The RPG Times Feb. 1, 1997. Vol 2 Issue #2 Table of Contents: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRPS President's Note Michael Popovich (mlp26745@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu) Editorial Karen Mizeri (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca) IRPS Monthly Update Meera Barry (mabarry@xpert.net) Letters to the Editor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly Columns: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rambling Thoughts Kosala Ubayasekara (d96-kub@nada.kth.se) The Top Ten John "BJ" Tomkins (gr8dm@acronet.net) MaBarry's Amusings Meera Barry (mabarry@abwam.com) Shocalogical Observations Shocalog of Vulcan (rbarret@neo.lrun.com) Dragon Tales H.W. Brennan (bcdefghi@gte.net) The Wyrm's Vault Mark Eismendi (umeismen@cc.umanitoba.ca) Real Fantasy Bill Truglio (Llium02@sprynet.com) Incoming Thoughts Juan Camilo Rozo (jcr@geocities.com) Issues in RPG's Jason J. Neigh (dude@isrv.net) Story Tellers and World Josh Yockey (joshy@washington.edu) Builders Search for the Missing link Kayliana Taliesien (jimjen@interlog.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Role Playing Aids -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Magic - The Ultimate Love Jon Reed (jonreed@bigfoot.com) Connection The Palspar: A Weapon for Bryan E. Manahan (sidereal@epix.net) Desert Cultures Necklace of Magma Balls Jon Reed (jonreed@bigfoot.com) The Bells of Megan Alan Spencer (aspencer@northtel.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiction: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Assassins Tim Elford (shade@tusc.com.au) AND Goran Zidar (goran@elf.aust.com) So, You Want to be a Jedi James Colin Millington (raider@interlog.com) Voyage of the Ice Hawk Alan Spencer (aspencer@northtel.com) Darkstone: Davor Matijasevic (davor@result.si) The Siege of Catpaw -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Members Announcements: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: GameMasterless Roleplaying Subject: Wanted: Authors Subject: FTP Site Subject: Come and Explore the GameVerse! Subject: The Shadowrun Supplemental -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The RPG Times Staff List Guidelines for Submissions Legal Disclaimer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- President's Note Michael Popovich (mlp26745@pegasus.cc.ucf.edu) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hello and welcome again. :) If you haven't noticed already, the IRPS page has been moved to http://irps.home.ml.org and we're expecting one more move within the next two years. :) Also, the club has been going well. We've finally developed a few new officer positions to help everyone along. One of which is the PBEM Director who is held by Meera Barry (mabarry@xpert.net). If you're interested in running a PBEM and would like IRPS to advertise it on it's webpage and in the RPG Times she's the lady to E-mail. :) We've also created an External Clubs Relations Officer who deals with other clubs, acting as a liaison between other clubs and us. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Editorial Karen Mizeri (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Once again I am pleased at the response the magazine is getting and the attention it is starting to draw. Thank-you to all who took the time to submit. We are still lacking materials relevant to other systems than AD&D, anyone who is interested in writing for us should see the announcement in the "Member's Announcements" section. As well we are accepting submissions for and IRPS FTP site, anyone who would like more information can mail Bryan Manahan at (sidereal@epix.net). These submissions must meet certain guidelines, you will find these posted in last month's IRPS Update, this month's "Member's Announcements" section, or you can mail Bryan for them. As always we are holding regular meetings on Mondays at 9:30 PM EST on the nemesis.acronet.net server, the channel is #IRPS. Please feel free to drop by and say hello if you desire. Commencing this month this section will also contain an editorial. This month's has been written by Bryan E. Manahan, who is the Assistant Editor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fighting a real-life evil with fun and satire... Bryan E. Manahan, Assistant Editor in Chief, The RPG Times ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Introduction : Serious subjects sometimes need to be addressed in a way which is fun or comical in nature, or in a fantasy setting such as Disneyland, or a role playing game. This is referred to in the literary community as "satire". The following article is just this type of thing. It brings the horrors of nicotine use (tobacco) to light, but in a way that is more than "just the facts". I created this method in AD&D format; portraying the poisonous nicotine as a demon god, and showed an abstract (but very real) thing as a servant creature to this demon. It is my hopes that if young people who play AD&D are exposed to this material, and these creations are viewed as the evil villains that they portray, it will serve as a beginning to steer these young people away from using products that will destroy their health and eventually kill them. This material also can be adapted for compatibility with any other RPG. Though the format of presentation is for use with the AD&D system, the entirety of the actual material is the creation of the author. AD&D is owned and copyrighted by TSR Inc., all rights reserved. This article is not supported by TSR Inc. Nik'A'Tien (Demon Lord) Greater Power of the Abyss, CE Portfolio : Illness, Decay, Slavery Worshipers Alignment : Special Holy Symbol : Shredded Herbs (special) Nik'A'Tien is a Demon Lord whose primary purpose is to enslave anything and everything it can, to serve its foul purposes. It is the deity of desecration, decay, and illness, but first and foremost it is the demon god of slavery. To this end, it will use any tactic, form of deception, charm, force, or whatever is necessary without regard for anything but its own aims. In its true form, this demon god appears as a pale crystalline amorphous blob, however, it will generally not appear in such a form unless forced to do so. This deity is hated and opposed by deities of healing, life, good, and nature; tolerated by the deity of death; and is supported by the deities of pain, disease, destruction, decay, poison, and torture. Role Playing Notes : Worshipers of Nik'A'Tien tend to be those who have suffered some form or another of rejection, disappointment, or harm, or those who seek to impress another, though all types of people are mush welcomed into the ranks. These worshipers are lured into the flock, and once joined, are very loyal to their god and others of the faith. They tend to disregard the opinions of other, non-worshipers, especially regarding the religion of the worshiper of Nik'A'Tien. They are extremely devout, and many have been known to become hostile, and in some cases, even violent in the defense of their faith, even toward friends and family members. Worshipers use special herbs to show their allegiance to the faith. These are usually burned and the fumes inhaled (generally in large quantities, over the course of the day), or they are placed in the mouth and sucked upon. Unfortunately, the use of these herbs cause the worshiper to be slowly debilitated (-1 to each Strength, Constitution and Charisma for every 4 years of use), by a rotting disease, which is fatal in 95% of all cases. The disease affects all internal organs (some more than others) of the user, and reaches the terminal stage in 10 to 60 years. In addition, the use of these herbs causes the user to emit a vile stench (which the user cannot detect, but others can) which reduces the Charisma by 4. Each worshiper also receives a personal Adix-Shen, to be his or her companion and encouragement in matters of the faith. (See monster description afterward.) Some of the followers of this deity discover the destruction that worshiping it causes, and seek to denounce it. In order for a worshiper of Nik'A'Tien to change to a different patron deity, however, the worshiper must first kill their personal Adix-Shen (see below). Once the worshiper is successful, Charisma lost to the herb stench is regained by the character in 8 to 10 days, and strength and constitution are regained at a rate of 1 point each per 4 years. Charisma lost to the disease is permanent. Nik'A'Tien's Avatar Nik'A'Tien is rarely known to send an avatar, preferring instead to watch its clerics spread the faith. The avatar does however, appear to those worshipers considered most faithful who are at the moment of death. For these devout worshipers, the avatar appears as an exact replica of the worshiper, in perfect health, which then, before the senses of the dying worshiper, degenerates into a horrifying mass of disease, decay, and putrefying flesh. Cleric 20/Fighter 20/Magic User 20/Thief 20 Str 20 Int 20 MV var AC -10 AT special Dex 20 Wis 20 SZ var HD 70 THAC0 special Con 20 Cha 20 MR 100% HP 440 DM special The avatar of Nik'A'Tien is not known to enter combat; it simply collects the souls of its followers. The Priesthood : Clerics of Nik'A'Tien Clerics are a special form of worshiper. It is the job of the priest- hood to convert as many people as possible to the faith of Nik'A'Tien. These clerics will use any tactic that they can in order to achieve this goal. All clerics of Nik'A'Tien are highly skilled in manipulation, selective interpretation, euphemism and euphemization, and covert activities. Many clerics are also charged with the distribution of free samples of their herbs of worship', and the unabashed promotion of their dark religion. Priestly Vestments : No special clothing is worn by these priests for formal religious ceremonies. Ability Score Requirements : Strength 3 Dexterity 3 Constitution 3 Intelligence 3 Wisdom Less than 15 Charisma 3 Races Allowed : All Cleric's Alignment : Neutral Evil Non-weapon Proficiencies Required : none Recommended : none Crossover Groups : Cleric, General Armor Allowed : Any Weapons Allowed : Any Magic Items Allowed : as cleric Spheres of Influence Major : All, Charm, Necromantic (Reverse only) Minor : Divination, Healing (Reverse only) Special Spells : Granted Powers : Enthrall, once per day; this enables the cleric to use the ability to help convert worshipers. Unholy Rage; this power gives the cleric +3 to hit and +6 to damage when invoked, however, this power is only usable against those who oppose the cleric's religion. Enhanced visage; this enables the cleric to appear healthy and able, even when suffering from debilitating diseases. This is effective until the disease reaches severe stage, when it is no longer able to be concealed. Adix-Shen (Minor Demon) ------------------------ CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any FREQUENCY: Common ORGANIZATION: None ACTIVITY CYCLE: Unlimited DIET: Special INTELLIGENCE: Special TREASURE: Nil ALIGNMENT: Neutral Evil NO. APPEARING: one per victim ARMOR CLASS: -10 MOVEMENT: Special HIT DICE: 65 THAC0: Special NO. OF ATTACKS: Special DAMAGE/ATTACK: Special SPECIAL ATTACKS: Charm, Delude SPECIAL DEFENSES: Shape Change MAGIC RESISTANCE: 95% SIZE: Special MORALE: 19 (Fanatical) XP VALUE: Special Appearance: An Adix-Shen, in its true form, is a horrifying and repulsive creature of extensive proportion. It is so repugnant that the sight of it causes viewers to save versus magic or be affected as if by a symbol of pain, fear, or hopelessness, depending upon the nature of the viewer. Normally, the Adix-Shen uses its shape change ability to appear as an inoffensive, kind, and attractive being (always when dealing with the human or humanoid to whom it has been appointed). Combat: The Adix-Shen does not enter combat readily. It is invulnerable to all attacks made by anyone except for the creature to which it was assigned. When confronted, it can use any and all of the following effects as per the appropriate spell : - charm person, once per round - demand, once per turn - emotion, once per round (versus enemies : hate, hopelessness, sadness; versus their victim: friendship, courage, hate) - shape change, once per round In general, it will use these powers to deceive and charm the assigned creature into accepting it as a trusted friend. Once this occurs, the Adix-Shen continues to use the powers of emotion and demand upon its victim to enslave the creature to its will, all the while, deceiving the victim into believing that it is harmless, and is a friend. As the relationship progresses, the Adix-Shen begins to erode the victim's willpower (-1 to Wisdom per 6 months, and -1 to Intelligence per 2 years of time passage under the effects of this demon). This is subvert on the part of the Adix-Shen, and it uses all of its powers to the fullest to keep the victim from discovering the debilitation it causes. If the victim's friends or family attempt to point out the true nature of the demon, it will immediately begin using its demand and emotion abilities to cause the victim to become hostile and defensive toward these people. If necessary, it will force the afflicted character to reject their friends and loved ones, or to become violent. Under the effects of this demon, the character's alignment slowly changes to Neutral Evil. Should a victim discover and believe that this evil creature is destroying him or her, and wish to be freed from its effects, they must make a wisdom check (+4 bonus if the character's friends encourage the character, assuming that the victim hasn't driven them all off under the influence of the Adix-Shen). If the character makes the check, then he or she gets an immediate saving throw to escape the charm effect of the demon. Note that the Adix-Shen will do everything in its power to reenslave and deceive the victim, and so several checks and saving throws over the course of the combat may be necessary. An Adix-Shen is immune to non-magical weapons, and magical weaponry do not gain their magical bonuses versus these creatures. As noted above, the only character which can fight the Adix-Shen is the one who it was assigned; the attacks from any other character will have no effect, even if the weapons used are magical. Even in combat, the Adix-Shen will take no physical action; it will constantly utilize its deceptive abilities to convince the character to be its friend and companion again. If the character successfully kills the Adix-Shen, he or she will begin to gravitate back toward his or her original alignment. Habitat/Society: The Adix-Shen is a solitary being, and only associates freely with the creature to which it is assigned. Its purpose is to encourage the creature and guide it toward the purpose of the being which assigned it. Ecology: The Adix-Shen is not a normal creature and has no place in the natural world. It feeds on the willpower and life force of the creature to which it was appointed. Variants: The Adix-Shen serves many gods. (One of note is the demon god Nik'A'Tien). They all perform in a similar manner, and have similar abilities. ------------- "Tobacco is the only product that, when used as the manufacturer intends, causes the death of the user." == The former "Marlboro Man" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRPS Update Meera Barry (mabarry@xpert.net) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minutes old into the job of IRPS PBeM director, I'm already trying to shake things up and get things started. In the project bin is a redesign of the IRPS PBeM webpage, including redevelopment of what is offered there (games, resources, opportunities) and a restructuring of the little details. I am open to announcements of PBeMs, their URLs, lurker opportunities, and additional pages you think might be of use or are just plain interesting. Contact should be made by e-mailing: (mabarry@xpert.net) More news next month! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters to the Editor -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Letters to the Editor: Please note that The RPG Times accepts letters to the editor. All letters will be published unless they become so voluminous that this is impossible, or they are inappropriate. These can be directed to (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca) and should be submitted by the fifteenth of the month to be published in the upcoming issue, which is released the first of the month. The content should be relative to role- playing or IRPS in some manner, and we do will not publish letters which may cause us legal troubles. We reserve the right to edit any letters which are submitted for length, content, and clarity. Thanks, Karen Mizeri, Editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Monthly Columns: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rambling Thoughts Kosala Ubayasekara (d96-kub@nada.kth.se) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- World Building - A Primer A few adventures in the fantasy worlds created by the professional game companies is often enough to get a glimpse of the great detail and depth of their creations. It is not long after this realization that most DM's consider trying their hand at creating their own worlds and realms. The usual hindrance is not knowing where to start and which parts to detail. Having started to gradually document my own world, I thought I might share some of the troubles I ran into and my solutions for avoiding them. The part that is often most difficult to do is finding the motivation to begin the planning. The budding world-builder-to-be is often tempted to leap right into it, and hope for the best. However the best results are reached with some initial planning. With the benefit of hindsight, I have put together the following checklist as an aid to all those people who set out to create their own fantasy worlds. a) Decide on what kind of a world it will be. Will it be similar to any existing fantasy or known game worlds? If so in what way? Is the terrain earth-like or something new? How big will the world be approximately? How much of the world is land? What terrain types are prominent? What kind of races will inhabit the world? b) Create a basic map At this stage you are looking only to create a general sketch showing the boundaries of the land and the most prominent landscapes. Make sure that you make a note of the largest cities, large bodies of water, continents and major roads. Name these features if you can come up with any suitable names. c) Now you are ready for some details Create the details for the races and most prominent inhabitants. Detail flora and fauna generally. Make notes of areas that suffer frequent natural/un-natural disasters, most prominent seasons, weather changes Decide upon a calendar Create a short history. Create a time line and place the most prominent historical events on the line. Make sure the historical moments you detail are realistically put together. In real life every moment of history has it's reasons and all major events have other events leading up to it, and in turn results in new events. When planning wars and battles remember to consider the repercussions of their outcomes. d) Detail the histories, governments, social and political life and other relevant details of the major cities. e) Create a mythology and pantheon if applicable f) Draw an improved and updated version of your map. Now you have the general framework of your world built. From now on adding greater detail to the sections developed above, is mostly what remains. The trouble is knowing when you have enough detail. Bare in mind that in creating realistic fantasy worlds, it is enough to suspend the reader's disbelief to get him/her to accept the feasibility of your world. So include at least enough detail to convince yourself that your creation is believable. What you do after that then becomes optional. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Top Ten John "BJ" Tomkins (gr8dm@acronet.net) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cyrus Lenn's Top Ten List To Ten List of Completely Useless Magic Items 10. The Wand of Poking 9. The Ring of Flatulence Detection 8. Nogwood's Smelly ointment 7. The Belt of Trouser Holding 6. The Boots of Bunion Reduction 5. Albie's Orbs of Detect Trees 4. The Bracers of Chaffing 3. The Amazing Olie-Swen's Black Iron Pot of Lutefisk Concoction 2. The Quill of Blotchy Writing And the number one Completely Useless Magic Item; 1. Murkatoes Magical Coat Hanger -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MaBarry's Amusings Meera Barry (mabarry@abwam.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pushing Buttons If there's ever made an icon for "ultimate cosmic power," I think it should look like a small red button. Red, because for humans, it's an attention color, and a button because the possibilities of what goes behind a button are nearly endless. To press a button is to conquer the fear of the unknown. The more cautious adventurers never press buttons. Especially bright red buttons that look dangerous. While buttons normally shed no aura of fear, it is insinuated that buttons DO something. Something that, perhaps, is irrevocable. Something that may change everything, forever. Something that MAY get us out of this stupid dungeon, but since it also MAY open up a pit beneath our feet, we want to avoid it and stay healthy. Click. The button IS the adventure. If you press the shiny blue one, will it make a monster appear? Will it make the crystal light up and create a beam that disintegrates whatever is in its path? Will it move a wall, turn the pedestal and reveal a secret door? Will it do nothing except click, letting the fevered imaginations of the seasoned adventurer tense in sharp paranoia? GM's listen closely: the button is your tool. You can place a button nearly anywhere. On the upraised left foot of the statue of 'Molivus, the Quick', or in the corner right next to the door, hidden in shadow. It could be a magical connection; pushing it ignites a rune that wreaks mayhem and destruction upon the adventuring party. Perhaps it rings God's doorbell. Or even worse, perhaps it starts a room-sized conveyor belt that leads to the first of six hundred some levels of Hades. Buttons fit in almost every setting. Cyberpunk campaigns take note: buttons are fashionable. Almost every part of the body could be rigged with buttons. They're almost inevitable in both TOON and Paranoia. While I haven't yet put many buttons into Pendragon, maybe it explains some of the more mysterious ways Merlin has about the castles. Buttons in HoL...well, let's just NOT GO THERE. They don't have to look like buttons, either. They can be torch sconces, horseshoes, tattoos, flower petals, stone tablets, or model race cars, with just a little imagination. Trigger items; one of my favorites was in an unpublished GURPS horror scenario. It was a pressure plate on a toilet seat, that made a latex head on the bathroom door start to open its mouth and moan from a recording. Buttons made of buttons are another great tool. Sure, it looks like you're fastening your clothing, but really you're triggering the magical recording device that will defeat the nefarious mastermind. But wait, did you activate the wrong one, the one that serves tripe to your little dog? Edible buttons, magical buttons, Beavis and buttons...er, skip that last. They're trying to starve you, but you have lembas buttons. The spell meant to make your life more inconvenient is stopped by your trenchcoat button of resist magic. The bullet flying towards your heart ricochets off your kevlar button. And what better way to say "I love you," than by sewing a button of undying affection on the hankerchief of your champion? Or by implanting a button on the bottom of the eye that flashes "Mary loves Bill" every time Cyborg Bill blinks? Buttons are the ultimate wand of wonder; there is no limit to the events that could take place, started simply by the push of a button. I have only begun to illuminate the possibilities. So, for this month, I'm buttoning up. Next month's musing: crowning glories. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shocalogical Observations Shocalog of Vulcan (rbarret@neo.lrun.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I once presumed that role-players, though often illogical, had triumphed over their cultural upbringing by abolishing holidays altogether. After reading the feature article by Bill Truglio in the January 1997 issue of RPG Times, I now realize I was mistaken. However, Mr. Truglio advocated incorporating holidays into fantasy RPG's for adding the element of reality into the game. He envisioned numerous seasonal festivals and fairs, to facilitate commerce in a rural society, and to accommodate the human need to socialize. Such attention to anthropologic detail is to be commended. He also suggested practical occasions for large gatherings, such as to exterminate the dangerous creatures that live in the area before they grow to dangerous proportions. In the same issue of RPG Times, an article by Irving Galvez described the culture of the Black Lizardmen, including their holidays. The Black Lizardmen appear more logical than humans, as most of their festivals are connected with economic activity or historic anniversaries. The glaring exception is Death Night Crisom Day: Similar to the real world Halloween day. Perhaps even this has an economic function, to promote the candy industry and the profession of dentistry. Every Black Lizardmen holiday is held on the same date each year, even the celebration of the gradual process of domesticating wild animals. This demonstrates a respect for precision that humans generally lack. This quest for precision appears to have brought about a harmonization of their planets motions with their 336-day calendar, which makes no provision for leap-years. This is truly a remarkable achievement. To determine whether role-players are more logical in their approach to holidays than North Americans in general, I attempted to gather more data. This was more difficult than anticipated, but the available data did allow a few conclusions. I will continue my examination of holidays in RPG's before considering the American calendar. The planet Darkanthia, in the AD&D campaign world of NightCrystal created by Alex CarMichal, contains nine major holidays combining seasonal, religious, and historical celebrations. Two examples will suffice to illustrate my generalizations about the scenario. I was warned not to quote from any commercially published RPG materials, as numerous lawyers are lurking to snare the unwary. FEAST OF DEATH -- Held on Talas 16th. This holiday was created by the Perdition after he appeared on Darkanthia. On this day, he demands offerings of valuables from the populace (over and above the normal amount he takes from them). Gladiatorial fights are held in the cities for amusement, and one female virgin (chosen by lot) from each region must be sent to the Perdition's fortress in the DragonHorn mountains for some unholy purpose. This day is also called the Day of Misery by most (not in the presence of anyone who's pro- Perdition) for this is the day that the Phaedra created the rift that allowed the Perdition to take over. FESTIVAL OF CREATION -- Generally held from the 2nd to the 8th of Narif, immediately following Belmass on the first. This holiday celebrates the creation of the universe, and more specifically the creation of all good creatures on Darkanthia. Because of this, the One God is held in special reverence. There is often a large arts & crafts festival where tinkerers and skilled inventors can show off their latest creations. Like many holidays, food, drink, and dance are plenty. On the seventh day of the festival, offerings are made to Kerne and Aradra, and hymns are sung in their honor. An evil entity called the Perdition has ruled Darkanthia for over 60 years, and seeks to suppress the eight traditional holidays that do not honor itself. Citizens therefore celebrate in the privacy of their homes, though public events can be held in the smaller villages. This elaborate scenario appears to emphasize anthropological detail in the Truglish tradition, with traditional festivities described down to the colors of the decorative ribbons. The length and width of the ribbons were not specified, but I expect this oversight will soon be corrected. Alex CarMichal informed me that the Players Guide for NightCrystal is being expanded, and when finished will have over 150 pages. Mr. CarMichal can be reached at . Other than weddings, the only festival that changes dates is an alignment of the 11 planets that recurs each 236 years. The inhabited planet Darkanthia revolves around the Bloodstar in exactly 448 days, and this precision is attributed to the wisdom of the One God. The solar calendar has 14 months of 32 days each, with eight days per week. This longer week makes Darkanthians 14% more productive than humans on Earth. The AD&D - World of Greyhawk has a 364-day calendar with 12 months of exactly 28 days each, plus four seasonal festivals of exactly 7 days each. This universe appears very precise and practical. The AD&D - Forgotten Realms calendar has 12 months and a special day between each set of 3 months, giving four festivals a year. This planet requires a leap day each four years, which is added after the Midsummer special day and is called Shieldmeet. The reference book The History of Dragonlance is said to include 15 pages of descriptions of holidays. Though I was unable to find this volume at the local public library, a kind correspondent informed me of three sample holidays. On Year Day, or Mark Year, superstitious Dwarves use melted lead to predict the future. This day is celebrated between the last day of the old year and the first day of the new, and it is not counted as a day of the week. Difficulties with the calendar explain why melted lead is used in place of the equally illogical horoscope system. I presume that none of the other races on the planet are superstitious, since only the Dwarves were mentioned. Dark Day, the anniversary of the Cataclysm on January 3, is a traditional day of reflection. Reflection is logical if it leads to improved efficiency. Traditional activities such as telling tales, singing songs, and observing an oath of silence may aid in reflection. Another tradition, wearing black, is useful to absorb heat from the sun during the cold of winter. Such logical people would presumably also wear white for festivals during the hot summer. Harnkeggerfest is celebrated by Dwarves from February 9 to 13. The ceremonial position of Harnkegger is awarded to a Dwarf who works conspicuously hard. All Dwarves work without cease between Yule and this festive week. Humans have much to learn from their example. Celebrations involve games, contests, drinking ale, and eating twisted hardbreads called frawlen. Often the overindulgers call out, "I've frawlen and I can't get up!" From the limited data available, I conclude that Dragonlance is a very logical universe, as are NightCrystal, Greyhawk, and the precise planet the Black Lizardmen inhabit. Forgotten Realms presents a puzzle, as beings subject to memory lapses generally exhibit illogical behavior as well. Without additional data on the nature of the holidays, no conclusion can be drawn. In general, I find that role-players employ a great deal of logic when designing solar calendars and devising useful holidays for the inhabitants of their worlds to celebrate. I find it significant that holidays are always celebrated on the same date each year. Contrast the RPG pattern with the humans of North America who observe three types of holidays: anniversaries, stable magic days, and moving magic days. Consider the following data: 1. Anniversaries recognize historic events or the birth or death dates of historic figures. 2. Anniversaries always recur on the same date of the solar calendar. By good planning, no historic births or deaths ever occurred on February 29. This demonstrates the advanced intelligence of historic figures, and their worthiness of admiration. Black History Month is always in February, so I presume it celebrates an anniversary. 3. Stable magic days always recur on the same date. Examples include New Years Day, Groundhog Day, and Halloween. I was unable to verify when or if Black Magic Month is celebrated. 4. Moving magic days change each year to extend a weekend. This is done in order that humans may placidly ponder the significance of the day without the distraction of work. Only low-status laborers, such as professional athletes, are forced to work on such days. Recently, I observed the needless and costly social and economic disruption that occurred when Christmas was celebrated on December 25. This date fell on a Wednesday, in the center of the work week. The next Wednesday, New Years Day was celebrated, repeating the disruption. The logical alternative would be to observe these holidays on Monday. 5. Over centuries, anniversaries tend to become moving magic days, as the mythic significance of the hero overshadows the facts of history. Examples from the distant past include George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Christopher Columbus, and Martin Luther King. February typifies the transformation of historical anniversaries into mythic celebrations. The birthdays of two men (perhaps three, if President Groundhog is included), on the 12th and the 22nd, were combined into a single long-weekend magic day. According to contemporary accounts, both were important military leaders, intent on preserving the status quo by any means necessary. Over time, they were imbued with mythic power, and attributed with outstanding vision for the future, integrity, compassion, and other moral values. This elaboration upon history is most puzzling. I can not comprehend the logic of repeating a spurious tale about a cherry tree in order to instruct children in the value of honesty. However, the consumption of abnormal amounts of cherry pie every February indirectly subsidizes the sour cherry industry, with positive economic results. Perhaps this aspect of promoting agricultural products explains the persistence of so many illogical magic days. If so, I am unable to ascertain the proper menu item for Groundhog Day. 6. As a moving magic day, Election Day also commands mythic power. As I understand it, adults visit schools to present a ritual offering to the State. Children are thus taught that the State is the center of life and the source of all civilization and goodness. In preparation for this sacred ceremony, myths are told about living politicians. The proper menu item is bologna. I must continue my research to verify that President Groundhog was an actual historic figure. I find it plausible that the illogical Electoral College system could elect a rodent on occasion. I will now present some conclusions based on the above data. Magic days celebrate the illogical and miraculous. Examples include the life-long love of parents for their children, a plague that respected birth order, an oil lamp that burned a week longer than expected, a virgin birth, the death of an immortal being, a successful revolt against a powerful empire, and a president/ rodent that predicts weather. I do not imply that such miracles could not have happened. I only maintain that dwelling on them is not logical. This may be taken as evidence of serious flaws in the thinking of most humans. However, another interpretation of magic days offers a degree of hope. The human impulse to exert control over events may transform unpredictable miracles into predictable holidays. The wonder and fear can thus be contained in a single day, and forgotten for the rest of the year. Rather than serving to perpetuate irrational emotions, such holidays may represent a logical attempt to abolish them. This would ultimately result in a completely logical society, as we enjoy on Vulcan. The magic day of Halloween is dedicated to vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and assorted frightening humanoids. The general public assumes erroneously that such beings do not exist. Thinking about them is limited to a single day, in preparation for the future abolishment of the whole business. This pattern is repeated in the confinement of romantic love to Valentines Day. In contrast, role-players celebrate the historic contributions of paranormal humanoids every day of the year. Knowing that romantic love is an irrational illusion, they have banished it from RPG'S, where they conduct personal relations on a strict cost-benefit basis. Both examples illustrate the progress of role-players beyond the emotional magic day observances of the common people. It appears that a major function of holidays is to extend the attention span of school children. Most are almost ignored by adults, except to the extent that their own children are involved in the festivities. This would be a sign of cultural advancement, were it not for the new holidays created to replace those being forgotten. Examples of holidays of recent origin include First Female Prime Minister Day, Martin Luther King Day, Sadie Hawkins Day, Superbowl Sunday, JFK Death Day, Nixon Resignation Day, Element 110 Discovery Day, Bass Steal Day, Berlin Wall Falling Down Day, Free Fishing Day, Elvis Death Day, Sweeps Week, March Madness Week, Rwanda Death Week, Be Kind To Animals Week, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Week, Cuban Missile Crisis Week, and President Clintons Second Inaugural Address Week. If the celebration of new holidays for historic events is any indication of the rate of human progress, this impartial observer is not impressed. However, I find cause for hope in the relatively advanced attitude toward holidays displayed in RPG'S. I offer this as evidence that role-players are an advanced sub-culture and worthy of my continued efforts to instruct them in the practice of logic. Live Long and Prosper. Shocalog -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dragon Tales H.W. Brennan (bcdefghi@gte.net) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The New Breed Many new breeds are out there, but the one I want to tell you about are the vampires. They are the most secretive bunch so far. When you hear "vampire" you think of fangs, Dracula, old cheap movies with hardly any good scenes, stakes through the heart, and about anything that goes with them. I hope I give you more things to think about, like this article. Think of mist, horror, and death. A shadow in the dark. You run and run, but it always seems to be right behind you. Don't stop! Run! F aster! The street is cold and you feel death on your heels. Wait, now it is in front of you. The shadow covers you like a mother with her baby. It jumps roof to roof looking at you. You know what it is, but it can't be! The shadow disappears into the moonlight. You turn a corner and stop. You breathe hard. Its gone, but for how long? You look up, it's...RIGHT ON TOP OF YOU! It holds you down the sharp fangs bite into you. Now you're sure what it is: a Vampire! It licks your bite and the mark is gone. It walks away, wiping off the blood from your neck to its coat. Your eyes shut but you try to open them. It is to late. Good bye . . . . Vampires have many different clans. Some of the vampires are as mad as dogs. Some hide in the shadows and talk only to you. But every clan follows these rules: Never leave evidence at your kills. Always lick the spot you bite to make the mark go away. Fire can kill you, so keep away from a burning house. Light can kill you. Stakes may not kill you, but they do take over some of your magic; well, a lot of it any way. Priest can only hurt you with a cross if they are filled with the faith. (And many other things that could hurt or kill you.) Many vampires fight an internal battle. Take the Malkavians (vampires from the clan malkav). They are cursed with madness. It is good to make vampires Malkavian that were mad even when they were humans. Its called the Malkav Curse. Many vampires hurt because they wish to end their life of darkness. Some suffer from love, lost in death. Others face the darkness of killing to live. Oh! I almost forgot the name of the game vampires play in is "Vampires". The games take place in modern time. In 1997! Cool?! And if a vampire or vampyre doesn't like playing in the future, they play in D&D or AD&D. Some people in D&D and AD&D use different names and characters when they role play on the net. The vampires of "Vampire" don't, they use the same name and character. Vampires in "Vampires" aren't too far beyond reality; like thinking that they are a vampire. But sadly some go that far in "Vampires", D&D, and AD&D or any other games. Why do they think they are these characters on a cardboard box? Maybe their lives aren't as fun as their character's? Please, if you are almost there or know someone that is, try to stop yourself or that person from playing, before it is too late. I'm sorry. No more preaching. Back to the report! Vampires became vampires for many reasons. Maybe they just wanted to be one, or their maker likes them, loves them, or need them to build their vampire kingdom. Their makers want them to suffer the same way they do. These are good reasons, however, they really don't need a reason. Their makers or masters are all different. Some never tell them anything to help them with their character, but a lot do. The only reason their makers don't tell them anything is because they never knew them! There are many cuts on the stone in becoming a vampire. It is nothing like being a D&D or AD&D character. You're in modern time so you have to have money, a place to stay, and a lot of other stuff. Its pretty hard, but as long as you have a good master and you look throughout the Internet and book stores for things about vampires, you can figure it out. Almost everything came from Anne Rice's (the author) idea of a vampire. You have to drink blood of a human. Dogs, cats, birds, and rats are all good to feast on, but don't give you as much strength as you need. Try not to drink the blood of a changeling, mage, and werewolf or any thing with magic. The side-effects could be deadly. That's pretty much all I can tell you. If you wish to be a vampire look on the net and in bookstores. I would like your input on this. So could you e-mail me? Thank You. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Wyrm's Vault Mark Eismendi (umeismen@cc.umanitoba.ca) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Player's Option: Spells & Magic Review When I first saw this book on the shelf of my local gaming-supply store several months ago, my thoughts went instantly to the Tome of Magic. I paid it little attention, figuring it to be yet another book that adds a couple of wizard kits, some proficiencies, and of course, as if any more were needed, more spells. When I returned about a month ago, having read the Player's Option: Skills & Powers and some of the PO: Combat & Tactics, I had a little money to spend (well, not really but hey it's gaming...), so I picked it up and read the description on the inside of the cover: "The final book in the Player's Option series adds dozens of options for your wizard and priest characters." Yeah what's new, I thought to myself --"including new specialist wizards, new priest classes," ..interesting.. "expanded character creation rules," ..impressive, most impressive.. "an optional spell point system" ..Jackpot!!.. "and critical hits for spells," ..???.. "and more than 50 brand new spells!" ..Doh! I instantly flipped the book over and read the description on the back: "..., new options for designing spell casters, an alternative system of gaining and using spells... ". I walked up to the counter, slammed down the book, and handed the gentleman my bank card. Well here I am, a month later, feeling a great sense of joy and relief. The PO: S&M covers many issues my fellow role- players and I have been concerned with in recent years. The introduction of the book briefly discusses the scarcity and mystery of magic in a campaign. Are wizards common, and integrated into society? Are they feared and shunned? Are most holy men 0-level priests and does anyone with clerical powers hold high rank in the church, or are all priests rewarded by their deities, with healing spread throughout the land? It is up to the Dungeon Master to determine a suitable level of magic (both of wizards and priests), when creating a campaign. The introduction proposes several excellent questions any DM should ask themselves when starting a new campaign. Chapter one analyzes the wizard character class, potentially the most important one in the AD&D game. It is magic that creates much of the mystery and suspense in a campaign world, not to mention wondrous items and artifacts which can be the basis of any adventure. First discussed are the schools of magic wielded by magic users of all sorts. The standard eight schools of spells; Abjuration, Alteration, Conjuration/Summoning, Greater Divination, Illusion/Phantasm, Invocation/ Evocation, and Necromancy, have been dubbed the schools of philosophy. These remain generally unchanged, except that the sub-school of Lesser Divination has been expanded to create a ninth school: Universal Magic. This includes a number of spells which all wizards should have access to. The other change is that the divination spells from Lesser Divination have been combined with those of Greater Divination to form a single Divination school. The second organization of schools are the schools of effect. While schools of philosophy are based on the principle of the spell, these are formed according to effect. The schools of effect are: Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Force, Shadow, and Dimensional Magic. The third and final types of schools are schools of thaumaturgy. These include the schools of Song, Alchemy, Geometry, Artifice, and Wild Magic. The schools of thaumaturgy are based upon the method by which the spells are employed. As noted in the Player's Option: Spells & Magic, without the Tome of Magic, the school of Wild Magic should be ignored. With these new schools of magic, new specialist wizards can be born. This brings to life the many unique and exotic magic users in fantasy literature. Players can create characters in the image of any of their favorite wizards born from the many TSR worlds and other fantasy authors. The creation of these specialists is fully detailed in Chapter one, including ability requirements, opposite schools, and new optional class abilities (for all wizards) to be added to those in the Player's Option: Skills & Powers. Five types of priest are described for use in any campaign setting: the Cleric, Crusader, Druid, Monk, and Shaman. Cleric: these defenders of faith often guard places of worship with good fighting skills and a large variety of spells. Crusader: they are closely related to clerics, except that where clerics are defenders, crusaders are offensive weapons against enemies of faith. The soldier-like priests are well trained for combat, and have spells appropriate for the battlefield. Druid: defenders of nature, druids' ability with spells and powers compensate for their lack of combat skill. Monk: these holy-men of enlightenment are strong in mind and spirit. They excel in unarmed combat and wield several unusual spheres. Shaman: these priests of nomadic tribes can effectively wield spell and staff, but their true power lies in their command of spirits. Full details are given for the generation of these character classes. New optional class abilities are also provided for the customization of priest characters, including spell-like powers, and immunities to disease and energy drain. Chapter three is focused on the other spell-casters, such as the bard, ranger, and multi-class characters. A few optional class abilities are listed for the bard, paladin, and ranger, as well as restrictions on the selection of class abilities for multi-class spellcasters. Spellcasting monsters and creatures with spell-like abilities are also briefly discussed in this chapter. Chapter four introduces new non-weapon proficiencies for wizards and priests. A total of seventeen wizard proficiencies and sixteen priest proficiencies are listed along with fully detailed descriptions. There are several useful ones of each type, such as concentration, mental resistance, omen reading, and undead lore; but many simply flesh out the arduous tasks of the dedicated classes. Examples are: bookbinding, glassblowing, administration, and scribe. All proficiencies are listed for both styles of play (slots and check modifiers -Eeck!, and character points and base scores). A new use for character points, or proficiency slots, are signature spells. Signature spells are like weapon specialization to a warrior; a wizard who is extremely adept at the casting of a particular spell. Acquiring signature spells: Signature spells require much more effort and dedication from a wizard than specialization does a warrior, but the benefit is that a wizard may have one signature spell per spell level. When choosing a signature spell, it must be one the spellcaster already knows. Specialists can only choose spells from their appropriate school. Once chosen, the wizard must research all elements and aspects of the spell. They must spend a minimum of two weeks studying and 1d10 X 100gp per spell level to attempt to master the enchantment, and must successfully roll a learn spell check to succeed (specialists receive their spell research bonus). Failing does not result in the loss of character points (or slots). Signature-spell effects: The wizard effectively casts the spell as if he were two levels higher in regards to range, damage, duration, etc.. If the spell has no level-based characteristics, the spellcaster can apply a -2 penalty to the recipient's saving throw, or can reduce the casting time by 3. The second benefit of learning a signature spell is the wizard's ability to memorize one casting of the spell at no cost. For example, a 1st-level mage, normally allowed one first level spell, could choose his signature spell, say detect magic, and could still spend his slot to memorize a sleep spell. Note that a 1st-level specialist could effectively be casting three first level spells if applying signature and bonus spells. Chapter five describes the equipment of spellcasters. It closely details the building and outfitting of wizard laboratories and libraries. Details about the construction and material costs, the time needed, and the level of magic produced are all given, along with information about priests' altars, used for creation of holy items. Spell components are evaluated in great detail, from usability, to cost, to scarcity. Three pages long is the list of spell components, from common to exotic, reminiscent of the Player's Handbook weapons list. Also covered is the place in an AD&D campaign for alchemists, herbalists, and apothecaries. Chapter six is where the true treasure in this tome lies. The chapter is titled "Magic". Magic in any AD&D campaign is mystical, mysterious, and exhilarating. However, the system by which it is employed in AD&D has never truly given justice to the wonder and fantasy of magic. Most campaign worlds in literature put to use their own systems of spellcasting, from physical and mental exhaustion on the world of Krynn, to the energy-tapping defilers and preservers of Athas. Rather than subscribing to one of these methods, AD&D has always followed a simple line with little or no rewards and hindrances, and worse yet, no imagination. This chapter of text redefines all that. A new spell point system is introduced, (as I'm sure most of us DM's have tried to create on our own), with five different magic styles which can be applied to it. Spell Point System : Originally, wizards and priests are limited to how many spells of each level they can cast. Once cast, the spell vanishes from memory. The spell point system, with a few restrictions, give more flexibility to the spellcaster when selecting spells to memorize. Restrictions: (1) - the wizard must be well-rested and have access to his spell books in order to memorize spells. He still may memorize only those spells that he knows and has available at that time. It takes about 10 minutes per spell level to commit a spell to memory. (2) - the wizard is limited in the maximum spell level he may cast, based on his character level (and possibly his intelligence score). For example, a 5th-level wizard is still limited to spells of 3rd-level or lower. (3) - the wizard is limited in the maximum number of spells of each level that he can memorize, regardless of how many spell points he has available; for example, a 5th-level mage can't memorize more than four spells of any given spell level. Even 1st-level spells are difficult to memorize, and a wizard can't have more than nine spells of any one level in his memory, no matter how many spell points he has available. Spell Selection: There are two types of spells a wizard can memorize: fixed magic and free magic. When a magic user selects which spell to memorize, he is selecting a fixed magic. All basic systems of AD&D spellcasting utilize fixed magic. Using the spell point system introduces free magic. At the cost of more SP's, a wizard can select a free magic and does not have to choose the exact spell of that level that he wishes to cast. When the time comes, the wizard can cast any spell of that level he normally has access to. Just like fixed magic, once cast the spell is erased from the wizard's memory. There are several optional ways to spend SP'S, ( note these are optional rules, not necessary for use of spell point system). If the DM allows, the wizard may cast spells of a higher level than he normally is allowed. These have to learned as normal. Magic users can overcharge their spells by applying extra SP'S, for greater results. By applying an additional 50% of the SP cost to the spell (fixed magics only), the wizard can increase the effective casting level by one. A character cannot invest more than four levels (200%) above the normal. A wizard can also reduce his spell cost by accepting restrictions to the casting of his spell(s). The restrictions are: reduced spell power, prolonged casting time, and special casting condition. Ability Bonus: A high intelligence score earns the magic user bonus spell points, equal to the number of languages based on the intelligence score. Spell points are recovered just as normal spells are recovered in AD&D. The points are tied up in the spells until expended, and then are recovered through rest. That is the standard method of application of spellcasting. The following four styles build off of the spell point system. The second style of spellcasting usable in a campaign, is channeling. These type of wizards, or channelers, use a gift of magical energy within to fuel their spells. They do not forget their spells, but instead may freely use any spell they have memorized. They pre-select spells as per the spell point system, but do not actually spend the SP'S until the casting occurs. This allows them to cast any spell more than once, so long as they have SP'S to spend. This benefit does not come without a drawback. Channelers have to be careful not to overexert themselves, as fatigue affects them in their spellcasting. The third option for magic is termed warlocks and witches. This is based on the idea that magical powers are gifts from powerful masters. Each time the wizard calls upon his patron's power, he is drawn closer to his Power. Occasionally drawing too much attention from the supernatural power, the wizard will take a step towards a pact of servitude with his master. Careless PCS soon find themselves servants of the dark Powers. The next system of spell-casting is that of preservers and defilers, originating in the Dark Sun campaign. These magic users draw magical energy from the natural life around them. Defilers (generally evil) draw energy from the earth with reckless abandon, leaving behind desolation and destruction. Preservers take care to tap just enough energy needed, and take care not to destroy nature. Despite their advantageous drawing of power, as compared to preservers, the destruction of defilers makes them hated targets of all but their own kind. Alienists or Summoners is the final new orientation of spell wielding. Alienists cross space and time to interact with powerful entities to attain their magical powers. Alienists abide by the normal spell point system rules, except that they always obtain bonus spell points for high intelligence. The major obstacle for alienists is during their attempts to learn new spells. Since they are contacting alien powers from long-lost times, they sometimes witness things man was not meant to see. Alienists constantly risk their very sanity for the acquisition of their spells. Priests are limited by the same three restrictions wizards are when applying the spell point system. The difference for priests when casting spells is with minor spheres of access. Spells from minor spheres cost the priest more to cast than those they have major access to. The trade-off is that priests are no longer limited to the first 3 spell levels in the spheres to which they have minor access. I personally like the limited access rule and am still unsure as to which I will apply. Priests recover spell points the same way wizards do. Channeling: This works relatively the same way as it does for wizards. The difference is that priests receive bonuses ( or penalties) based on their hit point adjustment, to reflect the influx of power into them from their deity. Ritual prayer is another type of priest spell acquisition. This system has priests performing rituals and prayers to invoke their deities favor. They perform the rites and rituals, and depending on how well the priest can appease his deity, the spell may or may not be granted. Conditional Magic is the system based on faith and dedication to one's deity. Only if the priest's actions are in favor of the deity will it grant magical power. Chapter seven is focused upon spell research and magical item creation. It discusses the steps to be taken by both DM and player character when a magic user attempts to create a new spell. Methods of proposing and researching new magics are all detailed. Proper approaches for creation of magical items are covered extensively here. Special ingredients, processes and materials, cost and time are all detailed for the creation of potions, rings, weapons and armor, rods, staves, and wands, etc. are also discussed. In this section, there are very few dos and don'ts listed, as this is a subject where imagination and inventiveness excel. However it does state a few items which players should not be able to create. Books and tomes that raise ability scores and levels are simply too powerful. It can be believed that these were created by higher than mortal powers. Two other items are the deck of many things, and the sphere of annihilation. These two are mentioned because they are too weird and random to fathom their creation. Lastly stated is that the creation of race-oriented items should be limited to those of that race; for example a cloak of elvenkind should require an elven character, along with the help of an elven priest. The final chapter is the effects of spell on the battlefield. Some new issues discussed are the subtlety of casting, and the ability of others to notice when a spell has been cast. Different ranges of visibility determine if a spell is seen from a distance. Was the spell effect audible, such as a magical arrow zipping through the air? Is there a noticeable scent just prior to the pyrotechnics spell? All these possibilities and more are evaluated, along with potential knockdowns occurring from the force of a spell, and critical hits. Last but not least is the appendix of spells. All the new spells are detailed with the new information about subtlety, sensory, knockdown, and critical hit chances. They have also been listed according to the new spell schools. Once again, TSR has taken care to update and re-evaluate the effectiveness of the game play. I am personally pleased with the new spellcasting systems, as I'm sure many of you out there are. I only wish they had done it sooner. Upcoming reviews: Still working on the Player's Option: Combat & Tactics, and several modules. I'd like to get my hands on the Dungeon Master's Option: High-Level Campaign book, but it seems the IRPS funding is lost in the mail again... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Real Fantasy Bill Truglio (Llium02@sprynet.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To Build a Better Dragon The door flies open, letting in a blast of cold autumn air which causes the candles and lanterns to send dancing shadows across the walls. All eyes watch as a stranger emerges from the dark of the doorway. Under his simple clothing, glitters silvery rings of chain mail, reflecting like orange sparks in the fire light. His wary gaze takes in the whole room before he tosses back a fur lined cloak exposing a magnificent long sword in a jeweled scabbard hanging at his side. He shrugged the heavy garment from his back, hangs it on a peg by the door and strides confidently across the room. "A mug of your finest ale!" he calls to the bar keep as he approaches the rail. Immediately the man goes into action, placing the mug on the bar with a loud bang, then wincing at his own clumsiness. As he hurries to pour the ale, the stranger tosses a gold coin on the bar, worth at least ten times the price of the ale. "I seek the Baron!" he says in a brassy voice. The man's hand visibly shakes as he almost spills the whole pitcher. "I...uhh..." he stammers. "It's alright Otto..." an old man by the fireplace says calmly. "I am Baron Drobe." As he stands, the stranger watches his movements with slight interest. The old fellow's voluminous robes fall about his feet as he stands to his meager height of five and one half feet, a full head shorter than the warrior. He has no sword, as far as the stranger can see, but rather a knotty, ornate staff common to wizards of the area. "I didn't know you were a mage." says the stranger without the slightest hint of concern. "What is it you want friend?" The Baron has little patience for small talk. "I am Mollin the Mighty!" he says with pride and smiles at the sudden silence in the room. The Baron simply raises an eyebrow and shifts from one foot to the other. "I've heard of you." is all he says, knowing full well that any man with half an ear to the Bards had heard of him. "Why are you here?" Mollin takes his mug of ale from the trembling hand of Otto and slowly drinks half the contents. Still amused, he wipes his lips dry on his sleeve and sets the mug back down. "I understand there is a dragon living in the mountain range just north of here." Now it is Drobe's turn to be amused. Everyone within 200 miles knew about Crucible, the Red Dragon of Black-Hawk Mountain. "Is that right?" he says sarcastically. "She has caused you great loss of life and land over the years, has she not?" "Of course, everyone knows..." "Then your worries are over Lord Baron." Mollin interrupts sharply. Slowly a grin crosses the Baron's face. "I beg your pardon?" he says bemusedly. "I am here to slay Crucible!" Mollin looks about the room, waiting to hear the cheers of joy and relief but none come from anyone. Finally the Baron taps his staff hard on the ground once to get the hero's attention. "Listen friend..." the words come bitter and sharp. "You best be on your way and take your foolish ideas with you." "Don't you understand?" Mollin says exasperated. "I'm going to kill Crucible for you." Baron Drobe nearly cracks a smile, but shakes his head slowly. "Go!" he snaps. "We don't want anymore trouble from her, and all you could do is anger her again. We have not been attacked in almost a year... so just leave..." Again the Baron's words are interrupted by the hero. "She will not defeat me!" Mollin says proudly. "Oh?" says Drobe. "Why not? What makes you think you can slay a dragon single handedly?" "I have done it before!" The look of disbelief on Drobe's face is mirrored by everyone within earshot of the conversation. "In fact, I have slain eight dragons... single handedly!" HELLO! HELLO! ATTENTION GM's! WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Call it a pet peeve, but I can't understand the idea of a lone hero who goes about looking for what should be the most powerful creature native to the prime material plane and killing it without so much as a worry. He just finds himself a large city, mentions killing a dragon and suddenly he buys, borrows or steals a magic sword, magic armor, magic helmet, magic ring, magic gloves, magic shoes and magic underwear. Then its off to the dragon's lair. 5 or 6 rounds latter, he's healthy, wealthy and famous. Not in my world buddy. Now, don't misunderstand, I don't condone the Killer GM syndrome either, but for Odin's sake, don't emasculate the mighty Dragon to be nothing more than a big lizard with a breath weapon and a horde of treasure. In the spirit of making the dragon something to fear again, allow me to tell you some ideas I have used in my games to give the players something more to worry about. THE CUNNING DRAGON Even the weakest of the dragon breeds have a reasonable intelligence and can figure out some simple strategies and tricks. So, lets start at the bottom of the list and work our way up. I will only discuss the evil races, allowing you to draw correlations to their good counterparts. The White Dragon - Smallest and arguably the weakest of the dragons. Knowing that any rival dragon or treasure hungry adventurer would be glad to get their hands on a modest horde of wealth, the White Dragon would likely prefer to lair at the top of an icy mountain peak. First off, it would give them a great view of the surrounding country and ample warning of oncoming enemies. Adventurers who mostly tend to travel by land, would have an adventure just getting to the lair. (Imagine having to climb Mount Everest and then fight a dragon...) To compound the difficulty, consider the dragon flying by at a critical point in the climb and knocking into the attackers, or even blasting its cold breath to leave a fine glaze of ice on the surface to cause them to slip and fall. Being familiar with their high mountain environment and the ever present snow, they should be able to spot a good avalanche, or a very windy peak where it would be that much harder to climb. Don't you think a dragon would be smart enough to make a snow ball? Then how about dropping a few from..oh, 10,000 feet! If that's not enough to discourage the hunters, then maybe icicles would work better. Well, I think you get the idea. The Black Dragon - Considered the next most powerful, the Black dragon has the unique advantage of a tangible breath weapon which, with a little effort, could be saved in storage. One might have a small pool near its lair where it can spew its acid breath at the end of a day. Eventually, the pool would be a deadly pond of acid. Now all the dragon has to do is stand near it and beat its wings furiously. (Can you say...Acid Rain? I knew you could!) Another tactic might be to knock opponents into the pond, and let the acid do some damage. Granted, it will not be as concentrated as the breath from the dragon, but every little bit helps. Imagine the same black dragon just soaring overhead and spewing its corrosive acid at several hundred feet, letting it rain down on all those on the ground below. The dragon might also use little amounts of its acid to wet its jaws in preparation for a bit, giving the wounds a particularly painful effect and causing a bit more damage to boot. The Green Dragon - These are often seen as the maestro of cunning in the dragon world. Their skill with laying traps and deceiving others is legendary. Try this one. The party, now confident they have found the dragon's lair (a ruined castle) empty of its owner, quickly search and find the treasure room. A simple 10' x 10' room with piles of gold, silver, jewels, etc... They enter cautiously and quietly to find nothing guarding it. "Quick! Whatever you can carry!" one character says and quickly they all start stuffing sacks with treasure. Then without warning, the wooden floor outside the door lifts like a draw bridge. The snake like head of the dragon curls around the side and blasts a cloud of poisonous gas into the room, then slams the door shut. Now he just waits until all the coughing and gagging ends. Another one might have his lair in twisting, winding catacombs with tiny vents through the walls. This dragon would sit in a secluded den, waiting for the intruders to pass by a vent, then... Poof! He sends a cloud of gas rolling toward them. They wouldn't even know what hit them when the noxious vapors would descend upon them. Imagine the effect as they come to realize they can't even fight back. The Blue Dragon - Talk about possibilities! The blue dragon can employ all kinds of nastiness. One favorite of mine is to litter the floor of the lair with all those near worthless copper pieces. When unwanted guests come in, the dragon simply aims a bolt of lightning at the floor, and ZAP! Everyone gets a shocking surprise. Armor too would be no problem for these monsters. Take one big knight type guy in big knight type armor complete with metal breast plate, metal helmet, metal grieves, etc... and some high voltage. Are we getting the idea? The knight would be a walking lightning rod and real hard to miss. Even if the bolt doesn't kill the target, which I suppose is possible, the bolts and joints of the armor, anyplace a gap big enough for the lightning to arc would be glowing red hot and maybe even melted together. Using small amounts of their weapon can also serve the blue dragon to great effect. How about just locking jaws around the victim and giving a little zap! Maybe enough to cause one to go unconscious. Now it's got a hostage. "Drop your weapons or we find out just how much weight it takes to crush your friend beneath my feet.!" Oh yeah... dragons can sure be nasty when you give them the chance. The Red Dragon - Well. We come to the epitome of dragon kind in the world. Keep in mind again, this is a living, breathing, thinking and sometimes magic wielding creature of great size and strength. Let me just give you a scenario I had to spring on a hapless band of dragon hunters. The happy group come trooping into the long rounded tunne which leads to the red dragon's den, deep inside the mountain they just climbed. As the halfling coils the climbing rope, the dwarf and paladin scout ahead. Within a few dozen paces, the cavern opens up to large round room. Mounds of black dirt are scattered about the room, and piled on the far side is a mountain of of gold silver, and jewels... all the things everyone hopes to find in a dragon's den. Lying on top, and snoring gently, is a massive red dragon. "Did you find it?" asks the mage quietly. "Aye! Sleeping like a baby." the dwarf says, half stifling a chuckle. "What's the plan?" the halfling asks, drooling over the treasures. "Alright..." the paladin takes each back a step or two. "The mage and halfling go to the left. Dwarf and priest to the right, I'll take the head. At my signal... beat the wicked thing into submission. Clear?" Everyone nods and turn to enter the room, but are brought up short as they see the dragon now sitting up and watching them intently. "Close with it, quickly!" shouts the paladin, just as the huge wings begin to beat furiously. The dust and mounds of dirt swirl all about the room causing all to cough and choke. The dwarf, still shielding his eyes from the stinging dust, blows a little of the stuff out of his mustache... then licks his dirty lips. "Oh, Bloody Hell!" the dwarf shouts. "Out! Get out! Run!" "What?" calls the paladin. "What's wrong?" "Coal Dust!" is all he manages to croak when the dragon tucks back it's wings and crouches low.. then just puffs out a little lick of flame. BOOM! The retreating characters are shot out of the cave (conveniently shaped like a canon barrel). Even if the blast doesn't kill them, they still have a long way down. Please let me reiterate. It is not my intention to promote killing off PC's, but some things must be done to keep the awe in creatures of myth and legend. If characters are able to just beat a dragon with a bunch of clubs and walk away with tons of treasure, the dragon will hold no respect anywhere. Give them some fire (no pun intended), and you'll keep your players on edge... and in the game... longer. Get creative. Have fun with this stuff. Displaying the creations of your imagination and creating problems for others to solve is what makes Role-playing so great. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Incoming Thoughts Juan Camilo Rozo (jcr@geocities.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- How adventures are made in Three easy steps What's the deal with adventures? How come most Game Masters have their own special style, and all at the same time most adventures can be divided into categories? It is all just part of the role of being a god of creation, being the person who chooses who lives, who doesn't, what happens when, etc.. The most important thing for an adventure is a story, a good one, one that captivates the players and makes them interested on fulfilling the objective. There are many stories to choose from, you can take from books, stories you've read, movies you've seen, anything that has a beginning, a plot, a "dramatic" part and finally (and hopefully for the players) a happy ending. This step is easy, you just choose a story. What to do next? Unless you want the players to play your adventure and say, "Hey, I've seen that movie!", you will have to make changes. You'll just have to decide that the evil wizard had his tower protected not by an army of skeletons like the story you read, but by one single, more powerful monster (just an example). Then change names, take out the stupid servant the wizard probably had. There, you now have a story very similar to another you read or saw. This is not enough. Even though your story is now different from the original, it's still very similar, and that is a mistake. A good adventure has a different story than the one the GM was inspired on. What you now have to do is change the events throughout the story. Change the order, take out unimportant events, just to make the adventure different, and now HERE IT IS. Here is where the GM makes a difference, here is where you choose what goes when, who finds what, and make your own style. With this, your story is now different from the original, and it also includes your own style of creation. Well, this is the way I think is most easy and yet well developed form of creating adventures. Any comments or suggestion about my articles, please e-mail them to me. Please excuse any grammar or spelling mistakes, as English is not my native language. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Issues in RPG's Jason J. Neigh (dude@isrv.net) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What do you mean by morality? In this month's article, I'd like to take a little time to discuss the topic of morality in RPG'S. I know that this is a topic of high flammability, but I will do my best to handle it in an objective and hopefully mature manner. I decided to play in this fire as a result of a letter I received in response to my article last month, asking me what is immoral in a role playing system, which I found to be an intriguing question due to the open ended nature of it. I want to begin by defining morality as the quality of being in accord with the principles and standards of right conduct, taken more or less from Webster's New World Dictionary. This is a little vague, as it fails to say whose standards of right conduct a moral subject should agree with; that's the part you must decide. I have neither the strength nor the desire to shove my morals down your throat. I will however, present a few thoughts to ponder as you consider the morality of the games you play (as per my first responsibility from last month's column). The most likely area of moral conflict is that of needless violence and the fact that often GM'S tend to award experience on a body count more than anything, which is sometimes necessary, but that kind of emphasis can cause the imaginative problem solving to be lost in the hack & slash of a mental video game. I'm not saying that all violence is bad; I'll leave that one to other more sheltered souls. I am however asking you to consider whether you play with too much violence in your RPG'S. My personal feeling on the matter is that role playing games are not hack and slash games. In reality, violence is rather prevalent because people don't know how to solve their problems without resorting to violence. The sad fact is that despite studies showing role players tend to be of higher intelligence, we still tend to resort to violence in problem solving our RPG'S if not real life. As for going into detail on other potential problems with morality, I don't have the time nor the pulpit and ordination to dictate morality in a country where everyone is free. It will have to suffice to say that while role playing is designed to allow the player the freedom to act in ways that in the real world would get them arrested, executed, excommunicated (or otherwise religiously disgraced), a social disease, beat within an inch of their lives, or a combination of the above, that freedom doesn't require it be proven by the inclusion of those elements every game nor that those be the only, or driving forces of the story. The question I leave you with is this: "Are you able to say that the parts of your games that you find objectionable in real life are truly justified within the game and not just tacked on or used to take the easy way out of a tough situation?" -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Story Tellers and World Builders Josh Yockey (joshy@washington.edu) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 'But the Emperor has nothing on at all!' cried a little child. -Hans Christian Anderson Details, Details. Storytellers and Worldbuilders is a new monthly feature designed to help GameMasters create more vibrant and enjoyable adventures. The goal will always be to assist GM's in running memorable sessions although the focus will shift among various subjects such as good villains, locale design, player psychology, and other relevant topics. As this is the inaugural installment of the feature it is appropriate that we concentrate on the single most important tool a GM has at his or her disposal: the detail. Detail is the difference between a lackluster night of adventuring more memorable for the volume of corn chips downed than for the quality of play, and a scenario vivid enough to stick in the back of the players' minds for months. It is the difference between a villain who consists of a pile of stats and a limp, and a fiend who will send shivers down the players' spines well after he has been vanquished. It is the difference between yet another spell taken from the middle of a wizard's book, and an arcane dweomer with such magical effects that it brings the non-mages in the party to their knees. The primary cause of a dull campaign is the GM's belief he or she need only add those details which are "important". Take the following room description for instance. It describes a duke's bed chamber in which a secret door is hidden. Version One: You enter a large bedroom. The walls are decorated with various items of gold and silver. In one corner sits a large bed draped with fine silks. A window on the north wall is open, letting a breeze blow into the room. On the western wall hangs a large, velvet tapestry depicting a battle. Hmm... wonder where that secret door is. If you were a player and your GM gave you this description it wouldn't take but five minutes to look under the bed and behind the tapestry, and five gold falcons says one of those would be right. Contrary to popular belief - players aren't fools, and if you make it a habit of only giving them the "important" details it won't take them long to figure out that anything you spend time detailing must be important. Imagine you are just about to head to work and realize you've lost your keys. You wander into the disaster which doubles as your room and glance around. For some reason everything looks really bland and unworthy of notice, except your bed which seems to stand out for some reason. So you go look under it. Lo and behold the keys are there! Realistic? Not very. But this is the kind of situation adventurers run into every day. They wander through the bland, undetailed features of their world until something inexplicably interesting shows up. Now that you realize you need more details how do you go about finding them? Surely you can't just sit down and detail everything to death up to the number of nosehairs visible over the barkeep's scraggly moustache. Well, you're right. You need to know what to detail and how. Fortunately there is a very simple way to do this. Just close your eyes and picture the scene you want to describe. Relax your mind and let the image become as vivid as possible. Jot down some notes about what you see. Don't write down what you see, write down what it looks like. Of course there's a bed, but what kind of bed? What color? What kind of objects occur to you when you think of a duke's bedroom. Take into account whether he's an opulent duke, a warlike duke, or maybe just a back-country duke who barely deserves the title. Once you have some details to work with ask yourself some questions about them. Why is that object there? Where did it come from? Where was it made? The importance of the scene should help you determine how much detail you go into. Of course you shouldn't delve into such critical detail to describe a peasant hovel which the adventurers simply pass through. But if that hovel is the home of the archwizard who is attempting to bring down the foundations of time those details are certainly justified. Consider the following, updated version of the duke's bedroom. Version Two: You enter a large bedroom. The contents speak volumes about the wealth and power of the owner. As you step inside the sound of your footfalls disappear, cushioned by a thick, red carpet which blankets the expansive floor of the room. At first you notice the bright reflection of sunlight off a golden shield hanging above a shuttered fireplace opposite you. Two silver spears cross each other above the shield. Your eyes quickly scan the remaining contents of the walls. Besides more ornamental weaponry including a gem-encrusted dagger and two broadswords hang a number of finely woven tapestries. All depict scenes of battle: some fictional, such as the war of the Nation of Asper on the God Heydolan; and some historical, such as the great sea battle between the Fleet of Kenzher and the Carcoran Armada. Nestled in the corner to your left is a wide, white divan before which rests a long glass table. In the corner opposite is a bed large enough for four and currently meticulously made. It's longer of course, but not that much longer and it avoids the trap of only describing the relevant objects. Players who are used to a GM whose descriptions are more like Version One would have fits on encountering Version Two. They'd no doubt take the weapons (assuming them to be magical), crawl up the fireplace, break the table, spend intense minutes studying the battles on the tapestries (as they're obviously clues to some later puzzle), look under the cushions of the divan and rip up the carpet. Hopefully they will eventually learn that not all details are hints and just sit back and enjoy it. This leads to the second (and more important) use of detail. It lets the players immerse themselves in the setting, which inevitably leads to a greater enjoyment of the adventure. Remember back to all of those great novels you've read: the fantasy epics, the science fiction classics. The one thing they all had in common was the power to immerse you in their world. So much so that you could read the entire night away and not realize it until the morning sun shone through your window. That power comes from judicious use of detail, the little things like the hero's taste in wines or the weather the day before a battle that have little or nothing to do with the plot but help to make you feel like you're right there inside the story. Remember this as you're designing your adventure or even as you're running it. Throw in little details which do not relate directly to the story but help strengthen the players' image of the world. This is the third use of detail: making the world more memorable. Every GM wants their adventure to be memorable. Nothing is more satisfying than sitting around the kitchen table months after an adventure and watching your players wince and cackle as they reminisce about the events. Consider the following two descriptions of a guard: Version One: A guard stands at the door. Version Two: A stout guard in plate mail flanks the door on the left side. He holds a halberd upright in his right hand as he stares directly at the wall opposite him. You notice that, oddly, his left hand and forearm shake continuously, as if palsied. The first version is about as sparse as you can get. It's the cookie- cutter generic guard which decorates most palaces. The second is much more memorable. It may be that the players never interact with that guard and may never hear another thing about him. But the effort wasn't wasted, since it wasn't much effort at all and made the world a little more vivid for the players. On the other hand of course, the players may be curious about that innocuous little detail and try to explore it. This leads to the fourth use of detail: unintended adventure hooks. When I first began running adventures many years ago my primary problem was running out of things for the players to do. I would quickly get tired of setting up caravan escort jobs and hapless maidens. Besides, those plot hooks are so contrived. I wanted the players to do something because they (or their characters) wanted to, not because I came up with it. As I matured as a GM and began to incorporate more detail into my campaigns I found there was a wonderful side effect. This effect being the players would explore some of the details I had thrown in just for imagery and those explorations would grow into whole adventures. I now find my primary difficulty as a GM is my players have too much to do. What starts as an innocuous exploration of some small detail grows into a whole campaign idea. Using details in this way requires a little thinking on your feet but that comes with practice. For instance, assume the players pass the above guard en route to a party hosted by the owner of the palace whom they know well. The players might bring up the guard's condition in conversation and question his ability as a guard. If the GM feels unprepared for this he can simply pass it off and have the noble mutter something about looking into it. Or if he wants to play with it, he might have the noble frown and explain that the guard had saved his grandfather's life and has since held a place of honor despite his condition. If the PC's explore further into the details of the incident the noble might describe how his ne'er-do-well grandfather sallied off on a great quest to slay the Pharoah Lich of Dunlander as a young man, and the guard caught up just in time to spirit him away after he was inevitably defeated. Further inquiries might bring up more information about the Lich which may lead to an adventure or a whole campaign, all from a palsied hand. I try to sprinkle these seemingly innocuous details throughout my adventures. When designing a new city for a recent campaign for example, I decided the title of the reigning noble would be the War-Thegn, just because I liked the sound of it. As it turned out, the players inquired about the title at a friend's home and I came up with the city's history which involved a great struggle with a neighboring empire. That exploration led to a series of adventures that took months of real time. If I had just called the leader a King none of that would have taken place. If you take the time to incorporate such details into your adventures you will find your players will enjoy themselves more, and your adventures will be more vibrant and memorable. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Search for the Missing Link Kayliana Taliesien (jimjen@interlog.com -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Search for the Missing Links is a new column showing a variety of links for role playing games. I invite you to submit links for consideration to (jimjen@interlog.com). Upon receipt of each listing, each page will be reviewed and rated according to our dragon rating system. Ten links will be published each month. Rating system: 1 dragon Very poorly done, links don't work 2 dragons Poorly done, most links don't work 3 dragons Average site, some links don't work 4 dragons Above average site, most links work 5 dragons Excellent site, all links work, updated regularly Morph's Home Page at http://www.teleport.com/~morpheus/index.html is an excellent resource for gamers. This page has resources for MUDS, AD&D, Rifts, Cyberpunk 2020 and Storyteller. It includes many resources such as the AD&D Netbooks and new characters for Rifts, etc. If you play AD&D, Rifts, Cyberpunk 2020 or Storyteller this page is an invaluable resource. (4 dragons) The Unofficial Paladium RPG Page at http://www.uccs.edu/~behegr/palladium provides a forum for Palladium gamers. This page allows people to post their own created characters, ideas, etc on this web page. (4 dragons) Happy Jack's GURPS Resources at http://home.earthlink.net/~sturv/gurps is a compilation of gaming tools for GURPS that have been created by Stu. It includes a lot of information on magic, a treatise on Orcs, the expanded critical hits table and a list of PC's that have visited his world. (3 dragons) The Quest Home Page at http://www.cae.wisc.edu/~masters/quest/quest.html is a game system called Quest that has been created and posted by the authors on the net. This is a very extensively developed system that has over five hundred pages in it. If you are looking for a different system check this one out. (4 dragons) Thelea Sildorian's Unofficial Champions Home Page at http://www.intercom.net/user/theala/hero.html is a rather extensive page for players of the Champions system. It has several computer utilities for the game developed by Thelea Sildorian and her friends. There is also gaming information on the Champions system. (3 dragons) Woodelf's RPG Site Index at http://www.upl.cs.wisc.edu/~woodelf/RPG/RPG.html is a compilation of links to role playing gaming pages. This is one of the largest collection of links on the web and links to pages for virtually every gaming system. If you don't know where to find it Woodelf's RPG Site Index will help you out. (4 dragons) Blackjack's Shadowrun Page at http://thunder.ocis.temple.edu/~bhagerty/srindex.html is a page dedicated to the Shadowrun game. It includes supplemental rules for the Shadowrun game and a listing of gamers and GM's for the Shadowrun system across the world. (4 dragons) MaBarry's Amber Role Playing Page at http://www.abwam.com/mabarry/amber/index.html is dedicated to the Amber Diceless Roleplaying Game. It includes links to many other Amber sites, as well as rules, characters and many other game hints and tools. In addition, there are game turns from MaBarry's pbem campaign. (4 dragons) Michael Duff's RPG Page at http://www.lextech.com/rpg is an excellent site containing the Great RPG Want Ads. These are an extensive listing of gamers and GM's for a variety of games. In addition there are excellent tools for AD&D and generic tools, art work, and lots of links. All in all, this is an excellent tool for players and gamers alike. (4 dragons) Christopher Brooks's Dungeons and Dragons site at http://www.sfn.saskatoon.sk.ca/~aa499/dnd.htm is a must see site for all DM's of the AD&D system. It has many unique created tools, programs and text files for DM's, an extensive listing of runes, many Usenet groups on AD&D and of course lots of great links. (4 dragons) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Role Playing Aids -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Jon Reed (jonreed@bigfoot.com) Magic - The Ultimate Love Connection - FEATURE ARTICLE ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grumpton Silvershield the Dwarf had his head hanging low. He committed a great injustice, or better yet, he had done something that the humans called "taboo". Something so "taboo" that he had lost all his dwarven friends over his so called foul up. His name had changed over the whole ordeal, to Grumlus Slowfinger. In severe state of depression, he leaped at any hope, and with the advice from a local hedge wizard, was on his way to see the great alchemist-mage, lord of blah, blah, whatever, the only name he could really remember was Heeliam. Upon reaching the supposed site of the wizard's tower, he was surprised when he looked up and saw, instead of a tower, a quaint little shop. It had the big and bold words "Heeliam's Oddities" on a window that was so fogged through that it was barely translucent. Upon reaching the door, it swung open and fog issued forth, and there stood a gnomish looking human with glasses who started, "Hi, you've come to the right place, at least, if you're looking for what I have, that is." He hustled the Dwarf in and asked, "Please, tell me, what is your name, and what is your problem?". Grumpton responded slowly stumbling over words, "My name, well, is uh, Grumto--, er, uh, Grumlus, and I have well, a big problem." Grumlus stalled with the details of his problem, deeply ashamed. Heeliam in his unusually high voice pried for details. After a long arduous process, Heeliam got the following out of Grumlus "..uh, well, it has to do with, uh, a problem with love..., uh, you s". With that, Heeliam thought he understood the dwarf's problem, and started going down his list of love potions. "Love Potion No. 69, Necro-philia Love Potion, Love Potion No. 666,...". Grumlus, being immediately disgusted at the list said, "No, no, no, that's not it. I'm in love. I don't need to make anyone love me. I've just fallen in love with the wrong species. I'm in love with a, uh, well, beautiful Stout halfling female." Heelium froze in his listing to ponder the problem. "Hmmmmm, I think I have the cure for you, however, I cannot guarantee anything". Heelium left for the back room, and came in with two potions: a pink one, and a sky blue one. Both were quite transparent. In his high voice, Helium described what he had in his hand. "THESE, are the potions you have been looking for. They are very powerful potions. When mixed together, and then drunk by two individuals of any race or creature, will allow the two to breed, and create a cross-breed. However there can be horrible side effects to this, but I think this is the best help. All I require is 10,000 gold pieces and a year's service." Grumlus was disgusted at the thought of the potion, and left right away. He was never heard from again. GAME MECHANICS: Potions of Cross-Breeding When they are mixed, they allow the next two creatures which drink from the mixture to go through DNA (what's that?) mixing. Both creatures must save vs. system shock, or any offspring produced will be horribly deformed. This potion was created long before written time, by unknown mage(s), trying to fool with the basic design of life. GP Value: 50,000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Palspar: A Weapon for Desert Cultures Bryan E. Manahan (sidereal@epix.net) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The palspar is a weapon developed in the desert regions as a multi- purpose tool and weapon. It is five and a half feet in overall length, consisting of what is essentially the blade of a medium sword attached to a wooden pole of equal length. Slightly up the blade from where it attaches to the pole, the blade flares out to a width of six inches, and over a length of eight inches, in a diamond-like shape, then continues to the point as a normal width sword blade. The point of attachment is metal reinforced down the length of the pole for twelve to sixteen inches (depending on the manufacturer) to protect it from breakage. This weapon thus can be used in the same manner as a sword with a really long hilt, a battle axe (albeit a somewhat poor one), a spear, or from the back of a horse, mule, or camel as a lance. The blade is also strengthened so as to be able to apply it as a makeshift shovel. (It is a pretty good snake hunting weapon too ...) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Necklace of Magma Balls Jon Reed (jonreed@bigfoot.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "...I'm going to get you, all of you. You're going to wish you never had that necklace. You've been warned." == Baltras Obsidian - Last words said publicly before being banished by the Felsic Poisitune, Prince of Aquadia, wearer of the Necklace of Raindrops (see last month's article) Necklace of Magma Balls (more commonly known as Baltras' Bane) This necklace was a necklace that was used to counter the effects and powers of the necklace of raindrops. With the help of a "Silicarian" (See future article), he created it's match or so he thought. The necklace is a magically treated cord made up of iron wires and filaments. Baltras then enchanted a black pearl into the item, which is what magical scholars think his mistake was. Since pearls, even black ones, are specifically associated with water, combining this with strong fire magic did not work without serious side effects. Like the Necklace of Raindrops, this necklace produces one black pearl a year, so long as someone continues to wear it. If it is taken off for more than one turn, the pearls fall off. Furthermore, the pearls fall off if the necklace is transferred from one person to another. The pearls cannot be reattached to the magic in the necklace once they are removed, except with the use of a wish spell. The pearls are valuable, each worth 5000gp each, when removed from the necklace. The following abilities are gained per pearl: 1 pearl ........................... Burning Hands at 10th level 1/day. 2 pearls........................... As per Ring of Fire Resistance. 3 pearls........................... Wearer is immune to natural fires. 4 pearls........................... Wearer is immune to natural Magma. 5 pearls........................... Wearer is immune to magical fire effects, takes 2X effect from cold attacks. 6 pearls........................... Wearer is can cast 10d6 Fireball 1/day. 7 pearls........................... Can breath Fire if Air is not available. 8 pearls........................... Can turn stone to magma 3/times a day. 9 pearls........................... Can create Wall of Fire 3/times a day. 10 pearls.......................... Fire Aura at will. All these powers are cumulative. Like all necklaces, it will not function if there is another necklace around the person's neck. There is also a curse with this necklace. Every time a new pearl grows, a system shock roll must be rolled. Failure means death. For every year, the wearer has the necklace on, the wearer ages three years. Also any "youth" type spells cast on the wearer will remove the pearls from the necklace, rather than making the wearer younger. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bells of Megan (A New Magic Item for AD&D) Alan Spencer (aspencer@northtel.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These bells where created by an elven priestess Megan, and her mage husband whose name is not known. Megan became a high priestess (druid) of a royal elven house, as her calling was toward the harmony of the world. Her love of bells started when she was a child, upon hearing the bells of the Lost Havens before her parents left those legendary lands. She kept those memories and so described the bells to her beloved. Together they with her magic and his prayers they wrote the Bells of Megan. The Bells as a complete set were lost during the Great Orc wars, but there are sporadic rumors of the Bells as being time in possession by different great houses, or groups of woodsmen living near the large forests of the land. There are eight bells in all, and each has a different note and magical property. They are all interconnected magically, so for every additional bell in the immediate vicinity (10 feet or less) of the bell being rung, the duration or effect of the spell increases. The Bells are known by the note they sound. WARNING: The bells will only work for those with some type of neutral alignment. Other alignments will be stunned (no saving throw) if they attempt to invoke the magical properties of the bells. Other alignments CAN be recipients of the effects. Each effect can be only used once a day. Each effect is created only with the ringing of the bell in question, and in most cases, an additional verbal component. A - This is a small ceramic bell decorated with rain drops. The bell creates water if the name of Megan is spoken as it rings. The amount of water created is 1 pint per round. Additional bells increase the amount by 1 pint each. B - This bell is a small glass bell, engraved with a tree. The bell casts the spell "know alignment" if the word "friend" is spoken in elven. Only 1 object/person can be checked. For each additional bell, an additional object or person can be checked. C - This bell is a medium sized silver bell, engraved with a unicorn. The bell acts like the druid spell "summon woodland creature", if the name "Silvanus" is spoken. For each additional bell, another creature may be included in the same summoning. D - This bell is a medium sized wooden bell, carved with vines all over the bell. The bell casts the spell "entangle", with the area and duration as the druid spell. For each additional bell, the duration and area of effect doubles. The spell is activated when the word "Silvanus" is spoken. E - This bell is a medium sized copper bell, engraved with oak leaves. This bell casts "cure light wounds" when the name "Silvanus" is spoken. Additional bells increase the healing by 2 hit points per bell. F - This large brass bell is engraved with a lighting bolt. This bell creates a clap of thunder when the name "Gavolt" is yelled. The clap of thunder is cast at 1 figure. If the figure fails a save vs. magic, the figure is stunned. Additional bells allow an additional person to be affected. The recipient figure must be in line of sight for the effect to take place. For purposes of magic resistance, treat the effect as though it were cast at the 7th level of magic use. G - This large golden bell is engraved with a 8 point star. This bell will teleport the ringer, and all they have on them to the nearest druid grove or any living tree the ringer can see when ringing the bell at the ringer's desire. There is no spoken component. Additional bells allow additional persons to teleport with them. If all the bells are together, and all rung at the same time, the entire area within 50 feet of the bells setup a sanctuary (as the cleric spell) and a protection from magic (at the 9th level of magic use). The effect lasts for one hour after the bells have stopped ringing. If not all eight bells are together, there is no effect. Those within the area of effect, have a sense of harmony with their surroundings, as well as the distinct smell of the sea. A slight breeze will be inside the area, and the temperature will reach 65 degrees. These smells, breeze and temperature slowly dissipate during the hour after the bells have rung. Druids have a 25 percent chance of directly contacting their deity within this sphere (but who knows what their response will be!!). Other clerics will be unable to contact their deities unless they AND their deity are of a neutral alignment. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Fiction: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Assassins Tim Elford (shade@tusc.com.au) and Goran Zidar (goran@elf.aust.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Authors: Tim (shade@tusc.com.au) - The DM Goran (goran@elf.aust.com) - Craven Homepage: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~goran/Roleplay.htm --------------------------------- - The Assassins - Episode 6: Del Mord at Night The Assassins: Argos - Thief 1st level LE (NPC) Craven - Duellist/Thief 1st/1st LE (PC) Keldirk - Thief 1st level NE (PC) Locale: The three assassins have just entered Del Mord after months of travel. They have entered the city as part of Saradock's merchant caravan. Date: 21st Fireseek 582 CY (Common Year) Time: Mid morning --------------------------------- Del Mord was a welcome sight for the three travelers, finally their seemingly endless journey had come to an end. After bidding farewell to Gratten and Harf they set about finding themselves some accommodation. Argos: Some of the other guards suggested that The Warhorse would be a good place to stay. Craven: (shrugs) At this point one inn would be about as good as another. Keldirk: I'm staying at another tavern. I've had enough of your company to last me a lifetime and I need some time alone. Craven: Can't say I'll miss you much either. There is no reason for you to stay with us if you don't want to. Argos: (to Keldirk) Which tavern are you going to be staying at? Keldirk: One of the guards suggested the Silver Gauntlet. It sounded okay so I'm going there. Tonight, I'm going to have a few drinks and get an early night. (leaves) Argos: (to Craven) What about you? Craven: I have no intention of being alone tonight. (grins) Argos and Craven found their way to The Warhorse, it was a large stone building with many windows facing the street. An alley led beside the tavern and curved around to the back. Since it was mid-afternoon, the common room was almost empty. A large fire burned in the hearth on one side and stairs led to the rooms on the other. The bar was being tended by a small man who had a bored expression on his face. He did not even bother to look up when the two of them entered ignoring them completely until Craven banged on the wooden bar. Craven: HELLO! Are you deaf? Barman: What do you want? Craven: We want a room and two beers. Barman: How many? Craven: I said two. Barman: (sighs) No. How many will be staying in the room? Craven: Two. (holding up two fingers) Barman: We only have rooms for four. Craven: Then why the hell did you bother asking how many were staying in the room? Barman: One gold each for the room and two copper for the beer. Wait here I'll bring you the key and your drinks. Argos: (smiles) Is that two copper for one beer or two copper for two beers? The barman went to the taps and poured two glasses of beer and reached below the counter to retrieve the keys. Craven handed over the money and he and Argos sat down at one of the empty tables close to the fire. Argos: I am glad he caught you in a good mood. Craven: I don't know... Argos: What room are we in? Craven: Eight. Meanwhile, Keldirk continued his trek up one of the main roads on his way to The Silver Gauntlet. After only a few blocks he reached his destination. The tavern was situated right next to another tavern called The Blue Dragon. With the exception of their names, they were almost identical from the outside. Keldirk noted this curious fact, entered the Silver Gauntlet and arranged for a room. Once he obtained the key he went immediately up to the room and slept. He was not going to waste his first night alone by laying idly in his bed... Tonight he was going exploring. As the day wore on Craven and Argos spent some time becoming familiar with the area surrounding their tavern. Once they had finished scouting they went up to their room for some rest. It was a small room - not even as big as the cabin on the boat. The bulk of the space was occupied by four straw-filled sleeping pallets, a wind ow provided a view out onto the alleyway and there were four small chests in which to store their gear. When they finally came downstairs to the common room it was as though they had been transported into another tavern. The bar was packed, buxom barmaids patrolled the tables, served drinks and dished out slaps to over-zealous patrons. The tables were full and it was standing room only. The bar was being tended by four barmen and at the door stood the largest man they had ever seen. He was tall and extremely overweight, in his hands was a huge double-bladed battleaxe. The effect of his presence was obvious - despite the inebriated state of most of the patrons there was no trouble. Nobody was unduly aggressive and each group tended to keep to themselves. Craven was fascinated by the affect that this man had on the crowd and approached him. The bouncer eyed him casually as Craven introduced himself. Craven: We are staying in the rooms upstairs and I was wondering if we can count on your protection every night. Bouncer: I protect the bar, not the people. If you cause trouble, you have me to deal with. If you have a beef with someone take it out the back. Craven: What do they call you? Bouncer: They call me many things. My name is Rexx. Craven: What happens out the back? Rexx: That's where we settle the disputes between our customers. If you want to have it out with someone, you just take 'em out back and go as hard as you want. But there are no weapons allowed. Craven: How often does this happen? Rexx: Can't say I remember a night when it didn't happen. Now get out of my face I've got work to do. Craven relayed his discussion with Rexx to Argos and they decided to spend the night here and see what goes on during one of the fights. Argos' money senses were tingling and he saw an opportunity to make some fast cash by gambling on the fights. They ate a hot meal and had several drinks before there was any action. A bearded man was carrying some drinks back to his table when he tripped spilling the drinks over a bare-chested man sitting at a table. The bare-chested man rose and struck the bearded man a solid blow to the side of his head, rocking him back. Rexx was instantly between them and the crowd began to cheer "Rexx, Rexx, Rexx". Rexx grabbed the bearded man by the shirt and dragged him through the door that lead to the back alley. The bare-chested man flexed his ample biceps to the crowd and followed behind clenching and unclenching his fists as he walked. Argos: I think we might be in for a bit of fun. Craven: (downs his beer and joins the crowd that was building up in a small cul-de-sac outside) Who do you think'll win? Argos: My money is on the big guy with no shirt. The other guy has already taken a hit and he looks too drunk to put up much of a fight. The bare-chested man waited patiently while Rexx laid out the rules. The other man was still recovering from the original punch and stood drunkenly with his hand up to his split lip. Rexx: You have two choices. Fight to yield or fight to unconsciousness. Man #1: (blood flowing from his cut lip) Yield! Rexx: (without stopping) There will be no use of weapons and anyone in the crowd who attempts to help either of the combatants will find themselves feeling the kiss of my axe. (he turns and surveys the crowd) We will wait for a few moments while bets are taken - Argos: (smiles) See ya (makes his way to the front of the crowd) Rexx: - and then we shall begin. The fight lasted almost thirty heart beats. Most of that time was spent with the two combatants warily circling one another. Three rapid blows by the bare-chested man was all that was needed to knock his opponent unmoving to the ground. Few people were disappointed as the result was far from surprising and Argos returned to his table but a few copper richer. Keldirk was getting tired. He had been wandering the streets Del Mord for a little over five hours, getting lost on several occasions, and muscles that he hadn't used in almost two months were beginning to complain. The young assassin had left his tavern and followed the sounds of the city down to what one local called "The River Quarter". Keldirk certainly didn't intend on wasting the opportunity to familiarize himself with his new surrounds. He followed the street noise and soon found himself along a great curving road known as The Strip. Along this vast concourse were boarding houses, brothels, taverns, warehouses and a multitude of small shops and street stalls. The taverns were bursting to overflowing and street musicians plied their skills to the general populace, even at this late hour. Hawkers accosted everyone who came within reach trying to off-load various pieces of fine junk - each one a unique artefact of unsurpassed beauty - or so the hawkers claimed. Buxom wenches called to Keldirk from balconies, offering all sorts of worldly pleasures. Keldirk ignored them all. This was a reconnaissance mission not some self indulgent time wasting exercise - he'd leave that to Craven. Keldirk decided he needed a rest and sat down on a small wharf that entered the slow-flowing Harp River. He took off his boots and rubbed his weary feet. As far as Keldirk could determine The River Quarter was his kind of place. There were a seemingly infinite number of alleys and back-streets in the area where an assassin could disappear at a moment's notice. There were enough street lamps to ruin demi-human infravision but too few to eliminate the shadows. Perfect. The people seemed to vary from commoners to adventurers and only rarely had he come across the members of Del Mord Night Watch. He had just put his boots back on when he heard the soft creak of leather on wood. He rolled to his left, rose to his haunches, and had a throwing dagger in his hand in an instant. There was a leather armored man approaching Keldirk - he had just set foot upon the wharf. Man: (raising his empty hands ) Whoa! Steady pal. I don't mean any harm. Keldirk: (closely scrutinizing the leather armor clad man) Well nick off, then. There's nothing here but me and I'm in no mood for chit-chat. Man: Sorry Pal, no-can-do. My name's Stewy and I'm employed by Kyall Millington to guard this here stretch of wharves. If anyone is going to "nick off" then it will be you! (Slowly lowers his hands) Keldirk: (lowers his dagger) Okay. I was just resting. I'll be off. Stewy: (scratching his beard) That's a strange accent; where'ya from? Keldirk : None of your business. {Damn, I must remember to study the local accent} Stand aside and I'll be out of your way. Stewy : (stands aside) Keldirk walked past the guard and began the long walk back to The Silver Gauntlet. It was well past midnight and he was in desperate need of sleep. He took no solace in the fact that some cleaning woman was bound to come knocking at his door at the crack of dawn; they all seemed to be early-morning people. As he approached the front of his tavern a slender man emerged out of the shadows and approached him. Keldirk was annoyed he didn't notice the man earlier and eyed him carefully as he came closer. Keldirk placed one hand on his throwing dagger, the other on his sword. The stranger was a revolting looking creature, not quite as physically repulsive as some he'd seen - but it was close. His hair was jet-black, greasy and pulled tightly into a thin ponytail that hung like a slug over his left shoulder. The man's face was heavily pock-marked and sported a rat-tail like beard. His eyes darted around as he slowly approached Keldirk. The assassin couldn't see any visible weapons on the stranger, but he counted four places where a knife could easily be hidden. Slender Man: Nice night, isn't it? Keldirk: (changing his accent) Not really; it's cold and thoroughly unpleasant. Is there something that you want? Slender Man: My name is Slick. You're new here and I reckon you wouldn't have heard of me - yet. The two men in the shadows are Howie Long and Mr Jones. They look after me. Keldirk : (on edge, he peers into the darkness but is unable to see anyone) That's nice. Well, it's been a pleasure and I'm going to bed. Slick : Not so fast. I just want to let you know a few things... Keldirk : Make it quick. I'm tired and don't like being accosted by slimy little men in the middle of the night. Slick : You've quite the tongue. You'd be well served if you kept it in check; some folks 'round here don't appreciate being called names. Me? I couldn't give a shit. (smiles exposing a row of pointy, yellowed teeth) Keldirk : Thanks for the advice. See you around, Slick. Slick : Wait. What's your name? Keldirk : (pauses) Valrorn. Why? Slick : Well met, Valrorn. I operate an information service in these parts. If there's anything you need to know just let me know. I have my finger on the pulse of the Foreign Quarter... Keldirk : {Foreign quarter, so that's where I am} Slick: ... and I know pretty much all there is to know about the area. Keldirk : For a fee, of course. Slick : Nothing's free in this world, buddy. Surely an intelligent warrior like yourself understands that? Keldirk : (nods) Well, I'll be sure to keep you in mind. Where can you be found? Slick : I work from that corner, (points) to where the Foreign Quarter borders the Artisans Quarter. I can be found along here somewhere anytime after sundown. Keldirk: (fishes into his pouch and withdraws a copper piece and flips it to Slick.) Nice meeting you. Keldirk turned his back on Slick and entered The Silver Gauntlet. The common room was all but empty, the only occupant aside from the barman sat by the fire drinking from a steaming mug. As Keldirk made his way across the room to the stairs, he could feel the figure's eyes follow. When he reached the foot of the stairs he paused, turned and met the gaze of the lone patron. It was clear that he was not human; possibly a dwarf or a gnome. The figure never averted his gaze and Keldirk eventually turned and climbed the stairs. Keldirk: {strange... } The following afternoon, there was a knock at Keldirk's door, he rolled out of bed and wrapped his cloak around his naked torso. He stumbled to his weapons belt and buckled it around his waist. Yawning, he disabled the crossbow trap he had set up the night before. For a brief instant he toyed with the idea of unlocking the door and allowing whoever it was to wander into nine inches of hardened steel. Keldirk: Who is it? Voice: The barman. I have a message. Keldirk: Couldn't it wait until I came down. Barman: I'm going off shift and I wanted to get it to you before I left. Keldirk: (opens the door, a knife held behind his back) What is it? Barman: (hands him a folded piece of parchment) Keldirk: (recognizing him as the barman from last night) Who was that dwarf drinking by the fire last night? Barman: He's a gnome, actually. His name is Benhi the Leech; he's Del Mord's chief investigator. He lives up on the third floor. Keldirk: (goes to his pouch belt and removes several coins) What the hell is an investigator? Barman: He works for the courts, investigating crimes and stuff. Delva is his right hand man and happens to be downstairs if you want to speak to him. (taking the coins) Keldirk closed the door and completed dressing. The note was from Craven and said for him to come to The Warhorse after dinner. The remainder of the day passed without incident, and that evening he made his way to The Warhorse to meet his fellow assassins. Keldirk: (approaching Craven and Argos' table) Why the summons? Argos: Good to see you again, too. What's with the accent? Keldirk: When in Rome... Argos: Where the hell's "Rome"? Keldirk: (shrugs) If we talk naturally people are going to know we're not from round these parts. I want to try and fit in. Craven: Not with that accent, you won't. You sound like an idiot. Keldirk: (reverting to his normal voice) What do you suggest, then? Craven: It's obvious we're new here; why don't we just say we're from somewhere far away. Keldirk: Like?... Craven: Well, I was born in Veluna - so I'll use that. After all, it's the truth. Argos: (to Keldirk) So, where are you from? Keldirk: Ulek. You? Argos: Um... (thinks for a moment) ... Furyondy. Craven: Anyway, we have to decide what we are going to do about a "cover". Keldirk: What have you got in mind? Craven: Argos and I have been talking and decided that we'd go with your plan and join a thieves' guild. We need to make some contacts to get an introduction. Keldirk: Come with me then - I've met someone already. Argos: (raises his eyebrows) Already? Keldirk: Like I always say; "time wasted is life wasted". Craven: Whatever you say, Brother Keldirk. The trio leave The Warhorse and after a short time they find Slick who is standing on a corner talking to some 'ladies'. Keldirk: (points) That's him. His name is Slick and last night he claimed to have two buddies close by. Craven: Well, let's go say hello. As they approach, Slick leaves the two ladies and meets them under a streetlamp. Slick: Evening - (searching for the name) - Valrorn? Keldirk: (nods) These are two associates of mine... Craven: Craven. Argos: Argos. Slick: I'm Slick. What can I do for you? Craven: (gesturing to the two 'ladies') They yours? Slick: They're anybody's - for a price. Craven: How much? Keldirk: (interrupting) We've got more important things to discuss, Craven. You've gotta stop thinking with your little head! (to Slick) We're interested in forming a relationship with the local... "union". Slick: (pauses) Union, eh? What union do you mean? (fumbles with his vest button) Keldirk: (adjusts his belt pouch, his fingers working feverishly) The union that represents acquisition and property. Slick: (nodding) Ah, what about your two friends? Keldirk: Associates. They're ok, too. We're all looking for employment. Slick: I'll get right on it. This type of introductory service isn't cheap, you realize?! Keldirk: (passes Slick two silver nobles) Slick: Be at The Warhorse at midnight. I'll introduce you to a fellow who may be able to help. He'll decide if it goes any further. Keldirk: Of course. Slick: (turns to leave) Keldirk: One more thing - what can you tell me about Benhi the Leech? Slick: (stops, turns and looks blankly at Keldirk) Keldirk: (hands over another silver) Slick: Ah, Benhi the Leech. Rough piece of work, that one. Damned good at what he does and doesn't care about how he gets the job done, just as long as it gets done. He doesn't work with the militia; he's got his own group of fellas who work to bring criminals to justice. The courts cut him a lot of slack by turning a blind eye to his methods - but he gets results. He is often out of town or under cover; you never know if he's around. He hunts big fish and leaves tadpoles like me to the militia. Don't mess with him. Don't even talk to him. Now if you want me to get this meeting happening I'd better be going. The three assassins wandered the streets until midnight, familiarizing themselves further with the layout of the town. Keldirk filled the others in on his exploits last night and Craven returned the unexpected show of openness by telling Keldirk a bit ab out The Warhorse. In time, they entered The Warhorse. Keldirk: You're right. Rexx is one big mother. Craven: (nods) Argos: You guys get a table, I'll get the beer. Some time later Slick arrived with a sandy haired man in tow. They ordered some drinks and pulled up two seats at the assassin's table. The stranger was well built and dressed conservatively in black leather and dark cloak. The only visible weapon was a short sword at his waist. He carried himself with an air of confidence; which immediately grated on Keldirk's nerves. Slick: This is Slade. He is a "union representative" and should be able to handle any of your queries. (downs his ale) Ahh! (wipes his mouth with his sleeve) I'll leave the introductions to you. (leaves) Keldirk: My name's Valrorn and this here is Argos and that's Craven. I guess you know why you're here? Slade: Let's pretend I don't. What do you want? Keldirk: (leans forward) To put it bluntly we wish entry into the guild. Slade: What guild may that be? Keldirk: Don't play games with me, stupid. You know full well what guild I mean! Stop fucking around. Slade: (starts to rise) Keldirk: Where are you going? Craven: (to Slade) Don't leave yet. (to Keldirk) Stop being such an loser. We need this guy's help and your attitude isn't going to get us anywhere. (to Slade) Please? (gesturing to the seat) Slade: (sits) Craven: Listen, we've got "skills" that you might appreciate and we are looking for work. That's all. Slade: (rubs his chin) You're not locals - that's obvious. But you have to understand that we don't go hiring just anybody. You could be moles or members of a rival guild, for all I know. (thinks for a moment) Be outside warehouse number seven on Candle Avenue tomorrow at sundown and I'll see what I can do. Bring your weapons and armor. (rises, then addresses Keldirk) You can leave your attitude at home! Keldirk: (raises his middle finger) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- So, You Want to be a Jedi... James Colin Millington (raider@interlog.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "The Force is what gives the Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." == Obi-Wan Kenobi said to Luke Skywalker in the movie Star Wars. "Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny." == Yoda said to Luke Skywalker in the Empire Strikes Back. If you did not read my previous article, then I will let you know what I am trying to accomplish. In this series of articles, I am trying to introduce people to the Star Wars RPG. As well I have been including the summary of a PBEM that I have currently in progress. Included with the story are the die roll results to demonstrate the general game mechanics. As always, I am interested in hearing from any reader who has a suggestion as to what areas they would like to see explained. If you are one such reader, my E-mail address is "raider@interlog.com". The Force in the Star Wars RPG: All characters start play with one Force Point. Through doing heroic things the character can earn more of them (generally not more than one per adventure). So? Well, when a character declares to use a Force point, they get to double the number of dice they can use for ALL skill rolls in the round where the point is being used. The character can not use two points at the same time. If the point was used for a heroic reason, they should get it back at the end of the adventure. Perhaps the GM would see fit to give them an extra one as well. A non-Force sensitive character can have up to five Force points. A Force sensitive character can have as many as they can collect. Of course, where would we be if we did not have the Dark Side of the Force. A character can collect Dark Side Points by doing evil things. Before the character receives a Dark Side Point the character SHOULD be given a chance to change their mind. When a character gains a Dark Side Point the player must roll a d6. If the roll is less than the number of Dark Side Points, the character has turned to the Dark Side. The GM may allow the player to continue playing the character or may declare that the player creates a new character. In this case the GM would play the evil character themselves. Dark Side Force Points can be offered when the character is desperate. This Force point is used in the same way. If it is not used it will quickly fade away, but if it is used the character will automatically gain a Dark Side point. Characters have no limit to how many Dark Side Points they can acquire. Characters may try to call on the Dark Side at any time. They will receive a Dark Side Point each time they do. They may also not receive any help at the time the character NEEDS it. Getting rid of Dark Side points is very difficult. It requires a long time and the most serious of intentions to wipe away the blot of darkness. Earlier I mentioned Force sensitive characters. These characters can feel the flow of the Force very strongly. This is easiest if the character is Force sensitive at creation time. A character can become sensitive at any time. It costs quite a few character points. I will not get into character points in this article. Being sensitive is only the first step in using the Force. The character must also have Force Attributes: Sense, Alter, Control. These can be acquired after character creation, again at a high character point cost. At character creation these skills can be allocated during the creation of the character template. For every die of Force attribute the character is entitled to learn 3 Force skills under that attribute. Caution should be used in selecting and using Force skills, some come with a mandatory Dark Side Point, while others inherently have ethical risks involved. Force skills are used in the same way as any other skill. Some Force skills require multiple rolls. An example would be Affect Mind that uses all three attributes. To use one of these skills you can either perform one roll a round for each attribute. If the character wishes to make all the rolls in one round, the multiple action penalties apply. If the character takes twice as long as required to prepare they can add 1d to the skill roll. When we left the story last month, the group had received a message from the New Republic Intelligence instructing them to extract an undercover agent. This second installment opens up immediately after they reached the rendezvous point and discovered that agent Dana was unconscious and had company. So without further adieu, lets continue with Tatooine Manhunt - Episode 1, Act 2. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Upon noticing the three of them the Imperial officer started to back away down the corridor while the other two took up positions along the wall that offered no real cover, and pointed their blasters at them. The woman started readying a grenade. Sam immediately flattened herself against the wall and started (1) concentrating on the grenade, as if maybe the thought of being blown into many pieces had caused her to freeze up. (2) Bracha started firing his bowcaster at the tall scaly fellow taking two shots. The grenade thrown by the other abruptly stopped in mid arc and shot straight towards the Imperial officer, (3) detonating one meter beyond him as he was reaching for his comlink. The officer dropped his comlink and staggered against a wall then fell to the ground wounded. The other two hunters seemed completely unaffected. Bracha, Sam, and Tiv were showered with ineffectual shrapnel. The other bounty hunter (4) shot at Bracha repeatedly, but without effect, one shot was too close to the wall beside him causing him to be thrown back on the ground wounded. One of Bracha's shots missed high. The other bolt hit the hunter incapacitating him. Unfortunately Bracha's bowcaster jammed from the shot. Bracha then made a desperate grab for his blaster. The other bounty hunter was now reaching for her blaster. (5) Tividor let loose with a shot at each of the hunters with his intimidator pistol, shooting first at the girl who had tossed the grenade, then at the scaly fellow that Bracha was shooting at. The first shot struck the hunter in the middle of her forehead, killing her instantly. The second, combined with Bracha's fire, succeeded in killing the second hunter. After the smoke cleared it was evident that all opposition had ceased, only a Wookie, a human and a near-human were left standing in the corridor amidst the death and carnage wrought by the brief exchange of weapons fire. The officer, Lt. Voors, was knocked unconscious by the grenade. Unable to get a signal out he was now sprawled next to the wall wounded. The NRI spy, agent Dana, was still resting peacefully on the floor. In these near deserted parts of the station it was not likely any one would be by for more than an hour or so. "Okay Tiv let's get that agent on her feet. Then, Bracha will you dispose of the bodies so that it doesn't look too messy down here? Then we are getting off this space station and into space before anybody comes to question us.", Sam says with a tint of disgust and a healthy dose of anger in her voice. She then proceeds to search the bodies for any useful items before disposing of them. After inspecting the dead hunters' bodies and finding five power packs and a concussion grenade she checks agent Dana. Sam mutters to herself under her breath, "Damnation!". The only signs of injury on the agent were some superficial blast damage and a small metallic dart protruding from her neck. Regardless, the agent was dead. Upon checking In Dana's uniform, Sam finds a holdout blaster, some Imperial Identification papers, and a datapad. As Sam busily checked each corpse for anything of use and systematically moved on to the next, Bracha would take whichever body she had finished with and place it in the airlock, seal it and cycle the lock. All the while (6) Tiv was situated at a computer terminal, keeping an eye on the security net and surveillance network for any unwanted visitors. Once the dead were dealt with, Sam started looking at the Imperial officer. "Hmmm, you don't want to know how tempted I am to just jettison him. However, maybe we can get some information out of him. Of course if he won't talk then we'll let Bracha remove his arms one by one until he does. Can you wake up this Imperial scum?". At this point Sam started to strip him of everything he owned. She then set about using some of his ruined uniform to make a gag and proceeded to wrap it around his mouth. She starts to wonder if it would be possible to get agent Dana back to the ship, or if they would have to space her as well as the Imps. Tividor looked at the officer with a disdained look on his face before he started working on (7) stabilizing his condition. He made sure he stayed unconscious, then said to the others, "He won't die, but let's leave our sleeping beauty, well, sleeping until we can get back to our ship. In the meantime, let's bring our apparently quite dead new-found friend here, and I will see if I can find out a cause of death, and, hopefully, a way by which to prevent ourselves from reaching the same fate." Sam carefully removes the dart from Dana's neck for later examination. "We'll never get her body back to the ship without drawing too much attention. In the meantime, why don't we get the son of a bantha conscious and then you can tap into one of the computers over there and find out whatever information you can. Bracha and I want to talk to our little officer friend, here, right, Bracha?". Sam turned and with an evil grin at Tiv, "If he proves too much trouble, we can always shove him out the airlock." Tividor asked Bracha to hold the agent, "Gently for now, by the arms", made a quick calculation, then (8) punches the Imp in the face in such a way as to revive him and make his jaw feel it without injuring him more than necessary. As the Imp wakes up, the first words he hears as the world is knocked back into focus are from a cheery and energetic, "Hello, and welcome to the information disclosure session. While our Wookie friend here would really love to rip your arms off, he has promised to be nice as long as you agree to tell us everything you know. While you are telling my friend here", he gestured flamboyantly towards Sam, "everything you know, I will be cross checking with the computer. Class, there will be a test, and failure will mean that our Wookie friend will get to 'break the wishbone' and you", Tiv gestured towards the Imperial officer, "get to wish you had told the truth as your life painfully slips away. Don't worry though. We will give you two arms worth of leeway before we start on the legs. One more thing, screaming is not permitted unless one of your limbs is being removed. Failure to comply will mean that one of your limbs WILL be removed." With that, Tividor went to the nearest terminal, and started to (9) hack into it as Sam obliged him and started the questioning. Tividor muttered something loud enough for Sam, Bracha, and the Imperial to hear about, "Everyone else gets to have all the fun," as he worked busily on the terminal. Sam looked at the Imperial Officer and said, "Now I'm going to remove your gag. If you scream or make any noise barring what is necessary to answer my questions then my Wookie friend here will dismember you very slowly and painfully. Trust me you will be begging me to put you out of your misery by putting you out into space." Sam continued cheerfully, "Now that we have an understanding, I'd like to know why you killed that woman.", Sam pointed at the body on the floor. "Remember quick answers or my friend gets impatient!" Lt. Voors spit blood from his mouth after the punch Tiv hit him with and replied with venom, "Rebel scum! I won't give you any information, You won't get anything out of me!" After a minute or two of Bracha (10) dislocating his arms, and starting on his legs, his tone changed, "Please, they will kill me for telling you, but, at least it will be quick. The captain has learned that Talon is alive. Parlan wants him! He's hired bounty hunters to get him. That's all I know! The girl was a rebel spy, as you already know. She had to be dealt with.". Voors groaned then slipped into unconsciousness from shock. While this was going on, Tividor was at the nearest computer, looking for information to cross examine with, and making noises to indicate he had found something interesting (whether he had or not). While he was in the system he worked on altering the Imperial officers records to implicate him as a spy or an accomplice to the spy. A small slip that would only be uncovered at the time of his death such as a personal log. Information that would tie into any rumors of a spy, hopefully pinning the blame on their hapless captive for the betrayal that the NRI agent did against the Empire, or at the very least, implicating a non-existent accomplice. While searching through the station's computer, Tiv discovered that the top priority for all systems is the repair of the STD-Relentless, which according to all reports would take 3 days. Tiv also noticed that several ships had left the station in the last two hours, all appeared to be headed for Tatooine. "Hmmm, an educated guess, this Tallon fellow is on Tatooine. Well let's do something with sleeping beauty here and get going after them. We can send a message to your friend once we get away from here.", Sam says. "Now the question is, do we kill him or let him live? He gave us information after all but the Imps will probably kill him anyway." Sam shrugged. Tividor took his blaster and said to the Imperial, "Trust me, I'm going to be nicer than the Imperials would be to you." Tiv said as he then (11) shot Voors, at point blank, through the temple killing him instantly. "Now where were we, unless I am mistaken, we were headed back to our ship to check out this datapad." Bracha proceeded to throw the Lt. Voors into the airlock. Then he threw Dana in, closed the hatch, and cycled the lock, sending the bodies and any remaining atmosphere into the void of space. Any moisture in the air immediately turned to ice crystals, and the bodies explosively decompressed, adding various other flash-frozen liquids to the cloud. The trip back to the Nova was uneventful, and all involved felt the pang of guilt, not only for the failed mission of trying to extract agent Dana, but this was the first occasion that they had ever been involved with an execution. Though they knew he would have been killed by the Empire. It would not have been as quick, and certainly not as painless. Even though had the roles been reversed, Voors would have reveled in torturing them to death as slowly and painfully as possible. The net effect of the experience left them feeling somewhat tarnished. As if they felt that even though they showed great mercy for the officer they still could not wash the blood from their hands. Perhaps in time the memory would fade, and the lesson learned, but for all they tried they still felt somewhat ashamed, even given the impracticality of bringing the prisoner to face a trial in a New Republic court. After all, wasn't this what they were fighting for? The rights and privileges of the various sentient beings of the galaxy to justice, not summary execution at the discretion of operatives and soldiers, but then that was the nature of war. Even if this was for the right cause, and not fighting would mean the end for billions. Still none could walk those fires without some loss of humanity, this was war and sometimes people died, not just because they had a blaster in their hands, but because they have the intention to do so, or have done so. The best that can be hoped for is to get the job done, and after all is said and done, let the force judge those involved. Then why does the pain have to be so strong in the meantime? That would be one of the chief differences between the New Republic and the Empire. They enjoy inflicting pain, and can't feel it. They take youths and brainwash them, virtually stealing their personality and replacing them with automatons in gleaming white armor, making them the killers, the criminals, who are just as much the victims as anyone. Only those who chose that way of life are ever allowed to lead. After a long, silent, sullen walk they eventually arrived at the Nova. As they opened the hatch they were greeted by a familiar sound, "No, no, no you %$&^%$@ useless garbage can. Honestly I don't #%^#$@#@ know why Master Tividor bothers $&^## keeping you around!" to which a warbled bleeping is heard in reply. Then the first voice continues again, "Really, you should watch your communications, if I $^&%^#$^# repeated half of what you claim I just said, Master Tividor would melt me down into an ashtray you worthless piece of scrap! $%&%^#&^& Welcome back Master Tividor, %$&#$&^&#$, I am so glad you are back, that astromech is really testy, and it's comm. circuits need checking! Now that you are back, are we going to leave the station now?" the droid asked. The droid then continued, "If you don't mind my asking, what appears to be the %^*^%%^ problem? I hope it is not something I have done! Master Tividor, you don't seem to be your usual self if you don't mind my noticing?" "Out of the way Tin Can!" Sam pushed by the droid. "Tiv let's get this thing off this station. I'm getting a serious case of 'I don't like it here'. I'm going to the top gun well in case we have any problems." Sam retreated to where she could be alone feeling incredibly guilty about the situation with the Imperial. She worked as a Sector Ranger for the Imps so she knew, perhaps better than anyone, what the officer would have faced for his betrayal but she still felt guilty. This "incident" soured her mood for the next few days. However, Sam was still not sure whether to be angry with Tiv for pulling the trigger or angry at herself for not stopping him, that weighed heavily on her mind, even after they reached the weightlessness of space. Sam worried about Tiv. Although still feeling somewhat downcast, Sam realized that Tiv is responsible for his own actions, not her. His actions of late would lead to the dark side. She felt impelled to keep that from happening. The ship was all in readiness when they arrived. Tividor signaled ahead to the control tower. The lift-off clearance was given after a couple of minutes. "Platinum Mist, you are cleared for departure from the station, good-luck, Kwenn out.", the traffic controller told them. (12) Bracha was easing the Nova out into the free void of space. After ten more minutes or so they were clear to enter (13) hyperspace. Bracha dropped the ship out in the middle of nowhere about half a day out. Bracha decided to remain rooted to the controls while Sam stayed equally rooted in the gun well. After Bracha parked the ship in empty space, Tividor then attempted a little bit of work on Force Mechanics, so that he could give Sam an hour or two to cool off. He decided that in a couple of hours he would check on Sam to see if she was feeling any better. As Tiv worked on his Force Mechanics, he remembered that the datapad had not been searched yet, and besides, he found it hard to concentrate at the moment. So a mindlessly simple hack job into a datapad reveals the following message: : Data Entry #146 : I believe this to be my final data entry. I'm entering this coded information in case the bounty hunters catch me. : I'm getting ahead of myself... let me start from the beginning. : After three months of undercover work aboard the Star Destroyer Relentless, was transferred to a new post: assistant to the Star Destroyer's commander, Ranif Parlan. Parlan is a dangerous man, but competent and efficient, which is why Relentless has spent months in the Outer Rim Territories, battling pirate groups. : Our last patrol through Dalchon system netted us three pirate ships, but Relentless sustained heavy damage to its hyperdrive engines. Of course, we captured a handful of pirates -- a pitifully small number of survivors of Parlan's ruthless prowess in battle. I was actually with Parlan when he interrogated one of the prisoners. What we heard still moves me. : Commander Adar Tallon, hero of the Old Republic, is alive. : And he's hiding on Tatooine. : Already, scores of bounty hunters have answered Parlan's call. They are to capture Tallon -- alive -- and hold him until the Relentless arrives at Tatooine. Tallon's worth to the New Republic, even if only as a symbol, is immeasurable. We must reach him first. : If you are reading this, then the job to find Adar Tallon is yours. This mission supersedes all others. You are his only hope. Tiv felt the need, understandably so, to contact Sam due to this information. Tiv made his way up to the upper gun well. Even from a distance Sam still seemed pretty moody, He did not need his force sensitivity to tell him that. He decided to talk to Sam anyway, "Do you want to talk about it?". "Not really!" Sam replied curtly. "Well, when and if you do, I'll be in my room for the next few hours working on some stuff. If you would rather torture yourself alone, then I think we have a universe to save." Tiv turned to go back down the ladder after handing her the datapad and said, "Perhaps you should read this...". Sam read the log entry and said, "Fine what's our plan?" "Let's go on a pleasure cruise to Tatooine. I heard the weather's nice there and we definitely need to relax a little bit. Great atmosphere, I've heard. On the way, I'll see what I can find out. Perhaps, though, we should see if we can get some legit cargo beforehand. Let's see if we can't avoid killing more of the brainwashed pawns than we have to. Besides, we wouldn't want to have to waste any Imperial property that we might want to steal later, would we?" Tiv replied. Sam nodded her head, "We should have a legitimate cargo. Do you have any idea where we could go to pick up some cargo Tiv?" "Perhaps perishables for Tatooine if we can get them. I'll check for any on-line 'want ads' for fast delivery. Keep in mind, there aren't too many cargo ships that have engines like this one.", Tiv suggests helpfully. Sam sighed softly and reluctantly began to speak, "Tiv, you can't just run around shooting people in the head when they are unconscious. Such actions lead to the Dark Side, Tiv. Not to mention they make you no better than the Imperial Leaders. I know what the Imperials would have done to him if we left him for giving us information, however, we cannot go around killing people indiscriminately. If the Imperials would kill him then I can only regret that they are turning to the Dark Side. However, I don't want to see you turn to the Dark Side. Killing is easy Tiv and sometimes you have to kill to survive. However, I feel regret for each life I take, even if it is in self-defense or to save a companion. Do you understand what I am trying to say Tiv?" "Remind me again what that guy's choices were as of when I did that. He could: a) Bleed to death, his tortured, comatose mind feeling his life slip painfully away. b) Get patched up by yours truly. Find his way back to the Imperials. Have them not believe that the enemy would save his life, and get tortured for the information he supposedly had, or to find out what he leaked. Then killed for giving away the information, or killed for withholding the truth. c) Get patched up just enough that he might live until he is discovered, and the patch-up doesn't look obvious, spend several hours in a tortured dream-like state. By the way, did you know that an hour of dreaming takes less than five seconds of real time? If he talks fast, he might get to live as the dishonored cripple who gave in under torture, despised by all of his friends. d) Die quickly and painlessly. "I don't know about you, but if it was me, I'd pick option d). I don't like it. In fact I distinctly hate it, particularly when it's as up close and personal as that. Just before I pulled that trigger, I felt sick to my stomach. I didn't want to kill him, but he was dying, and to save his life would be to doom him to die in agony. Do you think the Imperials would believe the word of another Imperial that has been brought from the brink of death by a rebel, and had the bandages to prove it? Perhaps I was too quick to pull the trigger, but I don't see there being much other choice, for our sakes, or for his.", Tividor stated excitedly as he tapped his fingers and fidgeted the entire time, his manner more than a little exasperated. Sam sighed, "Forget it Tiv, I'm just trying to warn you! If you want to turn to the Dark Side fine by me! Oh, and trust me I am very aware of Imperial torture procedures! I've been through them, have you?" Sam snarled before walking off to the gun well again. Tividor said under his breath as Sam walks off, "Thank you. I'll be careful." With this, Tividor returned to his room with its haven of lowered gravity and the lower light levels of his native planet. A feature he has thought about extending to the rest of the ship, voice coded to his voice and the phrase, 'Who hit the lights?'. After a few standard hours had passed, Bracha decided to leave the bridge. He gathered the protocol droid and set off to find the rest of the crew. After locating them he dragged them to the lounge. He then said to them, "Arroough arr ar arrwwoopf? Argagrgg arroww orrre? Awwarr aroow arrrgar, arraugh arrow aghoooggg? Arrooodjajpf?" Since neither Tiv nor Sam had ever bothered to learn Wookie, and decided to let the protocol droid do the work for them, they hadn't had the slightest idea of what he meant. Luckily they did have a droid and after a brief pause he decided to translate for them, "Oh, Master Tividor, $%&^^$&$^&, Bracha says, 'What is &^$%&^% wrong with you? Why are we just &^$%*%^*&^ sitting here in the middle of &*^%&^&^ nowhere? I have made some calculations and those *&^%*^%&^% Imps can have the repairs done in one and a half days if they *^%&^%&^%^% push the crews, and you &^%&%^&% know they will don't you? We should just forget about the &^%&*^%&^% cargo and go straight there." Neither Tiv nor Sam were sure which of the preceding expletives where added by the droid and which were not, though it seemed pretty obvious that not all of them were. At any rate, dealing with a frustrated and increasingly angry Wookie in their midst was not the best way to live to a healthy old age. Sam looked at Tiv with a sudden gleam in her eye. "Tiv I do believe we would make wonderful bounty hunters! I believe we have a quarry on Tatooine do we not?" With that said, Bracha started calculating the jump to (14) Tatooine as the others prepared for the trip. After a while Bracha informed them, through the droid, that the trip will take half a day in hyperspace. Luckily the Star Destroyer will require two days, giving them between 2.5 and 4 days to find and extract Tallon. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1 : Sam is going to use Telekinesis, since the grenade is less than a kilogram, and Sam is only trying to make it travel in a straight line away from the group, the difficulty is easy=2d=3,4=7. Sam has 4d for her Alter abilities. Since she is not performing any other actions she rolls 4d=4,5,3,4=16, she succeeds in sending the grenade hurling in the opposite direction, toward the Imperial officer. 2 : Bracha fired his bowcaster twice. His skill is 5d+1, since he is firing twice and dodging there is a 2d penalty for multiple actions giving 3d+1 for each shot. The difficulty for range is easy=2d,5,3=8 the bounty hunter did not dodge. Bracha's rolls were 5,4,2=11+1=12 and 1,5,3 (1 on the wild die drop the 1 and the highest other die, re-roll the 1 to check for mishap) giving 3+1=4. The re-roll for the wild die produced another 1. The result was a hit and a miss with a mishap, in this case I decided that the weapon jammed. The bowcaster causes 4d damage. The roll was 5,5,4,4=18. The bounty hunter's strength + any value for armor is used to determine his resistance to damage. The hunter has no armor and his strength is 3d+2, his rolls were 4,2,2+2=10, Since the damage was between 9-12 over the damage resist roll, the hunter was incapacitated, he loses 2d to all actions and unconscious for 3 rounds. 3 : First I determined that the grenade traveled a little farther than necessary, GM's choice. I determined that the officer would be one meter away, the hunters about five meters and the rest about ten. The damage values for each distance would be 5d,3d,2d. The roll against the officer was 5d=3,4,3,2,1=13. The officer's damage resist roll was 2d+1=4,3+1=8. Since his resistance was less than the damage by 5, the officer was wounded, as such he loses consciousness for a round and has all rolls reduced by 1d. The rolls against the hunters were 3d+2=3,3,1=7 and 3d=3,2,2=7 respectively. The resist damage rolls were 3d+2=5,4,4+2=15 and 3d+2+1d(armor)=4,4,3,+2+3=16. Since the hunters made their rolls, they were unaffected by the blast. Tiv, Sam, and Bracha are in the outer damage ring, 2d. The rolls against them were 2d=4,3=7, 2d=5,4=9, and 2d=5,6=11 respectively. The resistance roll for Tiv was 3d+1d=5,5,4+4=18. Sam's roll was 2d+1d=5,4,3=12. Bracha's resist roll was 6d=5,6,4,3,2,1=21. Since their resistance rolls were also higher than the damage value, they were also unaffected by the blast. 4 : The bounty hunter that Bracha shot at was firing at Bracha at the same time. He tried to fire four shots. Bracha dodged (5d+1) and fired his bowcaster twice (three actions gives a penalty of 2d) giving him a difficulty of 3d+1=5,3,4+1=13. The attack roll for the hunter is 5d+1-3d(multiple action penalty)=2d+1. His rolls were as follows: 2d+1=5,4+1=10; 2d+1=4,6+1=10, 2d+1=5,6+1=12; 2d+1=1(1 on wild die drop the 1 and the highest other score, re-roll to determine mishap), 4+1=1; The re-roll gave a 1. There is a mishap. I decided that the hunter, while shooting wildly, hit the wall next to him causing 3d of damage, the damage was 3d=5,6,6=17. His resistance roll was 3d+2=4,3,2+2=11. Since this is less than the damage by 5, his incapacitated status gets downgraded to mortally wounded. The hunter gets a 3d penalty (except damage resistance rolls) to all rolls and is unconscious for several minutes. 5 : Tividor fired his Intimidator twice, at two different targets. Doing so allowed him to take advantage of that weapon's fire control bonus of 1d. He dodged as well making three actions this round for a penalty of 2d, giving a net result with fire control of 1d. His blaster skill is 6d. The difficulty is easy=2d=4,5=9 on the first target and 2d=5,5=10 on the second. Tiv's first shot had the following rolls: 5d=5,5,4,4,3=21. Since Tiv has the advanced skill medicine, he has good knowledge of anatomy of those creatures he is familiar with, if his roll beats the target by ten or more, I let him modify the damage by 1d. The Intimidator normally does 3d of damage, in this case it does 4d. The rolls were 4d=6(6 on wild die, re-roll and add result),5,5,4=20, the re-roll was a 6, as long as it is a 6 the result is re-rolled, adding the result. The next roll was a 5. The total then was 6, 5,5,4,6,5=31. The hunters resist damage was 3d+2+2=4,3,2+2+2=13. Since the damage was greater than 16 over the resist roll, the hunter was killed instantly. Tiv's second shot was, 5d=4,4,3,2,1=14. This was a normal hit. The damage roll was 3d=5,4,4 =13. The hunters resist roll was 3d+2=3,1,1+2=7. The damage was greater than the resist roll by 4-8 therefore the hunter's status slipped one more notch from mortally wounded to killed. 6 : Tiv is going to use his computer programming skills to enter the station security network, to make sure they do not have any unwanted visitors. The target for this is moderate, 3d=5,5,5=15. Tiv prepares, and his skill is 7d, the result is 8d=5,6,5,4,4,3,3,2=32, Tiv easily breaks into the network and monitors activity. 7 : Stabilizing the officer's condition, considering he is only wounded is easy, difficulty of 2d, Tiv's first aid is 6d. The difficulty was 2d=4,4=8, Tiv's roll was 6d=5,4,4,3,3,1=20. Tiv successfully stabilized the officer. 8 : Tiv is going to apply his Medicine skill again. His medicine skill is rated at 3d+1. He uses this to reduce damage done to the officer. The difficulty is very easy. Tiv's to hit dice will be 2d, as will his damage dice. The difficulty roll was 1d=3, Tiv's attack was 2d=6,6(6 on wild die, re-roll and add the result). The re-roll was 3=6,6,3=15. Since the to hit beat the target by 10 or more Tiv decides to reduce the damage by 1d, giving a damage result of 1d=3. The resist damage roll of the officer was 2d+2=5+ 5+2=12. The officer took no damage but was wakened as intended. 9 : Tiv is going to use his computer programming skills to enter the Imperial network, to confirm any information given. The target for this is difficult, 5d=4,4,3,2,1=14. Tiv prepares, and his skill is 7d, the result is 8d=3,3,2,2, 2,1,1,1=15. Tiv easily breaks into the network and accesses the desired information. 10 : I determined that for each limb dislocated the officer would slip one more status down. For a Wookie dislocating his arms was a very simple task and I did not deem it necessary to roll for it as I also decided that the officer would slip one notch. 11 : Tiv makes a roll. At point blank range, the roll was at 1d. I figured he could not miss, I needed to see if there were any mishaps. He rolled a five, so there were no mishaps. 12 : Bracha has a space transports skill of 6d+2, launching a ship is easy. The difficulty roll was 2d=4,4=8, Bracha's piloting roll was 6d+2=5,5,3,3,3,2, 1+2=22. Bracha eased the ship out of the station easily. 13 : Bracha has an astrogation skill of 5d+2. The difficulty for such a short hop in hyperspace is moderate. The roll was 4d=3,2,1,1=7. Bracha's astrogation roll was 5d+2=4,4,3,3,2+2=18. Bracha made the jump to this empty spot in space without incident. 14 : Bracha needs to calculate a hyperspace jump from here to Tatooine. The difficulty is difficult since the start point is in deep space off of the main routes. Also the Tatooine run is not very common. the target is 5d=4,4,3,3,1 =15. Bracha takes time to prepare and increases his roll to 6d+2=5,5,4,4,3,1 +2=24. Since Bracha beat the target, the trip to Tatooine was uneventful. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Voyage of the Ice Hawk by Alan A. Spencer (aspencer@northtel.com) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prologue The blast of wind and snow blowing through the doorway awoke me, as well as the swearing and slamming shut of the door to the captain's cabin. My eyes opened, with great effort, to the Captain moving steadily toward the swinging flask attached to the lamphook. The movement of the ship rocked my hammock, but the captain walked as if the swaying wasn't there. "Curse all you priests." The Captain grunted after taking a long drink, and then replacing the stopper in the flask. "The Winter Gods are after my ship, and all because of YOU!" "And where would you be without me, Captain? Perhaps you would like to still be suffering from that broken arm in this storm?" My voice was grating, sore and still filled with sleep. My patience was waning, as was my strength. I needed to rest. Still, the captain had a point. It was because of us ... no, just me now, that he and his crew were out here on the ice during the Wasting Time. Or was it just me left? My mind blurred with scenes from the past. What was it? Weeks, days, months? I can't recall precisely. I needed to sleep. Sleep or death? My soul shuddered at that thought, as I didn't think I really knew which I really wanted. "Besides, I didn't cause the winds, they are only a part of the Great Wheel of Life." I replied, trying a bit more tact. The movement of my hand pulling up the covering furs caused a grimace of pain, but it was lost on the captain. I saw my words did nothing to ease his mind, or manner. A short time ago I would have given him a good accounting of logic and emotional recourse to have him see my side. Now all I could think of was sleep. Even the pain of my partially healed hand was dulled by my exhaustion. The captain roared as he started back toward the door. "You don't fool me, Infernal Priest! The sooner you leave my ship, the better I'll feel. By Geol's Blood, if you weren't under the Seal, I'd..." A huge lurch of the ship to starboard had the captain storming out the door before he could finish. Icerunners in heavy winds were very dangerous to the non-experienced, even an Icefrigger like this one. And no one in their right mind was out on the open ice during the Wasting Time. "Right mind?" I mused on to myself, the captain already fading from my conscious thought. "Who in their right mind would even have started this? Maybe Nicolaus heard this? I ... no, he was gone." My thoughts became a jumble as fatigue overtook me. "Nicolaus, Rhinanon, Rayanne, Kazeldum? Gone? No, dead. No that's no quite right. It just seems like yesterday... no, spring. Was it so long ago?" Sleep overtook the druid, and again he dreamed... or did he? Even he could not say. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Darkstone: The Seige of Catpaw Davor Matijasevic (davor@result.si) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear readers, What you are about to read is the first chapter of the series I named "Darkstone - the story". It tells the tale of Darkstone, a Necromancer and his adventures. This chapter describes how his parents met and the events following it will be described in the next chapter. All names and events in this chapter are a product of my imagination except for Griffon Riders might be considered borrowed from the game Warcraft 2, but the term has been used in numerous campaigns before the game was even conceived. In future chapters, other people's characters (from PBEM or real-life campaigns) will appear and due credits will be added. Due to tight schedule, I might not be able to publish every month, but you can count on at least one chapter every other month. I plan to make this a long story and I hope you'll enjoy it. Please send comments and criticisms by email to davor@result.si. Have fun, Davor. ******************************************************************************* Darkstone - the story Chapter One The Siege of Catpaw The sun was rising. Once again the town was safe. Trolls had retreated into the woods. It seemed that these vile creatures detested sun so much they preferred to hide from it that to continue their attack on Catpaw. Amalia Strongbow wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed. She needed rest, just as everyone defending the town did. Tonight's attack was more furious than previous ones. It was repelled but the cost has been high. Too many good men fell to trolls' claws. If only they could hold on for couple more days, the Griffon Riders from Stonewall Castle would arrive to help them. The cavalry from Azemuth was said to be a week away, but with the help from magic-wielding Griffon Riders, they would be able to hold. Still, it was these two or three days that worried Amalia. Watches were posted and tired warriors went to their cottages to get some deserved and very much needed rest. Tonight they would have to defend their village again. Many more would perish, but they had to do it. Amalia sat on her bedroll and tried to doze off, but the sleep wouldn't come. She was a ranger, accustomed to fight, but she was tired and her body, numb from fighting, refused to relax. She started thinking back to how it all happened. The trolls appeared suddenly, first attacking two of the caravans coming to the town. Rare survivors reported of groups of trolls which appeared from the darkness of the forest and killed everything in their path. After butchering everyone they could find, they would return to the woods without looting the wagons. Catpaw's heads decided to send a group of warriors to investigate, and if possible, to rid the forest of the troll menace. Four warriors, a wizard and a priest were all seasoned adventurers, yet none returned. The town grew worried. It was decided to prepare for possible invasion, yet nobody thought it would be this fierce. Only after the actual attacks came, requests for help were sent out. The scale of the siege was understood only after it was discovered that all attempts of magical communication were blocked. There was no other option but to send messengers on horses. Of the first five riders one returned only the next day, mortally wounded. Trolls had surrounded the town and other messengers died at their claws. It was about that time that the last man reached the town. It was Syphell Valerian, a Necromancer. At first, he was almost lynched, for people thought him responsible for trolls' invasion. He tried to convince the mob that he came to help them, but it was only after intervention of Antoine Dragontail, one of the town's heads, that he was released. Antoine knew Syphell to be a good man despite his profession and he knew that town needed every able man if it was to be defended. Still, it was not until actual attacks started that Syphell was cleared of suspicion. She could remember it clearly, the shouts of guards, the burning of torches, screeching of catapults, and above all, the screams. Trolls attacked at night, surprising the guards and almost crushing the town's defenses. She remembered strapping on her leather armor and grabbing Orcfoe, her trusty bastard sword, and running out only to see hideous outlines of trolls pouring in through the crushed gate and the remains of the guards trying to stop them. She could still see how suddenly a great ball of fire appeared in front of the leading troll and engulfed its head. The creature roared in pain and stopped in its tracks, the fiery globe burning his head. The trolls behind it slowed down, moved a few steps away from their screaming leader and started looking around. Then, a voice was heard. "You shall not pass." it boomed in the night. Trolls stood still for a moment and then saw the source of the voice. It was Syphell. He was standing in the middle of the street, alone. One of his hands was outstretched, the other held a carved staff with a black glowing sphere on top. "You shall all die like your leader." he said, and lowered his hand a bit. The burning globe dropped and ignited the fallen troll's body. His screams increased but soon stopped. The globe left his smoldering body and levitated in front of the other trolls. Suddenly, a low roar was heard and trolls prepared to continue their charge, ready to tear apart the human who tried to stop them. As they moved to close on their prey, a flaming sphere shot toward them. Their ranks split but one troll wasn't fast enough. The sphere caught him in the midsection, causing him to throw himself to the ground and try to extinguish it, but all in vain. Still, trolls were many and Syphell was alone. Three of the trolls ran toward him, but he stood unmoved. Suddenly, the first of them fell under the rain of arrows. The city of Catpaw had awakened. The time Syphell had bought with his spellcasting was enough to allow the defenders to rush to the scene. Armed warriors appeared from every street, and bowmen started shooting arrows from doorways, windows and roofs. However, Syphell was still in danger. Although one of his assailants had been killed, two of them still advanced upon him. Syphell narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist. The burning globe, which was slowly killing the troll rolling on the floor disappeared. Syphell extended his hands, fingers spread in a fan-like pattern. He waited until trolls were almost upon him, their claws raised, murderous grins on their faces. He spoke a word and jets of white-hot flame burst from his fingers, exploding one troll's face and burning the other, but the troll was far from finished. He struck at Syphell, but his claw was stopped inches from the mage's body as it hit an invisible barrier surrounding the necromancer. The creature stood dumbfounded, not expecting something to stop its strike. Syphell started raising its hand to cast another spell, when something grabbed his ankle and pulled him to the ground. One of the trolls killed in the vicinity had regenerated sufficiently to crawl to the mage and attack him. Syphell managed to raise his staff trying to protect himself from the troll above him, but he knew that the creatures strength was far too great for him to deflect its strike. The troll raised his claw and struck. As he was inches from Syphell's hand, a flash of steel appeared between them and the troll's arm flew away. Syphell could see someone standing next to the troll, but couldn't see the warrior's face. Another flash of steel was seen and the troll's head fell of his shoulders. Syphell jumped on his feet and took a torch the warrior handed to him. He quickly burned both trolls and turned to see how the fight was going. He sighed. The trolls were retreating. Town was saved, for now. He turned to thank the warrior for saving him, and gasped. Next to him stood a woman. She was dressed in leather armor and held a bastard sword in her hand. He tried to speak, but words wouldn't come out of his mouth. The woman smiled and said "I hope you're not offended by being saved by a woman. Or you perhaps believe that women can't fight?". Syphel regained his senses and spoke "Not for a moment, milady. I've seen many a woman fight, yet I've never seen any so delicate slicing trolls heads off in a single stroke. I hope I can some day return the debt I'm in." He bowed slightly. Amalia, for it was she who saved Syphell's life, returned the bow. As she bowed, Syphell saw a giant figure leaping toward her back. "Watch out!" he shouted just as troll closed to strike. Amalia started turning but the troll was faster. He struck her in the shoulder and blood spurted from it, hitting Syphell in the face. He shouted two words of power and touched Amalia with his staff. As he did so, she disappeared. The troll was confused for a split second, but he promptly turned to deal with the mage who stole his kill. He looked toward Syphell and the pointy end of the mage's staff entered his eye, crushing the eyeball and causing searing pain in the troll's head. He screamed and took a step back, giving Syphell time to cast another spell. The mage spoke words of power and pointed his hand holding some small object in it, toward the back-stepping troll. The troll was about to steady himself when he felt strange numbness enveloping his limbs. Numbness gave way to rigidness and in a moment, the troll was standing immobile. He could see Syphell approaching him and taking a vial from one of his pouches. Syphell picked up the torch and stood next to the troll. "This is how all die who hurt those I care about." he said, and crushed the vial on the troll's body. He looked into the troll's eyes and could see only bloodlust. It strengthened his determination and he lowered the torch to troll's body. The liquid from the broken vial caught fire immediately. The troll burned down without a sound, held in place by Syphell's spell. Syphell took another look and then rushed toward the place he had transported Amalia. She was sitting on the ground, trying to stop the bleeding from the wound on her shoulder. Syphell knelt next to her and took several leaves from a pouch. He put them on the wound and said, "Hold this on the wound, it will ease the pain. Here, let me help you up." Amalia started protesting, but Syphell ignored her and helped her up to her feet. They looked around the battlefield and saw that no trolls were in sight. Gates were hastily replaced and repairs were in progress. More watches were posted and torches prepared. Slowly, Syphell helped Amalia to the church. It was the first of many long nights they spent together, fighting trolls and defending the town. Amalia turned on her bed and looked to the next bunk. Syphell was asleep, breathing deeply, resting his body and mind for another battle. She smiled, and sleep slowly took over. If only they could hold on for few more days ... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Members Announcements -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: GameMasterless Roleplaying Author: (Infinite@j51.com) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Quest for Power Game Masterless Role-Playing The number one problem players face in role-playing is finding a game master . Infinite Imagination, Inc. has solved this problem with the release of Quest for Power: Darkness in the Light, and the new and innovative gaming system: Random Adventure Game Generating System (R.A.G.G.S.) The R.A.G.G.S. system is destined to change the face of the gaming world. This system will be unveiled in our first product, Quest for Power: Darkness in the Light. Quest for Power is not just a board game, card game, or role- playing game but a product that uses your imagination to make yourself part of an entire gaming world. Our starter set will include everything necessary for 8 people to immediately begin playing. Character Creation. Players first create their characters by selecting their race and profession and then personalizing them by placing values for six different attributes. These attributes help to define the strengths and weakness of your character . Characters may also choose a particular Deity to follow which will bestow its blessings on those who are deemed worthy. Up to eight people may play at once (Yes, this can be played solo.) How the R.A.G.G.S. system works. Once all players are created, then they enter the R.A.G.G.S. Quest board. This is made up of 64 playing cards. Each one of these cards presents a unique situation that a Game Master would normally present. You role-play by trying to overcome each problem and obstacle. The cards are made up of the following categories: Encounter (Monsters to fight); Situations where players have to make a decision and roll against one of their attributes to determine the outcome. Rolling dice is a key element in R.A.G.G.S. All the standard size dice are used during game play ( 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, or 20 sided di.); Rest areas where injuries are healed; plot cards and NPC's (Non-player character) which give players information about the game which you may use to effect the entire playing board. These 64 cards are shuffled, and placed face down on a flat surface in an 8 by 8 diagram (8 rows by 8 columns). During game play, each player would start along the perimeter of the board and flip a card over. They would then read it, and decide upon a course of action and begin adventuring. Then on each turn, the players move around the playing board: Gaining experience to go up in levels; Solving Mini-Quests; Fighting Encounters; Gaining treasure or information about the gaming world; And interact with each player by either joining them, helping them or fighting them. Great Stories complement R.A.G.G.S. Each Quest for Power ä product has a story built right into the game. There is an actual plot to solve and clues are given during game play. However the game is very non-linear so nothing has to be done in any order. In fact, players do not even have to solve the quest if they choose not to. Replay value of R.A.G.G.S. Once someone solves the game. You can re-shuffle the cards and start a new game. Since you are shuffling the cards again, each card will be in a different place so even if you know every card, you never know where they are on the quest board. This means that each quest can be played over and over without ever having the same ending or situations. The game is always fresh and exciting each time you play. Contact your local retail or hobby stores and request the Winter 1997 release of Quest for Power For more information concerning Infinite Imagination, Inc. or Quest for Power ä contact: E-mail: Douglas Schonenberg (Infinite@j51.com) Or write us at: Infinite Imagination, Inc. 19 Skyline Terrace Nanuet, NY 10954 Or Call: Voice & Fax (914) 426-1301 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- How Quest for Power works What is Quest for Power The Quest for Power series by Infinite Imagination, Inc. is the next step in role-playing. It is the only role-playing game that does not need a game master. This is accomplished by having the game itself tell a story and give you the opportunity to make decisions. Quest for Power is not just a board game, card game, or role-playing game but a product that uses your imagination to make yourself part of an entire gaming world. You will be able to explore exciting new worlds where there is danger at every turn and mysteries to be solved without the need of a game master. The lives of many people will be effected by your choices; you may help them or decide to subjugate them under your wrathful banner. Untold glory can be yours without leaving your home. How a character is created Players create their own characters or alter-ego in the game. This is done in the following way: A - The Player first needs to give their character a name. Then the race and profession of the character they wish to play. The game comes with several different choices to choose from. There are 10 races and 6 professions. Each race has its own unique properties and special abilities. In the game, each Quest card has a particular terrain. Each race has different strengths and weaknesses based on a particular terrain so each card itself will be played differently by each different race. There are also different professions to choose from. Each profession is able to use certain items that the others can not. They also have their own special abilities to be used during game play. B - Each player may choose a Deity to follow. These Deities are invoked during game play and give each player special help when they are in game play. C - There are 6 attributes that a player has 60 points to determine values for. The attributes are: Strength, Intelligence, Agility, Charisma, Luck, and Initiative. Each attribute helps to define a character's makeup. The attribute values may be between 2 and 16. Also each profession has basic minimum requirements for certain attributes that must be met. Random Adventure Game Generating System (R.A.G.G.S.) Once characters are created and players are ready to begin then the Random Adventure Game Generating System (R.A.G.G.S.) itself is set up. The Quest board is made up of 64 playing cards. These cards are made up of : Encounters (Monsters to fight), situations where the player has to make a decision where they would roll against one of their attributes to determine the outcome, rest areas where players regain lost blood power (hit points) and mind power (magic points), and plot cards which tell you about the game and give you a chance to effect the playing board. These 64 cards are shuffled, and placed down on a flat surface in an 8 by 8 diagram (8 rows and 8 columns) face down. This way nobody knows what card is where so everyone whether experienced or new start out the same. These cards are the Game master. They present situations that a GM would present to a player and how they react to it is how they role-play. During game play, each player would start along the perimeter of the board and flip a card over. They would then read it and decide upon a course of action. Then on each different turn, the players move around the playing board, gaining experience, solving mini-quests, fighting monsters in an attempt to solve the overall game. There is an actual plot to the game that can be solved. However it can be ignored so players are free to do whatever they want. Players can choose to just try to gain experience or just to roam around the board killing other players. A typical game takes about 2 hours to complete. Once someone solves the game. You can then reshuffle the cards and start a new game. Since you are shuffling the cards again, each card will be in a different place so even if you know every card, you never know where they are on the quest board. Team Play and Parties In Quest for Power it is possible for groups of players to join up and form a team. This team then plays the game as a group and would then adventure in our gaming world together. Players may all team up as one party to solve the game, play in groups of two or three all group up against one player. How many people may play Quest for Power at once Quest for Power comes complete for up to 8 players. The game itself may be played as a solitaire game or with up to 8 people. These 8 people may play as one large group, in smaller groups of two's or three's, or all individually. Combining more than one Quest to form your own gaming world Another unique aspect of QFP is the ability to combine several quests. Each QFP module is one chapter in an overall story starting with Darkness in the Light. This means that a decision you made in one quest can have an effect on later quests. You may also combine two or more quests at the same time to create as large a playing world as you wish to. Thus increasing the time it takes to play a game; the more challenges you have to over come; and the more players you can add to a game. You could add dozens or even a hundred people to one game if you had a few quests and you wanted to. Characters grow during game play by gaining experience and going up levels. You can bring your character to different quests so it will grow and get more powerful. What the Quest for Power starter set comes with Our Quest for Power ä starter set has everything you need for 8 people to begin playing. This way you do not have to worry about having to buy 10 different things to play our game. For $29.95, you get the following: 64 Quest cards, Enough Character inventory cards for 8 players, 10 Treasure cards, 6 Deity cards, 6 dice, character sheets, Quest for Powerä Rule Book, "Darkness in the Light" Quest Scenario, and 8 character markers. In other words 8 people can chip in and purchase one product, and in a few minutes, 8 people can begin playing. Nobody has to spend anything else to play the game. This is not a collectible card game. We are a role-playing game that uses cards or an Role Playing card game (RPCG). Douglas Schonenberg Infinite Imagination, Inc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Wanted: Authors Author: (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IRPS is still looking for new authors. We have only one space left in the "Monthly Columns" section of the magazine, but we still have lots of room in "Role-playing Aids" and "Fiction". Note that these can be monthly as well if you desire to do an ongoing story or a section on magical items etc. We are particularly interested in those that are able to write either generic role- playing aids/tables or material for systems other than AD&D - but I will still accept AD&D oriented material. If you would like to write for us please mail me and I will send you the guidelines. These guidelines must be followed! Please do not send me your article pasted on an E-mail unless you have a MAC and cannot attach it in DOS text as specified. Please also make sure you have your name, E-mail address, and the title of the article on the attachment, and not just in your mail. Please name the attachment with your initials. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: FTP Site Author: (sidereal@epix.net) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New service for IRPS members : The IRPS is creating an FTP archive for RPG related materials that our members can access. For now, we will archive large RPG related documents, binary executables of original RPG related programs, and graphics files which are relevant to either of the above ( maps, for example, if you write an adventure ). All submissions must meet our guidelines before we consider your material for our site. Materials found to be unsuitable, or that do not meet the guidelines will be rejected. Guidelines governing the FTP Archive site for IRPS members: 1. Acceptable material: *RPG related documents which are too large to be considered as an article. *Original RPG related executable programs which are of some use to the role- playing community. *Graphics files only if they are relevant to an associated document or executable program. 2. Copyright : *Items sent to us must not infringe upon any existing copyright. If you are in doubt about what you want to send to us, DON'T send it. *Items sent to us must have a standard disclaimer stating use of any potentially copyrighted material. *By sending us your documents and programs, you agree to accept full and total responsibility for any copyright violations which your document or program may incur. You also agree to release the IRPS and its affiliates from any and all responsibility for difficulties and damages caused by your materials. 3. We will not place submissions on our site if they contain the following material: pornographic descriptions, references, or pictures vulgar language plagiarized material 4. The way its got to be : Documents must be in one of the following formats; any that are not, will be refused. Document files may be *.zip compressed with pkzip or WinZip before sending. == ASCII text (DOS Text or Windows 95 Notepad) == Windows Write or Windows 95 WordPad == Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0, 6.0 == WordPerfect 4.2, 5.0, 5.1, 6.0, 6.1 Tables and charts submitted in Microsoft Excel v. 5.0 or before are acceptable. Programs should include the *.exe and all requisite affiliated files, as well as a *txt file that explains what the program does, what it is used for, and how to use it, in a single *.zip file. Graphics must be either *.jpg, *.gif, *.pcx, or *.bmp and included with the files which they are associated. 5. General : *All submissions are expected to be in English, and have good spelling and grammar. It doesn't have to be perfect, but at least readable and understandable. *If the submissions editor cannot open your file to read it, it will not be used. *If you do not use PC Eudora as your mailer, attached files should be encoded with MIME or BinHex. If it is encoded in any other format, it will decode as garbage, and will be relegated as such. *File extensions ; We ask that you try to make our job a little easier by using standard file extensions for your documents. The standard extensions are as follows : ASCII - *.txt Windows Write / WordPad - *.wri Microsoft Word - *.doc WordPerfect - *.wpd Microsoft Excel - *.xls Submissions should be sent to the Archives Submission Editor Bryan Manahan at (sidereal@epix.net) Please include "Archive Submission" somewhere in the subject of the message, as the members of our editorial staff receive many messages a day, and this will help ensure that your submission is properly processed. Disclaimer : The material available through this FTP archive is offered as-is, without warranty. The IRPS staff and its affiliates do not guarantee the suitability of any materials contained on the site for use with any particular application or system configuration. By downloading information contained at this site, you agree to accept the files at your own risk. You also agree that the IRPS staff and its affiliates are not responsible for any damages, corruption of files, or other calamity which may occur as a result of your use of files downloaded from this archive site. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Come and Explore the GameVerse! Author: http://www.gameverse.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Come explore the GameVerse! The Game Universe http://www.gameverse.com/ We invite all worldbuilders, gamers, java/activex programmers, artists, and contributors to come explore the planets of the Jelhan universe. Participate in live play by IRC games with GM administration screens, player interfaces, and lurker pages... Come register for Play by E-mail Games (PBEM) and find local games in your community. Or better, yet... worldbuilders, host your world or continent or city in the GameVerse and participate in the upcoming 24-hour live role-playing universe! For more information: mail to: grafx@genevaonline.com or visit our chatroom at irc://www.gameverse.com:6667/#GameVerse or irc://comicsrv.microsoft.com:6667/#GameVerse -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: The Shadowrun Supplemental Author: (fro@lis.ab.ca) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Shadowrun Supplemental is a new Electronic Magazine dedicated to the FASA Role-playing game Shadowrun. It is a bi-monthly publication and the first issue is due out in early Febuary. You can check it out at http://www.geocities.com/area51/6112/tss.html, or email fro@lis.ab.ca for more information. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- General Inquiries and all submissions can be sent to Karen Mizeri at (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca) Editing: Karen Mizeri (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca) - Bryan E. Manahan - Jason Englisch - Anthony Scalzitti - Josh Yockey - Matthew Kunce Layout/Design: Jenn Millington (jimjen@interlog.com) - Steve Edwards - Meera Barry HTML: Pete Calvert (pcalvert@economics.adelaide.edu.au) - Mikko Eley Graphics: Kosala Ubayasekara (d96-kub@nada.kth.se) - Aries J. Galindo Advertising: Lawrence Marz (marz@hotstar.com) Writer's Assistant : Eugene Tillery (ewulf@dbtech.net) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Publication Guidelines Articles: - All articles must be submitted in ASCII. Lines are 80 characters. - Absolutely no foul language. - Articles must be spell checked, and have an understandable format. - Articles must meet basic grammar requirements. - We accept articles in English only. - ARTICLES MUST MEET ALL COPYRIGHT/TRADEMARK LAWS. This is very, very important. The larger companies are starting to crack down. IRPS cannot afford to be held responsible for copyright/trademark breach. Questionable articles will be refused unless the author can prove they meet these laws. - Original submissions only please. We do not reprint. - We reserve the right to not to publish everything we receive. - We accept role playing aids, fiction, poetry, articles on issues effecting the gaming world, reviews, and classified advertisements. - Submission deadline is the 15th of the month. - IRPS does not accept any material that could be deemed as pornographic. - Please do not use < and > in characters in your writing. - Do not use trademarked names in your writing. If you must - credit them appropriately. - There is a size limit of 5000 words. That is approximately ten pages. - Clearly state which section of the magazine you are submitting to. The sections are: Role playing aids, Monthly Columns, Classifieds, and Fiction. If you want a monthly column you must request it. - These guidelines may change from time to time, we reserve the right to add and revise as we see fit. Articles are submitted to (kmizeri@pris.bc.ca). Any articles not meeting these guidelines will be returned for revision. ---------------------- Graphics: All submissions of graphics can be directed to Kosala Ubayasekara at (d96-kub@nada.kth.se). - Maximum filesize for each artwork submitted is 50K - The artwork should be preferable already in .gif or .jpeg format. You can send them in other formats also, if you have trouble converting them. However all artwork included in the mag will be converted to .gif or .jpeg format, if not already in that state. - Send copies of your work, not originals. - Include a name for the artwork. Include also the artists name, and email address if applicable. - IRPS does not accept any material that is overly graphic or pornographic in nature. - We reserve the right not to publish all submissions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE RPG TIMES is published as an information and entertainment service to members of the Internet Role Playing Society. Descriptions of, or references to, products or publications within this publication do not imply endorsement of that product or publication by IRPS. IRPS makes no warranty of any kind with respect to the subject matter included herein, the game systems listed herein, or the completeness or accuracy of this publication. IRPS specifically disclaims all warranties, express, implied or otherwise, including without limitation, all warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular system. IRPS acknowledges that all copyrights remain the sole property of the author. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------