IRPS NEWSLETTER June 1, 1996 Issue #6 Table of Contents: IRPS Monthly Status Report Monthly Columns New AD&D Monsters (Jonathan Thomas ) Communication Within Gaming Systems (Harold Ogle ) Adam's Archive Of The Arcane (Adam Cecchetti ) Torac's Mystical Orb (Dave Mavretic ) On The Shoulders Of Giants (Bruce Sheffer ) Theme: Just A Treasure Hunt Without It (John Perich ) Familiars (Wizard Davaro ) DM's Advice (Earl Harrison ) Warring In The Forgotten Realms (Dana Drury ) Amber campaign: The Shadows of Truth (Sean Pagliarulo <71062.3412@compuserve.com>) Monthly Classified Ads Subject: Chill RPG - The McIver Horror Subject: Swords & Magick Fantasy Role-Playing Game Subject: AD&D 2nd Edition - Game in Europe Subject: IRC Role-Playing Subject: IRC RPG Channel on Dalnet Subject: PBEM Game Subject: MUSHES Subject: Dragon*Con ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Club Status Report (Michael Popovich ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Well everyone, our club is moving right along at a pretty good rate since we're making a lot of progress in a lot of aspects in our club. We're currently trying to work with other RPG internet clubs in hopes of providing more to both of our members and hopefully we will have something worked out soon for everyone to hear. We have finally reached the 1000 barrier in club membership. We stand a little over that number and expect to grow even more in the upcoming months. Also, our web page is now located in a new site. It's new location is http://www.borg.com/~gdb319/daur/irps and we might be moving one more time in the next few months. If you haven't seen the web page in awhile, it's been massively modified with the move. It now uses frames which allows the web browser to divide the screen in various partitions where work can be done. Also, we are currently trying to add a lot of graphics to beautify some of the text on the web page so keep a look out for that. Also, there might be some errors, I might have forgot about personal web pages, etc., please send me the errors and I will correct them as soon as possible. Also, if you have suggestions on how to improve the web page, feel free to email me that also. Finally, a few of the IRPS officers have resigned due to several personal reasons among other things. If you are interested in filling one of those positions please visit our web page for further information. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- New AD&D Monsters (Jonathan Thomas ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Skeletons As they are composed chiefly of empty space, skeletons take only half damage from slashing and thrusting weapons. Bludgeoning weapons inflict full damage. As with all undead, Skeletons are immune to sleep hold and cold based spells, as well as any spell affecting the mind. White Skeletons Climate/Terrain: Any Number Appearing: 1d4+1 Frequency: Very Rare AC: 6 Organization: Band Movement: 12 Activity Cycle: Any Hit Dice: 2 Diet: None THACO: 19 Intelligence: Low (2-4) Number of Attacks: 1 Treasure: Incidental Damage per Attack: By weapon Alignment: Neutral Evil Magic Resistance: Standard Undead Size: M Morale: Special (Never Checked) XP Value: 175 to 270, depending on circumstances A particularly nasty variant, the white skeleton is always encountered as a guardian. They initially appear as piles of bone strewn about with a weapon fallen in them or nearby, but actions which violate the skeletons' orders will cause it to rise up and wield their weapons. This takes a full round. These skeletons are slightly intelligent, though, and usually wait until folks' guards are down, sometimes even allowing themselves to be searched in their disjointed state. Therefore, they usually gain surprise (3 point modifier in their favor if the party is unaware of the threat.) They do radiate both evil and magic. These critters are better constructed than their more familiar counterparts, and can use their weapons to full advantage. Some are even armed with throwing weapons. Their most horrific combat power, though, only comes into play when they take damage. White skeletons regenerate at the rate of 1 hit point per round, even after being reduced below zero hit points (yeah, even from dust will they rise). If they are killed, they will rise up from their piles upon regaining half their hit points. There are a few ways to prevent this. Bless will keep them from reattaching their bones for the duration of the spell, as will chant and prayer. Holy water applied to the ends of the bones will keep them from reattaching permanently. At minimum, the femurs and humeri must be so treated. In this case, the skeleton will still reform, but handless, footless and harmless. While treating all the joints of one skeleton takes a whole vial of holy water, one can treat up to four per vial in this way. Dispel magic cast on a white skeleton will destroy it outright if it is successfully cast versus the skeleton's creator's level. They turn as wraiths, reverting to their bonepile state if turned. Black skeletons Climate/Terrain: Any Number Appearing: 1d6 Frequency: Very rare AC: 4 Organization: Band Movement: 12 Activity Cycle: Night Hit Dice: 3 Diet: None THACO: 17 Intelligence: Semi (2-4) Number of Attacks: 2 Treasure: none Damage per Attack: 1d6/1d6 Alignment: Lawful Evil Magic Resistance: Standard Undead Size: M Morale: Fearless (20) XP Value: 270 These undead have been treated in a sorcerous concotion to make them immune to non-magical weaponry. A +1 or better weapon is required to hit them. They carry no weapons themselves, but their hands have been replaced with largish claws, that they keep extremely sharp. They are generally used as hunters and assassins. To these ends, they can track as a seventh level ranger and hide in the shadows with 75% ability. Their magical protection is negated by direct sunlight, so they are active only at night and on heavily overcast days. If found in direct sunlight (fat chance) they can be hit by normal weapons. They turn as wights. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Communication Within Gaming Systems (Harold Ogle ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Communication has always been the most important factor in the advancement of ideas, and this newsletter is testament to this. My column this month deals with communication systems in RPGs and how to implement them as GMs or players. Referring back to the above postulate that communication engenders ideas, a society with better communication will more likely succeed over ones with lesser forms of communication, be it a system of running messengers, smoke signals, or trans-wave receivers. The military importance of quick communication is obvious -- units can report and react to orders faster -- but other aspects are just as important. Scientific advancements depend on the accurate relaying of data, as does the responsive governing of any nation. And a country led by someone who is in touch with the citizenry's concerns -- and who can react to such issues quickly -- will flourish, assuming the leader is responsive! Ingenious players will often come up with communication systems when the GM has not provided adequate communications...though limiting one's contact with others is a great device for generating anxiety, fear, curiosity, and/or inventiveness in your players. Systems of communication are important in any game world, and should be one of the things GMs plan out in advance for their settings. How do military units communicate with others? How fast is that communication, and does it maintain that speed over great distances? Several ancient countries employed runners in series, who would either memorize a message to be passed along, or in societies with written language, would have a scroll, envelope or tablet to pass along the chain of runners. The example of the Pony Express in the 19th century United States is oft mentioned, where messengers would switch vehicles rather than the messengers themselves. Another option is to use semi- or unintelligent messengers to transmit notes or instructions. Carrier pigeons are a good example, though ensorcelled flying message capsules could work just as well. Keeping with the low-tech communication systems, these messenger systems are great in terms of complexity of the message, compared to, say, smoke signals or drum beats...but the potential to disrupt a message is much greater. If someone eliminates the messenger, then one's message is lost or in enemy hands! Direct messages have the further disadvantage of limiting the receiving point: if the message is sent to a specific location, it will not be received if the intended audience has moved...so battlefield communication would have to be constant, with easily found pavilions or prearranged message drop-off locations. Sense signals (smoke, drums) could not be prevented (unless through magic), but were not secret unless heavily encoded...and the amount of code you could apply to such a message is limited, unless you want the message to run for hours! So ask: do you want to broadcast, or transmit a message directly? In science fiction campaigns, if you are using FTL travel, you will need to justify your FTL communciations: is there a small FTL particle that can be sent in waves, or is there another dimension (hyperspace, etc.) that permits the transmission of information capsules? Again, these are broadcast or direct transmissions, with similar problems to the more primitve examples above. But how much FTL is the communication? Is it instantaneous, or does it take an amount of time to travel a distance? Is that amount of time relative to distance, just FTL, or is it a set amount of time (2 hours in the warp dimension and a message can appear anywhere, regardless of distance), or is it relative to some other factor (time relative to the mass of the message, or to the gravity of the sending and receiving points)? The amount of time a message takes to arrive at its destination will always be important as it affects game-play enormously. There are also telephone analogs in SF or magic-heavy campaigns: the psionic communication of two individuals who are mentally linked, whether constantly in contact or able to contact in a short time. Such contact tends to be instantaneous regardless of distance, but is taxing on the communicators -- effort which sometimes varies with distance. As players our concern for secure communication is natural. We wish to take advantage of the means available to us, and wish to make it as "safe" as possible. Usually some kind of combination of methods is most desirable. Arranging signals in advance can go a long way toward avoiding headaches later, so that a sense signal can be used to cue to a particular location or eventuality ("one if by land, two if by sea", "two puffs means the tavern"), where the direct communication could take place, coded appropriately. Such makes communication less likely to be intercepted and tampered with. Meanwhile more obvious communications can be used to confuse the enemy... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adam's Archive Of The Arcane (Adam Cecchetti ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Spell of the Month: Water Works Water has been ignored far too long as a major element of magic. I made these spells for those characters who do a lot of sea travel and those who have an abundant supply of water river lake etc... Name: Creature of Water Range: N/A Duration: 3 rounds per level Level: 3 Components/Requirements: The thought of the creature must be in the caster mind at all time, requiring full concentration. If the caster's concentration is broken the spell will not work properly. Effects: The creature will appear from the nearest source of water, made entirely of water, and will be under the total control of the caster. Damage varies between creatures, but this chart may help. Claw:1d6 Bite:1d8 Beak:1d6 Talon:1d6 Fang:1d4 Sting:1d4 Name: Water of Life Range: Touch Duration: N/A Level: 5 Components/Requirements: The caster will lose half his current hp. Effects: The touched character will regain full hp. This does not take effect if the character is dead!!! Name: Hand of water Range: 100' Duration: 10 rounds Level: 2 Components/Requirements: A supply of water within 100'. Effects: A hand of water will rise from the source and grap whom ever the caster wishes up to 100' away. If the snatched has a strength of over 17 then they may make a saving throw, only after the hand has grabbed them. The hand will hold the character in place untill 10 rounds is up or untill the caster dispells the spell. The character can only make one saving throw!!! If failed they are stuck. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Torac's Mystical Orb (Dave Mavretic ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Torac's Mystical Orb Freq: Unique Exp: 8000 Value: 10,000 Torac, at a very early age, knew he was destined to be a mage. He was slight of build, and abhorred physical confrontation. Also, unbeknowenst to his father, Torac's next door neighbor was a fledgling mage, who showed Torac some of the different things he could do. Many years had passed for this Elven mage. He studied and passed all the tests to become a mage. Once, he found a Wilder's spellbook, and when casting a spell from that tome, caused a fairly serious rift to form, in the woods just outside Shadowdale, which in turn caught the attention of the famous Elminster. (But that is another story) Once he had attained sufficent stature and experience, Torac began researching many different spells. He figured out how to prolong ageing, and make himself stronger and bigger. He then began to learn the arts of fighting as well, for there were a few times, when he was injured when a spell he cast didn't go off as planned. But in the meantime, he had developed this Orb. It is a simple thing really. He created it to do the following. Whenever he felt he needed to, he would withdraw it from wherever it was concealed upon his person, and hold it up to his left shoulder. It would then hover there, and the following would occur. It would allow the Protection from Normal Missle weapons, and Protection from Magic (+25%). This would allow him time to cast a suitable spell. There was one side effect, that he wasn't aware of, until the day he lost the orb. Whenever used in the presence of any dragon, the Orb would begin to vibrate, and emit a high pitched wail, that was extremely painful for the weilder. (-1 HP per round) If the weilder of the Orb closed to close proximity with the dragon, the Orb would make a sound, not unlike a baby crying, and immediately Teleport without error, the weilder to a point up to 100 miles away, rendering the weilder unconcious, and erasing any memorized spells from the mages mind. The Orb then teleports itself, to a location known only to itself, to be found by someone else. Any information gained by an Identify spell will tell the caster everything, except the last part. The Orb is not sentient, by definition. But due to the spells used to create it, it has a "fear" of dragons. The Orb can only be used by mages of any school. To anyone else, the Orb is a beautiful Orb, (that radiates a faint glow of magic if detect magic is cast), that can be sold for money, or can be used as a show piece of some sort. Torac has searched for the Orb. But to date, hasn't found it, and Torac has been pursuing other avenues, only rarely giving any fleeting thought to the Orb anymore. If you have any unique or Rare items you'd like to see listed here, please send you ideas/items/concepts to: davem1@island.microserve.com to be place in this editorial.... ------------------------------------------------------------------------- On The Shoulders Of Giants (Bruce Sheffer ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Too many times the only changes that occur in a campaign are military or political. Religious changes usually manifest themselves by becoming the state religion and get the military clout behind them. In essence they become military and political as well. However, technological advance has always been the greatest destabilizing force for change ever known. These days, you leave a place for 10 years and return to find a bizarre landscape that only vaguely matches your memory. In many campaigns new technology and ideas can cause sweeping changes in an otherwise stable political state. In many modern day games or medieval games opportunities abound for introducing "Future Tech". These can come from many sources: 1) Invention - someone had to invent everything. Plastic was developed from a distillate of oil, left in the sun, which become cloudy. Most strictly mechanical devices could have been invented most any time assuming that the appropriate skills in metallurgy were present. In magical campaigns, magically hardened or malleable metals could take the place of complex alloys present today. 2) From the Future - assuming that time travel is permissible, artifacts can drop in either by accident, as test loads, or on the person of time travellers. These can be rather cryptic, useless, useful, or super-powered by the standards of the time in which they appear. The Heechee stories by Frederick Pohl paint a wonderful tale of mysterious objects that slowly give up their secrets. 3) From an alien world with higher tech - Assuming that there are other species on other worlds in the galaxy, there is every reason to believe that some of their tech might find its way to Earth (or your favorite fantasy world). This could arrive in the form of messages beamed through space, psychic imprints, probes from other worlds that pass through the solar system or fall into the atmosphere for one reason or another, artifacts from archeological digs of colonization attempts, even genetic tinkering in the far past. 4) From a parallel dimension - any civilization that can create portals to other worlds probably is a higher tech. The possibilities are the same as for time travel. Having allowed such an item to come into your campaign you have to decide what effect it can have. Basic inventions such as mechanical engines, explosives, flight, and electromagnetic communication will quickly revolutionize a world, unless you take drastic steps to curb the spread of information. All the above were invented and widely used in less than 50 years in our world. Ways to curb such inventions are: 1) Religious injunctions - associate the technology with impurity and no one will want to use it (example: ancient China). This assumes that there really is a basis for the edict in the religion and not just the priests trying to maintain power. In such a case they themselves will probably continue to develop the tech in private (fighting fire with fire, redeeming it). 2) Restrict the theory that it is based on. If no one knows how to use the tech, it cannot spread. This can be done by making it a secret and hiding the tech away, killing all those who know about it except for royalty, or making it the province of a certain class or clan who guard it zealously and kill all who steal it. This will only slow down the spread of such knowledge since knowing that a thing can be done is usually enough to ensure that someone else will "reinvent" the concept. 3) Require that exotic and rare components are necessary to construct devices or exploit the technology. In the Skylark of Space series by E.E. "Doc" Smith the protagonist discovers an unknown metal in an assumed meteor strike that is a catalyst for a nuclear disintegration process that can release immense amount of controllable energy. By experimentation and personal genius a number of incredible devices are invented (including a star drive). However, without the metal "X", no one else can use this technology. Why would you want to restrict the technology? 1) Those in power don't want anyone to know that advanced races exist. If you have told your people that they are the pinnacle of creation, other people using advanced tech might raise some doubts. Likewise, if you have subjugated a people and they learn that more powerful races exist, they might be more willing to throw off your yoke. 2) You want only a certain group to have the benefits of the technology. In Bureau 13 (Tri Tac Games) the players work for a shadow agency who is looking for an edge over its enemies. As a result, any advanced technology that they discover is confiscated by their organization, hopefully to be returned to them in interesting devices and objects which will aid them in their work. This information is not disseminated since that would give the edge to their enemies as well. 3) Civilization isn't ready for it. Some discoveries are so powerful that wide sweeping changes will result. Fast changes usually mean economic chaos. Unbalances in technology also mean political and military clout. If one side fears that the other has such an advantage they might go to war as a preemptive "protective" measure or, feeling invincible, one side might initiate conquest, capitalizing on their temporary advantage. 4) If the owners know that someone has it, they will come and take it back. A zillion movie plots have been based on this idea. This idea assumes that after a sufficient amount of time, it will be safe to use the item. This means that either the owners have gone away never to return, or you have been developing the technology in secret and dispersing it so that even if the rightful owners come back there won't be anything they can do about it. The genie will be out of the bottle. Regardless of who benefits from the technology, the real trick is how to describe the technology in an interesting way. Information fiat is the worst possible way. This is usually presented as: "OK, you have discovered the secrets of the wonder widget so now you can make anything you want invisible". How boring. Also, since the players don't really know the basis of the technology, they cannot extrapolate to other interesting uses. The best way to present the information is to allow the players to experiment with the device and describe its effects. Thus described the players might understand that the device is actually an psionic broadcast device that forces everyone to ignore whatever it is attuned to, rather than warping light around the object. Knowing this, the players might then reason that it could be changed to make people do other things (a domination device, possibly a mechanical educator, or even mind transfer). Now it gets really tricky. No device is constructed of only one part so you now have to describe the interplay of the components. Shadis Magazine recently published an article suggesting that you create a pseudo science (ala Star Trek which used phase bubbles and imaginary subatomic particles) which describes the basis for the device. Each component must then be described to show how it contributes to the proper operation of the device. This has three benefits: 1) The players know how to fix it if it breaks or runs out of an essential material. 2) The players know what will happen if it overloads or is damaged. 3) The players might be able to use this interplay of components and concepts to invent brand new devices. Don't cheat the players by making it too simple. If the principles are too advanced for the characters, let them seek out a sage or expert who can help them understand it. Don't let them dump it into his or her hands and walk away. Keep them involved. Perhaps they have to protect him, while he deciphers it, from others who want its secrets. Maybe once they understand its nature, it is snatched away and they must retreive it before it can be reproduced (it acts as the working prototype). By the end of the adventure, they should be experts in its function and design. The result is an adventure that is both a puzzle and an opportunity, as well as a chance for personal excellence for the players. If you do decide to introduce technology that will have sweeping changes, take the effort to design a timeline of derivative effects. This will enhance the sense of continuity in your campaign as the players see the fruit of their actions and adventures. This will also make the results seem less arbitrary, more organic in development. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Theme: Just A Treasure Hunt Without It (John Perich ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Generic Adventure: The party is approached by a merchant. The merchant asks them to rescue his daughter from a group of bandits. The party accepts, goes out, kills the bandits and rescues the daughter. The merchant rewards the PCs with lots of money in gratitude. Hello again! This article is about Theme. Theme is an important part of a story, yet is often left out of most adventures (notably, the one given above). Well, what is a theme? How can you find the theme in a story? How can you put a theme in an adventure? Let's take a look at the novel "Dragons of Autumn Twilight," by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis. What are some important ideas or philosophies that float in the background of this book? - The truth isn't always easy or desirable. - External appearances aren't what count. - All things change with time. Et cetera, et cetera. While none of those were outwardly stated ("Tanis said, `External appearances aren't what count.'" No, it doesn't sound right to me either), they are all visible in the pattern of the story. They're very subtle, but add depth and value to the novel. Take away the themes that were prevalent in Dragons of Autumn Twilight (there's more than just three, believe it or not). What's left is a rather long dungeon crawl. The PCs take the staff to Darken Wood. The PCs go to Xak Tsaroth and kill the dragon. The PCs go back to Solace, get captured and get rescued by the Qualinesti elves. The PCs sneak into Pax Tharkas and kill Verminaard. Doesn't sound quite as epic that way, does it? So, now that we know what theme is, all we need to do is put it into our adventures. Unfortunately, this is more of a task than it seems. The main reason that theme is so difficult to use in an AD&D module or campaign is that the PCs can make their own choices. You, as the DM, can't force the players' actions. Your task, therefore, is to give a theme to the adventure without making it seem contrived or forced. Below I have prepared a list of one-word themes that can be adapted to any adventure. Giving an adventure theme is simply stated, but difficult to do. The theme can be a motivation for one or more of the NPCs involved. The theme can be a side issue, something that makes the job difficult for the adventurers. It can be an urgent matter that needs to be resolved, or else the PCs' task won't be successfully completed. I'll show you an example of how it's done later. Vengeance Hatred Love Maturity Honor Responsibility Discovery Sacrifice Greed Charity Courage Hope Devotion Justice Deceit Desire Pride Fear Let's take the Generic Adventure from above and give it a theme or two. I think that Deceit and Maturity are two good ones (OK, I just picked them at random). I find some way to tie the two in with the important parts of the plot. Take a look at the Themed Adventure below. The party is approached by a merchant. The merchant asks them to rescue his daughter from a group of bandits. The PCs agree and journey to the bandits' hideout. However, the leader of the bandits is the girl's original mother (a child born out of wedlock)! The merchant, suspecting this, decided not to tell the PCs, hoping that a few combat- happy fighters could take care of the details. If the adventurers are still insistent on bringing the girl back, they have a minor problem: the girl doesn't want to go back! She's only 15, and has never left her home city until she was kidnaped. Having seen the outside world, she's in no hurry to go back, knowing that her father will eventually pass the merchant business on to her. The PCs must decide whether they will leave the girl where she wants to be (with her adventurous mother) or honor their contract (but leave the girl unhappy and make an enemy of a bandit captain). Oh, and if the PCs decide to renege, the merchant hires more adventurers to go kill them and retrieve the girl. And these new adventurers will be much more eager to kill people. There we go! I used Deceit with the merchant, as he deliberately kept facts away from the PCs, and that he will hire more adventurers to kill the PCs if they don't see things his way. Maturity came in when the girl decided not to go back home. Both of these will have to be faced some time in the adventure. Overall, which one do you think will be more satisfying: the Themed Adventure or the Generic one? ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Familiars (Wizard Davaro ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This artical is dedicated to advise on the uses of spells and magical items in AD&D. But whether this advise is legal or not in your game is solely up to the DM, so don't write me angry letters complaning about something that was useless in your campaign. Because of his magical studies a wizard cannot take the time to learn how to use a weapon and does not have the strength to wear heavy armor. Most of his senses are dulled by long hours of work in the laboratory. That is why a 'Find Familiar' spell is commonly used. The familiar is devoted to serving the summoner and can be a spy or a weapon. The summoner also gains the familiar's sensory abilities. But sometimes you can end up with a useless familiar. What if you summoned a toad? A wide angle vision is good for avoiding sneak attacks but that is as far as it goes. It can't help in close combat and the toad can't be much help if someone sees it in town and squashes it. A 'Polymorph Other' spell can come in handy at times with your familiar. If you weren't happy with what showed up when you summoned a familiar then you might polymorph it into something else, preferably something with great sensory powers such as a great cat, or if you wanted something that is better for protection an aurumvorax would be good for scaring off any opponents. Even while familiars are not often looked at to be spies by enemies, if your character is a known wizard most will look twice at a cat that is following them around. You can be extra cautious by casting an 'Invisibility' or even an 'Improved Invisibility' spell on your familiar. 'Advanced Illusion' can be very useful in disguising your familiar by changing its fur color, or even its species so that it could not be recognized as your familiar without a good look. Sometimes a familiar cannot get back to you in time to relay important spying information. The 'ESP' spell is useful at these times, or if you have one, an Medallion of ESP. You can contact your familiar at times and get an update on what is going on and give orders to the familliar based on the report. Using the Medallion, you could keep in constant contact with your familiar. I have found that the best way to introduce these ideas into your game is during combat and without warning. If you ask your DM before hand if it is okay then he would have more time to think of restrictions or to forbid the actions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- DM's Advice (Earl Harrison ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- It seems that I have created a stir with the two articles that I have written. Let me explain my point of view on the articles before venturing into this month's article. I did not mean for the kobold lair to be taken as a first or even a 4th level dungeon. The article was geared towards the higher levels to give those adventurers something to do. There are enough hard monsters out there for the characters to fight, but given the chance to fight a measly kobold at such a high level most players will jump at the chance. When they get pummeled by the horde of kobolds in that lair they will think twice the next time you mention the kobold lair. The lair that I had written about could be used for the low level characters but not with all of the traps and tricks that are in there. Chop the number of kobolds down a bit also. Don't use the 40-400 that the monster manual says to use. Use less than 100 for the total kobold population of the lair. As for the intelligence of the average kobold they should be as smart as the average city dweller or farmer. They should be allowed the supplies that I mentioned. They may not have the access that their human counterparts may have but they should have some access as limited as it might be. The dragon's lair has not had that much impact on most people so I will leave it alone and let it stand by itself. The dragon, as I stated before, should be the most fearsome monster that the players ever come across. They should remember that adventure for years to come. If they do not they YOU have not played the dragon as well as he or she should have been played. The dragon will not always fight the players, even reds can be talked with. My idea only helps the DM out with letting the dragon stay alive a little longer to give the players something to fight for. Remember to that the players will be getting alot of gold, magic items and maybe an artifact or two, so don't just let the players walk in there and slaughter the dragon. Make him a very formiable opponent. Kill the players if you have to to make them respect the dragon and maybe make them want to come back and fight him again! Now on with the show!! How many times have your players built up a character, only to be more powerful than any creature in the books. It is kind of hard to challenge those characters. How many monsters do you have to put up against him/her to get even 1 hit point taken away from the character only to have them get it back with some sort of magic. How many hits does it take for that character to kill even the most powerful NPC or monster that you have. Have you ever created a module that took you several weeks to design, putting together the maps and player handouts only to have the party destroy it in just a matter of a few hours on that Saturday afternoon. Remember how you felt when the bad guy at the end just fell like he was nothing! Well stick around a few minutes and listen to the tales that I am about to tell you. Most of the games written out there challenge the CHARACTERS and not the PLAYERS. Yes that is right, think about it. The players just have to simply play their characters and they will survive most any game out there. But the objective here is to challenge the PLAYERS!! How often do your players check their barbarians back protection? How often does he check for illusions? I bet most players out there do not check for these things every round like they are supposed to. Have a fight break out behind the characters and get surprise on them and the first round of attacks before they even know what hit them. If the other party has multiple attacks don't use all of them on attacks, how about running around a corner and waiting until the party comes after them. Aha! Another free round of attacks. That is two rounds of attacks and the bad guys have not even had to defend themselves yet. How about a thief with an illusion on him to make the party think he is a peasent, when really he is picking their pockets. Taking all of their small items such as magic wands, daggers and even bags of holding. Why stop at these things make the party think that they are in no danger and then spring a few spells on them. Saving throws get in the way of most spells but not if the spells were aimed at the area they are in or on the weapons that they have. Imagine a mage with a crystalbrittle spell and an animate object spell. What will your players think of fighting their own weapons only to have them shatter like glass at the first hit. Looks like they just lost all of those magic weapons. I know magical items get a saving throw too, but this save is a lot high and harder to make than the one they would have to roll if the spell was cast upon them. Has anyone thought about using drugs in their campaign? I didn't think so. Getting the CHARACTERS hooked on some drug should be an easy task and then the character is an easy target when he is under the influence of the drug. NOTE THAT I DO NOT CONDONE THE USE OF DRUGS BY PLAYERS OR DMs BUT AS CHARACTERS WHY NOT? I would like some comment on this subject if any are willing to give it. Traps are another situation that some players do not check for all of the time. Most players do not check for traps every little step they take. If you are going to use traps have the trap be a multiple trap. Sort of like the board game "Mouse Trap". Some of my favorite traps are: * Have an Oytugh give the character a disease: AIDS and then the players are attacked by a mummy, which ages the character. He dies of full blown AIDS. * An incindary cloud is in the hallway. A zombie with a lit torch is hiding in a secret compartment just around the bend from where the characters are. When they enter the cloud the zombie is triggered to come out and walk around the bend. * a black cat sits on the bed of a mage's chamber with a spell book lying beside him. The book has a polymorph spell cast onto it when someone reads it they are transformed into a goldfish which the cat immediately gobbles up when the transformation is done. * Putting a cursed item somewhere only to have it activate when the party get near it. "A Rod of Cancellation that falls", a trigger that moves the Demi-Lich just out of striking distance of the party. As you can see you can be as creative as you like with multiple traps. These are just a few of the hundreds or thousands of ideas that any DM can come up with if they only try. I would be interested in seeing some of the traps that you can come up with. Just e-mail them to me. I should be able to come up with a few more if given the time and motivation. Taking your players to another plane without telling them always confuses things. The farther out into the planes that the players get the less magic they have. If they go 3 planes out then that +5 broad sword they had is now only a +2 broad sword. The monsters out there are even more deadly. The Githyanki for instance are a very deadly creature when not found on the prime material plane. About 10-15 of these can sure wreck havoc on a group of players not expecting to find githyankis on the prime. Little do they know that they are no longer on that plane. Magic spells are another thing all together. Some don't work on some planes and others work better. Have some plane traveler come up with some water from the river Styx and give it or throw it on the characters. They won't even remember who did it let alone try and kill the person. Heck, they just might lose an item or two. Artifacts are another thing to. If you give a powerful character one make sure that you have the means of taking it back from them. Having a king or mayor demand it from the players may not be enough to get it from them. you may have to take it by force, which will be a very tough undertaking. The artifact makes the party twice as powerful as they once were. One other thing that you might try to do to your players and that is to treat the game you are DMing as a Mario Brothers type video game. This may sound crazy but just follow me. On the video game you have to beat several monsters, avoid the traps, solve the puzzles and then beat the bad guy at the end before you go to the next level. Hey, this sounds like an AD&D game to me. The puzzles part is a bit tricky to do. The trick here is to give certain clues to an NPC that the players would otherwise not talk to. The only way to get to the bottom of the 10 level dungeon is to find the secret door that leads down there and the only person that knows where it is is the peasant that was asking for a few copper pieces at the main gate. You know the one that the players either killed or just snubbed off. Now he may or may not want to give that information to the players anymore, or he may ask for several platinum pieces to give up the information that the players now want from him. Have the players try and acquire several pieces to a larger item. Such as TSR's Rod of Seven Parts. Maybe this is the only way into the last level of the dungeon or the key into the crypt of the evil mummy. Aquiring several scrolls for the local cleric and then a task or two for the blacksmith or local guilds might also slow down the players for several games and frustrate them a bit. Try and get the players off track for a gaming session or two might also be the trick to drop their guard and then spring the monsters on them when they are not looking for a fight. You might even trick them into doing something evil for the bad guys and have to get out of trouble with the town that they are in. Making your players run from the law is always exiciting for the DM. News of a new evil roaming the area will travel faster than the players can. The new towns will always be watching for them to come to the town and buy provisions. Your players will have to come to a town sooner or later to restock on food, water, new weapons and if you use them, spell components. It will will be very hard to find all of this stuff out in the wilds of the dungeons and humanoid villages. If they find this stuff in the villages and they are running from the law chances are this small village may have heard of them and will either not sell them the stuff or make it very very hard for them to purchase it. They might even stall the players long enough for a small band of the sheriff's men to come and take them back to the town where they commetted their criminal acts. The players would not dare to fight the sheriff's men again would they? Also you will have to watch out for bounty hunters and other adventuring parties that might want to ccollect the reward for bringing in these evil creatures! One last thing that always gets to the players and that is to make them use all of the abilities of their characters. If ythey do not use them then make it extremely hard to complete the game that you have created for them. Plan ahead. If you know that there will be more than one thief in the party then have multiple traps in the corridors and roadways. If one thief does not do his job then the whole party suffers by falling into the trap that you have devised. If there are alot of fighters in the group then have a few extra monsters roaming around. Even make the random encounters more frequent or make them harder. If you have a mage or cleric with an unusual spell or two then have an encounter where the only way to get thru it is for the mage or cleric to use that spell. Take for instance the Bless spell. Most clerics take this spell but how often do you have a chance to use it. Most high level clerics may have it but have long since forgotten what the spell does anymore. Make them use the spell that they have. If you want to eliminate the magic from tyour adventure, have a few encounters where they have to use alot of spells to get thru it. In order to do this the monsters have to be a bit more powerful than the fighters in the group. This forces the mages and clerics to use up their spells more quickly. The next party member to mention is the psionicist. This character at very high levels can be a very dangerous one. In order to challenge the player of one of these characters is to put some psionic monsters in the game. Mind Flayers and Thought Eaters are tremendous to use against a single psionicist. If you allow more than one psionicist in a group then you may have a problem dealing with them. Just make sure you make the psionicist roll his ability checks and deduct PSPs after he has used an ability. Getting PSPs back should be a very hard task also. The only way to gain PSPs is with rest. The last characters that! I am going to mention are the monks and ninjas. I usually group these two together simply because they both are weak as low level characters and get very powerful at higher levels. The DM may be challenged himself to get these characters in trouble. The thing to do to these characters is make the player use the abilities of these characters almost every round or two while in a dungeon or city adventure. City adventures are best suited for these two characters. Dungeons don't suit these characters very well and most players could do better than to bring them onto a dungeon adventure. Solo adventures inside the main campaign are well suited for these characters. Make them go it alone so as to get them away from the rest of the party. Most of the time these guys are the main fighting force for the party when they reach the higher levels. So if you can get them away from the rest of the group you can have more fun with either the solo adventure or the group. High level characters should never be allowed to just rest. Keep the players guessing what you are doing. Make them set up a strategic camp. Keeping watch and traps around the camp will usually keep most monsters away. If only all monsters were not on the ground. Some monsters fly. Swooping attacks are usually very hard for most players. They are simply not ready for an air-based attack. Melee weapons no longer work for these types of encounters. If a monster can cast spells and can also fly then why not give him the silence spell and make the swooping attack a surprise attack from behind. If a couple of characters are taken into the air, shaken up a bit, losing weapons and items, and dropped back onto the ground. All before the party has a chance to get ready for the attack. These types of attacks can only be random encounters or planned attacks trying to get a particular item from the party. Be creative with this one. As I stated before when you are DMing a very high level game it is very easy to get caught up in the trap of just challenging the characters and not the players. The only way to get at the characters is to get at the players first. Challange their minds not their paperwork. A character is very durable. Most players are not. Most of them know all of the rules but cannot role-play very well. I have been Dming for better than 10 years and the easist games to DM is the ones that make it harder on the players than it does on the characters. For my next article or two I wound like them to come from every one else. E-Mail me and tell me what you would like to see and I will try to do it or get a little help from my group and then put it to print. What I would like is some of your greatest adventure stories. I have a few that you may find amusing and a few that you may find a bit weird. Send in your traps, adventure stories or 5-minute adventures and see if your games are anything like ours. I will put a few of mine in there to make it more interesting. Until next time, Earl Harrison ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warring In The Forgotten Realms (Dana Drury ) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In the last article I looked at War and its often overlooked importance in FRPG's. This article centered around the concept of war and its varying uses in a Fantasy Campaign. I will again stress that it isn't a quick fix. For it to work it requires some thought and sweat... If you missed it for some reason you can get it off me (my address is at the top). Continuing on from the last piece the next equally important decision to make about the war is - Where will the war take place? Whether you do the last point first (How large will the war be) or this point doesn't matter. I find working out how large I'm going to make a war helps me to work out its staging area. It may differ from person to person but that's just me. Generally the larger the war the more important the place will become. As this is a role playing world you have to make the PC's interested not just have it as an occurrence . If you wish to shed some light on an area for some reason then a large "known" war could just be the thing however it is still up to you to get the characters there. This I will discuss later. Small wars are the perfect sounding board for a first time DM. They are easier to run and have less outside influence to deal with. You can also introduce some foes that may become long standing ones and a bond may develop with the local folk. How big a war is doesn't generally make too much of a difference however I don't suggest you run out and try a war similar to the Tuigan Horde, unless you have had a bit of practice first because as they say "Practice Makes Perfect" and players can easily get killed off in a war, especially if they go into battle. Now that I have added a bit to the last article I will get on with this one. Where the war takes place is a vital factor. Will it be a back water war? In some small obscure barony that no one has heard off or will it be closer to home, and pose a much more serious threat ? For instance, Karameikos in Mystara is not likely to be subjected to a full scale war however a disgruntled group of Drow (or Dark Elves as they are in Mystara) may come through the mountains from the north. The players are in a small town at the time and have to help lead the local unorganized malita against these invaders, or hold them back till help arrives etc. The FR will only be susceptible to small scale skirmishes with out it becoming an international incident, although many of the areas to the south (near the Great Rift) are perfect for staging a larger war. One other unique way of creating a war is if the players are evil and have a reputation, they may be asked to help the denizens of the Underdark to help attack a city/village/town. As I mentioned, the world of Ravenloft almost stops wars from occurring however local townsfolk may have had enough and forget there fear of death to challenge the Lord. If this happens it may be the perfect way to remove one of the small realms from Ravenloft if this needs to be the case. I Personally wouldn't recommend such an action, Ravenloft isn't really a place of mighty hero's atop a mountain of dead Yugloth, or Dragons frying helpless spearmen or. well you get the picture. Unfortunately my Fantasy Role Playing is Limited to Palladiums RPG, AD&D and D&D. However much of this applies to other games such as Earth Dawn, Dangerous Journeys, GURPS and Warhammer FRPG. (Thus the examples) Once you have the place in which the war is set it would be best to work on why the war occurred, may ask your self - What is the reason behind the war? Who started it and why? When did it begin? There are many reasons wars are started, most of them are over land claims, which may be the enemy has wandered in and claimed the land. There can be other acceptable reasons, these can range from retaliation for some action, trying to rescue someone or the Lord was insulted by the other Lord/Baron. On the other hand it doesn't even have to involve a human enemy. Orcs will just attack because they hate humans and other races attack out of necessity. (Such as a Unicorn will attack people who hurt forest areas.) Dwarves will happily slay Goblins and Ogres will slay each other. If any of you have read the book "The Legacy" by R.A. Salvatore will know what I am talking about. If not, an extended attack occurred between a group dwarves and tribe of goblins, Although it started there and ended there, war may have broken out if a larger tribe had existed. I warn you however, Orcs generally attack as a large tribe, they are usually never gathered into an "Army" unless the whole of the Orc species are at risk or there is a higher power governing them. The later being the most common case respectively. Working out when the war begun also helps flesh out adventure possibilities. Many wars are fought over a long time, if this is the case (such as a religious war) then the players impact "may" not make that much of a difference, it may win a battle or two but far from the winning the war. A newly generated war is easier to stop with players involvement and there are less feelings of hate on both side compared with a religious war (to a degree). If the players can make a difference then they will feel a sense of accomplishment. The players may even be the cause of the war! I will leave the idea behind the war up to you, but you do get the generally gist of things (don't you?). It always helps to know when the war started. The reason being? Well setting the scene is very important in a war - You wander slowly down the dirt road, around you lie the fallen bodies of soldiers draped in awkward positions. Smoke rises from the huts to the back and the odd moan comes from the left and right making you wary of the carnage around you. Tired villagers tend to the wounded. They are obviously used to this war. Such a scene must be common place. If the war had just started then the Villagers would be in shambles not knowing what was happening which may provide some interesting challenges for the players. They may be attacked, asked for help or worse. If the war is a long drawn out one, villagers may be on a exodus away from the kingdom. A lot of ground has been covered in this article. I am trying to keep the information generic thus there are not too many specific examples, however as I mentioned last issue, if there is interest then email me with your preferences at dana@zipper.zip.com.au, and I will try and include a useable example. I have received some material that will provide useful to many players out there, it will be coming up in later articles. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Amber campaign: The Shadows of Truth (Sean Pagliarulo <71062.3412@compuserve.com>) ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am interested in starting a long term Amber campaign, using a local variant of the Amber Diceless game system. There are a few philosophical ideas and other considerations I wish to discuss so everyone will know where I am coming from and trying to take the game. First and foremost I'm looking for dedicated players who will post at least twice a week. Next, they must be interested in helping to create an interactive campaign world. Amber is just too darn big for any one person to define all aspects of it, so I will be looking for and demanding input from my players to help me. To that end, I ask that every person who submits a character proposal include at least one world description. The description need not be complete or even very thorough, but the more information I am given the better I can help simulate that shadow. You may submit more than one, and it can be as brief as you wish, for example: "I think you should have a shadow that is the Planet of the Apes series." That statement alone tells me enough to go and run that world. While it does not describe all that could be said,there is enough atmosphere to make it playable. I feel that any game world, novel, movie, or anything else is a viable shadow world. So I will be using some of the existing ones, such as Shadowrun, Vampire, Blood Shadows, Castle Falkenstein, and others. Some will be unique, but in all cases the story is what will drive the situations. The characters and their interaction will define what is important. A note on the importance of characters and their interactions. I am changing the nature of the Amber view point. The (POINT- OR POWER)gap between Human, Chaosian, Amberite, and Ranked individuals will be narrower. The frequency of meeting with more powerful adversaries will be much greater. In short I am drawing the characters down from Superhero status, to powerful Hero status. I wish to reintroduce the factor of risk and uncertainty that seems slightly absent from some Amber games. Now I am not saying that Amberites are not damn hard to kill. This game will be based on exploration and interaction rather than the Familial competition ethic that is prevalent in the books. The Shadow dwellers will be more important due to the changes I have wrought. You will never be sure that the person that you are dealing with is not another Amberite, a Chaosian, or really powerful Shadow dweller. So I wish to have all players make the Shadow Dwellers important to their characters. Now that can be done in a couple of ways-- no, it does not mean that you must love them. You could be the quintessential hero and regard every life as important or you could prefer to be worshipped, andthink that every shadow dweller is merely a means to an end. There are many other ways to handle it, and I trust you to make them important. The Auction is also being changed. I will ask for a single bid from each character for each attribute. Undoubtedly there will be some characters who desire a #1 for their character conception, that is fine, but remember that you are only #1 of your generation, there will be plenty of others who are above and below you. The primary reason for this, is to offer me as many options as possible as a game master, and allow players to enter the game late. Game play will also be different than some of the other games you may have played. First it is an on-line game, which is more like creating an interactive novel than role-playing. Next all messages will go through me, and then back out to the players. While at first glance that seems a bit piggy of me, there are several very good reasons for it. This will enable me to add in description that shows a character's personal outlook. So the same thing will look different to characters with different levels of Good and Bad stuff. Another good reason is the uncertainty of Trump Contact. Another is the mere logistical element of being sure who is doing what, since sometimes people forget to CC the gm when things get hot and heavy. A note here, some players prefer to include their characters thoughts when doing a message to give it context, others prefer not. It is up to you, but since I am the clearing house for all messages, I need to know what you would like sent on to others. So inform me with [OOC: ] Out of Character comments above or below the passage so I know what to do. I just need some sort of context to be able to comfortably handle the message traffic. A note on game related information. First I don't require anyone to own the Amber role-playing system, I can explain it in just a few messages. Next Magic will not be run exactly like it is in the rule book. Magic will be much more free form, and slightly quicker. While the maintenance of spells will still be a consideration, your character could possibly have a racked spell and cast it in Classic Fantasy style. But I will use the Steven Brust adage: A knife is quicker than a sorcerers spell. Or something like that. The exact quote is "A knife between a sorceror's shoulder blades will severely cramp his style.", but I changed it to fit my game a little better. So I ask that all who take Sorcery, Conjuration and or Power Words focus on the magic side of their characters. Talk to me about the nature of magic for the character. Does the character require Gestures, Incantation, or other forms of foci? I will certainly ask questions if you don't tell me what I need to know. Also about Conjuration and Power words. Both are the same cost as in the Amber game book, but their nature will be more flexible. Note that since Sorcery is slightly faster, especially with hung spells, that Power words are not quite as crucial. Sorcery can be used to combat Sorcery with effectiveness. Next on game stuff, every character may have a {Personal????} Trump deck, by merely paying the two points to have one. The characters will be at Corwin's new Pattern. And contact with Amber is nonexistent, though there is a place near Chaos like the courts called the Gates of Never. Feel free to come up with new powers and ask about them, the more the merrier, after all it is an infinite universe out there. The game will be about personal and group oriented adventure, exploration and discovery. A whole new set of shadows were created when Corwin drew his Pattern, and everyone is free to explore them. Another comment on the Amber system. Skills are considered freebies, because Amberites are basically immortal, there is very little reason why you cant have your character know whatever you want them to. But the way I want to handle this, is in your character background. And rather than have a player list every little skill, I would prefer to have professions or experiences listed. For example if a character was a doctor on Shadow Earth (present day medicine) for twenty years, then when dealing with situations, pretty much anything that a doctor from our world would know could be justified. Obviously the final call will be on my end, but I am looking for more control and creation from the players, than in some other games, so you will be given more latitude. Just keep you character in perspective when thinking about its interactions. Finally on the points... Every player will have 150 points to spend on their character. This may seem like a lot, but I am asking for quite a bit of input from each of you, and not allowing any other form of personal contribution (at least for points). Also, every character may have the Pattern free, yes free. That means that if you take Basic Pattern Imprint it costs nothing (and Advanced is only twenty-five more points), but if you don't take it for your character, your character gains nothing. No Pattern imprint, no additional points. Every player should try and answer some basic questions in their character background, and in the world descriptions you create. Remember the more information I receive the better I will be able to work with your character, or shadow. Goals are important for a character. What drives him or her? What is important to your character? What kinds of places has he or she visited? Answer any of the Character Quiz questions that sound appropriate to you. Do you want to create a home shadow with another player (not necessarily spending points, but working with someone else) to have a close knit history? Do you want to have close ties with another player character? Close full brothers, sisters, etc... (Note you don't have to have a friend playing in the game, if you mark this, I can pair you up with someone else who is interested in the same thing. Brother and sister relationships can be great grist for the role-playing mill.) Are you included in any public trump decks? If not, why not? (Unless a really good reason is given, since you are all Corwin's children, you will exist in the standard Trump deck that everyone possesses.) Describe your character's starting situation. Remember that your character is immortal, and is likely to be with you for a long time. Love your Character. Find your character's Focus, and finally write in character. The whole process will be much better the more we stay in character. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Classified Advertisements ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Chill RPG - The McIver Horror Author: Thomas Deeny "The McIver Horror" is an adventure played using Chill, Mayfair's horror role-playing game. Knowledge of Chill's game mechanics is not needed for playing this PBeM game. "The McIver Horror" takes place in present day Oregon. As a member of the secret organization of SAVE (Societas Argenti Viae Eternitata, or The Eternal Society of the Silver Way), you and your fellow SAVE envoys are to investigate strange occurrences in the small logging town of McIver, Oregon; determine if the Unknown is operating there; and take whatever steps is neccessary to stop it. For those of you unfamiliar with the atmosphere of Chill, it is similar to a really creepy X-Files episode, or almost any of numerous gothic horror novels or movies. Anne Rice's _The Witching Hour_ and _Interview with the Vampire_, H.P. Lovecraft's horror stories (especially _The Dunwich Horror_ and _The Whisperer in the Darkness_), and _The Exorcist_ or _The Omen_ spring to mind. _Army of Darkness_ and _Friday the 13th Part VII: Jason Takes Manhattan_ don't. Speaking of Anne Rice, her investigative group "The Talamasca" is very similar to Chill's SAVE. There will be two turn/action deadlines per week, one on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning at 2am and one on Saturday night/Sunday morning at 2am. Collated GM turns will be distributed on Wednesday and Sunday by 10pm. I estimate the game will last through the summer. "The McIver Horror" was originally published in Chill's "Horrors of North America" under a different name. If you have played this adventure before, you are welcome to observe the game. This adventure requires three to six SAVE envoys. For more information or to sign up, please e-mail me at fauxpas@cy-net.net --> Please include "Chill: " in your subject line. Subject: Swords & Magick Fantasy Role-Playing Game Author: Geoff Bottone Brand new generic fantasy role-playing system without all the unnecessary junk. Easy to learn. 150 page manual comes complete with everything that you need to run a one-time adventure or begin a campaign. $12.00 plus $3.00 for shipping and handling. Send checks only to GeoffQuest, PO Box 1359, Cheshire, CT 06410. Also, visit our web site at http://www.wp.com/90596/home.html Subject: AD&D 2nd Edition - Game in Europe Author: Denny Do you live in the Swizerland Co. IN area? Do you want to be involved in an AD&D 2nd Edition game? Can you make trips to Vevay every week or so? Do you not mind Dennis Starker being your DM? If you ansewered yes to all of these questions, then e-mail me to get more info. The campaign will be set in the DragonLance world. Very poor game environment until I get a good set. Kender are allowed, Drow are not. Subject: IRC Role-Playing Author: D For Unique and Exciting Role-Play on the IRC's Dalnet, You are Welcome in Lord Corwen's #VALMORTHA The game is role-play centered, not hack-n-slash. If you're up to the challenge, seek us: weekdays btw 4 - 6pm cst weekends are sporadic, but usually btw 12-4pm cst Subject: IRC RPG Channel on Dalnet Author: Greg Mann *****-IRC ROLE-PLAYERS-***** If you're interested in getting into an online IRC campaign for any game, drop Greg Mann a line at: lmann@mail.netwalk.com A channel for this purpose is already created on DalNet, and Greg is looking for players and game masters. A bot is monitering the channel and provides dice rolling, social commands, security, and more. SO IF YOU'RE INTERESTED, GO AHEAD AND CONTACT GREG TO SHOW YOUR INTEREST AND GET IN A CAMPAIGN!!! Subject: PBEM Game Author: Sean Pagliarulo <71062.3412@compuserve.com) Game Master: Sean Pagliarulo Gaming System: Amber Players: 5-15 depends Number of Turns: N/A Campaign Description: Long term campaign with dedicated players, set in Corwin's new Pattern. Other Information: (I am puting the finishing touches on a text based message that can fit here when it is done (probably next week sometime). It will include the philosophy behind the setup, and other basic information so that people can decide if they are interested. Subject: MUSHES Author: Hawk MUSHes and MUDs are gaining in popularity. Some are similar to something out of a Choose Your Own Adventure book. Others provide a great Role-Playing experience. One I'd like to bring to your attention is the Shadowrun MUSH. It is by far the best I have seen. There is a strong emphasis on Role-Playing, and less on actual combat. This is partly because you must have a good Background for your character, and get approved by the staff. If you play Shadowun, or like the idea of an awakened futuristic-world, this is a must try! It is located at shadowrun.dnaco.net port: 4201 . They also have a website located at http://www.dnaco.net/~shadow/ . -Hawk (hawk@tcd.net) Subject: Dragon*Con Author: Dragon*Con is a multi-genre science fiction convention which crosses over into fantasy, gaming, and comics, with broad ranges which extend from books, art, and film to computers, special effects, and music. Our 1996 convention will take place June 20-23, 1996 at the Atlanta Hilton and Towers, Westin Peachtree Plaza Hotel, and the Atlanta Civic Center. Over 300 featured Guests include: Mark Hamill - Star Wars' Luke Skywalker and star of Origin Systems' Wing Commander series David Prowse - Star Wars' Darth Vader Vincent Perez - Star of the forthcoming The Crow: City of Angels Timothy Leary - Pop cultural icon Donald Schmitt - UFO Crash at Roswell Investigator and Author John Kricfalusi - Animator and Creator of Ren & Stimpy Kevin Smith - Writer / Director of Clerks and Mallrats Richard "Lord British" Garriott - Creator of the Ultima games Al Feldstein - Creator of Mad Magazine and Tales from the Crypt Steve Sansweet - Ambassador to Lucasfilm Joseph Peter Hale - NASA Virtual Reality Director Richard Hatch - Battlestar Galactica's Apollo Mark Goddard - Lost in Space's Major Don West Lloyd Kaufman - President of Troma Films Writers / Editors include: Kevin J. Anderson - X-Files and Star Wars Bestselling Author and Editor C.J. Cherryh - Multiple Hugo Winning Author of Cuckoo's Egg and Cyteen Storm Constantine - British Author of the Wraeththu Trilogy Charles L. Grant - Author of two X-Files and many Horror Novels Patricia Kennealy-Morrison - Author of the Keltiad series and Strange Days Rudy Rucker - Cyberpunk Forefather crossing SF, Science, and Math R.A. Salvatore - Bestselling Author of The Legacy and The Halfling's Gem R.U. Sirius - Founder of Mondo 2000 & author of The Cyberpunk Handbook John Shirley - Screenwriter of The Crow and VR5 and Cyberpunk Writer Michael Stackpole - Star Wars Author and Game / Computer Designer Bruce Sterling - Author, Cyberpunk and Hacker Extraordinaire Robert Anton Wilson - Illuminatus Trilogy and Schroedinger's Cat Author Comics Writers and Artists include: Chris Claremont - A decade of Uncanny X-Men and now Sovereign Seven Peter David - Top Comics Writer and Babylon 5 Screenwriter Neil Gaiman - Writer of The Sandman and Screenwriter of Neverwhere Kevin Nowlan - Artist of WildC.A.T.S. and Batman: Black and White James O'Barr - Writer, Artist, and Creator of The Crow P. Craig Russell - Artist of Darkhorse's Star Wars and Topps' Elric Mark Schultz - Writer, Artist, and Creator of Cadillacs & Dinosaurs Jeff Smith - Writer, Artist, and Creator of Bone William Stout - America's #1 Dinosaur Illustrator Charles Vess - Sandman Illustrator and Creator of Ballads and Sages Reed Waller - Writer, Artist, and Creator of Omaha, The Cat Dancer Robt. Williams - Internationally Renowned Pop Culture Artist and many, many more! Events and Activities include: Fourteen Programming Tracks (including complete tracks dedicated to: Space, Science, Writing, Star Wars, Star Trek, X-Files, Pern, Children, Queen's Own, and Filk) Huge Dealers Room (over 400 tables and booths) Costume Contest (with seating for 5,000) Tournament and Open Gaming (over 500 events) Live Role-Playing (Vampire and Dark Confrontation) Robot Battles (with Robot Wars' Mark Thorpe) Art Show and Print Shop (larger than in 1995!) Three Video Rooms (Japanimation and Psychotronic) Live Concerts and Dances (with GWAR Sat. night!) Discount hotel space is still available (at the flat rate of $93/night for 1 to 4 guests). You can zoom directly from the Atlanta Airport to Dragon*Con via Atlanta's Rapid Rail System for only $1.50. Advance Memberships are $50 for all four days ($60 at the door). Daily Memberships are available for $25 (or $20 on Sunday). 4-Day Advance Memberships may be reserved now though Ticketmaster at (404) 249-6400. Please e-mail us (digest@dragoncon.org) for your free 24-page update (delivered via first class snail) or check out our web site at: http://www.dragoncon.org For additional info, please e-mail us or contact our office, Monday - Friday from 8:30 - 5:00 at (770) 925-0115. Our 24-hour info and Fax line is (770) 623-6321. You can receive Program Book advertising info from Stuart Hellinger (sch@panix.com).