Dragon Magazine 017.pdf

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

THE DRAGON is proud to welcome a new cartoonist to our

Features

Vampires in the Dungeon -- a real heavy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Faceless Men & Clockwork Monsters — mixing D&D with MA . . . . 6

Tesseracts driving D&D mappers wild . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

pages, Will McLean. He has provided a number of amusing cartoons

which will undoubtedly be popping up in future issues, and we hope he

sends us more.

You may have noticed that this is the biggest TD ever that doesn’t

contain a game or insert of some sort. We hope to keep it at least this

size, and hope to add more pages in the fall. There is one major stumb-

ling block, however, that could easily prevent that; more pages use

more material. The simple addition of more pages, even though one or

more are sold to advertisers, means we consume that much more ma-

terial. At this very moment, TD is hurting for good quality material.

All of you writers that have been stalling around had better get hot

soon . . . especially those that are late on promised pieces.

As you peruse the Table of Contents, you might notice that this is

our potpourri issue, containing a little bit of everything, hopefully

something to please everyone. In this issue, and the next, we are run-

ning quite a number of reviews of games that came out this past year.

This came about because it was not until rather recently that we got to-

gether with a couple of good reviewers. This way, we are clearing the

decks for the floods of convention releases that is imminent, and will be

able to review them in much more timely fashion.

Don’t forget to cast your ballots for the Strategist Club Awards if

you haven’t already done so. I hope to see a number of you at the SC

Banquet on Thursday, August 17th. More details can be found else-

where in this issue regarding the Banquet; if you’re planning to come to

GenCon, you shouldn’t miss the rare opportunity that the Banquet

offers; good food and stimulating company for a reasonable price.

How can you lose . . .?

Variants

Jousting in D&D ........................................ 4

A Wizard With A Difference — specialized NPC's .............. 10

Sights & Sounds in D&D . . ................................ 1 5

Magic Munchkins, The Scholar & The CAS’TCHEN —

bizarre beasties ....................................... 16

The Monk & Bard in Dungeon! — two new players. ............. 17

A Short History of Adamanite ............................. 31

Angels in D&D ........................................ 32

Natural Armor in Monsters, Monsters ...................... 3 3

Design/Designer’s Forum

OGRE Piece by Piece. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

Boredom and the Average D&D Dungeon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Dragon Mirth

Fantasy Forge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18-19

Finieous Fingers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Wormy...............................................35

Warp War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Trampier

TD Editor T. J. Kask Tom Wham

LW Editor Joe Orlowski Circulation Mgr. Joe Orlowski

Art Dept. Dave Sutherland

David

Reviews

Dragonlord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Correction

We let a mistake slip by on The Judge’s Guild ad last issue.

The 3 Year Sub is $33.00, not $29.00 as stated. We apologize

for any inconveniences.

If your mailing label says “TD 17”

this is your last issue. . . resubscribe

Publisher’s Statement

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

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

teed. Subscriptions outside the U.S. and Canada are $20.00, and are air-mailed overseas. (Payment must be made in US currency or by international money order.) All material published herein becomes the ex-

clusive property of the publisher unless special arrangements to the contrary are made. Subscription expiration is coded onto the mailing list. The number to the right of the name, prefixed by LW or TD is

the last issue of the subscription. Notices will not be sent.

Change of address must be filed 30 days prior to mailing date (first of Feb., Apr., June., Aug., Oct., Dec.)

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

Application to mail as second-class postage rates is pending at Lake Geneva, WI 53147 and additional entry points.

Publisher E. Gary Gygax

Managing Ed. T. J. Kask

August, 1978

Vampires in the Dungeon

Hey, Dave, why is this fog moving with us??

by Clayton J. Miner

As anybody who has played D&D for awhile knows, and any judge

who has rolled one of these up knows, vampires are bad news. When

properly run, vampires are partystompers of the highest degree. A good

vampire has all the tenacity of a D.S.D., the charm of a wanton, willing

damsel, and the craftiness of a Chinese fox, but most of all, vampires

are possessed of high strength and an even higher intelligence. One

vampire in the dungeon should be sufficient to, at the least, decimate a

hardy band of adventurers; he usually totally annihilates his opposi-

tion.

the stick or whatever you have used, reciting prayers and so forth.

When properly made, there is a chance that any unfortunate who is

charmed will be prevented from leaving the circle.

As to mirrors, it depends on how the judge wants to run it. Here

legends conflict, but the main view is that the vampire will run from it.

The secondary view, and a bit more realistic, is that the average vam-

pire will stay at bay, trying to get the player to drop the mirror.

The recommended method of dealing with a vampire is to stake the

thing, but the noise and struggles involved will usually attract some-

thing else looking for a free meal. The stake is a good method, pro-

viding that the stake is made of either hawthorn or blackthorn, and is

correctly installed. Here is another point that is confusing. According

to legend, the stake has to impale the heart either in one and only one

stroke, or in a number of strokes not to exceed four. The final deter-

mination should be left up to the judge himself. Stakes are a temporary

measure at best. They can rot, be burned away, be pulled out, or jarred

loose, all of which allow the vampire to rise again.

In legend, the best way to permanently end the existence of a vam-

pire is to find him in his coffin, preferably before dark, or just after

dawn; however, if you can find the vampire after he has been sated at

any time, he, she, it, they will be easier to handle. A vampire with fresh

blood around his mouth has just fed, and if in his coffin, will be rather

lethargic. The procedure for disposing of a vampire is as follows; while

the one person is hammering the stake home, his companion has the

option of saying a prayer for the dead, which will commend the spirit to

heaven. Once the vampire has finished it’s death throes, one of the par-

ticipants removes the head from the body, leaving it in the coffin. Next

the heart is to be excised and burned. This ensures that the vampire will

remain in the world of the dead. One of the many options is the placing

of flowers in the hands and the mouths of the body after the stake is in

place, and before the head is removed. Generally however, if the vam-

pire is over one-hundred years old, it will crumble to dust. In this case,

both the dust and the coffin must be burned!

Another way of sticking it to the vampire is to pour holy water into

the coffin, making it a booby trap. If, as you are walking through the

dungeon, fortunate enough to find a vampire’s coffin, with no vam-

pire, leave in it a broken host, or a crucifix. This makes the coffin use-

less to the vampire, but it won’t destroy him. It will only deny him rest

until he can charm or bully a couple of kobolds into getting him a dirt-

filled replacement. Outside the dungeon however, this is usually a good

method for destroying a vampire without jeopardizing yourself.

Stealing the dirt is another nasty trick, and one worthy of even the

most lawful cleric. A final word of warning; don’t try to employ any of

these measures on a coffin containing the vampire, unless he is sated

with blood, as he will be able to charm you even if the coffin is opened

in sunlight. The charm is almost always successful, because vampire

hunters are sure to be surprised when the vampire looks at him in broad

daylight.

The list of tactics and trick on the part of a vampire is close to end-

less. For example, being in gaseous form in a fog, or a mist, going to

gaseous form and slipping part way under a door or window in order to

entice players to fling open the door or window, thereby inviting the

vampire in.

Use your imagination, as I have said the list is almost endless. One

last practice by the vampire is to take a quick snack from the victim,

without killing him, and then either releasing him, or trying to keep him

alive, with the intent to prolong a food supply. A vampire’s victim does

not begin to develop vampire characteristics unless near death, or

forced by the vampire to drink the vampire’s own blood. (See Dracula,

by Bram Stoker)

Well we have now reached the end, and hopefully this will help

both the player’s and the judge in what to expect when battling a vam-

pire. One thing left needs to be said; Next to a dungeon vampire, Count

Dracula and Nosferatu were pikers! Steer clear of graveyards at night,

and patches of mist in the night, or you will soon be hearing a voice

from the heavens asking; “What was your armour class???”

Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on which side of the

fangs one is on, most judges I have had the pleasure of playing with do

not use the vampire to its fullest potential. Now then let us look at the

vampire and its abilities, and see why these creatures of the night are so

dreaded by the not so ignorant peasants of the old country.

First of all, the vampire’s greatest weapon is his vast strength. This

takes first place over charm because there is little chance of failure for

the vampire. On the average, the minimum strength for a vampire is an

8:69. With this reservoir of energy a vampire can rip doors off of the

hinges, batter down lords, and lift all but the strongest of fighters off

of his feet, crushing his windpipe as he hauls the warrior into the

shadows.

The charm ability is deadly to the party, but here one has a chance

for one last scream of terror. Too often have vampires in many a dun-

geon, mine included, just charmed one person, told him to come to the

master, and spirited him away, leaving behind a whole room full of

tasty corpuscles and nourishing platelets. What an intelligent vampire

does is charm as many people as possible, tell them to wait here for him

to return, and then goes off to retrieve the rest of the party, returning to

his banquet in a short while. Here is one of the places that the legendary

high speed of the vampire is most useful.

But what is the vampire is hungry, and doesn’t want to go on a

blind hunt for more victims? The answer is simple enough, and takes

just a few minutes of advanced planning on the part of the vampire. In-

stead of just using his rats and so forth as an attack force, what the

thinking vampire will do, as soon as he moves into your labyrinth, is to

whip the rats and mice, and whatever else he can charm or bully, into a

highly effective spy network. How many adventurers have bothered to

engage a rat in hand-to-hand combat? Why, with this set up, the vam-

pire can be the undisputed master of the dungeon, not only terrorizing

players, but many monsters (undead not included, of course.)

It is generally recognized that the average vampire can turn himself

into a bat, flitting here and there, looking for a quick snack, but this is

not the only form of transport available to the lamia. I am speaking, of

course, of the vampire’s gaseous form. This is both an offensive and a

defensive ability. All judges are familiar with the defensive aspect of

this, when threatened the vampire becomes gaseous and moves off,

away from the party. However this ability can be very effective in as-

saulting the party. All the vampire has to do is rush past the party at the

highest speed it can reach, (in some sources this is said to be up to 50

m.p.h.) buffeting the party as a high wind, continually retracing its

path, eventually wearing down and confusing the poor mortals. And if

things don’t go the way the vampire wants things to go, he just leaves

the party, only to follow it a short distance away, waiting for the

chance to resolidify and pounce once more.

The problem with vampirism in the dungeon is that it grows, like

the plague, as long as there are living creatures available. Eliminating

the vampire is just as hard as surviving an attack. Before you say, “All

you need is a cross!", consider this; that the older a vampire is, the

more resistant he is to crosses, holy water, sunlight, etc. An inexpensive

means of protection is to wear some garlic. You won’t have many

friends, but you might live longer. Another way of insulating yourself

is to dive into a room in the dungeon, close the door and recite biblical

phrases, and break up whatever passes for a host in whatever world you

are in, at the bottom of the door. Outside the dungeon draw a circle in

the ground, an sprinkle the host fragments into the depressions left by

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