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on, ne
icle Q
ds i

1•44)er
 One mistake and you're just
one more piece of debris

Knight hawks fromTSAR

Space is big, cold and hostile. There is nobody The game features:
to run to for help. You are on your own Only * New space skills.
the very best can survive in TSR's Knight * Detailed aspects of interstellar travel,
Hawks science fiction game. Are you up to the financing and constructing a star ship, etc.
challenge? The pilot of the sleek fighter, the
* Plenty of new rules material including
gunner in a space dreadnought, the navigator traditional science fiction elements.
on the jump to Prenglar. All these challenges Ask your games retailer for details or contact
and more are available with this expansion kit TSR UK Limited,
for the STAR FRONTIERS- game. The Mill, Rathmore Road,
(And Knight Hawks is also a great game in its Cambridge CBI 4AD
Telephone 0223 212517
own right).
STAR FRONTIERS is a trade mark owned by TSR Hobbies Inc.
 I TM

At The Mountains of the North Wind, by Gordon Barbour,

Terrain, Weather and Climate in Role-Playing Games
Contents
2
Forthcoming Events 4
Stirge Corner, by Roger Musson,
a guide for the inexperienced player 5
Lost Event Horizon, by David Langford,
the adventures of Malsenn, Agent of the Cosmic Patrol 6
M o r a n m e J o b s w u r f , by Philip Briggs,
pass the buck fast or you'll get caught out! 9
I l l u m i n a t i o n s , t h e latest news from the world of gaming 1 0
G a m e R e v i e w s , recent game releases, examined by independent reviewers 1 2
Chain Mail, by Brian Creese,
a bi-monthly feature on postal gaming — this month looking at Soccerieague 1 5
Letters 1 6
The Imagination Machine, by Mike Costello,
news and reviews on micros and software for garners 1 8
Published by
TSR U K Ltd
The Tombs of the Kings, by Mike Brunton
ready-to-play solo module suitable for novices 2 1
Publisher D o n Turnbull P A N , t h e magazine within a magazine,
Editor K e i t h Thomson with a new format aimed at the name-droppers in the hobby
Assistant Editor P a u l Cockburn Turnbull Talking 3 1
Editorial Assistant K i m Daniel Game Company 3 2
Features Assistant M i k e Brunton Dialog, by Lew Pulsipher 3 2
Art P h i l Kaye Tavern Talk, by Pete Tamlyn 3 3
News D o u g Cowie Rubic of Moggedon 3 4
Computing M i k e Costello Fanzines 3 5
This month's contributing artists: Enchantment, by Chris Felton,
create new magic items for the AD&D game 3 6
Paul Ruiz P e t e Young The Mound In The Ring, by Graeme Morris
Simon Senior D a v e Glass a multi-level Advanced brief encounter 3 9
Sarah Hocombe G r a e m e Morris
N i c N o v i c e , the adventure continues with 'The Attack' 4 2
Graham Crossland & a n Hicks
Dave Carson I a n Williamson
Dispel Confusion 4 3
Film Review, by Colin Greenland 4 5
Cover: Guardian awakes by Rodney The Sword of Alabron, by Ian Williamson 4 6
Matthews

Editorial Next Issue

Look up Imagine in a dictionary and Will Our Thirteenth Issue Leave You
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SCREAMING?
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YOU w i l l see that, taken together,
these are the things that this the genre, Brian Lumley
Plus:
magazine, anti the hobby of role-
playing, are all about. I M A G I N E All our regular features, and the concluding part of the Philosopher's
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WU Keith T h o m s o n Venture into the awesome pages o f I M A G I N E Ina9azine, /41.3* Just 411

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I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984

1
 At the Mountains of
the North Wind
by Gordon Barbour
Terrain, Weather and Climate
and their importance in FRP games
Players and Games Masters (GMs)
often ignore the most fantastic or
dramatic countryside and weather
in role-playing games, and thus let
slip many opportunities for conceal-
ment and surprise.
Through terrain and climate, G M s
have a perfect chance to make their
scenario come to life, fleshing i t out
and i n t r o d u c i n g a n a s p e c t o f t h e
cinematic t o t h e i r narrative. I f t h e
players c a n visualize t h e G M ' s d e -
scription of the nature of the country-
side, i t makes encounters, o r even
the business of getting from A to B, a
much m o r e e x c i t i n g m a t t e r. T h i s
holds true for any FRP game, be it the
ID&DO.') game, Runequest, Traveller
or a n y other, t h o u g h t h e examples
given h e r e a r e c h i e f l y f r o m t h e
AD&DTM game.
On a p r a c t i c a l l e v e l , w e a t h e r a n d
countryside c a n b e u t i l i s e d e x t r e m e l y
effectively to pose more difficult problems
for a strong party. A G M dealing w i t h a
potent medium or high level party faces a
group o f e x p e r i e n c e d p l a y e r s , w e l l
tricked-out w i t h i t e m s that enable t h e m
to locate, engage and destroy his precious
2
monsters a t long
range, w i t h little risk to
themselves. Such characters
are frequently in control of most
situations t h e y e n c o u n t e r, a n d
have t h e p o w e r t o m a n i p u l a t e
conditions to suit them. This is a critical
component o f party strength, a n d t h e r e
are two basic ways the GM can respond.
He can u s e overkill, o r h e can b e m o r e
subtle, and use perfectly ordinary mani-
festations of climate and terrain to weak-
en t h e party's offensive ability and deal
blows t o t h e i r c u r a t i v e p o w e r s a n d
morale.
Overkill may occasionally be fun, but in
realistic terms, it is far more desirable to
use the crippling effect of difficult terrain
and b a d w e a t h e r t o achieve f i v e m a j o r
objectives:
1) Limitation of party movement
2) Limitation of party detection ability
3) Limitation of party firepower
4) Physical a n d m o r a l a t t r i t i o n o f t h e
party's strength t h r o u g h natural haz-
ards and disease
5) Building u p paranoia, dissension and
disaffection a m o n g t h e p a r t y m e m -
bers.
Two o f t h e m a i n types o f terrain t h a t
lend themselves to all four objectives are
jungle and mountains.
J u n g l e terrain difficulties include rain-
forest, w i t h i t s t a l l t r e e s , u n d e r g r o w t h
and l a c k o f paths, m o u n t a i n s i n m a n y
jungle areas, s w a m p s , t h e impassable
scrub j u n g l e t h a t i s a r e s u l t o f shifting
cultivation,
and rivers that
are frequently
large and difficult
to cross. Typical
areas o f jungle are
included in the 'Isle of
Dread' module, and the
Barbarian Atlanis area o f
the Judges Guild wilderness.
Throughout history, jungles
have been lethal places to tra-
verse, difficult to fight in, unpleasant
for explorers, and full of hazards of all
kinds — heat, mosquitoes which can
sometimes deny sleep altogether, drench-
ing r a i n , leeches, venomous insects,
snakes, and constant exposure to disease.
Malaria, worms, dysentery and cholera
are p a r t a n d parcel o f l i f e i n m a n y
equatorial countries. Somehow I think
clerics should be very busy keeping the
party disease-free.
The c o n f i g u r a t i o n o f t e r r a i n , o f t e n
made worse by frequent rainstorms, can
seriously l i m i t a p a r t y ' s m o v e m e n t s .
Jungle is thick. In large areas of jungle,
the only access to the interior is by river.
Native villages lie along these rivers, so
co-operation
a n y gsoor rcoercion
t no f s ui p pi lsi eessential,M
vs o v eor l a n d
under t h e s e c o n d i t i o n s c a n t h e r e f o r e
force a party to use up valuable fly or even
teleport spells t o circumnavigate t h e
difficulties of movement.
Ambush i s t h e c l a s s i c s c e n a r i o i n
jungle fighting, because no other country
is quite so well suited t o cover. With
visibility at a minimum, the enemy can
appear literally on top o f the players.
Jungle beasts move silently and w i t h
considerable capacity f o r self-conceal-
ment. Tribes of natives can wreak hor-
rendous damage o n a party, attacking
with blowpipes from concealed positions,
utilising poison-snake traps, and event-
ually coming in with parangs to finish off
the quivering remnants. In such dense
country, characters' abilities o f visual
detection are reduced. Sending scouts off
to reconnoitre is dangerous — they are
prey to all the forest's hostile elements.
I M A G I N E ma9azinc, March 1984

Dense
vegetation
also s e v e r e l y
limits f i r e p o w e r.
Effective a r r o w range
is s e r i o u s l y r e d u c e d .
Moreover, a torrential down-
pour does little for bowstrings.
Sometimes even t h e wielding o f a
two-handed sword can be obstructed by
creepers, b r a n c h e s a n d vines. Fireballs
might come in handy, b u t a d r u i d in t h e
party, w h o m i g h t o t h e r w i s e b e i n s t r u -
mental i n g e t t i n g r o u n d s o m e o f t h e
problems of movement, will probably take
a dim v i e w of precious vegetation being
callously blown to bits.
Bandits with their lair in swamp country
could use small sampan-style boats, and
dig t h e i r h i d e a w a y s b e n e a t h h u t s w i t h
tunnels r u n n i n g t o t h e r i v e r b a n k —
meanwhile s o w i n g a l l approaches w i t h
lethal traps.
Finally, h e r e i s a n o r m a l , e v e r y d a y
creature w h i c h could prove a nightmare
swamp monster to parties. In the upland
marshes of Central Sulawesi there lives a
deadly type of liver-fluke which enters the
body through the skin. This accounts for
the extraordinary m o r t a l i t y r a t e a m o n g
the natives and m u c h of the local fauna.
Research t e a m s e n t e r t h e area i n w e t -
suits, a n d a n y exposure o f s k i n t o t h e
water is disaster. Think about the effects
of that on an unprepared party!
Thus to set a d i ff i c u l t expedition f o r a
medium-level party without great teleport
capacity, there can be f e w better wilder-
nesses than a j u n g l e rainforest, w i t h the
final o o j e c t i v e a n o r i e n t a l t e m p l e l y i n g
ruined among m o u n t a i n s that touch t h e
sky.
M o u n t a i n s can be equally upsetting to
an ill-prepared party. The GM has a whole
range o f p o t e n t i a l l y t r i c k y t e r r a i n a n d
weather to choose from. The mountains
need n o t b e p a r t i c u l a r l y h i g h : a n y o n e
who h a s t r a v e l l e d o v e r t h e d e s o l a t e
ridges of eastern Turkey and Iran can see
just h o w perfectly the terrain is adapted
to fantasy adventure. The same country
that A l e x a n d e r ' s a r m i e s t r a v e r s e d
and C r u s a d e r k n i g h t s s a c k e d , f r o m
Antioch t o A n k a r a a n d the Caucasus, is
filled w i t h ruined forts and dungeons and
grim l e g e n d s . A f g h a n - s t y l e t r i b e s m e n
who k n o w every p a t h a n d f o o t o f rock,
every cave and hiding place, could harrass
any p a r t y o f i n t r u d e r s w i t h t h e s a m e
ferocity as they have throughout history,
and the potential for ambush among the
narrow defiles is boundless.
I M A G I N E maga•*tc, March 1984
Higher
or m o r e rugged
mountains a r e e v e n m o r e o f a n
obstacle to fantasy characters. They are
fraught w i t h d a n g e r s o f exposure a n d
frostbite, a n d h a u n t e d b y l e g e n d s o f
giants and gods. Imagine a party attempt-
ing some expedition through a Himalaya-
like range t o find a lost plateau such as
Lovecraft's F o r b i d d e n L e n g . S u c h a
scenario would be ideal for combining a
jungle approach w i t h a m o u n t a i n finish,
but w o u l d only be recommended for the
highest level characters!
The p h y s i c a l a s p e c t s o f m o u n t a i n s
severely limit movement. Weather cond-
itions c a n r e d u c e a p a r t y ' s d e t e c t i o n
capabilities: blizzards, w h i t e - o u t s , m i s t
and c l o u d s c a n r e d u c e visibility t o n i l .
Imagine f i r i n g o f f a w a n d o f e n e m y
detection in the middle of a white-out,
and picking up three traces, t h i r t y yards
away a n d closing rapidly. B o l d e r s o u l s
might d i s m i s s t h e m o n s t e r s a s m e r e
wolves; paranoid players m i g h t be con-
vinced t h a t t h r e e w h i t e d r a g o n s o r i c e
demons w e r e o u t t h e r e . T h i s s o r t o f
speculation c r e a t e s p a n i c o u t o f a l l
proportion t o t h e w i n t e r wolves t h a t
finally appear.
Unless a party is adequately equipped
for operating in s n o w and ice conditions,
it w i l l s uff er considerably from exposure
and frostbite. The obvious party response
is a L e o m u n d ' s Tiny Hut, or sleeping up a
rope trick with extension cast upon it.
Fair e n o u g h : b u t i t u s e s u p p r e c i o u s
spells.
Mountain encounters can be unusually
deadly. A high-level party attacked by a
couple o f rocs o n t h e level c a n u s u a l l y
take care of itself. But suppose that same
party is trying to struggle up a face such
as t h e N o r t h Wa l l o f t h e Eiger, w i t h i t s
lead fighter i n t h e middle of negotiating
an overhang and the rest of the characters
clinging p r e c a r i o u s l y t o b e l a y s . T h e n
those same two monsters are altogether
more formidable.
The p a t t e r n o f a t y p i c a l m o u n t a i n
expedition can be illustrated by the tale of
one party instructed to raid the halls of an
ancient white dragon and his family in a
remote m o u n t a i n a r e a i n m i d - w i n t e r.
Medium-level characters h a d t o u n d e r -
take a t r e k t h r o u g h m a n y m i l e s o f h i l l
country a n d f o r e s t before reaching t h e
objective, a n d t h e w a y w a s guarded b y
hostile tribes and various spirits based on
the C e l t i c m y t h o s . T h e p a r t y h a d t o
specify t h e c o l d w e a t h e r a n d c l i m b i n g
gear they they w e r e taking — and, as a
result, set off with a mule train, which cut
down their movement and defence potent-
ial. T h e y m a n a g e d t o p l a y t h e v a r i o u s
clans
off against each
other, b u t t h e forests
presented r e a l d i ff i c u l t y. T h e i r
journey w a s constantly interrupted b y
attacks f r o m m a l e v o l e n t forest-spirits,
operating under cover of night and trees,
completely at home in their environment
and, like Drow, very difficult to detect. As
a result of these running battles, the party
lost quite a lot of vital e q u i p m e n t before
reaching t h e icefields t h a t guarded t h e
summit of the goal.
T h e s e are just t w o of the m a n y terrain
types t h e G M c a n u s e t o create hassle
and weaken the formidable striking power
of experienced parties without escalating
the monsters beyond reasonable proport-
ion. I f the G M can bring t h e terrain a n d
weather to life and make t h e m w o r k for
him o r h e r , i t c a n a l w a y s g i v e t h e
adventure plenty of character.
The classic example of making a party
look v e r y s i l l y i n d e e d w a s a m a r i t i m e
journey a g r o u p o f t h i r d t o s i x t h l e v e l
characters u n d e r t o o k t h r o u g h t r o p i c a l ,
shark infested waters.
'An encounter with a large sea-monster
p u t paid to our pathetic ship, and we were
left in a leaky canoe a good hundred miles
from a n y landfall. W e h a d to r e p a i r t h e
boat, r i g an improvised sail out o f part o f
the s k i r t o f a f e m a l e passenger, t h e n
navigate by the stars through treacherous
coral reefs and shoals. The dangers o f a
second sea-monster attack n o w seemed
vastly magnified and, a s t h e G M gently
reminded us, i t was the typhoon season.
In t h e end, w e came ashore on a w h i t e
beach scarred by ribbons of black volcanic
sand, w i t h dense jungle behind.'
In one simple encounter, t h e G M had
managed to reduce a party of confident,
powerful c h a r a c t e r s t o a w a s h e d - o u t
gaggle o f castaways, a t t h e s a m e t i m e
giving them an exciting sea j o u r n e y of a
kind they never quite bargained for — one
up to the GM!
I P Gordon B a r b o u r
3
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MICHAEL MOO RCOCK

DUNGEON MASTERS G U I D E 9 95
PLAYERS HANDBOOK 8 95 S T A R T E R SET ADVENTURERS 3 70
MONSTER MANUAL 8 95 S T A R T E R SET.MONSTERS 3 7'
MONSTER MANUAL I I 8 95 C I T A D E L PRESENTS1.CHAOS MARAURDERS 3 70
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3
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3

6
70

10
JOHN SLADEK
ADVANCED D I D MODULES SPECIALITY S E T 1 .WARRIORS O F CHAOS 3 70
SPECIALITY SET2.THE M A R E KINGS C O U R T. . . 3 . 7 0
12 TOMB O F THE L I Z A R D K I N G
13 PHAROAH
3
4
75
25
S P E C I A L I T Y S E T 3 . N . E L E PATROL ( O L D 8 E 1 3 ) . 3 . 7 0
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discover new writers, new artists
14 OASIS O F I T E WHITE PA L M 4 25 S P E C I A L I T Y SET4.GOBLIN RAIDING P A R T Y. . . . 3 . 7 0
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16 RAVENLOFT
02 DANGER AT DUNWATER
4 65 you won't find Interzone
3 75 R U N E Q U E S T BOXED MINIATURE SETS
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3 75
2 90 RUNEQUEST BOXI.HUMANOIN ADVENTURERS 3 70
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54 T H E LOST CAVERNS O F TSOJCANTH
U3 THE F I N A L ENEMY
5 15
4 25
RUNEQUEST
RUNEQUEST
BOX2.ADVENTURERS
BOX3.ATTACK O F THE BROO
3
3
70
70
but you will find it
L2 T H E ASSASINS KNOT
EX1 DUNGEONLAND
4 25
3 75
RUNEQUEST
RUNEQUEST
BOX4A.BROO I I
BOX5.DRAGONEUTS 3
3
7 0
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425
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S T
It seems strange at first, to play badly
deliberately, but it's fun! And because the
WED® game is not competitive, you don't
lose through 'bad' or foolish play in the
way you would in other games.
The D & D game is n o t called a role-
playing g a m e f o r nothing. A s m e n -
tioned in an earlier article, the great
difference between a true role-play-
ing game and a board game in which
you 'take the part' of a character (as in
Cluedo, f o r instance), i s t h a t i n t h e
former, most of the f u n comes from
developing your character into a real
person. In the latter, the 'role' is just
part of the game mechanics, and the
object of the game is to w i n in some
conventional way.
So if you are going to get the most out of
playing t h i s o r a n y o t h e r r o l e - p l a y i n g
game, it is important to try and play your
character as t h o u g h s h e o r h e w e r e a n
independent person w i t h particular traits
and characteristics. This is usually called
'playing in character'. If one treats one's
player character as a colourless puppet,
performing only those actions that seem
to the player as the most efficient in the
circumstances, the result can be a rather
dull g a m e , n o r i c h e r t h a n t h e average
computer adventure game.
The question is, h o w does one set about
'playing in character', w h e n all you start
off w i t h i s a s e t o f statistics on a b i t o f
paper? We l l , f o r a start, those statistics
tell s o m e t h i n g o f a story in themselves,
especially wisdom and intelligence. These
immediately give you an idea of whether
your character is wise or foolish, clever or
stupid. I f y o u r character h a s a very l o w
wisdom score, then play it that way! Have
him continually putting h i s foot in it, o r
making o b v i o u s l y w r o n g d e c i s i o n s . I t
seems s t r a n g e a t f i r s t t o those used t o
conventional games, t o play badly delib-
erately, b u t it is fun. A n d because this is
not a competitive game, you do not lose
through ' b a d ' o r foolish play in t h e w a y
you w o u l d in other games. I m u s t admit,
though, t h a t i t is m u c h easier t o play a
dumb character than to play a convincing
genius c h a r a c t e r w h e n o n e i s n o t a
genius oneself. But make a stab at it.
Charisma will have a small part to play, as
well. Characters w i t h high charisma w i l l
be u s e d t o a d u l a t i o n , a n d g o a r o u n d
smooth-talking everyone. The ugly-pugs
among player characters are more likely
to be sullen and resentful.
Then s o m e t h i n g o f t h e w a y a p l a y e r
character will develop will be inherent in
their class, as well. Magicians are likely to
be complex, s o l i t a r y, i n t e l l e c t u a l c h a r -
acters, j u s t t h r o u g h t h e n a t u r e o f t h e i r
I M A G I N E magadnc, M a r d i 1984
I R
profession. All that study and poring over
dusty tomes is sure to leave its mark, and
magician-types are likely t o be s o m e o f
the m o s t unsociable characters around.
On the other hand, a fighter may well be a
much more simple soul, seeing the world
in a s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d w a y, i n t e r m s o f
issues t h a t a r e c l e a r - c u t a n d c a n b e
decided as often as not by force of arms. A
cleric's a t t i t u d e t o l i f e w i l l b e s h a p e d
largely by religion (it's a good idea, by the
way, to k n o w w h a t religion that is). This
may lead in one of a n u m b e r of different
ways. O n e w o u l d e x p e c t a c l e r i c w h o
worshipped O d i n t o b e a v e r y different
sort from one who followed in the ways of
Bacchus. A n d as for the thief.... well, you
don't need me to tell you w h a t a shifty lot
these usually are.
The same sort of analysis can be done for
the v a r i o u s sub-classes — a barbarian,
for i n s t a n c e , l i v i n g i n a c i v i l i s e d a r e a ,
would have some difficulties in adapting
to t h e d i ff e r e n t w a y o f life. A l s o , n o n -
human races in a human-oriented cam-
paign m a y f i n d t h e m s e l v e s despised by
humans, and develop an almighty chip on
their shoulder.
Of g r e a t i m p o r t a n c e t o h o w a p l a y e r
character w i l l b e h a v e i s a l i g n m e n t .
Indeed, if players act out of character with
respect to alignment, t h e y may even be
penalised b y t h e d u n g e o n m a s t e r f o r
doing so. Quite evidently, those w h o are
Lawful G o o d d o n o t g o s t a b b i n g t h e i r
comrades in the back. (On the other hand,
wily evil players may conceivably perform
insincerely good acts in order to hide their
true n a t u r e u n t i l t h e y c a n t a k e b e s t
advantage o f t h e i r comrades' defences
being down. In such cases the DM should
take a lenient attitude.)
But o n e c a n d e v e l o p a l i g n m e n t a l o t
further. If one has a Good character, think
of s o m e ' g o o d ' a t t r i b u t e s , a n d d e c i d e
which o n e s a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y e v i d e n t i n
G E
your c h a r a c t e r. I s h e g e n e r o u s , k i n d ,
brave, pious, warm-hearted, or what? On
the other hand, if he is Evil, just what sort
of e v i l c h a r a c t e r d o e s h e h a v e ? I s h e
selfish, sadistic, vain, choleric, scheming
or insincere?
Of c o u r s e , y o u m a y p i c k o n a f e w
attributes t h a t r u n c o u n t e r t o t h e m a i n
alignment of your character, just to make
him a l i t t l e m o r e complex — one m i g h t
A page for the
not-so-experienced
adventurer
by Roger Musson
even say, m o r e h u m a n . A L a w f u l Good
character may still be a coward, and could
probably b e conceited a s w e l l w i t h o u t
infringing the alignment. A n Evil Chaotic
character c a n b e a s b r a v e a s t h e n e x t
person, and might even be soft-hearted, a
villain w i t h a heart of gold.
To c h a r a c t e r a t t r i b u t e s d e r i v e d f r o m
alignment, y o u m i g h t l i k e t o add a f e w
personal f o i b l e s — f e a r o f t h e dark, o r
extreme credulity, f o r instance. T h i n g s
like this will flesh out your character into
someone believable, who may become as
real to you as a well-loved character from
a b o o k — provided, t h a t is, t h a t h a v i n g
decided w h a t your character is like, you
do truly play it that way.
Your c h a r a c t e r w i l l n o t r e m a i n s t a t i c ,
though. Progressing through a campaign,
this 'person' w i l l react and interact w i t h
both p l a y e r c h a r a c t e r s a n d n o n p l a y e r
characters A s t h e y o u n g a d v e n t u r e r
develops, e x p e r i e n c e s w i l l l e a v e t h e i r
mark, maturity. A n d t h a t is w h a t a role-
playing game is all about.
0.; R o g e r M u s s o n
If you have found this feature useful, you
might b e interested t o r e a d previous
beginners' a r t i c l e s b y R o g e r M u s s o n .
Back issues o f I M A G I N E magazine can
be obtained for f ( + 50p P&P) from TSR
UK L t d , T h e M i l l , R a t h m o r e R o a d ,
Cambridge C B I 4AD.
5
 O v e r h e a d , w i t h o u t a n y fuss, t h e s t a r s
were going out.
M e a n w h i l e , t h e Cosmic Patrol's even-
ing r e c r u i t i n g s e s s i o n w a s g o i n g w e l l ,
with Cosmic A g e n t M a c M a l s e n n a s i t s
chief attraction. M a l s e n n w a s d e m o n -
strating the virtuosity of the trained Agent
by juggling a dozen forty-pound sacks of
thulium g r a n u l e s w i t h h i s l e f t h a n d ,
whilst h i s r i g h t operated t h e incredibly
sensitive c o n t r o l s o f t h e g e n e t i c m a n i -
pulation d e v i c e w i t h w h i c h h e w a s
creating a h i t h e r t o u n k n o w n species o f
telepathic whelk. His voice w a s calm as
he snapped o u t his moves i n thirty-five
simultaneous g a m e s o f 4 - D chess; h i s
chained-together l e g s m o v e d w i t h u n -
canny precision a s t h e y negotiated t h e
murderous lava pits and banana skins of
the Stage -I 0 Commando Assault Course.
He w a s , o f c o u r s e , b l i n d f o l d e d . T h e
casual observer would perhaps not have
realized t h a t h i s t h o u g h t s w e r e e l s e -
where.... dwelling upon the loveliness of
his sweetheart, Laura, w h o had told him
only that morning she was his betrothed.
Malsenn h a d a n o t i o n t h a t ' b e t r o t h e d '
meant 'pal', and he was elated.
Inspired b y h i s performance, r e c r u i t s
jostled o n e a n o t h e r f o r t h e privilege o f
becoming a Cosmic A g e n t and killing all
the alien life forms they wished. The basic
entrance t e s t w a s a s i m p l e m e n t a l a n d
physical one devised by Malsenn himself.
At the rear door of the recruiting station,
endless queues of numb-brained invalids
emerged to jostle feebly to be the top man
on the high-piled stretchers. N o pansies
were a l l o w e d i n t h e C o s m i c Patrol, a n
organization s o exclusive t h a t M a l s e n n
was i n v a r i a b l y t h e o n l y m a r c h e r a t i t s
great pageants and parades (giving e n -
vious ones the chance to m u r m u r that he
was out of step).
Suddenly the transceiver in Malsenn's
left bicuspid began to ring. He gritted his
teeth, accidentally t u r n i n g on a w i s d o m
tooth which immediately gave of its store
of w i s e sayings s u c h a s 'Fast-spinning
planetoids g a t h e r n o m o s s ' a n d ' F i n e
words butter no parsecs'. Meanwhile, his
left c a n i n e w a s d r o n i n g : ' T h i s i s a
recorded message. The Cosmic A g e n t is
otherwise engaged. P l e a s e s p e a k y o u r
6
message a t the t h i r d pip, a t w h i c h t i m e
this m e c h a n i s m w i l l automatically r i n g
off. Pip....'
'I k n o w you're there, M a l s e n n r It was
the voice o f Alkloyd, t h e Starfleet c o m -
mander whose daring and initiative rival-
led t h a t o f t h e s l o t h . M a lsenn sighed,
thrust his tongue into the override cavity
of the transceiver tooth and, while dictat-
ing a n unbroken stream o f chess moves
off o n e s i d e o f t h a t s a m e tongue, s a i d
with t h e other: ' I ' m a b i t busy n o w. Is i t
important?'
'Try looking up.'
Malsenn l o o k e d u p ' B l a c k , ' h e said.
'Very.'
'Don't you see that overhead, w i t h o u t
any fuss, the stars are going out?'
'One m o m e n t . . . . ' A s i n g l e t w i t c h o f
Malsenn's t r a i n e d e y e b r o w s c o n v e r t e d
the b l i n d f o l d t o a c o n f e t t i o f s c o r c h e d
cloth. ' 8 / 3 ?rr3II!' he swore., 'Good grief,
Alkloyd, it seems that overhead, w i t h o u t
any f u s s . „ :
'I know, I know,' said the Commander in
a hysterical shriek which sent Malsenn's
tooth on edge. 'Now will you do something
about it? R i g h t u p y o u r street, I ' d h a v e
thought. Can't stop now..., coffee time.'
Ma lsenn p u t o n a b u r s t o f s p e e d ,
dictating m a t e s i n t w o o r t h r e e m o v e s
whilst tackling the final, lethal antimatter
hoops of the obstacle course, and doing a
rush job on the whelk genes which meant
that the markings on the creature's shell
— w h i c h h e h a d intended should s h o w
the O d e o n a G r e c i a n U r n i n exquisite
calligraphy — w o u l d merely form a dis-
pleasing s a n s e r i f t y p e s c r i p t o f G u n g e
Din.
Bursting free f r o m h i s chains, h e r a n
for t h e spaceport so s w i f t l y as t o cause
reports of curiously blurred, low-altitude
UFOs. H i s t i n y scoutship t h e S t a r Vo l e
awaited him, fully armed w i t h universe-
busters of various sizes and fully fuelled
with f u e l . I n l e s s t i m e t h a n i t takes t o
enter a n a i r l o c k h e h a d e n t e r e d t h e
airlock, dived for the controls and blasted
clear of the solar system; o n l y then, h i s
concentration on duty momentarily relax-
ing, did he notice that his left hand w a s
still juggling a dozen forty-pound sacks of
thulium granules. He let them fall, and set
a course for where Sirius had been
before, overhead, without any fuss, it had
gone o u t . A s a l w a y s , t h e S t a r Vo l e ' s
interstellar drive was based on an aston-
ishing n e w principle devised by Ma Isenn
whilst studying rubber models of Centaur-
ian duckoids i n h i s bath. T h e A x i o m a t i c
Drive was unusual in that at no time did it
exceed t h e velocity o f light; i n s t e a d i t s
counterlogical field redefined said velocity
as being infinite (give or take a little), thus
ensuring t h a t t h e r e w a s n o n e e d t o
exceed it. A by-product of this axiomatic
shift was that by Einstein's E=mc2, infinite
energy c o u l d n o w b e extracted f r o m a
finite mass: t h e fusion o f one hydrogen
atom w a s adequate for any j o u r n e y and
left an infinite energy surplus w h i c h had
to be stored in batteries.
T h e n t h e impossible happened. I n a
transition so s w i f t that Malsenn's w h o l e
life was only able to flash before his eyes
1
by p l a y i n g s e v e r a l m i l l i o n f r a m e s p e r
second, t h e b o t t o m dropped o u t o f t h e
universe. In a moment, it dropped back in
again, and the dazed Cosmic Agent found
his e n v i r o n m e n t t o t a l l y c h a n g e d . T h e
Star Vole w a s no more; o n l y one o f the
sacks of t h u l i u m granules w a s still w i t h
him in this strange, shimmering envelope
of indefinable, y e t inarguable, material.
Through the glittering something he saw
a dreadful leer and a terrible beard — a
leer a n d a b e a r d w h i c h c o u l d o n l y b e
those o f h i s o l d e n e m y — t h e s a t a n i c
archfiend, connoisseur of megagenocide
and critic: Nivek!
'Ha, h a ! ' said t h e evil one. ' W e m e e t
again, accursed Cosmic Agent! Little did
you k n o w o f m y K l e i n B o t t l e t r a p , a n
invention m o r e s a t a n i c t h a n d a n d r u ff .
Little d i d y o u k n o w t h a t o n c e y o u l e f t
Earth's protection, I could redefine space
so that a l t h o u g h Klein bottles have no
inside o r o u t s i d e — y o u w o u l d f i n d
yourself apparently w i t h i n i t ! L i t t l e d i d
you know....'
'Actually, I r a t h e r expected t h i s a n d
merely allowed myself to be trapped,' said
Malsenn, unobtrusively hefting t h e sack
of thulium granules. He had a hunch that
it might be useful.
'Little d i d y o u k n o w t h a t i n a l l o w i n g
yourself t o be trapped you w e r e i n f a c t
stepping into a trap,' said Nivek.
I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984
 'Little do you k n o w, ' riposted Malsenn,
'that in allowing me to step into a trap you
have stepped i n t o a trap. Since i f inside
and outside are t h e s a m e f o r t h i s Klein
bottle, I c a n r e a d i l y r e d e f i n e m y s e l f a s
being outside, t h u s leaving you trapped!'
And with a mighty effort of will, Malsenn
wrenched at the conceptual structure of
w h a t m i g h t l o o s e l y b e t e r m e d r e a l i t y.
Spatial contiguity bent in several places
with a r u s t y c r e a k , a n d t h e r e w a s a
terrible sound as though a n u m b e r of red
giants and white dwarves were engaging
in disgusting perversions (which w a s in
fact t h e case). T h e Klein b o t t l e belched
and everted itself, leaving Malsenn on the
outside w h i l e Nivek stood w i t h i n , h e l p -
lessly t r a p p e d . U n f o r t u n a t e l y, t r a p p e d
inside w i t h Nivek w a s t h e entire k n o w n
universe.
'You did not think, my foolish adversary,
that I would omit to seal the bottle with a
conceptual plug?'
'All right, you fiend. You win this round,
but the next hand will be mine w h e n w e
cross swords again. No doubt it's you w h o
is making the stars go out?'
There w a s a h i d e o u s rasping s o u n d :
Nivek w a s c o m p l a c e n t l y s t r o k i n g h i s
beard. 'Yes. I require power sources and
am thus enclosing 99% of all known suns
in D y s o n s p h e r e s i n o r d e r t o t a p t h e i r
energies. I s h a l l t h e n h a v e s u f f i c i e n t
energy on call to put an end to this rather
mundane universe.'
Malsenn was aghast. 'Nivek, this is not
like you. Why aren't you using the galaxy-
draining p o w e r leeches you used to rely
on? T h e n o v a generators? T h e p l a n e t -
fired heating systems?'
'These days I'm into conservation,' said
Nivek, and made a languid gesture. 'See
that? Not many people can train Rigellian
lang uids to make gestures like that.'
'Did i t have to be a gesture like that?
But, I say, h o w about if you gloat over me
and reveal t h e i n g e n i o u s w a y i n w h i c h
you i n t e n d to end the universe, so that I
can, er.... be duly terrified.'
'Certainly not.'
'Nyahh n y a h h n y a h h , s i l l y o l d N i v e k
doesn't have a plan!'
The evil overlord was wholly taken in by
Malsenn's subtle psychological manipul-
ation. d o I do I do!' he responded w i t h
I M A G I N E ma9azinc, March 1984
Jesuitical c u n n i n g . ' M y i n t e n t i o n i s t o
duplicate the entire universe!'
'Sounds a b i t . . . , c o n s t r u c t i v e , ' s a i d
Malsenn dubiously.
'Ah, but the n e w universe, down to the
tiniest p a r t i c l e , w i l l o c c u p y t h e s a m e
space as the old one. Bang.'
'Clever, fiendishly clever,' t h e Cosmic
Agent admitted. ' B u t t h e r e i s s t i l l t h e
singular business of the singularity.'
'But there is no singularity in my plan.'
'That is w h a t is so singular. Yo u m u s t
realise t h a t every p l o t contains a black
hole or a singularity, these days.'
Nivek b r i g h t e n e d . ' H o w c o n v e n i e n t
that y o u s h o u l d s u g g e s t t h e m e a n s o f
your own disposal,' he shrieked happily.
have but to touch this button and you will
be precipitated i n e x o r a b l y i n t o t h e i n -
escapable confines of a nearby singular-
ity! Have you any last words?'
'I w o n ' t give you that satisfaction, you
swine,' Malsenn rasped through clenched
jaws.
Nivek w r o t e t h e s e w o r d s d o w n i n a
volume w h o s e c o v e r b o r e t h e l e g e n d
LAST W O R D S O F C O S M I C A G E N T S :
Malsenn at least had the satisfaction o f
seeing h i m m a k e t h r e e a t t e m p t s a t
spelling 'satisfaction'. Then t h e w a r l o r d
touched the top button of his kaftan, and
with a s t r a n g e s e n s a t i o n o f i m p l o d i n g
bananas, t h e t o p , b o t t o m a n d s e v e r a l
sides dropped out of Malsenn's universe.
A n d a t once h e w a s inexorably falling
towards a point in space whose immense
warps and distortions made the starlight
run i n c r a z y p a t t e r n s l i k e a T V screen
when t h e station closes o r s h o w s a
political broadcast. There came a queasy
sensation o f space-sickness, caused b y
the surge and ebb of gravity waves. With
desperate i n t u i t i o n M a l s e n n w r e n c h e d
off his left boot and flung i t to one side.
The reaction force o f t h i s m i g h t y t h r o w
diverted h i s p l u n g e i n t o t h e i n d e c e n t l y
naked s i n g u l a r i t y a n d t h r u s t h i m i n t o
orbit. A s h e adjusted h i s pocket space
helmet, h e r e a l i s e d t h a t h e w a s s t i l l
clutching t h e sack o f t h u l i u m granules.
The hunch that they would be useful was
stronger than ever. B u t his mighty m i n d
brooded helplessly for many hours as he
circled o r to be precise, ellipsed t h e
point w h e r e space w a s going d o w n t h e
drain. Wa s t h e r e n o chance o f escape?
Suddenly h e recalled a n a r t i c l e h e h a d
once read while passing through 1978 on
business: a n a r t i c l e e x p l a i n i n g t h e i r -
rational p r o p e r t i e s o f s i n g u l a r i t i e s . I t
seemed t h a t i f y o u o n l y w a i t e d l o n g
enough, t h e n i n due course a n y t h i n g a t
all w o u l d inevitably be emitted. This had
not b e e n checked, m a i n l y because n o -
one h a d w a i t e d t h e necessary aeons....
but it seemed his only hope!
R e m o v i n g t h e v a r i o u s microelectronic
assemblies invariably built into his teeth
and underwear, Malsenn set to work with
his m i c r o t o o l k i t . M i c r o s c r e w d r i v e r s ,
microhacksaws, m i c r o s l e d g e h a m m e r s ,
all w e r e c a l l e d i n t o p l a y a s h e p a i n s -
takingly constructed an improvised sus-
pended a n i m a t i o n c h a m b e r, a n i m p r o -
vised megabyte computer and an impro-
vised pillow. Sooner or later, the random
laws o f chance m u s t cause a replica o f
the S t a r Vo l e t o b e e m i t t e d f r o m t h e
singularity — and he had only to w a i t i t
out! H e p r o g r a m m e d t h e c o m p u t e r t o
watch f o r e m i t t e d S t a r Vo l e s a n d f o r a
certain other device..., and then pressed
the s w i t c h t h a t w o u l d t h r o w h i m i n t o
trance t h r o u g h a v i g i l s o l o n g t h a t h i s
gene-shifted whelks w o u l d have t i m e to
evolve i n t e l l i g e n c e , t a k e a g o o d l o o k
round and hastily start devolving before
the tiniest fraction of the time concerned
had b e g u n t o a p p r o a c h t h e p o i n t o f
commencing t o elapse.... A n d a s h e
pressed the switch, Malsenn was smitten
with a ghastly m e m o r y o f a R e v i e w s o f
Modern Physics he had paused to sneer
at while passing through 1979 on his way
back from business.
'Oh n o , ' h e h a d t i m e t o t h i n k before
oblivion fell upon him like a rice pudding
from 30,000 feet.
1 0 io years passed. A l l t h e stars in t h e
universe ran d o w n and o n e o r t w o very
strange things popped out of the singular-
ity. B y a r o u n d 1 0 6 5 y e a r s , t h e f i r s t
prediction o f t h e r e m e m b e r e d a r t i c l e
came to pass: all matter flows like liquid
on this vast timescale, and in a little while
Malsenn, his computer and all his clothes
had coalesced i n t o a perfectly spherical
7
 lump. B y a r o u n d 101500 years, s e v e r a l
more even stranger objects had zoomed
past the lump as they fled the singularity
— and the lump was n o w a lump of
warmish iron, since on this timescale all
matter is radioactive a n d decays to iron
(it's amazing h o w much physics you can
learn f r o m t h e m o s t appallingly w r i t t e n
SF). I t w a s a v e r y long t i m e a f t e r w a r d s
that the unexpected occurred, as sooner
or later it must. Through the workings of
random chance, an artifact popped from
the singularity, a n a r t i f a c t w h i c h m i g h t
have been specifically designed to restore
the l u m p w h i c h had been Malsenn to its
former state. Unfortunately there was no-
one to turn this artifact on, and it floated
away until aeons later it was worshipped
by a r a c e o f s e n t i e n t w h e l k s . S e v e r a l
more such misfires occurred until at last a
deus e x m a c h i n a e m e r g e d f r o m t h e
s i n g u l a r i t y i n p e r f e c t w o r k i n g o r d e r,
turned o n , a n d p o i n t i n g i n t h e r i g h t
direction. Instantly Malsenn was restored,
and instantly his computer woke him, for
amid t h e debris orbiting t h e singularity
there were by n o w several Star Voles and
two or three time machines, though these
were a l m o s t h i d d e n i n v a s t s h o a l s o f
variorum e d i t i o n s o f S h a k e s p e a r e i n
simian t y p e s c r i p t . I n n o t i m e a t a l l ,
relatively ( i n f a c t i t w a s a f e w weeks),
Malsenn w a s o n h i s w a y b a c k t o a
confrontation w i t h Nivek — armed w i t h
his ship, a time machine and a sackful of
thulium granules.

Reality w a s wrenched i n various i n -

compatible directions as the time machine
knotted w o r l d l i n e s i n t o b o w l i n e s a n d
sheepshanks; a spume of tiny black holes
was r e l e a s e d t o d i s r u p t t h e w h o l e o f
recorded h i s t o r y ( a c e r t a i n f u r o r e w a s
caused by one which landed in Calcutta).
The f a b r i c o f s p a c e i t s e l f w a s f o l d e d ,
spiked, spindled, stapled a n d mutilated:
w h a t remained was worn and threadbare
by the time Malsenn had finished w i t h it,
and f r o m t h e n o n , i t h a d t o be handled
very carefully.

' N o t so fast! Not so fast, you fiend! U p

against the wall! Don't touch that button!'
So s a y i n g , M a l s e n n b u r s t i n t o N i v e k ' s
secret control room, cunningly located in
the c o r e o f B e t e l g e u s e a n d c o s t i n g a
fortune i n a i r conditioning. I t had taken
even his trained mind fully ten minutes to
deduce t h e location... 'Ha! Little did you
know t h a t a C o s m i c A g e n t i s n e v e r
defeated! Little did you know that I should
return t o f r u s t r a t e y o u r f o u l s c h e m e s !
Stay away from that button, now...'
Nivek smiled a n a w f u l smile, a n d t h e
much-abused fabric of space/time gave a
little shudder. 'Tee-hee,' he said.
'Why do you smile?' enquired Malsenn.
'I pushed t h e b u t t o n several m i n u t e s
ago.'
Malsenn rushed for the S t a r Vole and
found his way blocked by an impassable
neutronium door. A l l he had w i t h w h i c h
to s a v e t h e u n i v e r s e w a s h i s t r u s t y
blaster, h i s s l i g h t l y l e s s t r u s t y b a g o f
thulium granules and the universe-buster
grenade w h i c h h u n g a t h i s belt. T h e r e
stood Nivek beside his foul Klein bottle,
8
grinning a n d t h i n k i n g eschatological
thoughts.... W a s t h i s t h e v e r y e n d ?
Already t h i n g s w e r e bulging a n d s h i m -
mering as the duplicate universe began to
creep into being within their very withins.
Only Malsenn w a s not being duplicated,
having b e e n a b s e n t a t t h e s t a r t o f t h e
process. Suddenly he realised in a flash of
realisation, a s dazzling a n d unexpected
as a t a x r e b a t e , t h a t t h e s o l u t i o n l a y
w i t h i n his very hands! It was the work of
seconds t o pull t h e pin o f the universe--
buster g r e n a d e , t h r u s t i t i n t o N i v e k ' s
hand a n d s w i f t l y conceptualize h i m s e l f
into t h e safety o f t h e s h i m m e r i n g Klein
bottle. Even as he pulled the plug in after
him, the grenade burst with a muted pop
and the universe was no more.
' I t became necessary t o destroy t h e
universe in order to save it,' said Malsenn
mournfully as the n e w scheme of things
completed i t s u n o p p o s e d j o u r n e y i n t o
existence and began to regret it. The n e w
Nivek, as stunned as the old by Malsenn's
manoeuvre, was easily restrained after a
brief struggle which destroyed the entire
secret base and provoked a solar flare i n
the shape of an u n u s u a l l y vile Rigellian
gesture.
Back o n t h e n e w, improved Earth,
Malsenn t o l d t h e t a k e o f h i s c o s m i c
exploits t o t h e n e w e d i t i o n o f L a u r a
(whose y a w n s o f k e e n e n t h u s i a s m
seemed much the same as ever).
'But w h y, ' she said in puzzlement, 'are
you still carrying that forty-pound sack of
thulium granules?'
He gave an enigmatic smile. 'I just have
this h u n c h t h a t i t ' s g o i n g t o c o m e i n
handy.'
O v e r h e a d , w i t h o u t a n y fuss, t h e stars
were coming back on.
IOU David L a n g f o r d
I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984
 klIORAVIIE
JOBSWIJ
a fun board game for 2 players
by Philip Briggs, with help from IMAGINEIm magazine.
Have you e v e r w o n d e r e d w h a t i t ' s like,
working for a games company like TSR, or
w h a t kind of people end up doing it? Well,
take it from us, it's no bed of roses. One of
the m o r e gruelling aspects is t h e b i t t e r
inter-departmental r i v a l r y, t y p i f i e d b y
squabbles over using t h e company biro,
or access to a n e w tea bag every week.
So, if you w a n t to get a taste of life at the
bottom, t h i s i s y o u r chance. M o r a n m e
J o b s w u r f is a game of skill and daring for
two players, w h i c h recreates t h a t m o s t
testing o f a l l t a s k s , p a s s i n g t h e b u c k .
Have y o u g o t w h a t i t t a k e s t o b e a
successful backstabber? Could you betray
your c o l l e a g u e s w i t h o u t a t w i n g e o f
conscience? P l a y M o r a n m e J o b s w u r f ,
and find out!
The Rules
Equipment:
One M o r a n m e J o b s w u r f board (included
in the centre of this magazine).
18 c o u n t e r s ; 8 s a l e s c o u n t e r s , 8
publications counters, and 2 bucks (cut
these o u t f r o m t h e p a n e l b e s i d e t h e
board).
Dice o r other items of equipment are not
required.
Object:
To be the first player to transfer his or her
buck into the other player's in tray.
Setting up:
Decide amicably (it's best to start o ff as
friends) which player is going to be sales
and w h i c h w i l l b e p u b l i c a t i o n s . E a c h
player s h o u l d t h e n s e l e c t t h e r e l e v a n t
characters f o r t h e office c h o s e n ; r o u n d
chits f o r t h e sales t e a m a n d square f o r
publications. D o n ' t forget to pick up t h e
buck! Notice how the background of each
player's buck c u n n i n g l y matches one o f
the in tray areas on the board? Well, that
shows w h o s h o u l d s i t w h e r e — b o t h
players should have their in trays in front
of them. N o w set up the board like this:-
I M A G I N E ma9annt, March 1984
1p1000
100,0
00©
c icl c
c B C
C C] C
B Buck C Counter • i n Tr a y s
The Scenario:
All the posh games have one or more of
these nowadays; so shall we.
The t w o departments have just received
separate memos.... a n d t h e y a r e v e r y
embarrassing. J u s t w h a t h o r r o r s a r e
portended in these documents, only you
can g u e s s , b u t i f t h e a l l - p o w e r f u l
Managing Director catches your depart-
ment w i t h o n e of these, i t ' l l be curtains
for everybody. There is only one w a y to
save y o u r b a c o n . Yo u m u s t g e t y o u r
memo — t h e b u c k — i n t o t h e o t h e r
players in tray, and then call the boss and
grass t h e m up! Simple. So, j u s t h o w do
you do it?
Movement:
Decide who will move first. N o w ' s a good
time to get a bit more atmosphere into the
game, so decide this by arm-wrestling, or
by s o m e m o r e c o n v e n t i o n a l ( b o r i n g ! )
method like tossing a coin.
From n o w o n b o t h p l a y e r s w i l l m o v e
alternately. The t w o types o f counter —
the b u c k a n d t h e c h a r a c t e r s — m o v e
differently, but three general rules apply:
1 A player may move one piece o n l y in
each turn.
2 E a c h completed move must result in a
change of position for that counter.
3 O n t h e completion o f each move, n o t
more t h a n o n e piece can occupy the
same square.
The Buck:
The b u c k i s passed f r o m c h a r a c t e r t o
character a r o u n d t h e b o a r d . T h i s i s
simulated b y i t j u m p i n g — d r a u g h t s
fashion — f o r w a r d s , b a c k w a r d s , s i d e -
ways or diagonally — over the character
counters. The buck may be passed over
characters of either side. Thus the follow-
ing example:-
In order to be passed, the buck must start
its m o v e f r o m a n a d j a c e n t square t o a
character. It must be passed to the square
directly opposite, and may only be moved
thus if that square is unoccupied. There is
no l i m i t t o t h e n u m b e r o f t i m e s a b u c k
may be passed in one turn.
The buck cannot capture other counters,
but m u s t b e p a s s e d t o t h e o p p o s i n g
player's in tray to win the game.
The Characters:
Characters move 1 square at a time in any
forward o r s i d e w a r d d i r e c t i o n , i n t o a n
unoccupied s q u a r e . T h e y m a y c a p t u r e
any of the opposing player's pieces by a
forward, d i a g o n a l m o v e — a s a c h e s s
pawn. They may even capture the oppos-
ing p l a y e r ' s b u c k , i n w h i c h c a s e t h e
capturing player m a y place t h e buck o n
any unoccupied square on the board.
When a c h a r a c t e r c o u n t e r reaches t h e
opposing p l a y e r ' s i n t r a y, t h e c o u n t e r
may, at the owning player's discretion, be
returned to anywhere w i t h i n h i s o w n i n
tray area. This does not count as a move.
Winning:
As soon as the buck has been passed into
the opponent's in tray, the player may call
for the Boss, w h o will arrive on his or her
next turn. If the Boss finds a buck in either
in tray, that player has lost, and the other
has won. If he findsbucks in both in trays,
or in neither, the game is drawn legt5
9
 1 / 4 611111
11102
1101-011
-1111
1OPHIIIIIimminionolonumENIMEHIPTOMmoloptilimismumummumuno1111111116Nommummonofinuo,
•0
I 1
Games Centre Liquidated
One s p i n - o f f f r o m t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f
Adventure G a m e s h a s b e e n a p a r a l l e l
expansion o f g a m e s shops. I n t h e p a s t
there wasn't enough business to support
more than three or four such shops in the
whole c o u n t r y. B o a r d g a m e s — M o n o -
poly, S c r a b b l e a n d o t h e r s — sold well,
along with traditional games c h e s s and
draughts — but they were looked after in
department stores and toy shops. Further-
more, t h e y o f f e r e d o n e - o f f p u r c h a s e s
w i t h o u t follow-up business. Role-playing
games c h a n g e d a l l t h a t . R u l e s e x p a n -
sions, figures, modules, paints, play aids
and o t h e r b i t s a n d p i e c e s p r o v i d e d
retailers w i t h a s o u n d f o u n d a t i o n f o r
business. As further reinforcement to the
viability of specialist games shops, closely
allied i t e m s s u c h a s b o a r d w a r g a m e s ,
specialist b o o k s a n d t r a d i t i o n a l g a m e s
were s m o o t h l y a s s i m i l a t e d i n t o t h e i r
stock. I n r e c e n t years, c o m p u t e r games
have been added.
The h a p p y r e s u l t s o f t h i s convenient
coincidence o f d e v e l o p m e n t a r e w e l l -
stocked games shop in most major towns.
These arrived during a period when most
economic activity has been in the grip of
severe recession. I t is n o t w i t h o u t irony
that n o w, j u s t as w e are being told that
recession is easing, the signs are that all
is not well. Last year the collapse of the
Scottish chain G a m e s Gallery left many
suppliers w i t h significant losses. A d m i t -
tedly the Games Master chain, backed by
Games Workshop, appeared in its place,
Flextiles & other textiles
Flying B u ff a l o o f Walsall h a v e a n u m b e r o f
n e w items available and I'm grateful t o Jon
Wesley-Smith f o r p r o v i d i n g d e t a i l s . F r o m
Hero Games, t h e y h a v e received Flextiles.
Floor plans o f various types are well-estab-
lished and many producers of these have also
provided card f u r n i t u r e , statues, boats a n d
trees to f u r t h e r enhance the effect. Flextiles
are on t h e s e l i n e s b u t are m a d e o f durable
electrostatic plastic. T h e y a r e designed f o r
use w i t h C h a m p i o n s but w i l l be suitable for
any system. P r o d u c e d i n 2 5 m m scale, t h e
range c u r r e n t l y extends t o f o u r sets. S e t 1
gives a v a r i e t y o f c a r s , t r u c k s a n d m o t o r
cycles. S e t 2 i s called S t r e e t S c e n e r y and
has lamp posts, f i r e hyarants, n e w s stands,
phone booths and the like. In Set 3 w e have
Laboratory S c e n e r y c o m p r i s i n g c o m p u t e r
banks, a g i a n t dynamo, a forklift, pallets o f
crates and w h a t are described as 'scientific
gizmos'. Set 4 brings us back to nature w i t h
an assortment of trees, shrubs, hedges and._
potted plants! All four sets are sold in zip-lock
bags at £ 3 . 5 0 each.
10
0 0
but n o w there h a s been a n e v e n m o r e
dramatic casualty. Games Centre, boast-
ing some of the biggest, most prestigious
outlets in the country, w i t h a head office
and s h o w p i e c e s h o p i n O x f o r d Street,
London, announced a t t h e beginning o f
this y e a r t h a t t h e y w e r e g o i n g i n t o
receivership. T h i s development w a s n o t
exactly a surprise to most people in t h e
business, b u t s u b s t a n t i a l a m o u n t s o f
money w e r e still lost. Big companies i n
the games supply business are only small
organisations in general terms; inevitably
they will become more careful about who
they supply.
It is a fact that both Games Gallery and
Games C e n t r e r a p i d l y i n c r e a s e d t h e i r
retail outlets, G a m e s Centre eventually
having n i n e shops. I t could be t h a t t h i s
was the cause o f their troubles — rapid
expansion o u t s t r i p p e d r e s o u r c e s . C e r -
tainly t h e r e i s n o s i g n o f w i d e r - s c a l e
closures a m o n g g a m e s r e t a i l e r s , t h e
majority of whom have one or two shops.
Meanwhile, w e h a v e t h e curiosity o f
central L o n d o n d e v o i d o f a s p e c i a l i s t
games shop. I t c a n b e s a f e l y a s s u m e d
that someone will step in quickly and it is
fair to say that most people would bet on
Games W o r k s h o p a s t h e m o s t l i k e l y
contender. There is no need for London-
ers t o f e e l d o w n i n t h e m e a n t i m e ,
however. There a r e m a n y fine s h o p s i n
the area o f the capital only too happy to
welcome ex-Games Centre customers.
Doug Cowie
Also from Hero come new Champions extras,
Enemies II & Ill; Escape from Stronghold
(adventure pack); and C h a m p i o n s
The 'Blade' division of Flying Buffalo have a
new module suitable for both M e r c e n a r i e s ,
Spies & Private Eyes and Hero Games'
Espionage. S e t o n S a v a g e I s l a n d i n L a k e
Champlain a n d c e n t r e d i n a n d a r o u n d t h e
mansion of Stormhaven, this package offers
a variety of adventures. As well as the usual
maps, p l a n s , s t a t s a n d s c e n a r i o s , S t o r m -
haven contains 23 Cardboard Heroes design-
ed exclusively f o r t h i s m o d u l e . R e v i e w s o f
these t w o g a m e s systems w i l l appear i n a
forthcoming IMAGINETm magazine
Finally, J o n t e l l s m e t h a t t h e P B M g a m e
Feudal L o r d s is doing ' p h e n o m e n a l l y ' well.
Unlike the more common SF computer PBM
games, this one has a medieval setting. Rules
are 5 0 p and each t u r n costs £1.00. Details
from Flying B u ff a l o ' s sister company ICBM,
PO Box 94, Bath St, Walsall,
Whimsical Machinations
There is a little bit of gentlemanly pushing
and s h o v i n g g o i n g o n o v e r G r e n a d i e r
Models' 'Official' 2 5 m m Tr a v e l l e r figures.
When t h e y f i r s t a p p e a r e d i n t h e U K ,
marketed by Grenadier's agents Games of
Liverpool, G a m e s W o r k s h o p o b j e c t e d .
Workshop are the UK agents of G D W, the
producers of the Traveller game. A s such,
they have the option of producing ' O ff i c i a l '
Traveller figures in Britain via their Citadel
Miniatures s u b s i d i a r y. S o f a r t h e y h a v e
made such figures in 1 5 m m but not 2 5 m m
(you may like to go and make a cup of strong
tea a t t h i s stage because t h i s i s w h e r e i t
gets complicated). G D W in t h e States, o n
behalf of GW, protested to Grenadier w h o
decided that t h e i r licence f r o m G D W pre-
cluded t h e m f r o m s e l l i n g t o t h e UK. T h e y
informed Games of Liverpool of this.
GoL, h o w e v e r, f o u n d t h a t t h e Tr a v e l l e r
figures w e r e r a t h e r p o p u l a r a n d s o t h e y
were q u i t e keen t o sell t h e m . S i n c e t h e y
were not breaking any laws or agreements
in doing so and since they are Grenadier's
agents (and therefore w a n t e d to be able to
offer all their products), they made contact
w i t h a n o t h e r U S c o m p a n y, n o t b o u n d b y
any a g r e e m e n t o r l i c e n c e a n d t h e r e f o r e
able to sell these highly contentious figures
to the UK.
It so happens that your c o l u m n i s t w o r k s
for G a m e s o f L i v e r p o o l a n d h a s b e e n
involved in these whimsical machinations.
Furthermore, he can assure you t h a t it's a
lot more fun t h a n m a n y board games h e ' s
played. S o f a r, h i s o p p o s i t e n u m b e r a t
Workshop, the urbane Peter Darvill-Evans,
seems to have viewed the goings on in the
same sporting light.
Should y o u c h a n c e t o p u r c h a s e a n y o f
these f i g u r e s , s p a r e a t h o u g h t f o r t h o s e
unsung desk-warriors and t h e i r u n e n d i n g
campaigns t h r o u g h t h e post a n d over t h e
telephone. It may all sound pretty pathetic
to you but w h e n you get right d o w n to it...
er, you're dead right!
Transatlantic Tales
A quick w o r d about s o m e TSR products
arriving this spring. Most interesting is AC1
The Shady Dragon Inn, a D&D'Ik) game aid
listing over 1 0 0 NPCs. It doesn't quite live
up to the title, but is still a useful tool. There
are n o m o d u l e s o n release f o r a n y o f t h e
fantasy games, but there are new scenarios
for many of the other game systems. Best-
looking a r e T S 0 0 5 a n d t h e TOP SECRET®
character sheets, G W 5 f o r t h e G A M M A
WORLD g a m e a n d S F 3 f o r t h e S TA R
FRONTIERS® g a m e . A l s o , t h e m u c h
heralded SPITM games are en route, as are
the l a t e s t U S m a g a z i n e s a n d m o r e E N D -
LESS QUESITm b o o k s . A f u l l l i s t o f u p -
coming goodies in next m o n t h ' s issue.
I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984
 _

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11

co N O HONOUR IN SATHPORTE
The p e r c e n t a g e o f t h e
total p o p u l a t i o n t h a t p l a y s
adventure g a m e s i s p r o b a b l y
very similar in Britain and the US.
However, that means that the actual
number o f garners i n t h e States i s f a r
higher. Therefore, U S game producers
have a m u c h bigger domestic market to
sell t h e i r p r o d u c t s t o . T h i s i n p a r t
explains w h y m o s t a d v e n t u r e g a m e s
originate over there. It is pleasant to be
able to report that several British com-
panies are standing up to be counted. So
far, m u c h o f t h e i r m a t e r i a l i s s u p -
plementary r a t h e r t h a n n e w g a m e s
systems.
Chaotic Intellect Products are a case
in p o i n t . T h e i r f i r s t p r o d u c t i s N o
Honour in Sathporte, which is a fantasy
role-playing scenario. A l t h o u g h I could
find n o r e f e r e n c e a n y w h e r e i n t h e
booklet to the games system this scen-
ario is intended to be used with, all the
statistics a r e g i v e n i n AD&DTM g a m e
form and an acknowledgement of TSR's
trademarks on A D & D books is printed. It
is thus a fair assumption that Sathporte
is i n t e n d e d t o b e u s e d a s a n A D & D
scenario. Christopher Read, the author,
gets v e r y quickly i n t o t h e m e a t o f t h e
adventure, a n d does not, f o r example,
utilise t h e n o w standard scenario pro-
cedure o f w a r n i n g prospective players
that t h e y should n o t read descriptions
intended f o r t h e referee. N o r i s t h e r e
any indication o f t h e level a n d size o f
party the adventure is intended for.
• • • • •-•• • " . •
••
TORTURED SOULS
The application of British creative talent
to the production o f role-playing scen-
arios continues apace and Beast Enter-
prises have broken n e w ground in their
approach. N o t c o n t e n t w i t h m e r e l y
designing a single adventure, they are
offering n o f e w e r t h a n f o u r f o r t h e
incredible p r i c e o f E 1 . 9 5 . To r t u r e d
Souls is an A 4 size, magazine format,
bi-monthly publication given over entire-
ly to the presentation of complete role-
playing modules. It is a great idea but of
course it stands or falls on the quality of
its adventures. = 1 h a s four scenarios,
all f o r the A D & D game, so let's take a
closer look at w h a t is on offer.
The Chevalier's S h r i n e i s principally
:::• designed for inexperienced players and
DMs. Modifications are provided so that
more e x p e r i e n c e d p l a y e r s c a n b e
accommodated, b u t e i t h e r w a y,
low level characters are recom-
mended. Of the three stand-
ard scenarios in issue 1
(the f o u r t h i s a s o l o
adventure) S h r i n e
12
However, any deficiencies in introduct-
ory material are more than made up for by
the t h o u g h t f u l p r o v i s i o n o f p l a y a i d s .
Most interesting is the novel inclusion of
seven pages of 'geomorphs'. These pro-
vide c u t - o u t p l a n s o f r o o m s f r o m t h e
various major areas in the adventure, and
are i n t e n d e d t o b e u s e d i n c o n j u n c t i o n
with model figures. They are d r a w n to a
scale o f 1 " = 5 ' , a n d s o a r e a m p l y b i g
enough for the job they are designed to
do. Top marks for original thought here —
people using model figures w i l l certainly
find t h a t having a ready-made floor plan
saves t i m e appreciably during play. A n -
other time-saver is having the statistics of
important NPCs printed separately f r o m
the m a i n t e x t , f o r m i n g a n e i g h t - p a g e
pullout w h i c h g r e a t l y facilitates speedy
reference. There are also seven pages of
blank NPC record forms s i x to a page.
Another n e a t l i t t l e w h e e z e i s a r a t h e r
well-designed t i m e - s h e e t w h i c h i n d i c -
ates the location o f various NPCs at any
given t i m e o f t h e d a y. T h e S a t h p o r t e
package is completed by the main text of
nearly 3 0 pages along w i t h a separate
card cover w h i c h carries clearly d r a w n
plans of the principal locations detailed in
the s c e n a r i o . I t c a n b e s e e n t h a t t h e
publishers h a v e n o t s k i m p e d o n t h e
quantity o f material i n t h e i r module b u t
then, a s t h e y a r e a s k i n g £ 3 . 9 5 f o r a
British product, we are justified in expect-
ing something substantial.
The adventure itself is very good. It has
a common enough central plot; the party
is m y favourite. T h e s u b j e c t m a t t e r i s
most o r i g i n a l a n d a v e r y e ff e r v e s c e n t
evening's e n t e r t a i n m e n t s h o u l d r e s u l t .
There i s a n i c e m i x t u r e o f d a n g e r a n d
amusement w h i c h w i l l k e e p p l a y e r s
involved a s t h e y s t r i v e t o c l e a r u p t h e
mystery of the strange goings-on i n t h e
temple of the Chevalier's Shrine. Certain-
ly, if some of the rumours concerning the
place a n d i t s attendant clerics are true,
something very odd is afoot. In common
with the other scenarios in TS, S h r i n e is
pleasantly written without that infuriating
overblown pomposity s o often f o u n d i n
US products. Equally, t h e temptation t o
indulge in toe-curling 'clever' h u m o u r is
largely r e s i s t e d — a n e x a m p l e t h a t ,
regrettably, a l l t o o m a n y B r i t i s h p u b -
lications n e e d t o f o l l o w. A n interesting
innovation in this scenario is the use of a
commercially produced s e t o f D u n g e o n
Floor Plans in making the ref's map of the
temple in which the action occurs. This is
printed i n f u l l c o l o u r, a t a reduced size
from t h e original, a n d provides a m o s t
attractive p l a n . U n f o r t u n a t e l y i t i s n o t
keyed ( a p a r t f r o m r o o m n u m b e r s ) .
•••••••• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • ••••••
•1
is contracted to find and return the errant
son o f a r i c h w o m a n . H e h a s r u n a w a f
form h i s w e a l t h y parents t o f u l f i l s o m e
romantic n o t i o n o f a l i f e o f adventure.
Certainly this is by no means an original
idea, b u t v a r i o u s t w i s t s a n d s u r p r i s e s
have been incorporated into the scenario
which m a k e s i t a n i n t e r e s t i n g exercise
which w i l l severely punish players w h o
do not keep their preparedness at a high
level. It is always unfair to su m m a r i se a
scenario, b e c a u s e e v e n a b r i e f o u t l i n e
may provide information that the players
should n o t have, a n d t h u s i m p a i r t h e i r
enjoyment. S u ff i c e i t t o say, therefore,
that the characters will have to locate and
penetrate t h e HC) o f t h e l o c a l t h i e v e s '
guild in an attempt to fulfil their contract.
It should be obvious that such an under-
taking w i l l be no m i l k run. It can also be
said t h a t t h e players c a n n o t relax t h e i r
guard u n t i l t h e referee closes t h e book
and declares the adventure over.
Although the necessary information c a r
be gleaned from the text, a map key would
be useful.
Little details of good design technique
crop up throughout all the scenarios. For
example, o n occasions w h e n a d i ff i c u l t
patch o f play i s likely t o arise, t h e t e x t
helpfully refers the DM to the page in the
D M G which will help to adjudicate in the
event of problems. There are also explan-
ations o f exactly w h a t happens w h e n a
player fails, say, a 'move silently' roll in a
particular c i r c u m s t a n c e . S m a l l p o i n t s .
but evidence of care in design.
The other two ref-moderated scenarios in
issue 1 are printed on distinctive coloured
paper a n d a r e designed t o b e r e m o v e d
from the main body. This is because they
form part of a complete campaign, details
of w h i c h a r e promised i n f u t u r e issues.
These scenarios c a n a l s o b e played a s
one-off adventures by those not interest-
ed i n g e t t i n g i n v o l v e d i n t h e w h o l e
campaign.
To m b o f D a d i r i s f o r m i d d l e l e v e l
characters and experienced players. They
I M A G I N E magariztr, March 1984

Chaotic I n t e l l e c t h a v e p u t together a • :
good product in Sathporte. The adventure
is i n t e r e s t i n g a n d challenging, a n d t h e
various p l a y a i d s provided s h o w s o m e
originality as well as being useful. I think
a little more could have been done to
provide t h e D M w i t h s o m e p r e - p l a y
advice about r u n n i n g t h e adventure and
the size and strength of a suitable party.
Finally, t h e layout could be a bit slicker,
perhaps u s i n g t h e system pioneered b y
TSR w h i c h clearly delineates in the text
information that the D M should give the •••• exemplified by the infamous 'Trout tickl-
players f r o m t h a t w h i c h s h o u l d n o t b e
1
divulged.
I look forward to more Chaotic Intellect
products, perhaps for systems other than
the A D & D game. 1 4 0 D o u g C o w i e
No H o n o u r a t S a t h p o r t e ( 1 3 . 9 5 ) i s
available from Chaotic Intellect, based at
Southcourt, O r i e n t Drive, Harestock,
Winchester, Hampshire S 0 2 2 6NZ.
are f a c e d b y a n o m i n o u s o l d t e m p l e ,
beneath w h i c h l i e s a s i n i s t e r t o m b .
Problem: a rapacious band of goblins has
occupied the temple. No particular adven-
ture is provided here. T h e module i s all
details: NPCs, d e t a i l e d locations, d a i l y
routines, t r e a s u r e . T h e D M u s e s t h i s
information to create an adventure. Nor-
mally I o b j e c t s t r o n g l y t o c o m m e r c i a l l y
produced m o d u l e s t h a t expect t h e p u r -
chaser to do a lot of leg work. However, I
think in this case it is not unreasonable,
considering t h e o u t s t a n d i n g v a l u e t h a t
Tortured Souls represents.
The R i s i n g T o w e r i s a m o d u l e f o r
higher l e v e l c h a r a c t e r s . T h e a c t i o n i s
limited to the environs of an old fortified
tower, b u t t h e r e i s m u c h variety t o t h e
encounters therein. To w e r, unlike Tomb,
is f u l l y w o r k e d o u t f o r t h e D M . I w a s
unable to play through this adventure, but
it certainly looks well up to standard.
In the introduction to issue 1, the editor
tells us t h a t the originals of the a r t w o r k
are for sale. 'Our own piece of history,' he
suggests. We l l , i t ' s your money, b u t the
standard of the artwork is not THAT good.
I M A G I N E nuTanne, March 1984
CHIVALRY & SORCERY
(2nd Edition) 0
In t h e b e g i n n i n g w a s t h e D & D ® game,
and the D&D game was alone, and all was
good. T h e n c a m e t h e i m i t a t o r s a n d
developments of the game — necessary
because, l e t ' s face it, t h e original g a m e
was a mess. The first three FRP games to
follow were Arduin Grimoire, Tunnels &
Trolls and Chivalry & Sorcery. The latter
quickly established a r e p u t a t i o n o f e x -
treme d e t a i l a n d c o m p l e x i t y f o r i t s e l f ,
ing' r u l e s . I t w a s a d o p t e d b y a s m a l l
minority who found its attention to detail
and firm g r o u n d i n g in the Feudal A g e to
their t a s t e — t h e m a j o r i t y, h o w e v e r,
spurned i t as incomprehensible and u n -
playable.
Now, h o w e v e r, C & S r e t u r n s i n a n
extensively rewritten form. The game has
moved w i t h t h e t i m e s , a n d t h e o n l y
problem is that so has the FRP hobby.
In fact it is distinctly average — certainly
below par when compared with the high
standard of the rest of the publication. I'm
referring h e r e t o t h e illustrations o n l y.
The m a p s a n d p l a n s a r e i n e v e r y w a y
satisfactory, a p a r t f r o m t h e l a c k o f a
proper key i n t h e m a p f o r S h r i n e m e n -
tioned e a r l i e r. D u e t o t h e n e c e s s i t y o f
keeping the price down (I assume), there
are less maps and play aids than one has
become a c c u s t o m e d t o i n c o m m e r c i a l
modules. I n S h r i n e , f o r e x a m p l e , t h e
location o f the temple i n relation t o t h e
rest of the t o w n is not mapped. ' M a k e it
up yourself,' advises the designer.
The final scenario, The Crystal Keys, is a
solo a d v e n t u r e . I n s c o p e a n d d e t a i l i t
outstrips anything else I've seen before.
I'm afraid it makes the familiar Tunnels &
Trolls s o l o s l o o k positively a n a e m i c b y
comparison, a l t h o u g h i t d o e s u s e t h e
same n u m b e r e d paragraph system. The
player h a s a c o m p l e t e p a r t y o f 5 - 7
characters. These can be thieves, clerics,
fighters or MUs and can be human, elf or
dwarf. Q u i t e a c h o i c e f o r a s o l o . T h e
Where o n c e a d 2 0 w a s
rolled t o g e n e r a t e c h a r a c t e r
requirements, n o w p r o g r e s s i v e
'allocative' systems are used. Combat
has s i m i l a r l y b e n e f i t t e d f r o m R o l e -
gaming a d v a n c e m e n t s s i n c e 1 9 7 7 —
the archaic method of rolling 'to hit' an
armour c l a s s h a s b e e n dropped, a n d
replaced b y t h e m o r e c o m m o n l y u s e d
method of armour absorbing damage. A
skills system has been grafted onto the
rules, and sits uneasily in the company
of a level-based experience system.
Presentation has also been improved
since the first edition. There are still a
f e w glitches — i n i t i a l social s t a t u s i s
poorly explained, and the Magic system
(unchanged f r o m t h e f i r s t edition), t h e
rules m a j o r selling p o i n t , c o n t a i n f r e -
quent references t o f i r s t e d i t i o n r u l e s
that have since been phased out.
Chivalry & S o r c e r y mistakenly a t -
tempts to compete with the AD&D game
in t e r m s o f detail — a hopeless t a s k
which c a n o n l y produce a fragmented
and complex set of rules. As a reference
work, a n d a s a s o u r c e o f i d e a s f o r
incorporation into other games, Chivalry
& Sorcery is still excellent, but I doubt it
will shake i t s popular i m a g e as a c u l t
game o n t h e f r i n g e s o f t h e h o b b y
mainstream. 4 1 . 5 Paul Mason
Chivalry & S o r c e r y i s available as. a ••••••
boxed set, price 1.13.95, a n d there are
numerous accessories. Enquiries should
be m a d e t o G a m e s o f Liverpool, 8 9
Victoria St, Liverpool L l 6DG.
••••••••
action has both wilderness and dungeon
locations. P l a y e r s p r o d u c e a m a p a s
they progress, using a neat generation
system. This is a very good solo. : • : • •
To r t u r e d S o u l s r e p r e s e n t s a m a z i n g
value. The quantity o f material f o r t h e
money m a k e s i t a r e c o m m e n d e d p u r -
chase. T h e q u a l i t y o f t h a t m a t e r i a l ::::
makes it an essential purchase. My only
worry is — can they possibly keep it up
issue after issue?
(PS: I have just seen issue 2, and I must
say that the quality seems to have been
maintained a n d t h e physical c o m p o n -
ents are improved in that the covers are
now thin card rather than t h i c k paper. ••
Issue 2 contains four ref's scenarios and
one solo — all for the AD&D game. After
a quick scan, I would say that it looks like
another good issue.)
ISO Doug Cowie
To r t u r e d Souls is published by
Beast Enterprises, D i v i n i t y
Road, O x f o r d 0 X 4 I LE?,
at 1 4 . 9 5 f o r t h r e e
issue, post free.
13
 C 9 I 5 1 J N 9 e l - A I L b y B r i a n Creese
, I ••••• A bi-monthfy feature about the postal gaming hobby
/1/P•
(eA ••• • ( t ,

SOCCERLEAGUE
...there was an unexpected result here
at the M i l l ground today when lowly
TSR United humbled mighty Tolkien
Wanderers in a manner which belied
their respective league positions. A
crowd of 18,000 saw Cockburn open
the scoring i n t h e 1 7 t h minute.
Wanderers replied with a superb solo
goal from ['rod° a minute from the
break. T h e second h a l f saw T S R
strengthen their grip on the game and
Turnbull scored the decisive goal on
the hour. TSR continued to dominate
the closing stages o f the game and
Wanderers' chances o f saving the
match v i r t u a l l y disappeared when
Sauron was sent off 10 minutes before
time...'
Unsurprisingly, there have been many
popular football games invented over the
years, but if intellectual skill is more your
forte t h a n t h e f i n g e r t i p c o n t r o l o f S u b -
buteo, t h e n o n e o f t h e Soccer Manage-
ment games is probably for you, and you )1/
could soon be running one of the teams in
my spoof report above.
It would cause an instant argument to will be particularly difficult if your club is game mechanics w i l l vary, United rules
suggest that Soccerleague games repres- not commanding the sort of crowds that being a good deal m o r e straightforward
ent true role-playing. However, i n terms generate lots of income. than t h e traditional leagues. I f you a r e
of decisions t o be made, some o f these Finally t h e r e i s a m a t t e r o f t h e g a m e lucky you may get the opportunity to be in
games c o m e very close t o s i m u l a t i n g a itself. Each league running has different a n e w g a m e j u s t starting u p , b u t m o r e
manager's position; h o w closely depends rules, b u t most are sufficiently sophisti- usually you will have to join a waiting list,
on the exact game you join. cated to produce a report such as that at waiting f o r y o u r c h a n c e t o t a k e o v e r a
It would be an exaggeration to say that the start of this column. They w i l l a l l o w manager's r o l e w h e n t h a t player drops
no-one k n o w s w h o invented the Soccer for different formations, alternative tac- out f o r s o m e r e a s o n . I n s u c h c i r c u m -
Management game — but I certainly have tics a n d e v e n a n a m o u n t o f deliberate stances you w i l l be once again in some-
no idea. Originally known as Soccerboss, clogging! There are chances of injury as thing o f a role-playing situation, having
more recently Soccerleague, and closely well a s sendings-off and bookings, a n d no choice of stand sizes or even playing
related to United, all these games put you sufficient chance to a l l o w for the occas- pool. Yo u m u s t j u s t m a k e t h e m o s t o f
in the position of running a football club. ional surprise result. w h a t you have!
Accordingly y o u h a v e n o t o n l y t o p u t While the immediate aim o f the man- Soccerleague games are very popular,
together a w i n n i n g t e a m , b u t also look ager must be to end the season at the top and there are something like 12 leagues
after t h e e n t i r e f i n a n c e s o f t h e c l u b ; of the league, it is also important in these currently running. A s it w i l l probably be
deciding the tactics for Saturday's match recessionary days to be financially solv- necessary to wait some time to get into an
constitutes only a small part of the game. ent. H e a d i n g t h e l e a g u e i s n o g o o d i f established game, it is w o r t h w h i l e doing
The e l e m e n t s o f t h e s e g a m e s a r e bankruptcy threatens! A long-term v i e w a little b i t o f research i n t o t h e d i ffe r e n t
broadly similar. In the beginning you have is required if you are to be successful in styles of play before committing yourself
an amount of money. This has to be used these games. to a game. I can d c n o m o r e t h a n once
to e q u i p t h e c l u b w i t h stands, trainers, Not only will your team have to compete again suggest that you obtain a copy of 20
scouts, p h y s i o s a n d p l a y e r s , e a c h o f in a league — a n d i f t h e r e a r e several Years On which lists all such games. You
varying levels of skill and potential. It is divisions t h e r e w i l l b e p r o m o t i o n a n d can then write to the various G M s of the
important to remember that these start- relegation t o consider — b u t t h e r e w i l l games asking t h e m f o r a c o p y o f t h e i r
ing c o n d i t i o n s w i l l b e w i t h y o u f o r t h e probably b e a c u p competition a s w e l l . rules, and decide which game suits you.
entire game (which could be a long time) Then t h e r e m a y b e a n i n t e r - l e a g u e And i f t h a t is w h a t you decide t o do,
so initial decisions are very important. competition w h e n you p l a y t e a m s f r o m good l u c k — a n d I h o p e y o u g e t a n
The week-by-week decisions are rather other z i n e s a n d m a y b e e v e n a n i n t e r - understanding chairman!
more fundamental than picking the team. national to look forward to...
Firstly there is an auction of new players While w h a t I h a v e w r i t t e n p r o b a b l y .00 Brian Creese
w h o m you may bid for. Players have both applies to most United or Soccerleagues
a current skill and a potential. To reach a currently running, all such leagues have 2 0 Ye a r s O n costs 3 5 p a n d is available
skill close to a player's true potential w i l l highly individual r u l e s w h i c h m a y cover from S i m o n B i l l e n n e s s , 2 0 W i n i f r e d
need c o n s t a n t attention, a n d decisions more o r less t h a n I h a v e s e t o u t here; Road, Coulsdon, Surrey CR3 3,b4.
I M A G I N E i n a g a n c , March 1984 15
letters.... letters l e t t e r s l e t t e r s l e t t e r s l e t t e r s . . . . letters..., letters.... letters.... letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters..., letters... letters..., letters l e t t e r s l e t t e r s . . . . letters...,

Letters
This p a g e i s f u l l o f t h e a c c u m u l a t e d Paul M a s o n , C o v e n t r y : H a l f o f t h e watching a lesser-spotted greebly walk,
wisdom o f g a r n e r s u p a n d d o w n t h e Cantrips appear t o be m o r e useful t h a n run, j u m p , c r a w l , b r a c h i a t e , r o l l a n d
country, w h e r e t h e y h a v e w r i t t e n t o 1st level spells, and, in my opinion, take breaststroke for t w o days doesn't fill m e
IMAGINEIm magazine (letters), The Mill, the trivialization of magic a stage further. with much excitement.
Rathmore Road, CAMBRIDGE CB1 4 A D .
Letters a p p e a r i n g h e r e m a y have b e e n OK.... T h e response to m o s t of the issue Pete Ta m l y n , B u c k s : O n e p o i n t t h a t
edited for length. was pretty good: Chris d i d n ' t b r i n g o u t v e r y w e l l i n
Now, t h i s is the sort of letter we like to Phantasmal Forces is that a successful
get. None of your orc's hit points here, oh Jeremy N u t t a l l , Cheshire: T h e Purple illusion involves deception of a number of
no. O n l y those w i t h intelligence over 17 Parrot — W o w ! T h i s i s w h a t w e w a n t . senses, not simply the visual. This allows
need read on. Perhaps you could print more stories like the G M to cut down the effectiveness of
this, t h e y h e l p g e t m y b r a i n i n t o g e a r the spell, and a l l o w s f o r a g r e a t deal o f
Don Pavey, Art Arena Games, London: I before DMing. interest to be generated. Simply split the
have t h o r o u g h l y e n j o y e d r e a d i n g t h e PF spell i n t o five, o n e f o r e a c h sense,
magazine; I hope you will forgive me if my Where do we find these people? Let's get allow h i g h e r l e v e l s p e l l s t o d e f e a t a
comments are vast generalizations. back to the relative calm of Rules vs Play, number o f senses. Players w i l l h a v e t o
It occurs to me that if you are taking the and more recent attempts to turn this into think much more about an illusion, since
grand o p e n - m i n d e d philosophical v i e w Rune quest vs the Dt&D® game. a simple visual illusion c a n b e very
that you seem to be (even the concept of effective indeed provided that the victim
rules i s o p e n t o question), t h i s l e a v e s Hamish Paterson, D u r b a n , S A f r i c a : is a long way off, while a dog w o u l d never
some special c h a n n e l s open f o r f u r t h e r Most of the so-called inconsistencies in be deceived w i t h an illusion t h a t did not
investigation. the D & D a n d A D & D g a m e can be dealt include smell.
Isn't it the scenario that first hooks the with by a competent DM. I cannot say the
potential gamer? Marvellous contrasting same o f o t h e r games. M o s t o f t h e R Q Clearly there are a great many solutions
illustrations f r o m totally diff er ent g a m e inconsistencies a r e n o t b r o u g h t o u t — to the problem o f the PF spell already in
worlds w o u l d be stunning. W h o k n o w s and w h y ? B e c a u s e i t i s n o t played s o use, I f you have one, w h y not drop us a
what psychological symbolism the games much? line, a n d we'll print the best ideas. M a n y
conjure up in players? of you. I know, found Chris Felton's article
As i n t h e classic concept o f ' d r e a m - Paul M a s o n : The lack of R Q material in very helpful, a n d I ' m g l a d t o s a y t h a t
work' o f Freud, t h e scenario o f a g a m e IMAGINE magazine does not say anything another of his articles, on Enchantment,
involves particularly the first and second about its popularity. I w o u l d guess that if can be found on page 36 of this magazine.
processes o f d r e a m w o r k , n a m e l y t h e you only consider people w h o have been
Dramatisation o f Emotion (the game has playing a year, RC1 would outsell the D&D M u c h c o m m e n t h a s c o n t i n u e d to f i l t e r
a tone and character of its own, from cold game. through a b o u t t h e DRAGONCILIESTT"
intellectual to firey volcanic) and Second- game. M a n y o f y o u d e v o t e d D O f a n s
ary E l a b o r a t i o n ( t h e c o n s t e l l a t i o n s o f And you'd be wrong. I include these enjoyed our # 7 a great deal, a n d various
possibilities i n t h e g a m e universe often letters as an example of the way mention rumours concerning t h e f u t u r e o f the
centre a r o u n d s o m e h i d d e n o r i n c o n - of these two games seems to cause more game have added fuel to your letters.
spicuous detail); w h e r e a s t h e t h i r d a n d polarised opinion t h a n a P a r t y Political
fourth processes a r e metamorphic Broadcast. P e r h a p s I ' d better go o n t h e J a m i e Revell: D Q is too restrictive for my
(Displacement & Condensation). record a g a i n a n d s a y t h a t I M A G I N E liking — no, Mr Kern, the same is not true
magazine exists to serve the players of all of the AD&DTM game.
We can't really do justice to Don's letter varieties of adventure games, but that we
here, s i n c e h e w e n t i n t o t h i s m u c h recognise t h a t t h e r e i s o n e g a m e t h a t Duncan Harris, Avon: It says in the D Q
deeper. J u s t goes to show, though, t h a t outsells all others umpteen fold. I hope to rules 'the object of an RPG is not for an
there's m o r e t o o r c s ' h i t p o i n t s t h a n be able t o announce, h o w e v e r, t h a t w e individual to win.... but to enjoy a stimul-
meets t h e eye. M a y b e w e ' l l ask D o n t o will be doing a Rune quest special for the ating i n t e r c h a n g e b e t w e e n t h e p l a y e r s
expand on this theme sometime.... maybe rest of you frustrated players soon. and GM'. In other words, it m u s t be fun.
when w e ' v e b o u g h t a n e w dictionary. DO tries to encourage role-playing rather
A n d Don isn't the only genius who reads Jamie R e v e l l , N o r t h u m b e r l a n d : O n e than fighting ('fighting is a deadly process
IMAGINE magazine criticism I o f t e n h e a r a b o u t t h e B a s i c and should be avoided if at all possible').
game i s t h e l o w s u r v i v a l r a t e . L e w
Mike D e a n , F i f e : M e l i k e IMAGINETm, Pulsipher s e e m s t o t h i n k t h a t t h i s pro- For now, TSR Inc have no plans to expand
I M A G I N E ' good. IMAGINEIm get better & motes role-playing, though I don't follow or provide n e w m a t e r i a l f o r t h i s g a m e
better. M e t h i n k IMAGINETm b e s t RPG his a r g u m e n t . M i k e B r u n t o n s h o w e d a system, w h i c h seems t o be m u c h m o r e
magazine around! certain naivety too, i n believing that the popular in Britain t h a n i t is i n t h e USA.
new classes a n d t h e c a n t r i p s p r o m o t e However, k n o w i n g h o w m a n y o f you do
I apologise for Mike, he's a fanzine editor. better play. The barbarian will be used as have a soft spot for this game, I M A G I N E
have tried to w a r n you in the past about a strong fighter, the cavalier the same. magazine w i l l continue to publish occa-
what that can do. sional articles and scenarios, a n d I hope
We had more reponse to our Christmas Chris F e l t o n ' s a r t i c l e o n P h a n t a s m a l that Robert Kern w i l l be available to pen
issue, # 9 , t h a n t o a n y 4 s u e since t h e Forces w a s w i d e l y praised, t h o u g h i t something else before long.
first. M o s t l y good, too: provoked various additional ideas: One l a s t w o r d . J e r e m y N u t t a l l a n d
others berated us for the w a y the Trans-
Antony J o n e s , L o n d o n : Cantrips a r e J a m i e Revell: I disagree with Chris about atlantic Tales section of the Illuminations
quite uselesS — p r i n t i n g o n l y t h r e e o f the t w o d a y s t u d y p e r i o d . I t h i n k a n page is often inaccurate. Well, strange as
them w o u l d s h o w garners h o w to invent illusionist w o u l d b e a b l e t o c r e a t e a n it may seem, we d o n ' t always know what
their own. D o cough, blink and groan illusion o f anything seen fairly close up, is happening w i t h o u r parent company,
need a paragraph of their own? Surely the though s o m e preparation f o r t h e s p e l l particularly w o r k i n g 2 m o n t h s a h e a d o f
name explains it all? would b e r e q u i r e d i n w h i c h t h e caster the time the news appears! Bear w i t h us
visualised t h e desired i t e m , effectively - w e ' l l get it right one day.
How did he get in here? increasing casting time. The t h o u g h t o f 1A0 Letters edited by Paul Cockburn
16 I M A G I N E magazine, Mardi. 1984
 THE
it I W a r t i a i r
GAMES SHOP ,Itwariopir
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We now stock
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MINIATURES
SIEGE
Crasimoffs World is a fantasy game of exploration and adventure. As a player you assume the
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FIGURES
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 r e
Vi/tMPUTERSmicroCMPUTERS'
The home computer hobby in the
UK is now around five years old. It
has certainly been a chaotic five
years, but it looks as if things are
stabilising and the future becom-
ing a little more predictable.
One r e a s o n f o r t h i s , s a d l y, i s t h e
simplification o f the situation caused by
the disappearance of so many hardware
and s o f t w a r e companies. O n t h e h a r d -
ware side, it n o w appears that '1983 was
the last chance for a brand n e w eight-bit
micro t o establish i t s e l f as a significant
contender in the market. Machines such
as the Aquarius did not sell fast enough to
establish a significant market share, from
which i t f o l l o w e d t h a t t h e s o f t w a r e
houses were not prepared to spend time
rewriting t h e i r programs for it. A steady
stream of sales over a long period might
have improved t h e m a c h i n e ' s chances,
but the Aquarius had spent so much time
on t h e d r a w i n g b o a r d t h a t i t a l r e a d y
looked obsolete when it was launched. So
the proliferation o f different and incom-
patible m a c h i n e s c e a s e d t o g i v e t h e
software companies headaches; b y t h e
expedient of ruling out any micro that did
not a l r e a d y h a v e a t l e a s t 1 5 % o f t h e
market, t h e y c u t d o w n t h e n u m b e r o f
machines to a manageable size.
Fast-action games
Similarly, m a n y o f t h e s m a l l s o f t w a r e
companies t h a t m a d e t h e i r m a r k in t h e
early years disappeared o r became dor-
mant; those w h o tried to expand in size
did particularly badly. All the demand was
for fast-action games, and t h e assets of
such a c o m p a n y w e r e r e a l l y j u s t t h e
number of competent machine-code pro-
grammers it could employ. Unfortunately,
these talented gentlemen showed a con-
tinuing tendency to leave their employers
and s e t u p t h e i r o w n s m a l l s o f t w a r e
houses.
A f u r t h e r simplification c a m e about
because of the continuing success story
of the Spectrum, which n o w accounts for
at least 50% of h o m e computer sales in
the UK. T h i s makes i t almost inevitable
that any new piece of games software will
18
Settling Down
be w r i t t e n f i r s t o f a l l f o r t h i s m a c h i n e ,
then r e w r i t t e n t o r u n on a m a x i m u m o f
three or four other computers. As a result,
new software tends more and more to be
tailored t o f i t t h e capabilities a n d l i m i t -
ations of this micro.
Rehashed Software
Software prices also stabilised; there was
a t i m e w h e n you m i g h t be asked to pay
anything from f 2 (for a ZX81 tape) to E40
for a c a r t r i d g e o r d i s c f o r o n e o f t h e
American computers. B u t t h e poor per-
formance o f t h e cartridge s o f t w a r e
market, coupled w i t h t h e relative failure
of t h e A m e r i c a n m a c h i n e s , t e n d e d t o
make the higher prices more and more of
a r a r i t y. A t t h e s a m e t i m e , i t b e c a m e
uneconomic t o c h a r g e a n y t h i n g u n d e r
.E4.50 o r so for a games cassette. There
are several reasons f o r this; o n e i s t h e
shift from mail order to retail sales, which
introduced middlemen (distributors) eag-
er to take their cut from the selling price of
each item. Another was the trend towards
expensive packaging, found necessary by
each s o f t w a r e house i f it w a s to sell i t s
products against those of its competitors.
This in t u r n w a s due to a large extent to
the nearly identical nature of much of the
software on the market, consisting mostly
of rehashes of old arcade themes.
The d i s a p p e a r a n c e f r o m t h e n e w s -
agents' shelves of most of the magazine
titles l a u n c h e d i n t h e l a s t t w o years i s
also a welcome clarification of a confused
position. M a n y o f these titles continue,
but o n a s u b s c r i p t i o n o r c o n t r o l l e d -
circulation basis. In t h e former category
are most of the machine-specific public-
ations d e d i c a t e d t o t h e l e s s p o p u l a r
micros. T h e l a t t e r c a t e g o r y i n c l u d e s
magazines which are really aimed at the
business side o f t h e m a r k e t a n d w o u l d
never normally be found in a retail outlet
at a l l . T h e y s e e m t o h a v e f l o u r i s h e d
during a s h o r t p e r i o d i n w h i c h l a r g e
numbers o f b u s i n e s s executives w e r e
spending the firm's petty cash on desktop
computers, b u t had n o t yet got onto the
mailing lists of the business machine and
accessory suppliers.
The final simplifying trend w a s in t h e
type of computer user. It seems that the
great m a j o r i t y o f c o m p u t e r b u y e r s ( o r
recipients of presents) during the Christ-
mas sales period were boys in the 1 0 - 1 2
age range, mostly choosing the Spectrum
or the Vic-20 starter pack. Leisure inter-
ests among other age groups appear to be
oriented in quite different directions. One
can expect the type and level of complex-
ity o f g a m e s s o f t w a r e produced d u r i n g
this year to be matched more and more to
this dominant age group.
Looking at Trends
So w h a t d o e s a l l t h i s m e a n f o r t h e
development o f t h e i n d u s t r y d u r i n g t h e
present y e a r ? S e v e r a l t e n d e n c i e s a r e
already apparent; t h e disappearance o f
the s m a l l r e t a i l o u t l e t s w h o c a n n o t
compete w i t h the big retail chains in the
home computer market; the migration of
many suppliers to the business computer
market, where margins are less tight and
competition is slacker.
I suspect that in due course the sheer
size o f the current market w i l l cause the
wheel t o come f u l l circle. I f you h a v e a
specialised g a m e s s o f t w a r e p r o d u c t
which will appeal to not more than .5% of
potential buyers, you are not going to find
an impressive number of takers among a
population of, say, 5 0 , 0 0 0 o w n e r s o f a
particular micro. But now that there are a
million S p e c t r u m s , y o u c o u l d a c h i e v e
reasonable sales w i t h s u c h a m i n o r i t y -
interest game, provided y o u w e r e p r e -
pared to write for this particular machine.
At t h e s a m e t i m e , m a x i m u m s a l e s o f
5,000 are n o t really e n o u g h t o i n t e r e s t
the distributors w h o move t h e s o f t w a r e
from the producers to the shops.
So w e m a y s e e a g r e a t e r v a r i e t y o f
games s o f t w a r e b e c o m i n g available i n
future, i n c l u d i n g m o r e o r i g i n a l g a m e
designs than those being produced by the
established s o f t w a r e h o u s e s . B u t t h i s
material w i l l t e n d t o b e s o l d p a r t l y o r
wholly as a mail-order operation — just
as in the old days of 1979 to 1981. A n d if
that h a p p e n s , t h i s s p e c i a l i s t a r e a o f
computer .gaming w i l l c o m e m o r e a n d
more t o resemble t h e characteristics o f
the existing gaming hobby,
AU Mike Costello
I M A G I N E maggzdne, March 1984
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• • • • • • ow e • • • ....Dee • • • • e • **es. • • • • " ' s o . . . . . . 8. 0 . • • . . . . . .. • • • w o e e • e a e • o o • • • e• • 00 0 0 • • • •

G R O U C H O f o r the ZX Spectrum
Game Reviews
Grouch() is a f o l l o w - u p to Pimania from Playing G r o u c h o is by no means easy. things c o u l d happen: y o u c o u l d g e t h i t
Automata U K Ltd. F o r E l 0 you g e t t h e To start w i t h , you a r e asked a question with a bill (lowering the number of cigars
cassette, an outline of the game, a song that h a s s o m e a p p a r e n t r e l e v a n c e t o held); you m i g h t get one o f the Pima n's
and a cigar! The song, 'Groucho', is sung Pimania. I f you g e t t h e a n s w e r w r o n g , and G r o u c h o ' s j o k e s ( c o m e b a c k To n y
by Lady Clair Sinclive & the Pimen. The you a r e i n f o r m e d ' Yo u n e v e r p l a y e d Blackburn, a l l i s forgiven); a c h a n c e t o
best thing to be said is that it is abysmal. A Pimania did you s o r r y about this I won't play 'guess the star' (if you guess correct-
Bob D y l a n s o u n d - a l i k e w a f f l e s o v e r a be long.' There is a slight delay, hopefully ly, y o u g e t a n o t h e r c l u e t o t h e f a m o u s
noise similar to that of a train derailing. to make the game easier for the uninitiat- personality); finally, a clue to the famous
The effect is as jolly as Napoleon's retreat ed b u t m o r e probably t o make i t harder person o r t h e chance t o g u e s s w h a t i s
from Moscow, but no doubt it will win the because y o u d i d n ' t b u y t h e f i r s t g a m e . under one of three shells, w i t h a surprise
next Eurovision Song.Contest. The game then starts in earnest. One of under each.
I found that the game loaded easily, and the difficulties i s the use of commands. On the w h o l e I didn't think G r o u c h ° a
during t h i s process you are treated t o a They m u s t b e e n t e r e d perfectly o r t h e great game that would keep you coming
picture o f Groucho M a r x complete w i t h computer refuses t o accept them. M i n d back for more, unless you are a compet-
raising eyebrows and moving cigar. you, y o u d o n ' t g e t a b o r i n g ' I d o n o t ition f a n a t i c . O n t h e p l u s s i d e : t h e
The object is to wander around various understand.' O h n o , y o u g e t responses unusual f o r m a t , w i t h n o o r c s t o k i l l o r
locations of the USA picking up clues to a such a s ' T h a t s o r t o f p h r a s e g i v e s treasures to find. It is reasonably amusing
famous personality. Once you have decid- stupidity a bad n a m e ' o r 'I suppose you (well, slightly f u n n i e r than T h e Hobbit),
ed w h o t h e person is, you s e n d o f f t h e w a n t me to do the Hokey Cokey as well'. the graphics are good and of course there
entry f o r m w i t h a slogan. I f you are t h e My favourite one was when I entered 'Go is the prize.
lucky one, you win a trip to Hollywood and North'. It came up with 'What do you think On t h e bad side: t h e l a n g u a g e i s n o t
£500 spending money. Then you might as this is, another Scott Adams adventure?'. very user-friendly, t h e subject m a t t e r is
well t h r o w the game away because apart As t h e phraseology i s d i ff i c u l t I f o u n d not exceptionally strong, a n d o f course
from picking up cigars (the currency used) these statements appearing quite often. there is the song...
there is nothing else to do. When visiting the locations, one of five D J Robinson

VA M P I R E V I L L A G E f o r the 48K Spectrum

The p a c k a g i n g f o r t h i s g a m e f r o m the game down, as the program pauses do battle w i t h the vampire. A s your hero
Terminal Software is eyecatching and the each time it is done. Wandering into the can o n l y c a r r y a l i m i t e d a m o u n t o f
box is robust. The only fault in the box is river without a boat causes you to drown. equipment, t h e f a c t t h a t y o u c a n h i d e
that t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s are printed o n t h e Buildings can only be entered w h e n the things is very helpful. If your hero dies, his
back o f t h e i n l a y card w h i c h h a s t o b e owners o p e n t h e doors; h o w e v e r, t h e y replacement can find the items hidden by his
removed to read them. can be left through walls. The buildings predecessor.
The cassette has a copy of the program are a mixture of shops and houses, most The g a m e i s n o t b a d , b u t c o u l d b e
on b o t h s i d e s a n d I h a d n o p r o b l e m of which can be used at a cost. Your hero better. Y o u r h e r o c a n n o t a c c o m p l i s h
loading i t . T h i s takes approximately 31/2 needs to eat and sleep, otherwise he will much before he has to sleep, and cannot
minutes, a f t e r w h i c h you a r e presented die A readout of his physical condition sleep t h e w h o l e n i g h t w i t h o u t dying o f
with a 5 - p a g e prologue. T h e p r o l o g u e and w h a t he is carrying can be obtained starvation. M o v e m e n t i s s l o w a n d t h e
gives s o m e background i n f o r m a t i o n o n by pressing ' P ' . T h e r e i s also a n a u d i o night seems to last forever. Yo u r hero is
the game, and repeats the instructions on warning of impending doom. M o v e m e n t hard to see at certain times, particularly
the inlay card. You are then asked if you is c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e c u r s o r k e y s a n d at the bottom of the screen. If he misses a
wish t o repeat t h e prologue o r begin t o certain letters obtained by pressing 'V'. door, h e ricochets h a p p i l y o f f t h e w a l l
play. I f y o u e l e c t t o p l a y, y o u a r e s o The s c r e e n d i s p l a y i s q u i t e g o o d , (normally ending in the river), and will do
informed. I n fact, y o u a r e i n f o r m e d f o r although the fields are garish. W h e n the so continually until you gain control.
about 17 seconds while the village is set vampire appears (you c a n o n l y see h i s I have never yet killed the vampire, but
up. Yo u are t h e n told you have L. 999 to eyes), he proceeds around the map killing have ended up strangely addicted to this
equip your hero w i t h all h e needs to kill at random. Once the vampire has visited a game. If you are persistent, I recommend
the vampire. building, y o u c a n n o l o n g e r use it. Yo u you to buy it. However, i f you are easily
Your h e r o i s q u i t e d i m a n d w i t h o u t also h a v e t o v i s i t t h e outlying f a r m s t o annoyed, forget it; it will drive you crazy.
constant s u p e r v i s i o n h e i s l i a b l e t o instruct the farmers w h i c h crops to look _00 Daniel T Canavan
wander into walls or the river. Wandering after. Yo u t h e r e f o r e h a v e a b u s y t i m e Read T h e I m a g i n a t i o n M a c h i n e n e x t
into walls has no other effect than to slow running between farms and preparing to month for more micro n e w s & reviews.

I M A G I N E ma9azine, March
19
 IT'S THE

MINIATURES
UNIT 1 4 , E N G I N E E R PA R K . FA C T O R Y R O A D S A N D Y C R O F T,
ADVENTURERS C L W Y D CH5 20D. Te l . (0244) 537012
CF. 6 D W A R F FIGHTER w. T W O HANDED AXE 3 5 p
CF. 7 F I G H T E R w T W O HANDED AXE 3 5 p
CF.11 D W A R F THIEF 3 5 p
CF.15 F E M A L E CLERIC 3 5 p
CF.32 L E F T - H A N D E D FIGHTER 3 5 p
\\ CF.33
ANTI-TYPES
F E M A L E FIGHTER 3 5 p

OF ROLE PLAYING GAMES CT

CT.
3 R U F F I A N THIEF w. DAGGER 3
3 A R U F F I A N THIEF, CLUB & KNUCKLE DUSTER
0
3 0
p
p
YOU'VE BEEN WAITING FOR CT. 3 B R U F F I A N GANG LEADER DRAWING SWORD 3 0 p
- CT.
CT.
3 C R U F F I A N THIEF w. SCIMITAR & DAGGER
3 D R U F F I A N THIEF w. BROKEN BOTTLE 3
3
0
0
p
p

'pills
CT. 7 E V I L DWARF 3 5 p
ODDS & BODS
CB I T A B L E & T W O BENCHES 4 0 p
CB. 2 T R E A S U R E CHEST 3 0 p
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CB. 8 A L C H E M I S T S LAB 1 . 7 5
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CM. 4 ZOMBIE 3 5 p
CM. 5 MUMMY 3 5 p
CM 6 WEREWOLF 4 0 p
CM. 7 WIGHT 3 5 p
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THE SUPER HERO CM.10 TROLL 4 0 p
ROLE PLAYING GAME \ CM,I5 GARGOYLE 6 5 p
CM.21 - 2 I G O R C S - A L L TYPES e.g. S H A M A N .
Like a breath o f fresh air, STANDARD BEARER, GIANT ORCS ETC 3 5 p
CM.24 K O B O L D 4 VARS 2 5 p
the CHAMPIONS game system CM.24A K O B O L D W. T W O HANDED WEAPON 4 VARS 2 5 p
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CM.24C K O B O L D SHAMAN 2 5 p
simple and complete in design. THE A B O V E A R E J U S T A SELECTION O F O U R 25mm FA N TA S Y
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PRODUCTS I N THE C H A M P I O N S RANGE
INCLUDE

* CHAMPIONS £12.95
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* ENEMIES I & II £4.50 each
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* CHAMPIONS GM SCREEN 0 . 9 5
* I S L A N D OF DR. DESTROYER E3.95
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Byte Chance
* D E AT H STROKE £4.50 Home Computers, 10 Ash Road
* A D V E N T U R E R S CLUB BOOK £1.95 S o f t w a r e a n d Games Headingley
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THE TOMBS
OF THE KINGS
by Mike Brunton
This is a solo adventure, designed for three systems — a special
set o f r u l e s f o r people w h o have n e v e r played a n adventure
game before, the Basic D & D ® rules and the Tunnels & Trolls
rules system.

If you have never played an adventure game before, read the

section called THE SPECIAL RULES now. It tells you what you
need and h o w to play. If you intend to play using either the D&D
or Tunnels & Trolls rules, read the section marked THE HOUSE
RULES before you start playing.

THE SPECIAL RULES

To play the game you will need two ordinary dice (you can make do w i t h
one if you t h r o w it twice when needed) and a pencil and paper for notes.

You control t h e actions o f t h r e e adventurers i n search o f riches and

glory. T h e t h r e e are a Fighter, deadly i n combat; a Priest, w h o fights
nearly as well and can cure wounds; and a Magician, w h o does not fight
but can cast deadly spells. Invent a n a m e for each character, and note
these down on a piece of paper, leaving space for other details you will
discover during play.
This game is probably unlike any other you have ever played. There are
no boards, counters, play money, cards, w i n n e r s or losers. Instead of
moving a c o u n t e r round a board to the t h r o w of a dice, you f o l l o w the
adventure by reading the numbered sections in the middle pages of the
magazine. Sections give you a description of the situation and a choice
of actions, each o f w h i c h refers you t o a d i ff e r e n t n u m b e r e d section.
Thus, a typical section m i g h t look like this
The F i g h t e r is simply that — someone good i n combat. Generally the
fighter w i l l be better able to defeat things than his or her companions.
The Magician is an adventurer who cast spells, which are deadly against
some creatures a n d useless against others. H e o r s h e h a s n o o t h e r
special abilities using these Special rules.
Jargon
The t e r m 'gp' is used a lot in fantasy adventure games — it means 'gold
piece(s)', the basic unit of money. You may like to keep a running total of
the value (in gold pieces) of any treasure you find.

195. S t a n d i n g next to a bronze fountain in the middle of the chamber is The only other terms that you may be u n f a m i l i a r w i t h in the rules are
a large ogre. If you w a n t to run away go to 235. If you want to fight 'roll a d6' or 'roll 2d6'. These mean, respectively, roll one or t w o six-sided
go to 121 (Special Rules), 5 6 7 (D&D Rules) or 9 9 0 (T&T Rules). dice (yes, the other rules use dice with more or fewer sides). You should
always add the results of the t w o dice together.

You s h o u l d decide w h a t you w a n t the t h r e e adventurers to do. I f you
w a n t to fight the ogre you should go to section 1 2 1 . If you decide that it
might be a good idea to run away, then you w o u l d turn to section 2 3 5
and read w h a t it says. Yo u r adventurers m i g h t escape, o r they m i g h t
have to fight t h e ogre.
Now that you have read the Special rules you should go to the section
marked S TA R T and follow the instructions from there. You might find it
a good idea to make some kind of sketch map once you are playing — it
will make finding y o u r way about a lot easier.

You will notice that some choices (eg 1 2 1 ) are only used w h e n you are
playing w i t h the special rules (which you are!). O t h e r choices are only
for people using the full DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® or Tunnels &
Trolls rules leg 5 6 7 , 990). Choices which do not mention a rules system
(eg 2 3 5 ) can be used by anybody.
If you get into a fight, t h e rules for this will be explained to you at the
appropriate time.
Adventurers
Each adventurer has three states of health — whole, wounded or dead.
All the adventurers start the game whole, but some of your choices —
and fighting w i t h monsters m a y cause wounds to these adventurers.
A w o u n d e d adventurer w h o takes a n o t h e r w o u n d is dead — so it is a
good idea to cure wounds as soon as possible. This is w h e r e the Priest's
special abilities come into play.
The Priest can cure w o u n d s completely (even his or her own), because
this healing is magical. These w o u n d s can be cured at any time, even
during a fight, b u t the Priest can only cure 5 w o u n d s during,the whole
adventure. Note this number down and tick them off as the Priest cures
wounds. However, curing w o u n d s will not bring a dead character back
to life! Once the Priest has used all 5 cures (or is dead) he or she cannot
perform this medical miracle.
THE HOUSE RULES
You may take only first level Fighters (or Dwarfs or Halflings using the
D&D rules) into the adventure, and then only one at a t i m e T h i s rule
always applies, despite the fact that there are references to 'adventurers'
rather t h a n ' a d v e n t u r e r ' . T h e Special R u l e s a l l o w a p a r t y o f t h r e e
characters to enter the adventure.
You need not worry about sources of light (for convenience these have
been ignored), but you m u s t have other standard equipment w i t h you.
The format of the adventure consists of reading numbered sections and
following t h e instructions, m a k i n g choices w h e r e t h e s e a r e offered.
Ignore options w h e n these refer to a different rules system.
The standard rules are only modified a little for this adventure. As well
as acting as a player, you will also act as the Dungeon or Games Master.
However, to simplify this task:
1. Unless stated otherwise creatures will attack until they are killed.
2. There is no need to roll to see if secret doors are spotted.
All the other rules remain the same, but if you come across a case where
they do not apply — improvise, DON'T CHEAT.

IMAGINE maga.*m March

21
THE TO M B S OF THE KINGS
START:
Eight hundred years ago, the Kingdom of Almete rose up to be the most
powerful Empire the world had ever seen. Under the despotic rule of its
Caliphs the Empire prospered, then g r e w decadent.
With t h e d e a t h o f H i Id, l a s t o f t h e Caliphs, t h e E m p i r e fell. I n t h e i r
struggles to gain the Imperial throne, the generals destroyed the very
thing t h e y desired. HiId did n o t care, safely buried as she w a s in the
Tombs of the Kings - surrounded by her worldly wealth.
Over the years, many adventurers perished searching for the Tombs. A
diadem k n o w n as the Jiggalorum of Hild, a symbol of Imperial M i g h t -
perhaps more than a m e r e symbol - was the object of their quests.
Deep in the r u i n s of the f o r m e r Imperial capital, you have found w h a t
could be the entrance to the Tombs of the Kings, and the resting place of
the Jiggalorum. Before you lies a small square, once a forum, and on the
other side of the square a set of steps leads down into the Tombs.
Unfortunately, a large blue dragon is sitting in the middle of the forum.
If you are using the Special Rules go to 1, otherwise go to 10.
1. T h e Dragon has noticed you. You have three o p t i o n s - talk to the
creature, fight i t or flee. If you w a n t to run away go to 34. If you
w a n t to fight go to 17. If you w a n t to talk to the Dragon go to 21.
2. Yo u are standing in the burial chamber of some powerful lord or
lady, r i c h l y decorated w i t h w a l l p a i n t i n g s s h o w i n g s c e n e s o f
Imperial might. A large stone sarcophagus, w i t h a jar at its foot,
stands i n the middle of the room. If you w i s h t o look for secret
doors go to 15. If you w i s h to investigate the jar go to 1 0 4 . If you
wish to inspect the sarcophagus go to 1 6 2 . If you w i s h to leave
the burial chamber by the eastern door go to 11 4 .
3. There are no secret doors here. Go to 43.
4. Yo u have fallen victim to a g i a n t centipede, w h i c h w i l l dine well
off y o u r r e m a i n s . I f y o u w a n t a n o t h e r g o c r e a t e s o m e n e w
adventurers and then go to the S t a r t section.
5. The chest collapses as soon as you touch it, causing dust to swirl
up around you. In the r e m n a n t s of the chest lie t w o gems worth
100gp each. I n f u t u r e i g n o r e t h e t r e a s u r e c h e s t and go t o 5 6
instead (note this n u m b e r down). Go to 56.
6. A s you w a l k through the door and into the corridor behind it, the
world a r o u n d y o u w a v e r s a n d dissolves. A l l a r o u n d y o u i s
darkness, b u t i n t h e distance a b r i g h t l i g h t i s shining. A s you
travel towards the light - w i t h o u t actually bothering to walk - it
grows larger and dimmer. Go to 1 8 1 .
7. T h e statue is much too slow to catch you and you easily manage
to run from the room b u t too quickly to choose a direction other
than 'OUT'! Roll a d6. On a result of 1, 2 or 3 you run west (go to
16), otherwise you r u n east (go to 43).
8. T h e alcoves contain nothing but dust and old bones. Go to 1 6 6 .
9. Yo u a r e standing i n a s m a l l r o o m , e m p t y save f o r a gibbering
figure h u n c h e d i n o n e corner. H e rises and advances t o w a r d s
you. W i t h h o r r o r in your heart you realise that it is the w r i t e r of
this a d v e n t u r e . ' C h e a t ! Yo u s h o u l d n ' t b e r e a d i n g t h i s ! ' h e
screams at you.
10. Rising up on its haunches, the Dragon beckons you into the open.
square. You see little alternative but to obey. The Dragon stares at
you, measuring your worth - and you look away, knowing that it
is dangerous to meet a Dragon's gaze. Finally, it speaks. Go to 48.
12. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 3 4 .
13. Roll a d6. On a r e s u l t of 6 go to 1 4 9 , otherwise go to 82.
14. T h e statue is shattered. Its sword and scabbard are particularly
fine, and worth 200gp. Next time, ignore the statue and go to 1 0 5
instead (note this n u m b e r down). Go to 1 0 5 .
15. There are no secret doors here. Go to 2.
22
16. Yo u are in a dank passage, that curves to the east. If you w i s h to
search for secret doors go to 1 3 2 . I f you wish to go into the room
to the south go to 75. If you w i s h to go north and east go to 1 2 3 .
17. The Dragon rears up and makes a hideous, low hissing noise in its
throat. It raises a c l a w as though to strike, and then speaks:
'Petty beings, I d o not w a n t your miserable lives. Put up your
weapons and listen to me.' Go to 21.
18. Yo u m a n a g e a m a d , d e s p e r a t e s c r a m b l e i n t o t h e r u i n s -
escaping from the angered Dragon. Go to 1 5 0 .
19. The viscus has a Monster Rating of 24. At the end of each round of
combat you may run away (go to 140). If you kill the viscus go to
138. If the viscus kills you go to 111 .
20. Yo u have killed O h m Molniya, the Blue Dragon. Go to 2 2 .
21. The Dragon sinks back Onto its haunches, and speaks in a voice
filled w i t h ancient malice and wisdom. Go to 48,
22. Congratulations. Yo u h a v e s u r v i v e d t h e To m b s o f t h e K i n g s ,
though you didn't find t h e Jiggalorum of Hild. T H E E N D .
23. A s you take the diadem the corpse crumbles and falls in on itself,
t h r o w i n g up a cloud of dust. The jar at the foot of the sarcophagus
cracks and shatters, releasing a foul vapour. You n o w have the
Jiggalorum of Hild! In future ignore the sarcophagus description
and go to 41 (note this n u m b e r down). N o w go to 4 1 .
24. Roll a d6. On a r e s u l t of 1 o r 2 go to 1 4 9 , otherwise go to 8 2 .
25. Roll a d6. On a r e s u l t of 1 o r 2 go to 1 4 1 , otherwise go to 1 5 7 .
26. Yo u have killed the centipede. A r o u n d one of its legs was a ring
w o r t h 50gp. In future, ignore the centipede and go to 1 6 6 instead
(note this number down). Go to 1 6 6 .
27. The skeletons have a Monster Rating of 9 each. At the end of each
round o f c o m b a t y o u m a y r u n a w a y (go t o 1 3 ) . I f y o u k i l l t h e
skeletons go to 58. If the skeletons kill you go to 1 3 9 .
28. Yo u are standing on a flight of stairs. If you wish to go up the stairs
go to 181. If you wish to go down the stairs go to 75. If you wish to
search for secret doors go to 1 2 9 .
29. Yo u a r e s t a n d i n g i n t h e c o b w e b - f i l l e d c o r r i d o r. I f you w i s h t o
search f o r secret doors go to 1 9 1 . I f you w i s h t o leave b y the
southern d o o r g o t o 7 4 . I f you w i s h t o e n t e r t h e r o o m a t t h e
northern end of the corridor go to 73.
30. O h m M o l n i y a has a M o n s t e r Rating of 80. You receive a combat
add o f +15 f o r possessing t h e Jiggalorum. A t t h e e n d o f each
round o f combat you m a y r u n a w a y (go to 59). I f you kill O h m
Molniya go to 1 5 0 . If O h m Molniya kills you go to 3 8 .
31. T h e green liquid hits one adventurer. Roll a d6. On a result of 1,2
or 3 t h e Fighter is wounded. O n a r e s u l t of 4 or 5 the Priest is
wounded. O n a result of 6 the Magician is wounded. The Priest
may cure the w o u n d . If all your adventurers are dead go to 6 9 ,
otherwise go to 1 5 4 .
I M A G I N E magazine, M a r d i 1984

32. T h e giant rat is dead. Hidden in its nest is a ring worth 40gp. Next
time i g n o r e t h e r a t a n d g o t o 1 3 7 instead (note t h i s n u m b e r
down). Go to 1 3 7 .
33. Yo u are standing in an ancient burial chamber with four alcoves,
empty save for a few bones and piles of dust. If you want to search
for secret doors go to 72. If you w a n t to inspect the alcoves go to
102. If you w a n t to leave by the eastern door go to 1 3 4 .
34. Before you can even start to run away, the Dragon tenses itself for
flight and says 'Where will you run to escape me, fools?' Go to 21.
35. H O W TO FIGHT OHM M O L N I YA THE BLUE DRAGON
First Ohm M o l n i y a attacks twice. For each attack roll 2d6.
If the result is 2-7, the attack misses;
8 or 9 the Fighter is wounded;
10 or 11 t h e Priest is wounded;
12 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE w i t h o u t being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword; roll 2d6. If the result is 10
or m o r e Ohm Molniya dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 10 or
more Ohm M o l n i y a dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 7 or more
Ohm Molniya dies.
You may run away (go to 5 9 ) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until Ohm Molniya dies (then
go to 1 5 0 ) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 38).
36. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 4 2 .
37. Yo u a r e i n a n o l d t o m b , f a c e d b y t w o tebbyts - s m a l l g r e e n
humanoid c r e a t u r e s w h o r u s h t o w a r d y o u , w a v i n g s h o r t
scimitars. If you have already beaten the tebbyts you w i l l k n o w
w h e r e to go now. If you wish to run away go to 107. If you wish to
fight go to 5 7 (Special Rules), 9 7 (D&D rules) or 1 5 2 (T&T rules).
38. O h m Molniya has won the fight, and your adventurers are dead.
You very nearly completed the quest. Despite t h e fact that you
failed, t h e r e i s little p o i n t i n s t a r t i n g again, because i f you are
reading this you k n o w too much about the adventure. THE END.
39. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 4 6 .
40. Unfortunately, you have lost the fight with the tebbyts. The Tombs
have claimed some more victims. If you w a n t to have another go,
create some more adventurers and go to the S t a r t section.
41. Yo u a r e standing i n t h e b u r i a l c h a m b e r o f Hild. A large stone
sarcophagus with its top open stands in the middle of the room. At
the f o o t o f t h e sarcophagus s t a n d t h e shattered r e m a i n s o f a
stoneware jar. If you wish to look for secret doors go to 1 8 0 . I f you
wish to leave the burial chamber go to 11 4 .
42. Before you can start looking for secret doors, you catch sight of a
large spider lurking above the southern door. If you wish to enter
the room at the northern end of the corridor and avoid the spider
go t o 7 3 . I f you h a v e already beaten t h e spider you w i l l k n o w
w h e r e to go now. If you w i s h to fight the spider go to 5 0 (Special
Rules), 1 6 3 (D&D Rules) or 9 9 (T&T Rules).
I M A G I N E magazine, M a r d i 1984
THE TO M B S OF THE KINGS
4 3 . Yo u are on a landing. If you wish to search for secret doors go to 3.
If you w i s h to go down the north stairs go to 11 6 . If you w i s h to
leave by the east door go to 123.1f you wish to go down the south
stairs go to 11 8 . If you wish to leave by the west door go to 1 8 7 .
4 4 . A s you move the boxes, you notice that one is moving of its o w n
accord. If you have already beaten the mimic you k n o w where to
go now. If you wish to run go to 86. If you wish to fight the mimic
go to 1 9 2 (Special Rules), 1 6 0 (D&D Rules) or 1 2 8 (T&T Rules).
45. Roll a d5. On a result of 5 or 6 go to 1 4 7 , otherwise go to 1 0 0 .
46. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 0 5 .
47. Yo u have not found any secret doors in the room. Go to 1 8 7 .
48. 'I, Ohm Molniya, have a task for you. Beneath this square lies the
Tombs of the Kings. I see from your eyes that you knew as much. I
am too large to get into the tunnels, but you could do so easily.
'Hidden s o m e w h e r e w i t h i n t h e To m b s i s a b a u b l e w h i c h I
desire t h e Jiggalorum of Hild. A l l else that you f i n d y o u m a y
keep, but that dainty is mine.
'Your lives hang by a thread, a thread t h a t is m i n e to break.
Return with the Jiggalorum and you will live. Fail, and the ravens
will pick over your bones w h e n I have finished w i t h t h e m . '
Ohm Molniya gestures at the stairway with a long, curved claw.
With mounting apprehension you step forward and go d o w n into
the darkness. Go to 28.
49. There is nothing of value in the rubbish. Go to 75.
50. H O W TO FIGHT THE LARGE SPIDER
First the spider attacks. Roll 2d6. If the result is:
2-9 the attack misses;
10 the Fighter is asleep and can not attack;
11 t h e Priest is asleep and can not attack;
12 the Magician is asleep and can not cast spells.
Then your conscious adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 7 or
more the spider dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 9 or
more the spider dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 10 or more
the spider dies.
The Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until the spider dies (then go
to 11 0 ) or all your adventurers are asleep (go to 25).
51. There are no secret doors here. Go to 11 2 .
52. Before you get a chance to run the Dragon has sprung into the air
and c u t off your line of retreat. N o w you m u s t fight. G o to 1 8 6
(Special Rules), 7 6 (D&D Rules) or 9 3 (T&T Rules).
53. A l l lost hit points are restored. Go to 91.
54. Scattered in the rubbish pile are a handful of coins, w o r t h lOgp.
You may find these coins once, next time go to 4 9 instead (note
this number down). Return to 75.
55. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 2 4 .
23
 THE TO M B S OF THE KINGS
56. Yo u are standing in the treasure chamber. All that remains of the
treasures once h e r e is a broken chest against one wall. I f you
wish to search for secret doors go to 1 0 1 . If you w i s h to leave by
the west door go to 3 7 .
57. H O W TO FIGHT THE TWO TEBBYTS
First the tebbyts attack. For each surviving tebbyt roll 2d6.
l i t h e result is 2 to 9 the tebbyt's attack misses.
10 the Fighter is wounded.
11 t h e Priest is wounded.
12 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE w i t h o u t being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 7 or
more a tebbyt dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. l i t h e result is 9 or
more a tebbyt dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. l i t h e result is 10 or more a
tebbyt dies.
You may run away (go to 1 0 7 ) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until the tebbyts die (then go
to 9 4 ) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 40).
58. T h e skeletons are n o w only heaps of old bones. One of them was
carrying an inlaid buckler (a type of shield)worth 1 25gp. In future
ignore t h e skeletons and go to 1 2 4 instead (note t h i s n u m b e r
down). N o w go to 1 2 4 .
59. Roll 2d6. On a result of 10, 11 or 12 go to 18, otherwise go to 1 8 3 .
60. Yo u a r e standing i n t h e b u r i a l c h a m b e r o f Hild. A large s t o n e
sarcophagus, w i t h a broken jar at its foot, stands in the middle of
the room. A r o u n d the jar is a red-brown stain. If you w i s h to look
for secret doors go to 174. If you wish to inspect the sarcophagus
go to 1 6 2 . If you wish to leave the burial chamber by the eastern
door go to 11 4 .
61. T h e dark defenders of the Tombs have claimed you. If you want to
have another go, create a new group of adventurers and return to
the S t a r t section.
62. There are no secret doors here. Go to 11 8 .
63. The creature is a giant centipede, which scuttles forward to attack
you. I f y o u h a v e a l r e a d y beaten t h e centipede y o u w i l l k n o w
w h e r e to go now. If you w a n t to run away go to 45. If you w i s h to
fight the centipede go to 1 4 4 (Special Rules), 8 0 (D&D Rules) or
6 4 (T&T Rules).
64. T h e centipede has a Monster Rating of 8. At the end of each round
of combat you may run away (go to 45). If you kill the centipede go
to 26. If the centipede kills you go to 4.
65. Depending on w h i c h rules you are using, you should go to 1 8 4
(Special Rules), 5 3 (D&D Rules) or 1 6 4 (T&T Rules).
66. Yo u manage to escape the mimic, barely slamming the door back
to the torture chamber in the creature's 'face'. Go to 74.
67. Yo u are standing in an emptied treasure chamber, w h e r e only a
f e w heaps of dust and splintered wood s h o w w h e r e chests and
coffers once stood. If you wish to search for secret doors go to 8 5 .
If you w i s h to investigate the remains of the chests go to 1 3 5 . If
you w i s h to leave the room by the northern door go to 11 4 .
68. Yo u are standing in the old tomb. In the middle of the room are the
remains of the tebbyts. If you wish to search for secret doors go to
89. If you wish to leave by the northern door go to 75. If you wish
to leave by the eastern door go t o 11 2 .
69. Yo u have fallen victim to a trap, rather than a monster b u t you
have still 'lost' this time. If you want another go, create some new
adventurers and go to the S t a r t section.
70. T h e creature is a statue (AC 3; HD 2; hp 9; # AT 1; D 1-8; xp 20). At
the end of each melee round you may run away (go to 7). If you kill
the statue go to 14. l i t h e statue kills you go to 61.
71. Yo u cannot avoid the oncoming tide of sludge! To fight the viscus
go to 1 7 0 (Special Rules), 9 5 (D&D Rules) or 1 9 (T&T Rules).
72. There a r e n o s e c r e t d o o r s h e r e , b u t y o u r s e a r c h d i d d i s t u r b
something.... G o to 63.
24
73. Yo u are standing in a chamber, roughly square-shaped. There is a
pile of rags and other rubbish in one corner. If you w i s h to search
for secret doors go to 159. If you wish to investigate the rubbbish
pile go to 1 7 6 . If you w i s h to leave by the eastern corridor go to
179. If you w i s h to go down the southern corridor go to 11 7 .
74. Yo u are standing in a l a r g e burial chamber, long ago converted
into a torture chamber. Rusted t o r t u r e r ' s e q u i p m e n t lies about,
and the floor is covered in a layer of rust and rotted wood. If you
w i s h to search for secret doors go to 1 5 5 . If you w i s h to leave by
the northern door go to 1 0 8 . If you go down the eastern corridor
go to 1 5 8 . If you wish to go through the southern door go to 1 6 7 .
75. Yo u are standing in a bare hall, the floor covered in dead leaves
and t w i g s that have b l o w n in over the years. In one c o r n e r is a
deeper pile of rubbish. If you wish to search for secret doors go to
177. I f you w i s h t o search t h e rubbish pile go to 5 4 . Yo u m a y
leave by going up the stairs (go to 28), by the corridor to the north
(go to 1 6 ) or by the southern door (go to 37).
76. O h m M o l n i y a i s a b l u e d r a g o n ( A C 0 ; H D 9 ; h p 3 6 ; # A T 3 ;
D 2 - 7 / 2 - 7 / 3 - 3 0 ; xp 2300). Ohm Moiniya will not use his breath
weapon. At the end of each round you may run away (go to 81). If
you kill O h m Molniya go to 20. If the dragon kills you go to 83.
77. The statue has a Monster Rating of 19. A t the end of each round of
combat you may run away (go to 7). If you kill the statue go to 14. If
the statue kills you go to 61.
78. Leaving the enraged tebbyts behind, you manage to scramble out
of one of the doors in the room. Roll a d6. On a result of 5 or 6 you
leave through the eastern door (go to 11 2 ) , o t h e r w i s e you leave
through the northern door (go to 75).
79. H O W TO FIGHT THE GIANT RAT
First the rat attacks. Roll 2d6.
If the result is 2 to 9, the rat's attack misses.
10, the Fighter is wounded.
11, t h e Priest is wounded.
12, the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE w i t h o u t being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 5 or
more the rat dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 7 o r
more the rat dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 9 or more the
rat dies.
You may run away (go to 1 0 6 ) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Repeat these steps until the Rat has wounded an adventurer. It
will then run off (go to 11 3 ) . If the Rat is dead go to 3 2 .
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I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984
MIORAISIME
JOBSWURF

80. T h e creature is a centipede (AC 9; HD 1-4hp; hp 2; D 1-8 + poison;
xp 6). At the end of each round you may run away (go to 45). If you
kill the centipede go to 26. If the centipede kills you go to 4.
81 R o l l 2d6. On a result of 12 go to 22, otherwise go to 52.
82. Despite your efforts, the skeletons block your escape and attack.
Go to 1 5 1 (Special Rules), 1 7 8 (D&D Rules) or 2 7 (T&T Rules).
83. O h m M o l n i y a t h e Dragon has killed you - an heroic death, but
death nevertheless. I f you w a n t a n o t h e r go, create some n e w
adventurers and go to the S t a r t section.
84. Yo u m a n a g e t o s c r a m b l e b a c k f r o m t h e a d v a n c i n g s l u d g e -
creature and get through the eastern door. Go to 11 4 .
85. Despite much effort, you did not find any secret doors. Go to 67.
86. Roll a d6. On a result of 1, 2 or 3 go to 66, o t h e r w i s e go to 1 4 3 .
87. The urn is made of good quality china clay with a wax seal around
the lid. The plinth t h a t it stands on has a n u m b e r of small holes
round the edge. These seem to be spray holes of some kind. If you
w i s h to open the urn carefully go to 1 3 0 . If you wish to break into
the urn go to 1 7 5 . If you w i s h to ignore the urn go to 1 2 4 .
88. F r o m w i t h i n the jar, a red-brown sludge flows quickly across the
floor t o w a r d s you, as though motivated by some intelligence. If
you h a v e already beaten t h e viscus you w i l l k n o w w h e r e to go
now. There is no chance of escape; you m u s t fight t h e creature.
Go to 1 7 0 (Special Rules), 9 5 (D&D Rules) or 1 9 (T&T Rules).
89. Yo u have found a secret door in the western w a l l of the tomb. If
you w i s h to go t h r o u g h it go to 1 3 4 . If you w i s h to leave by the
northern (ordinary) d o o r go t o 7 5 . I f you w i s h t o leave by t h e
eastern door go to 11 2 .
90. Yo u are standing in a long dusty corridor. If you wish to search for
secret doors go to 1 2 1 . If you wish to go up the eastward steps at
the n o r t h e r n e n d g o t o 1 4 6 . I f y o u w i s h t o g o t h r o u g h t h e
southern door go to 11 4 .
91. The l i o n - h e a d f o u n t a i n i s v e r y o l d . A s m a l l r i v u l e t o f w a t e r
emerges from a s p o u t in the lion's mouth, and dribbles into the
bowl below, on w h i c h the words 'DRINK AND REM ADE WHOLE'
are carved. If you w i s h to drink the w a t e r go to 65. If you wish to
search for secret doors go to 153. If you wish to leave by the west
door go to 1 7 9 . If you w i s h to go up the south stairs go to 11 6 .
92. The chest is made of old, rotted wood. I t does not appear to be
trapped. You may ignore the chest (go to 11 2 ) or open it (go to 5).
I M A G I N E magazinc, Alarcit 1984
THE TOMBS OF THE KINGS
9 3 . O h m M o l n i y a h a s a M o n s t e r Rating o f 80. A t t h e e n d o f each
round o f combat you m a y r u n a w a y (go to 81). I f you kill O h m
Molniya go to 20. If Ohm Molniya kills you go to 83.
94. B o t h tebbyts are n o w dead. W h e n you search t h e i r bodies you
find a n icy blue sapphire w o r t h 60gp. N e x t t i m e you m e e t the
tebbyts i g n o r e t h e m a n d g o t o 6 8 i n s t e a d ( n o t e t h i s n u m b e r
down). Go to 68.
95. T h e c r e a t u r e is a viscus (AC 4; H D 2+3; h p 14; # A T 1; D 1 - 6 ;
xp 25). A t the end of each round you may run away (go to 140). If
you kill the viscus go to 1 3 8 . If the viscus kills you go to 111
96. O h m M o l n i y a i s a b l u e d r a g o n ( A C 0 ; H D 9 ; h p 3 6 ; A T 3 ;
D 2 - 7 / 2 - 7 / 3 - 3 0 ; xp 2300). O h m Molniya will not use his breath
weapon. Yo u r A r m o u r Class is improved by 3 a n d your attacks
receive a b o n u s of +1 vs O h m Molniya because of the effects of
the Jiggalorum. A t t h e end o f each m e l e e r o u n d y o u m a y r u n
away (go to 59). If you kill Ohm Molniya go to 150. If Ohm Molniya
kills you go to 38.
97. The creatures are t w o tebbyts (AC 9; HD 1; hp 5; # A T 1; D 2-5;
xp 10). A t the end of each melee round you may run a w a y (go to
107). If you kill the tebbyts go to 94. If the tebbyts kill you g o t ° 40.
98. M a k e a saving t h r o w vs poison at +3. If you fail take 1-4 points of
damage. If your character is dead go to 69, otherwise go to 1 5 4 .
99. T h e giant spider has a Monster Rating of 18. However, it does not
cause normal damage - any successful attack by the spider puts
you to sleep (go to 25). If you kill the spider go to 11 0 .
1 0 0 . The centipede was too quick to allow you an escape route - y o u
must f i g h t t h e creature. G o t o 1 4 4 (Special Rules), 8 0 ( D & D
Rules) or 6 4 (T&T Rules).
1 0 1 . There are no secret doors here. Go to 56.
1 0 2 . Before y o u c a n s e a r c h t h e a l c o v e s p r o p e r l y, s o m e t h i n g i s
disturbed by your activity.... Go to 63.
103. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 6 7 .
104. T h e jar is stoneware, and inscribed w i t h the w o r d 'HILD'. If you
have already opened or broken the jar you know where to go now.
If you w i s h to break the jar go to 88. If you wish to open it carefully
go to 11 5 . If you w i s h to ignore the jar go to 2.
105. Yo u a r e s t a n d i n g i n t h e l a r g e c h a m b e r. I n t h e m i d d l e o f t h e
chamber a r e t h e r e m a i n s o f t h e s t a t u e w a r r i o r. T h e s t a t u e i s
valueless. If you w i s h to search for secret doors go to 46. If you
w i s h to leave by the eastern door go to 43. If you wish to leave by
the western corridor go to 16.
106. Roll a d6. On a r e s u l t of 1 o r 2 go to 1 4 8 , otherwise go to 1 6 9 .
107. Roll a d6. On a r e s u l t of 5 or 6 9 0 to 1 2 7 , otherwise go to 78.
108. A s you go through the door and enter a cobweb filled corridor, a
large s p i d e r f a l l s u p o n y o u f r o m above t h e door. T h e r e i s n o
chance to escape. If you have already beaten the spider you will
know where to go to now, otherwise you m u s t fight it. Go to 5 0
(Special Rules), 1 6 3 (D&D Rules) or 9 9 (T&T Rules).
109. The m i m i c i s dead a n d n o w you c a n investigate t h e boxes. I n
future, ignore the mimic and go to 1 7 3 instead (note this number
down). Go to 1 7 3 .
11 0 . N e x t t i m e , i g n o r e t h e s p i d e r a n d g o t o 2 9 i n s t e a d ( n o t e t h i s
number down). Go to 29.
111 Y o u have fallen victim to a viscus, a type of undead creature. If you
w a n t to have another go, return to the S t a r t section.
11 2 . Yo u are in an abandoned treasure chamber. All that is left here is
a large chest against one wall. I f you have already opened t h e
chest you will k n o w what to do now. If you wish to open it go to 5.
If you w i s h to inspect it go to 92. If you wish to search for secret
doors go to 51. If you w i s h to leave by the west door go to 37.
11 3 . A f t e r managing one bite, the rat realises the odds are against it
and scuttles down a small hole behind the rubbish pile. If all your
adventurers are dead go to 1 7 1 , otherwise go to 1 9 3 .
25

148. You escape the rat, and run down the nearest exit. Roll a d6. On a
result of 1 or 2 you run south (go to 117), otherwise you run east
(go to 179).
149. You scramble away from the skeletons bony clutches. Roll a d6.
On a result of 1 or 2 you run through the northern door (go to 90).
On a result 3 or 4 you run through western door (go to 2). On a
result of 5 or 6 you run through the southern door (go to 67).
150. As you hold the Jiggalorum of Hild, it glows in the fading sunlight.
You have succeeded in the quest, and though you can feel that
the Jiggalorum has at least temporarily lost its power, selling it to
some Wizard or other will yield a handsome reward. Well done,
you have effectively 'won' this adventure. THE END.
151. HOW TO FIGHT THE TWO SKELETONS
First the skeletons attack. For each surviving skeleton roll 2d6.
If the result is 2-8 the skeleton's attack misses.
9-10 the Fighter is wounded.
11 the Priest is wounded.
12 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE without being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 9 or
more a skeleton dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 6 or
more a skeleton dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 10 or more a
skeleton dies.
You may run away (go to 13) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until the skeletons die (then
go to 58) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 139).
152. The tebbyts have a Monster Rating of 6 each. At the end of each
round of combat you may run away (go to 107). If you kill the
tebbyts go to 94. If the tebbyts kill you, go to 40.
153. There are no secret doors here. Go to 91.
154. Inside the urn were a broadsword worth 150gp, a small crystal
box (worth 200gp in itself) containing three red gems each worth
35gp and a gilt dagger worth 25gp. Next time, ignore the urn and
go to 185 instead (note this number down). Now go to 185.
155. There are no secret doors here. Go to 74.
156. Ohm Molniya rears up to his full height and bellows 'What do you
mean? Why haven't you got the Jiggalorum of Hild? I give you one
last chance to bring it to me, foolish and petty beings!'
If you wish to go down the stairs go to 28. If you wish to run
away go to 81. If you wish to fight the dragon go to 186 (Special
Rules), 76 (D&D Rules) or 93 (T&T Rules).
157. You wake up, cocooned in silk, but with the spider nowhere in
sight. Although you feel sick because of the spider's venom, you
nevertheless manage to break the silken strands and crawl away.
If you wish to crawl through the southern door go to 74. If you
wish to crawl to the room at the north end of the corridor go to 73.
158. You are in a long passage, unused to judge by the dust on the
floor. If you wish to search for secret doors go to 126. If you wish
to go up the stairs at the east end go to 118. If you wish to enter
the room at the west end of the passage go to 74.
159. You have found a secret door in the northern wall. If you wish to
go through the secret door go to 136. If you wish to search the
rubbish pile next to it go to 176. If you wish to leave by the
southern corridor go to 117, or by the eastern corridor go to 179.
I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984
THE TOMBS O F THE KINGS
160. The creature is a mimic (AC 7; HD 3+1; hp 10; D 1-4; xp 50). At the
end of each melee round you may run away (go to 165). If you kill
the mimic go to 109. If the mimic kills you go to 133.
161. HOW TO FIGHT THE STATUE
First, your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 10
or more the statue dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 11 or
more the statue dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 9 or more the
statue dies.
Then the statue attacks. Roll 2d6.
If the result is 2-7 the statue's attack misses.
8-9 the Fighter is wounded.
10-11 the Priest is wounded.
12 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE without being cured.
You may run away (go to 7) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until the statue dies (then go
to 14) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 61).
162. The sarcophagus is made of granite blocks, but does not appear to
be trapped in any way, relying upon its weight to deter intruders.
If you wish to slide back the lid and look inside the sarcophagus go
to 182. If you wish to ignore the sarcophagus go to 2.
163. The creature is a spider (AC 7; HD 1+1; hp 7; D special; xp 19). The
spider does not inflict normal damage, but a successful hit puts
you to sleep (go to 25). If you kill the spider go to 110.
164. All damage to your constitution is healed. Go to 91.
165. Roll a d6. On a result of 5 or 6 go to 66, otherwise go to 143.
166. You are in an ancient burial chamber with four alcoves, which is
empty except for a few bones and piles of dust. If you want to
search for secret doors go to 122. If you want to inspect the
alcoves go to 8. If you want to leave by the west door go to 134.
167. You are i n a storeroom for the torture chamber. The room
contains several large wooden boxes, most of which are badly
mildewed and rotted. If you wish to search for secret doors go to
103. If you wish to investigate the boxes go to 44. If you wish to
leave the room and go back to the torture chamber go to 74.
168. Make a Level 1 Saving Roll. I f you fail take 1-6 hit points of
damage. If your character is dead go to 69, otherwise go to 154.
169. The giant rat was too quick for you, and you must fight it. Now go
to 79 (Special Rules), 145 (D&D Rules) or 195 (T&T Rules).
170. HOW TO FIGHT THE VISCUS
First the viscus attacks. Roll 2d6.
If the result is 2-7 the viscus's attack misses.
8-9 the Fighter is wounded.
10-11 the Priest is wounded.
12 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE without being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 11
or more the viscus dies.
The Priest attacks, roll 2d6. If the result is 12 the viscus dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 7 or more the
viscus dies.
You may run away (go to 140) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until the viscus dies (then go
to 138) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 111).
27
THE TO M B S OF THE KINGS
171. T h i s is the end of the adventure for you. If you w a n t to start again,
create some n e w adventurers and go back to the S t a r t section.
1 7 2 . Yo u have found a secret door in the ceiling. You find that it leads
to a r o o m s t a c k e d w i t h t r e a s u r e . Yo u c a n ' t f i n d i t o f course,
because you shouldn't be reading t h i s at all.
1 7 3 . There is nothing of value in the boxes. Go to 1 6 7 .
174. T h e r e are no secret doors here. Go to 6 0 .
175. A s you touch the urn, a green liquid sprays out from its plinth. Go
to 31 (Special Rules), 9 8 (D&D Rules) or 1 6 8 (T&T Rules).
176. Before you can properly search the rubbish you manage to disturb
the nest of a giant rat, w h i c h leaps out to attack you. If you have
already fought the giant rat you will k n o w where to go now. If you
w i s h to run away go to 1 0 6 . If you w i s h to fight t h e rat go to 7 9
(Special Rules), 1 4 5 (D&D Rules) or 1 9 5 (T&T Rules).
177. T h e r e are no secret doors here. Return to 7 5 .
178. The creatures are t w o skeletons (AC 7; HD 1; hp 3; # A T 1; D 1-6;
xp 10). A t the end of each round you may run away (go to 13). If
you kill the skeletons go to 58. If the skeletons kill you go to 1 3 9 .
179. Yo u are in a dusty corridor, h u n g w i t h cobwebs so l o w that you
have t o bend d o w n t o pass beneath. I f you w i s h t o search f o r
secret doors go to 11 9 . If you w i s h to enter the room to the west
go to 7 3 . If you w i s h to go through the east door go to 1 4 2 .
180. T h e r e are no secret doors here. Go to 41.
1 8 1 . Yo u emerge into the open square. Before you sits Ohm Molniya,
w a i t i n g f o r your return. O n e c l a w taps gently on t h e ground, a
sign that the dragon is growing impatient. Catching sight of you,
the O h m M o l n i y a asks if you have found the Jiggalorum. If you
have it go to 1 2 5 , otherwise go to 1 5 6 .
1 8 2 . Ly i n g i n s i d e t h e sarcophagus is a body, w r a p p e d i n bandages.
Clutched in the corpse's hand is a diadem, w h i c h seems to glow
w i t h a light of its own. If you w i s h to take the diadem go to 23. If
you w i s h to ignore the body and close the lid go to 2.
1 8 3 . B e f o r e you get a chance to run the dragon has sprung into the air
and c u t o f f your l i n e o f retreat. N o w you m u s t fight. G o t o 3 5
(Special Rules), 9 6 (D&D Rules) or 3 0 (T&T Rules).
1 8 4 . A n y wounded adventurers are cured. Go to 91.
1 8 5 . Yo u are i n t h e antechamber. In t h e middle o f the r o o m are the
remains of the skeletons and a large urn. If you wish to search for
secret doors go to 1 2 0 . If you wish to leave by the northern door
g o t ° 90. If you wish to go through the western door go to 2. If you
wish to leave by the southern door go to 67.
186. H O W TO FIGHT OHM M O L N I YA THE BLUE DRAGON
First O h m Molniya attacks twice. For each attack roll 2d6.
If the result is 2 - 4 Ohm M o l n i y a ' s attack misses.
5-7 the Fighter is wounded.
8-10 the Priest is wounded.
11 - 1 2 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE w i t h o u t being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 11
or m o r e O h m Molniya dies.
The Priest wields his or h e r mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 12
Ohm Molniya dies.
28
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 9 or more
Ohm Molniya dies.
You may run away (go to 8 1 ) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until Ohm Molniya dies (then
go to 2 0 ) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 83).
1 8 7 . Yo u are standing in an empty room. The only features of interest
are a f e w faded and chipped w a l l paintings s h o w i n g scenes of
conquest. If you w i s h to search for secret doors go to 4 7 . If you
w i s h to leave by the western door go to 4 3 . If you wish to leave by
the south-eastern door go to 6.
188. There are no secret doors here. Go to 1 3 6 .
189. A s you reach the s o u t h e r n door a large spider falls from above.
There i s n o c h a n c e o f escape. I f you h a v e already beaten t h e
spider you k n o w where to go to now, otherwise you m u s t fight it.
Go to 5 0 (Special Rules), 1 6 3 (D&D Rules) or 9 9 (T&T Rules).
190. A s s o o n a s O h m M o l n i y a t o u c h e s t h e J i g g a l o r u m o f H i l d a
strange grey fire r u n s u p the dragon's forearm a n d spreads to
cover all its scales. With a shriek of agony Ohm Molniya drops the
Jiggalorum - still the fire continues to burn, u n t i l there is only
ash w h e r e once there was a mighty dragon. Go to 1 5 0 .
191. There are no secret doors here. Go to 29.
192. H O W TO FIGHT THE MIMIC
First the m i m i c attacks. Roll 2d6.
If the result is 2-6 the m i m i c ' s attack misses;
7-8 the Fighter is wounded;
9-10 the Priest is wounded;
11 o r 12 the Magician is wounded.
Adventurers die if wounded TWICE w i t h o u t being cured.
Then your surviving adventurers each make one attack.
The Fighter swings his or her sword, roll 2d6. If the result is 8 or
more the mimic dies.
The Priest wields his or her mace, roll 2d6. If the result is 9 or
more the mimic dies.
The Magician casts a spell, roll 2d6. If the result is 6 or more the
mimic dies.
You may run away (go to 1 6 5 ) or the Priest may cure a wound.
Finally, repeat all the above steps until the mimic dies (then go
to 1 0 9 ) or all your adventurers are dead (go to 1 3 3 ) .
193. N e x t time, ignore the rat and go to 1 3 7 instead (note this number
down). In the rat's nest is a ring w o r t h 40gp. Go to 1 3 7 .
194. T h e r e are no secret doors here, but hidden in the dust on one of
the steps i s a g i l t brooch w o r t h 7 5 g p . Yo u m a y o n l y f i n d o n e
brooch, so note d o w n the fact that you have found it, a n d t h e n
ignore this part of the section next in future. Go to 11 6 .
195. Standing next to a bronze fountain in the middle of the chamber is
a large ogre. If you want to run away got° 235. If you want tofight
go to 1 2 1 (Special Rules), 5 6 7 (D&D Rules) or 9 9 0 (T&T Rules).
CREDITS
Design, text: Mike Brunton
Art: Pete Young
I M A G I N E magazine, Mardi. 1984
 LIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 0010
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OF THE BRITISH
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®
PLAYERS ASSOCIATION
TURNBULL TALKING
Last month, I told you about my party's
discovery of the eight principles of a cult
of spell-casters whose valley we were
passing through. Well, towards the end of
that adventure, we met the next set of
puzzles. A s usual w e had landed our-
selves i n many different kinds o f hot
water — and one day I must tell you about
Dave Tant's approach to the role-playing
of a paladin — so it was somewhat to our
surprise that we survived this far.
There are some new symbols here, so
those of you who have already solved the
first part still have work to do. Again,
there is a small prize to the first solver of
aX a n 1 3 a X - V I a n mm a a a J k a a a n a X A m a 1 a l 1 a l a 4 a a
this set whose name is drawn out of the
bag o n April 1 , 1 9 8 4 — The S h a d y
Dragon Inn, the latest D&O-5.) game acces-
sory — but be warned, the third and last
set i s n o t o n l y t h e m o s t difficult, i t
requires the answers from this set.
A clue which we had stumbled on in the
course of the adventure and which I will
pass on gratis — the cult of Math was
preoccupied with fund-raising and magic,
but was also rather keen, collectively, on
mathematics (obviously) in some of its
more unusual manifestations.
Have fun... 145 Don Turnbull

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PAN, March 1984 31

-larold Wood. Essex H A R O L D WOOD WARGAMERS are 30
ranters aged 11 - 3 5 w h o m e e t t o play D & D . R D , G A M M A
••• ORLD, GANGBUSTERS and En Garde games T h e y meet at
•-e Scout H u t I n Q u e e n ' s Park Rd, Harold Wood, Sundays
7pm Contact lan Lee, 4 9 Fleet Avenue, Upminster, Essex
Wooburn Green S O U T H BUCKS FRP GROUP meets 7-11pm
rn alternate Tuesdays, and l a a m onwards one Sunday each
month. C o n t a c t Hartley Patterson, 1 0 Waterside, Wo o b u r n
Green, Bucks, for details
High W y c o m b e C o n t a c t Stephen Easton, 6 Sedgemoor Rd,
z ackwell Heath, Bucks HP10 9AU, for details of a club which
—.nets in the British Legion Hall on Wednesdays, 7 -10 30pm. to
r ay the A D & D game and others
Brine Norton A t the CARTERON WARGAMES CLUB they play
an RPGs and wargames every Sunday from 2pm onwards, in
the Brine Norton Community Centre, Carteron, near Witney
Contact Steve Chicken on Carteron 8 4 3 7 2 9
Hockley A c l u b f o r players o f t h e A D & O g a m e m e e t s o n
Monday a n d Tuesday nights. 7-10prn, a t t h e Hockley Yo u t h
Centre, Membership is free C o n t a c t Rick Auger, 11 Foxf ield
Close, Hockley.
Haverhill A n experienced DM asked for gamers to play AD&O
and BOOT HILL games Contact -fern Ward. c / o 32 High Street,
i-iaverhill Te l 0 4 4 0 705711 Ext 2
Buntingford A D & D games are played regularly at a school
iouth w i n g C o n t a c t A n d r e w M u l l e y, 3 0 M o n k s W a l k ,
Buntingford, Herts
London T H E FOUNDATION club aims to promote Fantasy/SF
RPGs and computer gaming, and run book and comics clubs
Contact David Hodson, 104 Debden, Gloucester Road, London
N17 6LN for more details
Finchley A recently•advertised c l u b i n N London a i m e d t o
start a campaign a t 1 st level, a n d play a couple o f t i m e s a
--ionth ' E x p e r i e n c e d , non-sexist players preferred,• Contact
Seof Hogan, 01-346 8707 for details,
Covent Garden, L o n d o n T h e S I G M A G A M E S CLUB meets
every 2 n d a n d 4 t h Sunday, 3 - 11 3 0 p m , a t 3 - 5 The Piazza,
Covent Garden M e m b e r s pay f l e a c h session, non-members
51 50 T h e club has its own stock of games, or you can play any
game you care to take along.
London C l i v e Bailey and Joe Dever of Games Workshop have
started up a games club which meets in the Conway Hall, Red
_non Square, London WC2, on at least two Saturdays in each
month, from 10am to 5pm There will be an A D & D game mini-
!ournament, f a n t a s y a n d SE tabletop battles, a Runequest
Tavern Tussle, a Traveller game and much more Details from
._,oe a t L o n d o n G a m e s Club, c / o 2 7 / 2 9 S u n b e a m Road,
_ONDON NW10 6JP
Q u e s t T h i s is a contact service for role-players w h i c h
hers an easy w a y to find n e w players, DMs, pen•pals and
Clubs, Contact Trevor Graver, QUEST. 2 Essex Court, H a m -
mersmith Grove, Ha.. mersmith, London W6 for a registration
form A l l you will have to do is fill it in and send it to Trevor along
with a c h e q u e o r postal o r d e r f o r t 1 5 0 E v e r y o n e o n t h e
--.-,,ster will get quarterly listings of gamers and clubs
oraftlitrarttz, Txttteng,,,mr,
A•• " •
'Which can be anything from a substantial job
to an honorific,' I added.
'Well, there's a Producer and t w o Executive
Producers, which might not leave much undone. I
was never sure what a producer does, anyway.'
'How's the animation?'
'Not Wa l t Disney, but good by current stand-
ards, a fair bit of movement. Those awful cartoon
strips i n W H I T E D W A R F, I M A G I N E ? a n d
DRAGON® magazines can't compare.'
'Come on, Alter, the drawings aren't so bad in
some o f those strips.'
'Yeah, sometimes; a n y w a y, comics have n o
place in games magazines.'
'Well, magazine editors seem t o believe that
people w o u l d rather l o o k a t pictures than read
things — they can't a l l be wrong, can they?' I
confess I agreed with Alter, but it doesn't do to let
him think he's right all the time.
'Think how much better those magazines would
be if they printed good articles in the space they
waste o n comics,' said A l t e r. ' O r i f they need
humour, w h y n o t s t a r t a reader-contributed
PAN, March 1984
Helen French, doncha j u s t love her? (Helen's
letter a p p e a r e d i n # 1 1) W e l l I d o , a n y w a y.
'Poisonous To e r a g ' ? M y d e a r, I ' m a g o s s i p
columnist, I have to be mean occasionally, and
it w a r m s the cockles of my non-existent heart
that you find me so good at my job. Keep the fan
mail coming.
But I do seem to have upset a lot of people of
late, a n d p e r h a p s i t i s t i m e t o do s o m e t h i n g
about it. The cause of Ms French's ire seems to
have been my vicious attack on t h a t warm and
wonderful furry creature, SuperMole. I w o u l d
like to say n o w that I apologise most sincerely
for all t h e n a s t y words, a n d f o r dropping t h e
ferret d o w n h i s b u r r o w. W h y ? We l l , f o r o n e
reason he seems remarkably adept at digging
up embarrassing stories about TSR which !can
recycle i n t h e A c o l y t e gossip c o l u m n . A l s o I
had f o r g o t t e n t h e t e r r i b l e c o n d i t i o n s u n d e r
which he has to work. According t o his last
column h e didn't even rate a freebie ticket to
Games Day....
Also on the 'distraught and outraged' list is
Chris Baylis who 'phoned up to say that he and
the D r a g o n l o r d s r " team are the best of friends
and that all the arguments in print are just their
way of showing it. I understand, Chris, I do.
Mentioning D r a g o n L o r d s t G w reminds m e
that o n e o f t h e m a n y t h i n g s t h a t p o p p e d
through m y l e t t e r b o x o v e r C h r i s t m a s w a s a
sample copy of D e m o n ' s D r a w l of w h i c h the
most interesting p a r t w a s the apparent air of
a n t i - D L backlash. M i k e and Ian have c o m e a
long w a y i n t h e l a s t y e a r, f r o m b e i n g t h e
wittiest and most intelligent fanzine around to
semi-professional status. Unsurprisingly
younger fanzine editors j u s t coming o n t o the
scene can't see w h a t is so m u c h better about
DL. S u p e r f i c i a l l y t h e r e i s n ' t t h a t m u c h , a n d
they'll take flak because of it, but they've also
been doing w h a t they do regularly and reliably
for 2 0 issues, w h i c h i n RPG fanzine t e r m s is
pretty impressive. They've also done a l o t for
the hobby in general on the way (and continue
to do so; witness the team-up issue which does
column of game-related jokes? Surely their readers
can make up good ones, especially puns. And that
way they don't have to pay anyone for trash —'
'Alter!'
'OK, for "material unsuitable for games maga-
zines". A n d i f they have a good man to edit the
jokes column i t ' d be m u c h funnier than those
comics. Remember Clive Booth's joke competit-
ions in Chimaera'? Great stuff.'
'You're not going to offer yourself as editor?'
'Naw, I can't even remember jokes, let alone
make 'em up or edit 'em.'
'Anyway, back to the cartoon. D o you recom-
mend it to people who read game magazines?'
'I guess anyone who enjoys comic books or TV
cartoons will like it. And it's worth looking at once
just to see what's happening to the young. But it'll
probably get boring after a while....'
Later, as I read White Dwarf and Alter was sorting
through one o f the file cabinets i n m y study, I
sighed. A l t e r is always looking f o r an excuse to
stop working', so he asked, 'What's up, Puls?'
little f o r t h e m b u t i s m a r v e l l o u s publicity f o r
CMG). I think they deserve their success, and I
hope that their recent elevation to the ranks of
establishment figures w o n ' t distance them too
much from the rest of us.
Now for s o m e t h i n g completely different. A
f u n n y t h i n g happened t o m e w h i l e doing m y
Christmas shopping. I wandered into Hamleys
to b u y a t e d d y b e a r f o r m y n i e c e ( e v e n u s
poisonous toerags have a soft spot somewhere)
and some familiar letters caught my eye: 'TM'.
Aha, I thought, w h e r e they are, can ' A D & D ' be
far i n f r o n t ? A n d s o i t w a s , a t t a c h e d t o a
mindboggling range of LI" high, bendy figures.
J u s t the sort of thing that you w o u l d n ' t want to
be seen dead using on an expedition. A n d do
you k n o w, i n s t e a d o f j u s t calling t h e f i g u r e s
'dwarf' o r 'wizard', e a c h h a s been given a
name, a n d t h a t n a m e h a s a trademark. J u s t
i m a g i n e ' ' , if this continues, you w o n ' t be able
to play anything except the A D & D game as you
w o n ' t be able t o f i n d a c h a r a c t e r n a m e t h a t
isn't in breach of copyright!
Still w i t h t h e season of goodwill, spare any
Christmas cheer you m i g h t have l e f t over f o r
poor o l d (but n o t a s o l d a s U n c l e D o n ) Dave
Langford. N o t o n l y d i d h e m a k e a c o m p l e t e
mess of a useful piece of gossip (and m y Irish
whiskey looked suspiciously like a pint of bitter
w h e n he bought it), but in the very same issue
he is voted the third m o s t loathsome t h i n g in
the Drain. I'm pleased to note that none of the
philistines who responded to the questionaire
buys or reads Acolyte.
I've g o t h o l d o f s o m e b o o k i n g f o r m s f o r
SeaCon at last, and can reveal t h a t the list of
famous n a m s f a i l i n g t o o u t d r i n k L a n g f o r d ,
Hoare e t a l a l s o i n c l u d e s A n n e M c C a f f r e y,
Gene W o l f e a n d J u l i a n M a y A n d m e , o f
course. W h a t with that and GamesFair, I think
April i s l i k e l y t o d i s a p p e a r i n a n a l c o h o l i c
haze....
(See P a u l , I c a n d o i t , I g o t t h r o u g h t h e
column w i t h o u t mentioning H e a r t q u e s e '
once.) $ O Pete Tamlyn
'I seem to have become notorious, Alter. L o o k
at t h i s survey r e t u r n . T h e y a s k e d " I s t h e r e
anything you really loath about White Dwarf'?",
and there in sixth place is " L e w Pulsipher".'
Alter looked. ' M a y b e that's w h y w e haven't
heard from Games Workshop in months. And one
o f their cartoons and the book review column were
ahead o f you in... loathsomeness? I d o n ' t see why
anyone wouldn't like Critical Mass.'
'Well, no one who does anything worth doing
can a v o i d offending people. I suspect a l l t h e
discussions in the letter column have something to
do with it, but when the editors make a career of
printing critical (and sometimes ridiculous) letters,
I have to respond, don't I?'
'Sure Puls, a n d i t doesn't help that they cut
articles to fit their pages exactly. Especially when
they cut the qualifiers intended to make items less,
Cr, authoritarian? Yo u ' r e defending w h a t t h e y
made you say, not necessarily what you said.'
'Thanks for the support, Alter. Take the rest o f
the day off. In fact, we'll both take the rest of the
day off.' 1 1 0 Lew Putsipher
33
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34 PA N , M a r d i 1984
 fanzine reviews fan tine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fan tine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews fanzine reviews
Fanzine Reviews
Every now and again one feels the urge to do
something new. So, Just to present a new slant
on this section, we've invited a guest reviewer
to look at some of the amateur publications out
early in 1984. And who better than the editor
of the zine that won the '83 Zine Poll, the L A
Raiders of fanzinedom, Pete Birks of Greatest
Hits. Cue tape, roll....
At the top of my list for postal games players is
H o p s c o t c h . Not only does Alan Parr smoothly
run s u c h diverse g a m e s as S o p w i t h , M y s t i c
Wood, Railway Rivals, Plutonomy and his
own S o c c e r l e a g u e v a r i a n t , U n i t e d , b u t a l s o
includes some w i t t y chat and n e w s about the
hobby a t l a r g e . A d d t o t h i s a l a y o u t w h i c h
clearly t e l l s b o t h p l a y e r a n d c a s u a l r e a d e r
w h e r e everything is likely to be, and you have a
zine t h a t p e r f o r m s e v e r y t h i n g t h a t a z i n e
should perform.
Railway R i v a l s w a s invented b y D a v i d
Watts, w h o , v i a h i s z i n e R o s t h e r n e G a m e s
Review (formerly Railway Rivals Recorder)
has w a g e d a v i r t u a l l y s o l o c a m p i g n a g a i n s t
non-games material, bad language, a n y t h i n g
but the most basic layout, and irreverent sods
like me w h o fail to bow obsequiously when the
word 'boardgame' is uttered. David has recently
taken early retirement from his teaching post,
so his interest in publishing his own game can
be assumed t o be c o n t i n u i n g . W e ' v e had t h e
Middle Earth map w h e n the One Tree map?
the M y s t i c Wo o d map? t h e N e w c a s t l e M e t r o
map?
Why i s h o u l d m e n t i o n P a n z e r k r e u s e r, I ' m
not sure. Mike Sharpe is a complete disgrace to
the hobby, the University of Essex and human-
ity in general. However, the zine is quite a jolly
little read, i f you like U n i t e d , D i p l o m a c y and
tales o f t h e a v e r a g e d r u n k e n s t u d e n t a t
university. Work? Don't you believe it.
Someone aiming f o r a l i f e of massive grant
and idle t i m e is Steve Norledge, w h o aims t o
replace Pete Northcott (once of Last Stand) as
the y o u n g e s t l o o k i n g p e r s o n a t t h e L a m b
Hobbymeet. H i s zine, R a p s c a l l i o n (affection-
ately known as Rapso, unaffectionately known
as a n u m b e r o f t h i n g s ) i s t h e f i r s t t h u s f a r
mentioned w h i c h i s n o t m i m e o g r a p h e d , b u t
reduced p h o t o c o p i e d . T h e t a l k i n # 4 i s o f
University i n t e r v i e w s ( h e w a s r e j e c t e d b y
Bristol), f a n t a s y c h a t , Ta n i t h L e e b o o k s , a
'Prisoner' r p g , a m u s i c q u i z , a n d a l e t t e r
column d i s c u s s i n g prozines, p o p m u s i c , a n d
Edgar Allen Poe. W h a t more could one ask?
N M R I c l a i m s to be ' t h e zine that's close to
the e d g e ' a l a b e l I h a d a l w a y s h o p e d t o
copyright f o r G r e a t e s t H i t s . A f t e r i t s special
'fantasy' issue, it is still attracting flak from the
'serious' role-players. # 4 6 h a s a l e t t e r f r o m
one A n d r e w Glynn, writing of Pete Tamlyn: 'he
seems t o b e a b * * * * * n u t t e r ' . T h e r e t h e n
,ollows a c o m m e n t b y a n o t h e r s u b s c r i b e r
which certainly w o u l d n ' t pass the blue-pencil-
Iers at I M A G I N E ' . magazine. On the whole, I
think N M R I w o u l d be a mite elitist and cliquey
for the average reader of this magazine, but if
you live i n London, like d e c e n t beer, a n d are
PAN, March 1984
prepared to dig a little deeper into the fanzine
world, i t w o u l d p r o v e o n e o f y o u r m o s t
rewarding incursions.
Not so much close to the edge as over the top
is the aforementioned Tamlyn's A c o l y t e , con-
tinuing to shoot from the hip and relishing the
flak at a later date. A slight idea of Mr Tamlyn's
attitude to life m i g h t be gleaned from the first
t w o lines of # 5 3 , where he refers to Saturnalia
rather than that later, and rather more vulgar,
event involving giving and receiving presents.
•
The A c o l y t e is, I suppose, the thinking role-
players' zine. All-embracing questions such as
w h e t h e r it is possible to take on t h e role of a
character with w h o m you have no empathy; or
w h e t h e r alignment has any place in an rpg; or
to w h a t extent, indeed, o n e m u s t 'live' o n e ' s
character; o r e v e n i f y o u c o m e a c r o s s a
Kentucky Fried Chicken store on the 5th floor
of Cthulhu's castle, w h e t h e r you should order
coleslaw on the side.
It i s a n u n d e n i a b l e f a c t t h a t o n e i s o f t e n
biased i n f a v o u r o f z i n e s i n w h i c h o n e i s
playing, although it may be that the reason you
started playing the game in the first place was
because you liked the zine.... We l l , w h a t e v e r,
Mercurius A u l i c u s , f r o m P a u l M c G i v e r n ,
noted N e w c a s t l e d a r t s p l a y e r, d r i n k e r o f
Exhibition ( w h e n c e t h e p h r a s e ' t o m a k e a n
Exhibition o f oneself'), a n d s u p p o r t e r o f t h e
Jacobite Restoration, i s o n e o f m y favourite
zines. I f I tell you t h a t t h e editor's dateline is
called 'The V i e w From Edgehill', and that one
of t h e g a m e s P a u l i s r u n n i n g i s called ' T h e
Great Rebellion', t h e n y o u m i g h t guess t h a t
Paul i s keen on the Civil Wa r. I ' m sure that if
walking two miles to the pub every night didn't
exhaust him, h e ' d join t h e Sealed K n o t — so
long a s t h e Royalists w o n every t i m e M A i s
keenly r e c o m m e n d e d f o r its laconic sense o f
h u m o u r (for example, 'I had a dart for a 15 dart
501 l a s t week.... u n f o r t u n a t e l y I failed to get
the 4 3 7 required....').
2actia3tP
12 'ts1 a t a
One w o u l d i m a g i n e t h a t a zine featuring a
front c o v e r p i c t u r e o f J o s e p h S t a l i n w i t h
rabbit's e a r s p o i n t i n g o u t o f h i s h e a d ( B i g
Bunny is watching you) would be run a person
certifiably i n s a n e . B r y a n B e t t s , h o w e v e r, i s
uncomfortably normal — indeed my girlfriend
says he r e m i n d s h e r of me (or w o u l d do if he
didn't h a v e m u c h l o n g e r l e g s — ta, love....).
One o f t h e W a r w i c k U n i v e r s i t y l a y a b o u t s ,
Bryan runs En Garde!, Judge Dredd and
others in his A 5 reduced zine. Its name? Well,
Masters o f the Prime, officially, but # 1 1
seems to be titled Flopsy. Mopsy and the
Class Struggle.
A n o t h e r relatively sane zine is H o m e of the
Brave, w h i c h Geoff Challinger produces to an
admirably professional level considering its A4
mimeo production. M a i n l y postal D i p l o m a c y,
but w o r t h getting f o r t h e quizzes, occasional
articles (such as # 3 3 ' s appreciation o f J o h n
Morgan, commentator on Radio 4's The World
To n i g h t ) and subzine S e r e n d i p i t y from w o r l d
famous Krypton Factor w i n n e r J o h n Webley,
dentist extraordinaire, p r o u d n e w f a t h e r and
non-qualifier i n the Midcon quiz....
One seemingly 'way out' zine is The Church
Mouse, p r o d u c e d b y D a v e T h o m a s , g a m e s -
player a n d a m a t e u r t h e a t r i c a l t y p e . H e a l s o
organises a regular games day con in Stanley,
Co D u r h a m . T h e C h u r c h M o u s e , a f t e r y o u
negotiate i t s r a t h e r w e i r d l a y o u t , i n v e n t i v e
titling and pseudo-punk attitude to life, really
has an interesting, conservative content. # 1 8
writes o f S o p w i t h , M i d c o n , a n d ' L o s e Yo u r
Shirt' ( G o l d e n O l d i e r e v i e w ) , a s w e l l a s
including a g a m e s q u i z (all t h e r a g e a t t h e
moment), c a r t o o n s , s c r a b b l e a n d a g a m e s -
orientated letter column. Highly recommended.
The foregoing has simply been a random flip
through the pile of zines a foot-high to the right
of my typewriter. Space precludes me mention-
ing m a n y o t h e r e m i n e n t l y readable zines, so,
here, a b r i e f appendix:
G a z f i n c i s a zine using the latest high-tech
hardware, produced by Richard Bairstow on a
VDU, slapped onto the printer w h i l e he makes
a coffee, a n d photocopied by h i s secretary....
Inflammatory Material is the new zine from
Simon w a n t t o b e f a m o u s ' B i l l e n n e s s •
Should be one of the best. Perspiring D r e a m s
is the zine f r o m ace statistician J o h n Dodds.
Zine To B e B e l i e v e d i s a g r e a t place t o play
games, a good read, and a useful place to find
out w h a t h a s b e e n h a p p e n i n g i n t h e hobby.
Ode, e x Z i n e Poll w i n n e r specialises i n t h e
hideously c o m p l i c a t e d M e r c a t o r, a D i p l o m -
acy v a r i a n t w i t h a b o u t 2 0 sub-variants. A n -
other Mercator zine is the foolscap Road Goes
Ever On, f r o m A u s s i e - l o v e r Gary Piper. M a d
Policy, from Richard Walkerdine, concentrates
on D i p l o m a c y , b u t o c c a s i o n a l l y r e p r i n t s
articles f r o m t h e p a s t — u s u a l l y t o t h e
embarrassment of the author. P e t e Birks
Also received: t h e e x c e l l e n t D r a g o n l o r d s /
Quasits & Quasars team up, a b u m p e r edition
of Psycho, W a r Machine a n d Wargame
News, Walamalaysia Gazette, which carried
a reprint of the latest Moral Majority nonsense
from Enfield, Oink, the fast improving J o u r n a l
of the SCS, the ever-diagonal Tales From
Tanelorn, the brand new GamesMaster and
something called Greatest Hits. Thanks again
to Pete f o r al: t h e a b o v e . _ a n d t o a l l t h o s e
brave souls w h o send their zines in.
A d d r e s s e s : Hopscotch, Alan Parr, 6 Longfield Gardens.
Tring, Hens HP23 4DN, Rostherne Games Review, David
Watts, 102 Priory Rd. Milford Haven, Dyfed, Wales; Panzer-
kreuser, Mike Sharpe, 'Sandy Brae', Stonleigh Re, Blackdown,
Leamington Spa, Warsivicks CV23 6QR, Rapscallion, Steve
Norledge. 75 Hawkhurst Way, W Wickham, Kent BR4 9PE,
NM111, Brian Creese, 256 Canbury Pk Rd, Kingston, Surrey
KT26LG, The Acolyte, Pete Tamlyn, 2 Poplar Rd. The Coppice,
Aylesbury, Bucks. Mercurius Aulicus, Paul McGivern, 11
Airdale, Hadrian Lodge West, Wallsend. Newcastle on Tyne
NE28 811_, M o p s y, Bryan Betts, 48 Cotham Vale, Redland,
Bristol BS6 60E; Home of the Brave, Geoff Challinger, 117
Shrubbery Road, S Darenth. Kent DA4 9AP, The Church
Mouse, Dave Thomas, 16 Ballater Close, Burnside, Stanley,
Co Durham, Gattinc, Richard Bairstow, 20 Queen's Drive,
Guildford, Surrey GU2 6PP; Inflammatory Material, Simon
Billenness, 2 0 Winifred Rd, Coulsdon, Surrey CR3 3JA;
Perspiring Dreams, John Dodds, 47 Mossford Lane, Barking-
side, Essex IG6 2JA, l i n e To Be Believed, Nick Kinzett, 11
Daleway Rd, Green Lane. Coventry CV3 6SF, Ode, John
Marsden, 14 East Ascent. St Leonard's, Hastings, E Sussex
IN38ODS, The Road Goes Ever On, Gary Piper, 5a Billing Rd,
North'etn, Mad Policy, Richard Walkerdine, 144 Stoughton
Rd, Guildford, Surrey GU2 6PG, Dragonlords, lan Marsh,
Avalon, Grams Rd, Warmer, Kent CT14 7PU, Quasits &
Quasars, Dave Hulks, 54 Slimmons Drive, Marshalswick, St
Albans, Herts AL4 9AP, Psycho, Mike Dean, 32 Newlands
Ave, Scarborough, N Yorks Y012 6PS; Wargame News / War
Machine, Mike Costello, Ermay, 17 Langbank Ave, Rise Park,
Notts NG5 5BU; Oink, Dave Messenger, 3 The Leasow,
Aldridge, Walsall. W Midlands W 5 9 OEF, Walamalaysia
Gazette, Dave Thorby, 200 Lavender Hill, Enfield, Middx EN2
8NJ, Journal o f the Senseless Carnage Society, Simon
Hartley, 5 Burgh Heath Rd, Epsom, Surrey, Tales From
Tanelorn, Matt Williams, Tanelorn, 2 4 Moor St, Earlsdon,
Coventry CV5 6EQ, GamesMaster, Steve Fielding, 262 Beake
Ave, Radford, Coventry CV6 2JR,
and of course, Greatest Hits, Pete Birks,
65 Turney Rd, London SW21 7 J B .
35
W h e n (sorry: IF) magic-users reach the
lofty h e i g h t s o f t w e l f t h l e v e l , t h e y a r e
entitled to begin manufacture of magical
items. They are t h r o w n i n t o t h e i r labor-
atories b y t h e r e s t o f t h e p a r t y w i t h
entreaties not to emerge until they have
finished t h a t v o r p a l f r o s t b r a n d o r t h e
hobbit-sized l e a t h e r a r m o u r + 2 2 o f
invisibility, w a t e r b r e a t h i n g , f e a t h e r
falling, t r a p detection, g i a n t strength,
speed a n d p r o o f against poison. They
enter their labs, cast enchant an item on
a sword, t h e n enchanted w e a p o n t o
make it +1, another to make it +2, a third to
put it up to +3, and then start wondering
why, i f i t i s t h i s e a s y, p e o p l e b o t h e r
making 'ordinary' swords+1 O f course,
it's not that easy.
All magical items made by magic users
require the e n c h a n t an i t e m spell, so if it
fails t h e m a g i c u s e r i s i n r e a l trouble.
One-shot i t e m s s u c h a s t h e j a v e l i n o f
lightning b o l t s o r t h e slingbullet o f
fireball are fairly simple: just work out the
exact v a r i a n t o f t h e e n c h a n t m e n t r e -
quired, cast enchant and the spell requir-
ed, and throw! Charged items are almost
as easy: enchant, limited wish, a sample
of the spell to be cast out of the item, and
as many of the spells as the caster cares
Tip for the Chaotic Evil D M : Yo u may decide that the
manufacturer of a ring of feather falling was unwilling to risk
a permanency, and made the ring a charged item...
to put into i t e a c h o f w h i c h , i f the i t e m
makes i t s s a v i n g t h r o w, b e c o m e s o n e
charge). T h e caster w i l l n o t k n o w h o w
many o f t h e c h a r g e s h e p u t i n h a v e
become charges stored in the item. When
the m a g i c u s e r b r e a k s t h e i n p u t t i n g
sequence, the enchantment ends and the
item will then be ready for use. If the item
is to be rechargeable, a full w i s h must be
exchanged for the limited version.
This works for simple items like w a n d s
of magic missiles or m a g i c detection.
Items intended to have a continual func-
tion (ring of feather falling, eversmoking
bottle) m u s t have e n c h a n t , t h e approp-
riate spell(s)(in the case of the bottle, they
are produce f l a m e a n d pyrotechnics),
and p e r m a n e n c y. (NB: Chaotic evil D M s
36
may decide t h a t t h e m a n u f a c t u r e r w a s
not willing to risk the possible constitut-
ion drain o f p e r m a n e n c y and make t h e
party's ring o f feather falling a charged
item...).
Most p o w e r f u l i t e m s ( s t a f f o f t h e
archmage) or those w i t h multiple funct-
ions ( w a n d o f f i r e ) a r e e v e n m o r e
difficult, requiring far more research and
probably several wishes in the manufact-
uring process. T h e e x a c t specifications
must be worked o u t by the D M for each
item, b u t a s a n example, h e r e a r e m y
rules f o r t h e m a n u f a c t u r e o f m a g i c a l
weapons.
Firstly, t h e research m u s t be done. The
first p h a s e o f r e s e a r c h i s t o w a n d e r
around all the magic users you know, and
the s a g e s i n t o w n , t o f i n d o u t i f t h e i r
grimoires contain a n y details o n t h e
manufacture of the items you are interest-
ed in. Obviously, if one of your friends has
the notes of a magic user who has made
the s a m e i t e m , a l l i t w i l l n e e d i s t o
negotiate the cost with them. Otherwise,
you m u s t research i n t o t h e subject f o r
6-36 m o n t h s , o r l o n g e r f o r t h e m o r e
difficult items. If you have the notes of a
magic user who was researching into the
same process it will take 1-12 months off
the research time needed, and if you are
working from a similar item manufactur-
ing p r o c e s s ( y o u h a v e t h e n o t e s o n
making a javelin o f lightning but want to
make a slingbullet of the fireball) it will
take only 2-16 months.
The i t e m t o be enchanted m u s t be o f
the finest possible quality; a +1 w e a p o n ,
before enchantment, w i l l cost ten times
the a m o u n t c h a r g e d f o r t h e s t a n d a r d
item, a n d the prices go up appropriately
as more expensive alloys are used, until a
+5 l o n g s w o r d m u s t b e m a d e o f p u r e
mithril, which costs 9600gp for the metal
and 1200gp for the four months work by
the best M a s t e r Swordsmith, a s s u m i n g
six pounds of mithril are available. Gems
in the hilt, decorative carvings and so on
are s h o w y a n d c a n b e i n c l u d e d i f t h e
maker so desires, but they interfere w i t h
the simple lines of the weapon and upset
the w e a p o n ' s efficiency i n m o s t cases.
This will not matter w i t h a mere +1 or +2
weapon, b u t except i n u n u s u a l c i r c u m -
stances ( s u c h a s H a w k t h e S l a y e r ' s
mindstone) really good swords w i l l have
classically s i m p l e l i n e s . D r a g o n h i l t s
holding big black pearls i n t h e dragon's
mouth may please a Black Dragonslayer,
but a Vo r p a l s w o r d w o u l d s c o r n s u c h
fripperies.
Likewise, wooden items are best made
from t h e wood of a f i r m thousand-year-
old y e w, carved b y a m a s t e r c a r p e n t e r
into simple lines (but don't let the druids
catch y o u taking t h e wood). Composite
items such as battleaxes are m o r e diffi-
cult t o make, a s t h e c a r p e n t e r f o r t h e
handle and the master dwarven smith for
the blade m u s t be brought together and
the weapon m u s t be worked by the t w o
craftsmen. W h a t the weapon is does not
change t h e e n c h a n t m e n t : a d w a r v e n
flame t o n g u e battleaxe i s a s easy t o
make a s a l o n g s w o r d o n c e t h e h i g h -
quality weapon has been manufactured.
Once t h e w e a p o n i s i n h a n d , t h e
enchanting can begin. First the e n c h a n t
an i t e m spell i s cast, t h e n t h e spells t o
provide its power. The required spells are:
+1 weapon: e n c h a n t e d weapon,
permanency
+2 weapon: e n c h a n t e d weapon x2,
limited wish, permanency
+3 weapon: e n c h a n t e d weapon x3,
wish, permanency,
extension Ill
+4 weapon: e n c h a n t e d weapon x4,
wish x2, extension
permanency
+5 weapon: d i v i n e intervention on a +4
weapon
The v a r i o u s w i s h e s a r e t o m a k e t h e
enchanted w e a p o n s p e l l s c u m u l a t i v e ,
and the extension is to keep the first t w o
enchanted weapons tied down w h i l e the
next ones are placed on top of them. The
divine intervention must come from the
deity the magic user worships and must
have t h e c l e a r a n c e o f t h e appropriate
deity i n c h a r g e o f t h e m a n u f a c t u r e o f
weapons: Hephaestus in the Greek pan-
I M A G I N E ma9adhc, March 1984
Br
theon; M o r a d i n , t h e d w a r f - g o d , i n t h e
Norse ( w h o d o n ' t h a v e a g o d o f black-
smiths, a s t h e d w a r v e s produce a l l t h e
great magical items), and so on.
To g i v e a w e a p o n p o w e r s r e q u i r e s a
wish f o r each p r i m e ability, p l u s lesser
enchantments w h i c h d e p e n d o n t h e
ability being sought: d e t e c t secret doors
takes wizard eye, detect gems requires
locate object plus clairvoyance, and so
on. Extraordinary powers need even more
care on the more difficult enchantments,
and t h e e n c h a n t m e n t r e q u i r e s t h e a p -
propriate part of some creature w i t h the
ability (fresh, of course), enchant an item,
the s p e l l c o n c e r n e d , p o l y m o r p h a n y
object, and wish. Thus to make a weapon
which t e l e p o r t s i n t o t h e o w n e r ' s h a n d
takes t h e w e a p o n e n c h a n t m e n t , t h e n
before the p e r m a n e n c y is cast (the spells
may n e e d m o r e extending, w h i c h m a y
take a n o t h e r l i m i t e d w i s h ) , t h e m a g i c
user must p o l y m o r p h the fresh cerebral
cortex of a Type 3 demon into a suitable
form (such as the leather of the handgrip),
enchant t h a t separately, c a s t t e l e p o r t
onto i t , w i s h t h a t t h e s w o r d h a s t h i s
power, bind it onto the m a i n body of the
sword w i t h a m e n d i n g , a n d t o p o ff t h e
e n c h a n t m e n t w i t h t h e p e r m a n e n c y.
Such a n ability can o n l y be given t o an
intelligent s w o r d w i t h telepathic ability,
or it will not know w h e n it is required.
A weapon with special purpose is made
in a similar way, but divine i n t e r v e n t i o n
is required. A n intelligent sword requires
a m o n s t e r summoning spell, caco-
demon, g a t e , o r conjure elemental t o
produce a spirit for the weapon, (gain its
agreement to being a weapon for a w h i l e
or if you a r e n ' t w o r r i e d about its agree-
ment you can always gees it), p o l y m o r p h
any object (to some form which can be an
!ntegral p a r t o f t h e w e a p o n ) , a k n o w
alignment scroll merged with the weapon
by limited wish, shocking grasp (for the
alignment shock), and wish it all together
with t h e o t h e r p o w e r s o f t h e w e a p o n
before t h r o w i n g t h e p e r m a n e n c y i n o n
top. N o t e t h a t t h e a l i g n m e n t o f t h e
weapon i s t h e s a m e a s t h a t o f t h e
summoned s p i r i t a n d t h a t w e a p o n s
'containing' e l e m e n t a l s w i l l g i v e a l i g n -
ment-shocks t o a l l t h e e x t r e m e a l i g n -
ments (LG, LE, CG, CE). I f the s h o c k i n g
grasp scroll a n d / o r t h e scroll o f k n o w
alignment are not used, the weapon will,
IMAGINE maficthne, March 11384
if the wording o f t h e geas a l l o w s it, n o t
co-operate w i t h a n y o n e b e h a v i n g i n a
way w h i c h conflicts w i t h t h e w e a p o n ' s
alignment a l t h o u g h in such a case the
sword c a n n o t g i v e a l i g n m e n t s h o c k s .
Speech requires magic m o u t h and limit-
ed w i s h , t e l e p a t h y r e q u i r e s E S P a n d
wish, empathy only a message.
Remember that the weapon cannot be
left unattended for long without breaking
the enchantment sequence, and though a
short absence o f t h e w i z a r d w i l l d o n o
harm, the gap must be bridged by further
magical m e a n s i f t h e w i z a r d h a s t o d o
much other work. To allow the maker to
go o f f t o w o r k o n s o m e t h i n g e l s e l o n g
enough t o s u m m o n t h e creature to give
the sword its intelligence and put it into a
form which allows it to be bound into the
weapon, requires a l i m i t e d w i s h , w h i c h
will a l s o sustain t h e e n c h a n t m e n t long
enough f o r a f o l l o w - u p e x t r a o r d i n a r y
power which the intelligence is intended
to control. A l i m i t e d w i s h is also able to
extend the enchantment gap long enough
to a l l o w t h e preparation o f t w o e x t r a -
ordinary p o w e r p a r t s f o r adding t o t h e
weapon. A f u l l w i s h w i l l extend i t long
enough for four extraordinary powers, or
an intelligence, special purpose, and one
extraordinary power, or even intelligence
and t h r e e e x t r a o r d i n a r y p o w e r s , b u t
although the maker does not have to be
continually f o n d l i n g t h e i t e m a n d r e i n -
forcing t h e enchantment, h e c a n n o t go
more than 30" from the item, which must
remain on its stand in the laboratory.
Special f u n c t i o n s o f t h e s t a n d a r d
weapons a r e m a n u f a c t u r e d w i t h t h e
following spells:
+1,+3 v s s p e c i f i c c r e a t u r e s : a s a + 1
weapon, plus enchanted weapon x2,
limited w i s h , and part of the creature
who will be its target
flame tongue a s +1 plus burning hands,
wish
luckblade a s l u c k s t o n e p l u s r i n g o f
wishes
frost brand: + 3 weapon plus otiluke's
freezing sphere, wish
+4 d e f e n d e r : a s + 3 w e a p o n a n d + 3
armour, linked by a w i s h
holy avenger: b e c o m e a major deity
weapon, o f d a n c i n g : i n t e l l i g e n t + 4
weapon, f l y, p o t i o n s o f invulnerab-
ility, haste, clairvoyance, wish
weapon o f w o u n d i n g : + 1 i n t e l l i g e n t
weapon, scroll o f reversed regenerat-
ion, polymorph any object, wish
life s t e a l e r : + 2 w e a p o n , u n d e a d w i t h
level-draining ability, geas, p o l y m o r p h
any object, wish
sharpness: i n t e l l i g e n t + 3 w e a p o n , p a r t
water, wish
vorpal: i n t e l l i g e n t + 5 w e a p o n , p a r t
water, wish
+1 cursed: +1 weapon, geas, teleport as
extraordinary powers
-2 cursed: + 2 weapon but w i t h full w i s h
instead o f limited, t e l e p o r t a s e x t r a -
ordinary powers, globe of invulnerab-
ility plus limited wish
cursed b e r s e r k e r + 2 w e a p o n , g e a s ,
teleport, confusion, a n t i p a t h y, u s e
full w i s h i n s t e a d o f l i m i t e d d u r i n g
+2 enchantment.
The abilities of the weapon must be put in
during t h e o r i g i n a l e n c h a n t i n g o f t h e
weapon: it cannot be 'upgraded' after the
permanency has been cast.
The enchantment of other items follows
a similar pattern, each DM is free to work
out his or her o w n rules on the matter (I
have m i n e , b u t t h e y u s e n a u g h t y n o n -
approved spells so t h e editor w o u l d c u t
them to prevent me corrupting his read-
ers.... A s f o r i t e m s being e n c h a n t e d b y
clerics, d r u i d s o r i l l u s i o n i s t s , I a m a s
much i n t h e dark as you. A n y ideas o u t
there in the Outer Darkness?
1140. Chris Felton
37
Enchantment: Five Artifacts For Magical Creation.
The C r o w n o f the I m p e r i u m
This is a magic item generally constructed
by t h e c o u r t m a g i c i a n s o f vainglorious
rulers.
The c r o w n i t s e l f i s c o n s t r u c t e d b y a
master j e w e l l e r o r g e m c u t t e r f r o m t h e
finest p o s s i b l e m a t e r i a l s available a n d
should cost at least 25,000gp. Optionally,
for m i l i t a r i s t i c r u l e r s o r t h o s e w h o s e
culture emphasises strength this Crown
may be made of black iron or similar.
Once constructed t h e C r o w n is given t o
the magic user who washes it in a p o t i o n
of delusion, casts en c hant an i t e m upon
it a n d t h e n leaves i t soaking i n a n o t h e r
potion of delusion for one month. During
the third week a philtre of persuasiveness
is p o u r e d o v e r t h e C r o w n a s i t soaks.
During all these processes the magic user
must be careful n o t to touch t h e C r o w n
except w h i l e casting the enc hant spell.
On t h e day that the C r o w n is recovered
from the potion, the magic user must co-
The Cloak o f Lordliness
The C l o a k i s a c o m p a n i o n i t e m t o t h e
Crown. It should be constructed from furs
or skin appropriate to the ruler's culture
worth a t l e a s t 6 , 0 0 0 g p , s e w n t o g e t h e r
with p l a t i n u m t h r e a d w o r t h 2 5 0 g p . A
Cloak of Lordliness for a human prince or
princess w o u l d b e m a d e o f t h e f i n e s t
ermine, w h i l e one for a hobgoblin chief-
tain would be made of dwarf or elf skin.
The magic user then takes the Cloak and
casts enchant an item and ventriloquism
on i t before a n i l l u s i o n i s t casts a u d i b l e
g l a m o u r and deafness. The m a g i c user
then casts a permanency upon the Cloak.
The S h a d o w s w o r d
This longsword i s m a d e f r o m t h e finest
steel, i n f u s e d w i t h n i g h t hag's blood t o
darken t h e m e t a l t o almost black. O n c e
the b l a d e h a s b e e n t h u s f o r g e d , i t i s
treated d u r i n g c o n s t r u c t i o n a s a + 4
weapon. The magic user casts m o n s t e r
s u m m o n i n g V I t o call a s h a d o w demon
(see the F I E N D FOLIO Tome), geas, and
p o l y m o r p h a n y object, t u r n i n g i t into a
handgrip f o r t h e s w o r d . T h i s t h e n h a s
enchant a n i t e m a n d p e r m a n e n c y cast
upon i t and is joined to the sword blade
with a m e n d i n g spell.
K n o w a l i g n m e n t is placed on the sword
by a l i m i t e d w i s h and shocking grasp is
added t o t h e mix. T h e m a g i c u s e r t h e n
casts invisibility and bathes the sword in
38
operate w i t h a n i l l u s i o n i s t w h o casts
change self while the magic user casts
c h a r m person o r c h a r m m o n s t e r. The
magic user burns the heart of a doppel-
ganger i n a b r a z i e r a n d p a s s e s t h e
Crown though the smoke, following this
with a p e r m a n e n c y.
The e n d p r o d u c t i s a C r o w n w h i c h
makes its wearer seem more imposing
(up to 15% taller; wiser; more 'noble') to
members of the same race or species, as
well as allowing the wearer to cast the
appropriate c h a r m spell once per day.
The Crown has an xp value of 7 5 0 and a
sale value of 45,000gp.
The Cloak has the effect of making any
oratory by the wearer so inspiring as to
cause a l l w i t h i n 6 " t o s t o p w h a t e v e r
they are doing t o listen t o the speech,
unless t h e y m a k e a s a v i n g t h r o w v s
magic a t - 4 . T h i s p o w e r c a n b e u s e d
three times per day.
\\\\\\M‘‘NMX\N
a m i x t u r e o f skulk spittle a n d b l i n k dog
blood. Finally the magic user binds all the
dweomers together w i t h permanency.
The r e s u l t i n g w e a p o n v a r i e s i t s attack
effectiveness with the lighting conditions.
In b r i g h t s u n l i g h t t h e s h a d o w s w o r d i s
treated as a normal longsword; in overcast
conditions it acts as a l o n g s w o r d +1; in
torchlight it is +2; i n darkness, +3. Once
per d a y t h e s w o r d c o n f e r s i n v i s i b i l i t y
upon its user, until he or she attacks.
The s h a d o w s w o r d i s a l w a y s o f chaotic
evil alignment, as must be the magic user
who constructs it, the weaponsmith w h o
forges it and the person who wields it. It is
worth 900xp and sells at 4,500gp.
Glain's Crystal Spheres
These a r e s m a l l ( f o u r i n c h e s diameter) im
hollow g l a s s s p h e r e s w i t h p o r c e l a i n
cores. Enlarge and shatter are cast upon
the core, a n d m e n d i n g u p o n t h e glass
sphere, w h i c h b i n d s i t i n t o a s i n g l e
incredibly strong unit, w i t h o u t any flaws
or weaknesses, containing the core. Each
individual Crystal Sphere has a command
word w h i c h n e g a t e s t h e e ff e c t s o f t h e
m e n d i n g spell. Once the command word
is spoken t h e slightest m o v e m e n t of the
sphere will cause the core to expand and
shatter with a fragmentation effect doing
4d6 ( p l u s t h e A C n u m b e r t h e v i c t i m )
points of damage to all creatures within a
10' radius.
The sphere can be used as a booby trap
by p l a c i n g a m a g i c m o u t h u p o n i t ,
primed to say the command word.
Glain's C r y s t a l S p h e r e s h a v e a n x p
value of 500 and sell for 1500gp each.
The Hourglasses o f A u q u h o l
These magic items are named after the
first m a g i c u s e r t o c r e a t e o n e . T h e
hourglasses come in three types and are
the t r a d i t i o n a l s h a p e , c o n s t r u c t e d o f
lead crystal and jade. The 'sand' in the
hourglasses is t h e powdered bones o f
one o r m o r e n i l b o g s (see t h e F I E N D
FOLIO® Tome).
The magic user wishing to create one of
these useful i t e m s m u s t cast e n c h a n t
an i t e m upon both the powdered bones
of the nilbog(s) and the structure of the
hourglass itself. The magic user creates
a s c r o l l bearing o n e o f t h e e x t e n s i o n
spells and burns this in a new silver pan.
Once the resulting ashes are cold they
are m i x e d w i t h t h e p o w d e r e d n i l b o g
bones a n d t h e n sealed i n t o t h e h o u r -
glass. Finally, p e r m a n e n c y is cast over
the whole assembly.
Once constructed, each hourglass w i l l
act, once per day, as an extension spell
of t h e t y p e u s e d i n t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n
process. The components of an e x t e n -
sion I h o u r g l a s s c o s t 1 , 5 0 0 g p , a n
extension II hourglass cost 3000gp and-
an extension III hourglass cost 6000gp.
They require the bones of one, t w o and
three nilbogs respectively.
An hourglass of Auquhol may be easily
recognised since t h e ' s a n d ' r u n s f r o m
the bottom to the top. It has an xp value
of 750 and a sale value of 10,000gp.
I M A G I N E ma9atinc, March 1984
 BRIEF ENCOUNTERS - Role-playing Mini-Scenarios
THE M O U N D I N THE RING
An AD&DTM Mini-Adventure for parties of 5-8 Adventurers
kp,
1
How to use this BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Brief E n c o u n t e r s are m i n i - a d v e n t u r e s designed so t h a t t h e y m a y be
used w i t h parties of 5 - 8 adventurers of d i ff e r e n t levels. I f you intend
to p l a y i n t h i s a d v e n t u r e , y o u s h o u l d r e a d n o f u r t h e r, s i n c e t h e
remaining i n f o r m a t i o n is f o r your G a m e s M a s t e r o n l y.
The M a i n K e y describes t h e adventure, r e f e r r i n g t o t h e encounters,
traps and treasure in general terms eg the guards, the priest's treasure,
the pit trap. Italics are always used for these general references.
The exact n a t u r e o f an e n c o u n t e r, t r a p o r treasure depends upon t h e
level o f t h e a d v e n t u r e r s i n v o l v e d , a n d s p a c e s a r e p r o v i d e d a t t h e
relevant p o i n t s in t h e text f o r the Games M a s t e r to insert the details
which are appropriate. These details can be found in the section called
Encounters, Tr a p s a n d Tr e a s u r e , listed according t o the level of the
adventurers.
Example. If a 4111 level AD&DT" party was exploring 'The M o u n d In The
Ring', the following section of the M a i n K e y. . . .
If they approach him, datrnel, , (AC M V ; HD
hp ; A T D ) w i l l feel t h a t t h e adventurers are
threatening the body of his master and w i l l attack.
_would be filled in by the Games Master using the E n c o u n t e r s , Traps
and Treasure section as follows:
If they approach h i m , J a i r n e l , a y o u n g roc (AC 4; M V 3 " / 3 0 " ; HD 8 ;
hp 39; # AT 2 or 1; D 1 - 1 0 / 1 - 1 0 or 2-1 6) will feel that the adventurers
are threatening the body of his master and w i l l attack.
Background to this BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Many years ago the chiefs of the primitive tribes w h i c h inhabited this
area c a m e to desire that the glory and wealth w h i c h they had known in
life should remain w i t h t h e m after death. To this end those wise in tne
ways o f t h e G o d s devised elaborate r i t u a l s b y w h i c h t h e i r departed
rulers could be assured of eternal life. A f t e r preparation, the dead were
laid to rest with their riches in stone-vaulted chambers beneath mounds
of earth. These mounds, adorned w i t h r i n g s of standing stones, w e r e
then sealed and protected by the most powerful wards which the priests
and magicians could devise.
They had t h o u g h t that their defences w o u l d resist the ravages of time
but it was not to be. The tombs were broken into and looted one by one,
the s t a n d i n g s t o n e s w e r e c a s t d o w n a n d t h e m o u n d s f l a t t e n e d .
IMAGINE magazine., March 1984
by Graeme Morris
10
Eventually only one remained. This was protected by the w i s e ones of
the most powerful tribe at the peak of their art, and w a s the last to be
built before the tribes were overrun by foreign invaders.
The m a g i c t h e y placed u p o n t h e t o m b gave a m p l e p r o t e c t i o n t o t h e
nameless king and his treasures, since the mound, its contents and the
standing s t o n e s a r o u n d i t w e r e placed o n a special e t h e r e a l p l a n e
Although the m o n u m e n t remained visible, all normal objects, creatures
and even the wind passed through it as if it were a phantom. A n y person
walking i n t o t h e place occupied by t h e m o u n d f o u n d h i m s e l f i n i n k y
blackness, n o t penetrated by magical or ordinary light, or even by the
infravision of the n o n - h u m a n races.
The m o u n d a n d i t s r i n g developed a n evil reputation a n d t h o s e w h o
knew of it gave it a w i d e berth. A l o n e i t stood, defying t i m e , t h e last
inviolate reminder of a forgotten race.
Inviolate, that was, until a druid named Croxley discovered the secret of
how to penetrate the magical defences. By casting a h u m b l e faerie fire
spell on the trilithon (a structure consisting of a horizontal slab of stone
supported by two uprights) opposite the mound's entrance he caused it
to become a portal into the ethereal plane on which the mound had been
placed. Eagerly passing through, Croxley was able to pull back the stone
slab w h i c h blocked the en.rance by shaping it into a door w i t h a s t o n e
shape spell. He had forgotten, however, that the ancients guarded their
dead in m a n y ways and, on moving the slab, w a s killed by the simple
glyph cast upon it.
J a i r n e l (Croxley's avian a n i m a l friend), w h o had passed t h r o u g h t h e
trilithon with his master, stood guard over the body and, thus grounded,
attracted the attention of the pack. These canines made to attack the bird
but, u n w i l l i n g to go through the trilithon w hi ch glowed still w i t h faerie
fire, t h e y c o u l d n o t m a k e contact w i t h t h e i r target. J a i r n e i c o u n t e r -
attacked b u t w a s s i m i l a r l y t h w a r t e d . N e v e r t h e l e s s , b o t h b i r d a n d
hounds continued to lunge at each other, the hounds h o w l i n g in anger
and confusion. The DM should use this noise to attract the attention of
the party to the scene.
Location of the mound
The m o u n d m a y be sited by the OM a t any location, provided that the
surrounding region i s sparsely populated and t h a t a pack o f the type
specified could reasonably be found there.
39
THE M O U N D I N THE RING
Main key
1. T h e Pack
As t h e party approaches the m o u n d the D M should read the following
boxed section to them:
A m o u n d o f e a r t h , a b o u t 4 0 feet across a n d 1 8 f e e t h i g h ,
comes into view. Placed around it are about a dozen standing
stones, each approximately 1 0 f e e t high and 3 or 4feet across.
Two o f t h e s e , c l o s e r t o g e t h e r t h a n t h e r e s t , s u p p o r t a
horizontal stone slab to form a trilithion. A faint, glowing light
plays over this structure.
At the foot of the mound, adjacent to the trilithon, a stone door
stands open. Beyond, a dark passage leads within.
Between t h e t r i l i t h o n and the door a pack of hounds can be
seen attacking a large bird w h i c h s e e m s t o be defending a
prone, h u m a n figure. I t is t h e noise o f t h i s f i g h t w h i c h you
heard earlier. A l t h o u g h t h e attacks o f both sides are fierce,
they do not seem to be h a r m i n g each other at all.
When the party comes into view the pack;
(AC M V ; HD ; hp ; FIAT D ( w i l l break away
from J a i r n e l and attack the adventurers.
2. T h e Trilithon
The trilithon w i l l remain a portal to the m o u n d ' s ethereal plane so long
as t h e f a e r i e f i r e r e m a i n s (i.e. 7 - 1 2 t u r n s a f t e r t h e p a r t y arrive).
Characters passing through it from East to West will become ethereal.
Going f r o m We s t to East reverses the process. Casting another faerie
fire w i l l n o t prolong t h e existence of the portal n o r can i t be restored
once the faerie fire h a s ended.
Characters m a y only m a k e physical contact w i t h Croxley, J a i m e ' and
the m o u n d w h i l e ethereal. I n t h i s s t a t e t h e m o u n d w i l l s e e m q u i t e
normal to them ( w h i l e the rest of the w o r l d will appear insubstantial),
but otherwise the druid and his friend will seem to be mere phantoms,
and entering the space occupied by the m o u n d w i l l simply plunge any
character i n t o inky blackness as described above. N o other m e a n s of
becoming ethereal will enable characters to reach the mound.
If the faerie fire expires w h i l e any characters are still ethereal they will
immediately be restored to the normal plane, breaking short any action
or combat taking place at the time. Objects from inside the mound may
o n l y b e b r o u g h t onto the normal plane if passed through the trilithon
from We s t to East w h i l e the portal is still in operation.
3. C r o x l e y and his Animal Friend
If they approach him, Jairnel, a ( A C (values 70gp, 2x 100gp); contents of back-pack: scroll w i t h
MV ; H D ; hp ; NAT D ( w i l l
feel that the adventurers are threatening the body of his master and will
attack. Note that Jairnel and the party may only harm one another if the
adventurers h a v e b e c o m e ethereal. H o w e v e r, i f t h e p a r t y a l l o w t h e
faerie fire to run out, Croxley and Jairnel will automatically return to the
material plane.
When the adventurers are able to examine Croxley's charred body they
will f i n d t h a t h e h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g t r e a s u r e a n d e q u i p m e n t : l e a t h e r
armour and wooden shield (both burned and useless), his scimitar
a belt pouch, containing some greater mistletoe and hispersonaltreasure:
, and a back-pack. The contents of the back-pack are a
gem (value 20gp) with a c o n t i n u a l l i g h t spell cast upon it, t w o flasks of
oil, a cloak, a w i n e s k i n full of water, some food,
The back-pack is protected by a fire trap (damage t h if save).
In his hand is a small piece of soft clay shaped into the form of a crude
door.
4. Inside the Mound
As t he party enters the mound the DM should read Out the following:
The passage into the m o u n d is about 6 feet high and 6 feet
wide. T h e floor, w a l l s and roof are o f crudely shaped stone
slabs. The passage leads to some sort of chamber.
40
When the party reaches the chamber:
This chamber resembles a beehive in shape. It is about 16 feet
acr'oss, and the walls, cunningly made of unmortared stones,
converge to a central point about 1 4 f e e t above the floor. Lying
on t h e centre of the floor t h e r e is a stone slab, h e w n i n t o a
rough rectangle. Tw o small, sealed ceramic jars stand on the
floor on either side of the slab.
Each of the jars contains a Canopic Shade (see opposite for details). The
northern jar contains a 'brain shade a n d the southern a 'heart shade'.
Either will attack if the jar is approached.
The rectangular slab covers the shallow depression which is the tomb of
the c h i e f . T h e r i t u a l s p e r f o r m e d b y h i s p r i e s t s o n l y e n s u r e d p a r t i a l
afterlife for him and he n o w exists as one of the undead. Since his brain
and heart were removed and placed in the canopic jars the undead chief
(AC ; MV ; HD ; hp ; N AT D
; SA ; SD ) is unconstrained
and resistant to the turning of clerics.
In the tomb the adventurers will find t h e chief's treasure (
Encounters, Traps and Treasure
The Pack
Level 1: 8 wild dogs (AC 7; M V 15"; HD 1+1; hp 5 each; NAT 1; D 1-4)
Levels 2-3: 1 5 w i l d dogs (AC 7; M V 1 5 " ; H D 1+1; h p 5 each; N A T 1;
D 1-4)
Levels 4-6: 1 5 wolves (AC 7; MV 18"; HD 2+2; hp 10 each; NAT 1; D 2-5)
Levels 7-9: 1 5 worgs (AC 6; M V 18"; HD 4+4; hp 23 each N A T 1 D 2-8)
Jairnel
Level 1: B l o o d h a w k ( A C 7 M V 2 4 " ; H D 1 + 1 ; h p 8 ; N A T 3 ;
D 1-4/1-4/1-6)
Levels 2-3: G i a n t e a g l e ( A C 7 ; M V 3 " / 4 8 " ; H D 4 ; h p 2 1 ; N A T 3 ;
D 1-6/1-6/2-12)
Levels 4-6: Yo u n g r o c (AC 4; M V 3 " / 3 0 " ; H D 8; h p 3 9 ; N A T 2 o r 1;
D 1 - 1 0 / 1 - 1 0 or 2-16)
Levels 7-9: Yo u n g roc (AC 4; M V 3 " / 3 0 " H D 11 ; h p 52; N AT 2 or 1;
D 1 - 1 0 / 1 - 1 0 or 2-16)
Croxley's Possessions
Level 1: S c i m i t a r : n o r m a l ; p e r s o n a l t r e a s u r e : 3 0 g p ; c o n t e n t s o f
back-pack: 1 vial of H o l y Water; fire trap: d4+3.
Levels 2-3: S c i m i t a r : normal; personal treasure: 30gp and 1 gem (value
70go); contents o f back-pack: flask c o n t a i n i n g 1 d o s e of a
potion of animal control (avians), fire trap d4+4.
Levels 4-6: S c i m i t a r : n o r m a l ; p e r s o n a l t r e a s u r e : 3 0 g p a n d 3 g e m s
the druidic spells predict w e a t h e r, plant g r o w t h , insect
plague; fire trap: d44 6.
Levels 7-9: S c i m i t a r : +1; p e r s o n a l treasure: 30gp and 4 gems (values
70gp, 2x 100gp, 300gp); contents o f back-pack: flask con-
taining a dose of a p o t i o n o f extra-healing; fire trap: d4+8.
U n d e a d C h i e f (Note that this undead creature is non-intelligent and
is resistant to the turning effects of clerics).
Level 1: G h o u l (AC 6; M V 9"; HD 2; hp 16; N AT 3; D 1 - 3 / 1 - 3 / 1 - 6 ;
SA paralysation, SD i m m u n e to sleep etc.)
Levels 2-3: G h a s t (AC 4; M V 15"; HD 4; h p 27, No. AT 3; D 1 - 4 / 1 - 4 /
1-8; SA paralysation and stench; SD i m m u n e to sleep, etc)
Levels 4-6: M u m m y (AC 3 ; M V 6 " : H D 6+3; h p 4 1 ; N A T 1 ; D 1 - 1 2 ;
SA fear and disease; SD need magic weapons to hit w h i c h
do half damage).
Levels 7-9 Va m p i r e ( A C 1 ; M V 1 2 " / 1 8 " ; H D 8 + 3 ; h p 4 7 ; N A T 1 ;
D 5 - 1 0 S A energy drain; SD need magic weapons to hit).
Chief's treasure
Level 1: 5 finely m a d e f l i n t a r r o w h e a d s w h i c h m a y be attached td
shafts to produce +1 a r r o w s . 5 pearls (value 100gp each).
Levels 2-3: 5 a r r o w h e a d s ( a s above); a n a m b e r b r a c e l e t w i t h t h e
properties o f a r i n g o f p r o t e c t i o n + 1 ; 1 0 p e a r l s ( v a l u e
100gp each).
Levels 4-6: A m b e r bracelet (as above); a bag c o n t a i n i n g 5 packets of
dust o f disappearance; 2 0 pearls (value 100gp each).
Levels 7-9: A golden censer of summoning air elementals; 4 0 pearls
(39 are worth 100gp each, the other is a pearl o f wisdom).
I M A G I N E nta9arte, March 1584
 N e w Monster (unofficial)

CANOPIC SHADE

FREQUENCY: Rare
No.APPEARING: Usually 2 (one of each type, see below)
ARMOUR CLASS: Not applicable
MOVE: Instantaneous (up to 10 feet)
HIT DICE: 1+6
% IN LAIR: 100% VAIMILIMIElreatallige
TREASURE TYPE: Nil
# ATTACKS: Nil
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Nil
SPECIAL ATTACKS: See below
SPECIAL DEFENCES: See below
MAGIC RESISTANCE: Total
INTELLIGENCE: None
ALIGNMENT: Neutral
SIZE: Not applicable
PSIONIC ABILITY: Nil
Attack/Defence modes: Nil
LEVEL/xp VALUE: I I I / 1 0 0 xp + 2xp per hit point.

These non-corporeal entities may be thought of as fragments of
an undead creature. They are created when the brain and heart
of a corpse are removed to be interred separately in containers
known as canopic jars.
Any u n d e a d c r e a t u r e w h i c h a r i s e s f r o m t h i s corpse w i l l b e
sundered into three parts. The first will be one of the usual kinds
of undead. This will develop from the main corpse and will have
all t h e usual attributes except that, lacking a brain, i t w i l l be
non-intelligent and, lacking a heart, will be fearless even to the
extent of being resistant to the turning effect of clerics. Clerics
and Paladins) affect them as if they were 3 levels below their
actual level. Therefore, clerics of levels 1 - 3 cannot affect these
undead.
The other two fragments, which arise from the brain and heart,
are known as canopic shades. These shades are quite separate
from the main undead and remain inside their canopic jars until
a living being comes within 10 feet. When this occurs the shade
will move instantaneously from the jar into the creature's body
and there try to fulfil its one desire, to become free of the earthly
plane by killing the creature and finding rest along w i t h it.
The ability of a character to resist the attack depends on two of
its ability scores; intelligence and w i s d o m in the case of a shade
which arises from the brain, and s t r e n g t h and c o n s t i t u t i o n in
the case of the shade from the heart,
-5-out—a = , z = 4- 7 -nv-L-Frr-c--
J
The only thing which can prevent a canopic shade from entering
a character is a protection from evil (spell or otherwise). Failing
this, the shade will automatically gain entry and begin to attack
the creature from w i t h i n . Each round that the shade is w i t h i n
the character the DM should subtract d8 x d6 (i.e. d8 multiplied
by d6) from the current total of the character's two appropriate
ability scores and apply the results as follows:
Total o f abilities Result
minus d8 x d6 is:
0 to 35 Shade takes one hit point o f damage
-1 t o -12 Character l o s e s d z i p o i n t s (temporarily)
from o n e r a n d o m l y d e t e r m i n e d a b i l i t y
score.
-1 3 to -34 Character loses o n e p o i n t (permanently)
from o n e r a n d o m l y d e t e r m i n e d a b i l i t y
score.
If any of the character's ability scores falls below 3 (including
temporary effects), it will be fatal. If the victim dies the shade will
pass away with it and not attack any other character.
Canopic shades will always attack until destroyed (reduced to
zero hit points) or until the victim dies.
A victim managing to destroy a shade will gain one point on one
randomly determined ability score.

Brief Encounters are short scenarios, CREDITS! Graeme Morris

designed to be inserted into any campaign, Art and Design:
either to introduce some new element into the [
game, such as a new monster, spell or magic
item, or just as an entertaining diversion
along the way.
Could you write a Brief Encounter for
IMAGINE magazine? Why not give it ,a try?

IMAGINE ntaaazute, March 1984 41

 PAKTTWELVE
LuJM
Al-ChEN
Glcol5SEN THE KotoLDWHO
HASMENKESOJEDFA,THE
AIWENTURERS,HASTRASED
lo W E THEM ID PE
oRc5' LAJ v f A 5ECRET
WAY H E LEADs THE/A
FUKT14EfcINTO IHE Mop
ANDTHENDoWN A SWILL
PANS'TUNNEL HIPPEri
FERINPSoME L3U5HES..•
Players o f f a n t a s y r o l e - p l a y i n g g a m e s
take on the personae of fearless fighters,
devout clerics, spell-casting magic users
and c u n n i n g thieves. U s i n g these char-
acters, they experience the thrill of explor-
ation a n d combat on m a n y exciting a n d
unique adventures.
The f o l l o w i n g is an account o f a Basic
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® game. Sue is
the Dungeon M a s t e r or referee w h o has
previously p r e p a r e d t h e a d v e n t u r e a n d
runs i t w i t h reference t o t h e rules. S h e
acts as t h e eyes a n d ears o f the party,
describing what they can see and reason-
ably expect t o k n o w. T h e players t h e n
react to her descriptions according to how
their characters would, w e r e they actual-
ly in the situation described.
The party consists o f five characters:
N o r v a I r o n a r m s , played by Nic. A 1 s t
level fighter lacking experience, b u t will-
ing t o e n g a g e i n c o m b a t t o p r o t e c t h i s
friends and to gain glory.
B r u m h o l d , played by Jon. T h e party's
other fighter, also o f 1st level, B r u m h o l d
has seen more action than Norva. He is a
very honourable c h a r a c t e r w h o f i n d s i t
difficult to reconcile the taking of life with
the need to defeat evil.
L e m m y, p l a y e d by Terry. A 2 n d level
thief who is not adverse to backstabbing
and stealing anything w h i c h comes h e r
way. S h e a n d B r u m h o l d h a v e o f t e n
disagreed in the past, since he considers
her profession evil and dishonourable.
Jolinda, p l a y e d by A n n e . A 1 s t l e v e l
cleric, d e d i c a t e d t o t h e e r a d i c a t i o n o f
chaos. A l t h o u g h compassionate, Jolinda
shows no mercy to enemies o f Law.
Sarak, p l a y e d b y A l a n . A 1 s t l e v e l
magic user interested in gaining w e a l t h
and power. Sarak cares little w h a t hap-
pens d u r i n g an adventure, providing he
profits in the long run.
The p a r t y h a s b e e n h u n t i n g a b a n d o f
marauding orcs responsible for destroying
a village. They encountered part of the arc
band a n d rescued a captive k o b o l d - a
small, scaly creature. Grobsek, the kobold,
has promised to lead them to the orc lair.
42
After resting f o r the night in a cave, the
party follows the kobold along the trail.
Sue — 'Grobsek leads you t h r o u g h t h e
dark wood for nearly an hour, stopping at
the b o t t o m o f a s m a l l h i l l . H e p o i n t s
towards a c l u m p o f bushes, a n d says:
"That secret w a y t o orcs• See! M e lead
you h e r e , s o o n y o u b e l o t s r i c h a n d
Grobsek go home to family."
Covered by Brumhold's b o w, Norva a n d
Jolinda advance cautiously to the bushes
and search them, slowly.
Sue — 'Hidden behind them is a four foot-
high t u n n e l t h a t slopes d o w n s l i g h t l y.
Hardly a n y l i g h t p e n e t r a t e s , a n d y o u
cannot see very far.'
Jolinda opens her backpack and removes
a torch and tinderbox. Once i t is lit, she
holds i t i n t h e e n t r a n c e . S u e i n f o r m s
Anne that the tunnel continues for fifteen
feet and then widens. She then tells the
players that Grobsek is offering to go first.
Sarak's suspicions are aroused sufficient-
ly for him to insist that a fighter go first.
With N o r v a l e a d i n g , t h e y e n t e r t h e
small t u n n e l a n d make t h e i r w a y to the
point w h e r e i t widens. S a r a k begins t o
make a map to prevent them getting lost.
Sue ' T h e tunnel enters a c h a m b e r 20
foot w i d e a n d 3 0 f o o t long. A c r o s s t h e
chamber are three narrow exits, one east,
one s o u t h - e a s t a n d o n e north-east. A s
you e n t e r t h e c h a m b e r, G r o b s e k r u n s
forward yelling and disappears down the
north-east tunnel.'
Norva — g e t him!'
Sue — ' N o r v a , y o u g e t a l m o s t t o t h e
entrance w h e n a weighted n e t drops on
you f r o m a b o v e , p i n n i n g y o u t o t h e
ground. A t this point 1 2 kobolds charge
into the room from the north-east.'
Sarak — 'I'm casting my sleep spell!'
Brumhold — 'I'll save you, Norval'
Sue asks one o f the players to make an
initiative roll t o see i f they react quickly
enough. Jon rolls a 5, and Sue rolls a 3.
The party w i l l r e a c t first. S a r a k ' s spell,
according t o t h e description S u e h a s i n
the rule book and a roll o f t w o dice, w i l l
put all the kobolds to sleep. Sue tells the
players that this is so.
Brumhold ' I ' m checking t h e w a y they
came in. Can I see any more coming?'
Sue — ' N o . _ but it is dark, and you can't
see very far.'
Jolinda p u l l s Norva o u t f r o m u n d e r t h e
net, w h i l e L e m m y searches t h e f a l l e n
kobolds — quietly slaying each w i t h h e r
dagger. Sue is aware that a second group
of kobolds will n o w make an appearance,
and she rolls a die to decide w h e t h e r the
party is surprised b y them. Fortunately,
they hear the kobolds coming.
Sue ' M o r e sounds come from the east
tunnel. You see a huge, ugly kobold enter,
carrying a sword. O n e i t h e r side o f h i m
are four big, mean-looking kobolds. They
see the bodies, h o w l obscenities at you,
and rush to the attack.'
The players quickly describe the reactions
of t h e i r characters. S a r a k h a s used h i s
only spell, and runs for the entrance, and
Lemmy d i v e s f o r t h e s h a d o w s . W i t h
Norva struggling t o g e t free o f t h e net,
only Jolinda a n d B r u m h o l d a r e f r e e t o
face the kobold chief and his bodyguards.
The players lose t h e initiative roll, s o
Sue rolls to see i f the kobolds h i t them.
The players are unlucky. The chief kobold
and a bodyguard h i t Brumhold, a n o t h e r
hits Jolinda. S u e rolls again t o f i n d t h e
damage caused, and tells the players t o
subtract this from t h e current h i t points
for their adventurers. B r u m h o l d is badly
w o u n d e d — he has just 1 of his previous 7
hit points left, while Jolinda, w h o started
at 6 hit points, n o w has only 2.
It i s n o w t h e p l a y e r s t u r n t o a c t .
Brumhold s w i n g s a n d h i t s o n e o f t h e
bodyguards, k i l l i n g i t i n s t a n t l y. J o l i n d a
I M A G I N E ma9adne, March 1984

ALIAS14DRVA
RDNARMS!
THECHIEFOF-
1HEKOI5OLD5/
&UTNOT
FORLONG...,
misses. Sue tells Nic that his fighter has
successfully escaped from under the net.
For the next round of combat, initiative
is rolled again, and the players win. Norva
rushes in and kills a bodyguard, Jolinda
wounds another, b u t B r u m h o l d misses.
The situation is now desperate, since it is
the kobolds' turn t o hit, a n d any b l o w is
likely t o k i l l B r u m h o l d o r J o l i n d a . B u t
Terry suddenly a n n o u n c e s t h a t L e m m y
will leap out of the shadows, aiming her
shortsword at the back of the chief. She
adds 4 to her 'to hit' roll, since she is using
her thief's backstabbing ability, and then
doubles t h e d a m a g e d o n e a s w e l l . T h e
result is t h a t t h e chief falls to the floor,
with the sword between his shoulders.
With t h e c h i e f d e a d , S u e m a k e s a
morale t h r o w f o r t h e t w o r e m a i n i n g
guards, to determine whether they remain
in the fight. They choose to run, but do not
get f a r before Norva a n d Jolinda s t r i k e
them down. The adventurers take a well-
earned r e s t , a n d S a r a k r e t u r n s t o j o i n
them. L e m m y h a s completed h e r grisly
work o n t h e sleeping creatures, h a v i n g
spared just one — Grobsek....
Brumhold — 'Curse it, t h a t w a s close. I
thought we were dead, until.... until....'
Lemmy ' I saved y o u r neck, e h hero?
Don't m e n t i o n i t . J u s t b e c a u s e y o u ' r e
dumb as they come, I w o u l d n ' t let you get
done over by something even uglier.'
Brumhold — 'You make it very difficult to
be grateful for long, cut-throat....'
Jolinda — ' W e m u s t n o t f o r g e t t o o ff e r
grateful prayer for our deliverance.'
Norva — ' B u t w h a t n o w ? Y o u a n d
Brumhold are sorely hurt, and our mage
has cast his only spell. Do we press on, or
do we seek a safer refuge?'
The players discuss their choices, aware
of t h e d a n g e r t h e i r characters face. D o
they go, or stay? How should they decide?
Next month - The Treasure
0 0 Jim Bambra & Paul Ruiz
IMAGINE magating, March 1964
DISPEL CONFUSION
Role-playing games have complex rules
which s o m e t i m e s c a u s e p r o b l e m s o f
interpretation to garners. D i s p e l Confus-
ion is a c o l u m n intended to help garners
by providing solutions to these problems.
A t present we mainly answer questions
about TSR games, and while the answers
we arrive at may not be fully official, w e
do a t l e a s t h a v e c o n t a c t w i t h t h e
designers.
A n answer column needs questions, so
send yours to: D i s p e l Confusion, T S R
UK L t d , T h e M i l l , R a t h m o r e R o a d ,
C A M B R I D G E CB1 4 A D .
DUNGEONS & D R A G O N S ®
and ADVANCED DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS® games
Q. A r e rangers s p e l l s identical t o true
magic-user s p e l l s (ie r e q u i r i n g t h e
ranger to possess a spell book, use
material components etc), or merely
similar in effect? (Advanced)
A. T h e u s e o f m a g i c - u s e r s p e l l s b y
rangers is identical in all respects to
their u s e b y t r u e m a g i c users.
Rangers are bound by the restrictions
of intelligence as far as the number
of magic-user spells they may know
is concerned. They are also subject to
the rules concerning the acquisition
of magic-user spells set out on p39 of
the Dungeon Masters Guide.
However, t h e r e i s a m a j o r differ-
ence w i t h spells w h i c h are variable
in t h e i r effects b y t h e level o f t h e
caster (such as dancing lights). In a
case like this, the ranger is treated as
being h i s o r h e r level m i n u s 8 f o r
magic user spells, or his or her level
minus 7 f o r d r u i d i c spells. T h u s a
10th level r a n g e r casts magic-user
spells as t h o u g h a 2 n d level m a g i c
user and druidic spells as though a
3rd level druid.
Q. W h a t d o e s a q u a r t e r s t a ff cost? I t s
price i s n o t g i v e n i n t h e P l a y e r s
Handbook. (Advanced)
A. A quarterstaff is one of the simplest
weapons i n t h e w o r l d — n o t m u c h
more t h a n a s i x f o o t l e n g t h o f
hardwood, such as ash. Consequent-
ly we think its price would be no more
than 2sp. T h e o n l y simpler weapon
we can think of is a rock — and they
are free!
Q. G i v e n t h a t half-elves a n d h a l f - o r c s
(in t h e Advanced game) exist, w h y
aren't there any half-dwarves, half-
ling-gnomes o r dwarf-elves? (Basic
& Advanced)
A. H a l f - e l v e s and half-orcs are hybrids
of those races w i t h h u m a n beings,
who a r e , i f y o u l i k e , t h e b a s i c
humanoid creature of the game. The
other races a r e n o t prolific e n o u g h
(or t h a t w a y inclined) t o interbreed
with each o t h e r. T h e Racial Prefer-
ences Table (PH pi 8) shows just how
f e w of t h e races w o u l d g e t o n w e l l
enough. The o n l y exceptions to this
general p r i n c i p l e a r e probably o r c s
who, g i v e n t h e chance, w i l l b r e e d
with anything.
Q. H o w does a potion of fire resistance
work against dragon breath w h e n i t
reduces the amount of damage done
per damage die? Dragon breath does
not work that way. (Advanced)
A. D r a g o n b r e a t h i s calculated a s t h e
equivalent of the dragon's current hit
points. Therefore we suggest that the
effect o f a potion o f f i r e r e s i s t a n c e
would b e t o reduce t h e a m o u n t o f
damage done by dragon breath by 2
points per hit die of the dragon.
As an example: a 9 h i t dice adult
red dragon (with 5 h i t points per h i t
die giving 45 hit points and 45 points
of d a m a g e f o r i t s b r e a t h w e a p o n )
would be treated as a 9 hit dice sub-
adult dragon with 3 hit points per hit
die when breathing on someone who
had consumed a potion of fire resist-
ance. A n o t h e r adventurer s t a n d i n g
next t o t h i s potion-tippler w i l l s t i l l
take 45 points of damage. The moral
of this example is share your potions
with your friends.
Q. I f a Cleric with a wisdom of 18 gains a
pearl o f w i s d o m does the use of the
item e n a b l e t h e c l e r i c t o g a i n a
wisdom of 19? (Advanced)
A. Ye s . T h e c l e r i c i n q u e s t i o n w o u l d
gain a wisdom of 19 for as long as the
pearl w a s i n h i s o r h e r possession.
Details of the effects of this improved
wisdom c a n b e f o u n d o n p 7 o f t h e
DEITIES St D E M I G O D S ' Cyclo-
pedia.
* Mike Brunton, Graeme Morris,
Phil Gallagher and Jim Bambra
43
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and Publications Ltd
Arlon House, Station Road,
Kings Langley, Herts, WD4 8LF
Telephone: 092/77 68328
7CD'AvV,IV n)
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Boxed with full colour illustration. Contains 12 sheets of illustrated card of flooring, stone, bare
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Dungeon Accessory Pack II. E2.95
Boxed with full colour illustration. This pack is designed to expand your adventure, includes,
boats, rafts, trees, doors, windows, table, chairs, beds, treasure, skulls, swords and many more
items in this pack. 12 sheets, 1 graph paper.
Jumbo flex Pad E2.95
Size 17" x 25" of large consecutively numbered hexes suitable for campaign mapping and
expanding on commercially produced board games, contains 10 sheets.
Felt Hex E12.95
Playing surface for role playing and the wargamer. One inch hexes printed on high quality felt,
6' x 4' colours green, blue, sand, black.
Plain Felt E6.25 per metre, 72 inch wide, colours green, blue, sand and black.
Hex Paper Pad 0 . 9 5 ISSUE
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Macro Hex Pad E1.95
oso°
A hex paper with a large hex overprinted, enabling an area from a campaign map to be blown
up and drawn in detail. 50 sheets.
ISSUE 3 O U T NOW!
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This is a sheet of clear plastic for use as an overlay. " TO RT U R E D S O U L S ! " t h e b e s t i n v a l u e - f o r - m o n e y g a m i n g .
Size 17" x 25" can be used over and over again. Hexes are numbered consecutively. Each i s s u e c o n t a i n s 4 o r m o r e m o d u l e s , i n c l u d i n g a s p e c i a l
Jumbo 1" Square E2.95 one f o r n o v i c e s ( w i t h a d v a n c e d o p t i o n s ) a n d a c h a l l e n g i n g
10 sheets 17" x 25", 1" grids printed on parchment paper with air brush terrain. solo a d v e n t u r e ( s e e a r e v i e w o f i s s u e 1 i n t h i s m a g a z i n e ) .
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40 pictures, full explanation on rear Vol I The Crimean War, Vol II The 2nd Afghan War 1879

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50 A4 sheets of paper suitable for Dungeon
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Cry Havoc E9.95
Medieval skirmish game of knights,
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Starship Captain E12.95
Science fiction game, 9 playboards, realistic
action. All components sold separate E2.85.
City of Sorcerers E9.95
Fantasy adventure game in two parts.
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44 Please m e n t i o n I M A G I N E m a g a z i n e w h e n r e p l y i n g t o a d v e r t i s e m e n t s
 1101110•011111111111111=A01110•0•0110•0110110•0111111110110•0•1111111111111110•011101110

This m o n t h , C o h n G r e e n l a n d takes a

Fifm Review look at more films w i t h a s c i - f i / fantasy

theme t h a t m i g h t appeal to adventure
garners: Krull, Never Say Never Again,
and on video, The Raven.

•OMEIELIEDIELIMIDOEIEEELIME11011011EMEIME110•111•0110•10•0111111•00111110•1111110

What i s i t a b o u t w o r l d s o f fantasy a n d his refresher course, a n d h a s t o spend don't have any of those things' apologizes
magic t h a t m a k e s t h e m s o vivid i n t h e time a t a health f a r m before going back Price. 'We're vegetarians.' Not so m u c h a
mind's eye but so difficult t o capture on into t h e field. H i s gadgets a r e n ' t w h a t raven, more a bit of a lark.
celluloid? The planet of Krull (Columbia, they w e r e , e i t h e r, w i t h Q ' s department
PG), b e s i d e s locations i n I t a l y a n d t h e feeling the pinch of budget cuts. But the Speaking o f b i r d s , d i d y o u k n o w t h a t
Canaries, o c c u p i e d t w e n t y - t h r e e l a v i s h luxurious locations are the same as ever, Hitchcock's movie needed 3,200 of them,
sets a t P i n e w o o d f o r f i v e m o n t h s . I t if not more confusing, w i t h a shark fight all specially trained? T h a t J o a n Collins,
features a friendly cyclops,
a fourteen-foot crystal
spider ( n o t friendly), s i x -
teen h o r s e s w i t h f l a m i n g
hooves, a n d a m o u n t a i n
that flies through space —
and yet, and yet....
Krull i s t h e s t o r y o f
Prince C o l w y n (Ken M a r -
shall) a n d h i s q u e s t t o
rescue P r i n c e s s Ly s s a
(Lysette Anthony) from the
Beast a n d h i s i n h u m a n
Slayers. D i r e c t o r P e t e r
Yates s u r r o u n d s h i s h e r o
with a m o t l e y b a n d o f
fantasy f i g u r e s , w i z a r d s
and r o g u e s , b u t m a k e s
very l i t t l e u s e o f t h e i r
characters. A l l Lyssa gets
to do is run up and down in
a f r i l l y w h i t e dress, w h i l e
Colwyn a n d c r e w a r e
shunted relentlessly f r o m
awesome set to awesome
set. ( ' O n l y o n e p e r s o n /
thing can help us now: the
Magic G l a i v e / E m e r a l d
S e e r / W i d o w of the Web.
We m u s t go t o t h e G r e a t
S w a m p / I r o n Desert/Black Fortress with- in t h e Bahamas and a bike chase in the Eartha Kitt and Liberace all played villains
out d e l a y. ' ) S o m e o f t h e s e t w o r k i s South of France — or was it the other way in the B a t m a n TV series? That Bruce, the
undeniably i m p r e s s i v e , e s p e c i a l l y t h e round? At times Connery comes on just a Jaws shark, w a s named a f t e r Steven
interiors of the Black Fortress, which look shade t o o deliberate, a s i f r e m i n d i n g Spielberg's attorney? That if Christopher
as i f t h e y w e r e carved o u t o f b o n e b y himself of w h o he is supposed to be, but Reeve h a d n ' t g o t t h e p a r t , S u p e r m a n
Salvador Dail. I f as m u c h attention h a d apart from that he emerges quite credit- might w e l l h a v e been played b y Robert
been p a i d t o t h e p l o t a s t o t h e visuals, ably. D o n ' t expect h i m t o h a v e learned Redford? You didn't? Well, w h a t you need
instead of all this 'It is the time. I / w e must anything about changing sexual manners, is t h e H a m l y n B o o k o f H o r r o r a n d S F
g o / s t a y alone/ together' stuff, perhaps it though. L i k e K r u l l , N e v e r S a y N e v e r M o v i e Lists. Roy Pickard lists everything
wouldn't be so hard to care what happens Again i s a complacent m a l e sexist fan- from the historical (all 71 H a m m e r films)
next. tasy, w h e r e w o m e n can be only fernmes to the horrible (50 grisliest scenes), from
fatales or passive victims. Mad Doctors to Music Scores, from S t a r
Doing it once more with feeling is also the Trek credits to King Kong's vital statistics.
problem o f J a m e s B o n d i n t h e approp- Come to that, t h e same is true of Roger (And do you want to know who did his hair
riately t i t l e d N e v e r S a y N e v e r A g a i n Corman's T h e R a v e n , t h o u g h t h a t w a s in the 1976 remake?). Entertain guests by
(Warner, PG). Fighting off cruise missiles made t w e n t y years ago. N o w o n v i d e o listing all ten curses from T h e A b o m i n -
with one hand and toupee jokes with the from O r i o n , i t f e a t u r e s V i n c e n t Price, able Dr Phibes or the ten rea/ curses that
other, S e a n C o n n e r y m a k e s a m u c h - Peter L o r r e a n d J a c k N i c h o l s o n a s a n jinxed T h e E x o r c i s t . B a f f l e e x p e r t s .
trumpeted comeback i n a m o v i e loosely improbable t r i o r o m p i n g i r r e v e r e n t l y Amaze f a m i l y a n d f r i e n d s . B e c o m e
based o n t h e o n l y f r a g m e n t o f B o n d through a yarn that must have had Edgar absolutely insufferable.
written by Ian Fleming but not bought up Allan Poe turning in his vault. Lorre gets Colin Greenland
by Cubby Broccoli. changed into a big black bird (no, not the Watch this space next month when David
Wisely (apart from the toupee) Director Maltese Falcon) b y D r Scarabus (Boris Pringle w i l l b e b a c k a f t e r a p e r i o d o f
Irvin K e r s h e r h a s chosen t o emphasize Karloff — yes, h e ' s i n t h e r e too, s o m e - unexpected absence, r e v i e w i n g s o m e
Bond's a g e i n s t e a d o f d i s g u i s i n g i t . where). He begs Price for the ingredients f a n t a s y / science f i c t i o n b o o k s r e c e n t l y
Certainly Bond h a s n e v e r l o s t s o m a n y of a spell t o s e t h i m right: 'Dead m a n ' s published that m i g h t be i n s p i r a t i o n a l to
fights before. He gets killed twice during hair? B a t ' s blood? Jellied spiders?' ' W e adventure garners.
IMAGINE magazine, March 1984 45
 'TRUE ENOUGH...THE ROOM HAS VANISHED
qARDOR OF OLD, MYSTIC SAGE/SORCERER,AND BRINGER OF VERY
AWKWARD tDD(fiS LEAVES IN A PUFF OF CRON SULPHUR 8trEcHlyof1/15if AND THEY ARE IN A VAST CAVERN..
I COULDN'T EVEN SEE
HIM...SOME THINGABOUT
A GUARDIAN. .I THINK.

'MEWAND NOW LISTEN HERE°141000)?

WIzARDAIvE MUSK' HELLSPAWN THOU ARTSO
ME/NEWAND. STAND ASIDE OR FACE MINE SWORD
..,01kY0USIIALL DANTE- tis t4 vs undead so I WIIIN
NEVERPASS. tH.f)
46 I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984
 A BLINDING qltEEttaSH-WRITE FLASK
ENGULFS THE UNDEAD CREATURE
2,* MUCH TO EVERYONE SURPRISE
wELL.,.1Tsc•,_
.joRcH 1 NOD THA'WUS
CLEVER WIZARD
Al LIKED THAq!

c'AJ
NIGHT SWIFT)OF COURSE,
PRETENDED IT WAS INTENTIoNAl_

THE'DYINCCREATURE RAISES TH51ORTCULLiS 4 A v t i v i , , c l e THE PARTY CHARGE PASTAS THE B a u m _ R y

OF SOME FEARSOME DENIZEN
H CA VE !HESFIND!
ISSUES
/10 r

BUT FOR"ONE DWARF AND HIS BOGCURIOSI TY IS -ro SAY THE PARTY MOVED IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION
FASTER THAN THEY HAD EVER MOVED BEFORE WOULD BE
AuCHreKIIN KRELLS T O O MUCH GROSS UNDERSTATEMENT
NAME,D0 NOT TARRY

th'43-cArtiottiropfk•••• t-11
N44;t:1441is<111 M I T !

ITS A _PUT GUESSWHA'ITS

6)RACTON Go-r•FfVf HEADS!'

I M A G I N E magazine, March 1984 47
 THESCENE;ANHOURHASPASSED..WEARYTHE
ADVENTURERSWAITANDHOPE."
I STILLTHINKWESHOULD t.

HAVESTAYEDANDFOUGHT
RECr!
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ADVENTURERS,ACRACK
/OPENSABOVEINACAVERNWALL
48 I M A G I N E magazine, Mann 1984
 Games FOR WAR, FANTASY
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--xec. Se, -_..ecook s.a.,-a- • e • s screen E 9 95 OTHER SUNS - Challenging sf rpg
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PRNATETERS & GENTLEMEN - - E a. -7.0 ' 235-• E2: MERC modern mercenary rpg. skirmish wargame
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P r i n t e d b y T A V I S T O C K P R E S S ( B E D F O R D ) L T D . , M a n t o n L a n e , B e d f o r d M K 4 1 7 P G . Te l e p h o n e 1 0 2 3 4 1 5 8 5 1 7 . I S S N 0264-1399
 A

An epic TSRTm production in glorious monochrome

featuring words on paper from trees!

Based on the original module monsters but including

a galaxy of new stars
SOLIFUGID B O G G A R T
as 'the creature with lots of legs' a s 'the incredible shifting man'

KAMPHULT T h e MUNE
as 'the sinewy mugger' a s HERSELF
And introducing the
BOOKWORM
The producers at TSR wish -)Adva e d
to thank the Outer Planes of Dunseon r a s o n s
MONSTER MANUAL
Good, and the Lower Outer
Planes o f Gehenna f o r
making the crowd scenes
such fun.

The Mill, Rathmore Road,

Cambridge CB1 4AD
I l k , TTelephone
S R UK0223 Limited,
212517