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CONTENTS
opyrighl s a legal security which rightly exists to protect an
C H I V A L R Y & SORCERY

FIGUR E REV1EW
licencees and hence the appearance of all thes pin-off lines. Twentieth Der Kriegspielers Fantastiques
Century Fox who hold the copyright on Star Wars currently employ a reviewed by John N0 rt -i ~
group of heavy-duty lawyers who are quite willing to sue any pirates MONSTERS MCLD& M LIGN
int o oblivion. They certainly have the right t o protect their copyright,
More friends of the DM by Don Turnbull
but whether their motive is purely self-protection s debatable.
Wargamers have an easy time in that obviously no copyright exists, D & D C A M P AIG N S
say, on World War I and therefore any battle can be simulated there- art I I: Rules Recommendationsby
from and put into game format by any manufacturer without infringing Lewis ulsipher
any copyright laws. However, SF/F games and miniature figures lean
heavily on SF/F films and literature for ideas and themes. They have to. OPEN BOX
Now should manufacturers pay for the rights to produce those games SF/F games reviewed
and .figures based on the well known books and films? Yes, of course
they should, but whether or not they would be granted the rights is a GAMES DAY
different matter. Twentieth Century Fox are quite happy to allow a A report by Ian Livingstone
mass market Star Wars game or even Darth Vader bubble baths (fact) as
they wil l generate high royalties. The manufacturer who s interested in
METAMORPHO SIS ALPHA
applying for a licence to make products for the SFIF fan s likely t o be Problems and water by
turned down as the market is small. Richard Edwards
Therefore those manufacturers have to tr y to get round the copy- NEWS
right laws at expense and annoyance t o both themselves and their
What's happening in the SF/F world
customers. Holders of copyright tolerate some of these goings-on, bu t
now the SF/F games and figure manufacturers are beginning to be KALGAR
squeezed. The game Siege o Minas Tirith has disappeared from the introducing a new sword & sorcery
shelves and s soon to be followed by TSR's Battle o the Five Armies hero w r i t t e nnd drawn by id ~ l ~ ~ d
(which may reappear at a later date) and who knows how long FGU's
War o the Ring will last. It s sad to learn also that Miniature Figurines TREASURE CHEST
are soon to withdraw their Mythical Earth range of figures. A miscellany of D&D additions
It seems evident that nobody will gain from this strict enforcement
of copyright laws, but the SF/F hobbyist will definitely lose. Let's hope LETTERS, CLASSIFIEDS
that such problems can be resolved so that in future the wargame tables & HELP
will welcome the presence of Darth Vader with a light sabre, rather
than a lawsuit, i n his hand.

Editor: Ian Livingstone Art work by: Polly Wilson,

Associate Editor: Steve Jackson Christopher Baker
Cover Illustration by: Polly Wilson Printed by: The Pentagon Printing Group,
Published by: Games Workshop Bateman Buildings, Soho Square, W1.

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ose who have seen some of Fantasy Games Unlimited's The Philosophy
latest productions, e.g. the very simple Flash Gordon and Before going into some details about the rules it i s necessary
the Warriors of Mongo or the travesty of a Diplomacy to consider the philosophy behind them, I t was inevitable that
variant and insult to Tolkien, War of the Ring should n ot be someone would compietely rework D&D to truly reflect a
pu t off. Like most manufacturers, FGU's games vary medieval mil lieu and, especia ly, medieval ideas about magic.
considerably i n quality. Chivalry & Sorcery (C&S) i s very C&S is the awesome result. In the process, unfortunately or
carefully constructed and written, and the claim that it was fortunately depending on one's attitude to fantasy games, the
subject to "one of the largest efforts, in terms of development players have become prisoners of innumerable dice throws.
and testing time" ever in wargaming i s quite believable. This enslavement is reflected both in rules and in the attitude
Whether one buys a copy is not a question of physical or the authors encourage. To give examples of the latter first, the
literary quality bu t of the purpose and philosophy behind the authors strongly recommend that "if a character i s stupid,
game and one's personal preferences. role-play and have him act stupidly. The whole idea i s . .
First, of course, C&S i s not a boardgame but a combination to live out fantasies that could never happen in real life." (p.2)
of miniature armies and role-playing rules, with extelisive Several paragraphs are devoted to inculcating in players the
fantasy options. A referee i s required for the role-playing idea that magic users should be interested only in their magic,
aspect. The two sections of rules can be used separately or and not in adventuring or acquisitive emotions. Elsewhere
together, with extensive social rules for nobles, kniglits, arid players are asked to think like medieval people. The opposite
tournaments providing the link. The game as a whole is view, of course, i s that people participate in role-playing games
supposed to provide "an all-encompassingcampaign game in t o play an interesting game and be successful by their own
which dungeon and wilderness adventures were just a small standards, no t t o live out externally stimulated fantasies.
part of the action" bu t much depen'ds on the referee's Competitive garners, as opposed to simulations fans, are
willingness to follow the authors' lead. The authors apparently unlikely t o want to play a character as anything but their 20th
developed C&S in reaction to their experiences with D D, century selves.
and where D&D is versatile, sprawling, arid free -form (euen in But the rules tend to force role playing through various dice
the much-improved revised version). C S i s riqidly specific, rolls. I remember how disgusted I was when I first heard that
depicting a realistic medieval world of feudalism and chivalry, one begins D&D by rolling handfuls of dice. C S takes dice
legendary beasts, and magic systems consistent with medieval rolli ng for characteristics to extremes. A player rolls a D20 to
ideas about magic. C&S is the fantasy role-playing expre?ssion determine: race (including monsters or el fld war flh obb it) , age,
of the wargarners who favour realism and simulation while sex, size, dexterity, strength, constitution, personal appearance,
D&D i s the expression of playability fans who want a good bardic voice, intelligence, charisma, alignment, life horoscope,
game not simulation. As a result C&S i s much more complex mental health, and social class parents' occupation and
than basic D&D, but the superior clarity and completeness of status, family, etc, The life horoscope, in particular, gives a
the rules helps compensate. Despite the clarity, C&S is not a huge range of pluses and minuses for various character types
good choice for someone just beginning role-playing because which can penalize the player who chooses a class with
much of the basic mechanics is not explained. In other words, unfavourable aspect. Some character types, especially the
C&S i s written for people already familiar with the details of knight (the best-equipped fighter) are beyond the reach of
how role-playing games work. some social classes. An unrealistic amount o f social fle xibility
I t s dif fic ult to describe in this small review a very tightly i s bu il t into the game, but limitations are very real. Possibly
and economically written s e t of rules 128 pages long, each the worst rule of all i s the morale check for characters. Imagine
page containing 4 normal typed pages reduced to quarter you r bemusement when you want t o fight on b ut your
size The authors have a very clear style but never explain character wants to flee he character wins the argument
anything twice. To comprehend it all requires a good memory This may be realistic I don't thi nk so), but the restraints may
or several repetitions, but everything you need i s in a logical make it hard to id entify w it h one's character, and personal
place. The contrast with unrevised D&D i s staggering. The identification i s more important than living out'dice d fantasies.
book is 8% by 11 inches, typed on a carbon ribbon Moreover, the C&S world i s dominated by ideas of
typewriter rather than typeset. The printing is very clear, so feudalism and chivalry, a world of order. In a sense, the cosmic
the small print doesn't strain vision, but a large magnifying balance has tipped way over toward Law. Even the monsters
glass wouldn't hurt. There are some decent illustrations and obey some chivalric dictates Those who overstep the line
detailed contents, about 400 entries. become hunted by the entire society (a society somewhat

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offensive to the 20th century mind, as well). From the authors' l i s t of cost and availability of materials which might be needed
comments about othe r role-playin g games (never mentioned fo r magic brews and formulations. Magic use i s based on the
by name but obviously D&D) i t s clear that they experienced di ff ic ul ty of learning new spells and on expenditure of fa tigue
a campaign in which the referee gave away money and magic points. Knowledge as well as an increased personal magic
and let a bunch of naturally chaotic players (calle d ego- factor are important . As a magic user (MU) becomes more
trippers by the authors) get away with anything. C&S i s a powerful he needs less time to learn new spells or enchant
reaction to no restraint that can in tur n become a straitjacket. items, and the more one learns, the more experience one
The worl d i s romanticized and some requirements of realism acquires. But magic ability i s not based on experience points.
(such as subordination of all women) are ignored for the sake There i s no saving throw in most cases, bu t the MU may
of good play. The authors obviously know a great deal about fail t o h i t his target. On the other hand, spells can be cast
medieval society or know someone who does; and they must through obstacles if the M U can see the target. Spells
have access to an excellent lib rary t o research the magic rules. generally are less pow erful than in D&D. The ki nd of MU who
There i s one more po in t t o make about philosophy. C&S acted as artillery i s replaced by a secretive sort-who, a t higher
i s set in a countr y closely resembling 1170 A D France. levels, can manufacture items tha t make him a sort o f
Nothing in the fantasy genre requires that a medieval/feudal/ machine gun.
chivalric setting be used. Very few fantasy novels include The miniature rules are not as clear as the rest of the book.
feudalism or chiv alry, especially the latter, in their Because of the accent on realism, players may find themselves
backgrounds. Middle-earth, or example, bears almost no watching a battle wit hou t having much contr ol of it. There
resemblance to the high Midd le Ages, though fo r some odd are dozens of modifying factors and morale and
reason the elves and dwarves of C&S are Tolkienian rather than insubordination rolls to consider players are simulating, not
traditional. One might say tha t a medieval society i s the most playing a game. No doubt were one accustomed to playing
likely for a fantasy game, but wouldn't the presence of with these rules all the modifications would be gone through
powerful monsters and magicians alter the very structure of easily (though there are too many to memori ze); nonetheless
th at society? Of course, am loo king a t this fro m the fantasy all the calculations and record keeping must take a long time
role-playing viewpoint. For those interested in simulating compared with, say, Chainmail
medieval warfare wit hout fantasy, C&S is excellently
conceived.
Utility
C&S can be played in four forms:
Some Details
Much of C&S is aimed a t giving reasons for adventures 1 miniatures warfare onl y
other than in dungeons and wilderness he former, in fact, 2) miniatures warfare plus role-playing wit h nobles and
are supposed to be rare and anything but treasure troves. t knights in tournaments and society
appears that many more adventures involving only one or two
characters on a special mission will be required than for D&D. 3) fantasy role-playing wit h or with out w ith addition of
Gaining levels i s less important (and apparently easier) than in society
D&D, because fighting'and spell casting abilit y depends more 4) as the grand campaign , wi th everything
on abil ity numbers and on activities which don't involve
experience p oint gains. So far as the fantasy versions go, a closed campaign, tha t is
Naturally there i s a new combat system. The D&D system, one wi th regular meetings and characters which are used
which can be reduced t o tw o pages, works quickly and simply nowhere else, is absolutely necessary. So much fantasy C&S
wi th sufficient realism for most tastes. I f anything i t is too depends on time and time scales that crossover play is
complex for many new players. C&S combat is more realistic, impossible. t is too easy for a crossover player to take 5
particularly i n providing for knock-d owns (the bash ) but years o f f to learn spells and enchant magic items while
realism must be paid fo r wit h considerable complexity. Those slowly rising in level (since he accumulates points just f or
who f in d D &D melees to o long won't care for the C&S system. existing), while ignoring difficulties of finding enough money
On the other hand, there i s more scope for individual player to live on, a place to work, and safety fr om monsters, thieves,
skill, and perhaps less luck overall, i n the new system. Damage and rivals. The necessities of everyday existence which are so
i s no t variable once a hit i s determined. Barring critica l hits, importan t in C&S can be ignored to o easily to permi t
which are counted against body hit points, damage is inflicted crossover play.
on fatigue points unt il all are gone, when the body begins to There are many ideas in C&S which can be adapted to o ther
be damaged. Characters may dodge or parry a blow, and the role-playing games. One finds more D&D-adaptable ideas here
number of actions (including blows) one can accomplish in a per pound sterling than in any D&D playing aids available.
melee roun d depends on weapon used as well as the character's Certainly anyone who can affo rd to buy most of the Judges

ratings. Guil d mat

D&Ders wilerial should
l react invest
to C&S in a copy
as they of C&S.
reacted I expect
to Empire o f the
Economics resemble medieval norms, though changed
enough to permit a money rather than barter mode of Petal Throne A minority will find i t s philosophy or its
exchange. Thus 1,000 coins weigh one pound rather than clarity and completeness so attractive tha t they'll forget
D&D1s 10-16/pound, and all coins are very scarce. 2,000 D&D. Others will adopt ideas from it as they desire. But
silver pieces is a fortune. An average room a t an in n costs whether they adopt much or not, most D&Ders will stick
about . O l gold piece. An extensive list of costs is included. with their game.
Relatively few monsters are described, though the People new to role-playing games will fi nd the revised
characteristics of undead, lycanthropes, and dragons are more version of D&D much easier to comprehend and begin play
interesting and intriguing than for the D&D analogues. wit h than C&S. (In case anyone wonders, Tunnels and Trolls
Experience point values are given wit h each monster, thank is no t i n the same league, serving a t best as a steppingstone to
heaven. Very few magic items are described because most that D&D or C&S.) In the long run, D&D1ssuperior fle xi bi li ty
exist wi ll be enchanted by some magic user, who w ill charge it and diversity will appeal more than C&S1s realism. People new
wi th some kind of spell. to the fantasy game genre should not t ry C&S, whi ch i s too
The magic system i s the most bri lli ant part of C&S. There complicated and assumes more knowledge than beginners
are roughly 20 different kinds of MU, each with some basis in can have.
medieval notions, e.g. astrologist, alchemist, weapon artificer, There i s still room for a fantasy role-playing game
hex master, shaman, dancefchant magician, etc. Each has his combining D&D's versatility, va riety, and simp licity
own special abilities and spells, and all can cast some of the and C&S's clarity and completeness wit h new magic
generally available spells pells to manipulate earth air, fire, and experience systems. B ut f or those who want
and water, illusions, commands, ancient lore, black magic, and realism as much as you could get in fantasy C&S
demonology. Among other items useful to D&Ders i s a long will never be bettered.

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selections for TSR's Dungeon game. One has a wizard (the

excellent Gandalf), superhero (Bor omir), a hero (a fine
figure of a Knight of Gondor) and a good elf, while the otte r
provides a hobbit and a dwarf, neither of whom i s the range's

  antastiques
best figure of his race, and two specially designed figures, a
cleric and a thief, about which am less than enthusiastic.

rcs
reviewed by John Norris The range provides a very good selection o f orcs, w it h over
thirty different figures in four races. The bigger orcs are the
Great Orcs o f the R ed Eye who are Sauron's "super-orcs",

D
r Kriegspielers Fantastiques are an American range of and the Orcs of the White Hand Saruman's man-orcs. Their
25mm fantasy wargame figures imported into this smaller relatives, at about 20mm, are the Lesser Orcs o f the
country. The Fantastiques should be of particular Red Eye the ordinary Mordor orcs, and the Or cs o f t h e N o r t h
interest to Tolkien addicts, because they are by far the most and o f the Misty Mountains who are both of the race of
suitable range currently available for wargames s e t in his goblins described in The Hobbit, and include wargs and warg
Middle Earth. The range provides figures suitable for all the riders.
major personalities, and for the warriors of their human and The Great Orcs are stout bestial figures, bu t defin itely
non-human forces, n ot forgetting sundry monsters. Players of humanoid, unlike the porcine offerings in another range feel
D&D and similar games will find that the personality figures, that i s much truer to the original than pig-faces, which could
and indeed many of the ordinary ones, make excellent no t be mistaken as human. The figures are clad in composite
character figures, while dungeon owners wi ll fi nd the range a armour o f plate, mail and scales, with generously spiked
pro lif ic source of "monsters" with which to populate the helmets and round shields with an eye embossed on them.
dungeon and the surrounding wilderness. There are six figures: a leader, a standard bearer with a huge
The figures are generally good, except for the few very large gonfanon, and warriors with maces, whips, bill-guisarmes and
ones, which are nearly all poor. The strongest po int of the swords.
range is its variety. Not only does it cover all the major types, The man-orcs are very good, and are almost human except
but i t also provides an excellent selection of figures fo r each for their fanged snarls and fantastic helmets. They are in
one. This comprises a leader, a standard bearer, and a number leather armour, and have shields embossed wit h white hand.
of warriors in varied poses, carrying assorted weapons, wit h A nice feature is the accoutrements slung around them
differ ing detailing and in some cases modelled mounted as well profusely. There are six figures: a leader, a standard bearer
as on foot. Thus, for example, a group of dwarves could muster with a flag, and warriors with swords, spears (actually a good
ten different types without including any personality figures. ranseur), bows and poleaxes. The poses are a little wooden,
The animation of most of the figures i s a welcome contrast to but otherwise the figures are highly recommended.
the lim ited range of stereotyped poses favoured by some The Lesser Orcs are stocky oriental types, wi th slanting
British designers. The detailing of the Fantastiques i s modelled eyes, and an added grin full of teeth. They wear fur coats and
with deep moulding and engraving to ensure that it comes out pointed caps, w it h some mail and shields. They make a very
in the soft metal used for their casting. This can appear a little attractive group, with a selection of eight figures: a leader,
exaggerated, and less crisp, when compared to the finely a standard bearer with a flag, and warriors wit h swords, spears,
engraved detail on a hard metal figure, b ut i t can paint up bows, axes, hammers and bills. I recommend them.
very well and lends itself to shading. The less crisp casting i s The goblins are not as good as the lessor orcs. They are
not of great importance on the ordinary 25mm figures, where distinguished by round eyes and large hooked noses, and they
the detailing compensates for i t successfully, bu t it does look wear coats and hoods either stiffened to resemble the comb of
distinctly poor on the few really big figures. Figures of this a morion at the top or falling forward like a Phrygian cap.
size must be compared wi th 54mm scale ones, and by that Those o f the Misty Mountains are on foot, while those o f t he
standard they are a failure. N o r t h are mounted on wargs. The figures are: a leader, a
The Fantastiques have one distinct disadvantage for the standard bearer with skull totem, warriors wi th bows,
British fantasy wargamer he price. Like all importird clubs, bills, scimitars, axes and spears, a group of three
American wargame products, they are very expensive when mounted on wargs with bow, axe and spear, and a riderless
compared to British ones. The effective price per figure varies, warg.
but an average of about 30p for a 25mm figure is not cheap
Fantastiques are manufactured and sold in the U.S.A. by Trolls
Heritage Models, who have absorbed Custom Cast and its Der The orcs are supplemented by some excellent trolls. There
Kriegspielers line, and are imported i nt o Br itain by Games i s a fine hill troll, which serves well as one of Sauron's "super-
Workshop of London. trolls", a wood tro ll w ith an axe, just the thing Ents love to
The figures reviewed below are all those that have been hate, a lumpish cave troll, a nice river trol l w ith webbed feet
released in the range. Custom Cast did have plans fo r a few and armed with, naturally, a trident, and a large mountain
more, especially human warriors, but those seem to have been tr ol l wit h good detail and a large two-handed leaf-bladed
dropped. I n a comparatively brief review like this it i s not sword. I recommend these highly.
possible to cover every figure in detail. Therefore, have
settled for a description of the main groups of figures,
augmented by notes on the selection available in each group.

Personalities
expect that the sets of most interest to players of D&D
and similar games will be those of personality figures. The best
i s undoubtedly the excellent Fellowship s e t depicting the Nine
Walkers. Al l of them are good, bu t the careworn Gandalf and
commanding Aragorn are outstanding. I recommend that set Above right a Harad Spearman and
Gondor Citadel Guard followed by a
highly, even though it i s expensive by the standard of this
Cave Troll Hil l Trol l and River Troll.
range. A s e t of their enemies, the Foes is no t very impressive Below left Gandalf of The Fellowship
as a whole, b ut both i t and the T h e H o b b it set of characters and below right his companions
from Tolkien's book of that name do include some nice Boromir Aragorn Legolas Gimli
Frodo Sam Merry and Pippin.
individual figures; particularly lik e the weary Bilbo:Two
other sets that fall in to this group are those put o ut as

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Dwarves hobbits. However, few wi ll be able t o find use fo r more than

The dwarves are good representations, short, very stout, a small number of hobbits in thei r wargames, and would
bearded and sometimes a little ferocious. Their equipment is suggest that the four very good hobbit figures in the
the customary mail shirt and spangenhelm or conical helmet, Fellowship set should be the first choice.
augmented by round shield where appropriate. The figures in
the dwarf range are: a leader, standard bearer wi th an anvil Humans
standard, and warriors with axes, spears, swords, bows, The range overflows with dif fere nt types of human warriors,
mattocks, two-handed axes and marching wi th mattocks. though i t is a pi ty tha t so many types are represented by
There are two reasonable dwarves In the The Hobbit set, the only one or tw o diff eren t figures. I cannot even mention all of
best one must be Gim li fr om the Fellowship These are nice them here, and I wi ll confine myself to those like or think
figures of dwarves, but it would be wrong to suggest that particul arly wort h mention. The humans consist of the men
they are exceptional. of Gondor, their allies, the Easterlings, the Southrons and the
Dunlendings, or hill men. The Gondor range includes two
Elves excellent Citadel Guards in winged helms, tw o good l thi lie n
The elves are slender human-like figures, distinguished by Rangers and impressive figures of a mounted Swan Knig ht and
their fine features and pointed ears. I t s pity that no an Am rot h man-at-arms. Another good ranger figure is the
manufacturer, in m y opinion, makes really good elves, all of Beorning. Among the hostiles , the men of Rhun and Harad
them being too much like humans; however, these are among are excellent, and I hope the manufacturers may resurrect the
the best have seen. I f they were li tt le shorter, not quit e as extra figures of them once planned. The corsairs are very good
tall s the humans, they would be very good. The figures are for thief types. t s worth mentioning the aboriginal hill men,
unarmoured, and are gracefully dressed in tunics, hose and who are well-modelled group, and the two good Shadow Host
cloaks. Those available are a leader and standard bearer, two figures on foot .
archers, a spearman and an elf with sword and buckler. They
are probably the best figures for standard elves available. Specials
These are mostly the poor large figures, which I will not
mention individually, but there are three honourable
Hobbits exceptions. The Ent and the Black Riders are
The hobbi t figul'es are small 15mm high stocky humans reasonable, and the Lycanthrope set is very
with lots of curly hair. Generally they are very nice, but there attractive. The latter consists of a large man, obviously
are one or two poor ones. The figures available are s e t s of large intended for Beorn, and a humanoid bear, his were-
Tooks, armed hobbits, hobbits in everyday attire, and mounted shape.

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  The Bogy s an unusual humanoid

wi th the head, horns and
legs of a goat; i t has fou r
arms, two of which hold
weapons. Perhaps it started of f wit h
ambitions to be a Demon I l l but didn't
make the grade. It has 3D8+1, AC4
and moves \ A 90' per turn. In
it strikes with

<

giving i t a Monster-

e continue this issue with the presentation of some of

the more interesting monsters which have appeared in
various D&D magazines, in particular The Dungeoneer Golems are rather too powerful for most adventurers if they
by Paul Jaquays and Alarums Excursions edited by Lee are inclined to do battle, but a less fearsome version comes as
Gold. I must stress that none of the monsters are of my own
the Cyborg, which is a man modified internally by machinery
devising although I have given them all a Monstermark On
( a sort of Steve Austin). To a l l intents and purposes the
wi th the show then.
Cyborg s a normal man who can be dressed as fighter, MU or
The Beholder is an interesting D&D beast, bu t so powerful
whatever, but it has 8D8+1, AC2 and moves 240' per turn.
that few chardcters are likely to meet it let alone engage melee
The thing has 18'' strength which gives it +4 hit prob ability
wi th it. Paul Jaquays in The Dungeoneer issue 3 introduces a
and it i s quite content to fight with bare hands doing 6-36
whole new sub-classof beasts which bear more than a passing
damage per hit. The Monstermark s 604.3 -s o be warned
resemblance to the Beholder but which are low-level enough next time you meet some guileless bloke wandering round the
to be present anywhere in the dungeon. The Fuzzy and the dungeon and asking for your assistance.
Steely have spherical bodies 1-2' in diameter with a single The Cyclops of mythology s a Giant with a single central
central eye and three prehensile tentacles each. To deal w it h eye which hits wi th a large club. In D&D terms it has 12D8,
the Fuzzy first, it has 2D8 (minim um 4 hits - one for each AC3 and moves 120' per turn. Hitting at -2 probability (because
tentacle and minimum one for the body), AC7 and flies 30' per the single eye doesn't permit accurate perception of distance)
turn. The tentacles can stretch ou t as far as 10' to deliver a it hands out 5-60 points damage per round which gives it a
2-12 sting attack (no more than two of these per day) but at Monstermark of 936. According to its inventor, it normally
close quarters each tentacle can also attack either by grappling guards treasure type E plus 5,000 GP. -

the victim - once a hold has been established the tentacle

does 1-3 damage per round - o r striking with a normal weapon, The Manta, when
usually a 1-4 dagger, hi ttin g as a third level fighter with -1 hit a t rest, looks
probability. If a tentacle s hi t it will regenerate in three melee like a mushroom.
rounds unless the beast is killed during that time. The sting Before they can
attack i s particutarly powerful - n addition to the 2-12 damage attack they must
it also causes paralysis for as many turns as the number of hit accelerate to their
points inflicted. The Fuzzy has Monstermark 29.4 - about maximum speed of
the same as an Ogre. 300' per turn, at
The Steely attacks in the same way bu t has 2D8 (minim um which speed they
7 hits, t wo per tentacle) and ACO. Since its body is armoured. take on a shape like a
It has Monstermark 68.8 which i s about the same as a Su Manta Ray with
Monster or a Wight. a t a i l which i s
Other cousins of these two beasts, with different AC and their offensive
number of tentacles, can be developed to produce a whole weawon. Thev
sub-class of Beholder-types. If you want to increase the are 4 : 6 ~ 8 nd'
number of tentacles, bear in mind tha t a creature's brain- have ACO. The t ai l delivers
power needs to be pretty high to coordinate attacks from 1-8, 1-10 or 1-12 damage
even three tentacles so make corresponding adjustments to depending on the size and
the beast's attack mode probabilities. HD of the beast. The trick s
The Gremlin is humanoid - about 4' high, coloured d to catch these things before
green and looking rather like a wingless I mp with a trident in they speed up, but who, seeing
i t s hand. It has 3D8+1, AC8 and moves 60' per turn. In melee a mushroom in a dungeon, thinks
it attacks wi th its trident, doing a mere 1-4 damage, but the about hitting i t ?The Monstermarks
catch s that anything (normal or magical) used against a for the three sizes are 81, 123.8 and 175.5 which make

Gremlin has a 50 chance of malfunctioning normal them beasts to be reckoned wi th (th at Slow spell could
weapons may break or t ur n soft, missiles wi ll rebound or turn come in very useful).
in to harmless custard pies, magical weapons will mysteriously Carnivorous beasts are rare in the TSR yules, and along comes
become non-magical or even reverse their magical power. With an unusual beast called the Cynopard. It is a bluish-green
a Monstermark of 12.8 the Gremlin isn't di ffic ul t bu t it can be carnivore wi th yellow-flecked fur, six legs wit h sharp-clawed
an interesting beast t o fight, and attackers may find themselves feet, about 7 ' long. It has 8D8, AC4 and moves 120' per
with some scrap metal on their hands after the battle. tur n. Quite a versatile beast, it either wanders around on i t s

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hind legs, in which case it delivers four claw attacks fo r 3-12 intelligence, wisdom and dex terity are allgreater than 13. It i s
damage each per round, or o n all six legs in which case it bites capable of two or three modes of simultaneous attack but i s
for 4-40 damage. Assigning 50 probab ility t o each mode of restricted to the use of only one weapon (so it could, for
attack, the Monstermark works out at 346.7 so it is as fearsome example, hi t you wi th a sword i n one hand, use a clerical staff
as an &dice Dragon. on you w it h another and utter a magic spell, all a t the same
While on carnivores, let us look a t the dreadful Banth time) . A n interesting variation which I have tried (b ut no
which i s 8-legged, 15' high at the shoulder and has a large head party has reached the beast yet, so I am uncertain of the
with many teeth. It has 12D8, AC3 and moves 150' per turn. outcome) i s to have all the heads of differing alignments
I t s bite delivers 5-50 damage per round and i t s Monstermark maybe this is merely a certain recipe for nervous breakdown
i s 924. of the poor beast. Or perhaps one head could tell the truth all
The Kzin is another carnivore, half a ton in weight with the time, another part of the time and the third none of the
bright orange fur over exoskeletal ribs. It has 5D8, AC5 and time you know the ol d puzzles. A ll sorts of things come t o
moves 180' per turn. i f undamaged this beast i s so dextrous the imagination in the context of the Threep which can there-
and sw ift in melee movement that it can hit for 2-9 damage fore become merely one member of an intere sting new
and not suffer a return attack unless the attacker has a sub-class.
dexter ity of at least 14. I f damaged it wi ll be prone to a return As I remarked earlier, I am constantly amazed at the
attack from any adventurer, but has time t o deliver two claw productivity of Lee Gold, editor of Alarums & Excursions.
attacks, for 2-9 each, each round. From all b ut heavy weapons From her fluent pen comes another of my favourites he
i t takes -2 no rmal damage; it adds 8 to its saving ro ll against Goldeater.
Hold Monster or Charm Monster; it cannot be surprised; it This i s a long, white , dismembered hand which flies around
screams when i t s attacking which has a 50 chance of at 180' per tu rn seeking GP to eat. It has palms which
stunning nearby first or second level characters for a melee absorb gold at the rate of 10-80 GP per ur n and moves
round. I t s Monstermark i s 189 dangerous and exciting noiselessly. It has 2D8 and AC9 so can
beast to meet, bu t far f rom impossible to deal with.
The Sphex i s a 'steal' fro m Science Fict ion I orget the
source). It was described as a cross between a spitting cobra When it has consumed 500GP it
and a wildcat painted tan and blue and in i t s D&D version has will reproduce by fission into
8-10D8, ACO and moves 120' per turn. It attacks with two 1-8 tw o Goldeaters. I t takes a
claws and a 2-12 bite bot h bite and claws carry poison. I n ful l turn t o break into a
addit ion the bite carries a virus similar t o rabies and requires sack, back-pack or
Cure Disease with in 24 hours or death follows in 2-12 days. whatever. Next t i
The smell of sphex blood wi ll attract other Sphexes which you wait anxious the door guarding the
trace tracks wi th high accuracy. Altogether a pret ty fearsome treasure while members of your party
beast to meet, wit h Monstermark 1280, 17 28 or 1920 depending
on HD. Even in i t s weaker form it i s more powerfu l than most
Dragons. occasionally for what is happening behind you . . . . .
The lmps probably need no introduct ion f ro m me. They
appeared in the Dungeoneer issue 3 as beasts which had some Once again, I must state that there i s nothing original in this
of the qualities of Demons but were less powerful, and from article as all the monsters have originated elsewhere. Perhaps
what I hear have been welcomed by many DMs. They are small sometime in the future the editor w ill allow me to
Demons, found all over the place and constantly getting into present more products of m y researches, but in the
a lot of trouble. They wo uld be amusing if they weren't so interim I hope you get as much pleasure fr om using,
damned dangerous. They range from type A which has ID 8 or meeting, the Goldeater, the Glitch, the Gremlin,
and AC9 to type wit h 7D8 and AC5. The lower level types the Imps and the other favourites as I have.
have tw o or three magical spells, while t he more powerful can
gate i n Demons and other lmp s and have wider magical pwers. Editor's Note:
,4 very good sub-class of monsters which deserves t o be very Next issue wi ll see the start of a new, regular feature
popular, particularly to DMs who quail at the thought of putting entitled The Fiend Factory. This wi ll be page or so of new
even a low level Demon i n the depths. For comparison, the monsters submitted b y White Dwarf readers and edited by
Monstermarksof the lmps (in order from type A to type G) Don Turnbu ll who wi ll apply a Monstermark to each
are 2.7, 11.5, 25.2, 50.4, 112.5, 151.8and 330. Compare monster published. We wi ll be parti cular ly interested in
those t o the Demons' Monstermarks in White Dwarf 2. monsters that have some unique quality or char acteristic,
Another variant on the Demon is the Ir on Demon wi th Each monster published wi ll en tit le the inventor to a free
6-8D8, AC2 and 90' per turn. Each round it attacks with two issue o f the White Dwarf in which his monster appeared.
1-6 claws and either a 1 -8 bite or a 2-12 breath weapon Please send your entries, including a ful l description, t o
(maximum three times per day). In addition to its normal The Fiend Factory , c/o White Dwarf, 97 Uxbrid ge Road,
attack it attempts to strangle its victim wit h i t s tail. t s London W12
Monstermark varies frbm 162.8 to 214.5 depending on its hi t
dice.
Mobil Diss were also introduced in Dungeoneer issue 3 and
deserve popularity, at least with DMs. They appear in groups
of one billion or more and are ti ny insects all stomach and
fangs, i f the description i s to be believed. The collective data
/Next issue:
for 1 billion of these things i s 10D8, AC9 and 90' move per
turn. They are only affected by cold or heat and collectively Eddie Jones has inform ed us that he is unable to com plete his
Colouring Conan s hews series of articles at present due to SF
in fl ic t 6-48 damage per round on anyone unfo rtunat e enough paperback book publishers clamouring for his artwork. Therefore
to be attacked by them. They swarm in a 3' square and only nex t issue will feature:
attack one victim a t a time, waiting un ti l he i s eaten up before
moving on to fresh pastures. Wit h a Monstermark of 589 they Traveller
are pretty fierce, and I wish I knew how to make that special Place in the Wilderness
chemical called Mob il Diss Salt the designer talks about. The Fiend Factory
I have saved a couple of favourites un ti l last. Firs t, l et us Archive Figure Review
Treasure Chest
look a t the Threep. This i s a humanoid wit h three heads, one
Open Box
fighter, one clerical and one magic-user. It has AC3 and variable
hi t dice and powers at the DM'S discretion, b ut i t s strength,

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by Lewis Pulsipher
limited number of people to use. One or more major
P RT : Rules Recommendations character classes may be entirely absent from his group owing

Single vs. Multi-World Campaigns to

orleunsuitable
of each ofrolls. Of course,sub-classes,
the numerous no playercanbu texpect t o have
he should be
rhaps the most impo rtant question about any permitted a broad choice. In particular, he i s stuck with

P campaign is whether characters will be permitted to

participate in adventures under more than one referee.
Some campaign referees require that all characters operate
whatever class he chooses for his main character. I f he i s
inexperienced or has bad dice ralls he may discover sooner or
later that he doesn't care for his character class. I n that
exclusively in one world. Other campaigns consist of several situation he really has no choice b ut t o get himself killed and
worlds with the same s e t of characters, moving from one world start a new character, wasting all his previous effor t. In a
to another depending on who i s refereeing. The first method, variation of this, the player may no t find out how much fun
of course, puts the referee burden on one person or forces play i t s t o be some class he doesn't have in his small group. Many
of several campaigns in turn. The advantage i s that the referee players favour one character class for personality reasons
will know exactly what powers and magic items the characters one who pictures himself as a swashbuckler may prefer fighter
may have and can plan accordingly. For example, if he likes types, one who i s cerebral and dislikes violence may prefer the
to use undead he may be certain the players have no undead magic-user, one who i s clever and sly may prefer the thief.
cont rol potions by placing none in his treasures. I f the The solution t o this problem is to permit each player to
characters play with another referee they may find undead ro ll several characters, say six t o start with. T o avoid the
control and ruin the first referee's plan. On the other hand, it popular ploy of rolli ng a character and then never using it or
i s not often good practice to plan in such detail situations using it only once, because the abilities are less pleasing than
which seem reasonable and take int o account most of the they might be, insist that each player advance his initial six
problems the monsters might foresee are preferable. Moreover, characters at least to second level before he may roll an
a referee in a multi-world campaign can prohibit introduction additional one. (Of course, replacement of dead characters i s
of certain magic items from other worlds i f he wishes. I f permitted, b ut obvious suicide is no t allowed.) After t h e initial
someone finds a vorpal blade guarded by a few gnolls, another group work up, a player is seldom permitted to have more than
referee may decide that the player didn't earn it and not allow one new firs t level character. I f a fussy player advances many
it to exist in his world. In extreme cases even experience characters to second level and then doesn't use them, hoping
points doubtfully earned may be barred. I f one referee i s fin all y t o rol l a monk or ranger, he must work some up to
acknowledged final authority, and if referees all use the same th ird level in order t o maintain a reasonable balance. Each
system wi th individual variations, this wi ll seldom be a player may have this 'family' of characters for each alignment,
problem. bu t Lawfuls are best for beginners.

There
First, are several
players need noadvantages in a mu lti- wo
t become accustomed torld campaign.
several sets of
A couple
players of additional
will often have tworules should
or three be used.along
characters Evenon though
an
characters, one for each referee. Second, characters wil l adventure, only one should gain full experience, and the others
advance visibly. I f fou r separate campaigns are running, one half, duplicating the effect of the original system. Furthermore,
adventure per month for each, then a character in any one no weak character should be permitted to gain fu ll experience
campaign might not advance beyond th ir d or fou rth level in a when in company with a much stronger party; this i s a cheap
year of play. Even though the same character won't be used on way to gain levels fast, unless countered. Consequently, any
every adventure, in a year a well-played character might reach character more than three levels lower than the level of the
sixth or seventh level in a multi-w orld campaign. Third, the strongest character in party may only receive half experience;
mult i-world campaign permits those with o nly partial worlds, any more than six levels below may receive only one-fourth
as little as one dungeon level, to referee in a campaign. The experience. Note that this also discourages players from taking
difference between a pic k-up game and a campaign adventure along one very powerful character wi th a weak party as a
must be exoerienced to be understood; a campaign i s far 'guardian angel', because all the weak ones wi ll gain less than
more exciting for all participants. c his is the i b e way for a full experience. Also, a player must no t be permitted t o freely
person to be introduced to refereeing, particularly if he isn't transfer treasure and magic items from one of his characters to
willing to spend innumerable hours setting up the world. another. When a player receives a magic item he must assign it
I f characters are permitted t o adventure outside the to one of his characters on the adventure, at random i f the
established world group, there is no way to check the player's referee desires. Trades may only be made wi th the referee's
story of what occurred, and sometimes the player wi ll get i nt o approval. Otherwise magic i s concentrated in the hands of a
a giveaway game which would unbalance the campaign i f favourite character, or is passed about depending on which
results were counted. characters are going on an adventure. Magic items may be used
only when the owning ch r cter is present.
Single Character vs Multiple Characters
According t o the rules, each D D player receives one
character plus a number of followers determined by the Alignment
charisma of the leader. few campaigns are played without Referees who run all alignments virtually the same way are
followers, one character per player. In either case the player shortchanging their players. Di fferent rules for division of
must use this character every adventure until it dies treasure, experience, and general conduct help vary the course
permanently, whereupon he must start new character (or, of play. Each referee has a different idea of what alignment
is
preferably, adopt one of his followers as his new character). means, but the
significantly import from
different ant thing to make
the others. each alignment
Otherwise alignment, a
The majori ty of D D campaigns, however, permit a large
number of characters, without followers, for each player. The unique and fascinating aspect of the game, may as well be
followers method is unfair t o a player who rolls a lo w charisma, abandoned.
perm itting only one or two followers compared to an average For example, experience po int awards can be modified
of four. according to alignment. Good characters receive experience
Unless a player has a very high charisma he has only a fo r 'good deeds' such as rescuing damsels or harassed villages

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while Evil characters receive points fo r more or less the Magic

opposite (1 poi nt per murdered peasant?). Lawfuls spli t The revised rules explain the magic system clearly, thank
experience equally among party members; they should by heaven; but some points are not considered and one major
nature work as a team, and this method encourages teamwork change must be compensated fu r: any MU can make a scroll,
rather than bickering. Chaotics, on the other hand, are not just a Wizard, of a spell he can use. First, this forces a
uncooperative individ ualists. Experience s awarded to them referee to keep a time record, like it or not. Second in
individually, based on whatever they've done during an campaigns with m~orehan one character per player, only one
adventure. The braver and stronger ones get more points; MU per player should be allowed to borrow a book o r lend
teamwork is not encouraged. Which system Neutrals use his, or make a scroll, in a week ( no t both) . (This also prevents
depends on how they're acting and whether they accompany players from having their characters learn spells fro m each
characters of another alignment. other-it's too easy if they can.) Third, the cost of scroll-
making should be drastically increased. In the King's College
Treasure (London) campaign, which is the stingiest I have ever heard
Treasure division rules also differ. In a La wful party of (c. 35 adventures, 7 magic items, 47 dead excluding resur-
players should work together t o test magic items, p utt ing rections, and no one near 5,000 EP) we've taken the cube of
them aside and split ting the entire boodle by die rol l a t the the spell level and multip lied by 100-e.g. 800 GP for a second
end of the adventure, dicing for order of selection, not for level spell, 2,700 fo r th ir d level, etc., w it h fi rst level arbitraril y
each item separately While the adventure continues characters raised to 200 GP.
should be allowed t o use items wi thou t regard for who may What the rules don't say i s how one can learn more spells.
ultimately own it, but only considering the best distribution a t For obvious reasons it s not impossible, but if it were easy
the time. When everyone i s afraid t o test something a character everyone would know all the spells he desired. Tr y this system:
may ask for fir st choice if he volunteers to test i t and finds i t a week per level of spell is required fo r a MU t o transfer a spell
satisfactory. In a Chaotic party, unless someone manages to fro m a scroll ( i f he can read magic) or magic book to his own
dominate the rest the grabbers-keepers rule' i s suitable. But n o magic book. I f he can't read magic he can't use scrolls, but he

rule means much to a Chaotic For Neutrals any method i s sti ll can
could use memorize
never another book-otherwise
spells from his the
ownnon-magic
book Law reader
ful
reasonable, depending on their inclin ation. They might most
logically dice for each item separately when i t is found. characters can lend their books to other Lawfuls (lawlevil
under duress only, of course). Goodlchaotic might-you never
know. No one would lend a book t o a chaotic, good or other-
Resurrection wise-he might never get it back. Neutrals wil l not lend their
Another-means of diffe rentia tion is resurrection. While own magic books under any cir,cumstances. Remember that
there won't be any seventh or higher level player clerics early magic books are like li fe itself t o an MU, and only great pres-
in a campaign, non-players of tha t level wi ll be about, even if a sure, or certainty of their safety a s lawlgood lending to law/
wilderness trek is required t o reach one. Int erpret the good) can persuade them t o part w it h their own. I f a book is
resurrections of th e character, but w ith another tr y permitted- lost, replacement i s very expensive and the new book comes
in other words, the character is raised, but the strain is so great only wi th the original spells, no t the newly learned ones.
he immediately dies again, and another resurrection must be Magic books of dead enemies become valuable items using the
attempted. In this way even the character cursed with a low full D&D system this way.
con stitution may be successfully raised once or twice. When a A minor but interesting restraint on Mu's i s to require one
character is resurrected he loses six to ten percent of his to kn ow the language of an ything he's charmed in order t o
experience and gets none fo r the adventure during which he
tell it what to do. Of course, i f someone,else knows the
died. Alternatively, or additionally, he loses one constitution language he can tell the MU how to say simple commands, but
point . Remember that Lawfu l non-player clerics will seldom this doesn't help in the middle of a melee I f no one can speak
resurrect a person for free-the Cosmic Balance Must be Main- the language, all the players can do i s push the charmee along
tained. The fee may be in the form o f a Quest, a magic item, ahead of them and hope i t wil l f igh t i f attacked. Another .
or a large contri butio n of gold to the Church. I f a character minor restra int is to r ol l another save fo r the charmee whenever
has a past record of somewhat Chaotic deeds perhaps the cleric he touches something magical (excluding stuff he carried when
wi ll refuse to resurrect him. A Neutral wi ll have to pay very he was charmed.) This makes players relu ctant to use charmees
heavily to persuade someone to resurrect him, and even this to touch unusual treasure.
won't help i f he has an evil background. Evil characters have
The new rules don't say how one may awake the vic tim of
no means of resurrection.
a sleep spell. I suggest that a sleep-victim is in a very deep but
natural sleep, so that noise alone won't wake him but tw o
Time Keeping melee rounds of strong shakinglkicking will. I f a much longer
A
tim e record
alternatives is necessary
t o adventuring to require
that regulatelarge
activities
amountswhich are
of time. intervalsmart
second is required,
and fastparties wi ll be
MU they wiped out
fight-the MUby
slethe
epsfir st or
a crown
The easiest way to keep track o f game time i s to count one real and his minions clobber the rest ( i f another sleep isn't
week equal t o one game week, regardless of wha t adventures go available-but it usually is.) This wil l be true even if' yo u rule
on during the week. (I've tr ied d iffere nt methods, bu t weeks- that dwarves and hobbits can't be slept. On the other hand, the
long wilderness adventures have always throw n them out of players won't be able t o mow down dozens of enemies by
kilter.) I f a character goes on no adventure during the week he successive sleep spells because the enemy will be waking each
can spend the time learning a language (assuming someone1 other up. I t forces players to choose carefully where and when
thing i s available t o teach it or attending to his magic. This also to cast sleep against a large force, so that they can get forward
makes i t easy to keep an account o f living expenses as per while th e Mu 's s lit sleepers' throats behind.
Volume 3 interpret it as 5% of experience points wort h o f A good general rule t o fol low is, what is good for the
gold every five weeks. monsters i s good for the players, and vice versa. A magic item
usable by a referee-controlled human bu t n ot by players is
unrealistic and plain unfair. On the other hand, consider what
players migh t do wi th an item before you p ut it in a non-
Language . player's hands. In tw o crossover games I met a Pictish shaman
Don't let a player merely state which languages he will know with a bag of demons from Gods, Demi-Gods, & Heroes. We
(owing to high intelligence). It takes time to learn a language, knew the tric k, and the second time nailed the pi ct and got the
so at best a person new to adventuring wi ll have learned one bag. Thereafter we could i n perfect safety now down
language, and of a common sort such as orcish rather than anything we encountered. But i f we hadn't known
unicornish It should no t be possible t o learn another align* the trick we would all have been dead. This is not
ment language fluently, if a t all. good D D.

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bidding. This i s an unsavoury and dangerous business, as

OP N 8
reflected in the rules. The booklet explains the level and
experience system, describes the purposes of conjuring and
rules for percentage dice rolls for success and control of the
conjured demon, and finally lists 85 major demons and their
'provinces' areas of influence and power such as storms or
buried treasure. There are additional bits about witches-either
sex, but grouped in covens and much less powerful than
Black Magicians and scholars.
The percentage chances for successful conjuration and

cont rol depend

assistants, onhuman
pacts, the level of the coojurer,
sacrifices, rank
and quality of of demon,
preparation
(which takes considerable time and money). Experience comes
only from successful conjuration. If the magician successfully
conjures a demon but fails to control him, depending on a
dice roll he may either outwit the enraged demon or be taken
down int o hell forever Apparently this conjuration system
i s intended fo r use wi th a 'normal' role-playing magic system,
and a kind of spell-point system i s described. However, it is
less likely to unbalance the game if the Black Magician i s only
a conjurer and n ot a spell-caster as well. In fact, considerable
restraint from the referee i s required or the super-powerful
demons can ruin a campaign for the non-conjurers.
The Book of Sorcery (by Dan Bress and Ed Konstant)
may be least useful of the three, depending on one's style
of refereeing. I t adds rules fo r failure and backfire of spells
OP N BOX examines Science Fictio n and Fantasy games and (known among D&D fans as 'klutzing'), but who needs more
rulebooks currently in the shops. The reviews have been wri tten by
either independent authorities or m embers of the White D wa rf Test luck i n an already dicey game? A list of four-line spell
Panel. incantations whose names coincide exactly wi th D&D
Th e summaries are the Test Panel s opinion of four good and fou r bad spells akes up much of the book. A player i s required
points of the game reviewed. The OVERALL figure, o n a 1 10 scale, to correctly recite the incantations in order to cast the spells,
rates the game itself taking all factors in to consideration.
bu t a ninth level incantation is no more diff icu lt than a firs t
Please note that reviews carried out by people not o n the Test Panel do level. This is followed by an extensive l i s t of magic items
not receive a rating.
which i s generally reasonable.
A t 75% of the cost of a D&D supplement (100% in
America) one must have doubts about the value of the
B O O K O F M O N STER S books. ook of Monsters really isn't worth it, particularly
B OO K O F D E M O N S since much of the information is available in decent libraries
B O OK O F SO R C ER Y in encyclopedias of mythology and folklore. ook of Demons
may beChaotic
worthwhile if you in
like new characterI classes
shouldand
Little Soldier -f .50 permit characters your campaign. also
point ou t that the Black Magician class probably won't work
These are booklets of rules that may be adapted for use in crossover play because the referee won't have sufficient
with fantasy games such as Dungeons and Dragons. Each i s control over what occurs. A t any rate, I am incorporating
5% by 8% inches, reduced photo offset, 40, 48 and 44 pages them into my campaign. ook of Sorcery i s much to o short
respectively. The printing is often no better than mimeograph for f .50.
(ink stencil), but at least the writing i s clear and concise.
There are illustrations, mostly from old prints and engravings.
There i s a tendency among D&D fans to throw some
numbers together, give it a name, and call it a new monster.
In those cases where some explanation of the whys and WAR OF THE R I N G
wherefores of the creature is given it i s often brief and not
very believeable. The Book of Monsters (by Phil Edgren) Fantasy Games Unlim ited - f6 95
leans the opposite way, partly because the 100 monsters
described are not intended specifically for any particular Do yo u remember Diplomacy? Perhaps some of you s t i l l
game. Descriptions are fairly detailed, and all are based on play it No dice, no allocation of attack/defence/movement
mythological creatures rather than artifical construction. The points, just the simple ?) capture of supply bases and out-
strength, protection, magic resistance, and damage (h it dice) manoeuvering of your opponents wit h your superior forces.
values are relative rather than absolute, but enough examples Well, there you have War of the Ring -we ll, almost. Almost,
are included t o permit easy conversion to D&D. For example, because in War of the Ring the supply bases have intrinsic
protection class 3 i s equal to 'boiled leather armour' (D&D defensive values even when unoccupied, army units are of
AC7), class 5 to 'steel armour' (AC3), etc. The hit dice values three dif ferent strengths, and the playing pieces representing
tend to be a bit low, that is too many are in the sleepable the powerful individuals (Gandalf, Strider and the Nazgul)
4 dice or less range. All characteristics are listed on the two can move through two areas per turn and have strengths
page centrefold. A few of the monsters are one-of-a-kind but measured in third s of a unit. Complex you may thin k.
most are species. Some are already used in D&D, though Correct
with different powers. A bibliography is included. The hardboard playing surface makes a pleasant change
Although D&D i s never mentioned by name, judging fro m from the creases on the paper mapboards which are i n
the terms used, the Book of Demons (by Phil Edgren) is vogue nowadays, although there i s only very limited stacking
written w it h applicability to the king of role-playing games involved in the game. The map itself depicts fairl y accurately
in mind. Nevertheless, i t could be adapted just as easily (allowing fo r the needs of the game and a littl e artistic
to D&D variants and any other fantasy role-playing games licence) the area described in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings
which come along. I t presents a new system of magic use trilogy. It s divided into approximately 100 areas of widely
based on the medieval idea that a magician gains his.powers varying shapes and sizes, clearly marked, w ith each area
by conjuring and commanding the demons of hell to do his being identified by mostly pronouncable names. The only

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colouring i s for water, patches of wood and mountain ranges admit the impossibility of the task; they estimate that by now
in the appropriate colours (blue, green and brown respec- some 15,000 new monsters have been concocted by DMs far
tively in case you didn't kno w) which doesn't make for an and wide, so even in a booklet o f this size it would be impos-
artistic playing surface but makes it gloriously clear. sible to do more than scratch the surface. The booklet i s there-
The pieces are the now standard cardboard die-cuts and fore intended to be the first in a series and includes only those
start the game in the 'home' supply bases which are spread creatures no t already published elsewhere; even with this
around each player's half of the board. restriction, extensive cutting has been necessary. ( I don't quite
The object of the game (admit it, you were wondering follow this 'not published elsewhere' statement have seen
when I would come to it) s different for each player. I shall some of the entries in back issues of Alarums & Excursions, for
quote from the rules:- instance; I suppose they mean 'not published in professional
1 The Ringbearer (not the Ringlord) gets to Mount Doom. magazines', though the line between professional and amateur
This is a two point victory for Gondor. i s imprecise in any case).

The Ringlord gets to Barad-Dur (one point for Gondor). The result i s a compendium of 265 new monsters of all
3 Mordor's tri ple army i s destroyed (one point fo r Gondor). shapes, sizes and types, neatly classified alphabetically and sum-
4 The ring is captured by, or delivered to, Mordor's triple marised by type and 'level'. The whole thing i s printed on thick
army. This is a two point victory for Mordor. stock and punched for three-hole binding (no t many shops in
5 Gandalf, Strider, double army Imladris, and double the UK carry three-hole binders, I ind). There i s a full des-
army Lorien are destroyed. This i s a one point victory cripti on of each monster and its characteristics, and a few are
for Mordor. additionally given line drawings. Enough, one might thi nk to
This i s where the Hobbits come in (Hurrah ) gladden the heart of any DM who finds, as many do, that
First t o definitions. The Ringbearer is Frodo. The ~inglord limiting one's dungeon occupants to those in the original TSR
i s Gandalf, Strider or a double army who has put the ring on. books gives inadequate oppor tunity for variety and can lead to
As you see from the victory conditions, Mordor and Allies predictability as players gain familiarity with monster char-
must capture the ring before it i s destroyed. One problem. acteristics and particularly their weak points. Notably, the
variety of low-level monsters i s limite d in the TSR rules, and I
The Hobbits
other's armiesare
up,invisible
which i sSo in addition
always to bashing
fun, Gondor writeseach.
secret for one looked to this collection for a fresh variety of beasts
moves for the Hobbits and confuses Mordor by sending large which could guard the upper Greenlands Dungeon levels.
forces i n various directions which may or may not be guarding In this respect I was slightly disappointed, finding few new
Hobbits, which may or may not be the Ringbearer, while low-level beasts to use. Wondering just where the balance lay,
Mordor tries to fin d Hobbits or the ring. Hobbits are detected and as a rough guide only, I tabulated HD against AC for each
by Mordorian armies arriving in the same area, whereupon the beast and emerged with the following table (each entry gives
Gondor player must declare there i s a Hobb it there who i s now the number of monsters having characteristics in those ranges):-
considered captured, but do not declare if he is the Ringbearer.
The ring i s detected by Nazgul or the triple army in the same Arrnobr class:
manner. Hobbits, including the Ringbearer, may be freed if the 2 or better 3-6 inclusive 7 or worse
Mordorian army i s attacked and forced to retreat. 1-4 65 86 26
To summarise then, War o f the Ring, i s basically a two 5-8 110 133 30
player game, ( i t can be played by four wit h players operating Hi t Dice 9-12 129 41 15
the 'person' pieces for each side) based reasonably accurately 13 up 72 18 3
on Tolkien's novel. Combat i s based on Diplomacy with added
complexity which certainly adds to the game, bearing in mind (There are more than 265 entries in the table because
it is a two (or four) player game. The skill factor is high s some monsters have variable HD and/or variable AC).
there are various ways in which the Gondor player can tr y to
achieve his Victory Conditions and, therefore, a number of On this rough basis it appears that the tough monster is
things which the Gondor player has to consider. Because of better represented than its weaker brethren. I hope the editors
this variety and the unknown factors (invisible Hobbits) the will restore the balance, and include more low-level creatures,
game is quite intense and great fun, especially if you can keep in future additions to the series.
your Hobbits hidden. One could say that it i s not original, the I found only one source of confusion in the characteristics
scenario being based on a book, and the play beihg based on under the Armour Class heading, where some monsters are
an already very popular game, b ut there are enough innovations given a 'plussage'; the Arcel for instance, has AC 2+6, and no
to give the game a feel all i t s own. Presentation i s simple, but explanation of the plus is given. My guess and i t can only be
clear and effective, except for one thing which worries me a guess s that the plus is a dexterity and/or size bonus, high

the artwork. It s a bi t garish and may deter some people from dexterity and/or small size allowing the monster effectively t o
improve i t s AC by good dodging ability. In normal circum-
buying an otherwise enjoyable game. stances, therefore, the Arceel has AC -4, if my guess i s correct.
(If it is correct, the plus i s in fact a minus The same confusion
Mike Westhead here s in the TSR rules which allows the owner of a +2 shield
to subtract 2 from his AC). Unfortunately the approach is no t
GOOD POINTS BAD POINTS consistent throughout the booklet, different designers using
Secret movement Presentation different approaches. My own preference is, in any case, for
Clear-cut result Expensive the TSR system which incorporates the dexte rity bonus in to
Board design No cont rol markers the basic AC, which saves a lo t of confusion.
Skil ful Rule ambiguities Monster types vary tremendously animals, clean-up crew,
OVERALL: 5 demons, dragons, other fliers, undead, plants and so on. Purists
will criticise the biological improbability of more than a few,
but I have never objected to improbability so long as the result
i s interesting (after all, i n the context of the game in compari-

L L THE WORL S MONSTERS son wi th 'real life', magical effects are pretty improbable).
Not all the monsters are normally found underground, and
The Chaosium f5 50 the DM who runs only a dungeon will fin d a number of beasts
which can only reasonably appear in the open air. An entirely
This 110+ page fantasy and D& D play-aid was originally new type he Vance Dragon makes i t s debut with seven
-
intended to include every new monster all those extra representatives, though to my mind they add li tt le or nothing.
delights dungeonmasters have invented to expand the basic There are Golems made of all sorts of likely and unlikely
monster repertoire of the TSR D D rules. The editors ruef ully
continued on page 14

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OPEN BOX
continued from page 3

materials (woul d you believe Radium?). There are thirteen new

Demons all either strong or very strong or incredibly strong
(and here was I thinkin g th at the ones we already have are
quite enough to be going on with).
Inevitably, some DMs will make more use of this collection
than others. The DM who takes on board any new monster he
can lay his hands on will end up with so many beasts on his Distributed in the UK by

hands that
nether he wil l f ind great di ff icu lty in using them all i n his
regions.
On the other hand, the more choosy DM, who only allows a
new creature into his dungeon if it has new and interesting
qualitie s (however he defines these) should stil l be able to fin d
a dozen or two worthy new recruits, and may pick up some SL1 tar Warrior with hand phaser.
SL 2. Star Warrior with laser sword.
ideas to incorporate in his own designs. SL3 tar Lord he baddie
However I would only give the collection an overall rating SLA he Wise One he goodie
of 5 out of 10. My o wn view (and there wi ll be those who SL5 Mark Lukewarm - young hero.
disagree) is tha t to o few o f these new monsters are re ally SL 6. Princess Light young heroine.
SL7 . Human Robot - cyborge.
novel. A large part of the collection seems to have been SL 8. Mechanical Robot - Oilycan.
churned out by some random rote device (of which there s an SL9 Alpha Warrior with hand disinti grator.
example in the appendix he Henderson Monster Creation SLlO Alpha Warrior with laser gun.
Table); to generate new monsters by this sort of method seems SLll Apenine Warrior hairy ape with gun.
SL12 Apenine Warrior with laser gun.
to me contrary t o the whole spir it of D D, and serves the SL13 eptilia n Warrior with sword and shield.
'designer' righ t i f he ends up wi th a dull dungeon, for this SL14 Reptili an Warrior with spear and shield.
method of monster creation requires no im agination a t all. SL15 Reptile Man with sword and shield.
I found few monsters in the collection which brought a SL16 . . . . . . . . . . . . Reptile Man with spear and shield.
Star Lords all 20p each.
smile (cruel or otherwise) t o the face, and even fewer wh ich
prompted the reaction 'I wish I had thoug ht of tha t one'. For DUNGEON AND OTHER EARTH'S.
my own taste I would prefer the editors to have been a lot DM1 Dragon 70p.
more discrim inating either they could have include d fewer DM2 The Brown Wizard 30p.
DM3 Dwarf with axe
monsters (and reduced the price of what s not a cheap item)
or filled the gaps with more worthwhile beasts from whatever
source. I n aiming for qu antity I thin k they have sacrificed a st. Minimum order 60p.
degree of quality. to our sole agent: Clyde Model
Don Turnbull

Two armies face each other , not only in

space, but also in time he 4t h
Dimension. In 4D there is a STAR-WAR
between two Time-Lords . . . .

The 978

;. 8w;f; ;
TIME LORD TROPHY I L ,., .,

I
The Giants of 4D ( 4t h Dimension) will be taking part in this annual com petit ion

t o decide who is the best 4D player in th e world. Why not join in This year it will
be a 6-round swiss-tournament, at S outham pton University, from 18th t o 20 th
March 1 978 (Sat. to Mon.) Entrant s please apply by March 1st to:- th e British
4D Association, c/o J.A. Ball & Co., 56 , Commercial Rd., Swind on, Wilts.
SN1 5PS. Fee 21 t o J.A. Ball & Co . Accommodation will be supplied at cost, but
those with sleeping bags will be put up at n o charge. OR prepare for 1979 with:-

Boxed sets @ 23-9 5 ($8 -0 0) Available at Games Centre Village Games,

Card sets @ 30-45 ($1-20) or send by post to J.A. Ball & Co. please add
Strategy Booklets @ 20-6 0 ($1- 40) 50 p postage (U.S. $2-00/ $6-00 Air Mail) for
boxed sets).

4D membership including subscription for bi-mont hly news-sheet 'Fo urt h

Dimension' is 31-00 ($3- 00) per annum for clubs/individuals (t o 'J.A. Ball Co').

4D he TIME-WARPING challenge t o Chess

( r e v ie w e d i n W h i t e D w a r f N o . p14/15

4 Please mention WHITE DWARF when replying to advertisements

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17th ecember 1977

a report by an Livingstone

F.
Irst, let us pay our respects to those three brave girls on water, commune?
the lnforma tion Stand who, in the face of incredible 13 How many swords with a basic +3 do the rules l i s t
pposition, stood their ground and administered the 2,3,4, 5, 6?
1000+ marauding gamers throughout the day. Li tt le did they 14 How many types of potions are listed in the rules:
realise at 9.55am whilst they brushed their locks and slouched 22, 24, 26, 28, 30?
in their chairs that outside there were hundreds of steaming, 15 The save for +3 armour is 8, 10, 12, 14, 16?
chaotic, fantasy gamers who were to descend on the girls'
fragile enclave in five minutes time in search of the D&D It certainly wasn't easy b ut some people survived the test
Competition. and the second round with the actual dungeon expedition
From the reports we have had at Games Workshop, starting i n the afternoon. However, it was n ot u nt il 7.30pm
everybody (including the girls on the lnfo rmation Stand) had that the winner was announced, crawling beaten and
a very enjoyable time at Games Day Ill. It certainly had more bedraggled on to the stage to receive his prize. N o prize bu t our
to o ffer than ever before wi th 31 Trade Stands; tabletop war, thanks to Fred and Hartley for their hard work.
fantasy and science fiction battles provided by the South Other attractions at Games Day were the fantasy painting
London Warlords Wargames Action Group Universal competition and the auction. Renowned military figure painter
Wargames Socie ty Skirm ish Wargames Me dway Wargames Steve Kemp kindl y offered t o judge the painting competition
Group Harlow Wargames Group and Chestnut Lodge and awarded the first priz e engraved plaques t o Aly Morrison
Wargames Gr oup ; board games provided by the Sigma Games for his Winged Demon i n the single figure category and Geoff
Club Ealing Games Group various individuals and companies. Mascall for his entry "Sorry, the Squid's O ff" a tr uly
Last bu t by no means least there was D &D. magnificent sea monster vs fighter battle n the multi-figure
There were many games going on throughout the day but diorama category. Congratulations to them both.
the big attraction was obviously the D&D Competition devised The auction attracted i t s usual high quota of lots and
and refereed by Fred Hemmings and ably assisted by Hartley bidders. Many games and accessories fetched high prices bu t we
Patterson. As implied in the firs t paragraph above, there were suspect a world record price was s e t for a copy of The Dragon
many people who were keen to enter approximately 200 No.3 which fetched £4 ($8) in no time at all The Dragon Nos.
This mass entry necessitated two preliminary knockout rounds. 1 5 are, incidentally, now out-of-print.
The fir st round was intentionally di ffic ul t so that no person It was good t o see many old faces and meet new. It was also
would reasonably obtain ful l marks but everybody would get pleasing to learn that such people who came to Games Day
some marks, thus a cut off-mark could be decided depending fro m as far as Austria and Germany had thought their journey
on the results. In case you fancied your chances but were worthwhile. Already plans are being made for Games Day IV
unable to attend, here are the questions which constituted the whic h has been prov isionally booked for October 28th, 1978,
first round: again t Seymour Hall. I hope to see you there.

1 To w hat level can a Dwarvish bard progress: 2,4,6, Above, a most impressive Middle Earth tabl etop battle performed by
8 lo? South London Warlords.
Below, dubious characters handling dubious material From l eft t o
2 What are the h it dice of a Hippog riff: 2+1, 2+2, 3, right, Bill Howard, Don Turnbull, Tony Ball and Rob Thomasson.
3+1,4?
~he.easiestway t o destroy Yellow Mould is magic,
water, fire, brute force, other (specify)?
What damage does an Ochre Jelly do: 1-8, 1-10, 1-12,
2-12, 2-16?
A Minotaur has how many attacks: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 ?
According to Greyhawk which i s the most effective
against leather armour: mace, sword, battle axe,
morning star, pike?
Which need minimum scores to create a Ranger:
intelligence, wisdom, constitution, dexterity,
charisma?
A Silver Dragon breathes: acid, fear, cold, fire,
lightning?
A Type Demon i s somewhat like a: bear, bird, boar,
serpent, toad?
The points needed by an Illusionist t o reach 2nd level
are: 1000 1500 1000 1500 3000?
Which is not a 6th level Magic ~ se r' s~ el l:art water,
magic jar, geas, reincarnation, move earth?
Which i s no t a 3rd level Clerical spell: neutralize
poison, speak with dead, turn sticks to snakes, create

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  ood nd Water on t h e

by Richard dwards

ST RSHIP W RDEN
tamophosis Alpha i s a game where the emphasis
obviously lies on survival. However, the rules them-
selves are mainly devoted to suriving such dangers
as Bearoids, Cougaroids, Wolfoids (and possibly
Haemorrhoids ? ). What seems to be lacking is reference to
food or water.
their artwork, write the names of the various plants on the
cards so that (as in my case) you have 20 cards. It s also
necessary to make up some cards that say No More Options.
I use three of these but more can be used if desired.

Method of Play
The spokesman/woman decides to search for food. In
Food
reply the SM deals out one card face up.
When characters are doing their daily rounds of the Starship
I f they decide to eat it the result of this i s looked up in
in search of sustenance, the problem arises of what to loo k for,
the book. If, however, the players decide to give it a miss
where to look for it and, having found it, assessing i t s chance
another card i s dealt to them. They may proceed in this
of being poisonous.
manner until No M ore Options card comes up. There are
I found that i n order for me as Starship Master (SM) to no more choices for them.
both predetermine and identify the food sources and also
But what i f the no optio n card turns up first ? Tough. They
present them in a (fairly) realistic manner, i t was necessary to
wil l have t o starve for a day and tr y again the next day.
produce a booklet and s e t of cards. The booklet took the
So much for the background work, I now present my
form of a Guide To Botany (which I wi ll present in ful l later Guide To Botany i t being a list of common plants and other
on). It lists 20 plants, trees and fungii which may, or may not, flora to be found on all levels of my Starship:
be edible. The choice of plants i s entirelv up to the individual
SM but I will illustrate m.ine in order to give a more easily
understood example of my methods. PLANTS
First there should be s e t rules that should be adhered to.
In my case i t s that all poisonous fungii have blue gills whilst Name Description
the edible ones have yellow gills. There are of course Bluecoat: About six inches high, it has two flowering
exceptions we SMs have t o have some fun stalks which have red heads. The maple-
Secondly, some of the poisons should take longer than 3 like leaves have a blue underside. It s
minutes to begin working. This i s to prevent mutants who harmless. The leaves t s t e like cabbage.
have got precognition from being safe from poisoning. Toadweed: About seven inches high, i t s single stalk
Also, like Manna, some foods should have 'shelf lif e' s0 divides int o two, each division having a blue
that food that was safe yesterday could be a class 8 poison toad-shaped flower. It s harmless.
today. Salad Plant: This remarkable feat of bioengineering
Now, having got the botany out of the way the SM should comprises of a cabbage, a tomato plant and
make up some cards and either draw, or if they don't trust a carrot in the same plant. It s harmless.

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Bladderweed: An orange seaweed-like plant which lies every way b ut colouring. The buttons are
close to the ground. Harmless. The leaves black and the stem s pale blue. It s class 10
taste like 'eggs. poison and acts in 4 minutes.
Puffball: This pale blue puffball s about 10 inches in
TREES AND SHRUBS diameter and s found on grassland usually.
It s a class 7 poison and it acts in 6 minutes.
Apple Mangrove: This tree s found in shallow water. It has a
multiple tr unk formation characteristic of
Well, that's it Of the 20 plants listed 9 were harmless, 2
this species. The fruit which resembles an
were medicinal, 2 were safe for part of the time and
apple s refreshing and harmless.
poisonous another, 6 were always poisonous and one, the
Perignease Pear: This bush
the fruit, grows
which about four
resembles a feet high and
pineapple, Perignease Pear was a mixed blessing.
You'll notice that the odds are definitely in favour of one
grows from the centre and the flower grows
findin g edible food. No t one plant (as opposed to the shrubs
out of the top of it The bush part also has
or fungii) was dangerous. Bad planning? Well no t really. The
red berries. The fr ui t s edible, the leaves,
l s t is no t complete. It never can be; you see the players will
when smoked, are addictive. The berries are
a stimulant, and the perfume from the gradually learn which plants to e a t and which t o avoid. I f their
flower causes hallucinations. favourite food doesn't show up when they look fo r it they may
Bowman s This tree grows up to twenty feet high and decide to go witho ut for a day and hope that it wi ll be
Strawberry: i t s fru it resembles an ordinary strawberry. available then. Of course if it doesn't show soon they may be
However it s a class 11 poison which acts in forced t o risk a tr y at another plant and hope.
4 minutes. The only solution i s to constantly add new plants and
This shrub looks like the 'mushroom cloud' remove old ones. Inserting a poisonous version of the Bluecoat
Spiny
Blueberry: characteristic of a nuclear bomb. The head is (call it Redcoat) will catch out an unwary player. But be fair,
a green bush which contains the blue berries. keep the balance in favour of the players, otherwise they may
The trunk, which s also blue, s girdled thi nk you're getting at them.
halfway up by a ring of red leaves. The My l i s t does not include the risk o f being poisoned by
berries are class 18 poison and give o ff an eating a radioactive plant. I assume that individual SMs wi ll
hallucinogenic gas at night. decide whether or no t a plant s in a radioactive area by
studying their floor plans which should include such details.
In this way even medicinal food can poison, and instead of
hindering the players a SM can actually be helpful by having
Green button: This fungus grows in clumps by the side of radioactive plants. The players may not have noticed that they
pathways. The stem s pale yellow and the had entered a dangerous zone and by killing, or at least
green buttons are a cure for all poisons. harming one of them with a known beneficial plant you wi ll
Tree This flat diseshaped fungus lives on the be giving them a good clue. (You have to be cruel to be kind )
Breadfruit: trunks of dying trees. It is a orangelyellow So that it can be judged when a player has starved to death
colour. It has a spongy bread taste and i s I include a table which shows the effect that lack of food will
medicinal hit points being regained at have on them.
twice normal rate.
Phantom Lights: These mushrooms are a very pale yellow FOOD DEPRIVATION TABLE
with a blue sheen. They are harmless.
Number of Days With out Food
Greenstem: This colourful mushroom has a black cap
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
which has a green sheen. The gills are yellow
Hit Points Lost 1 0 1 2 1 1 1
fading to pink where they meet the stem,
(Temporary)
and the stem s green. The green colouration
Constitutio n Points Lost 1 1 1 1 2 2 2
s due to the presence of chlo rophyll and as
(Permanent)
a result of this, the plant i s a high protein
source. It s harmless. So it may be seen that the penalties of fasting are great. Hit
Orange op: This mushroom is primarily yellow in colour points may be regained but Constitution points cannot, thus
wi th a pale orange top t o the cap. I t s making the player more susceptible to the effects o f poison.
harmless and very tasty. After a week of fasting the average player with between 9 and
Deadman s This fungus resembles the hand of a 12 Constitution points has little or no hope of withstanding
Hand: decaying corpse. It is brown in colour and any level of poison.
i s spade-shaped. There are ridges running
along it which give the impression of being Water
fingers. It seems reasonable t o me that water can be treated in a
Despite everything, it s perfectly harmless. similar way to food, i.e. there s a possibility that i t may be
Redtop: This poisonous mushroom looks very much contaminated. Obviously a known safe water source will
like the harmless Orangetop, except that it continue t o be safe unless contaminated by some accident,
has blue gills and the t op s pale red. It s i,e. explosion with resulting chemical leakage into the water.
class 10 poison unless cooked. Therefore, a village or community may be set up near a safe
Purple This strange poisonous mushroom looks like water source with no problems. However, a group of nomadic
Fountain: a champagne fountain with mushrooms humans and/or mutants will have to search for new watering
stacked one on top of another. The caps and places should they decide to travel far thus being unable to
stems are purple b ut the gills are yellow. It return to their own safe water source.
is class 18 poison. I rule that both humans and mutants cannot carry more
Bluespo t: This phallus-shaped mushroom has an orange than tw o dzys' supply of water with them and so, thereafter,
cap with blue spots. The stem is a pale blue.
It s harmless when fresh bu t after 24 hours they have to movement,
i e reduced fin d a freshweaker
supply constitution
or suffer theand
consequences,
possible
it becomes class 8 poison.
eventual death. On finding water, I rule that there s a 20%
Bluetop: This poisonous mushroom s similar to bot h chance of it being contaminated and, if so, consult the
the red and orange tops. The cap s purple Poison Chart on page 11 of the rulebook to determine the
wi th a blue top and the stem is a blue colour, effect, having thrown 3D6 for strength of poison.
and so are the gills. It s class 6 poison.
Black Button: This fungus resembles the Green Button i n continued on page 8

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METAMORPHOSIS ALPHA
continued fr om page 7

Should the characters elect to go without water for a day

or days rather than risking possible contaminated water, then
the table 'below is used to reduce movement:

WATER DEPRIVAT ION TABLE

Spaces Moved Per Melee Round
HumanIHumanoid (N ormal) Number of Days With out Water
1 2 3 4 5
No armour (6) 5 4 1 D
Furs, shield or leather (6) 4 3 2 1 D
Leather and shield (5) 4 2 1 1 D
Plate armour (4) 2 1 D D
Duralloy armour (4) 3 2 1 D D

D equals death and so after 5 days all classes are dead unless
they take a drink. Also, those characters clad in heavy armour .continuing with their very successful range of
will have to shed it if they wish to stay alive whilst continuing Microgames, otab ly Ogre and warpwar, Metagaming
to refuse the water encountered for fear of it being Concepts have recently released their 5th and 6th games in
contaminated. the series, Rivets and Wizard, of which Rivets i s now
So, there we are. I hope that the above will be of available in the UK. . new products recently released by
use to some SMs and that other people wi ll contribute, Judges Guild and available in the UK are the Wilderlands
if the Editor wil l allow it to The Guide To Botany. of High Fantasy which i s the City State campaign package
including maps to the North, South, East and West of the

obbit oles
Cit y State and guideline booklets, the Campaign Hexagon
System which is a book let of campaign guidelines and
numbered hex grids, and finall y the Judges Guild Journal
Many D D players in both the UK and US A experience difficulty which i s a newspaper of further thoughts and tables on the
in fir~d ing o-players. White Dwarf intends to help out by puljlishing City State etc. it had to come, of course, and now it has
the names, addresses, telephone num bers, etc of DM s and players in
the Ho bbit Holes column. Star Wars, the game of the film i s manufactured by
Please write in to White Dw arf, 9 7 Uxbridge Road, London W12 Palitoy/Parker and, w it h mass market appeal, i s likely to
giving details for the follow ing categories, as per the e xam ple given: sell hundreds of thousands of copies but be ho rribly
Nam e Address Tele. No. Age DM Host or Guest disappointing o SF fans. he long-awaitedmonumental
Joe Blow 15 Gollum St, 01-9 89 99 89 3 N o Both game Middle Earth by SPI i s now available i n the States at
London W1
- a cost of S 20. It is the complete game of the wars of Middle
Earth, i.e. War of the Ring whic h i s the campaign game
covering the quest of the Ringbearer's party and the war
itself, Assault on Gondor and Battle for the Ring. War of
th( Ring i s available separately for $15. The bad news i s
that SPI only managed to obtain copyright for the game
in the USA and Canada which means it will not be
available in the UK at least for the time being. .
. new SF/F miniature figures continue to be produced
a t an incredible rate. Oracle Models are produced by Lou
Nisbet of Underworld Oracle and Aly Morrison. Their
excellent small range of monsters includes Stone Giants,
Giant Beetles and Brain Drainers. . Clyde Models have
released a range of figures under the trading name of
Dragon M iniatures. Their new SF line entitled Star Lords
will obviously appeal to Star Wars fans although we have

been informed
specific that
intention inthey
mind. .
wereMiniature
n ot designed with that
Figurines have just
deased the latest additions to their D& D line and these
are the Demons and Demon Princes as per Eldritch
Wizardry. There are eight figures in the new range including
a Balrog, Orcus and Demogorgon.. .
.
yet another s e t of fantasy role-play ing rules have
recently been published. E ntitled B ifrost and published by
Skytrex they f orm a three part series of w hich V olume 1 :
Faerie i s now available. Games Workshop have recently
Asgard, Lamming, released the D&D Basic Rulebook in the UK published
Archive and Hinchliffel under licence from T S R . Next t o come i s the Monster
Manual, followed by the Advanced D& D Player's Handbook
Heritag e figures stocked.
and the Advanced D&D Referee's Guide. The important
parts of Greyhawk Blackmoor and Eldritch Wizardry
Dungeons & Dragons games played every Saturday
(supplements for the o ld D D set) will be incorporated
GAMES, 50-54 Manchester St., Liverpool into the advanced rulebooks.. .
(Tel: 051-236 2605 . Dungeoneer No 6 has finally arrived afrer seven months
of no t arriving. Lack of time and change of editor were the
reasons for the delay. It will be available in the UK a t the
beginning of March. .

18 Please mention W H IT E D W AR F when replying to advertisements

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M   :

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 8/9/2019 White Dwarf 5

81-85 Polymorph (t o creature of DM'S choice)

86-90 Geas (DM'S discre tion as to task; the more
impossible it s the better. .
91-95 No effect at first. V ictim must then save vs.
Charm as originally; failure t o save means
another drink and another roll on the above
table.
96-00 No effect at all. He who drunk has survived
(relief all round?)

Water of Enchancement
This is a vile-smelling liq uid that none wi ll willing ly dri nk
(nausea sets in, bile clogs the th roat, etc.) DM rolls 6-sided die
for each member of th e party (i n secret); a roll of 6 on the die
indicates that a designated individual has overcome his
revulsion and will drink, with the following results.
01-30 No effect
31-40 Prime requisite increases by 1 point
41-50 Charisma increases by 2 points
51-60 Prime requisite increases by 2 points
61-70 Fighters and Thieves gain one fu ll level of
TREASURE HEST is open for contributions relating to D D monsters, experience immediately. Other classes: no effect
addi tional rules, character classes, magic systems, objects, tricks and 71-80 Magic-Usersand Clerics gain one fu ll level of
traps etc.
experience immediately. Other classes: no effect
81-85 All classes prime requisite increases by 1 point,

New Magic Items 86-90

gain one full level of experience immediately
All classes - prime requisite increases by 2
points, gain two full levels of experience
by Joseph Nicholas immediately
91-95 Total amnesia
Rainbow Sword 3
96-00 Insanity (ty pe of insanity depends on nature
This sword is aligned as follows: 01 -65 Neutral and complexity of whatever table the DM uses)
66-90 Lawful Anyone who, seeing the effect on another as a result of
91 00 Chaotic
their drinking, wishes t o dr ink himself, must rol l a 6-sided die
Has Mass Charm ability on 1-10 humans/humanoids, useable to do so. A roll o f 5 or 6 indicates tha t he has managed t o
once per day; the sword must be held up before those to be overcome his revulsion; failure t o r oll 5 or 6 indicates that he
charmed fo r one full turn to allow i t s rainbow coruscations hasn't, and he cannot rol l again (i.e., a second refusal indicates
to affect them. Saving throws as per Mass Charm spell allowable; that he will never drink the liquid). All who drink can do so
once the victim
enchantment. i s charmed,
The however,
Sword may he wi
affect the ll never
wielder andbreak
his the once only.
friends/followers, depending on its intelligence, as follows: A warding Experience Points has always been a some wh at
Intelligence 1-6 30 chance haphazard affair. However, we believe the problem is now
7 2C chance solved with the introduction o f a new Exp erience Points
8 15 chance System:
9 10 chance
10 5 chance
11 2 chance
The Asbury System
by Bria n Asbury
12 Nil chance
There have been many attem pts to produce a perfect
-
The Sword's Ego is never less than 10. Those accidentally
affected must also save vs. Mass Charm, and are subject t o the experience points system for D&D, bu t most such attempts
same restrictions as the intended victims (i.e., they wil l never have been pre tty poor either just more complicated
break free either, unless someone has the wit to destroy the variations on Greyhawk, or systems so complex that the DM
Sword. . . . spends half the game sweating over a pocket calculator. Well,
(I'd like to thank Keith Plunkett for originally suggesting I:ve created an experience-for-fighting-mon sters ystem,
this partic ular device, as a result of a similar weapon which, while b y no means perfect, goes a long way t o solving
demonstrated in the Led Zeppelin movie The Song Remains some of the problems of Greyhawk & Co. It s bo th simple and
The Sam e . workable, and as far as know, absolutely unique. It does
require a ittle extra work, but this i s done by the players, not
Water of eguilement (for once) by the DM. It has also been given extensive testing
in other dungeons besides my own, over the last nine m onths
This i s a sparklinq, sweet-smellinq, very enticina liau id.
or SO.
Those sighting it must save vs. Charm; once saved, cannot be
charmed by i t and wil l n ot drin k. Failure t o save results in i t
- -
The new system oh, let's go mad and call it the Asbury
being drunk; results a s follows:
System - nvolves the DM having before him t he table
below.
01-20 Lose 1 poi nt fro m prime requisite
The only extra work which t his system involves i s for the
21-30 Lose 2 points of Charisma
31-40 Lose 2 points fro m prime requisite players to keep a record of how many points of damage they
41-50 Lose one fu ll level of experience immediately in fl ic t upon monsters during a melee. Then, after the melee,

51-55 Lose tw o fu ll level of experience immediately the.DM cross-references the player's level against that of the
56-60 Change alignment monster. The number produced s given to the player, who
61-65 Total amnesia , multiplies it by the damage he scored, and this gives him the
66-70 lnsanity (typ e of insanity depends on the nature number of experience points he picks up. Simple isn't it?
and complexity of whatever table the DM uses) However, this does present one small problem. Just what
71-75 Petrification; normal saving thr ow is a monster's level? Should we use Greyhawk or Monstermark,
76-80 Death; no saving thro w fo r example? Well, as far as the Asbury System is concerned,

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 8/9/2019 White Dwarf 5

worse, under the EPT system, the magic-user, who actually

Monster Level
struck the death blow, would collect all the experience, leaving
the poor old fighter, who did all the work, w ith now t
Ridiculous The Asbury System does away with such farcical
situations, and players pick up the points they deserve.
c) Bonuses fo r monsters' special abilities are given on a much
more even basis. The more special abilities a monster has, the
higher i t s level, regardless of h it dice.
d) Points can now be awarded for wounding monsters which
aren't actually killed - and so they should be. Consider the
situation of a group which removes all of a Vampire's hit
points bu t which doesn't actually succeed in driving a stake
through i t s heart. The Vampire isn't killed, it turns in to a mist
and escapes. So, how many points do our intrepid adventurers
get for their effor ts? Under some systems none They didn't
ki ll the Vampire. Surely though, they deserve the points for
risking life and limb, and actually driving it away. Under the
Asbury System they would get the points which they had
earned.
e) The amount of work the DM has to do in working out
neither. We simply start wi th the number of h it dice a monster experience is greatly reduced, since the players calculate their
has, which i s i t s base level, i.e. up to 1+1 dice = level 1, 1+2 to own points scored. Multipliers are looked up directly from the
2+1 = level 2, etc. This, however, does no t take i nt o account table, which means that the only bit of maths the DM has to
any special abilities the monster might have, so the following do i s a bi t of simple addition, t o fi nd the monster's level.
table i s then consulted, and a number of levels added to the Admittedly some of the numbers produced in the table are a
base level for each special ability the monster has: bi t awkward, but the players have got time t o do the
calculations, whereas the DM has a lo t of other things to do as
Special Ability Number to be added to
base level to determ ine well. I f nothing else, it should shut up any players who
final level complain of not having enough to do.
Poison/Disease/Causes blindness or deafness. . . . . . . . . 1 So there it is. Doubtless there will be those who complain
ParalysationIElectrical Shock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 that the Asbury System doesn't award enough experience, so
ody missiles (e.g. ma ntico re) ............ 1 my advice to such people is use this system to award the points
Attacks wood, metal, or stone . . . . . . . . . . . . le a c h
Psionic abilities ..................... 1-2 to those who actually damage monsters, and then divide
Polymorphing/lnvisibilitylRegeneration/Phase Power 2 Greyhawk points (fo r h it dice only, not taking special abilities
............
Magic-usinglcharm Person Ability 2 int o account) amongst everyone present. Aft er all, i t could be
Flesh Dissolving Abi lity1 Flaming body ......... 2
argued that just standing and watching a fight can be
Invulnerability to normal weapons (not including fire) ... 2
including fire) . . . . . . 3 experience in real terms, so everyone present during a battle
Life Energy D raining (1 level)............... 2 should get something out of it. Or, alternately, simply double
( 2 levels) ............ 3 the numbers generated by my table.
3 levels) 4
Breath Weapon . . . . . . . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
3
PetrificationIDeath Stare ............... 4 LOW COST MAIL ORDER SPECIALISTS
Anv soecial abilities not included here can be worked out
simpl; by comparing them to the closest item which i s in the
BOARD WARGAMES
table. Okay then, let's have some examples of the Asbury
System in use:
Role-playing Rules Fgartasy Games
Simulations
1) A Medusa of h it value 21 i s killed by a 4th level fighter who Miniatures Rules Science Fiction Games
does 14 points of damage upon her, a 9th level thief who does @ Dice Sets
5 points of damage, and a 1st level magic-user who does 2 Petal Throne
points of damage. The Medusa has 4 h it dice plus the power of Miniatures
petrification, making her level 8.
Therefore he thief picks up 5 x 17 85 points
* Some of our
the mage picks up 2 x 19 = 38 points games:

the fighter, who did most damage, collects Ogre, Chitin, Melee £2.04
14 x 19 = 266 points. Tunnels 8 Trolls £1.86
2) A I-di e poisonous spider of h it value 7 i s killed by a 1st Buffalo Castle £1.77
Dungeons & Dragons £675
level cleric who infli cts 3 points, a 3rd level fighter who does Wilderness Campaign E6.W
2 points, and a 5t h level bard who also infl icts 2 points. fh e Down Styphon (FGU) £2.68
Legion (FGU) £2.68
spider has 1 hi t die + poison, so i s level 2. Classic W arfare (TSR) £6.85
Therefore he fighter picks up 2 x 5 = 10 points Decline & Fall £5.36
the bard picks up 2 x 3 = 6 points Gettysburg '?7(AH)£ 80
Mercenary £5.60 Tabletop. Judge's Guild.
the cleric picks up 3 x 7 = 21 points English CivilWar £2.42 Watts Games, Third Millenium
Latest arrivals: All the railway games
Advantages o f the Asbury System
Dungeons Dragons Revised) E7.80 RAILWAY RIVALS, RAIL BARON, 829
a) Points are awarded in propor tion t o the monster's actual h it D D Basic Manual (Revised) £2.75
Lords 8 Wizards (FGU) £8.10
value rather than the number of dice it has, which i s much * Our ca ialogue contains virtually
Legions of the Petal Throne (TSR) £370 ALL games ava ilable in the U.K.
more sensible. Af ter all, a Gnoll wit h a hi t value of 2 i s going Deathtrap Equalizer £2.04
Send s.a.e. (o'seas - 2 ~ . r . c . )
to be a pushover, bu t one wit h a h it value of 16 is quite a Traveller (GDW ) £8.10
for a copy to
different matter, and should be worth proportionately more Warpwar £2.04
points.
V M STEEL (W5)
St
(AN price s include p p
b) He who does the greatest damage to the monster collects for UKIBFPO See 2 Morley Road
the lion's share of the experience. I've always been sickened catalogues for o'sea s prices.) FARNHAM Surrey G U 8LY
by systems which give en equal shareout to, say, a fighter who
-hacks away at a monster for umpteen turns, doing 30 points of
NO POSTAGE ON MAN YG AM ES FOR REGULAR CUSTOMERS
damage on it and for that cops half the experience. Even

Please mention WH ITE DWARF when replying to dvertisements 21

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 8/9/2019 White Dwarf 5

more reali stic way, and increases the enjoyme nt o f the game. N obody

LETTERS except math nuts like to s i t around a table and fool wi th numbers all
day he id ei of the game is medieval adventure, no t statistica l
numbers.
May the Farce be with you,
Bi ll Seligman, Ithaca, New York

Dear WD,
Well, White Dwarf arrived but a few months ago, thanks to the
balance of money left in my Owl & Weasel account. White Dwar 2
arrived by courtes y of the same, and I managed t o circu mven t lethargy
for sufficiently long enough to make a note to send in a subscription.
t was no t enough and the non-arriv al of White Dwa 3 and, tw o months
later, the non-arrival of White Dw 4 only fed m y procrastinat ory talents.
How I managed these few words and a cheque for a year's subscripti on
is stil l a mystery; doubtless Ard, the Langfordian God of Apathy, is
even now preparing appropriate magic to ri d me of this wanton surge
of effort.
I must admit that ike White D. t shows unmistakable signs of
being relevant to SF IF games as they are played i n this c ountr y.
Miniatures and games reviews and so fort h; that's wh at it's all about,
righ t? Right. I thin k so, anyway; Whit D has an obli gatio n t o cover
the S FI F gaming scene in as muc h depth and deta il as it can manage.
With luck, this will arrive before Whi D, for me anyway, becomes
an historic document. could not forgive myself i f it was only to
reappear i n dreams wi th echoing cries of "Wh D WDI" from the
assembled mult itud es in the Great Square of Gamesville giant,
Readers' tho ugh ts, suggestions, ideas, views, commen ts and
Trantor-like planet lik e un to a spacebourne chessboard, divided i nto a
criticisms. Letters should be sent to the E ditor, WHITE DWARF,
Games Workshop , 97 Uxbridge Road, L ondon W12.
plethora of dungeons and star charts. .
White Dwarf started this letter wit h ten h it points. Now look at
it- educed to b ut two, a truncated shadow of its former self; WD,
Dear WD, wit hou t even a consti tutio n bonus to its name.
must say that you are putt ing o ut a most excellent prozine, far, far Yours belatedly,
better than The Dragon. I am happy t o see the nat ure of you r games Joseph Nicholas, Camberley, Surrey
reviews get better since WD No. 1 'd rather hear how somebody hated
or lik ed the game and fo r wh at reasons rath er than see a lengthy des- Editors Note:
cription of the game itself. Last issue w printed a letter from Don Turnbull in which he gave
I am afraid, however, that I must take exception to one poi nt i n his calculation for the Balrog. .Un fort unately, there was a printing
Lew Pulsipher's article, D& D Campaigns: Philosophy in WD No. 3. He error and the calculation should have read as follows:
says he feels that players should ro ll th eir own atta ck and saving throw
dice. I most strongly disagree, for the following reasons:
1 ) I t s an inconvenience to the players. Most of my players do not
own their own D&D sets and, being college students, really don't

CLASSIFIEDS
have the tim e t o read a set and have me go over wit h them how m y
dungeon mechanics differs f rom those i n the rules.
2) Cheating. I n the streets of New York, one may learn many inter-
esting things. Among those is how to roll the numbers one desires RATE: Personal: 5p per wor d
on six-side d dice. Since was raised in Los Angeles, I have no idea Trade: l o p per word
on how to do this. But several of my players were raised in NYC, Semi-Display: f4. 00 per single culumn inch

and I do not kn ow if the techniques n altering the roll sof D201scan A l l Classified Advertisements must be prepaid. Copy and payment
be adapted fro m those rol lin g D6s. and I am ususally too busy to should be sent to WH ITE DWARF, Games Workshop, 97 Uxbridge
look at the p layer's handscarefully enough t o see i f they are engaging Road, Lon don W12.
in any chicanery whil e I am GMing. (Besides, how long is it going to
be before somebody starts making crooked D&D dice?) Fanzines, Newsletters, Rulebooks and other printed game accessories.
3) Telekinesis. I don't really feel that this exists, but there is no use Hanway Place Print Company wi ll pri nt and/or ma il quic kly and econo-
taking chances. know for sure that I don't have i t -t ha t is good mic ally . E nquiries to R od Rivers, HPPC, 1 Hanway Place, London
enough for me. WIP 9DF (Tel: 01-637 4198).
4) Computer generated lists of random numbers - w i t h the truly

HELP
phenomenal number of dice, es ecially D8s, that D& D requires,
some people prefer t o use a co ap ut er t o generate random numbers
for them. Clearly this cannot be used in the manner Mr. Pulsipher
Clubs, contacts and events can be advertised once at no charge up t o a
would desire of us.
maxlmum of 40 words. Further ~nse rtion s t the rate of 5p per word.
5) Most impo rtan t he players should be as divorced fro m the
mechanics of playing D& D as much as possible. They should con- Arena II
sider the situati on in abstract. As an example of what I feel The Nottingham Wargames Association will be holding ARENA I I on
Mr. Pulsipher's method woul d lead to, here i s a description of the Saturday, 4t h Marc h 1978 at fhe Vi ctor ia Lesisure Centre, Bath Street,
cover of Alarums & Excursion No. 26, which was drawn by Glenn Nottingham from 9.30am t d . 0 0 p m . Included will be display games,
Blacow.
room, theFirst, imagine agoing
conversation groupli of
ke adventurers
this: about t o enter a competition board games and D& D. Further details available from
Mr M. Raymond (Tel: 0602 43457).
Thief: It's an Ogre.
Mage: How big? Salute '78
Thief: Average, I 'd say. The South London Warlords' 1978 exhibitions wil l be held on 15 th
Mage: Say 18 hits . Does an average of 5.5 hit s per melee round. Apr il at Chelsea Old Town Hall and on 6th-8th October at the Winter
Cleric: But what if it's an Ogre Magi? Gardens, Margate. Everybody welcome. Furt her details fro m
Fighter: ON THE SECOND LEVE L? Don't be a twi t Mr J. Bridge, 34 Tynw ald House, Wells Park Road, Lon don SE26 6AG
Mage: Lesee, Muriel does about 4.5 points damage per round. Gromel (Tel: 01- 699 8406).
has 17 st reng th and. . :
Fighter: 18 Texcon
Thief: Right The Austi n Brigade of the Republic of Texas, an organisation o f board
Mage: . .has a 3 Warhammer, so he does 10 hit s per roun d. Marius and miniature garners, will be holding a gaming convention during the
only has a mace, and does b ut 3.5 hits ... weekend of 10th- 12th March 1978 at the Stephen F. Austin Hotel,
Cleric: But I'm only AC4, and I've only got 7 hits Austin, Texas. For further infor mati on writ e t o Texcon, PO Box 12385,
Fighter: You go in, or I bust your head Austin, Texas 7871 1, USA.
Mage: . .and I' ll thr ow Magic Missile, doin g an average of 4.5 hits.
That's 22.5 hits per rou nd, and he averages onl y a quarter o f th at D&D North London
Cleric: Bu t he's on a better ta ble SF/F games players wanted to f orm club. D & D etc. to be played.
Thief: Al l set? Alcoholics o nly should contact D ick Hale on 01-435 7020
I hope that the above i s an effective example. I f the players get too (Hampstead).
far i nto the numbers involved in D&D, the GM might as well be playing
with a computer, who can handle the numbers faster than any player D& D Aberdeen
can anyway. Beginner seeks good company and dungeons fo r D& D adventures
Giving the players just the results of their actions, like, "Ypu hi t in the Aberdeen area or long distance. Contact James Niven, 17
him, and now he's down to half the strength he was when you first Stewart Terrace, Nor thfie ld, Aberdeen AB 2 SX (Tel: 0224 693608
encountered him," forces the players to consider the situati on i n a evenings).

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 8/9/2019 White Dwarf 5

MAGAZINES BOOKLETS
"White Dwarf" (GW) Nos. 1-5 f 0.50'
. "The DragonM(TSR)Nos. 7-10 f 1.25

and SUPPLEMENTS (TSR)

eons Dragons (revised edition inc. "Wargaming" (FGU) No 1,2
Dice, M&T Ass. and Geo. 1) f 7.50 The Book of Sorcery (LS)
The Book o f Monsters (LS)
The Book o f Demons (LS)
MISCELLANEOUS
Games Workshop catalogue

emi-Gods Heroes
Military Transfers (LZ )
WAR GAMES
Fight in the Skies (TSR)
Der Fuhrer (LS)
Imperialism (FB)
Little Big Horn (TSR)
f 2.35 TABLETOP FANTASY RULES
Madame Guillotine (GT)
Madame Guillotine (FGU)

Litto rio (Attack)

3.50 ROLE-PLAYING RULES
African Campaign (TSR)
f 2.75 Chivalry &Sorcery (FGU)
6 m 5 Swordplay (UE)
1.50 Traveller (GDW)
7 m 9 5 Kingmaker (AH)
f 2.35 Boot Hil l (TSR) f 3.40
f 1.50 Bunnies Burrows (FGU) f 3.75
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