAVAGE COAST campaigns remain vital and active, living onthe internet. If you have access to America Online, Genie, or even just an internetconnection, you have access to new products available only online, and for free

Already available are the Savage Coast campaign book, the SAVAGE COAST

MONSTROUS COMPENDIUM® appendix, and Orc’s Head (campaign accessory andadventure). Each of these online products include separate files containing mapsand art, including covers.

These online releases aren’t the only new MYSTARA and SAVAGE COAST material.Fans of the setting have already made plenty of their own creations available inthe same location. Come check them out.

The electronic files you can find in these libraries aren’t limited to the MYSTARA

and SAVAGE COAST settings. If you’re a fan of the GREYHAWK®, FORGOTTEN REALMS®,D A R K S U N ® , o r P L A N E S C A P E ® s e t t i n g s — y o u ’ r e s u r eto find something you can use in your own campaign.

Finding the filesOn America Online, just check out the file library button in the TSR Online area.

(Keyword: TSR.) Don’t forget to stop by the message boards, too.On Genie, use keyword TSR to reach the TSR Online area. Once there, check

out the TSR Online bulletin board (option 1) and the software library (option 3).On the internet, ftp to ftp.mpgn.com. Log in as “anonymous,” use your e-mail

address as your password, and look in the /Gaming/ADND/Worlds/SavageCoastdirectory. Alternatively, visit the new TSR web site at http://www.tsrinc.com.

If you have any questions about finding these or other files in the TSR-support-ed locations on the net, send an e-mail to tsrinc@aol.com.

DRAGON #237 81

by Carla Hollar, Jackie Cassada, and Nicky Rea

After the rush and bustle of the holi-day season, the WINTER FANTASY™convention offers a refreshing, eco-

nomical vacation. The convention takesplace February 5-9 at the WisconsinCenter in Milwaukee, WI, taking advan-tage of the off-season rates to garnerrockbottom hotel prices for attendees.This year starts with something reallynew! WINTER FANTASY convention atten-dees have come to expect a slew of theirfavorite gaming genres; this year twospecial events have been added to thefeast. The first of these features a gameavailable for the first time as a sanctionedRPGA® Network tournament. The secondexplores an old world through new eyesand a new game system.

Werewolf howlsThose who have pe rused the

schedule (to judge or play events) for theWINTER FANTASY convention may havenoticed a game tucked away among allthe others. Their hearts may have beat alittle faster, or they may have believedthey were seeing a typo, but the informa-tion is correct. After clandestine midnightmeetings during the GEN CON® Game Fairlast year, White Wolf and the RPGANetwork have arranged the first eversanctioned Werewolf: The Apocalypse*game tournament.

Set in the World of Darkness and cap-turing the flavor of the game while main-taining RPGA standards, “Road Warriors”was written by Nicky Rea and JackieCassada, whose work has appeared inmany White Wolf products. The networkis looking for more judges familiar withthe game system to help out at the con-vention. Player demand will determinehow often White Wolf games are offeredin the future.

Visions of destinyHeralding an alternative approach to

tournament gaming, the Visions ofDestiny campaign is set during the Ageof Mortals on Krynn. Using TSR’s newSAGA™ system, this DRAGONLANCE®: FIFTH

AGE™ tournament game is the first in acontinuing series of ten. Scheduled tounfold over a three-year period, thetournaments will initially run at majorregional conventions, then be releasedfor play at local cons, allowing everyonea chance to follow the storyline. Forthose who can’t attend enough conven-tions to keep abreast, the charactersheets will be updated between eachtournament, with notes on their impor-tant actions, as well as information onmagic, spells, or special equipment theyhave accumulated. Further, a precis ofthe prior game appears at the start ofeach new tournament.

Forming an epic quest, the “Visions ofDestiny” tournaments follow the careersof six fledgling heroes who travel acrossthe twisted landscape of a greatlychanged Krynn. Led by visions anddreams while growing in experienceand power, they seek the magical mightthey must have to defeat a horrorreturning from the Age of Dreams.

“Visions of Destiny” is not the first ser-ial tournament. The Star/Rats tourna-ments of previous years have also usedrepeating characters. An advantage ofmost of the Star/Rats scenarios is thatthey were designed to be played alone.Likewise, it is possible to play each ofthe “Visions of Destiny” tournaments asa separate, discrete game with its ownvictories and accomplishments, but theyall come together in the end as part ofan ongoing quest.

Filled with the spirit and atmospherethat DRAGONLANCE fans have come tolove, and showcasing the new dicelessSAGA system, the “Visions of Destiny”campaign tournaments are character-intensive. The SAGA system’s simplerrules and use of cards encourage play-ers to bring strategy and skill to theirheroes’ actions. The fluidity of sorcerousand mystical magic allows the creationof one-of-a-kind spells, while the spellpoint system enables beginning heroesa chance to cast more than a single,first-level spell. The challenge becomesall the greater, as magic has almost fledthe beleaguered world.

The most exciting aspect of the cam-paign is its response to player actionsand decisions. While there is an overallstoryline that forms the backdrop forplay, development and advancement ofthe characters and the plot is in thehands of the players. The heroes’ deci-sions have consequences that deter-mine the future direction of the cam-paign. In essence, the players becomepart of the creation process.

So, how does this work? Much aswith LIVING CITY™ games, the Narratormust complete a questionnaire: Did theheroes finish the quest? Did they defeatthe villain? Questionnaires will be com-pared, and whatever occurs at themajority of tables at the first-run con-vention, becomes “reality” in the cam-paign world. Welcome to “Visions ofDestiny,” where your decisions help cre-ate the world.

Editor’s Note: As we go to press,the WINTER FANTASY™ convention hasbeen cancelled. Watch for updates onthe first appearance of the “Visions ofDestiny” tournament campaign in anupcoming issue.

Want to join?The RPGA® Network supports con-

ventions all over the world with tour-naments designed for many differentroleplaying systems, especially theAD&D game.

For more information about theNetwork’s programs, write to: RPGANetwork, 201 Sheridan Springs Rd.,Lake Geneva, WI 53147, or send e-mail to: rpgahq@aol.com.

*indicates a product produced by a companyother than TSR, Inc.

82

Editor’s Note: Last winter, DRAGON®Magazine printed the AD&D® Triviathloncontest. Since the contest concluded, manyhave sent us Ietters asking for the answers toparticular questions. Here, then from theCreative Director of the AD&D games line atTSR, are the first 25 questions and answers,with notes explaining the more complicatedsolutions. The rest of the solutions will appearin sidebars throughout the coming issues.

1. What type of animal is most oftenfound guarding a gnome’s lair?

Answer: Badger

2. What is the percentage chance toburn through a rope with a candle?

Answer: 25%Note: This is a simple conversion

from one number to another. A candleproduces normal, nonmagical flame.The Item Saving Throws Table showsthat a rope has a saving roll of 6 or high-er vs. normal fire. That translates to a75% chance of success, which is thesame as a 25% chance of failure.

3. I just cast a spell at my enemy, whowas then pelted with red flowers. Wheream I?

Answer: A wild magic area.Note: This is the result of a modified

roll of 24-27 on the Effects of WildMagic table from FORGOTTEN REALMS®Adventures.

4. What being is the source of Plumamagic?

Answer: Qotal, the feathered dragon.Note: Qotal received the gift of

Pluma from his mother. He, however, isits source.

5. If a drow says to you, “Oloth plynndos,” what does he mean?

Answer: It is a curse meaning, “dark-ness take you!”

Note: As explained on page 95 ofThe Drow of the Underdark.

6. A specialist wizard in the School ofAbjuration cannot cast spells fromwhich schools?

Answer: Alteration and illusion.

7. Who is worshiped at the Silent Hallin Iriaebor?

Answer: Eldath (Goddess of SingingWaters).

Note: Another obscure fact fromFORGOTTEN REALMS Adventures.

8. What bonus proficiency is grantedto a metaphysician?

Answer: Academician.Note: Metaphysician is a character kit

from the Masque of the Red Death setting.

9. What level of spell is tentacle walls?Answer: Seventh

10. A PC drinks half of an enlargedpotion of diminution. What happens toher?

Answer: She shrinks 50%.Note: Anyone who read the spell

description got this one right.

11. According to the Player’sHandbook, what is the maximum num-ber of hit points a 1st-level thief canhave?

Answer: 8.Note: 6 for maxing out the roll, plus

2 for Constitution 16 or higher.

12. Doommasters are specialty priestsof what deity?

Answer: Beshaba (Maid of Misfortune).Note: FORGOTTEN REALMS Adventures

again.

13. What damage bonus does a char-acter gain when wearing a girdle of stormgiant strength?

Answer: +12

14. What potion ages its user by ayear?

Answer: Potion of speed.

15. What is the proper name for polarhalflings?

Answer: FurchinNote: Because they have beards, as

pointed out in The Complete Book ofGnomes and Halflings.

16. The first impression one has ofthese is of “a writhing mass of fur andflesh in the distant moonlit darkness.”What are they?

Answer: GibberlingsNote: We got a lot of funny answers

to this one, but we can’t reprint themhere.

17. A 3rd-level fighter (Str 17, platemail, boots of speed, two-handed swordwith specialization) battles a hook hor-ror: statistically, who is most likely towin, and in which round?

Answer: Whoever wins initiative inround 4.

Note: The answer should be foundby assigning average values to every-thing and stepping through the duel. Inthe question’s original form, the answerwas clearly fighter, 3rd round. A smallediting change (the original questionspecified how many hit points eachcombatant had, and the hook horrorwas below par) muddied the water sothat the answer became whoever winsinitiative in round 4. However, becauseof some confusion in the AD&D rules,we also accepted fighter, round 3, andhook horror, round 4.

The confusion is two-fold. First, wenever specified whether any optionalrules could be used, and weapon speedfactors can influence who wins initiativein the 4th round.

But greater confusion exists over thetiming of three attacks per two rounds.We discovered, when double checkingthis answer, that the rules never actuallystate whether you get the second attack

86

in even or odd rounds. A quick surveyled us to believe that most DMs give thebonus attack in the even-numberedrounds — 2nd, 4th, etc. — the same waywe do, but there’s nothing in the rulesabout it. It’s just as valid to give thebonus in the 1st, 3rd, etc., rounds. Andfor the purpose of this question, itmakes a big difference.

Aside from that, the answer is fairlyeasily derived by using average valuesfor everything, but things like weaponspeed modifiers and that pesky 3/2attacks issue pretty well defanged thisquestion.

18. According to the Player’sHandbook, what is the minimum level apriest must be to have a chance at turn-ing a vampire?

Answer: 6thNote: Straight off the Turning Undead

Table.

19. In what AD&D game campaignsetting could you find hadozees andrastipedes?

Answer: The SPELLJAMMER® setting

20. The only thing I won’t eat is an Answer: Gnomeself, although I don’t like the taste of Note: Most people instantly think,dwarves. What am I? “Dwarves.” It’s from The Complete Book of

Answer: Bulette Gnomes and Halflings.Note: This seems like a pretty

straight-forward question, except thatthe answer, for some unfathomable rea-son, is in the Combat section of thebulette description, rather than in theEcology section where it belongs. (And,by the way, it’s pronounced boo-let, notboo-lay.)

24. At what level can a sha’ir callupon a jann for aid and protection?

Answer: 5thNote: As explained in Arabian

Adventures.

25. Who or what are korobokuru?Answer: Oriental dwarves.Note: As described in Oriental

Adventures.21. How many fen equal one yuan?Answer: 5 fen = 1 yuan.Note: A simple question, if you have

access to a copy of Oriental Adventures.

22. Which character races can bedemi-bards?

Answer: Elves, dwarves, halflings,gnomes

Note: That’s all the demihuman racesthat can’t be bards. It’s all explained inThe Complete Bard’s Handbook.

Steve Winter started working as an edi-tor for TSR, Inc. in 1981. In the years sincethen, Steve has been involved in the launchof more cancelled product lines than any-one else at TSR. For the last several years hehas been the Creative Director in charge ofthe AD&D® game; so far it seems to be doingOK, but he’s keeping his fingers crossed.23. “Goblinsticker” is a special fighter

kit for what race?

88

Convention CalendarPolicies

This column is a service to our read-ers worldwide. Anyone may place afree listing for a game conventionhere, but the following guidelinesmust be observed.

In order to ensure that all conven-tion listings contain accurate andtimely information, all materialshould be either typed double-spacedor printed legibly on standard manu-script paper. The contents of each list-ing must be short and succinct.

The information given in the listingmust include the following, in thisorder:1. Convention title and dates held2. Site and location3. Guests of honor (if applicable)4. Special events offered5. Registration fees or attendance

requirements, and,6. Address(es) where additional infor-

mation and confirmation can beobtained.

Convention flyers, newsletters, andother mass-mailed announcementswill not be considered for use in thiscolumn; we prefer to see a cover letterwith the announcement as well. Nocall-in listings are accepted. Unlessstated otherwise, all dollar valuesgiven for U.S. and Canadian conven-tions are in U.S. currency.

WARNING: We are not respon-sible for incorrect information sent tous by convention staff members.Please check your convention listingcarefully! Our wide circulationensures that over a quarter of a mil-lion readers worldwide see eachissue. Accurate information is yourresponsibility.

Copy deadlines are the firstMonday of each month, four monthsprior to the on sale date of an issue.Thus, the copy deadline for theDecember issue is the first Monday ofSeptember. Announcements for NorthAmerican and Pacific conventionsmust be mailed to: ConventionCalendar, DRAGON® Magazine,201 Sheridan Springs Rd., LakeGeneva, WI 53147, U.S.A.Announcements for Europe must beposted an additional month before thedeadline to: Convention Calendar,DRAGON Magazine, TSR Limited, 120Church End, Cherry Hinton,Cambridge CB1 3LB, United Kingdom.

If a convention listing must bechanged because the convention hasbeen cancelled, the dates havechanged, or incorrect information hasbeen printed, please contact us imme-diately. Most questions or changesshould be directed to the magazineeditors at TSR, Inc., (414) 248-3625‘U.S.A.). Questions or changes con-cerning European conventions shouldbe directed to TSR Limited, (0223)212517 (U.K.).

JanuaryConventions

Sunquest �97January 2-5 FL

Marriott Orlando Resort,Orlando. Guests: TimothyBradstreet, Michael Stackpole,and Jay Tummelson. Events:role-playing card, board, andminiatures games. Otheractivities: LIVING CITY™ tourna-ments, art show, charity auc-tion, M:tG* tournament.Registration: $30/on site.Sunquest, P.O. Box 677069,Orlando, FL 32867-7069, ore-mail: sunquest@sundialnetor http://www.sundial.net/~sunquest.

NecroconJanuary 3-5 OH

Harley Hotel, Columbus.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniatures games.Other activities: Vampire:LARP, art demos and, dealerroom. Registration: varies.Ravenstone Games, 6825Flags Center Drive, Columbus,OH 43229.

Jonescon IVJanuary 17-19 FL

Coung Nhu Karate HealthCenter, Gainsville Events: role-playing, card, board, andminiatures games. Otheractivities: Battletech* andWarhammer 40K.* Registration:$7/preregistered, $10/week-end. E-mail jonescon@afn.org.

❖ Australian convention❊ Canadian convention❁ European convention

* indicates a product produced by a com-pany other than TSR, Inc. Most productnames are trademarks owned by the com-panies publishing those products. The useof the name of any product without mentionof its trademark status should not be con-strued as a challenge to such status.

The Mage�s FestivalJanuary 18 PA

Best Western Inn,Montgomeryville. Events:role-playing, card, board,and miniatures games. Otheractivities: dealers room.Registration: $10/on site. TheALPHA Gaming Network,P.O. Box 102, Doylestown, PA18944.

Glorantha Con IVJanuary 24-26 IL

Ramada Hotel O’Hare,Rosemont. Guests: GregStafford, Sandy Peterson, andothers. Events: role-playing,card, board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities: auc-tion, art show, and a trollball. Registration: $40.Andrew Joelson, 1330-DGifford Ct., Hanover Park, IL60103-5227, or e-mail: joel-sona@cpdmfg.cig.mot.com.

HurriconJanuary 30-Feb. 2 FL

Okaloosa Island HolidayInn, Fort Walton Beach.Guests: David Bishop,Barbara Hambly, GeorgeAlec Effinger, Margaret Weis,Don Perrin, and FraserSherman. Events: role-play-ing, card, board, and minia-tures games. Other events:M:tG tournaments, Rage*demos, computer gaming,workshops, panels, and adance. Registration: $30.Hurricon, 1840 N. Miro St.,New Orleans, LA 70169.

WarCon �97January 31 -Feb. 2 TX

Texas A&M UniversityMemorial Student Center,College Station. Events: role-playing, card, board, andminiatures games. Otheractivities: M:tG tournaments,network computer gaming,guest panels and a dealersroom. Registration: $16/pre-registered, $20/on site. MSCNova, Memorial StudentCenter, Texas A&M UniversityBox J-l, College Station, TX77844-9081.

FebruaryConventions

Genghis Con �97February 13-16 CO

Red Lion Inn, Denver.Guests: Elaine Cunninghamand Keith Parkinson. Events:role-playing, card, board,and miniatures games.Registration: $13/day $20/weekend.

Legends & Legions �97February 14-16 FL

Collegiate Village Inn,Tallahassee. Events: role-playing, card, board, andminiatures games. Otheractivities: charity auction anda painted miniatures contest.Registration: varies. DavidGlenn, 217 Columbia Dr.,Tallahassee, FL 32304.

Important:DRAGON® Magazine does not publish phone numbers for conventions. Be cer-tain that any address you send us is complete and correct.

To ensure that your convention listing makes it into our files, enclose a self-addressed stamped postcard with your first convention notice; we will return thecard to show that it was received. You also might send a second notice one weekafter mailing the first. Mail your listing as early as possible, and always keep usinformed of any changes. Please do not send convention notices by fax, as thismethod has not proven reliable.

90

Orccon 20February 14-17 CA

L.A. Airport WyndhamHotel, Los Angeles. Events:role-playing card, board, andminiatures games. Other activ-ities: Auction, exhibitor area,seminars, and demos. Regi-stration: $27.50/ preregis-tered, $33/on site. Strategicon,333 N. San Fernando Blvd.,Burbank, CA 91502.

BASHConFebruary 21-23 OH

The University of ToledoStudent Union, Toledo.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniatures games.Other activities: RPGA®Network events. Registration:$3/day, $6/weekend. Attn UT-BASH, University of Toledo,2801 W. Bancroft St., Toledo,OH 43606-3390.

Gamicon EtaFebruary 21-23 IA

National Guard Armory,Iowa City. Guests: AaronAllston and Lester Smith.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniatures games.Other activities: RPGANetwork Events, Vampire,LARP, free soda, M:tG tourna-ment, auction, dealers room,demos, seminars, and more.Registration: varies. GamiconEta, P.O. Box 525, Iowa City,IA 52244-0525 or, e-mail:gamicon@sflis.org.

Jaxcon �97February 21-23 FL

Ramada Inn, Jacksonville.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities: deal-ers room, painting contest,and flea market. Regi-stration: varies. Jaxcon, P.O.Box 14218, Jacksonville, FL32238-4218, or e-mail: jax-con@aol.com.

March ConventionsParadoxicon VMarch 1-2 ❊

Carleton University, Ottawa,Ontario. Events: role-playing,card, board, and miniatures

games. Other activities: RPGANetwork events, LIVING CITY,Monopoly* tournament, M:tGtournament. Registration:$6/day $10/weekend. MarkTempleton, 37 Laurie Court.,Kanata, Ontario K2L IS2Canada.

Cy-ConMarch 1-2 IA

Memorial Union, IowaState University, Amos.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniatures games.Registration: $9/day. OwenRhoden, 2862 Monroe Dr.,Amos, IA 50010-4364.

Prezcon �97March 6-9 VA

Best Western MountVernon Hotel, Charlottesville.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniatures games.Other activities: Battletech,*Talisman* and Star Wars* minia-tures. Registration: $25. JustinThompson, PO Box 4661,Charlottesville, VA 22905.

ConcentricMarch 13-16 IL

Clarion Hotel, Rosemont.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniaturesgames. Registration: varies.Heather Josten, 114 EuclidAve, Park Ridge, IL 60068.

Magnum Opus Con 12March 28-30 GA

Radisson Hotel, Atlanta.Guests: Simon Bisley, KeithGiffen, Alan Grant, PhillipXavier, Dr. Robert Price,Sharon Greene and others.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities: pan-els. Registration: varies.Magnum Opus Con, P.O. Box6585, Athens, GA 30604.website http://www.negia.net/~rgb/moc.

April ConventionsATSea �97April 5-12,

This event is a cruisesponsored by the Gamers of

Austin. Stops include Playadel Carmen, Cozumel, GrandCaymen, and Montego Bay.Guests: Jean Rabe and oth-ers. Events: role-playing,card, board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities: sem-inars, costume party and abenefit auction. Registration:varies. G.O.A.T., P.O. Box3116, Austin, TX 78764.

Spring Offensive VIIApril 11-13 IL

Illinois Central College,East Peoria. Events: role-play-ing, card, board, and minia-tures games. Other activities:a dealers room. Registration:var ies. The Tri-countyGaming Association, 1293Peoria St., Washington, IL.61571.

Madison Games ConApril 19-20 WI

Downtown Arts andActivities Center, Madison.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities: anauction. Registration: $5/day $8/weekend. Pegasus

Games, 6640 Odana Rd.,Madison, WI 53719. e-mailpegasus@msn.fullfeed.com.Rein-Con-AtionApril 25-27 MA

Radisson Hotel, Hyannis.Events: role-playing, card,board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities:LARP’s, painting contest,charity event, and RPGANetwork events. Registra-tion: $20/preregistered,$25/on site. Rein-Con-Ation,P.O. Box 326, Hyannis, MA02601.

NoahConApril 26-27 OH

Aqua Marine Resort, AvonLake. Events: role-playing,card, board, and miniaturesgames. Other activities:Warhammer*, M:tG, AD&D,and Vampire tournaments.Registration: $5/day. MatrixGames & Diversions, 5384East Lake Road, SheffieldLake, OH 44054.

By Joseph Pillsbury

DRAGON #237 91

by Skip Williamslf you have any questions on the games

produced by TSR, Inc., “Sage Advice” willanswer them. In the United States andCanada, write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON®Magazine, 201 Sheridan Springs Road,lake Geneva, WI 51347, U.S.A. In Europe,write to: Sage Advice, DRAGON Magazine,TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,Cambridge, CB1 3LB, U.K. You can alsoe-mail questions to tsrsage@aol.com.

We are no longer able to make personalreplies. Please send no SASEs with yourquestion. SASEs are being returned withcopies of the writer’s guidelines.

This month, the Sage answers questionsstraight from the mailbag. The AD&D®game’s wall of force spell proved popularthis time around. Readers also soughtadvice about several other magical effects.

The Player’s Handbook says the areaof effect for the 5th-level priest spellflame strike is a cylinder with a radius of5’ and a height of 30’. Can the casterposition the cylinder sideways? If not,what happens when the caster isindoors or underground and the ceilingis less than 30’ high? Does the spell stillwork?

A flame strike spell’s column of flamemust always be vertical. If cast into anarea too small to hold it, the column offlame simply ends at the area’s bound-aries and does not extend beyond them.If created in a chamber 100’ square and10’ high, for example; the column willbe only 10’ high. Its radius of 5’ remainsunchanged. The column of flame doesnot reshape itself to fill the chamber asa fireball effect would. Most spells in theAD&D game work this way unless theirdescriptions say otherwise.

The description for the dispel magicspell says each effect or potion in thespells area of effect is checked to see ifit is dispelled. Does this mean that 1d20is rolled anew against each effect, or is

1d20 rolled once and the resultsapplied separately against each effect?

Either method works, but most peo-ple I know roll once for each effect —that’s the method I prefer.

I have a player in my group whoinsists that the animate dead spell is notevil. I have argued that casting this spelldisturbs the dead creature’s spirit. Theplayer scoffs and says the spell merelyimbues the corpse or skeleton with life.Who’s right?

Which one of you is the DungeonMaster? The rules are definitely on yourside (check the final sentences in thedescriptions for each version of thespell). You’ve put your finger squarely onthe reason why casting animate deadisn’t “good”; the spell disturbs the dead,and good folk let the dead rest in peace.The semblance of life the spell bestowsdoes not come from a wholesomesource. A character with a good align-ment who starts memorizing this spellregularly should find his alignment slip-ping toward evil, even if he does notcast the spell.

What sort of spell effects can passthrough a wall of force? Can you teleportthrough one? A lightning bolt creates astroke of electricity at a range specifiedby the caster. Can a lightning bolt be castthrough a wall of force if the stroke itselfdoesn’t pass through the wall?

A wall of force blocks matter, physicalforce, and most forms of energy (visiblelight being the most important excep-tion). Spells that do not require the casteractually to see the target point usuallyremain unaffected by walls of force. Suchspells don’t actually pass through the wallbut bypass it entirely. Walls of force don’tinterfere with teleport spells, but theyblock lighting bolts Spells with purely visu-al effects usually ignore walls of force aswell (see next question).

Would a wall of force stop infravi-sion? Will it defeat clairvoyance or awizard eye spell? What about divina-tions such as detect evil, detect magic,find traps, or detect lie?

A wall of force does not block vision ofany kind. Clairvoyance spells ignore wallsof force because they are visual effectsand because there’s no direct channelbetween the caster and the sensor thespell creates. Certain conditions canblock clairvoyance spells, but walls offorce aren’t included on the list. A wizardeye’s mobile sensor cannot pass thougha wall of force, but the caster can seethrough the wall via the sensor just as ifhe were standing at the wall himself.

Physical barriers block most divina-tion spells. As the ultimate physical bar-rier, wall of force blocks most such spells.Divinations that simply render thingsvisible, however, such as detect invisibilityand true seeing, work through walls offorce.

If a wall of force is cast horizontally,what happens to creatures who runinto the edge? Because the wall has nothickness (and is therefore infinitelysharp), I’d say the collision slices thecreature in twain. What do you think?

I think if a wall of force had no thick-ness, it wouldn’t have any “edges” to runinto. I’ve never liked the idea of treatingwalls of force like monomolecular cuttingedges. If that were the case, a wall offorce would be a great addition to anysawmill or stone quarry; just shove thematerial against the wall and you get anice, clean cut. Of course, wall of forcecarries a price tag of 5,000 gp per cast-ing. That and its short duration (1 turnplus 1 round per caster level) make ittoo expensive for “industrial” uses.Nevertheless, a wall of force is a barrier. Itkeeps things from passing through it.Now, running into a wall of force at fullspeed might hurt, but it shouldn’t matterwhere one strikes it. One merely comesto a sudden stop when one strikes thewall, flat or edge.

As it happens, the spell descriptionmakes no mention of the wall’s thick-ness or lack thereof. However, the spellfails if its surface is broken by any objector creature when formed. For practicalpurposes, I’d suggest you treat the wallas though it were about as thick (andsharp) as a finger when deciding whatmight break the surface at the time ofcasting and its effect on creatures orobjects once it’s in place.

92

The rules say a paladin can beturned by an evil priest, who rolls onthe undead turning table at three levelslower than his actual level. If the turn-ing attempt succeeds, what happens tothe paladin? Does he leave his compan-ions? (It’s hard to imagine a high-levelpaladin abandoning his companionsand leaving them to face an evil priestalone.) How does this work exactly?Why can’t paladins turn evil priests?

While we’re on the subject, how longdoes a paladin or undead creatureremain “turned” after a successful turn-ing attempt? How long do undead con-trolled by an evil priest remain con-trolled?

If successfully turned, the paladinmust flee from the evil cleric, movingaway until the priest is out of sight. Ifunable to flee, the paladin cannot comewithin 10’ of the priest. If the priestforces the paladin to move closer than10’, or moves within 10’ himself, theturning is broken, and the paladin canact normally.

In the case of an evil priest turning apaladin, the priest calls upon his deity tolend him power. If successful, the priestreceives enough power to create anaura so repulsive to the paladin that theholy warrior just goes bonkers and fleesthe vicinity. it is not a fear effect but aform of spiritual revulsion. Paladins andundead are susceptible to the power ofturning because of their special modesof existence (unholy in the case ofundead, holy in the case of paladins).Priests, though connected to theirdeities, are normal mortals and not sub-ject to turning attempts.

Technically, once a turning attemptsucceeds, the affected creature staysaway indefinitely, provided the priestwho turned the creature maintains histurning effort (that is, the priest mustmake additional turning actions, but nofurther rolls, he simply turns the crea-tures automatically). Undead under anevil priests control remain controlleduntil destroyed or turned by anotherpriest. If that’s too general for you, I sug-gest the following numbers:

Paladins remain “turned” for 3d4melee rounds. After that time their heroicspirits reassert themselves and they canface their nemeses again, though theymight be turned again.

Undead that have been turned orbefriended remain that way for 24 hoursminus the minimum turning score thepriest needed to affect them. If a 10th-level priest turned or controlled a vam-

pire (required turning score of 10), thevampire remains under the priests influ-ence for 14 hours. In the case of a goodpriest, who must maintain his turningefforts, I’d suggest that “maintenance” berequired every 3d4 rounds. For example,Derah, a 10th-level cleric enters a dun-geon and turns a vampire. The creatureavoids Derah for the next 14 hours. IfDerah and the vampire meet each otherelsewhere in the dungeon an hour later,Derah must perform a turning action(automatically successful) again to sendthe vampire away. If Derah and the vam-pire later become locked in a chambertogether, Derah must perform a turningaction every 3d4 rounds (again, auto-matically successful) to keep the vampireat bay.

Derah’s turning actions during thisperiod have no chance for failure, butthey consume Derah’s attention for theround in which they occur. The DMshould not feel obliged to tell the priestwhen a new turning action is necessary,but a character observing a turned crea-ture might notice a change in its attitudetoward the priest.

Do paladins and rangers have accessto spells in the All sphere?

According to their character classdescriptions, no. Dungeon Masters whowish to give paladins and rangers a littlemore spellcasting punch often allowthem access to the All sphere with nodetrimental effects on the campaign.

Multi-classed priests must abide bytheir class’s weapon restrictions. Doesthis also apply to armor?

In the current edition of the AD&Drules, multi-classed characters are stuckwith the most stringent armor restrictionamong their classes. Warrior/wizardsand priest/wizards, for example, aren’tallowed armor. If you’re inclined to fol-low the rules to the letter, warrior/wizards (only) can wear elven chainmail, but I strongly recommend allowingpriest/wizards to wear it, too.

Do psionic powers allow savingthrows? Some powers list savingthrows, and others do not. If a savingthrow is allowed, what saving throwcategory is used? One of my playersinsists that the saving throw number isequal to the psionicist’s power scoreroll. Do adjustments for high Wisdomor Dexterity apply to the saving throw?

A psionic power allows no savingthrow unless the power’s description

specifically mentions one. If a powerallows a saving throw, the numberrequired is determined by the savingthrow type (listed in the power descrip-tion) and the targets class and level. Forexample, Psychic Crush allows a savingthrow vs. paralyzation, which the DMshould treat as any other paralyzationsaving throw.

If a powers description mentions asaving throw, but does not mentionwhat type, assume it’s a saving throw vs.spell (but heed the rule on saving throwpriority in Chapter 9 of the DMG).

Magical and class-based saving throwbonuses (such as the paladin’s generalbonus of +2 to all saving throws andsaving throw bonuses from rings of pro-tection) apply to saving throws. Savingthrow bonuses from high Wisdom scoresapply to most psionic attacks becausethey are purely mental in nature.Dexterity bonuses apply only when apsionic power involves physical force.The detonate power, for example, cre-ates an explosion whose effects can bereduced with a successful saving throwvs. breath weapon; Dexterity bonusesapply to the saving throw (but Wisdombonuses do not). Racial bonuses to sav-ing throws against magic never apply tosaving throws against psionic attacks,even when the attack uses the savingthrow table’s Spell column.

Can a thief wearing a ring of invisi-bility use the ring to become invisibleand then attempt a backstab during thesame round? The backstab, of course,will make the thief visible. Can the thiefuse the ring again that round tobecome invisible before foes canstrike?

In a word, no. Using a magical item(or drinking a potion) counts as a char-acters sole action for a round; see theWhat You Can Do in One Round sectionin Chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook fordetails. It’s okay for a character who hasjust used a magical item to exchange afew words with someone or make minoradjustments to his position (a move of5’ or less), but major actions such asattacks, spellcasting, or significantmovement have to wait until the nextround. It would take the thief in yourexample at least three rounds to disap-pear, deliver a backstab, and then dis-appear again, as follows:

Round one — Disappear. No otheractions allowed except negligible ones(as defined in the PHB).

Round two — Move up to half the

94

current rate and deliver the backstab.The thief is now visible and must remainso until the next round. If the thief hadto move more than half his currentmovement rate to reach his foe, he can-not attack until next round. Note thatcharging allows a character to make afull move (plus a little extra) and stillattack, but many DMs balk at backstab-bing while charging.

Round three — Disappear again. Thecharacter can take no other actionsexcept negligible ones. If the thief winsinitiative, any attacks made against himsuffer a -4 penalty for the invisibility. Ifthe foes win initiative, however, theyattack before the thief becomes invisibleand suffer no penalties. In some cam-paigns, a successful hit might even dis-rupt the thief’s attempt to become invis-ible (depending on how the DM decidesthe ring works).

One of my players wanted his charac-ter to parry a two-handed sword with arapier. I warned the player that therapier probably would break. Theplayer wanted to have his charactermake the parry anyway, so I had therapier save vs. crushing blow at a -2penalty. Should I have just said the rapier

broke, imposed a larger penalty, or justlet the parry work normally?

The “correct” answer here is whatevermakes you, the DM, feel comfortable. Acrushing blow saving throw with a -2penalty seems severe enough to me. Onthe other hand, the core AD&D rules usean abstract combat system with hostili-ties proceeding at the glacial pace ofone set of actions every minute. In sucha system, a “parry” might not involve thetwo weapons touching at all. The char-acter with the rapier might just stick theweapon’s point in his opponents face.Then again, you can treat the one-minute increment as just an arbitraryway to keep track of time in the game(combat really proceeds much morequickly). In that case, a “parry” could beconsidered an attempt to physicallyblock the attacker’s blow. In that case, amore substantial item saving throwpenalty might be in order, say -4. I don’trecommend that the rapier break auto-matically.

chronomancers can become dual-classed characters but raises the abilityscore requirements if a character startsout as something else, then becomes achronomancer. Does this mean a char-acter can become a dual-classedchronomancer/wild mage or vice versa?

Though wild mages don’t pursue aspecialty, per se, they get enough spe-cialist-type benefits that I recommendyou treat them as specialist wizards — nodual- or multi-classing. Your campaignprobably won’t crash and burn if youignore my advice. (If you’re allowingboth wild mages and chronomancersinto your game, dual- and multi-classedwild mages will be the least of your wor-ries.) On the other hand, both wildmages and chronomancers are membersof the wizard group. The dual-class rules(see PHB, Chapter 3) allow characters tohave only one class from each group.

The Tome of Magic says wild mages When not plumbing the depths of theare not specialists in the traditional AD&D game, Skip often can be found dab-sense. Does this mean they can become bling in photography or burning shoedual-classed characters? The Chrono- leather on the hiking trails near his Lakemancer accessory specifically says Geneva home

DRAGON #237 95

Long shotsby Brian Dunnellillustrated by Stephen Schwartz

No fantasy archer’s quiver is com-plete without a few magical accouter-ments. Here then are a dozen remark-able arrows, bows, and other archeryaccessories for your campaign.

Arachne arrowsXP Value: 100 GP Value: 150 each

These slender arrows have a curioushead with four outward-facing prongs.The notch of the arrow is usually craftedof metal and appears to be a styled spi-der. When the arrow is fired, it trails athin, strong, light-weight twine behind it.The thread is equivalent in strength tosilk rope. The magic of the arrow pre-vents the twine from impeding thearrow’s flight. Up to 200’ of twine iscreated. When the arrow’s four prongsimpact on any solid, non-living surface,they hold the arrow fast. The magic ofthe arrow prevents it and the rope frombreaking, or the arrow from pulling freewhen the rope supports any weight upto 500 Ibs. Each of these arrows can beused only once.

Arrows of BilarroXP Value: 150 GP Value: 200 each

Arrows of Bilarro appear to be normalflight arrows, except for a large, conical,iron head. On a successful hit, thearrows head explodes, binding its targetwith a series of iron bands that act justas iron bands of Bilarro (see the DMG). Thearrow inflicts no damage otherwise. Thearrow can be used only once.

The arrow of endless archery XP Value: 550 GP Value: 5,000 each

This arrow was created by an elvishcraftsman for a Darfolkian ranger whowas tired of running out of arrows atinopportune moments. Dozens of thesearrows were created by the fletcherbefore he died. They seem to be normalflight arrows and have no magical attackor damage bonus. When placed in aquiver, however, they multiply at a rate ofone arrow per round until they fill it withup to 12 arrows. The magically createdarrows are exact duplicates of the arrowof endless archery but operate as normalarrows; they do not have the ability to

multiply. The archer instinctively knowswhich arrow in his quiver is the multiplierand cannot draw it accidentally, if heunderstands its nature. The arrow’spower remains intact until it has beenfired. If fired even once, it loses itsenchantment.

Arrows of PyrosXP Value: 150 GP Value: 300 (Minor)XP Value: 200 GP Value: 450 (Major)

These magical arrows appear inminor and major varieties. Both kindsseem to be normal arrows in allrespects. On impact, however, theyexplode into flame.

96

A minor arrow of Pyros causes dam-age as a normal arrow, plus 4d6 hpflame damage (save vs. breath weaponfor half damage).

A major arrow of Pyros explodes onimpact, blossoming into a 6d6 fireball.Both minor and major arrows of Pyroscan be used only once.

Arrow of the thunderstikeXP Value: 200 GP Value: 400 each

An arrow of the thunderstike can beused only once. It appears to be a nor-mal arrow with lightning symbolsinscribed upon it. When fired, the arrowhas two effects. The location the arrowhits is struck by a 6d6 Iightning bolt (savevs. spell for half damage). Any creaturewithin 15’ of the point of impact is alsoaffected by the bolt. The bolt is followedalmost instantly by a loud thunderstrike.All creatures within 30’ of the point ofimpact must save vs. paralysis or bestunned for one round and deafened for1d4 rounds. In addition, all creatureswithin the 30’ area must make a Moralecheck.

Arrows of witheringXP Value: 250 GP Value: 1,000 each

These shafts are rumored to havebeen the gift of some malevolent powerto his most trusted followers, most likelya god of disease or a denizen of thelower planes. In any case, these arrowsalways have a dull black shaft, a serrated,razor-edged head, and gray fletching.Occasionally they’ll be inscribed withrunes of the appropriate deity. Any crea-ture struck by this arrow is affected by a10d8 Albi Dazem’s horrid wilting spell (seethe Tome of Magic). Thankfully, thesearrows are very rare, and each can beused but once.

Diamond tipped arrowsXP Value: 450 GP Value: 5,000 each

Diamond tipped arrows are thought tobe the creations of either gnomish orgray elven craftsmen. The latter seemsmost likely, as gnomes aren’t generallyknown for their skill with the bow. Thearrow appears to be normal, except thehead is crafted from diamond and israzor sharp. These arrows have a +4attack bonus and cause twice the nor-mal damage. Each time they are used, asaving throw vs. crushing blow is neces-sary to see whether the head is shat-tered. The arrow may be used until itshead is destroyed in this way. Thesearrows are rare, and usually no morethan 1d6 are found at any one time.

Ruby-tipped arrowsXP Value: 200 GP Value: 4,500 each

A ruby tipped arrow appears to be anormal flight arrow, except the head iscrafted from a ruby. Each such arrow canbe used only once. Any creature struckby a this arrow is affected instantly by ateleport without error to his home. If thecreature in question is of extra planar ori-gin, it is returned to its home plane. If thearea it would be returned to is hedged insome way, the creature is teleported tothe closest safe location. If the creature isalready in an area considered to be itshome, the arrow shatters, causing nor-mal damage, but with no other effect.

Emerald-tipped arrowsXP Value: 200 GP Value: 850 each

These arrows appear to be normal,except they are usually green, with a con-ical head made of emerald. On closeexamination, the arrowhead appears tobe hollow, with swirling vapors trappedinside. On impact, this arrow shatters,releasing a cloud of highly corrosivegreen gas. This gas cloud is equivalent tothe effect generated by an incendiarycloud spell. This arrow can be used onlyonce.

Gnimshian oilXP Value: 500 GP Value: 750 per flask

This liquid appears to be normallantern oil. However, any arrow dippedin gnimshian oil ignites when fired from abow, setting combustibles afire anddealing an additional 1d6 hp damage.One flask of oil is sufficient to coat up to50 arrows in this manner.

The bow of EhlonnaXP Value: 1,500 GP Value: 7,500

This ashwood bow is as strong assteel, making any saves as hard metal.The bow is crafted of one piece; eventhe string seems to be part of the bow,miraculously crafted of ashwood,though flexible. The bow can takeadvantage of exceptional Strengthbonuses and has the range of a longcomposite bow. The magic of the bowprevents it or its string from breakingunder normal use (fumbles, if used, misstheir target but have no further effect).In addition, the bow provides a +2attack and damage bonus.

Duell�s iron bowXP Value: 2,500 GP Value: 11,500

This weapon appears to be a longbow crafted from iron. Even the string ismade from a thin metallic weave thread.These bows are thought to have beenthe invention of Fletcher Duell, agnomish craftsman working for theRangers College of Bay Hold. No one iscertain how many of the original Duell’sbows were made, but about a halfdozen are still known to exist. AfterDuell’s death, the secret of crafting thesebows was lost.

When the command word is spoken,the bow collapses to form a 1’ rod ofsolid iron, 1” in diameter. Speaking thecommand word a second time causesthe bow to expand to its full size. Thefolding and unfolding of the bow takesone round. The bow is extremelydurable, and its string is virtuallyunbreakable. The bow is capable of tak-ing advantage of exceptional Strengthand is of such quality that it provides a+3 attack bonus.

Brian Dunnell is a long time role-playerwho lives in Arlington, Virginia, about abow’s shot away from the nation’s capital.

98

DRAGON #237 99

100

DRAGON #237 101

102

104

DRAGON #237 105

106

DRAGON #237 107

This past August, I staggered out ofthe 1996 GEN CON® Game Fair with aback-breaking stack of new products. Inlast month’s column, I lightened the loadby peeling off a few of the niftiest smallpress offerings. This month, I’ll be tellingyou about some of the best new fantasygames. (And next month, science fiction.)

So let’s get at it. My backs killing me.

Role-playing games� rating

Not recommended

May be useful

Fair

ExcellentThe BEST!

Good

Shields in a sitcom. And now, disruptingwhat’s left of my belief system, alongcomes a TSR role-playing game thatdoesn’t use dice.

In addition to traumatizing playerswho’ve invested their life savings inmulti-siders, the FIFTH AGE game fulfillsthree functions: (1) to pump life into theDRAGONLANCE setting, which in recent

years has taken a back seat to glitzi-er settings like the PLANESCAPE® and

BIRTHRIGHT® campaigns, (2) to lure newplayers into role-playing with an easy-

to-learn set of rules. and (3) to road-test

DRAGONLANCE®:FIFTH AGE� game

One 128-page softcoverbook, one 96-page softcoverbook, one 48-page softcover book, 100playing cards, one double-sided referencecard, one 21” × 32” map sheet, boxed

TSR, Inc. $25Design: William W. Connors and Sue

Weinlein Cook with Harold Johnson andSkip Williams

Editing: Sue Weinlein CookIllustrations: Clyde Caldwell, Jim

Crabtree, Jeff Easley, Larry Elmore, MarkForrer, Todd Lockwood, Keith Parkinson,R.K. Post, Walter Velez, Paul Daly, DanDavis, Allen Nunis, Ken Frank, WilliamO’Connor, and Brian Schomberg

Cover: Jeff Easley

I swear, you live long enough, yousee everything: men on the moon, com-puters the size of phone books, Brooke

a revised version of the AD&D® game,one that jettisons Armor Classes, theCharisma attribute, and other elementsthat nitpickers have been griping aboutsince Lord Toede was a tadpole. (I’mguessing, of course, about number three,as “AD&D” appears nowhere on the gamebox. Still . . .) It succeeds in all three areas.Which, by the way, doesn’t necessarilymean you’re going to like it, but we’ll getto that in a minute.

The imaginative package — a card-board treasure chest with a Velcro latch— is loaded with goodies: a deck ofVegas-quality playing cards, a colorfulmap of Ansalon, a trio of well-renderedrule books. The handiest componentisn’t even listed on the box cover: a ref-erence card big enough to double as agamemaster screen. One side of the cardcontains game tables; the other has con-version formulas that enable players toimport AD&D characters into the FIFTHAGE game. Much has been made of TSR’simproved graphics — compare any

108

PLANESCAPE product to any, and I meanany, AD&D game product prior to 1990 —but the improved writing has beenunderreported. For the record: sentencefor sentence, paragraph for paragraph,TSR’s RPG books are the among themost lucid and readable in the business.The FIFTH AGE game is a sterling example.

The FIFTH AGE game can’t lay claim toinventing diceless role-playing. Amongthe diceless pioneers are the Amber* andEverway* games, both of which featureinnovative, playable systems. But theFIFTH AGE game, though not as ambitiousas Amber or Everway, is more fun thaneither, owning to its easy-on-the-brainmechanics. To create a PC, a playerbegins with a hand of 12 cards, each dis-playing a number and a couple ofdescriptive words. He selects two cards todefine the PC’s personality, which iswhere the descriptive words come in; aPC might be Careful and Unimaginative,or Brave and Commanding. The numberson the remaining cards are assigned tothe PC’s Reputation score, his Wealthlevel, and eight Ability scores (Agility,Dexterity, Endurance, Strength, Reason,Perception, Spirit, and Presence). Abilityscores generate a batch of Ability Codes,which in turn determine the PC’s aptitudein a variety of skills. Racial choicesinclude the standard elf, dwarf, andhuman, along with a few oddballs likecentaur, kender, and minotaur. Add someweapons, maybe some armor, andyou’re pretty much finished. Though thePCs lack detail — I didn’t know the heightor age of my elf — they’re perfectly ade-quate for the game.

The numbers on the cards are alsoused to resolve actions. A player’sReputation rating determines the num-ber of cards he holds in his hand; abeginning player might hold four or fivecards. When a PC tries to do something,the gamemaster announces which ofthe PC’s abilities is relevant to executingthe action, then secretly assigns a diffi-culty rating from 4-24 (the higher therating, the harder the action). The playerchooses a card from his hand and addsthe value of the card to the value of therelevant ability. If the total equals orexceeds the difficulty rating, the PC hassuccessfully accomplished the action.Despite a few whistles and bells — cer-tain card suits generate bonuses,resisted actions involve opposition num-bers — that’s all there is to it, and it’s asfast and simple as it sounds. Yes, thegame lives or dies on the basis of thegamemaster’s facility at generating diffi-

culty ratings. And yes, players can beparalyzed by lousy cards; there’s notmuch you can do when you’re staring ata hand of 1s and 2s. But for players whodon’t insist on precision, the systemworks fine.

Combat comprises a series of attacksand counterattacks, which, like action res-olution, involves difficulty ratings, abilitynumbers, and card values. Interestingly,when a PC suffers damage, he doesn’tlose hit points; instead, the player losescards. When he forfeits his last card, hisPC falls unconscious, and any subsequentattack kills the PC outright.

Magic, also card-driven, is the game’sleast satisfying element. The problemisn’t the system, based again on theaction resolution rules, but the absence ofspells. The FIFTH AGE game expects play-ers to design their own spells fromscratch, following an intricate menu ofsteps to determine invocation times,ranges, durations, and effects. Some ofthe steps are ambiguous; to determinethe area of effect, for instance, you needto consult the Area of Effect Table, whichlists incantation costs for areas equivalentto Small Rooms, Large Rooms, SmallHouses, and Large Houses. But the dis-tinctions among the categories could beclearer. Is a barn the size of Large Roomor a Small House? How about a ball-room? A cave? In any event, spell cre-ation eats up a lot of time, making it apothole in a road that’s otherwise prettysmooth.

Elsewhere, a chapter at the end of therule book delineates some of Ansalon’smore memorable creatures, such as thedraconians, thanoi, and death knights.The “Dusk or Dawn” booklet provides acomprehensive and entertaining historyof the DRAGONLANCE mythos, drawing onmaterial from Dragons of Summer Flameand other recent novels. And to wrapthings up, we have “Heroes of the NewAge,” a first-rate adventure that not onlygives the rules a good workout but alsoshows off the setting in all its fairy talesplendor.

Evaluation: Assuming an experi-enced gamemaster is at the helm — aguy who can assign difficulty numbershonestly and quickly — the card-drivenFIFTH AGE game rockets along at abreathtaking clip. With number-crunch-ing and chart-checking kept to a mini-mum, you feel like you’re in the middleof an Arnold Schwarzenegger movie.(Hold it — this is the DRAGONLANCE setting.Make that an Arnold Schwarzeneggerversion of the The Wizard of Oz.)

But what the FIFTH AGE game gains instorytelling it loses in tactical flavor.Resolving combat with cards is neitheras challenging nor as exciting as resolv-ing combat with dice. I found that myinterest in combat encounters wasdirectly proportional to the number ofcards in my hand; when I got down to acouple of cards, I started wonderingwhat was on TV.

So do I miss the dice? Not really. Imiss holding them, fondling them, whis-pering sweet nothings into their littlepips, but in the context of an RPG as fun-damentally sound as this, I can live with-out ’em. Truth to tell, I’m not a tacticalcombat kind of guy. When I want a doseof warfare, I don’t turn to an RPG. I turnto a military simulation like the SquadLeader* game or a miniatures extrava-ganza like the Necromunda* game (dis-cussed below).

I suspect that hard-core roleplayers,those, say, who’ve been with TSR sincethe beginning, aren’t going to flock tothe FIFTH AGE game. Not only will theyhave to abandon their dice collections,they’ll also have to abandon theirnotions about how RPGs are supposedto work. For them, I have a bulletin: Getused to it. As roleplaying continues todrift from its wargaming roots, I’ll bet theRPGs of the 21st century are going tolook a lot like the FIFTH AGE game.

Necromunda* gameOne 80-page softcover

rule book, one 88-page soft-cover sourcebook, one 12-page intro-ductory booklet, one 8-page paintingguide, 24 plastic miniatures, two rulers,

DRAGON #237 109

three cardboard buildings, 30 bulkheadpieces, seven cardboard walkways, onecardboard water still, one cardboardtunnel entrance, one cardboard plat-form, 24 counters, two flame templates,three blast templates, two double-sidedreference sheets, four standard six-sided dice, one six-sided scatter die, onesix-sided artillery die, one six-side sus-tained fire die, boxed

Games Workshop $60Design: Rick Priestley with Jervis

Johnson and Andy ChambersEditing: uncreditedIllustrations: John Blanche, Wayne

England, Mark Gibbons, Des Hanley,David Gallagher, and Richard Wright

Cover: Geoff Taylor and Mark Gibbons

Buy this, and you’ll never have to buyanother game for the rest of your life.Okay, I’m exaggerating, but not bymuch. Necromunda is a hobby in a box,a symphony in plastic, Christmas andyour birthday all rolled up into one spec-tacular package bursting with . . . well, goback and look at the list of components.Specifically, Necromunda is a game ofbloodthirsty thugs who duke it out on athree-dimensional landscape of decay-ing buildings and precarious walkways.It took me a weekend just to put the bat-tlefield together, another weekend tostop drooling over the cool miniatures.Forget the rule book; you get yourmoney’s worth in toys alone.

The battlefield is a work of art, ameticulously rendered labyrinth of omi-nous nooks and mysterious crannies; ifyou can resist maneuvering the little sol-diers through the tunnels and over thebulkheads, then brother, you’re in thewrong hobby. The “Getting Started”booklet gives detailed instructions forputting it all together. Although theinstructions are reasonably foolproof, Ioffer two amendments. First, though thebuildings are designed to snap together,I suggest using glue. Second, if, like me,you’re too lazy to paint the miniatures,put a dot of fingernail polish on theirheads so in the heat of battle you cantell them apart.

The rules derive from the time-testedWarhammer 40,000* game, meaning thatWarhammer vets will be toasting soldierswithin a half-hour of assembling thebuildings. The main difference is scale;Warhammer 40,000 features mass combatbetween large squadrons, Necromundafeatures man-to-man skirmishes, typicallyinvolving a dozen or so individuals.Although Necromunda players have to

fuss with ammunition supplies and fallensoldiers — concepts essentially irrelevantto Warhammer 40,000 — overall,Necromunda remains the more elegantdesign, one that rolls out the welcomemat for novices.

To begin the carnage, players chooseone of seven scenarios, all of which areset in a desolate urban graveyarddrenched in toxic waste. Options rangefrom a straightforward street fight,where victory goes to the last manstanding, to a tricky rescue missionrequiring the liberation of a prisoner ofwar. After settling on a scenario, playersround up the figures representing theirthugs. Each thug has a name, likeRatskin Scout or Underhive Scum, andnine ratings: Move, Weapon Skill,Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness,Wounds, Initiative, Attacks, andLeadership. The figures are deployed indesignated areas of the battlefield.Player One moves his figures (using aruler to measure distances), shoots ene-mies within range, engages in hand-to-hand combat with adjacent figures, thenattempts to rally panicked figures. (A fig-ure is subject to panic if he’s within twoinches of a companion who takes a hit.If a die-roll is less than or equal to hisLeadership score, he’s okay. If the roll isgreater than his Leadership, he panicsand runs for cover. He remains panickeduntil he makes a successful Leadershiproll in the rally phase of a turn.) PlayerTwo repeats this four-phase sequence.Turns continue until one of the playersfulfills the scenario’s victory conditions.

Necromunda is not without its prob-lems. Topping the list is the line of sightrule, which requires an attacker to “see”his target before he can shoot it. That’sfine in theory, but in practice, it’s difficultto tell how much of a thug squattingbehind a bulkhead is actually visible. Ina complex scenario, tracking the statusof all the figures can be daunting; I hada hard time remembering which of myguys were blasting and which werebleeding. And once you get this humon-gous battlefield all put together, wherethe heck are you supposed to store it?

Evaluation: I’m hesitant to say this isGames Workshop’s best-ever effort,mainly because I haven’t seen them all. Iwill say, however, that it’s more fun thanthe Warhammer Quest* game, which Iloved (and reviewed in DRAGON® Magazineissue #225) and that it makes the SpaceMarine* and Titan Legions* games looklike rough drafts. Intense, dizzying fun,Necromunda is a whirlwind of activity, ablur of running, hiding, and blowing stuffup. A sourpuss might complain thatNecromunda is about as realistic as aRoad Runner cartoon. He’d be right. AndI’d consider it a recommendation.

Even within the confines of a turnsequence this rigid, Necromunda allowsfor surprisingly sophisticated tactics. Tosimulate the effects of an explosion, theattacking player places a cardboard blastmarker over the target; any figure wholies wholly inside the marker is affectedby the blast. Further, the attacker mightbe required to roll an artillery die; a mis-fire result means the weapon explodes inthe attacker’s hands. The Overwatch ruleempowers a figure to counterattack dur-ing the opponent’s turn, providing he’swilling to forgo moving and shootingaltogether on his owner’s next turn.Figures carrying oversized weapons canattempt to hit multiple targets by rolling aspecial sustained fire die; if the jam sym-bol turns up, however, the weapon maydisintegrate. The advanced rules coverbuilding damage, battle frenzy, and — myfavorite — stupidity tests (which can tem-porarily turn a pair of cannon-wieldingkillers into Beavis and Butt-head).

Blood Dawn* gameOne 240-page softcover

bookOptimus Game Design

Systems $25Design: Lawrence R. SimsEditing: Nick Vasi, James Carlton, and

Louis NortonIllustrations: James CarltonCover: Michael Osadciw and Jeff Reitz

Blood Dawn is punk fantasy, post-

110

apocalyptic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® gamewith a soundtrack by the Sex Pistols. It’sambitious but unfocused, lurchingbetween cynicism and whimsy. On onehand, we have passages like this,describing what’s left of the UnitedStates after the Second Dark Age: “I’veseen human bonfires broiling on thewharves of San Francisco, tasted thehoney putrid smell of leprosy festeringin the bowels of New York.” On theother hand, we have wizards doingbootlegger reverses in dune buggies.But though Blood Dawn is kind of amess, it’s a fascinating mess, rife withpossibility for players willing to sift thegems from the junk.

To create a PC, called a Prophet inBlood - speak, the player distributes 130points among eight attributes: Strength,Manual Dexterity, I.Q., Agility,Constitution, Guts, Intuition, andCharisma. He then spends 2,000 pointson skills like Animal Husbandry, FiberOptics, and Weather Prediction. If the PCaspires to be a mage, he’s required toinvest at least 750 points in spells.Leftover skill points may be spent onarmor, weapons, and equipment. Thesystem couldn’t be simpler; I crankedout a character, complete with spells, inabout 20 minutes. For the unmotivated,the book also supplies a set of ready-to-go archetypes, among them theGunslinger, Primal Warrior, and SnakeCharmer. I had a hard time coming upwith characters more interesting thanthe archetypes; the Primal Warrior, forexample, is a brooding albino giantskilled in medical diagnostics, smokesignals, and cooking.

Action resolution uses difficulty rat-ings, ability values, and random num-bers; essentially, it’s FIFTH AGE with dice.The player announces the action his PCis attempting (breaking down a door).The gamemaster determines the rele-vant ability or skill (Strength, which thePC has at 19) and difficulty modifier (-10;the doors reinforced with metal). Theplayer must roll less than the target num-ber to succeed (the target number is 9[19 - 10]; the player rolls a 7, and thedoor bursts open). It couldn’t be cleaner.

Combat, unfortunately, is burdenedwith a host of variables and nitpicky cal-culations. For example, to determine thebase chance of hitting a target, you mustfirst determine the range bracket, then“add in the operators skill level on apoint for point basis, and his ManualDexterity attack bonus to obtain theunadjusted percentage chance . . . then

subtract the fire penalties for cover andconcealment, bracing shot, etc.” Armor israted for integrity, threshold, and contin-uous absorption; an excerpt from thearmor rules, explaining what happens ifan attack causes more damage than thethreshold rating: “The armor integrity islowered by the appropriate amount (asdetermined by weapon type) and theamount of damage that actually pene-trates to the absorption layer is calculatedby taking the total amount of damagerolled and subtracting the threshold.” Allthis clutter, I guess, is supposed toenhance realism. But it just made mereach for the aspirin.

Magic, in contrast, boasts clever rulesthat foster expedient play and dramaticeffects. A spell-casting PC is assigned to acategory (analogous to an AD&D school),such as Healer or Energy Witch. Spells arecast by expending points from a renew-able pool. At the gamemaster’s option,spell-casters may increase the potency oftheir spells by drawing energy from metalpylons of extraterrestrial origin, found inremote forests and deserts. The imagina-tive spell list includes buzzard watch (abuzzard directs the caster to the nearestcorpse), body worms (the victim is infectedwith parasites), and bombardier (a flock ofbirds dumps doo-doo on an unluckytarget).

As for the setting, it’s pretty muchyour standard Kentucky Fried Earth, asprawl of barren plains, ruined cities,and wretched settlements. The “Life inthe Waste” chapter gives a compellingoverview but doesn’t provide enoughdetail to get a campaign off the ground.There’s no suitable home base for thePCs. There aren’t any maps. There are ahandful of adventure hooks, but nocomplete scenarios. In fact, were it notfor the inspired juxtaposition of themundane (motorcycles, pipe bombs)and the fantastic (healing potions, painspells), I might have been tempted towalk away.

Evaluation: The upside: solid charac-ters, interesting magic system, good pre-sentation. The downside: clunky combatmechanics, sketchy game world, nodeveloped adventures. The verdict: aqualified thumbs up. Recommended forfans of White Wolf’s World of Darknessseries (like the Vampire: the Masquerade*game), players interested in a grittierversion of the Shadowrun* game, andwould-be wizards who’d like to take aspin in a dune buggy. (Information:Optimus Design Systems, P.O. Box 1511,Buffalo, NY 14215.)

Short and sweetMythos* standard game set, by

Charlie Crank, Chaosium Inc., $13. TheArt of Playing Mythos, by Scott DavidAniolowski, Charlie Crank, Eric Rowe,and Lynn Willis. Chaosium Inc., $9.Mythos lnvestigator Cards (no creditsgiven). Chaosium Inc., $5.

You say you’re interested in theMythos* game, the collectible card ver-sion of Chaosium’s magnificent Call ofCthulhu* role-playing game, but you’reput off by the price? Chaosium comes tothe rescue with this new standard set, ahandsome box containing two 52-carddecks, a pair of investigators, and a 32-page rule book, all for less than the costof two 60-card starter decks (which willset you back $18). Serious playersshould also consider investing in The Artof Playing Mythos, a 160-page book thatexpands and corrects the original rules,lists every card in the game by type andtitle, and answers dozens of frequentlyasked questions (no, you can’t playZadok Allen at an Inside location). Butskip the Investigator Cards. If you’re aMythos collector, you already own atleast a couple of investigators; after all,one comes in every deck. And $5 fornine cards isn’t what I’d call a bargain.

Sages & Specialists, by Matt Forbeck.TSR, Inc., $20.

Tired of the same old wizards androgues? Sages & Specialists — an AD&D®supplement intended for DungeonMasters but in my humble opinion, per-fectly fine for everybody — serves up 10alternative classes complete with statis-tics, personality notes, and role-playingtips. Among the newcomers are theEngineer, Seer, Guide, Historian, andHealer. Designer Forbeck warns that“due to the supporting roles of these classes, few players will find it rewardingto run a specialist.” I disagree. I can seea Historian PC in a DRAGONLANCE cam-paign, gathering material for a compre-hensive history of Krynn. And a GuidePC should find plenty to do in thePLANESCAPE setting. As for the Seer, maybe you could cook up a beholder PCand . . . oh, never mind.

City of Chaos* game, by Martyn Oliverand Colin Thornton. Monocle GamesLtd., $50.

Board game translations of RPGs arealmost as old as RPGs themselves.Recall, for instance, that DUNGEONS &DRAGONS, which entered the world in

112

1974, preceded the DUNGEON!® boardgame by a mere year. Trouble is, eventhe best RPG board games, likeWarhammer Quest, boil down to tacticalcombat games, failing to deliver thestory elements that make RPGs socompelling. City of Chaos, however,redefines the genre, effortlessly infusinga clever set of board game mechanicswith the rich characterizations and plottwists of an RPG.

The premise, similar to that ofWarhammer Quest, casts the players asexplorers in a randomly generated envi-ronment; Warhammer Quest drops themin a dungeon, while City of Chaos turnsthem loose in the crazy-quilt city ofByronitar. Each section of Byronitar isrepresented by a colorful tile. When aplayer approaches the edge of a tile, hedraws a new one and places it next tothe tile he currently occupies. He thendraws cards that generate a variety ofmonsters, treasures, and characters — inthat sense, it’s no different, really, thanthe DUNGEON! boardgame.

What distinguishes City of Chaos fromits brethren is the “Tome of Chaos,” a fatvolume of clues and obstacles, each for-matted as a role-playing encounter keyedto a particular location. Say you run intoa sobbing guard outside the Grinning RatInn; you can flee, offer him a handker-chief, or call him a wimp. Stepping ontothe mausoleum tile plops you in the mid-dle of an engaging narrative involving aprincess and her zombie orchestra; youmight flirt with the princess, be attackedby the zombies, or uncover a clue that’llhelp you restore order to Byronitar. Thesheer number of encounters (hundreds of’em) and quality of the puzzles (in a half-dozen plays, I’ve yet to come close to sav-ing the city) keep the game fresh. As fur-ther incentive to separate you from yourwallet, the box contains a bonanza ofquality components: enough tiles tocover a dining room table, a 4-inch stackof playing cards, a sheet of skull-headtokens, and a bag of pewter miniatures.An English import, City of Chaos may behard to find, but it’s worth the hunt.(Information: Monocle Games Ltd., Unit 1,Queens Buildings, Queens Road,Keighley, West Yorkshire, UnitedKingdom, BD21 1ED.)

Nightmare Chess* game, by PierreClequin and Bruno Faidutti. SteveJackson Games, $15.

I haven’t won a game of chess in, oh,about twenty years, so any revision ofthe rules that gives me a fighting chance

I welcome with open arms. InNightmare Chess, each opponent drawsa hand of five lushly illustrated cards,then plays one every time he makes amove. To say that the cards affect theflow of the game is like saying theHoover Dam affects the flow of theColorado River. The “Dungeon” cardconfines an enemy piece to a corner ofthe board. “Panic” forces the opponentto make his next move within 15 sec-onds. “Cowardice” causes a pawn to turnchicken and head for the hills. Laugh-out-loud nuts, it’s a game the MadHatter might’ve played between teaparties. Does conventional chess strate-gy apply? Absolutely not. Is this goodnews for me? Absolutely.

Battle Cattle* game, by Aldo Ghiozziand Matt Stipicevich. Wingnut Games, $8.

This game of battling bovines takesplace in a near-future world wheremutant cows armed with serrated hornsand cattle-pults attempt to turn eachother into hamburger. Players choosefrom a menu of cow types (TexasLonghorn, Hungarian Gray, AustralianCharbray), then determine Health Points,Weight Allowances, and TippingDefense Numbers. Despite the udderlystupid premise, it’s a credible miniaturesgame, albeit one that’s easy to win ifyou choose the right accessories. WithMethane Implants, for instance, youshould be able to stink your way to vic-tory. (Information: Wingnut Games, POBox 1714, Burlingame, CA 94011.)

Rick Swan, the author of The CompleteGuide to Role-Playing Games (St Martin’sPress), has designed and edited nearly 50game products. You can write to him at2620 30th Street, Des Moines, IA 50310.Enclose a self-addressed envelope if you’dlike a reply.

* indicates a product produced by a companyother than TSR, inc. Most product names are trade-marks owned by the companies publishing thoseproducts. The use of the name of any product with-out mention of its trademark status should not beconstrued as a challenge to such status.

Julius Rosenstein, James Osten,

A d v e n t u r e s , b y K e v i n

Steel Deep*, by Sam Witt withReynolds Jones. Mayfair Games, $18.

Luna, the near-future settingdescribed in this Underground* gamesupplement, seems awfully familiar,replete as it is with hacker gangs, corpo-rate killers, and punkish attitude. Yep,aside from a few off-beat touches — aprison that’s become a tourist resort,eccentric organizations like HouseDirtboy — we’re in territory that’s beenthoroughly explored in the Cyberpunka n d S h a d o w r u n * g a m e s . I l i k eUnderground’s humor and energy, and Iwish it well. But if Mayfair wants to fishfor new players, they’ll needbetter bait than this.

Rifts Game Shields and

Siembieda, Patrick Nowak,

Palladium Books, $13.Anybody with a photocopi-

er, a bottle of glue, and a hunkof cardboard can manufacturetheir own gamemaster screen,so why spend good money onan “official” version? These twoscreens for the Rifts* game —containing combat summaries,salvage rates, equipment costs,and magic mechanics — arewell-done but nonessential.What makes this packageworth the money is the gener-ous number of bonuses: twolengthy adventures, 18 enticingscenario hooks, and a set ofcharacter sheets so crammedwith detail, you’ll need a mag-nifying glass to read the tinyprint.

114

NEW FOR JANUARY

Eye to EyeAn AD&D® MONSTROUS ARCANA™

adventureby Thomas M. ReidThe horrid war against the

beholders reaches its shatteringclimax!

$12.95 U.S./$16.95 CAN./£7.99U.K.

TSR Product No: 9536

ISBN: 0-7869-0450-X

The Last Tower: The Legacyof Raistlin

A DRAGONLANCE ®: FIFTH AGE™dramatic supplement

by Skip WilliamsThis addition to the DRAGONLANCE:

FIFTH AGE game explores the mysteries ofWayreth, the tower where Raistlin facedthe mystical ordeal of the Soulforge.

$20.00 U.S./$26.00 CAN./£18.50 U.K.TSR Product No: 1149ISBN: 0-7869-0538-7

Undermountain Trilogy III: StardockA FORGOTTEN REALMS®

DUNGEON CRAWL™ adventureby Steven SchendHalaster the mad mage has been

kidnapped from his underground lair,and ‘the heroes are the only oneswho can save him!

$7.95 U.S./$10.00 CAN./£4.99U.K.TSR Product No.: 9538

ISBN: 0-7869-0451-8

Army of the DeadA DRAGON DICE™ novel #2by Edo van BelkomCan Adelric marshall his forces

against this latest threat to his home-land’s peace?

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 1509ISBN: 0-7869-0652-9

Realms of the ArcaneA FORGOTTEN REALMS anthologyThis collection contains all-new sto-

ries of the Realms (and the ARCANE AGE™setting) by such TSR luminaries as EdGreenwood, Elaine Cunningham, MarkAnthony, and others.

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8574ISBN: 0-7869-0647-2

Vinas SolamnusA DRAGONLANCE Lost Legends novel #1by J. Robert KingAt last the true story of the founder of

the Knights of Solamnia and author ofthe Oath and the Measure. This is a taleof one man’s quest for honor against alandscape of war and tyranny.

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8388ISBN: 0-7869-0787-8

NEW FOR FEBRUARY

Errand of MercyA FORGOTTEN REALMS DOUBLE DIAMOND

TRIANGLE SAGA™, Book 4by Roger MooreThe paladins sent by the Lord of

116

Waterdeep to rescue his kidnappedbride have arrived in a kingdom of theUtter East. The monarch there seemsfriendly, but there is a problem . . .

$1.99 U.S./$2.99 CAN./£1.50 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8637ISBN: 0-7869-0867-X

Elminster in Myth DrannorA FORGOTTEN REALMS novelby Ed GreenwoodThe eagerly awaited sequel to the best-

selling Elminster: The Making of a Mage.$19.99 U.S./$25.99 CAN./£13.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8575ISBN: 0-7869-0661-8

Lord of the NecropolisA RAVENLOFT® novelby Gene DeWeeseLord Azalin, Master of Darkon, con-

cocts a grim scheme that will enablehim to escape the confines of theDemiplane of Dread forever.

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8073ISBN: 0-7869-0660-X

Finder’s BaneFORGOTTEN REALMS Lost Gods novel #1by Kate Novak & Jeff GrubbA young priest named Joel and his

companions must somehow infiltratethe extra-planar city of Sigil. Can theyrecover a mysterious artifact and thwarta plot to bring the evil god Bane back tolife?

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8576ISBN: 0-7869-0658-8

Tale of the CometA FANTASTIC ADVENTURES™ novelby Roland GreenWorlds collide when a comet crashes

into the mountain village of Aston Point.When the comet is revealed to be a star-ship, the townsfolk are dragged into adeadly battle between the alien Raeland a sinister artificial intelligence.

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8041ISBN: 0-7869-0654-5

Faces of Evil: The FiendsA PLANESCAPE® accessoryby Colin McCombThis product takes a close look at all of

the fiendish powers, habits, relationshipsand their ceaseless campaigns to corruptwhole planes — and foolish planewalkers.

$18.95 U.S./$25.95 CAN./£10.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 2630ISBN: 0-7869-0684-7

Four From CormyrA FORGOTTEN REALMS adventureby John TerraFour great adventures, all set within

the famous forest kingdom of Azoun IV!$20.00 U.S./$27.00 CAN./£11.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 9531ISBN: 0-7869-0646-4

The Sea DevilsAn AD&D MONSTROUS ARCANA

sourcebookby Skip WilliamsVicious, rapacious, and thoroughly

evil, the horrid sahuagin spread terrorwherever they strike. They rise from thetide to launch their nightmare raids. Horridcruelty is their trademark, and no oneknows where the next incursion will fall!

$20.00 U.S./$27.00 CAN./£11.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 9539ISBN: 0-7869-0643-X

DRAGON® Magazine #238Traps & Dirty TricksCover by Brian Durfee

❖ 101 Dirty Orc TricksOver a hundred tips on how to

avoid “the orcs attack until slain”syndrome, by John Baichtal.

❖ Bazaar of the Bizarre:Magical Locks

You’ll need much more than aknock spell to pick these dangeroussecurity measures, by Robert S.Mullin.

❖ Arcane Lore: Spells for theCriminally Inclined

New spells for the wizard/thiefPCs in your party, by Jeff Dancey.

❖ Ecology of the StirgeEverything you ever wanted to

know, and more, about the nastiestsuckers in the AD&D worlds, by TimRichardson.

Plus “DragonMirth,” “Role-PlayingReviews,” “Sage Advice,” “Knights ofthe Dinner Table,” “Wyrms of theNorth,” new fiction and more!

$4.95 U.S./$5.95 CAN./£2.95 U.K.TSR Product No. 8114-2

HogunmarkA BIRTHRIGHT® Domain sourcebookby Carrie A. BebrisHogunmark is a bitter domain of war

and ice, fiercely defended by its druidpriests. This domain sourcebook revealsthe lore of this little-known land.

$8.95 U.S./$11.95 CAN./£5.50 U.K.TSR Product No.: 3135ISBN: 0-7869-0644-8

NEW FOR MARSH

Tale of the CometAn AD&D O DYSSEY™ campaign

expansionby Thomas M. ReidMagic and technology clash in this

laser-swords and sorcery epic adventure!$30.00 U.S./$40.00 CAN./£18.50 U.K.TSR Product No.: 1143ISBN: 0-7869-0653-7

DRAGON #237 117

Heroes of DefianceA DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE dramatic

supplementby Steve MillerBeneath the thumb of oppression, peo-

ple cling tenaciously to freedom. Evenwithin the conquered lands, those oncereferred to as rogues and scoundrels, arenow the land’s bravest freedom fighters.

$20.00 U.S./$27.00 CAN./£11.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 9517ISBN: 0-7869-0656-1

Domains of DreadA RAVENLOFT Campaign Settingby William W. Connors & Steve MillerThis is a must-have for all RAVENLOFT

fans, a complete compilation of rules tomake your games more real than ever!

$30.00 U.S./$40.00 CAN./£18.50 U.K.TSR Product No.: 2174ISBN: 0-7869-0672-3

FrostwingsA DRAGON DICE Kicker Pack #6by Bill OlmesdahlWarriors of Air and Death, the

Frostwings join the struggle for domi-nation of Esfah — but are they on theside of good or evil?

$6.95 U.S./$10.95 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 1507ISBN: 0-7869-0662-6

WarA BIRTHRIGHT™ novelby Simon HawkeAn epic novel of war and intrigue in

the world of Birthright.$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 3133ISBN: 0-7869-0720-7

118

DUNGEON® Adventures #63Cover by Tony DiTerlizzi

Hunt for a Hierophantby Chris DoyleA sleeper must awake, lest an evil

force overrun the land. An AD&D®adventure for PCs of levels 6-8.

The Day of the TempestA DRAGONLANCE: FIFTH AGE novelby Jean RabeThis is Krynn’s darkest hour, but a

handful of humans refuse to surrender.Spurred on by the famed sorcerer PalinMajere, they dare to stand up to thedragon overlords. It may be their last actof courage.

$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8381ISBN: 0-7869-0668-5

Mortal ConsequencesA FORGOTTEN REALMS Netheril Trilogy

novel #3by Clayton EmeryThe star t l ing conclusion to the

Netheril Trilogy!$5.99 U.S./$6.99 CAN./£4.99 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8573ISBN: 0-7869-0683-9

Blood & Fireby John BaichtalThe desert sands burn hot, but

hotter still is the war waged uponthem. An AD&D AL-QADIM® adventurefor PCs of levels 7-9.

Gnome Droppingsby Christopher PerkinsIt’s not what you think. An AD&D

SPELLJAMMER® adventure for PCs oflevels 3-5. Suitable for any AD&Dcampaign world.

Beauty Corruptby Kent ErtmanA sirine has lost her voice, and it’s

up to the heroes to find it. An AD&Dadventure for PCs of levels 4-5.

Huzza�s Goblin 0� Warby Paul CulottaYou will believe a goblin can fly. A

FORGOTTEN REALMS® adventure for PCsof levels 4-7.

Invisible Stalkerby Jonathan RichardsWhat you can’t see can hurt you.

An AD&D SideTreks adventure for PCsof levels 1-2.

$4.95 U.S./$5.95 CAN./£1.95 U.K.TSR Product No. 8202-1

An Opportunity for ProfitA FORGOTTEN REALMS DOUBLE DIAMOND

TRIANGLE SAGA book #5by Dave GrossThe pirates hired to assassinate the

kidnapped Waterdeep bride are hot onthe trail to accomplishing their mission.But fate has set them on a collisioncourse with another interested party.

$1.99 U.S./$2.99 CAN./£1.50 U.K.TSR Product No.: 8638ISBN: 0-7869-0868-8

Unless otherwise noted:® designates registered trademarks owned by

TSR, Inc.™ designates trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.© 1996 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

© 1996 Allen Varney

1996: The year in reviewIn 1996, after two years of drift, the

role-playing hobby started to find solidfooting. Half drowned by the trading cardgame craze, tossed by the tempests ofspeculator-driven financial euphoria, theindustry at last reached an uncharted isleof stability. Now gamers, like the Skipperand Gilligan — well, enough metaphor.The outlook is improving.

The year began badly as GDW shutdown after 23 years and White Wolf laidoff a dozen employees. But withinmonths CDW’s flagship Traveller* RPGreappeared in a new edition fromImperium Games, and White Wolf’scash-flow crisis subsided. Meanwhile,perennially cash-poor Chaosium foundunprecedented wealth with its Mythos*trading card game and used the pro-ceeds to reprint classic Call of Cthulhu*and Pendragon* adventures.

The year brought many new RPGs: theVampire: The Dark Ages*, Feng Shui*,Deadlands* Fading Suns: Bubblegum Crisis*,and Babylon 5 games, as well as TSR’sambitious DRAGONLANCE®: FIFTH AGE™game using its new SAGA™ system. Mostpublishers of these games reported unex-pectedly high sales. The Vampire: TheDark Ages initial shipment set a WhiteWolf sales record, and DaedalusEntertainment president Jose Garcia says,“Feng Shui sold surprisingly well. Thewhole first printing went in eight weeks.”

TSR had a remarkably good year. Asales representative from the companysaid: “TSR has achieved double-digitgrowth each year for the last five years,and I expect we’ll see the same again”from 1996. Growth this year benefitedfrom huge sales of the DRAGON DICE™game (currently over a million dice amonth) and “very pleasing sales” of theSPELLFIRE™ card game and its manyexpansions. “Our role-playing sales areabout as strong as the years before. Wehaven’t seen much change in role-play-ing volume at all” in the last few years,even during the card-game boom.

The coming year already holdspromise for role-players: New editions ofthe RuneQuest*, Kult*, Ars Magica*, andChill* games are due, and TSR releases ascience-fiction RPG, the ALTERNITY™game, this August. In a welcome conver-gence, several publishers of trading-cardgames plan RPGs set in the card games’worlds. The Feng Shui game (designedsimultaneously with its companionShadowfist* game) was first, but 1997should bring RPGs based on the Legendof the Five Rings: Highlander*, Dark Age:and (possibly) Heresy: Kingdom Come*card games. FPG’s Dark Age design letsgamemasters use the cards (arrestinglyillustrated by former TSR staff artistBrom and others) as nonplayer charac-ters; card statistics work seamlessly inthe RPG without conversion.

Residual weakness: Still, the last twoyears hit role-playing hard, and smallpublishers still feel bruises. Atlas Gamespresident John Nephew said in aNovember Internet post, “Many gamecompanies have been quietly trimmingtheir payroll, doing all they can to cutcosts, et cetera. If we’d had to survive onRPGs alone this past year, we wouldhave closed down and gone out of busi-ness; that would not have been enoughsales even to pay the rent.” Atlas alsopublishes the On The Edge: Lunch Money*,and Once Upon a Time* card games.

“There may be lots of quality materialin the market, but fewer copies of eachitem are selling than was the case fiveyears ago,” Nephew says. Many smallcompanies are being hurt by upheavalsin the distribution system that bringsgames to retail stores. Until 1993, estab-lished distributors offered good serviceand a wide selection to their clients.When Wizards of the Coast’s Magic: TheGathering* game arrived, many smallentrepreneurs moved in solely to capital-ize on the craze. Under Wizards’policy, a distributor who sells large quan-tities of the Magic game is rewarded withgreater allocations for later expansions.

Because Magic sales still drive the indus-try to a great extent, distributors com-pete to give the greatest discounts, oftenby cutting back on sales staff.

Garcia says this policy “rewards thosewith narrow inventories, or who don’tknow their own inventory except for thetop-selling products. Short-staffed dis-tributors have streamlined to the extentthat their sales people can’t do their jobeffectively. It destroys diversity in thisindustry.” He says distributors have beenknown to refuse direct orders for newgames from their client stores — that is,guaranteed sales — because of “fear,paranoia, not much working capital —and a lot of [the reason] is just sloppybusiness.”

AaarghIn DRAGON® Magazine issue #235,

“Current Clack” quoted Null Foundationfounder Mark Rein•Hagen as saying,“We, the pioneers, should push in a waythat evolves [role-playing] so that peoplewho come later can screw it up.” As youmight guess, Rein•Hagen actually said“so that people who come later can’tscrew it up.” Sorry about that.

In 1996, freelancer Allen Varney’s workappeared in seven role-playing supple-ments, 31 magazine issues, and the DRAGONDICE™ novel Cast of Fate. This issue markshis one-year anniversary writing DRAGONMagazine’s news column, which he calls “avery good gig.” Send news to APVarney@aol.com.

120