Dragon Magazine 016.pdf

The Magazine of Fantasy, Swords & Sorcery, and Science Fiction Game Playing

—

Due to the length of the conclusion of THE GREEN MAGICIAN,

we found it necessary to add an additional four pages this issue. Con-

trary to what some Philistines might think, this is not a fiction maga-

zine. The Philistines I refer to are the ones that don’t want to see any

fiction at all in these pages. To forestall the howls, the extra four pages

were added to compensate, not that the story NEEDS compensating

for.

It has always been THE DRAGON’s contention that roleplaying

gaming requires large amounts of stimulation to ensure fresh and via-

ble campaigns. Due to the fact that virtually all of the good roleplaying

games require liberal interpretation, fresh ideas are paramount. We

will continue to bring you quality heroic fiction.

On the opposite page, you will find this year’s Strategists Club

Awards ballot. We urge you to participate in this year’s voting. We feel

that this award is the most valid of all the awards given out this time of

year. The nominations were made by a panel of over 50 members of the

industry, as well as over a dozen Life Subbers. It is appearing in every

gaming magazine of import this year, and voting is expected to be very

heavy. The Awards will be presented at this year’s SC Banquet. Details

on the Banquet are elsewhere in this issue.

Ever since I got into this business, I have been troubled by some

persistent questions: Why is it that so few people in this hobby have a

sense of humor? Who do so many take themselves and the hobby so

deadly seriously? What is it in our collective psyche that prohibits us

from laughing at ourselves?

The manifestations of the deficiency are numerous: amateur ‘zines

(discussed in SORCEROR’S SCROLL this issue) are no longer what

they once were — now they are filled with vitriol and bickering; satire

goes unnoticed and/or unappreciated; humor is unwelcome. Recently,

I was reading some other magazine, I really don’t remember which one

— honest, a review of someone’s space game. (I believe it was Alpha

Omega, by Battleline.) The reviewer seemed to take it as a personal af-

front that two of the ship types were called Akroid and Belushi, and

seemed to have no idea whatsoever where they came from. Now this

was a person that holds himself to be expert enough that someone

should care to read what he writes. Why have we become so parochial?

Are reviews being written by people that live in caves somewhere?

Far too many people take roleplaying gaming far too seriously,

often finding it difficult to disassociate the fantasy from the reality,

and tolerating no criticism or jesting at all. Judging from some of the

letters TD has received, some people sit about and do nothing but work

(continued on pg. 36)

FEATURES

Ninja — The Ultimate NPC — the DM’s hitman . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

The Green Magician — pt II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

VARIANTS

Near Eastern Mythos — more deities for your campaign. . . . . . . . . 4

Metamorphosis Alpha — more muties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

DESIGN/DESIGNER’S FORU M

Sorcerer’s Scroll — Realism vs. Game Logic;

Spell Points, and more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Game Balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

DRAGONMIRTH

The Adv. of Monty Haul — Thursday night D&D game . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Wormy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 30

Finieous Fingers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31

Reviews

Fantasy Forge — what’s new in molten monsters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-19

GenCon Preview & Update — what’s coming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

a division of TSR Hobbies, Inc.

Publisher E. Gary Gygax Art. Dept. Dave Sutherland

Managing Ed. T.J. Kask David A. Trampier

TD Editor T.J. Kask Tom Wham

LW Editor Joe Orlowski Circulation Mgr. Joe Orlowski

If your mailing label says “TD 16”

this is your last issue . . . resubscribe

Publisher’s Statement

THE DRAGON is published monthly by TSR Periodicals. a division of TSR Hobbies. Inc., POB 110. Lake Geneva, WI 53147

It is available at better hobby shops and bookstores, or by subscription. Subscription rate is $9.00 per 6 issues. $18.00 per year. Single copy and back issue price is $1.50, but availability of back issues is not

guaranteed. Subscriptions outside the U.S. and Canada are $20.00 per 6 issues, and are air-mailed overseas. (Payment must be made in U.S. currency or by international money order.) All material published

herein becomes the exclusive property of the publisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are made. Subscription expiration is coded onto the mailing list. The number to the right of the name, prefixed

by “LW” or “TD” is the last issue of the subscription. Notices will not be sent.

Change of address must be filed 30 days prior to mailing date.

Unsolicited material cannot be returned unless accompanied by a stamped return envelope, and no responsibility for such material can be assumed by the publisher in any event. All rights on the entire con-

Fourth Annual Strategists Club Awards for

"Creativity in Wargaming"

Outstanding Professional

Wargaming Publication - 1977

Imperium - Conflict Games CAMPAIGN

Ogre - Metagaming

FANTASY GAMING HALL OF FAME

“In recognition of their contributions to fantasy gaming.” Please vote for one in each

category. Present members are: REH, ERB, H.P. Lovecraft, JRRT, C.S. Lewis,

Roger Zelazny, Andre Norton and Fritz Leiber. Do not vote for any of them.

Fire & Movement

Squad Leader - AH

LITTLE WARS

Traveller - GDW

Strategy & Tactics

Victory In the Pacific - AH

THE DRAGON

Posthumous

Lord Dunsanay

A. Merritt

Fletcher Pratt

Clark Ashton Smith

Jules Verne

Stanley Weinbaum

Living Authors

War of the Ring - SPI

The General

Poul Anderson

John Jakes

Leigh Brackett

Katherine Kurtz

Outstanding Game Design - 1977

Air War - David lsby

Citadel - Frank Chadwick

Imperium - Marc Miller

Squad Leader - John Hill & Don Greenwood

Traveller - Marc Miller

Warlord - Robert Williams

War of the Ring - Howard Barasch & Richard Berg

Terry Brooks

Ursula K. LeGuin

L. Sprague deCamp

Michael Moorcock

Stephen R. Donaldson

Fred Saberhagen

Philip Jose Farmer

Margaret St. Clair

Gardner F. Fox

Jack Vance

How to, and Who, May Vote:

Anyone reading this in any of the fine magazines running it is eligible to vote, but

only once. To that end, you must include your name and address somewhere on the

ballot. This must be done, as it is our only method of preventing ballot stuffing;

failure to do so will invalidate the ballot. DO NOT SEND IN THIS BALLOT! DO NOT

PHOTOCOPY THIS FORM! All votes must be cast on a postcard or 3 x 5 notecard.

Simply list your choices in numerical order. ONLY ONE CHOICE IN EACH

CATEGORY. Ballots must not accompany any order or other correspondence with

TSR Hobbies or TSR Periodicals; they must be sent separately. We recommend a

postcard.

Outstanding Miniature Figure Series - 1977

American Civil War (15mm) - Grenadier

Carolingians, Franks & Moors (25mm) - MiniFigs

Dungeons & Dragons (25mm) - MiniFigs

Hoplites - “Classical Ancient” (25mm) - Ral Partha

Modern Micro Armor (11285) - GHQ

World Conquerors - “The Mongols and their Allies” (25mm)

- Ral Partha

Outstanding Miniatures Rules - 1977

Chivalry & Sorcery - Fantasy Games Unlimited

Cordite & Steel - TSR Hobbies, Inc.

The Emerald Tablet - Creative Wargames Workshop

Modern Armor - TSR

Legions of the Petal Throne - TSR

Mail all ballots to:

“SC” Awards

All ballots must be

postmarked no later

than 28 July 1978

c/o THE DRAGON

POB 110

Lake Geneva, WI 53147

Letters to the Editor A Rebuttal to

“The Cthulhu Mythos Revisited”

by Gerald Guinn

Well, when one gets into religious controversy the first thing one discovers is

that the scriptures are themselves self-contradictory or are subject to varying in-

terpretations. Now here is Gerald Guinn, self styled High Priest in the Service of

Nyarlathotep objecting to the interpretation given to the Cthulhu Mythos in

D&D (The Dragon, May 1978, page 22).

Mr. Guinn makes a number of specific complaints, and readers should refer

to his letter for his entire argument, but I am happy to comment on some of his

allegations, as summarized below.

Guinn claims:

1. That Ubbo-Sathla, not Azathoth, is the center of the Universe. And yet:

tion. Any appropriate hit point assignment can be used by the DM. One of my

concerns in writing up the gods was that players encountering them in a game

might well want to call upon Zeus or Thor or Ra for help and the gods should be

scaled to make this a reasonable confrontation.

4. Guinn maintains “the Elder Sign . . . cannot control Cthulhu in

R’lyeh.” I quote the Necronomicon. “In the land of Yhe as in great R’lyeh . . .

it shall have power, but even as the stars wane . . . so wanes the power . . . of

the five pointed star stone.” Derleth’s “The House on Curwen Street”

5. “If Alhazred was eaten alive in Damascus what is he doing in the Name-

less city as an intact zombie . . .?”

My description of Alhazred’s fate is taken from H.P. Lovecraft’s “History

and Chronology of the Necronomicon.” I know Derleth had him reappear in a

later story, but Lovecraft’s account is probably the definitive one. Prof. Shrews-

bury (in Derleth’s story) says “Legend has it that he was snatched by an invisible

monster in broad daylight and devoured horribly before a great audience; this is

the story of the twelfth century biographer Ebn Khallikan, hands down; but it is

more than possible that the devouring was an illusion . . .” in “The Keeper of

the Key,” the story referred to by Guinn above. Ah, in a dispute like this, who is

to know what is illusion and what is reality?

6. “An Arabic volume of the Necronomicon . . . does exist.” I know var-

ious authors have reported so, but again, to quote Lovecraft’s “History and

Chronology of the Necronomicon” “1050 . . . Arabic text now lost.”

7. “Try Primordial Ones instead of Old Ones from the Mountains of

Madness. Using Old Ones twice is not only redundant of another creature (the

Great Old Ones) but confusing.” I agree, but Lovecraft uses Old Ones through-

out most of the story.

8. “Instead of Shaggoths, these creatures are known as Shoggoths.” You

are right, Mr. Guinn, although Laney’s “Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary,”

gives both spellings. If you are going to complain about how to spell words not

intended (in the first place) for the human tongue, may I point out that in your

letter you have consistently misspelled August Derleth’s first name?

9. “If. . . Lovecraft . . . Derleth . . . or Howard saw your use, they’d

roll over in their graves.” If you listen very carefully over HPL’s grave, Mr.

Guinn, the sound you hear is not rolling, it is hearty laughter!

Sincerely,

J. Eric Holmes

Ed. Note: J. Eric Holmes, an author in his own right (Mahars of Pellucidar is my

favorite Pellucidar noval written by J. E. H.), was co-author of the original

article.

“Til neither time nor matter stretched before me But only Chaos, without

form or place. Here the vast Lord of All in darkness muttered Things he had

dreamed but could not understand.”

“Azathoth,” from The Fungi from Yuggoth

from “Dream Quest of Unknown

Kadath”

It is true that Clark Ashton Smith’s Hyperborean sorcerer Eibon makes

some contradictory statements about Ubbo-Sathla, but with all due respect to

MU Eibon, he must be considered a secondary source.

Many of Lovecraft’s friends wrote stories using the Cthulhu Mythos and as

a result there are various versions of the more important events therein. Our arti-

cle draws most heavily on Lovecraft’s own works and the work of Mythos

Scholars Frances T. Laney, “The Cthulhu Mythology: A Glossary,” published

in Beyond the Wall of Sleep, and Lin Carter, “H.P. Lovecraft: The Gods” pub-

lished in The Shuttered Room and Other Pieces. Both of these books from Ark-

ham House.

2. A major power of Cthulhu is the projection to sensitive minds of night-

mare and madness. Certainly true, I would hope anyone using the god in his

game would read “The Call of Cthulhu” and get some idea how fearsome he

really is. In an early version of “the Gods” I said “if Cthulhu breaks out of

R’lyeh, everyone in the world must make a saving throw or go insane.” I later re-

duced this as being a bit too gross.

3. Guinn objects to the various hit point assignments given to the Love-

craftian Gods and races. This is too arbitrary a subject to justify serious conten-

Outstanding Game - 1977

Air War - SPI

Lin Carter

Emil Pataja

and

“the boundless daemon Sultan Azathoth, . . . which blasphemes and bub-

bles at the centre of all infinity . . .”

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