D R A G O N 1

Vol. VIII, No. 8 February 1984

SPECIAL ATTRACTION

The Baton Races of Yaz. . . . . . . . . . . . . .39A game of tactics and Tarnoses

OTHER FEATURES

The ecology of the peryton . . . . . . . . . . .10Why hearts? Here�s why

Wounds and weeds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Plants to help your characters heal

Enhancing the enchanter. . . . . . . . . . . . .20DRAGONQUEST� game alterations

Rings that do weird things. . . . . . . . . . . .28Thirteen new pieces of magical jewelry

New avenues for agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32TOP SECRET® Companion preview

Curing the Monty Haul malady. . . . . . .46How to help a runaway campaign

Spells between the covers. . . . . . . . . . . . .55Expanding the magical research rules

Windwolf. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64A fictional flight of fantasy

REGULAR OFFERINGS

Out on a Limb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3Letters and answers

The forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Opinions and observations

Convention calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48

Review section:One-of-a-kind game aids . . . . . . . . . . .50P a v i s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2Big Rubble . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52City States of Arklyrell. . . . . . . . . . . . .54

Gamers� Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Dragon Mirth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71

Snarfquest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73

What�s New?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78

DRAGON, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCEDDUNGEONS & DRAGONS, ADVANCED D&D, TOPSECRET, BOOT HILL, and GAMMA WORLD are regis-tered trademarks owned by TSR, Inc.� designates other trademarks owned by TSR, Inc., unlessotherwise indicated.

Publisher: Mike CookEditor in-in Chief: Kim MohanEditorial staff: Roger Raupp

Patrick Lucien PriceMary KirchoffRoger Moore

Subscriptions: Mary CossmanContributing editor: Ed GreenwoodAdvertising Sales Administrator:

Mary Parkinson

National advertising representative:Robert Dewey1836 Wagner RoadGlenview IL 60025

Phone (312)998-6237

This issue�s contributing artists:Jerry Eaton Richard DellRoger Raupp Kurt ErichsenJim Holloway Daniel BuckleyE.B. Wagner Larry ElmoreDavid Hutton Phil Foglio

Dave Trampier

DRAGON Magazine (ISSN 0279-6848) ispublished monthly for a subscription price of $24per year by Dragon Publishing, a division ofTSR, Inc. The mailing address of DragonPublishing for all material except subscriptionorders is P.O. Box 110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

DRAGON Magazine is available at hobbystores and bookstores throughout the UnitedStates and Canada, and through a limitednumber of overseas outlets. Subscription ratesare as follows: $24 for 12 issues sent to an addressin the U.S., $30 in Canada; $50 U.S. for 12issues sent via surface mail or $95 for 12 issuessent via air mail to any other country. Allsubscription payments must be in advance, andshould be sent to Dragon Publishing, P.O. Box72089, Chicago IL 60690.

A limited quantity of certain back issues ofDRAGON Magazine can be purchased from theDungeon Hobby Shop. (See the list of availableissues printed elsewhere in each magazine.) Pay-ment in advance by check or money order mustaccompany all orders. Payments cannot be madethrough a credit card, and orders cannot be takennor merchandise reserved by telephone. Neitheran individual customer nor an institution can bebilled for a subscription order or a back-issuepurchase unless prior arrangements are made.

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All material published in DRAGONMagazine becomes the exclusive property of thepublisher upon publication, unless special ar-rangements to the contrary are made prior topublication. DRAGON Magazine welcomesunsolicited submissions of written material andartwork; however, no responsibility for such sub-missions can be assumed by the publisher in anyevent. Any submission which is accompanied bya self-addressed, stamped envelope of sufficientsize will be returned if it cannot be published.

DRAGON® is a registered trademark forDragon Publishing�s monthly adventure playingaid. All rights on the contents of this publicationare reserved, and nothing may be reproducedfrom it in whole or in part without first obtainingpermission in writing from the publisher.Copyright © 1984 TSR, Inc.

Second-class postage paid at Lake Geneva,Wis., and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes toDragon Publishing, P.O. Box 110, Lake GenevaWI 53147, USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848.

Our article wish listOne of the questions I�m asked most

often is �What sort of an article should Iwrite?� My stock answer is �Whatever youwant, as long as it�s good.�

Oh, I know what the question means�what subjects are we interested in seeingarticles about? But unless I think about itahead of time, I usually have trouble com-ing up with a concrete answer to that ques-tion on the spot.

And now I�ve thought about it, longenough and hard enough to come up with ashort list of topics that I think would makegood AD&D� game articles. In approxi-mate order of their desirability, they are:

(1) Given that the magical universe haslaws that govern it, just as the physicaluniverse does, what are the �laws of magic�in the AD&D game world? What is thenature of magic? What is magic capable ofdoing, and not capable of doing?

(2) What is life (so to speak) like on theother planes of existence? We�ve done a fewof these treatments, most notably RogerMoore�s essay on the Astral Plane in #67and Ed Greenwood�s tour of the Nine Hellsin #75 and #76, but lots of planes are stillunexplored.

(3) What is the rationale behind the spellclassification system (abjuration, alteration,conjuration, and so forth)? How can thisinformation be put to use for game pur-poses, or isn�t it useful at all?

(4) How does a DM calculate XP and GPvalues for original magic items? Is there asystem inherent in the DMG�s treasure-table values, and can it be applied to newmagic in a way that keeps the values con-sistent with the official rules?

(5) Aside from direct intervention by adeity or the minions of a deity, is there away for a cleric to enchant magic items?Should there be a way, or would givingclerics this ability unbalance the game?

(6) How should henchmen and hirelingsbe treated, both by a player (through hischaracter) and by the DM? How are thetwo types different, and what can be saidabout how they will generally act?

If you�ve been dreaming of getting anarticle published in DRAGON® Magazine,and if one of these ideas causes a light bulbto go on inside your head, you might be onthe way to composing an article that we�dbe very interested in seeing. Drop us a lineto let us know what you�re working on(especially if it�s an other-planes article,since someone else might already be work-ing on �your� plane) � or, take the plungeand send in a finished manuscript. We�ll tryto give prime consideration to �wish list�manuscripts, and maybe we can both haveone of our wishes fulfilled at the same time.

2 FEBRUARY 1984

ames we publish in this mag-azine have to be fun to play.But it�s nice when they can alsoteach us something about thevirtues of cooperation and

teamwork. And that�s what The BatonRaces of Yaz is all about — Skadingles,Flibdills, Tarnoses, and Luggants all work-ing together to succeed. Baton Races is thelatest game we�ve published by designer C.C. Stoll, who was also responsible for Flightof the Boodles (issue #60) and Arrakhar’sWand (#69). I don�t know where he gets hisideas, but I hope he keeps on getting them.

If this issue�s cover painting looks darkand gloomy to you, then artist Jerry Eatondid his job well. The scene portrays what adungeon would look like if the only signifi-cant light source came from the casting of aMordenkainen’s sword spell. It looks likethe wizard in the background has matterswell in hand � even though his hand isnowhere near the sword.

Our AD&D� game articles in this issueare led off by �The ecology of the peryton,�in which Nigel Findley gets to the (ahem)heart of the matter in explaining thatstrange creature. �Wounds and weeds� byKevin Thompson suggests ways that char-acters can use the flora they find aroundthem to make up for the absence of a clericwith a healing spell; and in �Rings that doweird things,� a DM can get ideas on howto freshen up a treasure hoard with magicrings that are unlike any of those that play-ers may have �accidentally� read about inthe DMG.

One of the most complicated and open-ended aspects of the AD&D rules is thesection on spell research. In �Spells be-tween the covers,� Bruce Heard does someresearch of his own on ways in which DMscan moderate their characters� attempts tobuild up libraries and design distinctive newforms of magic.

The DRAGONQUEST� game has amagic system of an entirely different sort,and Craig Barrett has some definite ideason how to go about �Enhancing the en-chanter.� Even those of you who don�t playthat game may get some inspiration fromthe magical principles and concepts hediscusses and develops.

TOP SECRET® game players who havewaited long and patiently for expansionsand additions to the rules don�t have to bepatient any longer. �New avenues foragents� is the first installment of a shortseries of articles previewing the contents ofthe TOP SECRET Companion, soon to bereleased by TSR.

Our fiction feature this month is�Windwolf,� a story that�s difficult to char-acterize without giving away the plot . . . soI�ll stop right there, and just say that I hopeyou enjoy it.

And that�s about the end of the space forthis issue. Have a happy Valentine�s Day,and may your heart be stolen by somethingother than a peryton. � KM

Strange but trueDear Dragon,

In issue #80 in the adventure �Barnacus: Cityin Peril,� Haermond II is listed as having astrength of 8. This is impossible, even if he isvenerable, due to the statement in the DMG, p.13 under aging, �. . . any adjustments cannotlower any ability below racial or class mini-mums.� I would like to ask what the correctstrength should be.

Jay ElliottSherrard, Ill.

Dear Editor:I�m writing in reference to �The Ecology of the

Treant� in issue #79. In this article, a halfling,Clarissa, is a druid. This presents a great prob-lem, for in the Players Handbook it clearly statesthat halflings cannot be druids. Therefore, it maycreate some confusion to AD&D players who readDRAGON Magazine.

Greg DeGruccioRound Rock, Tex.

Neither of these characterizations was a mis-take, because both of the characters in questionwere portrayed as non-player characters. It isperhaps unusual, but nonetheless legal, for anNPC to have a characteristic outside the normalracial or class limitations, which are meant to bestrictly adhered to only when player charactersare considered. Similarly the rules do indeedprohibit PC halflings from being druids, but thePlayers Handbook just as clearly allows them tobe druids if the character in question is a non-player character. — KM

Fixing our foul-upsDear Editor,

Katharine Kerr�s article on castles in theDecember issue was informative and stimulating.One serious error was the definition of a hectareas 10,000 square kilometers. The article notesthat it took fifteen to thirty peasant families towork a holding of forty to one hundred hectaresin order to support a knight et al. With hectaresas large as the article�s, agriculture must havebeen labor-intensive indeed.

Thomas MullenTaipei, Taiwan

Dear Dragon,I have read through �Barnacus: City in Peril�

(#80) and have found but one error. On the mapthere is no number 67, yet on the following pagenumber 67 is described as being a bridge. Theonly bridge on the map is the one joining the twosides of the city together. I was wondering if thenumber was left out purposely or was it an error?

Kedar WarrinerBeaconsfield, Quebec

Dear Editor:I have just discovered another error in the

listing of my chi-square program (#78). Line 670should read NT=NF. . . instead of NT=NC. . . .The result of this error is that in standard (un-grouped) mode, the message regarding the testwill be wrong (always biased in most BASICs)The chi-square value is still correct, however,

I�m not sure of the source of this error. Itdoesn�t appear on my program listing, but since Ididn�t have a printer at that time, what I sent youwas a typed transcript of the listing, and I can�tfind a copy of that now. Well, if it was my error,sorry. Regardless, I would appreciate your in-forming your readers of the correction.

David G. WeeksWebster Groves, Mo.

Dear Editor:About the article �Treasures rare and won-

drous� (#80), I have a question concerningnumber 31. You said the staff had two rubiesworth 500 gp each and the foot was shod with 25gp worth of adamantite. This comes out to 1,025gp, but the chart said it was worth 10,025 gp.Which is the correct price?

Greg McLeanEustis, Fla.

Dear Kim,Thanks for your kind editorial words introduc-

ing my first DRAGON article, �Living in amaterial world� (#81). Alas, when sortingthrough my tables and notes, I uncovered anerror (mine) which needs a bit of correction. InTable VI, the last sentence of the entry for thedruidical spell changestaff should be changed toread:

Curing the staff by sun drying and specialsmoke requires 28 days. Shaping, carving,smoothing, and polishing requires another 28days. The finished staff, showing scenes ofwoodland life, is then rubbed with the juice ofholly berries. This work must be done by adruid of at least 3rd level, and will cost 5,000gp.

Also, on the top of p. 66, the effectiveness ofsubstituted spell components depends on their�(a) appropriateness and (b) expense� ratherthan on their �(a) effectiveness and (b) expense.�

Michael DobsonLake Geneva, Wis.

Okay, let’s take ‘em one at a time.The hectare mistake appeared in Katharine

Kerr’s original manuscript. (Of course, it shouldbe 10,000 square meters, not kilometers.) I knowshe’d be willing to take all the blame, becauseshe’s a nice person, but we really should havenoticed the error and corrected it in our editing.

The missing number 67 on the map is our fault— and no, we don’t make mistakes on purpose.It’s a good thing there was only one bridge in thecity, isn’t it?

I pulled David’s original listing of the chi-square program from our files and discoveredthat the mistake did appear in the typed tran-

D R A G O N 3

script he sent. I really do understand how thesekinds of mistakes can happen (because I�ve madeso many of them myself), and I�m grateful toDavid and a few other readers who pointed it outto us.

The foul-up in the treasure article was a simpletypographical error, but not one that you�d beable to figure out yourself, since the correctioncould go either way. Actually, we dropped a zerofrom the value of the rubies, which should havebeen worth 5,000 gp each, so the total value ofthe staff was correct as printed.

Thanks to Mike for setting the record straightabout the changestaff component � but again,we must take part of the �credit� for this goofsince we could have and should have checked itout before printing it. As for the double use of theword �effectiveness,� all I can say is that some-times we get so overworked that we type thingstwice twice by mistake. � KM

Armor class dilemma

In regard to the Combat Computer in issue#74: I have found it a great help in running mycampaign, and I think you did a great job inexplaining how to use it. However, I have aproblem with apparent and enhanced armorclass.

Dear Editor:

Obviously, not all creatures wear armor withset AC values, but instead they depend on theirnatural armor and/or dexterity. The article states,�regardless of the actual AC a piece of equipmentprovides its wearer, the apparent AC of thatarmor is the same for all armor of that type.�This presents problems.

Suppose I wish to handle melee between agroup of adventurers and a xorn. The xorn wearsno armor, is not too quick on its feet, and (to thebest of my knowledge) doesn�t improve its ACvalue through any magical means. Thus its ACvalue of -2 must be enhanced by its natural stone-like shell. What is the apparent AC of stone-mail?

The same goes for the apparent AC of, say,Asmodeus. To the best of my knowledge he doesnot wear any armor. Since his AC of -7 is obvi-ously enhanced by some means, what would hisapparent AC be � 10? That can�t be right.

This is mostly a minor complaint (since I�msure there are many DMs out there who disre-gard AC adjustments altogether) but if there isany reasonable answer to this dilemma, I wouldbe happy to hear it.

Rob PaigeCheney, Wash.

We checked out this question with Tracy Hick-man, who is on the TSR design staff was thecreator of the Combat Computer. He told uswhat we expected to hear � namely, that noprovision exists in the AD&D� rules for takingAC adjustments in to consideration in cases likethe ones Rob describes, which is why the CombatComputer didn�t address the question.

The problem can�t really be solved (short of anofficial addition to the rules), but it can be han-dled in one of two ways:

(a) Don�t use any armor class adjustment forweapon type against creatures with an AC ofbetter than 2, when that armor class can�t beequated to an �apparent�AC, or

(b) Treat any �problem� AC as if the creaturein question had an actual armor class of 2, whichis as low as the armor class adjustment table inthe Players Handbook goes. � KM

4 FEBRUARY 1984

D R A G O N 5

The forumOpinions and observations from our readers

I found some cause for disagreement in Ka-tharine Kerr�s December article, �Who lives inthat castle?�

Contrary to what Ms. Kerr states, the averageserf did not live in a constant state of near-starvation, except in times of drought and fam-ine, when everyone tightened his belt. Serfs atequite well, if somewhat monotonously. While thelord and his guests dined on such delicacies aspeacock (very tough, I�ve heard, and served morefor its looks than taste) and other game, rarefoods and spices such as pepper, white bread, andsweets . . . his serfs were downing copiousamounts of ye olde standbye � potage (peasoup), cassoulet (bean and sausage stew), por-ridge, bacon, eggs, black bread, and any smallgame he managed to poach without gettingcaught.

A smart lord would not take so much that hisserfs would starve. After all, it�s bad land man-agement � a serf who is dead or otherwise tooweak to work is not getting his lord any richer.

Nicki PerdueMorgan Hill, Calif.

* * * *

Both EGG and Ed Greenwood have suggestedthat the Nine Hells be stripped of non-devildeities, which begs the question of where to putabsolute lawful evil deities who aren�t devils.

Removing the one-plane-to-a-customer rulemakes it easier to make the astral planes able tobe consistent with established mythology. Olym-pus can and should be in the same astral space aseither the Twin Paradises or the Seven Heavens.The Greeks and Romans had civilized (lawful)

As it stands, there is one afterlife plane permajor and/or minor alignment, with official statsgiven for 16 of the 25 possible alignments. If weremove this concept and say that there is (withexceptions) one afterlife plane per manifestationof godhead and these planes have alignments, thecurrent problems disappear. In the case of theNine Hells, those nine planes occupy only a partof what I call the Astral Space of Absolute LawfulEvil. Since the planes are determined by theintersection of the Good/Evil and Law/Chaosaxes and are afterlife planes, it can be presumedthat the third dimensional axis is the Life/Deathline. (Astral continuums using the Light/Darkaxis?) The plane which orcs and goblinoids battlefor possession of lies parallel to the hells, stackedwithin the Astral Space of lawful evil, along withthe planes ruled by other lawful evil deities.

Actually, the problem extends through all theafterlife planes, inasmuch as there are far morepantheons of gods in any alignment than thereare known planes. If we discard the basic axiomof the afterlife astral planes, however, we caneasily dispose of the problem and not really affectthe known planes too much in playability.

societies, and their gods should reflect that.It might be convenient to name the 25 spaces,

but caution should be used to have names whichdo not reflect any particular inhabitant of thespace. Mr. Greenwood used the phrase �TheInfernal Regions� in his article when talkingabout the various hells of legend and literature,and I for one nominate it for the name of theAbsolute Lawful Evil space.

S. D. AndersonWhittier, Calif.

* * * *

I�m glad to hear you�re allowing more spacefor readers� opinions in DRAGON. I�m also veryglad to hear that you call such opinions �letters,�as letters can be handwritten while other manu-scripts have to be typed, and I hate to type. So,here�s my opinion on one question � I trust itwill be legible.

Why There�s No Such Thing as an Anti-Paladin:

Gods differ greatly in how easy it is to servethem. The lawful good gods are the hardest toserve, since their service goes against so many ofour natural instincts. A couple of examples:

Self-preservation. Modern policemen aretaught that if the choice is between shooting thevillain when the shots might hurt innocent by-standers, or holding your tire and maybe getting

6 FEBRUARY 1984

shot yourself, you don’t shoot. And if an evil mantakes hostages and demands that you surrenderor he�ll kill them, you surrender. (Of course, youmay negotiate, but not to the point where he killsone of them to add to the pressure.) A chaotic orneutral good character might argue that killingthe hostage-takers, no matter what happens to thehostages, will ultimately be the better course inthat it will deter future hostage-takers. A lawfulevil or neutral character might argue that every-one is responsible for their own actions, so if thehostages were dumb enough to get captured,that�s their worry; I�ll just kill the villains. Butneither of these is the lawful good way. For thelawful good character, defense of the innocentmust come first; self-preservation is secondary.

Self-enrichment: Too much wealth in the handsof too few people is a hallmark of lawful evil �get all you can and hold onto it, and don�t thinkabout all the impoverished peasants who averageyour money out. Lawful good people can livecomfortably, but any extra money goes to im-prove the lot of their less fortunate fellow crea-tures. Hoarding and �flaunting it� are alike eviltraits; lawful good people take what they deserveand need, but no more. They are good as well aslawful.

I could go on � for one thing, I haven�ttouched on when killing (i.e., vengeance) isjustifiable � but you should have the picture bynow. Being lawful good requires great restraintand goes contrary to many of our basic instincts.

Therefore, the lawful good gods give considera-ble benefits to their more loyal followers, both asinducements to serve them by following thisbasically unnatural way, and as rewards forarduous services (suitable recompense for servicesrendered is definitely a lawful good virtue).

Now, consider how one serves the cause of

chaotic evil. It�s a lot easier. If you have foes, youcan kill them, torture them, enslave them, or dowhat you will. If innocent bystanders get youdon�t care. You can pile up all the money youwant, not caring how many people get impover-ished in the process. In short, being chaotic evilplaces you under no restraints whatever. It�s fun(for those with the �right� � by which I meanwrong — mentality, of which there are verymany). So why would the chaotic evil gods wantto reward one for having fun?

And that’s why there is no such thing as ananti-paladin (or an evil saint; see issue #79).

Ralph SizerProvidence, R.I.

* * * *

While reading through my copy of DRAGON#81, I came across an article by David Hutton inthe Forum section concerning the power of thecharacter with two classes, and I felt obligated toexpress my feelings on the subject.

I feel that the current system of the characterwith two classes is very accurate and adds flavorto the game. I see no evidence in what Mr. Hut-ton has written that the character with two classesis so �staggeringly powerful,� as he puts it. In theexample he gives of an assassin of seventh levelwho was once a fighter of first level, I see acharacter who wasted two thousand experiencepoints to gain the �benefits� of better armor incombat, which doesn�t come in too handy if theNPC is attempting to sneak up and assassinatesomeone. If you examine the two characters, it isobvious that an assassin has a better chance tohit, an equal number of weapons (with just asmany to choose from), and an equal non-proficiency penalty with his first level fighter part.

The only good which comes out of the whole dealis that this character can use all the magic weap-ons a fighter can use, instead of just most ofthem, which other thieves and assassins can use.And I would rather have an assassin in nice quietleather armor with a girdle of fire giant strengththan an assassin/first level fighter with a potion ofthe same name.

Also, if there is still a reluctance on the part ofyou DMs out there, consider this: the more thepower, the greater the risks most players can andwill usually take. In most cases, when charactersdie it is because they bit off more than they canchew. Your characters with two classes are just aslikely to make ridiculous mistakes and blundersas are your �normal� characters. To enhance thisswelling of pride is easy; a few peasants falling ontheir knees in front of the heroes pleading forsalvation from the local dragon or wizard, or aking offering a nice, fat ransom to anyone whocan infiltrate the castle of one of his enemiesshould blind the characters to all caution andsend them headlong into doom, if for no otherreason than to save their precious reputations.

One final point to consider: If the charactersare that great, sooner or later some deity will callon them to give eternal service. Former playercharacters who have been divinely called do makegreat right-hand men and women for most Dun-geon Masters. . . .

Eric OdgaardLincoln, Neb.

* * * *

Many moons ago (in DRAGON issue #74)Theresa Reed wrote a letter to the editor statingthat she felt that DRAGON Magazine was

(Turn to page 80)

8 FEBRUARY 1984

DRAGON 9

The ecology of the

perytonby Nigel Findley

�Hearts!� The younger mage broughthis fist down on the table with enough forceto make the tankards jump. �Explain thatto me! Why hearts?�

I maintained my aloof manner. �Strangecreatures have strange habits,� I remarkedcasually. �And what could be more strangethan a beast with the head and antlers of adeer and the body and wings of a vulture?�

The young wizard�s elder companionsniffed. �An answer that is no answer. Wecame to speak to Nex � Nex the Collector,Nex of the Arrow � and find that the fa-mous bounty hunter is no more than a childof twenty summers with a disrespectfultongue.�

I narrowed my eyes and allowed a half-smile to creep onto my lips. �A man of onlytwenty summers I may be,� I said quietly,flicking my glance between the two of them,�but in that time I have seen � and slain �more varieties of creature than you canname, even with all your wizards� learning.

�But,� I continued less coldly, �this isbeside the point. Perhaps all your questionswill be answered by the carcass of a pery-ton, which I can and will deliver to you for. . .� I paused, making it seem as though Iwas just now deciding on a price, whenactually I had made up my mind as soon asI saw the rich cloth of their robes and thelavish gold chains around their necks.� . . . ten thousand pieces of gold.� Ileaned back and awaited the storm of pro-test that was sure to follow.

And, as I had expected, the face of theyounger wizard stiffened and becameflushed. But, to my surprise, his elder com-panion only hesitated a moment, then nod-ded slowly. �The Wizards� Guild isprepared to meet your fee,� he said. �Tenthousand gold nobles for a specimen of anadult peryton.�

I tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, not tosmirk. This kind of dickering I liked; thatfee was two times my usual price. �Thedeal is struck,� I said. �Now, of course, thatdoes not include my expenses. . . .�

�You hunt the peryton?� I turned to findthe source of the rough, low voice that camefrom behind me. The man who had spokenwore a deep purple tunic of fine workman-ship. On a chain around his neck hung asilver token of a bird. Though almost threetimes my age, he was well-muscled andseemed to carry himself with confidence. Ihad brought my hand to my sword hilt as Iturned, but let it drop again when I noticedthat he was unarmed.

�Yes, good cleric,� I said, �or so I intend.If such matters are your concern, join us.My name is��

10 FEBRUARY 1984

�Nex. I know. I am Amhotep.� Hepulled up a chair and seated himself at thetable. �And what do you know about theperyton that you can think of hunting itwithout showing any doubt or concern?�

I shrugged. �I know that the beast dwellsin mountainous regions, such as the peakstwo days� ride north of here.�

�That hardly seems sufficient .�My voice hardened and I gestured to-

ward my long bow, wrapped carefully invelvet and propped up in the nearby corner.�I also know that no creature lives. that Ihave seen over an arrow,� I replied. �Whatmore do I need to know?�

�Much more.� The cleric�s voice grewgrim and cold. �Much. Knowledge ispower, and ignorance can be death. Espe-cially so if you intend to hunt the perytonwith simple clothyard arrows. The arrows

or any other weapons you may use �must be ensorcelled, and the magic must bestrong, or they will simply glance off thecreature�s body.�

I leaned forward and opened my mouthto comment, but he raised a hand to cut meoff and kept talking. �Be still. There is yetmore you should know. The peryton facesno such difficulty in slaying its foes. Thecreature�s horns are hideously sharp andstrong � some say they are magical, but Iknow better. They inflict terrible wounds,and the peryton wields them with skillworthy of a champion.�

�You speak as someone intimately famil-iar with the beast,� I put in.

If the cleric noticed the sarcasm containedin that remark, he gave no sign. �Familiar-ity comes through experience. When I wasyounger, I, too, hunted the peryton.�

The two mages, who had been listeningquietly to the cleric until this point, nowturned to one another, exchanged glances,and murmured. I felt their attention beingdrawn away from me and toward thepurple-clad cleric.

�Please continue,� said the elder mage,and the cleric complied.

�My three brothers and I journeyed tothose peaks you speak of,� he said, turningslightly toward me with those words. �Wealso intended to return with a peryton as atrophy.� He laughed mirthlessly. �Mybrothers � or, to be more exact, their bones �are still there, on those mountain slopes.

�For three days we searched diligently for

ing a treacherous rock face when theirshadows passed over us, just as we heardthe sound of their beating wings for the firsttime. Their shadows were as those of men,not beasts � a fact which we all observed,and which distracted us for a single fatal

signs of the creature, without success of anysort. But on the fourth day, the perytons �three of them � found us. We were travers-

instant.�By the time that instant had passed and

we turned to fade them, the perytons wereswooping down upon us from out of thesun.� The cleric inhaled deeply, let thebreath out slowly, and closed his eyes brieflyas if in pain. �Two of my brothers died inthat first pass, disemboweled by those flash-ing horns that ripped through leather as asword through linen. By luck � or by thewill of Thoth � my eldest brother and Ievaded that first swooping attack. We beganto descend the slope quickly, seeking cover,as the two beasts that killed them came outof the sky and landed near the bodies of ourbrothers.

�Though on the ground it may appearclumsy � almost comical � when airbornethe peryton is a wonder to behold and athing to fear. We were transfixed by horrorat the sight of that third dark shape climb-ing, turning abruptly, making ready foranother dive . . .� The cleric shuddered,and for a moment resumed the detachedtone he had used earlier in his lecture.

�The creature maneuvers well; in astretch of only about two hundred paces, itcan turn a full ninety degrees while flying atfull speed � and it can reach full speed in amere minute after launching itself into theair. I have seen few creatures larger than ahawk that can equal it.� During this inter-lude, the cleric�s eyes were focused on me;now he turned his attention back to the twowizards and resumed the story.

�Running and scrambling, casting occa-sional glances backward and up at the sky,my brother and I were able to traverse lessthan one hundred yards down the slopebefore the third peryton went into anotherdive, with my brother as its target. And thistime he was not so fortunate; though theslashing horns missed him, the peryton�sbody did not. The creature rammed into hisupper body � whether by design or chanceI could not tell. He was swept from thesmall plateau on which he had hoped tostand and fight, and he landed on a tinyledge some thirty feet below.

�It would have been a blessing if theimpact had killed him. As it was, mybrother survived the fall, but both legs, andI believe his back, were broken. Unable tomove or defend himself, he could still call tome for help that I was unable to give. And

he could scream � oh, how he screamed �as the peryton settled on the ledge besidehim.

�I escaped with my life, for the simpleand dreadful reason that three perytons,and not four or more, swooped down on usthat day. And of all the visions that hauntme of that terrible day, the worst was thesight of that vicious third beast tearing mybrother�s heart from his still-living body.�

The cleric lowered his head, brought onehand up to touch the bird-token around hisneck, and seemed to be mouthing a silentprayer. The rest of us were silent as well. Asmuch as part of me wanted to do so, I couldnot bring myself to utter a sarcastic com-ment, to try to get the wizards again think-ing about me and the reason we had cometogether at this table in the first place.

Then the cleric raised his head and gazedvacantly out at the mages seated acrossfrom him. The younger one shifted uneas-ily, then ventured to speak. �Perhaps, then,you can enlighten us where others cannot.Why do these creatures require the hearts oftheir victims?�

�The answer to your question is brief,�the cleric said. �For reproduction � thatmuch any sage can tell you. But to under-stand that answer, first you must knowsome things about the background of theperyton.�

By this time I had regained my normaldemeanor, looking and acting bored and, Ihoped, convincing the others at the tablethat I actually felt that way. �Explain, then,if you must, and stop leading us along likethis,� I told the cleric.

He continued in a tone as if I had neverspoken. �The origin of the peryton is lost inthe backwaters of time,� he said. �Many ofthe wise say that the creature is the result ofmagical experimentation � but that is notso, though I do not say that there is nomagic in the peryton. Rather, the beast ismore akin to beings like the githyanki andthe mind flayer, in that none of them arenative to this world or the plane it residesupon.�

The younger mage raised his eyebrowsand exhaled a short puff of disbelief, but thecleric was oblivious to this reaction. �Theperyton was the dominant race on its homeworld,� he continued. �Though they are allnaturally independent and harshly competi-tive, at one point in their history the crea-tures banded together to subjugate � ordestroy � all that dwelt around them. Suchan alliance among chaotic creatures likethese could hardly endure, but it did persistlong enough to win a world and send ad-vance invasion parties � at least two, prob-ably many more � to establish theiroutposts . . . elsewhere.

�It is said in the councils of the wise thatthe first such outpost was established on agreat island nation called Atlantis, in aworld similar to this one. Exactly whatbecame of that nation I do not know. Per-haps the resistance to the perytons� at-tempted conquest was too great, or perhapsthe perytons overstepped themselves. What-

ever the case, the entire island sank beneaththe sea in a great upheaval. Though manyothers believe that this ended the threat ofthe perytons on that world, I have reason todoubt that stance. There still exists a proph-ecy that the perytons will bring about theeventual fall of one of that world�s greatestcities, named Roma.�

�Fascinating,� interjected the elder wiz-ard, but then his face took on a doubtfulfrown. �Yet, how could such a creature asthe peryton travel the planes?�

�Through the powers of the mind,�replied the cleric immediately. �By usingthe Talent, or what you might know aspsionics. On their home plane, the perytonswere possessed of the Talent, and it wasthrough the Talent that the raiding partiesintended to enslave this world and others.�

�Whether the perytons here lost theirTalent gradually, over generations, or all atonce, I know not, though I would supposethe latter to be true. This world is differentfrom their own in so many ways. . . . Theperytons that dwell in the mountain peaksof our world have lost their Talent, but theystill possess their fierce, vicious nature andtheir scheming intelligence.�

�But �� The mage tried to break in, butAmhotep had anticipated his comment.

�What?� I blurted out, unable to controlmy surprise.

The cleric regarded me with a grimsmile. �Oh, yes, my young hunter. Theyare as intelligent as most men, more so thanmany. They speak their own language,quite unlike that of any other creature. It isthis intelligence, almost always unsuspectedby those who would defeat them, that helpsto make the peryton such a lethal adver-sary.�

�All very interesting, good sir,� said theelder mage, and he seemed to mean it.�But . . . the hearts?�

�That will soon become apparent,� saidthe cleric, then resumed his narrative. �Onits own world, the peryton eats nothing butthe flesh of its prey. On this world � and, Isuppose, others � the peryton is forced tobroaden its diet to obtain the balance ofelements its body needs. In addition to theflesh of creatures native to this world, itmust eat plants and even some inanimatematter such as clay and soft ores.

�How these compounds are utilized bythe peryton is, at the very least, interesting.In the same way that certain plants, on thisplane and others, concentrate minerals fromthe soil in their stalks, the peryton assimi-lates iron and even heavier metals into itssystem, using these substances to strengthenand toughen its horns. The peryton�s attackis not as deadly as it is merely because it isaccurate, although the beast does indeeddive with terrible precision. The metals andminerals that the peryton consumes help tomake its horns as hard as steel, able to takeand hold a dagger-sharp point, unlike theantlers of normal creatures such as deer andelk, which are tapered but still rounded atthe tips. A single slash, or a series of punc-tures, from those horns is enough to pene-

DRAGON 11

trate or push aside even metal armor, mor-tally wounding the flesh beneath it. It hasbeen speculated that these metals also helpto toughen the peryton�s skin and feathers,which is why it cannot be wounded withoutenchanted weapons; however, I believeotherwise, since the peryton�s coat of feath-ers is soft and downy to the touch. Quitepossibly, its immunity to non-magical weap-ons comes simply from the fact that it is nota creature of this world.�

�Thank you for that, kind sir,� said theelder mage. �We have been more thancurious about that aspect of the beast, forreasons I daresay need not be explained toyourself. But a question remains, one youhave raised yourself � the shadow.�

Amhotep paused for two heartbeats,smiled, and nodded in the direction of thetwo mages. �And now to the hearts. Thereason it craves hearts is, in essence, thesame reason that it has such a varied diet:for mineral balance. The female perytonneeds especially large amounts of the ele-ments iron, potassium, sodium, and nitro-gen to produce the metal-like shell of hereggs � if you find one, I dare you to breakit open without the use of an acid, such asthe one found in the albumen of the eggitself. As it so happens, the tissue of thehuman heart contains an abundance ofthese vital substances. Certainly there areother available sources, but none of theothers so appropriately matches the pery-ton�s ethos.�

killed a human, this instinctive need isfulfilled and, for a time, the peryton ceasesto project the human shape. I cannot saywhich of these ideas is accurate; what I doknow is that I myself have seen the changefrom man-shadow to beast-shadow, as it

�Whether this is some trick in the mindof the observer, or evidence of a higherpower at work, I know not. Perhaps it is anunconscious remnant of their Talent, somepower that projects through the creature�sshadow the image of the prey it seeks themost � humans. Then, when the beast has

�When the sun strikes the body of aperyton, feet replace claws and arms appearinstead of wings; the horns cannot be seenin the shadow, and the head rounds out tobecome that of a human � truly a sightthat would be at least disconcerting, if itwere not already so terrifying. And theshadow remains that way until the perytonhas slain its chosen prey, whereupon theshadow it casts is that of its own body, andit then stays in that state until the creaturehas devoured and digested its prey.

The cleric smiled; it seemed to please himthat the wizard had paid enough attentionto remember that remark, and yet he beganhis response with a compliment that pleasedthe mage equally. �I would have been sur-prised had you not pursued that point.What I said, I meant quite literally: Whenthe shadows of the perytons passed over meand my brothers, the shadows were those ofmen.

took place upon the vile creature that slewmy last surviving brother.�

�Truly fascinating,� said the elder mage.�You have our sympathy,� he added, ges-turing toward his companion, �and ourrespect. But, as you must have alreadyguessed, another question remains. Whencecomes all of this detailed information thatseems beyond the ken of even the mostlearned of sages?�

The cleric touched, then caressed, thesilver bird pendant he wore. �I am honoredby a source of knowledge that is denied, byits very nature, to most of the sages of thisland.�

The lecture and the questions nowseemed to be at an end, and I had to admitto myself that I had been as engrossed asthe wizards were in the cleric�s story of himand his brothers, and the other things hehad to say about the peryton. But, in sayingall of it, he had clearly stolen all of theirattention � and perhaps their gold as well� from me. I decided it was time to actdecisively, and I did exactly that.

�Here,� I proclaimed loudly, �is anothersource of knowledge denied to most sages.�I reached beneath the table and grabbed mysack, talking while I extracted its contents.�You are the first to see one of my morerecent trophies; in fact, I just finished pre-paring it earlier today. Notice the fine,membranous finish to the wings, and thelifelike position of the arms and hands. Agood job, wouldn�t you say?�

All three of them stared at the tiny stuffedbody I had placed on the table. The clericwas the first to speak.

�A sprite?� he asked, quietly. �But why?These creatures are the most peaceable ��

�And beautiful,� I cut in. �Notice thecolor of the clothing, and the way I pre-served the texture of the pale skin.�

The cleric slowly rose to a standing posi-tion; his face took on an expression I couldnot read. �Perhaps you are the one bestsuited to hunt the peryton,� he said.

Then, suddenly, before I could react, hereached out and rapped me hard in thecenter of my chest with his forefinger. �Youhave nothing in here that the peryton coulddesire.�

The address of DRAGON® Magazinei s P .O . Box 110 , Lake Geneva WI5 3 1 4 7 , a n d t h a t ' s a l l y o u n e e d t omake sure your letter gets here. But y o u c a n h e l p u s s e r v e y o u m o r equickly by adding a line at the top ofthe address to tell us what depart-m e n t s h o u l d r e c e i v e y o u r l e t t e rpackage. Call it a �manuscript� sub-m i s s i o n , � � c a r t o o n s u b m i s s i o n , ��query l e t te r ,� or any o ther shor tphrase that tells us what's inside, andit'll get exactly where it's supposed to go.

12 FEBRUARY 1984

DRAGON 13

Wounds and weedsPlants that can help keep characters aliveby Kevin J. Anderson

(EDITOR�S NOTE: This article isin tended for use as a supplement for theAD&D� game system. It is NOT intendedas a guide to woodland plants for players tofind and eat themselves! Eating strangeplants is a very risky thing to do and is bestleft to experts; it should also be rememberedthat even experts can make dangerous orfatal mistakes.)

Delrael the fighter stumbled weaklythrough the dense forest, crawling andstaggering through thickets which clawed athis wounds. Blood flowed from uncountedcuts into his mangled armor. Tattered scrapsof bandages lay over some of his most seri-ous injuries, no longer giving any benefit.Some of his wounds had stopped bleeding oftheir own accord, but were now becominginfected.

The forest grew darker, and by thepounding in Delrael�s head and the buzzingin his ears, he knew that the darkness hesensed had nothing to do with the coming ofnightfall. �I am done,� he moaned softlythrough cracked lips.

Then he saw a light ahead, swimming inhis unsteady vision, and as he stumbledcloser he could make out the dim outline ofa rickety hut. Delrael tried to cry out forhelp, but could not force any audiblesounds from his throat. He collapsed with acrash into the thick underbrush near thehut. . . .

. . . And then he awoke to the acridsmell of strong vinegar, discovering at thesame time that he had enough strength togrimace and turn his head.

�Hah! The vinegar always wakes �emup!�

Delrael�s gaze fell on what at firstappeared to be a mushroom with eyes.Then, as his vision cleared, he saw it wasthe face of a withered old woman bendingover him. She tossed a dampened rag off toone side and addressed him.

�Now then, what�s happened to you?�Delrael swallowed several times before he

managed to speak. �My friends . . . allslaughtered by orcs. I escaped . . . hurtbad . . .�

�Well, didn�t you bother to care for yourwounds? How did you expect to gethealed?�

�No cleric . . . killed . . .��Bah! Who needs a cleric? That�s no way

to heal wounds. You won�t always have oneby your side � as you now know.�

�I tried to make bandages, from someclothing . . .�

�Humph! You call those bandages? Ithought they were a new style of body deco-

14 FEBRUARY 1984

. .

�Well, one thing�s for sure. Before you�rewell enough to leave here, you�re going tolearn how to help yourself when you�rewounded in a forest. And you better go out

them. And in my experience, humanfighters have never been too bright.�

Delrael held his tongue and kept sippingthe herbal brew. The more the womantalked, the less gruff her tone of voicebecame.

While he drank, the old woman contin-ued her scolding. �While you were thrash-ing about in the forest, you must havecrawled over every sort of herb you couldhave used to help yourself. When you stag-gered toward my door, you ended up fallingright on my best patch of comfrey. Anyonewho travels in the forest should know thathealing plants are all around � but youhave to know them and know how to use

to turn away from the foul-smelling stuff,which only made her more determined.�Drink! It�s a decoction of adder�s tongue �to help you heal quicker, get you out ofmy house.�

�It�s about time you woke up! Bloodrustand battlerot! You�d think all you have todo is go to sleep, and everything will be finewhen you decide to open your eyes. Here,drink this.� The old woman shoved a cup ofthe brown liquid at him.

Delrael frowned and instinctively started

. . . And awoke again, this time sur-prised to find himself stretched out on awooden cot. The old woman had peeled offhis armor, cleaned his wounds, and appliedsome sort of salve to them. Strange smellsassaulted his nostrils as he turned his eyestoward the smoky fireplace, where a pot ofclear brown liquid was bubbling andsteaming. Bunches of dried herbs dangledaround the mantle.

Delrael groaned and began to movetoward the old woman�s hut. He made italmost to the doorway before fainting. . . .

more vinegar in the face will get yougoing!�

. . . � Delrael gasped.�I�ll get you into my house � that�s the

best thing anyone could do for you now.Well, come on! You don�t expect these oldbones to carry you, do you? Maybe some

�Please help me . . . get me to a cleric

Now your wounds are infected, on top of allthe blood you lost.�

would havestrips of cloth.

clean your wounds? No! You should haveused mud for a bandage � itbeen cleaner than those filthy

slapped them on yourself? Did you even

ration � and they may as well be, for allthe good they�re doing! Did you soak thoserags in wine to clean them before you

and teach some others, too � I�ve gotenough to do without every beat-up warriorstaggering up to my door to have his hurtstended to. And you don�t have to worry �what I will teach you is not magic, and notthe work of the gods. It�s just ordinarycommon sense, as anybody�s grandmothercan tell you. It�s about time common sensebecame a little more common in these parts!Go to sleep now, so your brain won�t beaddled when we start our work.�

Over the next few days Delrael learnedquickly as he got stronger; he wanted toleave the old woman�s house almost asmuch as it seemed she wanted to get rid ofhim. Now it was examination time, and sheheld up leaves for him to identify

�Woundwort,� he said.�And this one?��Marsh-mallow. Comfrey. Herb true-

love.� Delrael rattled off the names asquickly as she thrust the plants into hisview.

�Ah,� she said, �there is room in thatthick skull of yours for a few brains after all.Now that you know how to tell what theimportant herbs are, this is how to gatherthem. For leaves, you must pick only thefreshest and greenest ones, and cast awaythose that have begun to wilt; if you mixthem in, they will weaken the healing powerof the fresh ones. Pick the leaves carefully tokeep from bruising them � save the heavy-handed maneuvers for when you�re swing-ing that mighty sword of yours.

�Pick leaves from plants that have not yetgone to seed, or even begun to flower, ifpossible. If you want to keep them with youfor when you aren�t in a forest � I knowyou fighter types like to creep about indungeons and caves and the like � thenyou must dry the leaves in the sunlight, notin the shade. When they are dried, do notlet them get wet again, and keep them outof the sunlight after that. Now, did youunderstand all that, so I don�t have torepeat myself any more?�

Delrael nodded.�Now, sometimes you will want to use

the flowers of a plant. Gather them in theirprime, and during full sunlight, for thenthey�ll be all the way opened and nottainted with dew. Dry these, too, in thesun, and they will hold their healing poweras long as they keep their smell and color.

�And last of all, you will want to useroots. Clean them before you use them � Iknow that�s only common sense, which iswhy I feel you need to be told. Don�t userotten or worm-eaten ones, either, andgather them during a dry spell if possible.

Dry out the soft roots in the sun, and thehard ones anywhere. Can you remember allof that?�

Delrael nodded again, anxiously this timebecause he felt the lessons were coming toan end.

�Fine. Now you only have one little taskleft � to memorize the ways that all theseherbs and plants can be used. If we�re bothlucky, you�ll be ready to leave here in just acouple weeks more.�

Delrael groaned. . . .

* * *

The twelve plants described in the follow-ing text are the most common and the mostpotent of all the herbs the old woman taughtDelrael about during his convalescence inher hut. If characters are actively searching

for healing herbs, the DM should assign a50% chance of locating any given plant (rollonce per hour of searching for each charac-ter involved), provided the search is beingconducted in the proper terrain for the plantbeing sought.

Even if this �chance to locate� roll issuccessful, there is a possibility that animproperly identified plant has been foundinstead. The chance of proper identificationof a certain plant is 80% for a characterwho has been specially instructed about theappearance of that plant, and only 20% fora character who has not had such instruc-tion. This identification roll is not necessaryfor garlic and juniper, both of which are soabundant (in the proper terrain) and sodistinctive that they cannot be mis-identified. At the DM�s option, the identifi-cation roll may be waived for druids, bards,

and rangers, who would always recognizethese plants without fail, thanks to theirtraining in their professions and/or theiradventuring experience.

If a character fails to properly identify anherb, he has found something similar inappearance but which may have vastlydifferent properties (as in the case of herbtrue-love). However, most �herb-imitators�are harmless, and recipients of �healing�will not usually be harmed if a characteradministers the wrong plant � but, obvi-ously, neither will the injured or woundedperson receive any of the sought-after heal-ing properties. Members of some races willreact differently to certain herbs; the DM,and any characters with extensive trainingin healing, should note the precautionsmentioned in some of the particular plantdescriptions.

AARON�S RODScientific name: Verbascum thapsiformeOther names: Great Mullein, King�s

Candle, Candlestick PlantAppearance: Aaron�s rod has many large,

pale silvery-green leaves that feel likesoft felt. These leaves surround a thick,tapered stalk of large flowers and smallerleaves, which grows to four or five feet inheight. According to tradition, this promi-nent spike of flowers was dipped in suet andthen burned as a ceremonial candle. Theflowers are bright yellow, bearing five petalseach. Aaron�s rod has a long, white, wood-like root.

Location: Aaron�s rod grows in rocky orclay soil, most often on sunny slopes, clifffaces, and terrain such as that found aroundrock quarries; sometimes it is found alongroads. The flowers appear in mid-summer.

Uses: Aaron�s rod is useful as a pain-killer. At least live flowers should becrushed and mixed with water or, betterstill, wine. This mixture is applied directlyto fresh wounds and will deaden the painfrom an injury.

Game effect: Since the pain itself is acritical part of an injury, this herb willrestore l-4 hit points immediately. These hitpoints will be lost again, however, withintwo hours � because the pain-killer hasworn off. Aaron�s rod can only restore hitpoints once every two hours; multiple appli-cations before the first application has wornoff are not cumulative.

Precautions: If a character uses this pain-killer to help him get back on his feet andfight again while still wounded, he will losean additional 1-4 hit points when the solu-tion wears off because he has aggravated hisinjuries in the meantime.

ADDER�S-TONGUEScientific name: Ophioglossum vulgatumAppearance: Adder�s-tongue has one

large leaf, at the base of which rises a thinstalk covered with tiny bumps or knobs; on

closer inspection, this stalk is seen to be aspike of tiny, yellowish-green flowers.

Location: Adder�s-tongue grows in moistmeadows and shady clearings. It is mosteasily found in late spring.

Uses: This herb is used as a secondarytreatment, to help wounded charactersregain strength. Use four fresh leavessteeped in boiling water to make a potenttea which can be drunk three times a day.This helps reduce inflammation associatedwith wounds, and restores strength. Also,an ointment can be made by boiling thecut-up leaves in hog�s fat and then strainingout the sediment. This ointment is soothingand promotes rapid healing, so much sothat it has been called the �green oil ofcharity.�

Game effect: A character recuperatingfrom injuries normally receives one hitpoint per day of rest. However, conva-lescing with the aid of adder�s-tongue willallow a wounded character to regain 1-3 hitpoints per day (roll separately each day).Using the ointment made from adder�s-tongue will restore 1-2 hit points immedi-ately per application, but it can only beadministered to the same character once aday.

BIRTHWORTScientific name: Aristolochia clematitisAppearance: Birthwort is a bushy climb-

ing vine that can grow to about three feet inheight. The leaves are rounded and heart-shaped with a deep cleft at the top; theleaves are set on long stems. The flowersare thin and yellow, and tubular in shape.

Location: Birthwort grows wild alonghedges and fences, and in thickets exposedto the sun. It flowers in mid-summer.

Uses: This herb has been used frequentlyall over the world. The Greeks and Romansvalued it highly, using the leaves and rootsboiled briefly to make a poultice which theyplaced on wounds that were healing poorly.The snake charmers of India and NorthAfrica claim that the juice of the birthwortwill instantly kill a snake, and if the juice is

DRAGON 15

rubbed into a snake bite, it will help neu-tralize the venom.

Game effect: If the leaves and stems ofthis herb are crushed to make a juice, andthis juice is promptly (within 1 round)applied to a poisonous bits or sting, thecharacter receives an additional +2 on hissaving throw against the poison. This effectonly works once on any particular poisonattack. Using a poultice made from birth-

wort will insure that wounds will heal prop-erly, without complications; the woundedcharacter will regain one extra hit point perday for the first two days after application,and then will heal normally thereafter.

Precautions: All non-human charactershave a 20% chance of suffering an adversereaction to this herb. If a wounded charac-ter reacts badly to birthwort, he will becometemporarily paralyzed. This paralysis is sosevere that is indistinguishable (by sight)from death, and it will last for 1-8 roundsbeginning 2 rounds after application of theherb. This effect of birthwort is not com-mon knowledge; even characters who arefamiliar with birthwort have only a 50%chance of knowing about this side effectbefore they experience it or witness it.

COMFREYScientific name: Symphytum officinaleOther name: Healing HerbAppearance: Comfrey has large, hairy

green leaves, and hairy stalks which cangrow to 2-3 feet in height. The stalks arehollow, and the leaves have a gummy resinwhich is apparent if the leaves are chewedgently. At the tops of the stalks are small,bell-shaped flowers of a violet, or occasion-ally white, color that bear tiny black seeds.Comfrey has a large root system; its rootsare black on the outside and white on theinside. The roots are brittle and are filledwith a clear, nearly tasteless sap.

Location: Comfrey grows by ditches,watersheds, and moist fields. The plantflowers in mid-summer and goes to seed inlate summer.

Uses: This herb can be employed as bothan immediate first aid and a secondarytreatment. Almost all of the parts of this�wonder weed� can be used. The root ismost effective on fresh wounds � clean one

out, then bind it up against the fresh injury.This will bring about rapid healing. Simi-larly, the root dried and powdered can be

root, bruise it so that the clear sap flows

to form a tea, or mix the flowers and severalleaves with wine, and drink the liquid twicea day.

as a strength-restorer, boil a dozen flowers

Game effect: If comfrey root is appliedimmediately to a wound, roll ld4 to see howmany hit points the wounded character�never lost in the first place� and subtractthis number from the damage done. Ifcomfrey is used as a tea or mixed with wineduring recuperation, it has the same quali-ties as adder�s-tongue (see above).

G A R L I C Scientific name: Allium sativumAppearance: Garlic has long, hollow

leaves, dark green in color, on top of whichappear large, spherical clusters of tiny whiteflowers. The entire plant has a very strongsmell, which becomes doubly apparent ifthe leaves are crushed. Garlic is so wellknown and so easily identified by its distinc-tive smell that characters will always locateand identify it correctly if they search for itin an area containing suitable terrain.

Location: Other than in its garden habi-tat, garlic often grows on damp grounds, inmeadows, and in sparse forests. The clusterof flowers appears in early to mid-summer.

sprinkled on a fresh wound. To use the herb

(either fresh or dried) along with the leaves

Uses: Crushed garlic cloves, or dilutedgarlic juice, makes a strong antiseptic � sopotent that garlic was used, along withsphagnum moss (see below), in field hospi-tals during World War I when other sup-plies ran short. Garlic also eases bites andstings from venomous creatures, and it canact as an insect repellent.

Game effect: The antiseptic properties ofgarlic are such that a wound will heal morerapidly, and without chance of infection.Wounded characters will recover 2 hitpoints per day for the first three days afterapplication. If garlic is used as an insectrepellent, the juice must be rubbed gener-ously over exposed body parts. This repel-lent has a 50% chance of working againstattacking insects, giant or otherwise. If usedto ease bites and stings, garlic juice can beused one time per injury to restore 1 hit

point that was lost from either the bite/stingor the poisonous effect of that attack.

Precautions: Garlic has a bad reputationamong herbal healers. Some claim it is adangerous plant with many supernaturalproperties. However, in AD&D lore it isreally only directly harmful to vampires.But if garlic is used for any remedy, espe-cially as an insect repellent, the strong odormay give away the presence of the characterusing it and increase the chance of attract-ing wandering monsters.

HENBANEScientific name: Hyoscyamus nigerAppearance: Henbane has large, thick,

soft leaves covered with hair and deeply cut.These leaves lie near the ground. Henbanealso has many short and thick stalks, spreadwith branches bearing smaller leaves. Thesestalks have hollow yellow flowers with largesepals covering much of the petals; thepetals are laced with purple veins. Theflowers bear tiny gray seeds. The root isthick and branched, much like a parsniproot. The plant has a heavy, offensive smell.

Location: Henbane grows in clearingsand along paths. It flowers throughout mostof the summer.

Uses: This herb is a potent pain-killer,

16 FEBRUARY 1984

deadening virtually all discomfort from awound. Boil the leaves, seeds, or rootstogether in a small amount of water andapply as a poultice.

Game effect: Henbane applied to aninjured character will immediately restore1-6 hit points, similar to the effect ofAaron�s rod; however, only 1-4 of these hit

points will �wear off� two hours later (alongwith the pain-killing effects), so the charac-ter has a chance of regaining more than justtemporary hit points. If a characterattempts to fight or engage in other strenu-ous activity while being affected by hen-bane, he will do so as if he were moderatelyintoxicated (as defined on page 82 of theDungeon Masters Guide), because of thenumbing effects of the drug. When usedagainst fever, henbane will restore 1 point oflost strength and constitution per day; thistreatment can be used daily until the victimhas fully recovered.

Precautions: Henbane is very poisonousif taken internally: If ingested in any formand any amount, the herb will cause 2-12points of poison damage (save for half dam-age) in the round following ingestion, andthe affected character will be unconsciousfor 3-6 turns thereafter. This herb also hashallucinogenic properties that may affect thecharacter who prepares a poultice. Whileboiling the henbane plant, the character hasa 40% chance of inhaling fumes that willact as a hallucinogen. If this happens, theDM may moderate the effects or, optionally,roll d6 to determine what happens: 1-2, thecharacter sees imaginary enemies in thedistance and runs off to fight them; 3-4, hebecomes unaware of his surroundings andrefuses to respond to any stimulus; 5-6, hesees other party members as enemies andattacks them immediately. The hallucino-genic effect will last for 1-6 rounds.

HERB TRUE-LOVEScientific name: Paris quadrifoliaOther names: Herb Paris, One-BerryAppearance: Herb true-love has a small

creeping root just below the surface of theground, from which spring clusters ofleaves, some of which have one star-like

white flower or one blackish-purple berry. Aleaf has four leaflets set at right angles toeach other, in a cross pattern.

Location: Herb true-love grows in woodsand copses, sometimes on the borders offields. Clusters of leaves appear in mid-spring; berries are ripe in late spring.

Uses: This herb is useful as an antidotefor poisons and as an antiseptic. If poison issuspected in a wound, the victim should eatat least three berries of herb true-love, orsomehow ingest several leaves, either byeating them raw or (more effective) mixedwith wine or as a tea. To speed healing andprevent infection in a wound, crush theleaves and use them to clean wounds, orboil four leaves in a small amount of waterand use the broth so obtained as an antisep-tic wash to rinse or soak wounds.

Game effect: The use of herb true-lovewill add +2 to saving throws vs. poison, +3for halflings and dwarves, if it is ingested orapplied to the affected area (depending onthe type of poison) within 2 rounds of whenthe poisoning took place. As an antisepticwash, herb true-love can be used once perinjury to restore one hit point to a woundedcharacter.

Precautions: If a character searches forherb true-love and fails to identify it prop-erly, he has found another plant that looksvery similar but is deadly: nightshade. If apoisoned character ingests nightshade as aremedy, he must make another saving throwvs. poison (in addition to the saving throwthat was already required). Failure to makethe save vs. nightshade means death; mak-ing the save means no damage. Nightshadewill be harmless and ineffective if appliedexternally.

JUNIPER BERRYScientific name: Juniperis communisAppearance: Juniper is a bush with thick

branches bearing short, scale-like needlessimilar to pine needles. The bark is roughand has a shredded appearance, and theentire bush is very fragrant. Clusters ofberries are green in the first year of theirgrowth, and turn dark purple when theyripen the following year. Each berry has astrong, distinctive taste. Like garlic, juniperis so well known that characters will auto-matically be able to locate it and identify itproperly if they are seraching for it inappropriate terrain.

Location: Juniper grows upon heaths andin sparse forests. It is an evergreen.

Uses: Juniper berries help to counteractall forms of poison, but not so effectively asherb true-love (see above). Most impor-tantly, juniper is a powerful stimulant forthose who are severely wounded and neardeath. If a character is able to, or can beforced to, eat two juniper berries, he maygain the strength to fight off some of theeffects of shock.

Game effect: If a character is brought tozero or fewer hit points, and is unconscious,the stimulant effect of juniper berries willadd 1-4 hit points to the character�s total,

18 FEBRUARY 1984

engage in any other strenuous activity untilhe has rested long enough to regain asmany more hit points as he �artificially�got back from the juniper. (Note, however,that hit points restored by juniper berries donot �fade,� as with Aaron�s rod.) If used asan antidote to poison, juniper berries will

revived in this manner cannot fight or

possibly bringing him back to conscious-ness, or at least out of a coma. A character

like jelly when mixed with water.Location: Marsh-mallow grows abun-

dantly in salt marshes, and in damp mead-ows near the seashore. It flowers during allthe summer months.

Uses: This herb is effective both as animmediate treatment for burns, and also asa secondary cure for those severely weak-ened from loss of blood. The root is used forboth applications: smash it, then dip thepulp into boiling water and use it as a poul-tice, binding it up against fresh burns. Or,crush the root and boil it in a pot of wateruntil one third of the original water in thepot has boiled away, then drink this decoc-tion once a day to help recovery from severeblood loss.

Game effect: Used as a poultice forburns, marsh-mallow speeds healing to suchan extent that a character will receive 2 hitpoints per day for each of the first threedays of rest following application, and will

decoction is used to help counter the effectsof blood loss, the victim will regain l-3 hitpoints per day (as with Adder�s Tongue andcomfrey) instead of the usual one hit point.

recuperate normally-thereafter. When the

ST.-JOHN�S-WORTScientific name: Hypericum perforatumOther name: All Saints� WortAppearance: St.-John�s-Wort grows about

knee-high, on hard, wood-like stalks. Theleaves are smooth and oval, appearing inpairs from opposite sides of the stems sothat they form a shape similar to a figure-eight. The leaves have very tiny holes, likepin-pricks, in them, which are visible onlywhen the leaf is held up to the light. St. -John�s-Wort bears large yellow flowers withfive petals; the petals, when bruised, yield areddish, resinous juice. The flowers bearsmall blackish seeds. The root is hard andwood-like and brownish in color.

Location: St.-John�s-Wort is found inshady woods and copses, and also at theedges of forests. It flowers in mid-summer,and bears seeds by the end of the season.

MARSH-MALLOW

Appearance: The marsh-mallow has soft,hairy white stalks that can grow up to 3-4feet in height and have many branches. Thewide leaves are soft and hairy, with serratededges. The plant has many large pinkflowers with purple centers, and an exten-sive system of long roots that are pliant andtough, whitish-yellow in color. The roots arefilled with a clear, slimy juice that thickens

Scientific name: Althaea officinalisOther names: Mortification Root, Sweet

Weed

an uncontrollable attraction to the firstmember of the opposite sex that the charac-ter sees. The object of the character�s attrac-tion may be of any race as long as the elf�sor half-elf�s normal preference for that raceis not hostile to begin with. This effect willwear off in 2-8 rounds, and does not negatethe other, beneficial effects that the juniperberries will bring. An infatuated charactermay be too weak to do anything about thefeeling, but will feel it nonetheless.

a saving-throw vs. poison or be affected byone juniper berry, that character must make

Precautions: Juniper berries may have astrange effect on elves and half-elves. If amember of either of those races eats even

add +1 to a victim�s saving throw if they areeaten within 2 rounds of the poisoning.

(within 2 rounds) to an injury, woundwort

ness from blood loss. The wounded charac-ter will immediately regain 20% (rounddown) of the hit points he would have lostfrom the damage of the injury, reflecting theblood loss that �never took place.�

Precautions: While woundwort will al-ways stop bleeding and benefit its user asdescribed above, dwarves will sometimessuffer an adverse reaction to it. If wound-wort is used on a dwarven character, he hasa 25% chance of becoming temporarily (1-6rounds) blinded.

** *

oldDespite her words to the contrary, thewoman seemed rather downcast whenDelrael made ready to leave her hut.

�Now, my young fighter,� she said, �youknow how to care for yourself without theaid of a cleric.� She wagged a finger at him.�Just think of those who struggle to survivein worlds where no magic exists.�

�I have heard stories of such worlds,�Delrael answered, �but I always thoughtthem to be no more than fantasies.�

The old woman began puttering with herherbs, looking away so he did not see thesadness in her eyes. �Ah, but one man�sfantasy is another man�s reality. Don�tdoubt it.�

Delrael thought about that as he went offinto the forest.

Game effect: If a tincture of St.-John�s-Wort is applied immediately (within 2rounds) to a wound, roll ld4 to see howmany hit points the victim �never lost inthe first place� and subtract this numberfrom the damage suffered. When the brothis drunk as an antidote to venom within 2rounds of the time of poisoning, the pow-dered seeds will add +1 to the victim�s sav-ing throw against the poison.

Uses: The oil from fresh flowers is espe-cially good for healing wounds; boil a dozenflowers in wine to make a tincture to beapplied to injuries. This will help closewounds and help heal bruises. A teaspoonof powdered seeds drunk in a broth helps tocombat the effects of venom.

Uses: When sterilized, this moss is anideal dressing for wounds; two ounces of itcan absorb up to two pounds of liquid.Sphagnum moss must be collected before-hand to be used, then cleaned and dried,

Scientific name: Sphagnum cymbifoliumOther names: Bog moss, peat mossAppearance: Sphagnum moss is a pale

green in color, although it may turn yellow-ish or reddish. It consists of many tinybranches of leaves tangled into a clump ofmoss which grows into large cushions. Ithas no roots, but absorbs water directlythrough its leaves; this absorbent qualitymakes it almost as effective as a sponge.

Location: Sphagnum moss is found inwet, boggy spots. Sometimes the moss is sothick that it may appear to be solid ground �until someone steps on it and gets wetfeet.

SPHAGNUM MOSS

and stored loosely in cloth bags.Game effect: Getting a proper dressing

on a wound is one of the most importantsteps in healing. If an injury is bound upwith clean sphagnum moss, the victim willheal 25% more quickly; that is, lost hitpoints will be regained at the rate of fourevery three days, with that �extra� pointregained on the first day of the three-dayperiod. The dressing must be changed afterthree days and replaced with fresh moss inorder to keep receiving this quick-healingbenefit.

WOUNDWORTScientific name: Stachys palustrisOther names: Clown�s woundwort,

downy woundwort, marsh woundwortAppearance: Woundwort has rough,

slender green stalks, up to two feet high,bearing long and narrow dark green leavescovered with fine hairs. The leaves are

ofpointed, with jagged edges. The flowerswound-wort are large and purplish-red,with white spots. The roots are long andstringy with small tubers growing amongthem. The plant has a strong, acrid smell.

Location: Woundwort grows in or nearditches, or by the sides of paths and infields. The marsh woundwort, identical inhealing properties, grows in marshy areas.The plant flowers in mid-summer.

Uses: This herb is very effective as animmediate treatment for all wounds, espe-cially deep cuts such as those produced fromsword thrusts. Woundwort is a remarkablestyptic, staunching bleeding almost immedi-ately and quickening the coagulation ofblood to form scabs. To use it, bind enoughfresh leaves up against the wound to form adressing, or steep the leaves in hot waterand apply them as a poultice.

Game effect: If applied immediately

will stop bleeding and prevent further weak-

DRAGON 19

Enhancing the enchanterChanges and additions to DRAGONQUEST� rulesby Craig Barrett

Of the twelve initial Magical Colleges inthe DRAGONQUEST� game system, theCollege of Ensorcelments and Enchant-ments is my favorite. So it makes me just abit unhappy to realize that it�s also theweakest of the twelve. In the interest of fairplay � and not just because one of myfavorite Primary Characters is an En-chanter � this article proposes a few minorchanges, as well as a couple of major ones,in the DRAGONQUEST magic rules thatwill rectify this state of affairs.

Is the case on behalf of Enchanters over-stated? Consider that while spells 36.T-1,38.T-1, and 46.T-1 are all called �Witch-sight,� the Enchanter�s version of that Tal-ent is the least powerful of the three, and itis the only Talent available to Enchanters.And that 36.G-4, �Spell of Walking Un-seen,� is less potent than its namesakes,43.G-5, 44.G-9, and 46.G-3. And thatEnchanters have only a single spell that inand of itself inflicts damage. �Poison Dust�(36.Q-4) can potentially cause damage, butit�s a ritual, it�s exorbitantly expensive forlow-Ranked Adepts, and it isn�t all thatuseful. These are just a few examples. OnlyNamers are as weak as Enchanters, andthey have some compensating advantages.

All of which are marvelous, if prejudiced,excuses for this article.

Actually, the changes proposed herearen�t all that radical. With two exceptions,they�re all either clarifications or extrapola-tions already implied by the game rulesthemselves or by supplemental materials.Here goes:

�Concentration� spellsThe question arises: Can an Adept invest

(by Rule 32.3) a spell into an object whenthe duration of that spell is governed by theconcentration of the Adept? Yes, he can,because in the supplement The Palace ofOntoncle (page 4) the character Loklar hasa medallion invested with 42.S-4, �Web ofFire,� a spell that has a duration of �Con-centration.� So, Enchanters can invest spells36.G-7, �Mass Charming,� and 36.S-5, �Web of Entanglement.� And, logically, thisadvantage has to be extended to members ofthe other Colleges as well. But Enchantersdo realize some benefit.

As to what the duration of such spellsshould be (separated as they are from theactual concentration of the Adept), wheremaximums are given, as in �Web,� themaximum duration applies and is subject todeliberate reduction by the Adept himself.Where no maximums are given � 14 sepa-rate spells in the first 12 Colleges fall intothis category � the maximum can be deter-

20 FEBRUARY 1984

A necessary condition of allowing theinvesting of Rule 84 spells is that Adepts ofall the Colleges must have absolute controlover the number of spell-charges they investin an object. An Adept can�t exceed thelimitations of Rule 32.3, paragraph 3;however, he can invest as few charges as hepleases, because if investing a major curse(84.4) into an object is going to cost him adecrease in his Endurance value for each

�Charge� control

This kind of modification should be usedon all aspects of all spells covered under thisrule.

Investing rules, 32.3 and 84.2-84.5On the subject of investment, here�s

another extrapolation: The spells listedunder Rules 32.3 and 84.2-84.5 can, gener-ally, be invested in objects, using 32.3, justlike any other spells (see 84.1). �Death-curse,� listed under 84.4, isn�t covered bythis rule, since the dying Adept isn�t goingto live long enough to go through an Invest-ment Ritual. (See Rule 75, paragraph 20for how a Deathcurse should be used, whichin ultimate effect isn�t so different frominvestment.) On the other hand, �Geas�(84.2) merely needs a change in its Rangequalification in order to work as an investedspell. Here, it�s the person rather than thecaster who must be within communicatingdistance of the object in which the geas hasbeen invested, and must be clearly able tosee it. The geas, still couched in 25 words orless, is considered to communicate itself tothe person through a kind of extra-sensoryperception, which the person hears as audi-ble words. The geas will have been investedwith a number of charges equal to theAdept�s Rank with the Investment Ritual(32.3), and each person who is �spoken to�by the geas in this fashion will exhaust onecharge. When all the charges are exhausted,the invested object no longer contains thegeas.

mined by comparing the spell with other,similar spells for which a maximum dura-tion is given. Thus, 36.G-7, �Mass Charm-ing,� should be compared to 36.G-1 and39.S-1, �Spell of Charming.� Both of thelatter spells have a multiple of one hour, andare targeted at a single entity. �MassCharming� can be targeted at several enti-ties, so it�s reasonable to assume that itsduration as an invested spell should berelatively shorter, perhaps �½ hour + ½hour per Rank.� In any case, the durationshould be specified at the time of invest-ment, not at the time of use, with theGamemaster�s judgment final.

charge he invests, he�s going to want tocontrol exactly how many charges he�sinvesting. This ability is part of the Invest-ment Ritual (32.3) and not something thathas to be separately learned.

Activation instructionsActivation instructions are a vital part of

investment. It�s fairly clear from Rules 32.3and 32.4 that two different sorts of activa-tion instructions are possible, one for spellsand one for Wards. Instructions for spellsimply deliberate intent on the part of theperson who activates the spell. Instructionsfor Wards imply lack of intent on the part ofthe person who activates the Ward. In prac-tice, however, the distinctions tend to get alittle blurred. For example, an Enchantermight protect his strongbox by investing itwith 36.G-8, �Spell of Invisibility,� with theinstruction to activate if someone ap-proaches within five feet unless that personutters a special word that prevents activa-tion. The spell is still activated by the delib-erate action of a person who approaches,but now possesses the characteristics of aWard, in that the person did not intend toactivate the spell.

Spell instructions are less detailed thanWard instructions. A Ward might be set toactivate only when a particular personenters or exits, but a spell can never be sospecifically personalized. Exactly how trickyan Adept can get with his spell instructionsdepends on his Investment Ritual Rank andon the GM�s discretion. The GM mightrequire a Rank of 5 for an Enchanter whowants to invest 36.S-7, �Enhance Enchant-ment,� but who also wants to wait until themoment of activation before he decideswhich characteristic the spell will enhance.But, the desire to activate with a singlewhisper or gesture might be allowed atRank 2.

Ward instructions require a much lowerRank in order to be sophisticated. Primar-ily, Rank will extend sophistication ratherthan enhance it. For example, an Adeptwho creates a Ward might be allowed tospecify that its effect be delayed for 1 min-ute per Rank of the Adept. Or, a Wardmight be restricted from attacking specifiedindividuals (1 person per Rank of theAdept), but this instruction would endureonly one hour per Rank and then the Wardwould attack anyone who triggered it.

GMs ought to allow for great flexibilitywhen players set up activation instructions.Remember, this is a kind of �verbal short-hand� in which a single word or gesture willmean just exactly what the Adept wants itto mean.

A full 10-hour Preparation Ritual mustprecede two full 10-hour Investment Rituals(one for each counterspell) for a total of 30hours expended, with one of the ritualsperformed on each of three successive days.The result is a permanent charm in theform of a ring that adds to the wearer�sMagic Resistance against the spells of theAdept�s College a number of points equal to

[32.5] An Adept of any College can createan amulet against the magic of his ownCollege by investing both of his College�scounterspells into a single object.

What are these rings, and who can con-trol them? Obviously, each ring is a kind ofamulet, similar in nature to the amuletscreated by the �Special Alchemy� Talent(46.T-3). As to who created them, the an-swer to this question leads to another ruleextrapolation, added to Rule 32, �SpecialMagical Preparations� :

In The Palace of Ontoncle, on page 20,three rings are described, each magicallyendowed as a charm against spells of theCollege of Fire Magics. Since counterspellscome in pairs (Rule 31.3), each ring musthave two spells in it. A single ring adds +5to the Magic Resistance of whoever is wear-ing it, and an individual can benefit fromthe protection of only one ring at a time.But no limit is given on the number of timesa ring can protect its wearer, so �spellcharges� cannot be involved.

Anti-magic charms the Adept�s Rank in whichever counterspellof his College his Rank is lowest in,providing the Adept has at least an equalRank with the Investment Ritual. As withthe Ontoncle rings, the effects of wearingmore than one ring are not cumulative. Acharacter can benefit from the protection ofonly one such ring at a time � from thestrongest, if the other rings protect againstthe same College, or from the first one puton, if any of them protect against differentColleges. (See Rule 31.3, paragraph 7.) Aring-amulet is effective if worn on a chaininstead of on a finger, but not if carried in apouch.

Cost: The rings in Ontoncle are worth2,000 Silver Pennies (SPs), but a largeportion of that value would be for the rubieswith which they are adorned. The rubies,by the way, would have no effect on the useof the rings, the coincidence of their colorand their anti-fire effects simply a conceit oftheir creator or a convenient means ofidentifying them. A bare ring would weighabout two ounces (maximum weight for aring), would have a high platinum content,and would cost about 50 SPs � part of theprice would be due to craftsmanship andmerchant�s mark-up. On each of the threedays of the ritual, the Adept would have toexpend material worth 30 SPs x the ring�sultimate Rank. A ring-amulet offering +5protection would therefore cost 50 + 450,SPs, or 500 SPs all told.

Adepts of the College of Naming Incanta-

tions can create ring-amulets against themagic of any College, and are unique inthis respect.

GMs should treat this formula as SpecialKnowledge. It is not properly speaking aritual of its own, and it has no ExperienceMultiple.

Invest a ritual?Ritual Spell Preparation (Rule 32.1) is a

very valuable piece of Special Knowledge,but its use is somewhat restricted. Can it bemade more flexible? Yes: Any Adept withRank 10+ in Investment Ritual (32.3), orany Enchanter with Rank 5+ in InvestmentRitual and Rank 5+ in 36.S-7, �EnhanceEnchantment,� can invest Ritual SpellPreparation into an object as if the ritualitself were a spell.

The procedure requires two Adepts ofappropriate Ranks and compatible Collegesworking together. While one is performingthe Ritual of Preparation, the other per-forms the Ritual of Investment in an adjoin-ing room, compartment or area. Themoment both rituals are complete � andthey must be completed within one minuteof each other � one �charge� of SpellPreparation is invested in a given object.This �charge� will contain up to +30 BaseChance points (�3 for each hour spent in thecombined ritual, up to a maximum of 10hours), and will be retained in that objectfor up to 10 days at full potency, at whichtime the charge will dissipate instantly.

DRAGON 21

In effect, the object has been turned intoa �storage battery� so that the Ritual Prep-aration can be executed ahead of time andits effects saved for when they�re needed.The process is similar to that used by thecharacter Aestus in the DRAGONQUESTsupplement The Blade of Allectus (page 8)to store magical energies equivalent to 30Fatigue points in his oaken-wood staff. Andjust as that staff is of use only to Aestus, sothis object is of use only to the person thetwo Adepts designate at the time of prepara-tion, which can be one of the two of them orsomeone else entirely, so long as the desig-nated person was in the presence of oneAdept or the other during the entire com-bined ritual.

When the �charge� is activated by thedesignated person, the points are applied tothe Base Chance of any spell he casts in thesame pulse. (See Rule 33, paragraph 2:When the character uses a full pulse in PassAction to prepare a spell, part of the prepa-ration is the activation of this �storagebattery,� so that in the next pulse both thespell and the �storage battery� will operatetogether. Activation instructions for the�battery� must therefore be very simple.)

In the process of the rituals, the twoAdepts will each expend 100 SPs worth ofnon-recoverable materials.

GMs should treat this procedure asslightly less well-known than the InvestmentRitual (32.3); that is, Adepts will be in aposition to learn that this can be done whenthey reach about Rank 5 in that ritual.

All the modifications and extrapolationsproposed so far have been of benefit to allAdepts, not just to Enchanters. But En-chanters, logically enough, have a specialconcern with enchantment (Rule 36), so it�sreasonable to give them a few special ad-vantages in the area of enchantments andinvestments, such as these:

For example, can cold iron ever be usedas an object of investment, providing it isn�ttouched during the Investment Ritual?Read Rule 29.1 carefully (italics by theauthor): �A character may never prepare aspell or engage in ritual magic while in

Investing cold iron

physical contact with cold iron. . . . Theamount of cold iron that will prevent anAdept from using his powers is relativelysmall, but not minute. . . . The Adeptmust be in direct contact with cold iron forthis stricture to apply. . . . An Adeptcannot prepare a spell, use the special tal-ents of his College, or perform RitualMagic while wearing armor made of coldiron or holding weapons or tools made ofcold iron . . . .� And finally, the second-to-last sentence of the rule: �A character isnot protected from the effects of magic bywearing cold iron.�

The intent of the designers is clear: Coldiron inhibits magic, to keep it from arisingfrom its source (the Adept), but does notaffect magic once it has arisen! Thus, thespells for enchanting weapons and the spells

for enchanting armor can be used to en-chant cold-iron weapons and armor, not justneutralized cold iron. But also rememberthat Rule 56.3 requires a mechanician tosilver a trap before it can be invested. Coldiron can accept the effects of an enchant-ment; however, when it comes to being the�surrogate source� of a spell, the non-neutralized cold iron even inhibits itself. So,under normal circumstances cold iron can-not be invested with a spell unless it is firstneutralized.

Two pieces of evidence have yet to beheard, though: Rule 29.1 states that �a fewounces� of cold iron is enough to inhibit allbut racial Talent Magic; and, under �Spe-cial Alchemy,� 46.T-3, the sixth amulet is�of Iron.� Obviously, Adepts of the Collegeof Black Magics can use cold iron in work-ing magic. And if a member of one of theother Colleges can do that, then En-chanters, with their special affinity forenchantment, ought to be able to do that aswell.

So let�s be generous and assume that �afew ounces� is four ounces, and that somequantity less than four ounces � say, threeounces or less � not only won�t inhibitmagic but also can itself be used for magic,provided one has the right formula.

The Adepts of Black Magic have oneformula; the Enchanters have another one,which goes like this: An Enchanter firstinvests the spell �Enhance Enchantment�(36.S-7) into a non-metallic item � perhapsa piece of cloth. An object made of (non-neutralized) cold iron is then rested on thecloth while the Enchanter performs a full10-hour Investment Ritual, using the spellof his choice and with no penalty because ofthe cold iron. During the ritual, one chargeof �Enhance Enchantment� is activated. Ifthe ritual succeeds, the cold-iron object isinvested with the chosen spell at -20 to theBase Chance but +1 to the Base Chance perRank of the �Enhance Enchantment� spell.

The procedure is a little lengthy, but canbe very rewarding, particularly since onlyone �Enhance Enchantment� charge wasused and the enchanted cloth can be em-ployed at once for another cold-iron object.This formula has no cost other than that ofthe non-metallic and cold-iron objects used.GMs should treat this formula as moder-ately restricted. The knowledge that En-chanters can do this at all should be highlyscarce among non-Enchanters.

Note: Spells can be invested in neutral-ized cold iron. Except for the case of Rule56.3, however, the Cast Chance is penalizedas described in Rule 29.1, numbered sec-tion #3.

The wyvern-horn amuletHave you ever wanted to be able to de-

tect the presence of magic before you stum-ble into it? An Enchanter, using thisformula, can make it possible to do justthat. And this formula doesn�t break any ofthe DRAGONQUEST rules, though it maybend one or two of them.

The formula is based on the fact that

22 FEBRUARY 1984

while a wyvern (see the rulebook, page 115)doesn�t know any magic, it can obtainmagical items and so must have some kindof affinity for, or attraction to, magic.Neither a picture nor a detailed descriptionof the wyvern is offered, which makes itpossible to suppose that the wyvern has asmall, backward-curving horn growing nearthe tip of its snout. It�s in this horn that thewyvern�s affinity for magic is centered; and,on the principle of Sympathetic Magic, anEnchanter can use this horn to create anamulet that can be used to detect magicalauras.

The horn itself shouldn�t be enormouslydifficult to obtain, since wyvern horn hasrecognized medicinal properties in additionto its little-known magical-detection proper-ties. A horn of the proper size will costabout 1,000 SPs. But to be of any magicaluse, the horn must have been cut from aliving wyvern, since the trauma of deathdestroys its affinity. About 40% of the hornsbeing sold will have come from livingwyverns. (The �horn� is actually made upof horny hair fibers growing out from theskin, just like the horn of the rhinoceros;and experienced hunters know that if thewyvern is left alive in the wild after its hornand poison are harvested, in about a yearits quickly growing horn can be harvestedagain.) An Enchanter can easily tellwhether a horn has been cut from a livingor a dead wyvern, simply by holding thehorn in his hand.

Once the wyvern horn is obtained, theEnchanter uses it to create an amulet byperforming the �Ritual of Creating Crystalof Vision� (36.Q-2), using the horn in placeof a piece of crystal. This takes about threehours, and the total cost of creating theamulet is the cost of the horn plus the costof the ambergris used, in all about 2,000SPs.

The amulet can be employed in twoways. In the simplest procedure, a characterholds the amulet in his hand and reciteswhatever activating phrase the Enchanterhas built into the amulet. For one minutethereafter, the character will be able torecognize any magical aura � spell, Ward,amulet, etc. � within his field of vision,providing he continues to hold the amulet,though he will be unable to distinguish thenature of the magic (the kind of spell orWard it is, its purpose, how it�s triggered,etc.). This procedure can used one timeeach day, +1 time per Rank the Enchanterhas with the �Ritual of Creating Crystal ofVision.�

In the second procedure, the Enchanterperforms an Investment Ritual (Rule 32.3)on the amulet and invests it with �Wizard�sEye Spell� (36. S-10). When this spell isactivated, the character will not only be ableto recognize magical auras as in the firstprocedure, but if he has the Witchsighttalent (36.T-1, 38.T-1, or 46.T-1, but notthe 44.G-7 spell) he can also learn some-thing about the nature of the magic. Base

Chance for success in this is the same as theAdept�s normal Base Chance with Witch-sight, with no penalty for failure. If theAdept succeeds, the GM should tell him onefact about the magical aura he is investigat-ing, such as the name of the spell or Wardinvolved, or its effects, or its activationinstructions, or what College is involved(and whether General or Special Knowl-edge), etc. Exactly what piece of informa-tion the success yields is up to the GM. TheAdept has only one opportunity to learn onefact about each magical aura he investigateswhile the �Wizard�s Eye Spell� is in effect.Using a second �Wizard�s Eye Spell,� hecan re-investigate auras he failed to learnanything about, but he can learn nothingnew about auras that he has already suc-ceeded in investigating.

GMs should treat this formula as not verywidely known, about as difficult for anEnchanter to obtain as the �Wizard�s EyeSpell� itself � and even less well-known tonon-Enchanters. The availability of appro-priate wyvern horns can also be restricted.

An attendant danger in carrying awyvern-horn amulet is that wyverns tend tonotice such things and then react in anunfavorable manner. In fact, it�s not impos-sible that a wyvern�s trove of magical itemscould contain a wyvern-horn amulet takenfrom some unwary and unfortunate Adept.

Gryphon-fur amuletAnother amulet that Enchanters can

DRAGON 23

make also follows the principle of Sympa-thetic Magic: Since gryphons (see the rule-book, page 109) have a talent for locatingburied treasure, they can �contribute� akey ingredient for an amulet that can beused in treasure hunting. This key ingredi-ent is a lock of fur taken from the gryphon�schest � specifically, the black lock thatalways grows nearest the heart. Since thedeath-trauma would destroy the magicalvalue of the lock, it must be taken from thechest of a living gryphon, and if this is doneit will grow back in about 18 months.

Once the lock is obtained � on the openmarket its cost will vary but should never beless than 1,500 SPs � the Enchanter uses itto make an amulet by performing the �Rit-ual of Creating Crystal of Vision� (36.Q-2),using the lock in place of a piece of crystal.This takes about three hours, and the totalcost of creating the amulet, including thelock of gryphon fur, the other materials forthe amulet, and the ambergris that isburned, is at least 3,000 SPs. When theamulet is completed, the Enchanter theninvests it with the �Spell of Location�(36.Q-6), which can be used in the normalfashion.

The treasure-hunting aspect of this amu-let depends on the presence of the �Spell ofLocation� but does not require the use ofany of that spell�s charges. So long as asingle charge of the spell is present in theamulet, the treasure-hunting aspect willwork. When the last charge has been used,

The primary use of this amulet is todiscover hidden treasure troves within alimited environment, such as a palace, acastle, a lair, and so forth. Should an Adepttake such an amulet into room c05-A of ThePalace of Ontoncle (page 20), for example,it would immediately point out to him the

�Too many treasures� might be definedas five or more treasures hidden in separateplaces, or an area of �dispersed� treasure� perhaps, a gold mine. Just what is meantby �buried�� �hidden�� and �secret� isopen to wide interpretation by GMs, ,as is�treasure�� for that matter. In his enthusi-asm for the �blur,� the GM should bewareof so-called �Monty Haul� dungeons, butshould also remember that one man�s trea-sure is another man�s junk.

If two or more separate treasures arewithin range, the amulet will indicate all ofthem at once, or each in order as it comeswithin range, and the Adept must deter-mine which one he wants to hunt before theamulet will guide him any further. If toomany treasures are present (GM�s discre-tion), the amulet will �blur� and won�tguide the Adept toward any of them, butwill merely indicate to the Adept that he�sin a treasure-rich area. The amulet willnever blur if a specific target has been se-lected, or if the Adept is hunting a particu-lar treasure that he knows to be in thevicinity. The blurring will clear if the char-acter approaches within 10 feet of a specifictreasure; and, given leisure to accomplishit, an Adept can always voluntarily reducethe amulet�s range at a rate of five feetevery 30 seconds in an effort to eliminatethe blur, thus perhaps getting a fix on thenearest treasure.

The Adept need not have encountered, orstudied, or even known about the treasurein order for the amulet to activate itself. Inaddition to direction, the amulet will alsoindicate distance to the treasure and thetreasure�s �strength,� which might be a clueto its value, size, or some other aspect of itsnature. The Adept will also be able to tell ifhe has previously encountered or studiedthe treasure, but the amulet will tell himnothing more.

When a non-dormant amulet is broughtwithin 10 feet (+5 feet per Rank with the�Ritual of Creating Crystal of Vision� ofthe Adept who fashioned the amulet) of anyburied, hidden, or secret treasure of anykind, a special arrow will automaticallyappear to the Adept without any specialactivation on his part, providing the amuletis touching some portion of the Adept�sanatomy. This arrow is visible only to theAdept himself; its presence will neitherinterfere with his combat efficiency nordistract him from concentration; and, solong as the Adept remains within range, thearrow will direct the way to the treasure.This use of the amulet has no limit on dura-tion, and since it doesn�t depend on magicalcharges, it can be used any number oftimes.

however, the amulet becomes dormant untilit is re-invested.

trove buried in the corner of the lair.The GM should treat the formula for this

amulet as restricted knowledge, similar tothe wyvern-horn amulet and just about asdifficult for an Enchanter to obtain. It isalmost completely unknown to non-Enchanters.

There they are: nine rule modifications.Nothing startling, nothing outrageous, justsimple extrapolations from information theDRAGONQUEST rules had already of-fered. But what follows is in a differentcategory: new rules, the creation of which ismotivated by the simple feeling that theyought to exist. On that basis, consider thefollowing:

Rule 32.3, paragraph 3, states: �. . . aparticular object may never be investedwith more than one spell at the same time.�And we already know from experience thatonce a spell is totally discharged from anobject, the object becomes normal oncemore, without magical value. Which meansthat mages in the DRAGONQUEST gamecan produce precious few enduringly magi-cal objects. Well, Enchanters ought to be anexception to this rule. So, for the purpose ofthis article�s argument, below are given twoways in which Enchanters can get aroundthe general rule.

To support these exceptions, the rulesoffer this evidence: We�ve already seen howtwo counterspells can be put into the sameamulet (the platinum rings), so the phenom-enon of two spells in a single object doesexist. Among the amulets made by Adeptsof the College of Black Magics (46.T-3-C) isthe �Amulet of Luck� (#3) which moreclearly than the others employs the effects oftwo separate spells. And finally� the supple-ments The Palace of Ontoncle and TheBlade of Allectus have examples of objectscontaining multiple spells, though admit-tedly some of these may have been (andprobably were) created outside the purviewof the twelve Colleges.

With all this in mind, it should come asno surprise that Enchanters, with theirfamous affinity for enchantments (Rule 36),can invest more than one spell into an ob-ject. Here�s how they do it:

[36.7] Special Knowledge Rituals

1. Ritual of Multiple Investment (R-1)This ritual is precisely the same as the

Investment Ritual (32.3) in all except threerespects: First, during the ritual, the En-chanter must burn a special incense costing100 SPs. Second, the ritual is performedupon an object into which a spell has al-ready been invested, with the purpose ofinvesting an �extra� spell. Third, when theritual is complete, the additional spell(s) willhave charges of its (their) own equal to theEnchanter�s Rank with this ritual.

At Rank 1, the Enchanter must be deal-ing with an object into which he himself hasalready invested a spell, and he can addonly a single �extra� spell to the object.

At Rank 5, the Enchanter can also begin

24 FEBRUARY 1984

dealing with objects into which anotherAdept (of any of the Thaumaturgical Col-leges) has invested a spell. To do this, how-ever, the Enchanter must have fullknowledge of what the spell is and how it isactivated, or the ritual will fail. He can alsobegin investing an �extra� spell into magi-cal items, such as the products of rituals36.Q-2, 36.Q-3, 36.Q-4, etc., providing hehas full knowledge of the other ritual. Suchobjects can never have more than a single�extra� spell added.

At Rank 10, the Enchanter can perform asecond 36.R-1 Ritual on an object that al-ready contains two spells, in order to investa third spell. However, the second and thirdspells invested into the object must both bethe Enchanter�s own, and must share be-tween them the �extra� charges that hisRank with this ritual allows. (This is an-other reason why it is so important for anEnchanter to be able to govern the numberof charges he�s investing; otherwise, hecan�t determine which spell has how manycharges. See �Charge control� above.)Three spells is the maximum number thatcan be invested in a single object using thisritual.

At Rank 15, the Enchanter obtains theskill to use the spells of other Adepts of anyof the Thaumaturgical Colleges as the �ex-tra� spells, providing that at least one of thethree spells in the object is his own. To usethe spell of another Adept in this fashion,that other Adept must be present and coop-erating during the entire ritual, and the costof the incense burned during the ritualincreases to 200 SPs. The maximum num-ber of �extra� charges remains equal to theEnchanter�s Rank with this ritual, and theEnchanter governs how they�re shared out.

Since the investing Adept controls howhis spells� charges will be activated, anEnchanter using this ritual can specify thatthe spells will activate separately on givencommands, or in a particular sequence on asingle command, or even simultaneously.This allows for numerous variations, de-pending on the GM�s judgment of whetheror not the Adept has the necessary sophisti-cation with this ritual, in terms of Rank, toset up sufficiently complex activation in-structions. Whatever the activation instruc-tions, Cast Chance, range, and otheraspects are determined separately for eachspell.

This ritual can never be used with non-neutralized cold iron, no matter how smallthe amount. It can be used with neutralizedcold iron, with two �extra� spells allowed iftruesilver was used, or one �extra� spell ifgold or silver was used; the Cast Chancepenalties of 29.1, numbered section #3,apply.

The GM should consider knowledge ofthis ritual to be only moderately restrictedamong Enchanters, with few non-Enchanters even knowing it exists. Thisritual cannot be used on Spell Containers(see below).

Note: The existence of this ritual shouldnot be allowed to discourage or inhibit the

partment is �filled.� This ritual, however,does not actually �fill� the compartment �that requires a subsequent InvestmentRitual (32.3), using a specific spell. Eachtime the 36.R-2 Ritual is performed on anobject, it creates a single spell compartmentthat contains one charge-niche for eachRank the Adept has with the ritual. Eachcompartment holds only one kind of spell ata time; each niche contains a single charge,and any invested charges that do not findan empty niche to occupy are lost.

To construct a Spell Container, the En-chanter must purchase materials worth1,000 SPs (+1,000 SPs more for each com-partment already in the container) for usein the ritual, and these materials will beunrecoverable whether the attempt succeedsor fails. A full 10-hour Preparation Ritual(32.1) must be executed the day prior to the36.R-2 Ritual, and the 36.R-2 itself takes 10hours. Base Chance for success at the end ofthe ritual is 50%, +1% per Rank, plus theAdept�s Magical Aptitude. However, magi-cal �static� makes it dangerous to keepadding spell compartments to a container,and each compartment already existing in acontainer attaches a -10% penalty to theBase Chance. Failure of the ritual meansthat the object will literally disintegrate,immediately discharging any and all spells itcontains, with appropriate effects on anyone- nearby.

The experience multiple for Ritual36.R-2 is 500.

compartments,� in each of which are anumber of �charge-niches� that can beoccupied by spell charges when the com-

An Enchanter can create a permanentSpell Container out of any object by sub-jecting it to this ritual. The effect is to cre-ate in the object intangible �spell

2. Ritual of Creating SpellContainers (R-2)

At the end of this process, the object isstill essentially non-magical, merely in-vested with magical charges. To createactual magical items, the following SpecialKnowledge Ritual available to Enchantersis used.

(Note: In the DRAGONQUEST rules,the words �enchantment� and �invest-ment� are sometimes used interchangeably(see 56.3) and sometimes not. Players andGMs should pay careful attention to thecontext in which these words are used.)

imaginative use of non-ritualized spellcombinations. For example, the parts of anobject are just that � part of that objectand not subject to separate investment. Thethreads of a shirt cannot be invested sepa-rately from the shirt itself. But the chainthat holds a medallion can be investedseparately from the medallion. The jewel inthe pommel of a sword, provided it is prop-erly insulated from the cold iron, can beenchanted separately from the sword. Andthe pouch that holds a Crystal of Vision cancertainly be invested with its own spell.

DRAGON 25

The number of compartments that can becreated in a single object depends on twofactors. The first is �real presence,� whichfor simplicity will be considered as equal tothe object�s weight. Although compartmentsare intangible, their existence creates a kindof magical �static� that can be injurious tophysical reality. A very small metal object,such as a one-ounce silver coin, can safelycontain no more than one spell compart-ment. A larger metal item, such as a three-ounce silver throwing dart, might containtwo compartments. But as compartmentsare added, the requisite size of the containerwill increase by a factor of 3 until a seven-compartment container has a requisiteweight of 729 ounces, or a little more than45 pounds. Obviously, containers designedfor personal use will seldom have more thanfour or five compartments. Cold iron, evenif neutralized, cannot contain spell compart-ments at all, unless truesilver was used inthe neutralizing � if so, treat the object asif it were organic. Inorganic materials cangenerally contain more compartments thanorganic materials, on a 3-to-2 scale byweight, rounding down. Items alreadypossessing magical power � amulets, Crys-tals of Vision, etc. � can never be madeinto Spell Containers.

Exactly how many compartments a givenitem can contain is a matter for the GM todecide, and the player of an Adept charac-ter should consult the GM concerning spe-cific objects. It�s no fun to go to the troubleand expense of enchanting a Spell Con-tainer, only to have the GM announce,�That container has been jammed with toomany compartments, and the static has justcaused it to disintegrate, releasing all itsspells with the following effects on everyonein the vicinity. . . .� The initial decision ofthe GM should be considered final, how-ever, since Enchanters are expected to havea very accurate �feel� for how many com-partments an object can contain.

The second factor governing the numberof compartments is the Enchanter�s Rankwith this ritual. At Rank 1, an Enchantercan create one compartment in an objectthat has no compartments already. At Rank3, he can create a second compartment in a

container that already has one compart-

DRAGON® Magazine is always look-ing for a few good modules � or, tobe more specific, a few good moduledesigners. If you can write and youhave a good idea for an adventurefor the AD&D� or TOP SECRET®game system, send us a short letterdescr ib ing tha t idea . I f your ideasounds good to us, we�ll send you aninformat ion shee t and ask you tosend us a complete manuscript. Sendall query letters to: �Module Idea,�C/O DRAGON Magazine, P.O. Box110, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

26 FEBRUARY 1984

ment. At Rank 6, a third compartment canbe added; at Rank 10, a fourth; at Rank 15,a fifth compartment. At Rank 20, an En-chanter can create as many compartmentsas he pleases, but seven compartmentsshould be considered a strict functionalmaximum because of the increasing danger,expense, and size requirements.

creation. It can be invested by Adepts fromany of the Colleges, and a multiple-compartment container can even hold spellsfrom different Colleges without regard toalignment. When the charges in a particularcompartment are all expended, the com-

Once a Spell Container has been created,it is sufficiently flexible to entirely offset the

be refilled with the same or afrom any of the Colleges.

When using a container, an investment canfail but it cannot backfire; and simply be-cause a container is being used, +10 is addedto the investment�s Base Chance. A con-tainer created by one Enchanter can evenhave compartments added to it by anotherEnchanter. Also, an Enchanter can use the10-hour 36.R-2 Ritual by itself to increasethe number of niches in an existing (butempty) compartment, each use of the ritual

partment candifferent spell

adding niches equal to his own Rank with

An Adept uses the Investment-Ritual(32.3) to store charges equal to his Rank, asusual. But if one Investment Ritual isn�tsufficient to fill the compartment in ques-tion, the Adept can keep repeating theInvestment Ritual until the compartment isfilled. Since investment in a container issubject to almost complete control, if thecontainer has more than one empty com-partment, then the Adept can direct hissubsequent investments with the same spellto fill niches in a different compartment,thus putting the same kind of spell into twodifferent compartments. It�s also possible touse the Preparation Ritual (32.1) as an

niches in existing compartments, the cost ofmaterials for the 36.R-2 Ritual is only 200SPs, with no �static� penalties.

per compartment. When used to create newthe ritual, up to a maximum of 20 niches

�investment� to increase the Base Chanceof a spell in a specific compartment. Since

all the spell�s charges, divide the Prepara-the Preparation Ritual must be applied to

tion bonus by the number of chargespresent to determine the net effect on thespell�s Base Chance. In this connection,36.S-7, �Enhance Enchantment,� can beused to enhance a stored spell in a similarmanner. Charges subsequently added to thecompartment adopt the Base Chance andother characteristics of the charges alreadyin that compartment, whether higher orlower.

and recharging an Adept can do with a There�s a limit to how much enhancing

spell is invested in a compartment, thecompartment begins to �close�; once it�sclosed, no one can tamper with the storedspell in any way, not even Namers. Onlythe Adept�s own mind can act as a wedge to

stored spell, however, From the moment a

difficulties and limitations involved in its

- -

theuse

That completes the list of alterations andextrapolations. None of them are startlingor dramatic; no new spells or weapons areadded with which an Enchanter can clobberthe opposition. With proper use, however,these changes will turn the Enchanter intoat least a marginally more formidable char-acter than he was before.

record compartments, niches, spells, acti-vating instructions, and other details of itsnature.

Each container should have its own chart toprehend the principles involved in 36.R-2.which are rituals) before he can even com-at least ten magical abilities (at least two ofan Adept must have reached Rank 10 withdevices can be created. Among Enchanters,non-Enchanters, few people even know such

were persons with a total passive MagicResistance of 75 (see 31.1).

GMs should consider the 36.R-2 Ritualto be highly restricted information. Among

magical attack to their integrity as if theycontainer objects, and they resist directwith physical force than similar non-are about 20% more difficult to damagenot released. Fortunately, container objectscase, any stored spells would be dissipated,tured if the bow itself were broken. In thiscompartments would be irreparably rup-unaffected by a broken bowstring, but itsintegrity. An enchanted bow would beany action that would damage the object�s

Finally, a container can be destroyed byone at a time.compartment will release its charges onlytively. Under most circumstances, a givenfrom any particular compartment selec-neously, or in predetermined succession, orcharge from several compartments simulta-instructions could make it possible to dis-the time of investment. Proper activationtion instruction of the spell he is investing atthe investing Adept can stipulate the activa-given a separate activating instruction. Or,container. Or, each compartment can belish permanent personal control over the

same activationthis chance to estab-

Activation of spells stored in a containercan be handled in three ways: The En-chanter who creates the first compartment,and thus the container, can direct that allspells are subject toinstruction and can

close.tration is broken and the compartment will

actually turns his mind to another task,such as combat or conversation, the concen-

keep the compartment from closing, andover a period of days he can continue towork on the spell he has just invested. Butthe moment the Adept turns his mind tosome new endeavor, the compartment willclose, and neither changes nor new chargescan be added until the spell is completelyexpended and a new one is stored. Thedegree of continual concentration requiredof the Adept is analogous to �walking medi-tation.� The Adept can perform minor tasks� preparing and eating food, dressing andundressing, sleeping � without breakingthis concentration, but the moment he

DRAGON 27

Rings that do weird thingsThirteen pieces of jewelry not from the DMG

�Here now, what�s this?� Grimblestopped shoving armfuls of gold coins intohis magical bag. �It�s a ring! � He bentdown to pick the tiny object out of themound of treasure before him.

Dimwall hurried over. �Ye gods! Perhapsit�s a protector, or a fire resistor. What elsedo you think it could be?� He pulled out ayellowed scrap of paper that he had tornfrom an arcane volume. Then he began toread aloud. �Table III. C, Rings. Contrari-ness, Delusion, Djinni Summoning . . .�

Sound familiar? Adventurers can getpretty tired of finding the same old magicrings in a treasure hoard, especially if theplayers have read the Dungeon MastersGuide treasure charts from front to back.Once in a while, then, the DM can surpriseeveryone with something new to keep theplayers � and their characters � guessing.

Below are a baker�s dozen of rings thatAD&D� players have sent in toDRAGON® magazine as suggestions fornew magic items. They have not been pre-viously published, and are offered here foryour gaming entertainment. Unless other-wise stated, all magic rings have the sameappearance, are usable by characters of anyclass, and will radiate magic if a detectmagic is performed.

1. Ring of Liquid Identificationby Craig Stenseth

If the wearer passes this ring within 1� ofa liquid, the ring�s rock crystal will changehue, identifying the liquid. At least 4 oz. ofliquid must be present. The stone turns toone of nine hues; see the chart below for themeaning of each. If no liquid is nearby, orthe fluid in range is not included on thechart below, the crystal remains colorless.

Color Liquid is:red poison, potion, or

magical oilorange oil or other flammable

liquidyellow contaminated watergreen acid or other strong

corrosiveblue pure waterindigo brineviolet wine, ale, beer, or other

alcoholic drinkwhite holy waterblack unholy water

XP value: 750GP value: 4,000

2. Ring of Infravisionby Thomas Zarbock

This ring bestows infravision upon thewearer, as per the spell of the same name,out to a 60� radius. A few rings of this type

28 FEBRUARY 1984

When a special command is spoken, thisring will fire a bolt of solid ice at any targetwithin 100�. The wearer chooses the target.The icebolt causes 2-12 points of damage tothe target, half that if a saving throw vs.wands is made. Creatures or beings whouse fire or are fiery in nature (salamanders,fire giants, red dragons, etc.) save at -4against this effect; creatures who are cold-

XP value: 1,000GP value: 5,000

5. Ring of Iceboltsby Charles C. Craig

This ring allows the wearer to cast acontinual light spell three times per day;this light cannot be dispelled except by acleric of 9th level or higher. In addition, thering automatically dispels all darkness spellswithin 60� of the wearer as if the wearerwere a 9th-level cleric.

4. Ring of Lightby Thomas Zarbock

XP value: 1,200GP value: 6,000

This ring heightens the senses of thewearer so greatly that he can only be sur-prised 1 time in 20. However, for everyconsecutive hour this ring is worn, there is acumulative 1% chance that the wearer willbecome temporarily afflicted with paranoia,as per the Dungeon Masters Guide. Thisparanoia will persist for a number of roundsequal to the number of hours the ring wasworn (unless cured by magical means), andcannot be negated by removing the ringafter the paranoia has taken effect. If thewearer is not already afflicted, the cumula-tive chance of paranoia drops to zero whenthe ring is removed and begins again at 1%when it is put back on, even if the removalonly lasts for a moment.

3. Ring of Awarenessby Thomas Zarbock

XP value: 1,000 (1,500 w/ultravision)GP value: 5,000 (7,500 w/ultravision)

(10%) allow the wearer to use ultravision aswell; in this case, the user can concentrateon only one type of vision per round. Ul-travision enables a character to see radia-tion in the ultraviolet spectrum. At night,ultravision extends out to 100 yards, asclear in quality as vision during the day.Shadowy, less clear ultravision extends to300 yards. Cloudy nights reduce ultravisionby 50%. Underground (in caves and dun-geons), the wearer will only have clearultravision within a 3� radius. Any sort oflight, including that given off by magicitems, will tend to spoil ultravision, blindingthe character to dimmer items. Ultravisionworks as the spell; for more information,see DRAGON issue #67, p. 58.

users or cold-resistant (frost giants, whitedragons, etc.) save at +4. Each ring pos-sesses 3-30 charges when found, and cannotbe recharged.

XP value: 2,000GP value: 7,500

6. Ring of Joltingby Charles C. Craig

At a word of command, the wearer of thisring can cast a beam of energy out to 100�,at any single target. This energy beam doesno hit-point damage, but will stun the tar-get for 3-12 rounds. When stunned, a targetcan only defend himself and will not gaininitiative to perform any action. No psionicor magical powers may be used by thestunned character or creature during thistime. If a saving throw vs. paralyzation ismade, the victim will only be stunned for1-4 rounds.

XP value: 1,000GP value: 5,000

7. Ring of Bladeturningby Charles C. Craig

This ring can deflect attacks made withmetallic weapons. The wearer can deflectone such attack per round, provided he isdefending himself and not simply aidingsomeone else. To use the ring, the wearerdeclares that he wishes to deflect an attack,and which attack he wants to turn back, ifmore than one opponent is involved or if anopponent has more than one attack perround. The wearer must declare his intentbefore the opponent�s �to hit� roll is made.The attack, whether it would have hit ornot, is immediately turned aside. Each ofthese rings has 3-30 charges when found,and cannot be recharged. Note that the ringcannot deflect an attack if a �to hit� roll hasalready been made by the opponent; if theattack hits, damage must be taken, and oneof the ring�s charges is used anyway, even ifit misses.

XP value: 1,500GP value: 7,000

8. Ring of Invisibility Negationby Richard Lucas

Some years ago, a wizard invented thisring because he disliked invisible surprises.When it is worn, the ring continually gener-ates a powerful magical field 60� in diame-ter that negates invisibility within itsconfines. Any creature with natural orinduced invisibility will immediately be-come visible upon entering this field andwill remain so until leaving it. Furthermore,the creature will become outlined with aneerie faerie fire, a green luminous light thatgives opponents a +2 chance to hit. Theeffects of potions of invisibility, dust ofdisappearance, and spells of invisibility will

D R A G O N 2 9

be negated and dispelled as soon as thecreature using them enters the magic field.Potions, dust, or spells possessed but notbeing used will not be affected.

The normal form of this ring is called the�clarifier.� In addition to this, there are twovariations. The first, the �killer,� does 2-5(1d4+1) hit points of damage per round (nosaving throw) to creatures in the magic fieldwhose invisibility was affected. The secondvariation is the �destroyer.� It drains themagical properties of any invisibility-relateddevice that remains in the magic field formore than one round at one time. Themagic item in question is allowed a savingthrow vs. disintegration at +5 to avoid beingde-magicked.

For random selection of one of the threerings, roll percentile dice:Roll Ring XP value GP value01-80 clarifier 1,000 12,00081-95 killer 1,800 20,00096-00 destroyer 1,300 7,000

9. Jhessail�s Silver Ringby Ed Greenwood

This ring confers upon the wearer protec-tion from mental attack. No control magicwill work upon the wearer, and all success-ful charm spells will work upon the casterinstead of the wearer.

For example: A magic-user attempts tocharm the ring wearer, and the wearer failshis saving throw. Then the charm is turnedupon the magic-user � who gets no initialsaving throw � placing him under thecontrol of the ring wearer. Any being thuscharmed gets a saving throw to break thecharm once every 7 turns, and is instantlyfreed if the ring is taken off or destroyed. Ifthe ring wearer makes his saving throw vs.the initial attack, the spell merely fails, andthe ring has no effect. Note that this prop-erty extends to gaze charm attacks, and is amagical property rather than a physical�reflection.�

The ring wearer also gains a +4 savingthrow bonus against stunning, confusion,and feeblemind. In addition, the wearergains +4 on rolls to disbelieve illusions. Thering acts as a Tower of Iron Will (defensestrength of 77 points, no attack strength)against psionic attack.

XP value: 3,000GP value: 11,000

10. Ring of Loreby Ed Green wood

This appears identical to other rings, butwhen worn it can be commanded to exercisevarious powers if the correct commandwords are known.

The ring can act as a legend lore throughmental visions to its wearer. This power canbe called for only once per week, and thevisions require the wearer�s total concentra-tion over a period of 4 turns after the ringwas commanded. If concentration is notmaintained, all visions will be lost. The ringmust be touched to an item, or a name of aperson or place must be spoken over it asthe command is given; otherwise, the

30 FEBRUARY 1984

This ring, usable only by those able tocast spells, has the ability to indefinitelyincrease the duration of any spell cast uponthe wearer by himself, until the effect is

12. Ring of Spell Holdingby Jeff Abbott

These rings are found in the followingproportions: 50% wolf, 25% rat, 10% bear,10% boar, and 5% tiger.

XP value: 2,500GP value: 7,500

The wearer, while transformed, gains thehit points and abilities of the were-creaturebut retains his original alignment.Lycanthrope-form hit points are consideredseparately from the wearer�s usual hitpoints; if the were-creature�s hit points arereduced to zero, the character is instantlytransformed back into his previous form,and his normal number of hit points isretained. There is a 1% cumulative chanceper use that the wearer will be permanentlytransformed into the were-creature (includ-ing its alignment), and not even a wish willnegate this change.

Each of these rings features the head ofsome were-creature, engraved in bas-relief.With the utterance of the proper commandword, the wearer is transformed into thewere-creature engraved on the ring. Thistransformation is possible only once perday, and the duration of the change is only1 turn. To discover the command word, thebearer of the ring must wear it under a fullmoon, at which point the word will come tomind. The command can also be discoveredif a cleric blesses the ring before an identifyspell is cast upon it.

11. Rings of Lycanthropyby Jerome Mayard

All of the ring�s powers have durationsidentical to the spells or effects they resem-ble. Any and all of them may be used inquick succession (but not simultaneously);the use of one has no effect on the others.

Every time the ring is used, there is a 5%chance it will vanish forever from the wear-er�s finger without operating as desired.

XP value: 3,500GP value: 23,500

The ring can also endow the wearer witha power identical in effect to psionic sensi-tivity to psychic impressions once per week.This power is not infallible; there is only a40% chance it will be effective. Even if theattempt fails, the ring will still not operatethis way again for a week. The psychicpower is activated silently, by will, and itrequires the wearer�s complete concentra-tion to work.

The ring will also act as a stone tell onceper week, upon being touched to stonewhile the command �Speak!� is uttered.

Upon the command �Shine forth!,� thering will cause any symbols, hidden runes,or powerful dweomers within 1� to glowvisibly. This power will only work once perday.

visions will be random, having no commonfocus or theme.

ended by removal of the ring or the castingof dispel magic. In order to take advantageof its powers, the ring must be removed;then the desired spell is cast upon thewearer, and then the wearer must replacethe ring before the spell�s duration is ex-hausted. The removal of the ring afterwardwill end the spell immediately. Only onespell at a time may be continued in thismanner, since the ring must be taken offbefore the new spell to be continued is cast.Note: The ring cannot continue an invisibil-ity spell during an attack. It does not workon spells with a duration of �permanent�;for instance, a cure disease spell cannot becontinued to give the ring wearer eternalimmunity. And, as noted above, it onlyworks on spells that can be cast by the ringwearer upon his person.

XP value: 2,000GP value: 10,000

13. Wizzo�s Ring of Compulsionsby Bill Birdsall

This type of ring, when worn, may com-pel the wearer to perform certain unex-plained actions. It can be removed easily atany time � but the wearer will not want toremove the ring for any reason. Anyonewearing one of these rings will becomeextremely possessive of it and will not vol-untarily allow anyone else to touch it. Any-one who wants to see the ring will besuspected of wanting to steal it, and thewearer will either attack that character orattempt to flee, depending on the circum-stances. (Assign a 50% chance for eitheroutcome if random determination is de-sired.) A remove curse spell halts the com-pulsion long enough for the wearer toremove the ring or allow it to be removed.

There is a 5% chance per waking hourthat the ring will compel its wearer to dosomething. Listed below are the compul-sions that the ring may cause (roll d10).

1. Sleep for 1-6 turns.2. Act intoxicated for 1-6 turns.3. Act in an amorous fashion toward the

nearest character of the opposite sex, or thenext such one encountered, for 1-4 turns.

4. Fight for 1-6 rounds against the near-est character.

5. Wander about, looking at the sceneryfor 1-6 rounds.

6. Take a bath.7. Cook and eat a good meal.8. Talk for 1-6 rounds.9. Change clothes.

10. Find and insult the nearest monsterover 3 HD (the search, and the compulsion,will last for no more than 10 minutes).

While under compulsion, the ring wearerwill not do anything except try to fulfill thecompulsion. If interrupted, the wearer willbecome very hostile.

These rings function primarily as othercommonly found rings, e.g. free action,protection, water walking, etc. That is, thecompulsions provide an unusual variationfor otherwise common magic rings. Experi-ence point and gold piece values are thesame as those for the common rings.

New avenues for agentsA preview of the TOP SECRET® CompanionEDITOR�S INTRODUCTION

The information you are about to read has been obtained by thismagazine with absolutely no difficulty whatsoever. It is not classifiedor restricted, except that you need the original TOP SECRET® rulesto make full use of what follows. These charts and descriptions werecomposed by Merle Rasmussen, who also designed the game. Thisinformation, and a lot more, will be published in the TOP SECRETCompanion scheduled for release later this year. In the next fewissues of DRAGON® Magazine, we�ll bring you previews of some ofthe major sections of the Companion. That is all . . . for now.

NEW BUREAUS AND DIVISIONSTwo new bureaus and six new divisions, or subclasses of bureaus,

have been added to the TOP SECRET® game. The two new bu-reaus are Technical and Operations. The six new divisions are listedbelow, according to the bureaus to which they are attached:

Section 1 � Administration Bureau(Special Operations Division)

Section 2 � Investigation Bureau(Infiltration Division)

Section 3 � Confiscation Bureau(Logistics Division)

Section 4 � Technical Bureau(Specialty Division)

Section 5 � Operations Bureau(Analysis Division)

Section 00 � Assassination Bureau(Protection Division)

Section 1, Administration Bureau:Experience

Level Designation Points*1 Junior Case Officer 02 Case Officer 2,9793 Senior Case Officer 6,8574 Substation Chief 11,7135 Station Chief 17,6256 Office Director 24,7507 Division Director 32,5008 Bureau Director 43,0009 Assistant Administrator 58,000

10 Administrator 80,000* � The agent must have at least this many total points,

and the agent must have points in all four of the other bureaus(not including the Assassination Bureau).

40,000 experience points must be earned for every levelabove 10th.

Section 1, Administration Bureau, Special Operations Division:Experience

Level Designation Points *1 Meddler 02 Tamperer 7453 Interloper 1,7144 Intruder 2,9285 Adjuster 4,4066 Problem Solver 6,1887 Avenger 8,1258 Pragmatist 10,7509 Expediter 14,500

10 Special Operator 20,000* � Total experience points, in any bureaus.10,000 experience points must be earned for every level

above 10th.

32 FEBRUARY 1984

Section 5, Operations Bureau and Analysis Division:Experience

Level Designation Points *1 Guide 02 Leader 9793 Boss 2,8574 Supervisor 5,7135 Chief 9,6256 Principal 14,7507 Superior 20,5008 Commander 29,0009 Director 41,000

10 Operator 60,000* � Total experience points, from at least three bureaus.30,000 experience points must be earned for every level

above 10th.

Section 4, Technical Bureau and Specialty Division:Experience

Level Designation Points1 Trainee 02 Clerk 793 Tinker 1574 Hobbyist 3135 Apprentice 625

7 Journeyman 1,250

Master 2,5008 Academician 5,0009 Consultant 10,000

10 Technician 20,00010,000 experience points must be earned for every level

above 10th.

Section 3, Confiscation Bureau, Logistics Division:Experience

Level Designation Points1 Bearer 02 Carrier 4443 Messenger 1,3334 Courier 2,6665 Cut-out 4,4446 Runner 6,6667 Bootlegger 9,3338 Smuggler 12,4449 Contrabandist 16,000

10 Logistician 20,00010,000 experience points must be earned for every level

above 10th.

Section 2, Investigation Bureau, Infiltration Division:Experience

Level Designation Points1 Snitch 02 Foist 1,0003 Inside Man 2,5004 Plant 4,0005 Ringer 6,0006 Contact 8,0007 Insinuator 11,0008 Penetrator 14,0009 Subversive 17,000

10 Infiltrator 20,00010,000 experience points must be earned for every level

above 10th.

6

DRAGON 33

Section 00, Assassination Bureau, Protection Division:Experience

Level Description Points1 Lookout 02 Watchperson 2,2223 Picket 4,4444 Sentry 6,6675 Ward 8,8896 Human Shield 11,1117 Bodyguard 13,3338 Guardian 15,5569 Defender 17,778

10 Protector 20,00010,000 experience points must be earned for every level

above 10th.

Explanation of Bureau and Division ClassificationsNo specific role is all-encompassing, nor should it be. Each agent

brings particular talents to a mission that often overlap anotheragent�s talents. In the course of a mission, it is best to let the mostqualified individual perform any particular task.

ADMINISTRATOR: This is not officially an agent�s role unlessthe admin has a character in the field or positioned where action cantake place. Administration is, theoretically, where agents who haveworked under all bureaus come to retire. Having survived at leastfour missions to get into administration, the agent/player shouldhave plenty of ideas on how to design and moderate missions. Ad-ministrators often contact an operator to assemble a team of agentsfor a particular mission. The admin then uses agency resources tosupply and pay the chosen operator, who in turn supplies and paysthe selected (or surviving) agents.

SPECIAL AGENTS: Special agents work directly under an ad-ministrator without an official operator. They act as troubleshooters,blunt instruments (see below), and internal investigators, amongother things. They often work alone or in small, tightly knit groups.Special agents may be assigned to groups including confiscators,investigators, assassins, or technicians, but generally do not revealtheir unique classification. Special agents are generalists who earnexperience as if they worked under the four bureaus, but they do notgain any bonus experience points or payments. Like technicians,they are allowed the use of special devices before they reach fourthlevel.

INVESTIGATOR: This agent is the eyes and ears of an espio-nage body. Primarily an information-gatherer, an investigator ob-serves, inquires, and examines the situation or target systematically,often using surveillance equipment. An investigator needs a goodmemory, and high Charm, Knowledge, and Observation values.Investigators should be proficient in electronics, languages, photog-raphy, and tailing. They generally report to their personal or teamoperator instead of an admin.

INFILTRATOR: Infiltrators are a subclass of investigators. Infil-tration goes beyond surveillance; an infiltrator must become part ofa group or organization in order to uncover its goals, aims, andsecret activities. They usually report their findings to an operator.Infiltrators may eventually be called on to subvert or destroy thegroup from inside.

Infiltrators need fewer experience points than investigators to gaina level. Experience points earned for infiltration do not apply towardinvestigation, and vice versa.

CONFISCATOR: This agent is the hands of an espionage body.A confiscator�s main concern is seizing property. Most confiscatorsare well-coordinated and familiar with all types of valuable goodsand security systems. Security detection and deactivation are aconfiscator�s strengths, with picking pockets and gambling as side-lines. Confiscators generally report to their personal or team opera-tor instead of an admin.

34 FEBRUARY 1984

PROTECTOR: Protectors are a subclass of assassins. Instead ofkilling and destroying, protectors try to prevent such acts. They aretrained in assassination and sabotage techniques in order to betterprotect against them. Protectors of live targets are called body-guards, and are trained to use their own bodies as shields to protectother agents or VIPs. Protectors of installations, vehicles, or valu-able objects are called guards.

ASSASSIN: The infamous yet regretfully necessary assassin isprimarily a cold-blooded murderer of prominent persons and secretagents. Rating high in Physical Strength and Willpower, theseagents perform dangerous, often suicidal, tasks in the line of duty.Assassins are experts in explosives, poisons, firearms, and unarmedcombat. Assassins generally report to their personal or team opera-tor instead of to an administrator.

ANALYST: Analysts are a subclass of operators. Their job is toexamine and interpret bits of information or physical evidence.Analysts rely on their memory and observation to assemble cluesinto useful knowledge. Analysis is primarily a desk job; analystsrarely venture into the field to collect their own data. An analyst inthe field is a talking encyclopedia, and may have inside informationthat other agents are not aware of. Analysts should have a highKnowledge value and several Superior Areas of Knowledge, andshould be able to speak several languages. Experienced analysts maybecome kidnapping targets of enemy agencies, because they can bepumped for information.

OPERATOR: In the field, an operator is the boss. The operatorleads the team, pays its members, enforces team regulations, andreports directly to the administrator. Most operator duties are mun-dane and bureaucratic, such as recruiting and training new agents.Many operators, tired of the constant danger of field work, strive tobecome administrators, whose lives are safer. An operator is person-ally responsible for the actions of agents under his control. An oper-ator also is responsible for the proper use and care of expensive orvaluable special equipment borrowed from the agency. An operatormay be a resident of the area where a mission is being carried out.

Specialists advance on the same experience point schedule astechnicians.

SPECIALIST: Specialists are a subclass of technicians. Specialistsare highly trained in one specific field of study. They are limited tothis one job, which they perform very well. In other skills, specialistswill have average training at best. A specialist chooses a specialtywhen the character is created, and is called on to perform only thatfunction. The specialist is extremely dedicated. Specialists will rarelybe allowed to leave their low-profile desk jobs to accompany a teamof agents on a mission. They are, however, experts in their fields andhence may be called on to perform a specific function.

Technicians are allowed the use of special equipment before reach-ing fourth level. Technicians also get a +100 experience point bonusfor courses completed in espionage college.

TECHNICIAN: The technician is a generalist who usually is seenonly in support roles, and rarely is placed in the field. Techniciansoften earn their first experience by attending espionage classes.Those few who are assigned to work with assassins, confiscators, andinvestigators can expect an equal share of the hazards and difficul-ties. Many technicians carry no weapons, relying on team membersfor protection. The technician operates equipment, bandages inju-ries, analyzes compounds, or studies special devices.

LOGISTICIAN: Logisticians are a subclass of confiscators. Theyare equipment handlers; the logistician�s job is to procure, distrib-ute, maintain, and replace agency equipment and personnel. Alogistician may need to perform the opposite of a confiscator�s job:altering and returning stolen items without being detected. Traveldocuments, tickets, ammunition, and the necessities of life are sup-plied by the logistician. When agents need to flee as quickly as possi-ble along the shortest route, a logistician is the person who knowswhere to go and how to get there.

Agents can work under one of four bureaus: Investigation, Con-fiscation, Assassination, or Technical. When a character is created,the player decides which bureau the agent will work under for thefirst mission. A character can work under only one bureau at a time.All experience points earned on a given mission must be applied tothat bureau only. At any time between missions, a character maychange to another bureau. Experience points apply only to the bu-reau in which they were earned. All beginning characters and char-acters working under a new bureau for the first time are considered1st level with zero experience points in that bureau. A character mayreturn to a bureau he left previously; new experience points earnedin that bureau are added to the experience points the characterearned in that bureau previously.

Special classifications

All rules that apply to bureaus also apply to divisions beneath thebureaus. An agent who is working in a division is also considered tobe working in the bureau to which that division is attached. Forexample, an agent who has worked in the Infiltration, Logistics, andProtection Divisions has worked in three bureaus. If an agent hasworked in the Investigation Bureau, the Infiltration Division, andthe Logistics Division, he has worked in only two bureaus.

Characters who have earned experience points in more than onebureau are valuable agents. They are given a special classificationwhich defines their combination of talents. The agent�s level in thespecial classification equals the lowest level the character has reachedin any of the bureaus where the agent has earned experience. Forexample, a character who is a 3rd level Investigator and a 2nd levelConfiscator qualifies as a 2nd level Magician. �Membership re-quirements� are as follows:

Magician: Investigation or Infiltration, plus Confiscation orLogistics.

Hunter: Investigation or Infiltration, plus Assassination.Sleuth: Investigation or Infiltration, plus Technical.Saboteur: Confiscation or Logistics, plus Assassination.Wizard: Confiscation or Logistics, plus Technical.Mechanic: Technical plus Assassination.

As an example of how special classifications work, assume thatShadra, a new recruit, has decided to work in the Technical Bureau.She pays the school entrance fee out of her own pocket, and com-pletes the Pyrotechnic Chemistry and Duplication course in 9 weeks.She earns 90 experience points, plus 100 bonus points forworking under the Technical Bureau. She now is classed as a 3rdlevel technician. On her first field mission, Shadra decides to workin the Confiscation Bureau, and she miraculously gains 455 experi-ence points. She now is a 2nd level confiscator besides being a 3rdlevel technician. Her special classification is a 2nd level Wizard.

MAGICIAN: Masters at sleight of hand, confidence games, anddeception, magicians are welcome on any missions that are con-ducted in public view. Magicians are escape artists, masters of dis-guise, and alluring entertainers all in one. A magician generallyreports to an operator.

HUNTER: Not necessarily a killer at all, a hunter traces themovement of prey, learns its habits, its strengths, and its weak-nesses. The hunter is often a loner who blends in with the shadows,tries to find the target, and often fascinates or forces the surprisedtarget out into the open. Once this occurs, other agents can investi-gate, confiscate, or assassinate the target. A hunter generally reportsto an operator, but can organize a manhunt personally if necessary.

SLEUTH: As information experts, sleuths are valuable assets onhighly technical missions where quick, clear thinking is a must.Brilliant, systematic, charming but never assuming, sleuths oftensolve the problems they pose. Sleuths are cautious yet surprising,and often fool those they come in contact with. Wiretapping andcodebreaking are two of a sleuth�s strong points. Sleuths generallyreport to a team operator.

SABOTEUR: Not mad bombers or political terrorists, saboteursare dazzling, fast-acting experts with a toolbox. Not only must sabo-

provocateurs are enemy agents.

DRAGON 35

An agent whose loyalty shifts covertly from one agency to anopposing agency is a double agent. For example, agent X, the KGB

The double agent

The admin should be aware of the enemy agent�s plans, and canuse the enemy agent against other player characters. An enemyagent who knows the Iayout of an enemy headquarters could givefalse directions to a confiscation team invading those headquarters.An enemy agent could sabotage team equipment or assassinate teammembers. In general, enemy agents look for actions that will weakenthe enemy agency and protect their own agency without jeopardiz-ing their cover. Discovered enemy agents usually are given the op-tion of becoming double agents or being prosecuted. Agent

Normally, an agent is loyal to the agency that employs him. Anagent who is loyal to one agency while pretending to be loyal toanother is an enemy agent. For example, agent X is employed by

.the CIA as an analyst. Agent X, however, is loyal to the KGB, andis passing information to it. Agent X is an enemy agent. Or, con-sider agent Z, who works for the CIA and is loyal to the CIA. AgentZ has convinced the KGB that he is loyal to the KGB, and is passingon misinformation about the CIA. Agent Z also is an enemy agent.Enemy agents can work inside or outside the agency they oppose.

The enemy agent

Agents may choose to go independent and become private�spooks.� Individuals and corporations hire such individuals forsecurity and, occasionally, for espionage. Contracts are often verbal,to reduce the number of (possibly embarrassing or incriminating)connections between the contracting parties. Most contracts specifyexactly what the agent is expected to do (who, what, where, how,and when) and how much the agent will be paid. Seldom will thetrue reason (why) be explained. It also is commonly understood thatif the target offers better pay than the contractor, the contract maybe broken and any advance payments made to agents will be re-turned to the contractor.

Contracts and free-lance work

An exception to the special classifications system is the SpecialOperations Division of the Administration Bureau. Special agentscan begin working in the Special Operations Division without hav-ing worked in four other bureaus first. They may only work in theSpecial Operations Division and may not transfer to any other bu-reau. Special agents gain experience and are paid as if they workedunder all four of the other bureaus. They may never collect a +100Experience Point Bonus or a +$25 Base Job Payment Bonus. Liketechnicians, special agents may use special devices before they reachthe 4th level of experience.

Special agents

MECHANIC: Mechanics are agents whose role is to create �acci-dents.� Like wizards, mechanics rely on tools and are concernedwith subtlety and secrecy. Often working alone with explosives,gases, poisons, and special devices, mechanics must rely on technicalknowhow. While mechanics occasionally aid assassins, they performmany other jobs as well. Mechanics work well with saboteurs andhunters. They usually report to personal or team operators.

WIZARD: At one time wizards were seldom more than safecrack-ers, but modern technology has expanded their role. Wizards candeactivate security systems, hot-wire vehicles, find hidden openings,and withdraw information from computer files in seconds. Theseagents nearly always use tools, and are welcome on delicate missionswith time restrictions. Wizards work well with sleuths (see above)and generally report to a team operator.

teurs know how to stop a machine or a process, but they must knowhow the mechanism should work properly. To sabotage a series ofmachines, saboteurs must remove or destroy the same part on each,so a few of them cannot be repaired by cannibalizing parts. Sabo-teurs work well with mechanics (see below). They usually report to ateam operator.

In an age of economic cutbacks and world recessions, certainespionage activities may be curtailed or abolished by bureaucratsand politicians. Disgruntled field operators and administrators oftenretain certain agents as unrestrained troubleshooters, or �bluntinstruments.� For example, an agent previously issued a license to

The blunt instrument

An enemy agent who has worked for a long time developing anear-perfect cover is a deep penetration agent. The agent advancesto a position of authority so he will be trusted with confidentialinformation. Deep penetration agents can work into any governmentagency or private industry. Many such agents become respectedmembers of their communities to enhance their image as anythingbut a spy. A deep penetration agent inside another intelligenceagency is known as a �mole.�

The deep penetration agent

An agent whose loyalty has covertly shifted from one agency to anopposing agency, and then back again to the original agency, is atriple agent. For example, agent Z, who gained the confidence of theKGB by becoming a double agent, and has gained access to sensitiveinformation, now secretly shifts loyalty back to the CIA, using thenew confidence to pass information out of the KGB.

The triple agent is in a precarious position. If the deceived agencyunmasks the agent, the agent probably will be prosecuted.

The triple agent

Double agents caught by their first employers usually are giventhe option of becoming a triple agent or being prosecuted.

enemy agent working inside the CIA, is caught passing CIA secrets.To avoid prosecution, agent X agrees to become a double agent andpass false information to the KGB contacts. Or, CIA enemy agent Zmay grow tired of taking orders from Washington and ignore thefalse information being issued to him, instead passing on actual CIAsecrets.

kill in the line of duty may have �officially� lost that license. How-ever, in the eyes of his immediate superiors the license has beenretained.

The independentA self-employed professional, agent who works for the highest

bidder is an independent. These extremely mercenary agents usuallywork for money only, prefer verbal contracts, and do not like beingset up or sold out. In the past, an agent who quit an agency wasconsidered a defector. Now, �going private� and becoming a corpo-rate spook is a more respected option for agents who resign or aredismissed by their agency. (Espionage is not as financially secure asit once was.) Private individuals and corporations find an increasingneed to hire persons with espionage training and experience.

The sleeperAn agent ready for immediate use but currently inactive is a

sleeper. Retired agents and recently recruited agents without a firstmission are considered on reserve. Retired agents restored to activeduty may resent their new status. On the other hand, recent recruitsare often eager to take on any assignment.

The security riskAn agent who knows too much is a security risk. The agent can-

not be allowed to resign or retire, lest agency secrets are accidentallyor intentionally revealed. The agent cannot be eliminated becausesomeday he may decide to reveal all of the information he has gath-ered about the opposition. The agent has the dubious honor of beingtoo dangerous to let go and too valuable to eliminate. A security riskis followed and watched closely by members of all agencies; theopposition would like to capture someone with so much information,and the friendly agency needs to prevent a kidnapping or defection.Of course, opposing agencies must realize that their own operationscould be jeopardized if such a knowledgeable agent was captured,and then returned to his home agency,

36 FEBRUARY 1984

DRAGON 37

38 F E B R U A R Y 1 9 8 4

The Baton Races of Yaz

A soggy, silly game for two playersGRANDFATHER�S STORY was perfect weather for the Baton Races of

A warm drizzle soaked the few seats in Yaz, and on this day all differences werethe grandstand that had not yet been occu- forgotten � Flibdill welcomed Tarnose,pied. The way the crowd was still coming Skadingle made room for Luggant, asin, it was certainly going to be another full members of all of the races of Yaz preparedhouse. The crowd was happy, because this to celebrate together.

One infant Tarnose, still in his birthfuzzand full of questions, sat propped on hisgrandfather�s knee.

�Grandfather, why are the Baton Racestoday, and not yesterday or tomorrow?�

�Because, little one,� replied the old and

DRAGON 39

(relatively) wise Tarnose, �it was on thisday, hundreds of rains ago, that our planetescaped the tyranny of the dreadfulFloydds.�

�Who were they?��They were slave-masters who came

from the skies. See that bulge they�re put-ting in place over there? Five of your grand-mothers spent the last two greks makingthat one just for this race. The ships that theFloydds came in were shaped like thebulges, only much bigger, and they shinedeven at night.�

�Why do the others have to play? Whycan�t we just have a Tarnose race and letthem have their own races?�

The little Tarnose didn�t notice as a Ska-dingle sitting nearby turned slightly andglared at the questioner and his grandfather.The old Tarnose phrased his answer care-fully, to satisfy the infant and the skittishSkadingle at the same time.

�Because it took all of the Yazzites, work-ing together, for Yaz to become free again,�he said. �Tarnoses are important, yes,because only we can carry the batonthrough the swamps. But don�t start feelinglike you�re better than other folks. Ska-dingles can run much faster than we can,and Luggants can throttle.�

A Flibdill, sitting right behind the oldTarnose, ruffled her feathers but said noth-ing. Next thing, she thought, the old grampwill be telling the child that it was a Tarnosewho came up with the idea that freed Yaz,when she and all her friends knew it was aFlibdill. . . .

. . . And the Skadingles say it was aSkadingle who came up with the idea. Prideplays a part in such things. Only the dim-witted Luggants make no claim to such aprestigious ancestor � they�ve always beenmuch better at throttling than thinkinganyway.

Actually, it was closer to nine thousandyears ago that the Floydds came, not �sev-eral hundred rains,� as the grandfathersaid. (Every year on Yaz, it rains constantlyexcept for one day; so, for some reason, theTarnoses keep track of time by countingrains instead of years. Every race has a

THE RULES

Object of the gameThe Baton Races of Yaz is played by two

opposing teams of Skadingles, Flibdills,Tarnoses, and Luggants. The object of theceremonial race is for one team to break allof its bulges with its baton before the otherteam can do so.

The race takes place on a field that looksjust like the rest of the surface of the planetYaz. Some of the areas are mud (orangehexes, the closest thing Yaz has to �clearterrain�); others are muck (brownish hexeswith bubbles in them); and the rest are mire(greenish hexes that look like swamp). As

The playing field

40 FEBRUARY 1984

different way of marking time, and no onehas bothered to come up with a decentcalendar since Yaz only has one season.)

It was on a day like any other that theFloydds came to Yaz, bringing with them tothe Yazzites the knowledge that Yaz was notalone in the universe. Unfortunately, thatwas not all they brought, for the Floyddsknew technology and slavery. In hugespherical ships they landed, disgorgingmany small hovercrafts and Floydds withstun-guns. The defenseless Yazzites werequickly forced into submission. But bymaking the Yazzites work for them, theFloydds brought about their own downfallby forcing the races of Yaz to work togetherfor the first time in their soggy history.

Legend has it that the beings of Yazshared a simple language even before theFloydds came. Thus, interracial communi-cation had been theoretically possible. Inpractice, however, it is likely that suchdialogues were no more sophisticated than�Outta my way, chicken-head� and �Take ahike, mud-mouth,� and so forth. The racesof Yaz have never actually fought eachother, but they sure did (and still do) knowhow to quarrel and insult one another. Andall four of the races got along better thanever before � or since, for that matter �when Floyddian slavery forced Yazzites ofall races to work together in crews.

For the first time, Flibdill worked besideSkadingle; Luggant toiled with Tarnose.Each race became aware of, and learnedabout, the special talents of the other three.And as if they hadn�t done enough already,the Floydds added another incentive tocooperate: Harsh punishment was doled outto any Yazzite who didn�t work hard or whocaused friction between members of theslave crew. The Yazzites certainly didn�tlike this arrangement, but they benefitedfrom the tough, universal Yazzite pride thatthey all developed.

The Floydds weren�t very happy withYaz, either. They had hoped to start a largemining operation, stripping the planet of itsnatural resources, and they got pretty or-nery and disgusted when they finally cameto the conclusion that Yaz didn�t have anynatural resources �just drizzle and mud,

explained below, certain races can onlymove through certain types of terrain.

The playing piecesThe strip of cardboard on the edge of the

playing field contains all the counters andmarkers needed in the race (plus extrapieces in case some of them get lost). Thebulge markers are shaped like trapezoids, sothat two of them will fit into one hex on theplaying field. The other counters includebaton markers and the members of theYazzite teams.

Each Yazzite can be recognized by theillustration on the counter � and by anappropriate initial, in case you don�t al-ready know what Yazzites look like: �S� forSkadingle, �F� for Flibdill, �T� for

with an occasional cloudburst to break themonotony. So, most of the Floydds departedfor a better climate, and Yaz became only arepair station for Floyddian ships.

The Yazzites would never admit it, butthey had a lot in common. One thing wastheir slavery under the Floydds; anotherwas their inability to quickly recognize agood thing when they saw one. Most of theFloydds were gone; only guards and me-chanics remained on the planet. And secu-rity was very light because the Yazzites stillseemed to be energetic and loyal slaves;after all, the Floydds still had their stun-guns, and all the Yazzites had was theirmud.

Then it was time for that famous butunknown Yazzite to come up with a planet-saving idea: The slaves would throw off theFloyddian yoke by staging a gang uprising.Now, this itself was not a new idea; proba-bly every Yazzite had had the same thoughtat one time or another. But this unknownleader proposed that the revolution bespread by a group of messengers.

Time was the critical factor. The forces ofYaz had to be roused and unified quickly.The members of the first crew, the onecontaining the brilliant leader, would alldash off in different directions to alert thecrews nearest to them. Then each one ofthose messengers, exhausted, would direct afresh messenger to alert another crew. Andthe revolution would spread, faster than theoutnumbered and surprised Floydds couldrun for their ships. . . .

�Grandfather, what are they doing withthose pretty sticks?�

�Those are the batons, little one. Eachside is placing the other�s baton on one ofthe bulges, so the races should soon begin.Don�t fall asleep now!�

�But what is the baton for? What does itmean?�

�The baton is a symbol, little one, whichmeans that it stands for something else. Thebatons stand for the message that was car-ried to the different camps. And that mes-sage was, �It is time for Yaz to be free!�Now � look! One side has already broken abulge! The Races have begun!�

Tarnose, and �L� for Luggant. Numbersand dots on the counters identify the move-ment rate and terrain maneuverability ofeach race:

For example: An �S� counter indicates aSkadingle, which can move up to 6 hexesper turn. However, each Skadingle counterhas only one dot, which means it can onlymove in mud hexes.

All other counters have more than onedot, which means that those Yazzites canmove in other terrain as well as mud. Flib-dills can enter mud and muck hexes, whileTarnoses and Luggants can move throughall three types of terrain and thus can goanywhere on the playing field.

Except for the differences explainedabove, Skadingles, Tarnoses, and Flibdills

have the same characteristics and abilities.Only the Luggants are different, and theywill be explained in more detail later.

The scenariosThe Baton Races of Yaz can be conducted

as a Basic or an Advanced scenario. Begin-ning players, or those who want to play aless complex (but not necessarily shorter)version, should play the Basic scenario. Therules are the same for either version.

Basic scenario: Each side has 1 baton, 2Skadingles, 2 Flibdills, 2 Tarnoses, 4 Lug-gants, and 6 bulges.

Advanced scenario: Each side has 1 ba-ton, 3 Skadingles, 3 Flibdills, 3 Tarnoses, 6Luggants, and 9 bulges.

SEQUENCE OF PLAY

I. Setting PhaseThe game starts before the race actually

begins. During the Setting Phase, playersdecide where the pieces will be located onthe playing field. All pieces are placed be-fore any pieces are moved.

A. Bulge Placement � One of the twoplayers is designated as the �settingplayer�; this can be determined randomlyor by mutual agreement. The setting playertakes all of his bulge pieces (either 6 or 9,depending on the scenario) and puts themon the playing field, one to a hex, subject tothese restrictions:

No bulge may be placed adjacentto any other bulge.

One third of the bulges must beplaced in each of the three types ofterrain; for the Basic scenario, thismeans two each in mud, muck, andmire hexes.

For your first game, place eachbulge at least four hexes away fromany other bulge. (The farther apartthe bulges are placed, the longer thegame; it�s best to learn by playing anextended game, and try to set upshorter races later.)

When the setting player is finished, theother player puts his bulge pieces in thesame hexes, so that opposing pieces fittogether inside the hex. Once they areplaced, bulges stay where they are untilthey are broken (see �Breaking bulges�below). The hexes containing bulges arereferred to as bulge hexes.

B. Yazzite Placement � Players nowalternate putting their Yazzite counters onthe playing field, one counter at a time andin any order the player desires, with thesetting player going first, subject to theserestrictions:

No Yazzite may be placed in abulge hex.

No Yazzite may be placed in a hexwith any other Yazzite, friendly orotherwise.

No Yazzite may be placed in a hexof a terrain type not permitted to thatcounter; for instance, no Flibdills canbe placed in mire.

C. Baton Placement � The setting

Only Luggants are allowed to end theirmove in a hex occupied by an opposingYazzite (of any race, including other Lug-gants). When this happens, the Luggantcounter is stacked on top of the opposingYazzite, and the bottom counter is throttled �it cannot move as long as the Luggant issitting on top of it. No more than twocounters can ever occupy the same hex atthe same time; that is, two Luggants cannotbe used to �double-throttle� an opposingpiece.

below), and they are the only Yazzites thatcan throttle opposing Yazzites.

carry the baton (see �Baton movement�

The sluggish and powerful Luggants havea unique role in The Baton Races of Yaz.They are the only Yazzites not allowed to

LUGGANTS

Once a player has stopped movinga Yazzite counter, that counter cannotbe moved again until the player�snext turn. (In other words, �split-ting� a move is not allowed.)

Yazzites may move through bulge hexesand hexes containing other Yazzites; theymay also end their move in a bulge hex, aslong as doing so does not violate one of theabove restrictions.

zite belonging to the same side. (Inother words, no stacking is allowed.)

At the end of a player�s turn, nohex can contain Yazzites from oppos-ing sides unless at least one of thepieces is a Luggant (see the followingsection).

a player�s turn, nomore than one Yaz-

reverse the facing so that after two turns, allof a player�s counters are right side upagain.) Of course, the terrain restrictionsexplained above must be followed. Theother restrictions on movement and whereYazzites can finish their moves are these:

At the end ofhex can contain

moved on this turn. On the following turn,

Now the race begins! Players alternateturns, with the setting player going first.Each player, in turn, can move as many ofhis Yazzite counters as desired, up to thelimit of each counter�s movement number,and taking the Yazzite pieces in any orderthe moving player desires. (To keep track ofwhich pieces have been moved so far in aturn, it is a good idea to place all the Yaz-zites facing the same way and then rotatethem 180 degrees � so that they are upsidedown from the viewpoint of the owningplayer � when they have been moved, orwhen it is decided that they will not be

II. Movement Phase

Both batons may not be placed inthe same hex.

player puts one baton counter in each hand,and the other player chooses a hand. Thebaton that is revealed is placed first � bythe opposing player � and then the secondbaton is placed, by the other player, subjectto these restrictions:

Batons can be placed only in bulgehexes.

The Yazzite being throttled can get out ofthis predicament in one of two ways. It canbe freed if the Luggant doing the throttlingis moved in a subsequent turn � or, theLuggant doing the throttling can itself bethrottled by an opposing Luggant thatmoves into the hex. If this happens, theYazzite that was originally throttled is�popped out� and free to move again,while the first Luggant is now throttled.

A popped-out Yazzite is placed in any hexadjacent to the hex where the throttling tookplace, subject to terrain and movementrestrictions (and, of course, the edge of theplaying field). If it is not possible to place apopped-out Yazzite in accordance with theserules, then it may be placed in any legal hexthat is two hexes away from the site of thethrottling. The popped-out Yazzite is placedby the player who owns the piece. Thepopped-out Yazzite may move in the sameturn in which it was popped out, and theoriginal pop-out movement of one or twohexes does not count against its movementallowance.

Notes: Since a player is not re-quired to move all of his Yazzites onevery turn, a Luggant may continueto throttle an opposing Yazzite for aslong as the throttling player desires.

Yazzites of either side can movethrough a hex where a piece is beingthrottled. (Hexes are actually a lotbigger than Yazzites.)

When a Yazzite carrying a baton isthrottled, the baton cannot be passedas long as that Yazzite remains throt-tled. (See �Baton movement� below.)

Special note: Because they are slowstarters, Luggants may not throttleon either player�s first turn!

BATON MOVEMENTAny Yazzite except for a Luggant can

carry the baton belonging to that Yazzite�steam. At the start of the race, each side�sbaton is located in one of the bulge hexesand must be retrieved by a Yazzite fromthat side. From that point on, the baton canbe carried continually by a single Yazzite(which is legal, but not very efficient), or itcan be passed between friendly Yazzites �but remember that Luggants can not carrythe baton. Once the baton is picked up, italways remains in the possession of a Yaz-zite; it cannot simply be dropped (for in-stance, to keep the baton from beingthrottled along with the baton carrier).

The baton may be passed from one (non-Luggant) Yazzite to any other friendlyYazzite in an adjacent hex. Passing thebaton can be done as often as the playerwishes and at any time during his turn.Neither passing nor carrying the baton usesup any of a Yazzite�s movement allowance.

A Yazzite may pass or receive the batonbefore starting its move, after completing itsmove, or at any time during its move. It ispossible for a Yazzite to receive and pass thebaton without moving at all; however, asexplained above, a throttled Yazzite maynot receive or pass the baton.

DRAGON 41

BREAKING BULGESWhen one player�s team breaks all of its

bulges, that player has finished the game �but that player may not necessarily be thewinner. (See the following section.)

Whenever a Yazzite carrying the batonmoves onto or through a bulge hex, thebulge of the same color is broken, and thatbulge piece is removed from the playingfield. There is no limit to the number ofbulges that can be broken in one turn.

At the start of the game, the Yazzite thatpicks up the baton automatically breaks thebulge of the same color in that hex. Otherbulges can be broken in any order.

Even if a bulge hex is occupied by anopposing Yazzite, the bulge in that hex canbe broken as long as the baton carrier hasenough movement ability to move throughthe hex. Note that terrain restrictions applyto bulge hexes just like any other, so that aYazzite can only break a bulge if it is able tomove through the terrain of that hex. It ispossible to move through a bulge hex bymoving into it and then moving back out ofit, into the same hex that the Yazzite justleft (in some cases, that may be the only hexadjacent to the bulge hex which that Yazzitecan enter).

FINISHING THE RACEWhen The Baton Races of Yaz are con-

ducted for real, both sides move simultane-ously, and the first side that finishes is theside that wins the race. But in the game,players must take turns to keep things or-derly � and, as a result, finishing the racefirst is not always the same as winning. Tokeep the setting player from having anunfair advantage, follow these rules:

An anticipated finish must be announced.A player may not break his last bulge

unless he has announced to the opposingplayer � before he has moved any Yazzites

It�s the middle of a game, and the red team (shaded pieces) has a problem. The Flibdill carrying the baton is the lastblue piece to move in this turn. What it should do is rush over, break the blue bulge, use the rest of its move to return tothe hex it is in right now, and then pass the baton to the Skadingle next to it. On the red team�s following turn, it wouldbe a bad idea to throttle the baton-carrying Skadingle -- because it would be popped out two hexes on the next turn bythe blue Luggant, since the Skadingle cannot move into any of the hexes around it. The red team also has an opportu-nity to break a bulge, but in order to do it, the Skadingle will first have to move next to the Tarnose and pass the baton.Then the Skadingle can finish its move by going back to the hex it started in; the Tarnose can pass the baton back to theSkadingle after breaking the bulge, and the Skadingle can hand it over to the Flibdill to get it across the muck hex.

If the non-setting player announces ananticipated finish before starting his turn

If the setting player announces an antici-pated finish, both players should keep trackof how many Yazzites the setting playermoves in order to bring about that finish.The non-setting player then takes his lastturn, and if he can break his last bulge bymoving fewer Yazzites than the settingplayer did, the non-setting player is thewinner of the race.

Both players get an equal number ofturns.

�that he will finish on that turn. If aplayer miscalculates and announces a finishbut is not able to finish on that turn, thenthat player automatically loses.

Strategy tips and extra rulesThe rules for playing The Baton Races of

Yaz are rather simple; the most challengingpart of the game is learning how to strategi-cally place your counters before the raceactually starts, and how to develop and stickto a game plan. Much of this strategicknowledge can be gained from simply play-ing the game, but beginning players mayfind these observations helpful.

Placing YazzitesThe initial placement of Yazzite counters

is the main thing that sets one side apartfrom the other. (The placement of the ba-tons is the only other difference.) Eachside�s bulges are located in all the samehexes, and each side has the same numberof Yazzites of each type. Many games arewon or lost because of how each playerdeploys his Yazzites before the race begins.

In general, you should try to get the mostout of your Yazzites, placing them and later

42 FEBRUARY 1984

moving them so as to take full advantage ofthe movement rate and terrain maneuver-ability of each type. It is often a good ideato place Yazzites so that any counter iswithin range of at least one bulge hex that itcan enter. By doing this, you�ll be �cov-ered� no matter where your opponentdecides to place your baton; at least oneYazzite will be able to get to the baton, andbreak the first bulge, on your first turn.

When placing and moving your Yazzites,keep in mind that the best way to break asmany bulges as quickly as possible is byusing your Yazzites as a chain. The batoncarrier should be able to use all or most ofits movement before passing the baton toanother Yazzite that has not yet beenmoved, and so on. By doing this (whencircumstances and your opponent�s strategypermit it), you can cover a lot of ground injust a turn or two.

The placement of Luggants requires a

and then breaks his last bulge on that turn,he is the winner, because at that point eachplayer has had an equal number of turns.

If both players finish with an equal num-ber of turns and an equal number of Yaz-zites moved in their last turn, the game is adraw.

CREDITSGame and graphic design: C. C. StollRules development: Stuart Sparks York,

Patrick L. PriceGraphic development: Roger RauppRules editing: Kim MohanPlaytesters: Speedo Flash, Jon Pickens,

Patrick L. Price, Roger Raupp,Wendy Vincent

different kind of outlook. Since Luggantscan�t carry the baton anyway, they don�thave to be �chained� for maximum effi-ciency; in fact, the opposite is generallytrue. Luggants work better in pairs or smallclusters, so that one or two of them canthrottle opposing pieces while another onelurks nearby, waiting to pop out one of theother friendly Luggants that gets throttledby the opposition, or to re-throttle an oppo-nent that was popped out on the previousturn but couldn�t move away quicklyenough.

Most of the time, it�s wise to place yourLuggants on the playing field as your lastfew moves in the Setting Phase; by then,you�ll know the general layout of youropponent�s pieces, and you can put Lug-gants where it looks like they�ll be the mosteffective in ruining or delaying his plans.Keep your Luggants within range of bulgehexes, if you have no other specific purpose

Yazzite that doesn�t have the baton, instead

for them; that way, they�ll be in a good

of the baton carrier, especially if that ma-

position to throttle a baton carrier if it

neuver leaves the baton carrier strandedwithout a teammate to receive the baton.

approaches that bulge. When you�re choos-

(This can work particularly well when thebaton carrier is one of the slower-moving

ing targets for throttling, keep in mind that

pieces and the piece being throttled is aspeedy Skadingle.)

it�s sometimes more effective to throttle a

P l a c i n g b u l g e sStrategy isn�t nearly as important in the

placement of bulges as it is in the placementof Yazzites, but how you (as the settingplayer) choose to do it can have a markedeffect on how the race is run. For a wide-open, relatively long game, you can dis-perse the bulges loosely over the entireplaying surface. For a game that will proba-bly be shorter, you can place bulges closetogether (but remember that two bulgescannot be adjacent). In the rules, it is sug-gested that you place bulges no closer thanfour hexes away from each other whenyou�re learning the game. This recommen-dation is intended to give you a chance tosee how the game mechanics work by mak-ing your first race a relatively long one;after you�ve learned the game, feel free toexperiment with �bulge clusters� and seehow that tactic affects the placement ofYazzites � by both you and your opponent.

You can reduce the threat of the speedySkadingles by placing bulges in mud hexesthat are almost surrounded by other typesof terrain, so that a Skadingle can only getto that hex by going the long way through anarrow corridor of mud hexes. This willforce your opponent � and you � to place

OPTIONAL RULESAfter you�ve played The Baton Races of

Yaz a few times, you may think of someways to add to or alter the rules � andthat�s fine, as long as none of your optionalrules seriously harm the balance of thegame. Here are a few suggestions youmight try, or that might get you thinkingabout other alterations:

Carrying friendly YazzitesIf Luggants are big enough and strong

enough to throttle Yazzites, they also oughtto be able to carry them. If you use thisrule, any Luggant is allowed to carry anyfriendly non-Luggant (including the batoncarrier), usually as a means of enabling the�passenger� to get through terrain that itcannot enter. The Luggant does not suffer amovement penalty while carrying a passen-ger, but it cannot carry and throttle at thesame time. If a Luggant and its passengerare jumped on by an opposing Luggant, thecarrying Luggant is throttled and the pas-senger is �popped out� to an adjacent hex� but it cannot move any further until itsnext turn, and it may be throttled by an-

Skadingles close to those hexes in the settingphase, so they don�t have to move too far toget to the bulge later, or else it will force youto rely on Flibdills and Tarnoses to crossthrough muck or mire to break the bulge inthe partially isolated mud hex.

Placing the batonThe suggestions on this subject are cen-

tered around one basic strategy: Make it asdifficult as you can for your opponent to getto his baton, or for him to make greatstrides with it immediately after it is picked

If your opponent has left a bulge hexisolated (no potential baton carriers withinrange of it on the first turn), that spot is agood place to consider putting his baton,since he won�t be able to get to it until atleast his second turn.

If your opponent has �covered� all thebulge hexes with Yazzites in range, considerplacing his baton on a bulge that is close toone or more of your Luggants; even if he isable to retrieve the baton on his first turn,your Luggants will be threatening to throt-tle the baton carrier on your following turn.This strategy works especially well if youare the setting player, since you will getyour second turn (and be able to start throt-tling) before your opponent gets his secondturn and moves his endangered piece(s) toofar away from the Luggant(s).

If none of the bulge hexes is a good loca-tion for one of these two reasons, youshould look toward placing your opponent�sbaton in a muck or mire hex, so that it canonly be retrieved by one of the slower-moving Yazzites. Allowing a Skadingle topick up the baton right away is liable toturn the race into a runaway, especially ifyour opponent has a good chain of Yazzitesset up.

other opposing Luggant later in the currentturn.

A passenger may not split its move, usingpart of it to get to a Luggant�s hex and theremainder after it has been carried in thatturn; any movement points that remainunused when a passenger jumps on a Lug-gant are lost.

Dropping the batonIf you use this rule, it is legal for the

baton carrier to drop the baton in an unoc-cupied adjacent hex. This maneuver cantake place before, during, or after the batoncarrier�s move in the current turn � butnot during the opponent�s turn.

A dropped baton can be picked up by anyfriendly Yazzite that is permitted to carry it� or by an opposing Luggant. The onlyway to get the baton away from an opposingLuggant is for the larcenous Luggant to bejumped on by a Yazzite from the otherteam. When this happens, the baton is�popped out� into an adjacent hex (chosenby the player owning the baton). If the pop-out hex contains a Yazzite that is permittedto carry the baton, it is considered to be

up.

Throttling tipsThere is no defense against throttling �

if it�s going to happen, it�s going to happen� but by thinking ahead, you may be ableto make throttling as painless as possible. Ifone of your Flibdills or Skadingles is inimmediate danger of being throttled andyou can�t do anything about that, try tomove the piece into a hex that is partiallysurrounded by terrain that it can�t moveinto, forcing your opponent�s Luggant to dothe throttling at that location. Then, onyour next turn, you can move one or morepieces adjacent to the �throttling hex,�occupying all the hexes that your piecewould be able to �pop out� into. On thesame turn, you must be able to bring up aLuggant to re-throttle, so that when you dothat, the popped-out piece will be forced topop out a distance of two hexes instead ofthe usual one. That single hex of differencecan, in certain circumstances, mean thedifference between winning and losing.

Of course, the situation described abovewon�t occur very often, but you should lookfor ways to take advantage of a popped-outpiece sometimes being able to move twohexes. Popping out over a hex of forbiddenterrain may be a lot better than only pop-ping out one hex and then having to takethe long way with normal movement.

Obviously, the converse of this suggestionholds true if you�re the one doing the throt-tling. Unless the situation demands it, youshould not throttle a piece that might beable to pop out two hexes on your oppo-nent�s next turn. It�s generally not a goodidea to throttle any piece that can bepopped out on your opponent�s very nextturn; all that does is waste your Luggant�smove for the current turn, and give thepopped-out piece an extra hex of movementbesides.

picked up immediately, and the new batoncarrier can move with it or pass it in the

If the Yazzite that pops out the baton is aLuggant, then the opposing Luggant isthrottled, just as if that maneuver had takenplace without the baton involved. If theYazzite that jumps on the baton-carryingLuggant is not another Luggant, then thepiece that rescued the baton is throttled(earning a place in Yazzite martyrdom).

If you use this rule in addition to thepreceding one, you should not allow a Lug-gant to carry the opposition�s baton at thesame time it is carrying a friendly Yazzite.And, a Luggant lugging around a batoncannot use it to break any bulges, of eitherside.

In this variation, each player gets todecide during the Setting Phase which bulgehis opponent must break last � the sameone where the baton is placed. After a Yaz-zite retrieves the baton, it cannot be used tobreak the bulge it was placed on until all ofthat side�s other bulges are broken.

DRAGON 43

The first one last

same turn.

44 FEBRUARY 1984

DRAGON 45

Curing the Monty Haul maladyby Roger E. Moore

The following passages were taken andedited from letters received by DRAGON®Magazine in the last year. As you readthrough them, ask yourself if some of themdescribe situations that have occurred inyour own AD&D� campaign.

�My players have characters who havecreated spells that propel them through timeand space at tremendous rates. They havelooted the future and brought back devicesthat could destroy Greyhawk and many ofthe planes. They own several Battlestars,and they also have a large stock of AT-ATWalkers from The Empire Strikes Back.How do I keep them from destroying Grey-hawk and creating an incredibly boringcampaign?�

�One player I know in an AD&D gamehas a human character who has changed hisrace and class several times, and is nowmulticlassed in four classes. He decided hischaracter would kill Orcus, and after thathis character became the new prince of theundead, with an unlimited amount of anyundead to control, even an unlimited num-ber of liches. The character also has somestar destroyers he uses to fly around inspace or to destroy planets. This character

My first reaction upon reading theseletters was frank disbelief. AT-AT Walkersmarching across Greyhawk? Prince of theundead? Killing Thor with a push spell?4,000th level characters?

�Our Dungeon Master has a campaignin which a 4,000th level magic-user/clericruns a magic shop, in which characters canbuy artifacts and relics for the prices listedin the DMG. If a character walks in withthe right amount of money, he can getanything. Is it possible to have an NPC likethat, and is it advisable?�

�I knew a character in an AD&D cam-paign who was able to slay the god Thor byusing a push spell on him, knocking him offa tall wall. The hammer Mjolnir did not falloff the wall and the character got it.�

�I have a 65th level cleric character, andwant to know if he can get more spells ormagic items. Also, how many times can mycharacter use his spells at will (if high-levelcharacters can use several spells at once)?�

has a permanent prismatic sphere aroundhim that even moves with him. He says hemade it by wishing a couple of thousandtimes. How does one deal with this kind ofplayer in a campaign?�

46 FEBRUARY 1984

After reading through a pile of letters likethese, however, I remembered AD&Dgames that I refereed long ago, and charac-ters that I once played. When I began as aDM in 1977, I ran adventures in which thecharacters met 20 dragons, of all colors, in asingle day (by �random roll,� of course).My group was started on a quest for theSilmarils of Tolkien fame, and met prepos-terously huge dragons and other gargantuanbeasties guarding the various treasures.Other characters in an old campaign ofmine were able to find things like CaptainAmerica�s shield, Excalibur, and otherassorted artifacts after cutting their waythrough the minions of a 30th-level lich todo it.

As player characters, I�ve run a minotaurdemi-god/demon-prince who attacked otherdeities on impulse (though not successfully),and once I played a gold dragon who hadthree female henchdragons named Farrah,Kate, and Jacqueline. You get the idea. . . .As much as I�d like to whitewash my pastabuses of AD&D and D&D® games, itcannot be done (my friends would remindme of them, for one thing). The memoriescome in handy, however, when readingletters like those above.

The AD&D game system is a very com-plicated one. Dungeon Masters have toabsorb many rules to run a game well, andthe prospect of running a campaign can bevery intimidating. Most DMs want to runadventures that keep the players challengedand happy; killing off characters, even whendone fair and square, is intimidating, too.Some players will pout for days if theircharacters get killed or don�t get what theywant, and this can be rough on everyone.These problems can put lots of pressure onthe referee to start altering the scope andbalance of the campaign. If my best friendBob really wants his character to haveOdin�s rune wand that badly, well, maybethere�s a way . . .

The hidden problem, of course, is thatgiveaway games like this pale very quickly.Soon no one feels challenged by anythingthe DM throws at them, people get bored,and the game folds. Sometimes one or twoplayers are shown exceptional favoritism ina campaign by the DM, and everyone elsegets shafted. No matter how you do it,giveaway games like those described abovewill produce nothing whatsoever but asorry, frustrating mess.

Players generally enjoy running charac-ters who are powerful and garner respectfrom other characters in the game. Fewpeople want weak or incompetent charactersin any role-playing system. The motivationto have a strong character sometimes leadsto cheating (altering die rolls and abilityscores, writing down magic items the char-acter never gained, or DMing one�s own

characters). Players often put demandsupon the DM for less powerful monstersand more treasures, and get caught up in arace for the �bestest with the mostest.�

Unfortunately, this only brings the end ofthe game closer at hand. If the gods can beslain without trouble, what is there left todo? The game was supposed to be fun, butsoon it isn�t. Is there something wrong withthe game?

No, the game is fine. It takes time toestablish balance in an AD&D campaign,and it is frankly impossible for anyone torun a campaign for any length of timewithout having the game get out of balanceat some point or another. In other words, itis normal to have problems somewhat likethose described at the start of this article �normal, but not desirable.

When a gaming group starts out, thechances of the game getting out of balancerise considerably if everyone wants to fiddlewith the rules right away. The more altera-tions, the further out of whack the gamegoes. By the time everyone is aware of theproblem, it is far too late to change any-thing without dumping the campaign andstarting completely over � with first-levelcharacters, and using the rules as they arebefore you start altering anything.

�What about my 65th level cleric?� Well,either the cleric goes or the game goes; thegame can exist without the cleric, but thecleric can�t continue to exist without thegame, so . . .

The value in starting over is that noweveryone has at least some idea of how thegame works (and how it isn�t supposed towork). The sour taste of a runaway cam-paign makes players that much more reluc-tant to repeat the mistake again. Secondcampaigns are generally more balancedthan their predecessors, and most playersI�ve known (myself included) have foundthem more fun to play in.

Not everyone may get tired of a MontyHaul campaign at the same time. A gaminggroup may split up into ultra-level gamersand those who begin, with a fresh campaignand characters. It usually seems to happenthat the group starting over again will ac-quire more game-players than the othergroup, and the Monty Haul group willdwindle in membership. The willingness tostart over again is a mark of maturity andflexibility, and this will attract players whoadmire and practice those qualities.

�But I like playing high-level charac-ters!� So do I, but I find that building acharacter up to high level is more entertain-ing when starting from the lower levels andworking him up by the rules. Charactersrun in this manner are more believable,more colorful, and have more interestingpersonalities than those slapped together ina Monty Haul campaign; their flair andliveliness make them more fun to play. Theminotaur demi-god character I used longago was not as much fun to play as my 5th-level fighter/7th-level thief gnome character,

Cyragnome de Bergerac. Cyragnome isobnoxious, speaks with an outrageousFrench accent, and gives everyone whomeets him severe heartburn. The minotaurjust hacked and killed. Dull, dull, dull.

When I suggest starting over again andusing the rules as they are, I am not sayingthat everyone should play only �official�AD&D games. All AD&D and D&Dgamers eventually develop peculiar systemsthat they use in their campaigns with rea-sonable effect, though such systems (likecritical hit tables, new monsters and magicitems, new character classes and races, andso forth) are not official at all.

However, the more closely one workswith the rules and the more often they areused, the better one understands how theywork together in the game. In time, one canjudge whether a particular rule change willthrow a campaign out of balance or whetherit will (for the players concerned) improvethe enjoyment of the game. Understandingthe rules and knowing them is the key todesigning a game that keeps DM and playeralike happy.

There is no crime in letting a campaignget out of control. The only crime comes innot learning from one�s own mistakes. Thebest DMs and players are those who don�tclaim to be perfect, and who look for waysto improve the game for everyone�s benefit.

A fresh campaign may be the answeryou�re looking for. It makes a pleasantchange from killing gods with a push spell.

D R A G O N

SF/gaming convention calendarEMCON �84, Feb. 4

To be held at the University of OregonBallroom in Eugene, Orgeon, this conven-tion will feature fantasy role playing, board-games, and miniature competition. Emconwill also offer seminars on gaming and ascience-fiction/fantasy art show and sale. Formore information, send a S.A.S.E. to: Em-con �84, 2180 Ohio, Eugene OR 97402.

WARCON X, Feb. 10-12The Nova Committee of Texas A&M

University invites everyone to its upcomingconvention. The fantastic lineup of activitiesincludes AD&D� camapaigns, navalminiatures, Traveller® competition, andmuch more. The convention will be held atthe Memorial Student Center. For more in-formation, contact: WARCON Committee,P.O. Box J-1, College Station TX 77844, orcall (409)845-1515.

EXPLORERCON MAINE, Feb. 11Sponsored by Explorer Post 315 and the

University of Maine�s D&D® Club, thisevent will take place at Orono High Schoolin Orono, Maine. A variety of games for dif-ferent skill levels and age groups will beavailable. Contact: Dan Belyea, Chairman,Explorercon Maine, 474 Stillwater Ave.,Old Town ME 04468, or telephone(207)827-2215.

WISCON 8, Feb. 24-26Noted writers Jessica Amanda Salmonson

and Elizabeth A. Lynn are guests of honorfor this SF/gaming event at the ConcourseHotel in Madison, Wis. Memberships are$11 until Feb. 1, or $16 at the door.Children under 12 are admitted free if ac-companied by an adult member. Contact:WisCon 8, P.O. Box 1624, Madison WI53701, phone (608)251-6226 (days) or(608)233-0326 (evenings).

EMPEROR�S BIRTHDAYCONVENTION XIII, March 3

This one-day convention is sponsored bythe gamers of Michiana, and is Indiana�soldest gaming event. It will be held at Hall Aof the Century Center in South Bend, Ind.Activities will include major role-playingtournaments, mianiature events, boardgaming, and a flea market. Advanceregistration is $5.75; cost at the door is$6.25. Contact: R. Hagerty, 123 W. HivelyAve., Apt. J118, Elkhart IN 46517.

WINTER FANTASY andSPRING REVEL, March 3-4These mini-conventions have been combin-ed into a single event, and will be held at theAmericana Resort in Lake Geneva.Seminars, demonstrations and an auctionwill be part of the convention�s activities.Contact: GEN CON® Office, P.O. Box 756,Lake Geneva WI 53147.

48 FEBRUARY 1984

Touted as one of Southern California�slargest strategy gaming conventions and ex-positions, this event will take place at theSheraton-Anaheim Hotel, located next toDisneyland in Anaheim, California.Wargame, science-fiction, fantasy, sporting,and family-oriented game tournaments willbe featured. Also, industry exhibitors will bethere, and many special events will be of-fered. Prepaid admission to the convention is$15.50 for all three days; prices at the doorare $17 for the entire weekend and $13 perday. Advance pre-registration must bepostmarked no later than Feb. 24, 1984, per

ORCCON 1984, March 16-18

Guests of honor at this SF/fantasy conven-tion will include author C. J. Cherryh,Margaret Middleton, artist Steven R. Dodd,and toastmaster Daluan Coger. Member-ships are $10 through Feb. 1, $15 after thatdate, and $8 at the door. This conventionwill be held in Memphis, Tennessee, andwill feature a masquerade, video room, artshow, auction, and a 24-hour conventionsuite. Send all inquiries to: Midsouth Con 3,c/o Richard Moore, Jr., 1229 Pallwood,Memphis TN 38122.

MIDSOUTHCON 3, March 16-18

All aspects of contemporary hobbygaming will be featured at this event, co-sponsored by the Crawford Dragoons andTSR, Inc., to be held at the ThunderbirdResort Hotel in Jacksonville, Fla. Fordetails: GEN CON South Information,P.O. Box 756, Lake Geneva WI 53147.

GEN CON® SOUTH VIIIGAME CONVENTION, March 16-18

This seventh annual SF/fantasy gamingconvention will again be held at the Royald�Iberville Hotel in Biloxi, Miss. Theorganizers anticipate attendance of morethan 1,000 persons. Authors Robert Adams(guest of honor) and Andrew Offutt(toastmaster) will be among the celebrityguests. Continuous film and video shows, a24-hour game room, an art show, and a�meet the guests� party are some of thescheduled offerings. Memberships are $10through Dec. 31, $12.50 after that untilMarch 8, and $15 at the door. For informa-tion, write to CoastCon, Inc., P.O. Box1423, Biloxi MS 39533.

COASTCON �84, March 9-11

At the Omni Auditorium, BrowardCommunity College-North, PompanoBeach, Fla. Gaming events, films, and CivilWar re-enactments are among the scheduledattractions. Advance registration is $4;admission at the door is $5. Contact: JohnDunn, Library, B.C.C.-North, 1000Coconut Creek Blvd., Pompano Beach FL33066, or telephone (305)428-8832.

GOLD-CON II, March 3-4 mitting tournament pre-registration at thistime. For further details write to:STRATEGICON PR Dept., P.O. Box2577, Anaheim CA 93804.

TRI-CON II, March 16-18A SF/gaming convention to be staged at

the North Carolina State University campusin Raleigh, N.C. For more information,send a SASE to: N.C. State Gaming Scoie-ty, P.O. Box 37122, Raleigh NC 27627.

ALASCON V, March 17-18The organizers of this convention call it

the biggest and best gaming convention inAlaska. A tournament dungeon, miniaturepainting contests, and more will be featuredat the event. The convention will take placeat the University of Alaska, Fairbankscampus. For more information , write:ALASCON V, c/o Ken Mayer, P.O. Box82374, College AK 99708.

MUGG-CON I, March 23-25A benefit SF/gaming convention to be

staged at the Interlaken Lodge in LakeGeneva, Wis., sponsored by the Multi-Universal Gamers� Guild (MUGG). AnAD&D� tournament, nearly 100 other gam-ing events, and other special attractions areon the schedule. All proceeds from the con-vention will be turned over to the AmericanRed Cross. For more information, send abusiness-size self-addressed, stampedenvelope to MUGG-Con Convention Com-mittee, c/o Jan Carlson, P.O. Box 265, LakeGeneva WI 53147.

STELLARCON 9, March 23-25A science-fiction and gaming event to be

held at the University of North Carolina�sGreensboro campus. Contact: the ScienceFiction and Fantasy Federation, Box 4,Elliott University Center, UNC-Greensboro, Greensboro NC 27412.

NOVA 9, March 24-25Free movies, gaming, an art show and

auction, a costume party and contesthighlight this convention, to be staged on thecampus of Oakland University in Rochester,Mich. For registration information andother details, send SASE to: The Order ofLeibowitz, P.O. Box 61, Madison HeightsMI 48071.

AGGIECON XV, March 29 - April 1This science-fiction convention, featuring

L. Sprague de Camp and Catherine deCamp as guests of honor, will be held on thecampus of Texas A&M University. Amongthe other personalities scheduled to be pre-sent are Don Maitz, James P. Hogan, andWilson �Bob� Tucker. For further informa-tion about this convention, write to Ag-gieCon XV, P.O. Box J-1, College StationTX 77844, or call (409)845-1515.

CAPCON �84, April 6-8This seventh annual gaming convention

will be staged at the South Terrace of theOhio Union on the Ohio State Universitycampus in Columbus, Ohio. Cost is $2, forSaturday and Sunday only. Events includeminiatures battles, and fantasy and historicalgaming. Contact: Paul T. Rigel, c/o WarGame Designs, 6119 E. Main Street #202,Columbus OH 43213, or call (614)863-6635between 2 p.m. and midnight.

CAROLINA CON, April 6-8This event will be held at Russell House

University Union, USC Campus, Colum-bia, South Carolina. These three days oftournament and fun will include fantasy,science-fiction, historical, and adventuregaming. For information, contact: USCWargamers, Box 80138, USC, ColumbiaSC 29208.

MASSCONFUSION: Technicon, April 6-8To be staged at the Jonas Clark Building

at Clark University in Worcester, Mass.,this event will offer over 32 different fantasy,adventure, and strategy games. Ben Bovawill be the Guest of Honor and will par-ticipate in a writing workshop and a specialspace development symposium featured atthe convention. Preregistration costs are$7.00 for the entire weekend; admission atthe door is $4.00 per day. Contact: Ego-TripEnterprises, 587-C Park Ave., WorcesterMA 01603, or call (617)792-3003.

NORTHEASTER 2, April 6-8Sponsored by Rutgers University

Gamers, this second annual event will beheld at the Rutgers University campus inNew Brunswick, New Jersey. The conven-tion will feature fantasy role-playing,wargames, boardgames, miniatures, andother gaming events. To run a gaming eventor attend as a participant, send all inquiriesto: NORTHEASTER 2, Box 101, R.U.Student Center, 126 College Av., NewBrunswick NJ 08903. Inquiries from hobbydealers are invited.

APRICON, April 7This convention will feature science-

fiction and fantasy role-playing games,board games, and miniatures and fantasy artcontents. Preregistration costs are $4.00;registration costs at the door are $5.00 Formore informations about this event, sendSASE to Richard Howes, 390 North Ave.,Rockland MA 02370.

GAME FAIRE �84, April 28-29This year�s Game Faire will take place at

Spokane Falls Community College. Inex-pensive housing and breakfasts will be pro-vided by local gamers. The school�s cafeteriawill be serving food, and snacks will beavailable at concession booths. Admission is$5 a day or $7 for a prepaid weekend pass;the weekend pass will cost $9 at the door. Allproceeds will go to the Spokane Guild Schoolfor handicapped children. Events includeAD&D� and Runequest Tournaments,

The Military Interests and Games Societycordially invites our readership to its fifth an-nual gamesfest. This will be a FREE day ofwargaming, in all its myriad forms. Variouswargame tournaments and events, as well as

MIGS V, May 27

To be held at the Delta Winnipeg Hotel inWinnipeg, Manitoba, this convention willbe highlighted by such events as an art show,video programs and movies, various sf/fan-tasy role-playing games, seminars andworkshops, a masquerade ball, and a Sun-day buffet. Robert Asprin will be the con-vention�s Guest of Honor, with Phil Foglioas Artist Guest of Honor and Nick Burns asComics Guest of Honor. Registration costsare $15 until April 15, and $20 at the door.For more details, write to: KEYCON �84,P.O. Box 165, Westwin P.O., Winnipeg,Manutoba, Canada R2R 0Y0.

KEYCON �84, May 18-20

This science-fiction/fantasy conventionwill be held at th Tall Timbers Resort andInn in Texarkana, Arkansas. Guests ofhonor will include Mr. and Mrs. TheodoreSturgeon, Phil Foglio, and Robert Asprin.An art show and auction, video room,D&D® and costume contests, and a dealers�room will be featured at this event. For moreinformation, send a S.A.S. envelope to:Texarkon, 1021 East 29th) Texarkana AR75502.

TEXARKON 3, May 11-13

This gaming convention will be staged atthe Cincinnati Technical College in Cincin-nati Ohio. For further details, contact: Tri-State Cin �84, c/o Boardwalk, 1032 DeltaAve., Cincinnati OH 45208, or call(513)871-2110 or (513)351-9920.

TRI-STATE CON 1984, May 4-6

Described by the organizers as the largestSF/gaming convention in the central NewYork area, this event will be held at theSheraton Inn Convention Center inSyracuse, N.Y. Guests of honor will includeFrederik Pohl, L. Sprague de Camp, RandyElliott, Carl Lundgren, and Jay Jay Klein.More information is available by sending aSASE to: OnoCon �84, P.O. Box 305,Syracuse NY 13208

ONOCON �84, May 4-6

For more information about this third an-nual gaming event in Ontario, Canada, con-tact: Niagara Gamers Association, 223 St.Paul Street, St. Catharines, Ontario,Canada L2R 6V9.

NIAGARA GAMEFEST & COMPUTERSHOW �84, May 4-6

miniatures painting contents, game instruc-tions and classes, computer gaming competi-tion, and fighting demonstrations by theSociety for Creative Anachronisms. Formore information, contact: Shannon Ahern,Book and Game Company, West 621Mallon, Spokane WA 99201, or phone(509)325-3358.

a miniatures painting competition, will takeplace. The event will be held at theKitchener-Waterloo Regional PoliceAssociation Recreation Centre, R.R. 2,Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. The hall willopen at 10:00 a.m. and close at 10:00 p.m.For further information, contact: ChrisGoldsmith, Secretary, 100 Lorraine Drive,Hamilton, Ontario, Canada L8T 3S3.

CON-JURATION, June 1 -3Gaming tournaments, a trivia contest,

figure painting competition, films, and amasquerade will all be part of this event.Guest of Honor will be Jack Chalker; specialguests will include Edward Bryant, GlenCook, Warren Norwood, and MikeResnick. Lunch with the guests and awriter�s workshop have also been planned.This year�s convention will take place at theWest World Inn in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Ad-mission is $8 unitl May 4, or $10 at the door.For more information, write to: Con-Juration, P.O. Box 690064, Tulsa OK74169.

WILCON, June 23 -25Fifty free events will be featured

throughout this convention, which will beheld at the Civic Center in Wilmington, Il-linois. Memberships are $4 per day, or $10for the entire weekend. For more informa-tion about this gaming convention, contact:Donald Heck, 1790 Vista Drive, Wilm-ington IL 60481, or phone (815)476-7385.

DRAGON 49

One-of-a-kind game aidsUnusual but useful role-playing accessories

Dozens, if not hundreds, of role-playingaids are on the market; among them you�llfind adventure scenarios, tournament mod-ules, hex sheets, character record sheets,and more. Each of them is different, but inmost cases, when you can find one product,you can find several more just like it.

However, a few one-of-a-kind role-playing aids do exist. They may not beindispensable, but they certainly makegaming more convenient and enjoyable. Aselection of these products is reviewed be-low. You won�t find them in many shops, sothe name and address of the manufacturerhas been included in each review for mail-order purchasing.

BATTLEMATS� and MEGAMATS�$8.98 and $19.50; plus

$1 shipping/handlingBerkeley Game CompanyP.O. Box 4045Berkeley CA 94704

(Shipping to Canada $2;Calif. residents add sales tax)

Role-playing games can suffer fromimprecision and confusion � not to men-tion pure sloppiness � if a board and play-ing pieces are not used to mark the locationsof objects and creatures. You can try gridsdrawn on posterboard, square-griddedlinoleum, or printed versions of boards anddungeon walls. You can also buy ready-made floor plans � attractively printedsquares that you cut into rooms and corri-dors. But unless you invest a lot of time andmoney, these commercial aids can restrictthe size and variety of the locations youdepict.

The ideal product for illustrating a role-playing situation would be a gridded whitematerial that could be erased without mois-ture � something like the material used oneraseable �whiteboards.� This materialwould be bonded to a stiff backing. Usingcolored markers, you could draw walls,furnishings, and areas affected by spells.The ink would be wiped off after the en-counter has ended.

Unfortunately, no such aid is commer-cially available. But Berkeley�s BATTLE-MATS and MEGAMATS come very closeto this ideal. These two products are fabric-backed expanded vinyl gaming mats. Lightbrown grids are superimposed upon cream-colored mats. Using water-soluble transpar-ency pens, you can draw virtually anythingon the mats, and erase it with a wet clothwhen you�re done. (In an emergency, salivawill smear the lines enough to �erase� thedrawing.)

The BATTLEMAT measures 23½� by

50 FEBRUARY 1984

The FAIR SHAKE Dice Device is at right, the 25mm BATTLEMAT serves as the background,DRAGONBONE at left, with THE D4 THAT Miniatures and other dice are included for sizeROLLS in the foreground between the two. A comparison. (Photo by Lew Pulsipher)

BATTLEMATS and MEGAMATS arenearly ideal; their only shortcoming is thatyou have to use water to erase them. Two orthree of the Battlemats, or one Battlematand one Megamat, make for extremelyefficient battle organization. You can placeone mat against another to extend the play-ing area. A narrow border surrounds thesquare grid, but you can cut this off if youwant to join two mats together.

The fabric of these mats is light butstrong; you can roll the mats up and carrythem. I took one mat on a camping trip,where it survived perfectly, despite havingspent an entire night hanging out of the car,closed in the door. This abuse merely madethe fabric backing dirty. The fabric is a bittoo flexible to use on a �mushy� surface,such as a deep pile rug, but you can mountthe mat on a board if you want to make itmore stable.

The MEGAMAT measures 32� by 48�and sells for $19.50. It is available with the21mm and 25mm squares and hexes (stag-gered squares in 25mm only), and hexesalso in 16mm. Numbered hexes are availa-ble in a 30mm size, printed on a black mat.

26�, and it retails for $8.98. Grid patternsavailable include 21mm and 25mm squares� aligned, or staggered like bricks � andhexagons in 21mm, 25mm, and 16mmsizes.

Bill Lamb of the Berkeley companywarns that ink from the marking pens maynot erase completely, especially the red, ifyou leave the drawings on overnight. Per-sonally, I haven�t had any trouble in thisrespect. Transparency pens are availablefrom Berkeley in four colors (red, green,blue, and black) for $.90 each.

For further illustrative ability, Lambsuggests the use of plastic �report covers,�which come in a variety of colors. They�reeasy to cut into shapes, and you can markthem with permanent felt-tipped pens. Youcan stick the covers to the mats by usingrubber cement (let the cement dry beforeyou apply the covers). The covers peel offquickly. I suggest you test the rubber ce-ment to make sure your brand doesn�tdamage the materials.

If you�re interested in other gaming mats,Berkeley also makes mats for Go and chess.Inquire at the address above for details.

DRAGONBONE� electronic dice wand$25.95, postpaidDB Enterprises14030 S. LaramieCrestwood IL 60445

A friend of mine is a good referee, but heloses things during a game � pencils,

When I heard about DRAGONBONE, Ithought of it as a toy. But now I�ve foundthat it saves my time as a referee both be-fore and during a game. I expected myconservative dice-losing friend to resistusing this product, but at our latest 16-hourweekend gaming session, he took to it im-mediately and never rolled a die. Others

I don�t feel comfortable using the elec-tronic dice when I play a character; in anycase, it offers more �power� than a playerneeds. For what it�s worth, it is indeedeasier to cheat with this device than it iswith ordinary dice. It�s impossible to tellfrom a distance where the slide selector isplaced, while dice can be recognized by sizeand shape.

As a test for accuracy, I dutifully �rolled�400 d8s on the machine over the course ofseveral days. The frequency range thatresulted was 45% to 55%, compared to a�perfect� 50%) for each number. Thismeasures favorably against rolls that acomputer generates, and must be at least asgood as ordinary dice.

DRAGONBONE comes with the re-quired 9-volt battery and instructions forwhen and how to replace the battery. Ihaven�t used the product long enough tovouch for its durability, but the manufac-turer guarantees against any defects due tomaterials or workmanship for one year afterpurchase, and the product (or its predeces-sor) has been on the market for at least acouple of years.

In other words, DRAGONBONE is a�superdie� � quick and easy to use, porta-ble, very fast in response, and usable one-handed unless your hand is quite small. Youdon�t need a dice-rolling surface, and youdon�t even need to worry about turning thedevice on and off; it shuts off automatically.While a home computer is most of thesethings, no home computer could match thecombination of speed and convenience thatthe DRAGONBONE offers.

Near the selector are two rows of smallred LEDs (light-emitting diodes). The lightsare marked 1 - 10 in increments of one (1, 2,3. . .) and 20-00 in increments of ten (10,20, 30 . . .). When a selection is made andthe button is pushed, one of the LEDs, orone from each column, lights up to showyou the result of the �roll.� The LEDsremain lit for 10 to 30 seconds, or until youpress the button again.

The �cylinder� shape has two broad, flatsides. On one side is a sliding selector,which can be moved to indicate 3, 4, 6, 8,10, 12, 20, and % � the type of die/dicebeing rolled. A button is pushed to initiatethe selected roll.

DRAGONBONE is a compact electronicdevice that generates die rolls. It comes inone of two colors, bone or charcoal. It�splastic, more or less cylindrical, and it restsnicely in the palm of your hand. The devicemeasures 6¼� x 2� x 1½�.

papers, and especially dice. This productfrom DB Enterprises is made for refereesjust like him � ones who won�t, or justcan�t, master handfuls of dice.

who have seen the DRAGONBONE havebeen impressed; it�s time-saving, and it�s afascinating gadget. And it costs little morethan the bagfuls of dice that many refereeshaul around.

FAIR SHAKE� Dice Device$12.95 plus $2 shipping/handling

JandeL Products, Inc.P.O. Box 28243-1Kansas City MO 64118

Some gamers, among them John Scarne,say that they can consistently affect theresults of dice throws. I don�t personallyknow anyone who makes this claim, but Ihave seen D&D® game players experimentwith ways to control a throw, especiallyusing a pyramidal four-sided dice. TheFAIR SHAKE dice device, as its nameseems to suggest, is for any referee who feelshe must prevent cheating, and doesn�t trusthis players. The device is also amusing inits own right, even if you don�t worry aboutsatisfactory dice rolls. In addition, the FAIRSHAKE is a boon for the player who simplycan�t roll dice without throwing them off thetable.

The product looks a little bit like a squaregate-tower from a castle, with the draw-bridge down. You feed one or more diceinto the large opening at the top, and aninstant later it rolls out the �gate� and ontothe �drawbridge.� Inside the device, thedice strike at least two surfaces at acuteangles before they roll out. A little �para-pet� on the drawbridge confines the die tothe �drawbridge� display area.

Cheating is impossible. I carefully fed thedevice a standard d4 to see if I could get askewed result, but I failed.

When compared to the standard anti-cheat device, a capped glass jar containing adie, the FAIR SHAKE is much gentler ondice. And you can roll several dice throughthe FAIR SHAKE at once, compared toone or two at a time in a jar.

The FAIR SHAKE does have disadvan-tages. Although it keeps the rollers honestand the dice on the table, it isn�t practicalfor everyone to use it if the players aresprawled all over the living room. It�s alsocumbersome if the playing group has morethan five players, unless you use several ofthem. A referee could use it for himself, butit�s easier for him to use the DRAGON-BONE or computer-generated randomnumber lists, or just throw dice againstbooks on a table. Unless you have smallhands, picking dice out of the drawbridgearea could become exasperating.

The product is contructed with sheets ofwood 1/8� to ¼� thick, glued together andfinished nicely with a dark stain. The FAIRSHAKE is 7½� tall, 3 3/8� wide, and nearly8� long including the drawbridge area. Thetumbling dice make a pleasant hollow soundwhen they fall through the chamber. Thedevice is sturdy, but probably won�t supporta person�s weight, so I wouldn�t put itwhere someone could step on or sit on it.

THE D4 THAT ROLLS comes in a widerange of colors, including black, deep blue,green, orange, red, and white. And at $.30per die, the price is on the mark.

� Reviewed by Lew Pulsipher

To differentiate this eight-sided d4 fromthe standard d8, Kilendale has blunted allsix corners. This allows their d4 to rollbetter (and farther, if you�re not careful)than a standard d8. The only fault I canfind is speculative: The plastic appears to bethe same kind that TSR, Inc., originallyused for its dice, which are notorious forexcessive wear. I haven�t used THE D4THAT ROLLS long enough to judge wear,but the blunted corners should be less vul-nerable to damage than the sharp ones onTSR�s dice.

For years I played the D&D® game with-out four-sided dice, because they�re seldomneeded, and pyramids are awkward to roll.Instead, I rolled a d8, divided the result bytwo, and rounded up. But finally, someonehas produced an eight-sided die that�smarked twice with the numerals 1 through4. Now I don�t have to divide by two anymore.

THE D4 THAT ROLLS$.30 each, plus $.50 postage and

handling per order(Calif. residents add sales tax)

Kilendale EnterprisesP. 0. Box 391Berkeley CA 94701

DRAGON 51

Pavis package adds a flair . l .Slowly, the world of Glorantha is being

defined by means other than magazinearticles. The emphasis in Chaosium�s mate-rial for the RUNEQUEST® game seems tobe on the frontier areas, particularly Prax.Last year�s Borderlands scenario pack cov-ered the eastern plains and the valley of theRiver of Cradles. Now comes PAVIS:Threshold to Danger, a supplement cover-ing the city which is the only �metropolis�of the region, and providing the first RQcity for campaigning.

The city of Pavis began as Robcradle,established as a base for intercepting thefloating cradles carrying giant infants downthe Zola Fel river to the Rozgali Sea. In 850ST, the hero Pavis finished his conversion ofthe city to his liking and left the world. Inthe following centuries, his city was at-tacked by giants, nomad barbarians, andtrolls, and was ultimately reduced to ruins.Within the mostly intact walls are some 25square miles of �The Rubble,� housing avariety of inhabitants of uncouth ilk. Out-side the wall, built up against it and en-closed in a lower wall of its own, is the townof New Pavis, founded by Sartarites in1550. This is the Pavis treated in this pack-age. The setting of the scenarios is aboutthe year 1617, or within ten years of thetime the Lunar Empire conquered thetown.

The package, priced at $18, containsthree books, plus an 11�x 34� map of theZola Fel (River of Cradles) and the sur-rounding territory, and a 22�x 34� map ofNew Pavis at a scale of about 25 meters tothe inch, with streets, courts, and manybuildings marked by name. With the excep-tion of a bribery table printed on a separatesheet, all other information is included inthe three books.

The 40-page book �Common Knowl-edge� contains information that an adven-turer might come by after a few days in thetown. This includes a history of Pavis, the

The last booklet, �Episodes,� is the heartof the package. The other material is back-ground, and can of course be used to makehome-brewed scenarios, but these episodesare the base. �Welcome to the City� is asequence of short encounters for a party ofadventurers arriving at Pavis. They havethe chance to encounter beggars outside thecity and guards and bureaucrats at thegates; to find lodging and temple affilia-tions; and perhaps to run afoul of local lawand custom and as a result learn more thanmight be desired about Lunar jurispru-dence, with a foray into the Rubble tossedin. �Burglary at Raus House� is a singleepisode, and represents a chance to acquirewealth from a Lunar noble whose town-house servants have become a bit lax intheir lord�s absence. The bulk of the bookletis made up of a four-part scenario, �TheCradle.� This is a relatively restricted

The 40-page �City Guide� containsinformation which should be the �prop-erty� of the gamemaster and passed out asneeded to the players. It includes a historyof the civilized parts of Prax (essentially theriver valley), including a fairly detailedtreatment of the town of Corflu at themouth of the river, and of the Yelmalio SunDome County downriver from the Rubble.It is primarily concerned with New Pavis,however. It includes a physical descriptionof the town, broken down by neighbor-hoods, with every building numbered. Alsoincluded are a summary of the economicsystem, the ins and outs of politics, and anintriguing selection of rumors.

current political situation, short descriptionsof significant NPCs in town, a summary ofthe Lunar garrison, a brief essay onGimpy�s Tavern, and four cult descriptions.These are Pavis, the city deity (this cultdescription supercedes the one in Cults ofPrax); Flintnail, a Pavis associate cult;Lanbril,. god of thieves; and Zola Fel, thelocal river deity.

scenario, in that the GM is exhorted tomake the action conform to the script asmuch as possible, even to the extent ofallowing infusions of fresh player charactersto keep players in the game as their charac-ters are killed off. The situation is intrigu-ing: After many centuries, another giantcradle is heading down the river, and theLunar authorities are determined to catchand loot it. Ideally, the players will be re-cruited to help defend the cradle and speedit safely to the sea, but at times they mayget to play Lunar allies � especially if theirown characters have been killed off; themortality rate is estimated at 80% or more,with even Rune level characters feeling thepressure. The GM must try to guide thingsalong so that the four sections of the sce-nario can logically follow from the eventsthat occur. Plenty of opportunities are givento reinforce the cradle defenders with freshbodies, so unless the players are totallyfeckless, the scenario should unfold basicallyas presented. In addition, the book containsa page of �scenario hooks,� ideas on whichto base other adventures or missions in acampaign.

The physical quality of the package is ofthe high level typical of Chaosium, as is thedesign. The contributors to this package aretoo numerous to list in a short review; thisis a major group effort, and is well coordi-nated and integrated despite that fact.

Pavis is the definitive, but not exhaustive,treatment of New Pavis as a city and settingfor role-playing. It is a source of informa-tion for campaigns not directly connected tothe city as well, and it is ultimately anaction-oriented set of scenarios. Combinedwith Borderlands, it defines a significantportion of Glorantha and as such is a majorcontribution to the growing body of litera-ture on that subject. It is well worth obtain-ing for any lovers of RQ or for Gloranthanscholars.

� Reviewed by Steve List

. . . Big Rubble completes the pairBIG RUBBLE: The Deadly City is a

RUNEQUEST® scenario package fromChaosium. The package provides 25 squarekilometers of territory to delve through,including above-ground ruins, secretdungeon-tunnel complexes, and an elf-dominated wood with hidden defenses. Theinhabitants of this vast expanse are nastyhumans, terrible trolls, malevolent mon-sters, and chaotic creatures � enough tokeep any adventurer in action for quite along time.

Big Rubble is the companion package to

Pavis: Threshold to Danger. The packageduplicates some of the material from Pavis,and you don�t need Pavis to use Big Rub-ble. Still, the two packages do complementone another.

The setting for the Rubble surrounds thesmall town of New Pavis, a somewhatyoung settlement built next to the walls of aruined city. New Pavis serves as a base forexplorations into the ruins.

The ruined city, Pavis, was named afterits founder, a hero who is now deified. Atroll army conquered the city about four

Within the ruins of Pavis live the descen-dants of the city�s original citizens. Thedescendants are mostly humans, but someare elves and dwarves. They share thisterritory with a variety of invaders, most ofwhom are trolls and Chaos-spawn. To thedescendants, the Rubble is Home. To theinvaders, it�s just a vast pile of loot, there

hundred years ago. Pavis lies by the banksof the River of Cradles, which gives it aprime location in the otherwise arid Plainsof Prax. Because of this location, the cityhas never been abandoned.

52 FEBRUARY 1984

�Wolfhead�s Lair� is a shorter episodethat can be incorporated in many ways intoan adventure. Wolfhead and his lady friend,Griseld, have been involved in a phony mapswindle (as detailed in Pavis). They are nowstowed away in the Rubble, lying low untilthe pressure is off. If unwary adventurers

�Griffin Gate,� one of the episodes in thebook, is actually a series of related sce-narios. These scenarios might be encoun-tered by a party searching for the lost axe ofBalastor. Balastor was the last king to rulePavis, and his axe is still a powerfulweapon. But more importantly, the axe is apotent religious and political symbol, andthe PCs are not the only characters whowant it. The Lunar governor, the PavisTemple, and the entire dwarf communitywould also like to get their hands on thisweapon.

At the heart of the Big Rubble package isthe 92-page booklet, �Episodes for theGamemaster.� The book contains sevendifferent episodes; some have independentsubsections, and some can be played withdifferent �twists.� Eight authors designedthese scenarios, so each one differs in styleas well as content. Some scenarios featurecombat and action, while others force theplayers to think rather than fight. Severalare designed to reward those players whofavor role-playing over dice-rolling.

The second booklet is the 32-page�Guide for the Gamemaster.� Descriptionswithin the guide are far more detailed thanthose the players receive in their booklet. Inaddition, nearly half of the guide providesspace for an encounter table along withstatistics for NPCs and monsters. The guidecontains maps that depict the valley sur-rounding the River of Cradles, duplicatingmaterial from the Pavis package again.

The smallest booklet is a 16-pager enti-tled �Common Knowledge for the Players.�Before adventurers enter the Rubble, theymust each fill out three Lunar Imperialforms; half of this booklet contains copies ofthese forms. Another quarter contains adescription of the Yelorna cult, which is agroup of warriors � mostly females � whoride unicorns. The rest of the booklet de-scribes the Rubble and gives instructions onhow to complete the Lunar forms. Alsoincluded is a map that shows Pavis withinthe continent of Genertela, along with anice panoramic view of New Pavis and theold ruined city. If you already have thePavis scenario package, you will find thatonly the cult and some portions of the Rub-ble constitute new material.

The Big Rubble package comes in a flatbox, as have other recent Chaosium prod-ucts, For $18 (the suggested retail price), abuyer receives three booklets totaling 144pages and a 17�by 22� map of the Rubble.Smaller and sometimes less-detailed copiesof this map are included in the books.

for the picking. The arrival of the conquer-ing armies of the Lunar Empire has notimpeded the looting; it has merely addedanother layer of bureaucracy that regulatesthe business of rummaging there.

happen to stumble across their hideout, adesperate Wolfhead and Griseld mightmistake them for a posse, and take whatevermeasures might be necessary. . . .

�Raid on Yelorna� sets up the Yelornacult temple and proposes two alternatescenarios. In the first, adventurers try tokidnap two of the temple�s occupants. Thekidnapping victims are wanted by the ad-venturers� prospective employers. In thesecond scenario, the power groups that areharassing the cult sponsor a vandalism raid.In addition to these two scenarios, fifteenmore are outlined, each involving the tem-ple and its NPC occupants. These outlinesprovide seeds for the GM�s imagination.

�The Devil�s Playground� requiresstraightforward dungeon exploration. Ad-venturers must delve through a Chaos-tainted complex of underground tunnels.Some interesting side trips are involved,demanding detective work and good role-playing by both players and GM.

�Krang�s Table� seems like a fairly run-of-the-mill foray into the Troll Stronglandsto recover a magical butcher table. That is,it seems like it�s run-of-the mill. . . .

In �The Puzzle Canal,� the sages of theLhankor Mhy sponsor an expedition into acurious labyrinthine waterway. The water-way reportedly contains such oddities asburning water and a painting that shows thefuture.

Compared to the other episodes, �Temple

Big Rubble is one of the best scenariopackages I have seen. It is well-produced ina physical sense, and it is well-written andwell-planned. As a blend of self-containedscenarios and open-ended setting, it is avaluable addition to the RUNEQUESTlibrary.

� Reviewed by Steve List

In one sense, the prepared scenarios canrestrict the adventure, limiting its lengthand confining the action to a smaller rangeof events. A good GM will take advantageof the �openness� that the rest of the pack-age provides, but even a less experiencedGM will be able to run an entertainingadventure.

The material in the episode book willyield many sessions of gaming. But theepisodes are merely a starting point. Thepackage is rich enough to provide a satisfy-ing adventure without the episode book, ifthe GM uses the encounter table and hasadventurers wander through the Rubble.Groups of characters can simply explore theold city, finding almost anyone or anything.

at Feroda� seems a little out of place. Thescenario includes a trip that begins and endsat Pavis, but is otherwise unrelated to thispackage, or its companion. Charactersventure down the River of Cradles to anabandoned temple of the river�s deity, ZolaFel. (This episode, along with �Krang�sTable,� was originally meant to be includedin the Pavis package.)

DRAGON 53

Good, but not greatthe map on the east and west edges, re-entering on the opposite edge. This givesthe world a cylindrical shape. There are sixcontinents (some of them large islands) onthe planet, all in a single ocean. Travelbetween continents requires ships or rocs.

The continents hold citadels, units, and/or magic items. Much of the terrain is clear,but it includes some mountains and forestswhere no desert or ice is present. The mapalso shows port cities and the rocs� aeries, aswell as the citadels.

Combat is initiated by the phasing player,at his discretion, with no zones of control tohamper movement. The basis for combat isthe difference in combat values of the unitsinvolved.

The possible outcomes of combat are: noresult, disruption of all attacking units, orthe disruption or elimination of the de-fender. Leaders cannot be eliminated, evenif they are stacked on a unit that is. Dis-rupted units must retreat, and they maybecome neutral. If they cannot retreat,they�re eliminated from the game.

The die roll for combat results is some-times modified further, depending on thetype of unit defending and the terrain that itoccupies. Moreover, combat is purelyground-based. Rocs are treated like anyother unit, and ships may be attacked onlyin port, and can only attack other ships.

Aside from the �fantastic� roc and iceworm units, the only thing that gives thisgame a fantasy flavor is the obligatorypresence of magic items. There are seven ofthese items, scattered face-down at the startof play. Two of them are actually �poisonedwells,� and picking one of these costs theplayer his next turn. The other five magicitems serve as aids in recruiting and com-bat, but they are hardly of great influence.There are no magic spells or wizards to castthem. This is in itself a relief, but it doesleave the game with very little window-dressing as far as fantasy is concerned.

City States of Arklyrell is not a badgame, but it has nothing to make it betterthan the many others of its ilk that arealready available. The combat system ispedestrian; its only original feature is theprocedure for losing control of units due tomorale effects. The game is basically apastiche of game mechanics that have beenused before, re-assembled in a package thatis not noticeably more interesting or excit-ing than its predecessors. In addition, thephysical limits of this game�s �mini� formatgive it a cramped feeling, and the designdoes nothing to overcome it.

The game is at its best with four players.But there are already so many good multi-player games around that City States willnot receive, or deserve, much time duringthose rare occasions when more than twoplayers get together.

� Reviewed by Steve List

the dominant force on the world of Arkly-rell. Each leader is represented on the mapby a counter rated with his morale and

The game map represents an entireplanet, with an ice cap at the north pole anda desert at the south pole. Units may exit

The turn sequence is simple. The phasingplayer moves his units, then recruits a unit,if possible. Lastly, the player resolves com-bat. Recruiting is accomplished if the playerrolls a number greater than or equal to themorale of the unit in question. If the rollfails, that leader may not attempt to recruitthat same unit again, unless it becomesowned by another leader in the meantime.

lot, but in practice the turns go veryquickly. At the start of the game, eachplayer will have very few counters to moveand limited options as to how to movethem, since all combat units begin as neu-trals. A leader may attempt to recruit onlyone unit per turn, and he must be adjacentto that unit to do so; it takes time to build aforce.

Twenty-five game turns may sound like afor an automatic victory earlier.

controls the citadels; the player with themost citadels after 25 game turns is thewinner, unless another player seizes enough

combat factors, as well as his movementallowance. The 31 combat units � repre-senting mostly human ground forces withsome ships, rocs (huge birds), and iceworms � are each marked with a uniqueidentity number. The units are similarlyrated. The remaining counters in the gameare �magical items� and control markers.

Victory is achieved by the leader who

The game consists of 54 counters, a 16-page rulebook, and a 17� by 21� color mapin a ziplock bag, all for $4.98. It is designedfor 2-4 players. Task Force rates the com-plexity level as intermediate, and sets theplaying time at about 2 hours.

Players act as leaders trying to become

CITY STATES OF ARKLYRELL is arecent entry by Task Force Games into thisever more crowded field, and the gamedoesn�t have what it takes to stand out.Designer Mike Joslyn has presented someoriginal elements, but overall, the game isnot a major advance in the art of design.

One of the problems with designingstrategic-level games on fantasy subjects isthe dearth of appropriate material. Litera-ture must substitute for history, but mostfantasy novels do not inherently provide adetailed strategic wargaming situation, andthose that do are often too expensive interms of licensing costs to permit gameadaptations. So designers frequently fallback on the generic situation of two or morepowerful groups vying to dominate the areacovered by the game map. The variationson this theme are multitudinous, but theyall boil down to being fantasy-orienteddescendants of Tactics II.

54 FEBRUARY 1984

Details for delving into magical researchby Bruce Heard

The scene: A sleeping town under a cover of new-fallen snow.The silver glow of the moon casts a dim light down upon the dark-ness, but does nothing to disturb the silence. On the lattices of afrost-coated window, a bright island of golden light dances, shim-mering and flickering as the candle flame inside the room is tossedabout by the wind that forces its way through the cracks around thewindow. In the flickering light, an old man traces his finger acrossthe archaic writing of a tattered grimoire, pausing every few mo-ments to gaze out the window and lose himself in dreams of forgot-ten lore . . . knowledge . . . and power.

. . . Just another old sage, right? Well, maybe. But if yourAD&D� game includes features of the quest for knowledge and spellresearch, that character deep in concentration could be a magic-user

� perhaps a magic-user in your campaign. How many dusty oldtomes does that character have, and what help are they in the arcanelife? Do they really bring the knowledge and power everyone seeks?

To begin finding the answer to that question, we must first roll upour sleeves and open the Ultimate Book of The Master to page 115,whereupon begins the section on spell research. (Editor�s note: Theinformation in this article is presented in terms that are specific tomagic-user characters. However, the same principles and procedurescan be applied to spell research by a cleric, as long as the properchanges are made, such as substituting wisdom for intelligence whendetermining the chance of successful research.) In summary, here iswhat the book has to say:

It is possible for a spell caster to obtain, through study and re-search, spells already existing in the Players Handbook, or others

DRAGON 55

that may be devised by the character. In both cases, the chance ofsuccessfully researching and �manufacturing� the new spell dependson the intelligence and the experience level of the character, the levelof the spell being researched or created, and the time and moneyinvested in the attempt.

The amount of gold that must be spent varies with the level ofspell being researched and the time the character is willing to spend.It is possible to increase the chance of success by spending moregold, according to these formulae:

Basic cost of research:200 gp / spell level / week of work

Additional cost of materials:100 to 400 gp / spell level / week of work

If the character does not possess or have access to a library, then2,000 gp � 10 times the basic cost � will have to be spent, per spelllevel per week of research. The basic cost generally represents thescrolls and books you (the character) must buy during your research.But the DMG does not say what the value and the components ofthe library are and what specific benefit a library can bring.

Initial preparation of materials and basic research must go on fora certain time before there is any chance of being successful. Thistime is always at least a number of weeks equal to the level of thespell being researched, plus one. The chance of success can bechecked on a weekly basis after the minimum research period isover; if the character does not succeed in mastering the new spell, the success chance can be re-checked every week thereafter as longas his research has continued, uninterrupted, in the meantime.

Basic chance of success: 10% (unmodified)Plus researcher�s intelligence,Plus researcher�s experience level,Minus twice the level of the spell.

This formula gives the chance of successful research at the end ofeach week of work, once the minimum research time has been spent.The basic 10% chance of success can be increased up to a maximumof 50% by spending more gold, at the rate of 2,000 gp per spell levelfor each 10% increase in the base chance.

Example: A Sorcerer (9th-level magic-user) tries to research a 5th-level spell, and is determined to spend enough gold to give him (hehopes) the best possible chance of success. He has an intelligencescore of 17 and owns a library. He must undergo six weeks of re-search before the DM will make the first check to see if he succeeds.During that time, he will spend a base cost of 1,000 gp per week(200 x spell level), plus anywhere from 500 to 2,000 gp additionaleach week for materials, and he must spend at least another 8,000gp during the research period to raise the basic success chance from10% to 50%. Thus, by spending at least 17,000 gp � perhaps asmuch as 26,000 gp, or even more � he can maximize his chance ofhaving success on the first check at the end of six weeks. Thatchance is computed as follows:

50% (highest base chance possible) + 17 (intelligence)+ 9 (experience level) - 10 (spell level x 2) = 66%

So much for the official rules. What the DMG does not say is how

to get an acceptable library, what benefit is realized from all the goldspent during research, and the difference between searching for aspell that already exists (as given in the Players Handbook) and onea magic-user is trying to create (that does not already exist in therules).

Logically, it should be easier to find clues about spells alreadyexisting in the Players Handbook than about those a player is at-tempting to create from scratch. This is because the �standard�spells are already known by and being used by other spell casters;thus, it is obviously easier to find information about them thanabout spells that do not yet exist. To take account of this difference,it would be good to increase the basic cost of research to 600 gp(instead of 200 gp) per spell level, and use three times the spell level(instead of two times) as a subtraction to the chance of success whenresearching a �non-standard� spell.

Using these suggestions, the example given above would changein these ways: The sorcerer�s base cost would be 3,000 gp per week(600 x spell level), and he would have to spend at least 29,000 gp inthe six-week minimum research period (instead of �only� 17,000gp) to retain the maximum chance for success. If he spends thenecessary amount of gold, his success chance would be computed as:

50% + 17 + 9 - 15 (spell level x 3) = 61%

Creating a libraryAs the power of the spell being researched increases, the impor-

tance and expense of the library increases accordingly. For a libraryof minimum value, 2,000 gp must be invested. This will allow re-search on first-level spells; by spending a cumulative 2,000 gp perspell level above the first, added to the minimum needed for the nextlower level, the library can be built up to allow research of higher-level spells. A library suitable for research of 2nd-level spells musthave a value of 4,000 gp; for 3rd-level spells, 8,000 gp (4,000 + 2,000x 2 levels above 1st); for 4th-level spells, 14,000 gp (8,000 + 2,000 x3 levels above 1st); and so on up to a library of at least 74,000 gpvalue, which is suitable for researching spells of 9th level.

Having a library of sufficient size does not allow a character toundertake spell research without paying the basic cost. However, atthe end of each week of study, the basic cost paid during that timecan be added to the value of the library, since the basic-cost expensescorrespond to the purchase of new books. If a character has a libraryof a value higher than the minimum value required for a certainspell, the base chance of success will increase at a rate of 1% foreach increment of (2,000 gp x spell level) that the library value ex-ceeds the minimum � but, as always, the base chance of success cannever be raised higher than 50%. For example, a magic-user has alibrary worth 72,000 gp, which is 50,000 gp higher than needed toconduct research on a 5th-level spell. He will receive a bonus of 1%per (2,000 gp x 5) over the minimum, or a total bonus of 5% to hisbase chance of success. If he wanted to research a 1st-level spell, hisvaluable library would give him a bonus of 1% per (2,000 gp x l),or 25%.

If a character is attempting to create a new spell, the minimumvalue of the library needed should be raised by one level; to research

If you�re interested in contributing anarticle to DRAGON@ Magazine, thefirst thing you need is a copy of ourguidelines for writers. Send a self-addressed, s t a m p e d e n v e l o p e t o�Writer�s guidelines,� c/o DRAGONM a g a z i n e , P . O . B o x 1 1 0 , L a k eGeneva WI 53147; and we�ll sendyou back a sheet with all the basicinformation you need to make sure

our manuscript has the best possi- ble chance of being accepted.

56 FEBRUARY 1984

a 5th-level spell already existing in the Players Handbook, a libraryvalued at 22,000 gp is required. If the 5th-level spell being re-searched does not already exist, the library must be worth at least32,000 gp, which is the minimum for a standard 6th-level spell.Conversely, a 22,000 gp library would only allow the creation of anew 4th-level spell instead of an existing 5th-level one.There are other ways to increase the value of one�s library. When amagic-user character goes through training to get to a higher level ofexperience, that character will be able to keep 1-10% of the trainingcost paid to his master and add it to the value of his own library.This represents the value of the books the student is allowed to keepafter his training is over. This variable amount may be determinedrandomly, or it may be assigned by the DM according to the charac-ter�s efforts and behavior, both while adventuring and during train-ing. An award of 1% (or perhaps even no award at all) would be theresult of poor performance, and 10% would be the amount given toa character of exemplary conduct and dedication to his profession.

Note: A character�s spell books do not count in the value of hislibrary.

When a magic-user goes on a book-buying spree, the followingtables can be used to determine the number of books purchased,their prices, and their functions.

Purchasing books

Gold No. of Value of each book, in itsspent books percentage of total spent200 1 Book A, 100% of amount400 2 Book A, 10%-40%; B, balance800 3 Book A, 10%-40%; B, 10%-40%; C, balance

1,600 4 Book A, 10%-40%; B, 1%-20%; C, 1%-20%;D, balance

3,200 5 Book A, 10%-40%; B, 1%-20%; C, 1%-20%;D, 1%-12%; E, balance

6,400 6 Book A, 10%-40%; B, l%-20%; C, 1%-12%;D, 1%-12%; E, 1%-12%; F, balance

6,401 + 7 Book A, 10%-40%; B, 1%-12%; C, 1%-12%;D, 1%-12%; E, 1%-12%; F, 1%-12%;G, balance

Gold spent is the total value of the investment in gold. Read theentries as �from 1 to 200, 201 to 400,� etc. An investment can comefrom a direct purchase, or be a training cost or research expense.

Number of books is how many a magic-user can purchase for thegiven amount of gold. The DM may choose to adjust the number ofbooks that can be purchased with a certain amount of gold; if so, usethe corresponding entry to determine �Value of each book.�

Value of each book is determined by assigning letter designations(A, B, C, etc.) to the books and then rolling dice to arrive at a valuefor each one. For example, if the purchaser invests 600 gp and finds3 books, the first one (Book A) will cost 10% to 40% (1d4) of the600 gp; Book B will also cost 10%-40% of the gold spent; and BookC will cost whatever is left of the gold spent, in this case anywherefrom 20% to 80% of the original 600 gp.

It takes time to find books that are valuable in spell research. If amagic-user is simply shopping around, trying to build up his librarybut not being currently involved in actual spell research, it will takeone week per 1,000 gp being invested to locate and purchase thedesired books. (This assumes that the purchaser is in a big city withone or more large bookshops, or that the purchaser has made con-nections with an NPC who owns a large library and may be willingto sell certain books for a fair price.)

The magic-user will also improve the value and size of his libraryduring the spell research process, at the set rate which is dictated bythe basic cost of research. It is assumed in these cases that the re-searcher�s effort to locate new books is part of the research processitself; spending the basic cost of research by going shopping for newbooks does not constitute an interruption in research. Example: If amagic-user who already owns a library is researching a �known�4th-level spell, his basic cost of research is 800 gp per week. For this

expenditure, he will find three new books per week, and after deter-mining their value and their nature, he may add them to his library.

Also, it is quite possible to find some of these books during adven-tures, in which case the above table can be disregarded. Some ofthese books can be a treasure by themselves.

The extensive table below gives titles and authors of books thatmay be found, all concerning �known� spells (those which are in thePlayers Handbook or which have been described in past issues ofDRAGON® Magazine). The only �known� spells not mentioned inthe contents of these books are read magic and read illusionist magic(from issue #66 of DRAGON Magazine), since a spell caster willalways know one or the other of these as a result of his training.

There is a 3% chance per 100 gp of value of a book that it willcontain an important clue to a spell. If this is the case, the researcherreceives a bonus of 1-10% on his basic chance of success in research-ing that particular spell. The clue will concern one of the spells listedfor the book in question, chosen at random.

In the lists that follow, many spells are accompanied by one ormore superscript numbers (like this one¹). These numbers identifyspells from past issues of DRAGON Magazine, as follows:

1: Official illusionist spells from issue #66.2: Official magic-user spells from issue #67.3: Official magic-user spells from issue #68.4: Unofficial magic-user spells described in �Pages from the

Mages,� issue #62.5: Unofficial magic-user spells described in �More Pages from the

Mages,� issue #69.6: Existing magic-user spells described for illusionists in issue #66.7: Existing illusionist spells described for magic-users in issue #67.

d % Title and author of book,roll spells described within

01-02 �Idioms & Rare Cryptographs� by Elminster(message, write, illusionary script, tongues, audibleglamer, magic mouth)

03 �Legendry of Phantoms and Ghosts� by Evard(phantom armor¹, phantom steed¹, phantom wind¹,Evard�s black tentacle², wraithform¹)

04 �Lore of Subtle Communication� by Tasha(ventriloquism, message, comprehend languages, legendlore, Tasha�s uncontrollable hideous laughter²)

05-06 �Ancient Cryptomancy� by Phandal(sending3, wizard mark², secret page², sepia snake sigil²)

07-08 Extreme Powers of Observation� by Kwalish(detect magic, detect illusion 7, identify, detect invisibility,

09 � Eyes, Vision, and Arcane Sight� by Alphonglassee, locate object)

(infravision, clairvoyance, blur, vision, blindness, wizardeye, eyebite3, ultravision¹ ²)

10 �Theories on Perception� by Kuroth(detect evil, clairaudience, true sight, deafness)

11-12 �Manual Powers Beyond the Life� by Bigby(burning hands, Bigby�s interposing hand, Bigby�sforceful hand, Bigby�s grasping hand, Bigby�s crushinghand, Bigby�s clenched fist)

13 �The Seven Skies of The Universe� by Casimur(gust of wind, whispering wind, rainbow pattern¹,precipitation², cloudburst², wind wall²)

14-15 �The Forgotten Arts of Oratory Magnetism� by Leomund(fascinate¹, taunt², irritation², truename 3, Leomund�s

16 �Theory of the Invisible Forces� by Tenserlamentable belabourment³)

(push, unseen servant, strength, Tenser�s floating disc)17- 18 �Displacements and Modelling the Milieu� by Thurl

(shatter, enlarge, mending, stone shape, massmorph)19 �Creation and Modification of Matter� by Caterpillar

(move earth, dig, telekinesis, statue)20-21 �Influence on Solid Corpus� by Mentor

(fool�s gold, transmute rock to mud, stone to flesh, plantgrowth, animal growth, shape change)

22 �Subconscious Repercussions of Pyromancy� by Quaal(fire trap, wall of fire, firewater², flaming sphere²)

DRAGON 57

23-24 �Dissimulation and Obscuration� by Tzunk(blink, invisibility invisibility 10� radius, improvedinvisibility darkness, continual darkness, vacancy¹,

25-26avoidance3, mass invisibility)

�Life of Nature, Its Secrets� by Caligarde(feather fall, levitate, spider climb, web, fly, mount²,Caligarde�s claw5, bind²)

27 �Alterations of Tangibles and Intangibles� by Yagrax(melt², transmute water to dust 3, item², material²,fabricate3, crystalbrittle3)

28 �Encyclopaedia of the Non-Substances� by Asmiak(erase, non-detection, misdirection, improvedphantasmal force)

29-30 �Components and Reactions of Phosphorus� by Daern(affect normal fires, dancing lights, fire charm, fireball,delayed blast fireball, incendiary cloud)

31 �Legendry of Great Arms and Fabulous Heroes� by Kas(armor², phantom armor¹, stoneskin², protection fromnormal missiles, shield, forcecage 3)

32 �Sulphur, Influence and Actions� by Arbane(pyrotechnics, flame arrow, fire charm, fire shield)

33-34 �Tome on Influences and Suggestions� by Arunsun(charm person, ray of enfeeblement, scare, suggestion,antipathy/sympathy, mass suggestion)

35 �The Multiple Applications of Perceptomancy� by Laeral(alarm², detect illusion 7, mislead, dream¹, dolor 3,

36sequester3, Laeral�s dancing dweomer 5)

Occult Magnetism� by Nolzur(friends, hold person, charm monster, hold monster,charm plants, mass charm)

37-38 �Arcane Manipulations of the Entourage� by Otto(sleep, scare, fumble, geas, Otto�s irresistible dance,confusion)

39 �The Deep Fears of Humanity� by Hallo-ene(shout², spook¹, scare, fear, chaos)

40-41 �Art of Communications and Sigils� by Flamsterd(explosive runes, power word stun, power word kill,power word blind, symbol)

42 �Echo & Resonance of the Great Void� by Whisper(find familiar, monster summoning I - V)

43 �The Foundations of Secret Authority� by Ill-Oominoty(binding3, demand³, tormeng³, dismissal³)

44-45 �Epic Saga of the Great Conjurers� by Mordenkainen(Mordenkainen�s faithful hound, conjure animals,monster summoning VI, cacodemon)

46 �Repertoire of Illustrious Conjurations� by Drawmij(conjure elemental, Drawmij�s instant summons,monster summoning VII, summon shadow, invisiblestalker, guards and wards)

47

48-49

50

51

52

54

55

�Luminescence and Coloration� by Nchaser & Tulrun(light, color spray, continual light, darkness 15� radius,prismatic spray, project image, projected image, chro-matic orb¹, Nchaser�s glowing globe 4, Tulrun�s tracer5)

�Spherogenesis of the Multiverses� by Otiluke(Otiluke�s resilient sphere², Otiluke�s telekinetic sphere 3,Otiluke�s freezing sphere, globe of invulnerability,flaming sphere², prismatic sphere)

�The Powers of the Spiritual Will� by Phrandjas(emotion, chaos, feeblemind, confusion)

�Thesis on Conditional Ruptures� by Archveult(teleport, phase door, shadow door, maze, Archveult�sSkybolt5 )

�Architecture� by Leomund & Mordenkainen(Leomund�s secure shelter 2, Leomund�s tiny hut,

forcecage3, Mordenkainen�s magnificent mansion 3)�Doors and Passages of Parallel Worlds� by Lethchauntos

(hold portal, knock, jump, wizard lock)�Theories on Converging Transitions� by Lhegrand

(dimension door, passwall, gate)�The Unknown Movements of the Universe� by Arnd

(run², shadow walk�, teleport without error 3, succor³,vanish)

5 3

58 FEBRUARY 1984

7 4 permanent illusion, programmed illusion)

__ �Treatise of Sublimated Oneiromancy� by Tasirin(sleep, dream¹, feign death, Tasirin�s haunted sleep 5)

7 5 - 7 6 �Theory of Occult Visual Shock� by Ye�Cind(fear, minor creation, phantasmal killer, major creation)

77-78 �Libram of the Great Paravisual Emanations� by Nystul(Nystul�s magic aura, shadow magic, demi-shadowmagic, shades, Leomund�s trap)

79 �The Minds of The Unknown� by Lum(feeblemind, mind blank, dismind 5, forget)

80-81 �Repertoire of Subconscious Apparitions� by Gaxx(spectral force, shadow monsters, demi-shadowmonsters, simulacrum)

82 �Thesis on the Planes of Anti-Matter� by Leomund(rope trick, distance distortion, astral spell, disintegrate,Leomund�s secret chest, duo-dimension, deeppockets²)

83-84 �Clouds and Fog� by Dahlver-Nar(stinking cloud, fog cloud, cloudkill, wall of fog,death fog¹, solid fog¹)

85-86 �Gazette of the Norse Climates� by Otiluke(gust of wind, ice storm, control weather, Otiluke�sfreezing sphere, cone of cold, wall of ice)

87 �Science of Temporal Waves� by Leuk-0(haste, slow, extension I - III, permanency)

88-89 �Tome of Studies on the Fourth Dimension� by Seik-O(temporal stasis, time stop, imprisonment)

90-91 �Occult Observations on Fluids� by Koorz(water breathing, airy water, lower water, part-water,sink3, grease², Spendelarde�s chaser 5)

92 �Evolution of the Arcane Will Power� by Tenser(polymorph self polymorph other, polymorph anyobject, Tenser�s transformation)

93-94 �Alterations of the Intrinsic Absolutes� by Math(change self, alter reality, massmorph, shape change,alter self¹)

95-96 �The Bricks of the Spiritual Fortification� by Webster(wind wall², wall of fire, wall of force, wall of iron,wall of stone, prismatic wall, glassteel)

56 �The Transcendental Impenetrabilities� by Leomund(Leomund�s tiny hut, minor globe of invulnerability,globe of invulnerability prismatic sphere)

57 �Cosmogony of Magnetic Fluids� by Mordenkainen(chain lightning3,disjunction3)

volley3, energy drain3, Mordenkainen�s

5 8 - 5 9 �Arcane Resistance of Dwarves and Halflings� by Serten(dispel magic6 , remove curse, Serten�s spell immunity,

anti-magic shell, dispel illusion7, dispel exhaustion)60 �Manual of Magnetic and Electric Waves� by Gee-Eeh

(shocking grasp, lightning bolt, repulsion, reversegravity)

61 �The Dark Sides of the Memory� by Mordenkainen(banishment3, Mordenkainen�s lucubration 3,ensnarement³, contingency3)

62-63 �Treatise on Cabalistic Protections� by Krest(protection from evil, shield, protection from evil 10�radius, protection from normal missiles)

64 �The Trance of the Intellect� by Aspirin(feign death, contact other plane, limited wish, wish)

65 �The Representations of the Sentient Plane� by Rialissom(phantasmagoria¹, weird¹, mirage arcane¹, advancedillusion¹, delude¹)

66-67 �Intelligence and Intuitive Domination� by Zagy(ESP, trap the soul, spiritwrack, magic jar)

68-69 �Arcane Puissance of the Memory� by Rary(Rary�s mnemonic enhancer, forget, mind blank,hypnotic pattern)

70 �The Origins of the Hour Glass Symbology� by Nulathoe(preserve², tempus fugit¹, Nulathoe�s ninemen 4, haste)

71-72 �Variations on the Visual Perception� by Mhzentul(hypnotism, hallucinatory terrain, paralyzation, veil)

73 �Mental Impressions of the Retina� by Johydee(phantasmal force, improved phantasmal force,

97 �Ordinary Necromancy� by Vecna(animate dead, death spell, reincarnation, clone)

98 �The Weapons of the Ether� by Melf & Mordenkainen(whip², Melfs acid arrow², magic missile, enchant anitem, enchanted weapon, Mordenkainen�s sword)

99 �Treatise of Universal Astronomy� by Melf(Melf's minute meteor², meteor swarm, fireball)

00 �Inexplicable Reflections� by Bucknard(mirror image, magic mirror¹ ², gaze reflection)

Many of these authors� names will be familiar to the student ofmagic; however, a character who obtains one of these volumes wouldbe incorrect in assuming that the book was written by the person ofthe same name who devised a certain spell or spells. In most cases,the authors are merely distant relatives of their more famous name-sakes, and in some cases they may not be related at all. With imagi-nation, a DM could easily devise a list that contained dozens morebooks of this type � and perhaps someday a character who createsan entirely new spell will himself become the author of a book onthat type of magic.

If a character acquires two books of the same title, the second andsubsequent books will have volume numbers (Vol. II, Vol. III, etc.),and the basic chance for success when researching any spell men-tioned in more than one volume goes up by 3% per new volume.Each new volume has the same chance of containing an importantclue (3% per 100 gp value) as the original volume did.

If an extremely valuable book is located, the chance of it havingan important clue may be 100% or more. (This will be true of anybook with a value of more than 3,333 gp.) In such a case, the char-acter receives one clue automatically, and has a chance of finding asecond clue in the same book, equal to the amount by which the�clue chance� exceeds 100%. Optionally, the DM may divide the�clue chance� in half and assign equal probabilities to finding thefirst and second clues; for a book with a 110% chance of containingclues, it could be ruled that there is a 55% chance of finding the first

Appraising a book�s value

A seller always knows how much he expects to get for a book.This amount may be its actual value (as determined by the tablegiven earlier), or it may be somewhat higher than that figure, if theseller is greedy or ornery or if the buyer has offended him in someway. The buyer has to appraise a book to get a good idea (or what heconsiders a good idea) of its value. It takes at least 10 rounds of

When a character makes a direct purchase, especially from anNPC, or when two player characters want to sell or exchange books,the following optional appraisal system can be used.

If a character obtains a book during the actual research process (as part of the basic cost of research), he may subsequently discover thatthe book contains no specific information on the spell he is trying toresearch. However, the book will still be of some benefit; examiningit will at least give the researcher some idea on how � or how not �to proceed.

Some of these books contain spells usable only by illusionists. If amagic-user gets a book containing clues on illusionist spells (or viceversa), he will not find the clue(s) and will believe the book has noparticular value to him. However, the magic-user or illusionist willrecognize the book as one useful to a member of the other class, andmay be able to sell the book at an agreed-upon price to a bookshopor a member of the appropriate class. When a spell caster buys abook, he is not able to discern its true title and contents at firstglance; he will know only that the book has something to do with thecreation or preparation of one or more magic spells. Only afterpurchasing it and concentrating on its contents will he be able todetermine a book�s true nature. When it is not part of the actualresearch process, studying a book to find out its nature will take1d10 days per 1,000 gp of the book�s value. Since this activity takesplace outside of the actual research process, there is no penalty if acharacter desires or is forced to interrupt the studying.

clue and likewise a 55% chance of finding the second clue. In thelong run, this method is much more charitable to the researcher.

DRAGON 59

examination before a buyer can come up with a decent appraisal; forevery round less than 10 that he takes to examine the purchase,there is a 10% penalty to his chance of appraising it accurately.

A buyer�s Appraisal Score, figured separately for each book beingexamined, is equal to (1d4 x 10) + his intelligence + his experience

force the seller to propose an acceptable price or to give out the titleor the clues he found in this book (if the seller is a spell caster).Hypnotizing a seller or a buyer could permit the spell-user to cheator practically steal from the other character, or at the least get accu-rate information on the book. Using a true sight spell or similar

level, expressed as a percentage. Only one appraisal attempt can be means will not reveal the exact nature of a book, but will allow anmade for a single book, and only a member of a spell-using class can exact appraisal of its value. ESP can greatly help to figure out if asuccessfully appraise a book�s value. (This would include rangers buyer or seller is trying to cheat. Legend lore, if used to try to iden-and paladins, if they are of sufficient level to cast spells.) �Experi- tify the author or the title of a book, can be cast in 1-4 turns, but theence level� refers to the buyer�s level as a spell caster. Sages andprofessional booksellers can also appraise books, and are considered

answer will remain cryptic, and the spell will not give any informa-

to do so at level 5, plus one level for each 5 years of age that charac-tion at all if the book is not worth more than 100 gp (at least you

ter has over 50. (It can be seen from this that there is practically noknow the book is cheap if you get no answer!). Otherwise, a legendlore spell will not help in appraising the value of a book. Obviously,

way to �put one over� on an experienced elven bookseller.) a wish, limited wish, or alter reality spell is powerful enough toWhen the buyer�s Appraisal Score is determined for the book in identify and appraise a book . . . but the consequences could

question, the DM rolls percentile dice, adding 10 to the result for prove to be more costly than the benefit.every round less than 10 that the buyer spent examining his pur- Because there are so many variables involved that cannot be setchase. If the result of the roll (including modifications, if any) is down in the form of rules, every book-selling situation is bound toequal to or less than the Appraisal Score, the buyer has exactly be different. But here is an example of how things might go in oneassessed the true value of the book � and the seller will know that instance:the buyer knows what he�s talking about. If the result is greater than Nine-Fingers the thief recently stole an old book that he thinksthe Appraisal Score, the buyer�s estimation is in error, and the dif- could be worth a lot to the local sage. It is in fact worth 800 gp, butference between the numbers indicates the degree of error as a per- the thief is has no way of knowing this and has decided on a price ofcentage of the book�s actual value. If the difference is odd, the 1,000 gp, figuring that will represent a tidy return on his �invest-appraisal is low; if the difference is even, the appraisal is high. If this ment� if he is able to get the sage to pay it. The sage is 65 years olddifference is greater than 50, or if the result of the dice roll (plus and has an intelligence of 17. The DM rolls a 3 on 1d4 and figuresmodifications) is 100 or greater, the buyer�s appraisal is a total fail- his Appraisal Score as follows:ure, and he will agree to pay the price asked by the seller or else not 3 0 + 1 7 + 8 = 5 5 %purchase the book at all. The DM rolls a 78 on percentile dice, meaning that the sage

Example: A buyer has an Appraisal Score of 55, and the result of makes an inaccurate appraisal with an error of 23% on the low side;the dice roll is 80. The difference is 25, which means that the buyer he estimates the book to be worth 800 gp minus 23% of 800, or 616appraises the value of the book at 25% less than its actual value � gp. Now the arguing begins. Since one of the sage�s personalityand that is where the dickering will start. traits is greed, and the thief is in a hurry to get rid of the �hot� book

Of course, the use of magic can alter the outcome of a confronta- (a fact which the sage suspects to be true), the sage makes an initialtion between seller and buyer. A charm spell or similar magic could offer of 500 gp and the thief ends up letting it go for 550 gp � not

60 FEBRUARY 1984

� The book itself is not magical.

without many whines and pleas on both sides. Several days later,after studying the book at more length, the sage comes to a realiza-tion of its actual value and decides he didn�t make such a bad deal.And since the thief had no way to appraise the true value of the bookin the first place, he goes away thinking that he just made some easymoney.

Appearance of the libraryPlayers who enjoy detail could find it valuable to determine the

appearance of each book. The term �book� is perhaps inaccurate,since a �book� could actually be a pile of scrolls enclosed in a smallchest or in a tube, or parchments held between two flat slabs. Thechest, tube, or slabs could be made of various types of wood, min-eral; or metal, according to the price of the �book.� The book itselfor the containers of the scrolls could have decorations (knot-work,lattices, runes, symbols of alchemy, stars, moons, gargoyles, demonsor other grinning faces, etc.) or be simply smooth or lacquered witha single color. The binding of a grimoire could range from regularleather to silk, velvet, or animal skins. Metal fittings or other deco-rations are also common (iron, bronze, silver, nacre, ivory, or goldcould be used). The metal could be part of the protection or thedecoration of the book.

Special booksSome of the books described below have special properties and are

thus considered as magic items. It is possible to buy them, but thebuyer will not know the special nature of the book at the time of thesale. However, it is very uncommon for these books to be for sale. Inmost cases, these special books will only be discovered as part of atreasure hoard. If a random-determination method is desired, assigna 1% chance for any book found to be one of these special types. Ofcourse, other types of special books can be fabricated by the DM;these should only be considered as examples.

dl2 roll Book1 Books of the White Mages

2-3 Elfin book (written in elven language)*4-5 Contains a scroll of 1 spell (level 1-4)*6-7 Cursed tome8-9 Contains a map to a treasure or dungeon*

10-11 Contains a spell (level 1-7) written in code*12 Books of the Dark Powers

*

Books of the White Mages: Six of these books are known to exist.In addition to information on spells that they may contain, theBooks of the White Mages are cursed to bring harm to characters ofevil alignment who study them. A list of the books is given below,along with their xp/gp values. The first xp figure applies to a charac-ter who can be adversely affected by the book (evil characters for agood book, good characters for an evil book; see also Books of theDark Powers). The basic gp value of each book varies according torandom determination or the DM�s judgment, which is why no basic

gp values are given here. The second set of xp/gp figures is used forcharacters who are not harmed by the book; the amount of goldpieces after the plus sign is added to the original value of the bookafter the beneficiary has studied it completely and is aware of itsspecial power. A character who can be harmed by the book will beaware of its special nature as soon as the harmful effect begins or isnoticed, but that character will not benefit from an increase in thebook�s gp value. Characters of neutral alignment (with respect togood and evil) will not be harmed by either type of special bookdescribed herein.

1 Book of Hopeless Deeds (500 xp/. . .) (700 xp/+500 gp)2 Book of the Bright Ages (750 xp/. . .) (1000 xp/+600 gp)3 Tome of Saintly Sanity (750 xp/. . .) (1000 xp/+600 gp)4 Book of the Blind (400 xp/. . .) (600 xp/+400 gp)5 Runes of Possession (900 xp/. . .) (1500 xp/+800 gp)6 History of Evil Mages and Apprentices (1000 xp/. . .)

(2000 xp/+1000 gp)

Book of Hopeless Deeds: After one week of study, an evil charac-ter suffers a -3 penalty on all his saving throws. This effect is perma-nent until a restoration or limited wish spell is used to counteract it.

Book of the Bright Ages: After one week of study, an evil charac-ter will begin to grow older at twice the normal rate. This effect lastsuntil a limited wish spell is used to counteract it.

Tome of Saintly Sanity: An evil character who studies this bookhas a 5% chance per day, cumulative, �of contracting some form ofinsanity (see DMG, p. 83).

Book of the Blind: An evil character who studies this book willlose the use of his eyes at the end of one week of study. A cure blind-ness spell will get rid of the affliction for 1-4 days; a remove cursespell will bring back the character�s sight permanently.

Runes of Possession: This type of book has a magical intelligence.An evil character who studies it for as much as one week must savevs. spell at -2 each day thereafter or be possessed by the book. Theeffect of possession is similar to a quest spell, forcing the owner toattempt to make amends for all the evil acts he has performed. Eachtime a major act of evil is undone (DM�s discretion as to what �ma-jor� is), the owner is entitled to a saving throw vs. spell to see if he isfreed from the possession. If the possession is neutralized by somemagical means, the owner will be freed but will lose 10,000 xp orone level of experience, whichever is greater.

History of Evil Mages and Apprentices: After one week of study-ing this book, an evil owner must save vs. spell at -2 every weekthereafter or be imprisoned in the book in a manner similar to amagic jar spell. A brief recounting of the owner�s life and times willthen appear on one or more of the book�s blank pages. (Other pre-vious owners are described on other pages; their life essences are alsoheld within the book.) A single owner can be released from thiscaptivity by a limited wish or alter reality spell. If the book isburned, damaged, or destroyed by non-magical means, the trappedcharacters are still imprisoned within the remains, and now cannotbe released singly by anything short of a wish spell. If the book or its

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DRAGON 67

remains is burned, damaged, or destroyed by magical means, thecaptives will be released all at once, but each must roll less than hisintelligence on d20 or be afflicted with some form of insanity.

Elfin book: These books are particularly valuable to elves andhalf-elves. When studied by a member of one of those races, thechance of finding an important clue to a spell is twice the normalamount.

Cursed tomes: These books can affect characters of any align-ment. Generally, the owner of a cursed book can only be freed fromthe curse by getting rid of the book itself, and this can only be ac-complished by a remove curse spell or something stronger (limitedwish, etc.). Such a spell will either destroy the book outright, ornegate its effect upon the owner (or the owner�s library) and permitthe book to be sold or traded like any other book, if the owner issuccessful in making a deal acceptable to a purchaser. The DM canuse typical curses as described in the rules (such as those on p. 121of the DMG), or can invent special curses, a few examples of whichare offered here:

Poison pages: The owner must save vs. poison after each day ofstudying, or die. Some of these books do not require immediatesaving throws, but their poison is addictive; if the owner stops study-ing the book, he must save vs. poison every week thereafter or loseone point of constitution upon each failed save. XP value 300.

Vampire book: The unlucky owner of this volume will lose onebook at random per week, as the contents of his library are slowlydrained by the vampire book. The books affected are left with blankpages, at the same time that these pages reappear in the vampirebook. When another book is drained, the pages of the previouslydrained book disappear to make room for the new ones. However,the title and markings on the cover of the vampire book will notchange, making it difficult and probably time-consuming for theowner to discover which book is doing the draining. After the ownerof a vampire book notices that the contents of some of his books aredisappearing, he may choose to conduct a search of his library tofind the cause (assuming that he figures out what the cause is). He

must examine books individually to see if their contents match theircovers, or to see if a book now contains writing drained from an-other book. This process takes one turn (10 minutes) per book exam-ined, and the chance of locating the vampire book on any given turnis expressed as �one in x,� where �x� is the number of books in thelibrary that have not yet been searched. This can be a long andtedious endeavor for a character who owns a large library, and forthe DM who must determine if and when the search is successful.(Depending on circumstances, a detect magic spell or other magicalor psionic means may speed the search.) The vampire power will notfunction if the book is kept in a metal container by itself, or if it isstored at least 10 feet away from any other books. Its power is trig-gered 1-12 weeks after it is obtained. XP value 600.

Lore of demonkind: At the end of each week that this book isstudied, there is a 10% chance, cumulative, that a demon will gatein and attempt to destroy the owner. The book will gate in a Type Idemon if it is valued at 500 gp or less, a Type II demon if valued at501 to 1,000 gp, a Type III demon if valued at 1,001 to 1,500 gp,and so on. XP value 300 for each 500 gp value of the book.

Spell written in code: If the owner of the book breaks the code andis able to use the spell he decodes, it can be added to his spell reper-toire immediately. Breaking the code requires a minimum of ld4weeks of study, after which the owner must roll his experience levelor less on d20. Failure to make this roll means that the code was notsolved, and no further attempt will have a chance of succeeding untilthe owner attains the next highest experience level.

Books of the Dark Powers: These books will adversely affect good-aligned owners. They are basically the same as the Books of theWhite Mages, with appropriate name changes (History of GoodMages and Apprentices, Book of the Dark Ages, etc.).

Evil, good, or cursed books do not lose their original contents.Even if their adverse effects are triggered, they still contain informa-tion on spells and may be used in research just like other books, solong as the owner feels that the benefits they contain are goodenough to offset their liabilities.

62 FEBRUARY 1984

DRAGON 63

LIVE: THAT IS THE FIRST THING.I live, and I quiver in fear or agonyor exultation. I do not know which,as it is too soon for me to thinkabout what I feel. Besides, there is somuch more to be aware of.

I am looking down at a manstanding in the dark. He looks up at me and says, “OVonulupeh, great lord! You Who Howl in the Forest,send away your creatures and let the game return! Icannot hunt, O Lord! The wolves drive off the deerand leave none for us. We are living on squirrels andfish, Mighty One! Soon we will starve! Let us tastevenison again, and we will share it with you, I swear.”

He goes on in this way for some time. Between us,one the floor, two tiny flames burn in shallow bowls,one bowl on either side of the man. Between the bowlsof light is a little heap of brown fur. It is a wolf cub,dead. Its throat leaks a dark puddle on the stone, andthe smell is rich and dangerous and exciting.

I have never seen this man before, nor any otherman. I have never heard his language before, nor hisspeech, nor any other sound. Yet he prays and sacri-fices to me, and I understand these things. I have neverseen fire or wolves or blood or anything else, either,but I know them.

Just now, this man has promised me venison — arich, rank taste —in huge amounts if I will chase awaythe wolves. So I jump to the floor, over the corpse andthe fires and the man, and go about my business.Before I leave the cave, I turn back and look. The manis still standing with uplifted hands. His gaze is fixedon a picture on the stony wall — a running black wolf.

Could that be me? But I cannot be a picture on awall. Just a few minutes ago I was with my motherand my litter mates; I was never flattened onto coldstone. Mother? Littermates? But I am new. These aremy first moments. I shake my head and pad away inthe dark.

I lope through the woods, wind blowing behind me.I run faster and the wind rises. I leap for the mere joyof it. In the air, the wind and I howl together. I am thehowling of the wind. I am Vonulupeh, Windwolf,Master of the Game and the Pack, He Who Howls inthe Forest. I run on the night air.

I find the wolf pack. Their leader follows me with-out hesitation, without recognition. I create for them atrail which leads far away from my supplicant.

Afterwards, I rise on the night wind and sniff the air,the moonlight, the starlight. I smell the mingling livesof trees, herbs, men, and beasts. I see the mountainslifting and hear the stones creaking. I hear Timewhisper to itself about the past and future. And faraway I hear the herd, the deer wandering in the dark,sleeping in tiny naps. I jump in and out of their nar-row dreams and chivvy them toward the man’s camp.Venison . . .

I return to my shrine and my icon on the cavernwall. The man kneels before it, sleeping erect like adeer. The dead cub still lies before his knees. I sniff atit. It is cold meat now, and will taste gamy, but I gulp

Windwolfby Earl S. Wajenberg

Illustrations by Daniel Buckley

DRAGON 65

66

it down, anyway. It is mine, after all; the man gave itto me. And it is mine for another reason, which I donot yet recall.

The man wakes. He does not see me, but he looksdown and sees that the wolf cub is gone. “I accept youroffering,” I tell him. He shudders and prostrateshimself.

SUCH WAS MY FIRST NIGHT, MY FIRSTsacrifice, and my first worshiper. Their imagesare sharp and clear to me, though the ages since

The next day, Koll, my first worshiper, told his tribeof my sign to him. He led the hunters, though he wasgetting old, and brought down the first deer himself.He brought it home, skinned and dressed it, then leftall the meat for me on a high rock. He did not sufferfor his honesty. There were many other deer for Kolland his people; I saw to that.

At sundown the spirits of the deer came to me as Ilay upon the high rock, and they reproached me.“Treacherous wolf-spirit,” said the buck I had eaten,“why did you bring down men on us? Was my meatyour price? You did not need it. You are beyondhunger.”

“If I brought the men, I also chased away thewolves,” I answered. “Do you care who hunts you?Death is death.”

A doe replied, “Men take more deer than wolves do.Wolves give merciful death to the old and sick, whilemen take the best in the herd. Count all the fleshlessspirits around you, and see!”

I sat on my rock and thought while the deer-spiritsdrifted like dandelion seeds around me. At length, Isaid, “I see justice in your complaint. I will do what Ican to make amends.”

The deer followed me to the hunters’ camp. WhileKoll slept, happy in his triumph, I led them into hisdream. He saw me and said. “Hail, Vonulupeh, HeWho Comes Leading the Game to Men.”

“Hail, Koll,” I answered. “You have kept yourpromise to me, so no debt stands between us. However,here are others whom you owe.” And I made him gazeupon the deer.“They are aggrieved,” I said, “becauseyou took so many of them from their herd and becausethey were not ready for death. Make sacrifice to them,as you did to me, and do not destroy their people. Obeyme, or lose all the luck you gained today.” Koll bowedto me and to the deer, so we withdrew and left him todreams of his own devising.

Next morning, Koll took the hearts from theslaughtered deer and burnt them. He told his sons —and any others who would listen — that he did this toappease the anger of the deer-spirits. “We must honorthem,” he said, “or they will not let us catch them, andVonulupeh will curse us. You must give each kill itsheart and tell it that you are sorry but you need itsmeat. This is what Vonulupeh told me in my dream.”

Then the souls of the deer departed, contented. Andfrom Koll’s act, I learned that the words that dreamingmen hear are not always the words spoken to them.

are often misty.

FEBRUARY 1984

At first, only Koll made the game offering; so, I keptgood only his luck and the luck of those who heededhim. Soon his sons and brothers made the offering,then finally all the tribe. So began the custom amongmen of consoling their prey.

Even now I mourn that this practice failed whenmen took mastery of the herds and bred cattle. It wouldbenefit your spirits to remember the lives your dinnerscost and make them some apology. Or, do you need awolf-spirit to teach courtesy and reverence?

B ECAUSE I CAME TO KOLL IN DREAMS,brought the game at his prayer, and gave luckin hunting to all who made the game offering,

the tribe began to name Koll my priest. This offendedVekkal, the tribal wizard.

One night, when all the tribe was gathering aroundthe fire to hear tales, the first hunter invited Koll to sitbeside him and began, “Join me, priest Koll. I musttell a story tonight, but I am tired. I will need Vonu-lupeh’s luck to be any good.” He laughed. “After all, itis your god who wore me out with all this hunting.”

As Koll took his seat, Vekkal said. “Priest is a newword, Koll, from the southern tribes. Can you tell mewhat it means?”

Koll thought for a few moments, then said, “A priestis one who knows how to serve the gods. He prays andsacrifices in a way that pleases the spirits, so others askhim to pray for them. But I do not ask for the name ofpriest. Vonulupeh favored (me by his own choice.”

“Yes, it is the spirit who chooses, not you. The spiritmakes you priest or lets you go; it fulfils your prayer orignores you, as it pleases; it sends you signs for its ownends. True?”

“True,” said Koll. His voice was calm, but he andall the others waited for Vekkal’s next words.

“All this reveals that you are not a wizard,” Vekkalsaid. “If you were, you would command the spirits, notbeg them. My familiar spirits come faithfully to mytrances, for I know where their hearts are hidden. Theybring me news and compel other spirits for me.”

“Yet they could not compel the deer-spirits,” Kollsaid. “Only Vonulupeh did that. And he gives us luckfor returning their hearts.”

“What if Vonulupeh had not taken a liking to you?”asked the wizard. “We would still be scrounging forminnows and chipmunks. Until my familiars stole thehearts of the deer-spirits, or learned their names, orbrought me scraps of their shadows. All will workeventually. You are just lucky that Vonulupehhappens to love you.”

“That is indeed a great piece of luck,” said Koll.“And I would rather give my love to Vonulupeh thanhave the obedience of your familiars. As you say, I amnot a wizard.”

“No,” Vekkal muttered, “you are a fool.”But Koll did not hear that, because the first hunter

laughed loud just then and said, “Whatever you are,we are glad to have you. But I am rested now, and Iremember a story my mother’s father told me. . . .”

I did not listen to his mother’s father’s tale. Instead, I

lay down among the tribe’s tame wolves, at the edge ofthe firelight, and thought on Koll’s words.

T HE NEXT NIGHT WAS THE DARK OF THEmoon. And, reckoned from my waking atKoll’s prayer, I was two and a half months

old. Since that time, I had spent the nights exploringmy territory. Tonight, as I sped through the dark air,two spirits rose from a stand of hemlock to meet me.

One had the form of a hairy, child-sized man. Overhis face, he wore a wooden mask, carved in a franticpattern of triangles. The other was a skeleton crow,bare but for the tattered feathers on its wings. ThoughI was still formless as the wind, they saw and flewtowards me.

I fled.I know now a hundred ways I could have eluded

them. And my power is now so great that I could havelet them catch me and then crush them. But I wasyoung then; all I could do was flee.

I dove into the grasses and hid among the whisper-ing drafts, but the crow and the goblin came swoopingon me like falcons on a field mouse. I leapt into theforest and roared through the trees, weaving a trail ofswaying confusion. But they unfurled a net betweentwo trees and nearly caught me. I jumped over the netand flew, howling across the mountain tops; but, thetwo evil ones flew at my tail, the net between them. Atlast, I climbed straight up, summoning all the speed Icould; but those two climbed faster, and I became weakfrom the thinning of the air. They wrapped my powerin their net, which was fine enough to hold the wind,and dropped back to earth.

I still struggled. I assumed my wolf shape, thenclawed and snapped at the magical weave. I could getno purchase on the thing.

“Die,” the bird-skull croaked. “Abandon this airybody and die — this is your best hope.”

I tried. I let go of the wolf shape and of the air, thentried to leave, to fade away, to shun the world. I failed.The two monsters drew me toward the camp, and Iguessed who they were. “You are Vekkal’s familiars,” Isaid.

“Two of them,” the crow replied. “He has many. Hewill have you.”

“Why do you do his evils for him?” I asked.“For the same reason you will,” said the crow. “We

have no choice. As he devoured the essence of ourpower, so he will devour yours. If I had pity to spare, Iwould pity you.”

We flew on through the dark sky. The goblin’ssilence became a greater horror to me than the rottedcrow. “Why does your friend not speak?” I asked.

“His mask has no mouth,” the skeleton replied.“Then why not take off the mask?”The crow chuckled. “Turn around, Uthalamietok,”

it told the other. After the goblin had pivoted in theair, I saw the back of the mask: He was hollow behind,like an eaten-out melon.

I remained silent, then wondered what terrible formawaited me in Vekkal’s service.

“Well, wolf,” he said, “we each have drawn the oth-er’s blood. Do you know what that means? I do!” Then

I snarled and leapt at his other throat — the throatof his spirit-self. He brought up his knife arm. I sav-aged his wrist, but at the same time he pierced mythroat. Busy at my own work, I did not notice until theblood flowed. Then I felt a strange tug in my mindand knew that Vekkal felt the same. Both of us stoppedstruggling.

Again, I blew through them; and again, theydispersed. Vekkal stood behind them, arms wide,mouth open to inhale. He would suck me in like thesavor off roast meat! I became wolf in the air andstruck him in the chest. He stabbed with his knife as hefell, but I became wind again at the first prick.

I re-formed by his body and snapped at his throat.My teeth jarred on stone. One of the stones that lay onhis belly had moved to shield his throat. The stonesmoved again and again to shield his face, groin, arms,and legs. They moved as fast as thought — and muchfaster than wind.

Vekkal laughed.“No careful wizard leaves his bodyunprotected.”

“I bound that spirit in a rock,” said Vekkal. Hisbody still lay in the trench, but he stood beside it in hisrobe of plumes.“It gave me much trouble in the cap-turing. But do not fear the same for yourself; you havedone nothing that I did not expect. Rarakun! Uthala-mietok!” The crow and the goblin re-formed beforehim and advanced on me.

I blew out of the dream and into the smoky air. Ichurned the air and scattered the fire, but the tent heldme as securely as the net had. I drove for the flap, but anew presence blocked the way — something cold,heavy, still, and strong.

I was wind. My belly was air, and I howled throughthe hole in the net. I threw my full force at the twofamiliars, who stood on the borders of the trance. Thecrow burst into a shower of bones and feathers. I torethe mask off the goblin, and he vanished instantly.Fast and cunning they were, but not strong.

“Here is the great god Vonulupeh,” he said, “whogives game and luck, who drives away the wolves. Wel-come to my service, Windwolf.” He reached into thedark and grasped. A knife appeared in his hands, theflint blade shining like a cloud in the moonlight. Helicked his lips. “It has been a long time since I tasted anew power.” He knelt beside me and slit my bellythrough the net.

Then the familiars dragged me into Vekkal’s trance.There, I fought, bit, and clawed with new frenzy; butstill the magic net defeated me. Soon, I lay before himin his own darkness, the net tightly wound about me.Vekkal stood above me, now dressed in robes of coloredfeathers, and smiled.

We flew over the camp. Though guards stood nearthe watch fires, they did not see the invaders in the air.The familiars landed before the flap of Vekkal’s tentand pulled me in. Vekkal lay in a shallow trench, withheavy stones upon his belly. A fire of green wood filledthe tent with smoke.

DRAGON 67

he drove the knife deep into my neck — such an attackwould have killed a fleshly creature — and becamewolf. We snapped and struggled for each other’sthroats.

In answer to his master’s will, the goblin sprang intothe fight and tried to hold me down. The movingstones leapt from Vekkal’s body like toads, thenpressed down on me. I tried to become wind, but theknife in my throat prevented it. More goblin shapesappeared and seized my legs and head.

Vekkal stood over me and bared his fangs. “NowKoll must say farewell to priesthood.”

Then I remembered Koll, who said he loved me. Kollwas sleeping not a hundred paces away. I howled intohis dreams,“Koll, Koll, help me! Vekkal would eat myheart!”

I doubted that he heard — or that he would comesoon enough. Vekkal did not hear, but neither did hetear my belly with his fangs. He stared at me, unmov-ing, then returned to human shape.

As he glanced at my neck, I laughed and spoke tohim for the first time. “You must cut out my heartwith your spirit-knife. But if you take it from my neck,I will blow away. Your knife has two edges, wizard!”

Vekkal scowled at me. “Then I will not take it out.”He knelt down beside me and pulled the knife from theside of my neck to the base of my collarbone, cuttinghalf of my throat. He began sawing away at the bone. Iclosed my eyes and set my mind on holding in theblood.

After some time, Vekkal stopped and stood. “Thisneeds more strength ” he said aloud to himself.

I tried to pull it out,

“We all did that whenVekkal’s heart stopped,”Rarakun answered.“Now the others arechasing Vekkal throughthe night. When we catchhim, we will devise arevenge. I came back forhis eyes. But your wor-shiper cannot rise untilyou take the knife out ofhis neck.”

“Have you come backto reclaim your heart?” Iasked.

“He cannot rise,”croaked a voice. I turnedand saw the crow,Rarakun, perched onVekkal’s chest. But nowhe was no horror ofbones and ragged feath-ers; he was complete andas handsome as a crowmay be.

thing you want of me.You saved me, and Ishould have saved you.”

But all remained still within the tent, for nothingbreathed or moved. The familiars had vanished. I wasfree and alone. I sat up and bayed my grief.

“My lord,” said Koll. I looked down and saw himstruggling within his flesh. “My lord, I would bowbefore you, but I cannot rise.”

“Koll,” I told him, “you are dead. Leave your bodyand go where you will. But before you go, ask any-

Koll, I still regret your death, though you would bedead four hundred times over by now. If only I hadstayed and trusted my renewed freedom, you mighthave lived out your span!

It had only been seconds since I had left, but alreadyVekkal had Koll in my place, had him held down byhis goblins. When I entered, the spirit-knife fell. Iheard Vekkal’s heart beat twice before I tore his throatout. It beat seven times more, then stopped. But Koll’sheart had also stopped. He was not a spirit to survivethe piercing of his neck.

I was wind and free. I blew out through the openflap and resumed wolf shape. I was whole andunwounded. A great clamor came from the tent; Kollwas still in there, with Vekkal and all his familiars. Iflew back in.

Then the tent flap snapped open. My priest hadheard the prayer of his god. Roaring, he snatchedVekkal’s hand from my chest. The spirit-knife camewith it.

Leaving his familiars to hold me down, he staggeredback to his body and vanished into it. Then he rosefrom his trench, knelt again beside me, and sawed withfresh vigor. I felt my bones begin to yield.

68 FEBRUARY 1984

but the handle was too smooth. It slipped between my come now?”teeth. “Koll, do I hurt you?” I asked. I stared into the light, puzzled. “But are you not the

“No, lord, I feel nothing.” Guide of the Dead?”The crow plucked out one eye and swallowed it. “Yes. Do you not know what you are?”

“Take man shape,” it advised. “I am Vonulupeh,” I answered.“I cannot,” I said. “My only shapes are wolf and “Before you were Vonulupeh, Vonulupeh was a

wind.” dream. And you were a wolf cub. And you” — the“No longer,” said the crow. “Think. Vekkal took Guide turned toward Koll — “had a gift like Vekkal’s:

wolf shape after drawing your blood, and you drew his You were able to shape the way in which spirits touchin the same moment. Only will it, arid the thing is the world. Vonulupeh was nothing but a tale — borndone. ’’ of howling wind and night terror — until you prayed

So I stood on my hind legs and wished for fingers. to him at the end of the famine. You prepared a placePresently, I had them. I drew the knife from Koll’s in the world for a one who would hear your prayer.neck, and he stood up before me, fleshless. He stared And there was a newly freed soul: the wolf cub you hadinto my face, wondering. “I hope I do not look like sacrificed. It took the place that you prepared, and hereVekkal,” I said to him. he is— Vonulupeh.”

“No, lord,” he said, prostrating himself quickly. I thought back on my first night. “Then I have a“But I have never seen you in human form before, and mother and littermates among the tame wolves ofyou are very beautiful.”

“Thank you. Rise, Koll. I am greatly in your debt.Koll’s camp.”

“Yes,” the Guide said, “so far as a spirit has any kin.What would you ask of me?” In another way, you are kin to Koll Godmaker. But

He rose and looked about uneasily. “Lord, I must go now decide. Will you come with Koll and me?”and . . .and meet someone. But I know not whom, and I looked at the dark stillness around us. Koll and thethe night is full of demons.” Guide were also still, as quiet as the stars at the edge of

“I know that well enough,” I said. “Come., I will the air. “You are asking me to die,” I said.take you where the deer go when they are slain, and I “To finish dying,” the Guide answered. “But I dowill guard you on the way.” not ask you. Come with US or return, as you will.”

We left Vekkal’s tent to the crow and set out across “Koll,” I said, “I will come if you will it. You arethe night air. I took wolf shape and led Koll to the my maker, and I name you master. But this very nightgreat rock where he gave me my first buck. From there, we both fought hard for my life.”I nosed out a trail I had often noticed but never fol-lowed. It ran across a plain of darkness that seemed

Koll laughed. “I have worshiped the work of myown hands, but I do not regret it. You have only

remote even as we trod it. There, we met a creaturemade of sparkling-lights, the Morning Star in the

started to live, my Vonulupeh. Return to the world andbe worthy of your godhood.”

midst of the. Pleiades. I became human and knelt before him. “I will bring“I was coming for you, Koll,” it said. “But I see my blessing on your family to the tenth generation.”

Vonulupeh has brought you half the distance.” “Go,” said the Guide. “Return at your own will.”Koll smiled and began to shine, too. My human I became wind and blew back into the world. Alas,

shape could not have been more beautiful than his. “I Koll! You were my maker, my first worshiper, my firstwill come with you,” he told the light. friend, and my first human sacrifice. You could not

“And you, Vonulupeh?” it asked. “Do you wish to stay in the world . . .and I could not bear to leave.

Got a question about an article? Asubject you’d like us to cover — ornot cover? What do you think of themagazine you’re reading? Drop us aline at “Out on a Limb,” P.O. Box110, Lake Geneva WI 53147. We’llread every letter we get, and we’llselect certain letters of general in-terest for publication — maybe evenyours!

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DRAGON 79

T h e f o r u m(From page 8)�ignoring� women. I have played AD&Dfor two years and read the magazine for

nearly as long, and I do not feel that AD&Dis a �male-oriented� game, nor isDRAGON a �male-oriented� magazine.For example, in the Players Handbook,most of the entries that can refer to

either male or female characters are statedas �his or her.� I also think that a slightstrength penalty for female characters is notsexist; it is actually rather generous, if youconsider that the AD&D game is based on amedieval society, in which women wererarely allowed out of the house! Comparethis to a game like the one described in thebook Fantasy Wargaming, in which femaleplayer characters suffer penalties such as -2to charisma and -3 to social class!

I must also commend DRAGON Maga-zine for its fairness. The women we fre-quently see on the covers of the magazinehave been anything but weak and helpless,and are certainly clad in more than chain-mail bikinis. I can even remember that oneold issue of DRAGON contained an articlewhich strongly discouraged the use of rapeand pregnancy in campaigns.

Laurel GoldingGrosse Ile, Mich.

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