$3.00 OCTOBER 1982 ei a eal gil 3 SPACE CAMER THE MAGAZINE OF ADVENTURE GAMING Unnight: Moye fo Beta cura cog Space Opera ? x EXPLOSIVE SCATTER GUN ei ae ce Or Na aa a:) PIRATES & PLUNDER i Pia O) 3b) 71) 1) METAMORPHOSING MONSTERS: D&D TO TFT GENCON REPORT AND 7 PAGES OF REVIEWS TTPOSTAR VENTURE As your feet of two destroyers, a cruiser, a tanker and a troop traneport moved into orbit around the planet Omega in the Polaris system, the fret bias of lethal energy flashed trom the forts of the colony below. Aiready your allies have landed troops and alien warsiors on the other ske af the planet. Very soon the heavy planctary fighting venicles of their qroune forces wil engage the enemy's colony detenses. You begin to tre your beam weapons, holding yourr missiles and powerful fighters unt lust the right moment. The message is received; your allies have equi the attack. You launch your missiles and ightersand start your trangport toward the surface and with it you launch into Another Siar Venture ‘Star Venture is a fully computerized grané scale game of stelle rade, exploration, conquest and diplomacy. Star Venture |g continuous game that may beentered atanytime. Turns have 1 time limit and may be submitted at any time for immediate valuation by the computer [AS new player, you will start ae the commander of a starship, How you will proceed in your steller career is your Choice to make. Pernaps you will become a staller merchant prince making your fortune among the stars. You willuse several Classes of star Ireighter to mave the goods {rom the colonies that produce them to every outpost of the steller empire Maybe you wil choose to be & great explorer seeking out Rew worlds of wonder, searching for new supplies of natural Fesources or strange and valuable biological samples, Perhaps you will choose to become @ mighty star warrior sith powertul weapons such as beams, missiles and huge space fighters, that nave the combat ability of a small starship, all at your command. The game presents no restrictions the choices, are all yours. ‘Star Ventura also allows the construction of colonies Colonies serve as the base of production, essential logistics and trade, Ships, colonies and ground forces require foodand fuelto ‘operate, thus the logistics of each operation must be caretully planned. Secure bases of operations are very important Ground parties may be formed for combat or exploration Ground forces include special planetary fighting vehicles as wel fas the various troope and coloniss. For the exploration of natural ‘resources, you will use the sophisticated planetary exploration vehicle which is also useful for collecting rare and valuable iological samples from the strange worlds you visit Using @ powerful computer system, each turn evaluated using the speed nd accuracy of optical mark sense scanning and the power of a computer with 23 million bytes ‘on-line, hard disk storage. All this to bring you highly detailed turn and battle evaluations with no codes to decipher. 1982 by Schubel & Son ‘Star Venture offers these features No limit, other than your resources, tothe number of actions you may pertorm each turn Full computer moderation with no gememaster interference Thicteen dlierent to nuge stairs larship types ranging from small scouts ‘Over 40 diferent commands to control your ships, colonies ‘and ground troops Machine-read turn she s which virtually eliminates the pos: This second generation, play-by-mai! game is run by the leader in play-by-mail withthe experience of well over 100,000 turis processed by our company The cost of Star Venture is 256 per action you take (with a §2 minimum per turn), The stating sot up fee Is $5. ‘Arule book is $5 Send $10 lor your rule book and set up fee to enter the game. Schubel & Son Enter me in Star Venture Aaceess iy. sia | aPublisher: ‘Steve Jackson Editor: ‘Aaron Allston Art Director: Denis Louber Contributing Editors: W.G. Armintrout William A, Barton David Boldue Ronald Pehr Lewis Pulsipher John Rankin Nick Schuessler Business Manager: Elton Fewell Circulation Manager Chris Smith Utility Infietders: Bernice Fewell Pat Muollor Elisabeth Zakes Utility Outtielder (Chris Zakes ART IN THIS ISSUE Cover: Victoria Wh J. David George: 8, 31. Denis Lou- bet: mailer cartoon, 7, 10, 17, 18, 20, 24,26, 27. Robert E. Manns: 2. Gavin Marmolejo: 4, George Webber: 12. Ficeawer THE SPACE GAMER (ISSN 01949977, USPS 434.250) ie published ‘monthly by Steve Jockson Gams, P.O, Box 18967, Austin, TX 787606987. Second cows post aye paid a Austin, TX. POSTMASTER: Seed addrets changer to 5 Games, .0, Box 1997, Austin, TX 78760-2987, ‘Al' material is copyright © 1982 by 83 Game. ll rights reserved. Printed in USA by Best Printing, Austin, Subscription rate, 9 of 4781 ‘nthe United States — one your (12 Issues) $21.00; two years (24 issues) $39.00. A lifetime eubserotion is $260. Outside the US. — please add $6 por year for surface ‘mail. Alrmall rates vary by country — please sei for your current airmail rate, Inter= ational rates subject to change 26 postal fates chonge, NOTE: All payments MUST be in US. dollars, made by Intornationat Money Order, or checks drawn on 8 US. or Canadian bank, THE SPACE CAMER NUMBER 56 — OCTOBER, 1982 IN THIS ISSUE ‘Seems | just can’t win had it made. This issue was going to have every single article I'd promised for it in the Next Issue box from issue 55. What happens? Along comes one of ‘the best pieces of news we've had in a year: We can now return TSG to a slick: paper format, But | have to pull two of the promised articles .. . (whimper, scuffle, sniffle, sob) This issue is heavily (almost exclusively) RPG material ~ not by editorial praference, but we got a lot in from contributors. TFT, D&D, Traveller, Space Opera, and (believe it or not) Pirates & Plunder are all heavily represented. For more news on the wonderful world of slick, check out Where We're Going, which starts on page 12, and also includes an overview of GenCon. Meta/ touches (on many of the miniatures industry's Origins releases, and Scanner is a5 Af newsy as usual. Until next month . —Aaron Allston ARTICLES ‘Motamorphosing Monsters * Steve Jackson ‘Converting Monster Manual creatures to TFT The Splat Gun * William A. Barton ‘Avheavy weapon for light assault teams in Traveller ADVENTURE GAME SUPPLEMENT Unnight * Stefan Jones ‘A.campaign-world for Space Opera Pirates & Plunder * W.G. Armintrout Capsule Reviews GAMES: Claw Law, Fanty Wergaming, Superillaing, SUPPLEMENTS: Liber. ation at Riverton, RuneQuest Borderlands, The Soloman Rim, Trall of the Sky Faiders. ARCADE GAMES: Berzerk, Chopper Command, Taxman. MINIATURES EN Chariot, Zhodani Miltary/Sword Worlds Miltary/Imperial Striker Force. PLAY AIDS! Traveller Dice. COLUMNS Where We're Going * Steve Jackson . Metal * John Rankin DEPARTMENTS Game Maer Scanner Convention Galndar | Index to aavervaers > PEM UpdateA lot of you RPG fans out there are laying The Fantasy Trip; according to Jame Merchandising, it’s currently the second most popular role-playing game in the US. But one thing TFT lacks, com- pared to almost every other major fantasy system, is a “monster book.” GMs are limited to the creatures in the original Jn the Labyrinth book, plusa few introduced in various supplements. However, TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons does have a monster book — in fect, it has several, In addition to the official Monster ‘Manual, there have been any number of privately published collections of beast- ies. The Manual itself has over 350 dif- ferent creature descriptions ... and while some of them are trite (giant frogs) or repetitions of standard fantasy material (men, dwarves, elves, orcs) there is also a lot of original material. Such creatures as the ankheg, bullette, gelatinous cube, and. rust monster are purely D&D creations. True, the descriptions in the Monster ‘Manual acc incompatible with TFT. But this is easily dealt with, This article will offer a system for “translating” beasts to the TET system. The translation is not exact; ereatures from the Manual may be more or less deadly when converted to TET. But its fainly close, and it will cer- tainly provide you with a hortid new batch of beasties. Note that I've written this treatment in terms of Original D&D and variants; armor classes and hit dice may have to be modified for stats in Advanced D&D. To take the characteristics in the order they're listed in the Manual: D&D isa trademark of TSR Hobbies, Ine The Fantasy Trip tsa trademark of Metagaming. Frequency is sl-explanatory. Page 5 of the Manual gives “official” percentage chances for each frequency classification, but there's no real reason for you to be bound by these if the structure of your world demands otherwise, If a certain swamp is crawling with catoblepas, 90 be it! But remember that any thick concen- tration of a nonnally-rae monster would probably be known to natives ofthe area, and would not come a a total suprise to adventurers who had bothered to inquire about local conditions Number Appearing is also a general guideline; use it or not, as you see fit ‘As a guide to the “social” habits of the creature, it’s good. If you're slavishly rolling dice, that’s not so good. Use your judgment! Armor Class, in the D&D system, is a catchall for physical protection, magical defense, and the innate difficulty-to-it caused by a creature's small size or high dexterity. TFT handles this concept by using two different numbers: a sutrac- tion from the attacker's DX (for a target that is hard to hit) and a subtraction from damage done if the target is tougher than Unprotected human flesh), To translate 4 creature's “armor class” into the two TET stats, proceed as follows: (1) Compare the creature's natural amor with the list below to get a “natur al armor class.” This is the armor class the ereature would have iit had no mag: ical defenses and did not move about. Read across from the natural armor class to the “hits stopped” column. This shows how many hits, in TET terms, that sort of armor absorbs. from each’ blow that stukesit. Adapting D&D Creatures to TFT by Steve Jackson NATURAL HITS STOPPED ARMOR CLASS. INTFT AC9: soft Body without protection 0 ACB: thin chitin or light furor 1. ‘shield only ACT: leather armor, medium fur, 2 or light scales AC6: leather + shield, or heavier 3 fur or scales ACS: chainmail, or heay reptile 3 sales AC4: mail and shield, oF medium — 4 dragon sealer AC3: plate armor, ora sell s ‘AC 2: plate and shield, heay shell, 6 (rola dragon sales (2) Take the difference between the creature’s natural armor class and its ‘actual armor class as given in the Manual. If the difference is only 1, ignore it. If is more than 1, it will probably be due to either magic powers or great elusiveness on the part of the ereature. Example: the Morkoth is shown as being vaguely octo- poid; this would imply soft skin (AC 9) However, itis described as AC 3, which is ‘much harder to hit, This difference of 6 ‘must be accounted for. We do this by assessing a DX- on any attack against the creature, For every 2 points difference between the natural armor class and the “real” AC from the Manual, subtract 1 from the DX of any attack against it. ‘Thus, the Morkoth, with its AC 9 skin and a “true” AC of 3 has a 6-point differ. ential. Half of 6 is 3; any attack against a Morkoth in a TFT adventure will be at DX.-3. However, the AC 9-equivalent skin ‘means that no hits are stopped; if a sword hits home on a Morkoth, it’s in trouble. ‘Move gives a distance in inches repre- senting the creature's speed. The listingsNew [| GAMES for Fall-Xmas ’82! #9800 SLAPSHOT Suggested Retail $9 Wheeling and dealing card gome for hockey nuls of al ages. Assume the role of team manager; Imprave team by crating ‘and trading players such as Bobby How, LeGoon, Gay Blade. Hip Checker, Siash Gordon, Puck Rogers, 66 inal Two fo 10 can play, #838 DRAGONHUNT Suggested Retail §46 ‘A.game fot 210.6 persons thot catopauits the player into the mysterious land of Arawan. There: each ployer is challenged 10 liberate Arewan fom the menace ‘f the great Dragon while holding his own against fantastic ona human adversaries. Unique and excting from beginning 10 end for ages 12 & up. #202 LITTLE ROUND TOP Suggested Retail 86 Contaderale commanders maneuver capture LITTLE ROUND TOP. Skategy game for 2 players which recreates the citeal stand et the 20th Maine Regiment at the Bata f Gatiysburg, The players representing Union Gnd. smpany sized Units over a map of the battle area, and engage in fie ond melee combat, atiemping to defend or #8223 G.l. ANVIL OF VICTORY Suggested Retail $30 Third and largest Squad Leader expansion gamettel Players command ‘ne fullorsanall of US. fighting men ond machines of Wil 14 Scenarios fecreate situations in Afica, Scly aly, Normandy, across the Rhine Into Germany ise, Ownership of Squad Leader. Cross of ron. Crescendo of Doom a must. For experienced wargamers only #8224 SQUAD LEADER TRILOGY (not shown) Suggested Retail $45 ‘Combines Squad Leager, Cross of ron, anat (Crescendo of Doom in & Segame Ubrary ack with Protective Sleeve, All roe games required for play of G1. Anvil of Vietory. $50 Yolal value when purchased separately #839 TITAN Suggested Rela $46 A tantasy strategy _gome for 2 10 6 players. Fach player monouvers 0 alse the strongest Logions of morsitous creatures, such as Bragons ane Hycras, and ‘atiompis to ellminate other players’ tans ‘and Legions ina Tantashe demalition derby. The owner of he las! Tian In play is the winner #200 THE LEGEND OF ROBIN HOOD Suggested Retail $6 A strategy game for 2 players, The Oullaw player mobilizes the Band of Merry Men and uses them to harass the Sheri, rob rich fravelers, safeguard Maid Marion, and gain the Pardon of King Richard. The Sheri player maneuvers hs knighis and soldiers To keep the outlaws in check and help Prince John remain In power. IM The Avalon Hill Game Company CCC tee Mec ue Meee Ae Rak eee)4 in the Manual may be considered suspect: for instance, a human moves 12”,a dwart only 6”. Are dwarves only half as fast as humans? Not likely For any humanoid type, use MA 8, 10, or 12, depending on whether the creature seems us though it should be generally slow, average, or fast when com: pared 10 aman; ignore the “Move” listing entirely For animals, use the MA for a compar: able creature from TET: ITL. For peculiar and unique monsters (which is what you should be using the Manual for anyhow) allow 1 MA for each. inch of movement, All MA. should be even mumbers. A ground MA of more than 16” is very unlikely except for a riding creature, Note that some creatues will have ground, water, and/or air speeds listed, all of which may be different. Hit Dice refers to a creature’s vulner- ability; it is a measure of how many hits it can take, not how much damage it does. However, it can function as a guide to the tange of strengths appropriate for creatures of that type. A 6:sided die (which is the type used for “hit dice” in the Manual) has an average roll of 3.5; therefore, a “6-die creature” can take an average of 21 hits, but could conceivably take as few as 6 hits, or as many as 36. In TET terms, this would mean an aver: age ST of 21, with a range of 6 to 36. However, the range of hits in the Mon- ster Manual, figured this way, is greater than in TFT. The strongest’ beginning human character in a D&D game can take only 8 hits ~ but he will soon advance to levels where he can take 60 or more hits. Contrast this with TET, where a beginning character is likely to start with a ST of at least 10 — possibly up to 18! — but is unlikely to get much past 24. The dispar- ity in the abilities of ereatures is equally wide, In TET terms, creatures from the Manual are very puny — until they begin to get strong, when they are very strong indeed Therefore, to derive a reasonable TFT strength from the hit points of a creature from the Monster Manual: If a creature has 1 ot 2 hit dice, mul- tiply its average hit points by 3 to get an average TFT strength. Ifa creature has 3 or 4 hit dice, mul tiply its average hit points by 2.5 If a creature has 5 ot 6 hit dice, mul tiply its average hit points by 2. If a creature has 7 or more hit dice multiply its average hit points by 1.5. Again, we are talking about averages. The maximum hit points (L¢., TET strength) of any creature will he nearly twice the average for that type! % in Lair is not a statistic you'll need at all, unless you're generating your whole adventure by die rolls. You're not, are you? Treasure Type refers the Manual user to a series of lists. Check these to see what general sort of treasure the authors intended the creature to have — then scale it up or down to fit your own cam- paign. Most of the time these lists are ‘much too generous. Number of Attacks may be taken as written, Note that many creatures will be surprisingly powerful because they have several attacks, Damage/Attack gives the amount of damage a ereature does when it hits. (A. creature with multiple attacks may do different damage with each one.) The Monster Manual wives this in terms of “ranges” — for instanee, “1-6 should be ead “I to 6,” or “Id6.” Unfortunately. for the TFT player, some creatures attack with 4-sided dice, some with 6-siders, some with 8-siders. . . and so on. You Oa have two options here: you can either acquire polyhedral dice and roll them as per the book, or you can work out prob: able damage done and translate it to €6 terms. Example: A creature is listed as doing “2-16” hits damage. A range of 2 to 16 is achieved only by rolling 248 (a pity the authors couldn’t have used that nomenclature). An Sided die has an average roll of 4.5, so two of them have fan average resull oF 9, This can beapprox- mated by rolling three 6-siders and sub: tracting 1 from the result; 346-1, or simply “3-1” gives an average result of 9.5 and a range of 2-17, which is close enough. Some monsters, especially those from “unofficial” sources, will doa truly astounding amount of damage. You have three choices with these: leave them out of your campaign, scale them down to @ reasonable level, or save them for those players who have built up very strong and welkequipped characters. I's a matter of the GM's personal style ‘Special Attacks are too numerous to describe individually, and most of them tie in to magic spells, etc. in the D&D game system. The general solution should be to find a TFT magic spell that approx: mates the effect of the special attack This may then be assigned to the ereatue, either as an innate ability (like the TPT basilisk) or, for an intelligent creature, as a spell known and used in the normal fashion. Innate abilities may or may not require use of ST points or the making of 4 DX roll; let the deseription of that par ticular special attack be your guide Translation of special abilities equires the most care and creativity of any part of this process. Be sure to cover all the bases — duration and area of effect, defenses if any, range — or there'll be an argument in the midale of the game. ‘Special Defenses should be handled as for special attacks. Most can be treated as magic spells, increased dificulty to hit or extia armor protection, Magic Resistance is 2 concept not found in TFT at all, except in certain very rare eases (Le, demons) which are completely resistant to hostile mac. Therefore, ignore it! This will help bal ance certain creatures that are otherwise much too powerful for the average TFT world. Intelligence as given in the Manual, ‘randates roughly as follows: Non-ntelligent: 190 Animal: 194 for reptiles 1Q55 for most mammals 1Q 6 for intelligent mammals Senibintligent (ie. apes): 1Q7 Low intelligence: 10 8 or 9 Average human intelligence: 1Q 10 or 1 Very intelligent: IQ 12 to 14 Highly intelligent: IQ 15 to 18 Genius, supergenius: 10 19 and up Alignment is not used at all in TFT, but can still be used as a guide to “per. sonality.” Chaotics may do anything they please; true chaoties axe rare. Lawfuls will follow a strict code of ‘behavior though you may not agree with itor even know what its. Evils wil behave selfishly and attack if they can. Goods wall not attack unless they perceive you as ev anything that threatens thom is likely to be considered evil. Neutrals will act for theic own convenience, which will usally mean letting others alone — but many “qoutral” creatures are humery. The aver age party of player-characters, incdesally, considers itself to be lawful good and is actually chaotic neutral ‘Size may be given either in height or length. This will tell you how large the counter should be. Allow one hex of size for each 3 feet of length or width. If a creature's size consists mostly of height, it may be a two: or three-hex counter anyway, like a standard giant in TFT. Psionic Ability may be ignored entire- ly, or treated as an innate magic ability of the appropriate type (usually telep athy). If you tke the latter course, “psionic” spells should cost the user no strength, but require the standard roll vs. 19. This completes the roster of character isties listed in the Manual. It also gives us all the characteristics needed to play TFT, with one important exception: dex: terity. Although the D&D system has a “dexterity” characteristic, it is not used to determine the hit probability; the suc- cess of attacks is determined by a compli cated matrix, involving “levels” and mon- sters’hit dice, Therefore, the best way to assign a dexterity to any given creature involves fan assessment of that creature’s overall formidability, rather than any one char- acteristic. Imprecise though it may be, the best solution is simply to assign DX that seems right for that creature, by comparison with known creature types and the following guidelines: DX Probability General Assessment of Hieting 3 ae Worst possible DX. 4 18% 5 46% 6 92% ‘The lowest DX at which a creature has any reesonaile ‘hance of hitting ina com: bat of normal loth 7 8 umsy aman. 9 Deginning to be dangerous 10 Hits exectly half the time, 1 2 1B Formidable, 1“ Desdly, if it does ony dam: ‘age at ll when tht 15 95.4% eo A roll of 16 or more ts on ‘automatic mis, 0 a DX of 16 or more is only sientft ‘ean in a situation where subtractions will apply. Some typical animal comparisons: bear DX 10, ape DX 12, wolf DX 14, Some “imaginary” monsters are likely to be strong but very clumsy, balancing high damage with low hit probability. An im portant note: In TET, dexterity is prob ably the single most important factor de 5 termining how dangerous a creature is. A beast that does, for instance, 3 dice dam age is laughable at DX 7, and murderous at DX 12. A creature with DX 14 or more is formidable even if it does very little damage! If a monster has a DX higher than that of the fighters that face it, those fighters are in trouble, ‘The other important thing to keep in mind when “translating” monsters — and this holds true no matter what game sys toms are involved — is to work them out beforehand. If you're working straight from a book, you can tell your players, “You see three Whatsits,” look up Whats: its on page 34 of your Beastie Book, and go from there. You shouldn't play that ignorantly, but you can, But with trans- lated creatures, you have to do your homework, Adapting the statistics does take time; do it beforehand, and write rything down, (A 3.x 5 card for each creature type is good for this.) That way you won't waste time during play — and you can be sure that your translation is a complete one, and that oddball factors like special attacks have been fully cov- ered. So... . the next time your players are wandering through Cidri, and they spy an orange-brown, armadillo-like creature and rush in with swords swinging... surprise, surprise! Happy monstering. a new concept in play-by-mail gaming Magic and mayhem and lots of excitement! Your hand-picked crew Cf warriors and wizards explores a multi-level labyrinth strewn with glittering teeasure that’s guarded by hordes of slavering monsters — and other adventurers! + Completely computer-moderated © Amultiplayer game Run by the only pbm game company that’s been in the business { 12 years serving thousands of satisfied customers around the world! If you have access to a computer with a modem, you can send AND receive your game turns by electronic mail! ™ Heroic Fantasy’ rules; only $1.00 (in US funds) Flying Buffalo Inc. P.O, Box 1467 @ Dept. D-5 @ Scottsdale, AZ 85252 write for details @ ask for our free cataSE5.A\V-2AL THE SPORTING EVENT OF THE FUTURE ee Dee 5 ; eS Aes 11” x 17” full color mounted game board. ec rE koe ee Er ae Ms Or a : Prey i CR INS Note a OM ORK Lee)The Splat Gun by William A. Barton ‘The Explosive Scatter Gun is one of the favorite heavy weapons of covert operations teams, due primarily to the extensive amount of damage a single burst from the weapon can do, It is ideal for hit-and-run raids in which the goal is to inflict as much damage in as short a time as possible. Originally developed by the Astan, and later copied and adapted for human use by unscrupulous arms ‘manufacturers on the fringes of Imperial space, the weapon is more commonly known as the “Splat Gun” (any target hit ‘goes “splat”) or the “Can Opener.” The Splat Gun is highly illegal any- whete in the Imperium and Imperi controlled space. In fact the weapon is ‘outlawed on all worlds in known space except those with a law level of 0 — and it is strictly controlled on most of these, depending on government type. Note that the Aslan military version is exempt from this outlaw status and can be found in use by military units in the Hierate and by ‘Aslan mercenary units outside the Lmper- jum; the Aslan version, however, is unus able by all but the most powerful of humans. ‘Anyone found in possession ofa Splat Gun in Imperial space is subject to a 20- year jail term in a planetary or an Imper ial prison (though liberal bribes can pos sibly cause authorities to overlook mere possession). Use of a Splat Gun in the ‘commission of a crime, particularly one which causes damage to property or loss of life, however, carries by Imperial regu: lation a mandatory death penalty (bribes to avoid this must be enormous — more than most characters will be able to af- ford). Paradoxically, a number of restric- 7 tive governments on the fringes of the Im. perium and in the Beyond outfit their ‘own armed forces with these weapons; they are excellent for stopping rioters. ‘The weapon was originally developed by the Aslan at about Tech Levels 10-11 to replace the RAM Grenade Launcher a an anti-armor, anti-battledress weapon, for use against ‘higher-tech-level troops. It proved highly suitable for that role; its 10-shell burst was capable of opening up 4 suit of battledress or a lightly-armored ATV or APC. It also proved capable of inflicting damage on more heavily ar mored AFVs, thanks to the mixture of HEAP/HE shells in its single-burst mag- azine and its phased firing nature (this triggers some of the shells in the burst ds bofore others, setting up a action when the shells hit the target), The weapon is of a mediumlength tubular design, resembling a short, thick bazooka 850 mm in length. A padded ‘cut-away shoulder stock curves over and around the shoulder, supporting the weapon and absorbing some ofits substan tial recoil. In front of this is the pistol rip. trigger and sighting scope. About halfway along is a small flash shield, forward of which is the chamber where the 10-round magazine is inserted. The remainder of itslength is the barrel cluster. A secondary hand grip is located near the end of the barcel cluster, just behind the receptacle for the optional telescop- ing bipod attachment, The gun breaks at the flash shield for loading. The magazine is inserted into the chamber and rotated 1 om clockwise until a click is heard, sig nifying it has locked into place. A small catch unlocks the magazine, which is re- ‘moved by rotating counterclockwise and lifting from the chamber. Though ‘here will be slight variations on different od- els, most Splat Guns wall conform his basic configuration, All models gh about 5 kg. The base price of the Splat Gun CR 3,500. The price of a single magaz.ne is CR 250. Each magazine weighs 1 kg, mainly due to the sturdy construction re- quired to prevent it from disintegrating upon firing. The optional bipod costs CR 150, weighs 500 gm and stands 1.5 meters high when fully extended. Prices fon the black market, especially in areas where the gun is illegal, will be much higher. The magazine holds ten shells, half HEAP, half HE. All ten shells in the mag- azine are fired simultaneously when the trigger is pulled, in a phased sequence, the HEAP slightly ahead of the HE: At med- jum range, the 10-ound cluster can destroy or heavily damage anything u toThe Explosive Scatter Gun heavily-armored AFVs; even at long and very long range it can do a lot of damage. The shells travel in a tight pattern until they reach medium range, when they be: gin to spread out. An ATY- or ait/raft- sized target will sil take all ten shells at ‘medium range, unless the aim is slightly off; a humansized target at that range will take about four. By long range and very long range, the shells have. spread into an even wider pattern, so that the “group hits for shotguns” rule may be used, with each of four adjacent human- sized targets taking two shells each and up to two adjacent ATV-sized targets splitting the burst between them. It is not recommended that targets at short range be fired at unless the firer is wear ing battledress or similar protection, as he would be eaught in the backlash of the explosion and may take onequarter damage (on a roll of 7+, 10+ if in battle siess). Firing a Splat Gun at a target at close range is a most effective (and ‘messy) Way to commit suicide, Damage done by the gun isd per shell Range DMs are: Close = (3); Short = (1); Medium = +6; Long = 0; Very Long = -4. Armor DMs are: None = +5; Jack = +5; Mesh = +4; Cloth = +3; Reflect = #5; Ablat = +4; Battle = +1; each level ‘of AFV armor =-2. The Required DX for the Splat Gun is 8, with a3 DM for DX of 7-, Advantageous DX is 11 with a1 DM for DX of 11+. In addition, it takes a ST of 8+ to fire the Splat Gun effect- ively due to the tremendous recoil; if ST is less than 8 there will be an additional -2 DM to hit and the arm of the fer will be numbed for 1-6 rounds and may even be dislocated (Foll 6- on 2d for 1d damage due to dislocation). Any character firing a Splat Gun, te gardless of ST, must roll ST orless on 2¢ to avold being knocked down by the re- coil unless braced against something solid, wearing battledress, or using a tripod. It will take a character who is knocked down one round to stand up or move to prone firing position, plus one round to position the gun. A character wearing battledress does not rsk dislocation, but if his unadjusted ST (before doubling for battledress) is 3., he still risks numbing his arm (roll 6 for 1-3 rounds numbness). ‘No function (firing, loading, ete.) may be performed with a numb arm. Use of the ‘optional bipod with the Splat Gun will add an additional +1 DM to hit It takes two rounds to replace a spent ‘magazine with a new one, three if the fir- er is treated as evading. If the bipod is being used, the reloading time is three rounds, four if evading. Whenever the result of a to-hit roll is an unmodified 2, the weapon has jammed and does not fire. It will take 246 combat, rounds to clear the gun, 3d6 if evading. JF snub pistol ammo is used in the maga- zine (see below), an unmodified roll of 2 indicates that the gun has exploded (a saving roll of 11+ means it jams instead, as above). The firer und any characters within 3 meters must roll 10+ to avoid 1d6 damage if it explodes. If the roll is successful, characters take only 1d dam- age (all the ammo didn’t explode). Char- acters adjacent to firer need not roll if they are in battledress, but still take 1d Gamage. The firer, even if in battledress, rust still make a’ saving roll or take full ‘damage. The gun is useless if it explodes. Note: Halve all times listed for reload- ing and clearing jams if the character using the Explosive Scatter Gun has spe- cific skill in the weapon (ex-Terrorist or trained by one with the skill), ue to fam- iliarity. If you ate using the Azhanti High Lightning combat rules, or the Traveller ABV article in TSG 43, the stats for the Explosive Scatter Gun are as follows: Effective = 50m (25) +4; Long = 250m (20) +2; Very Long = $00m (15). While it is capable of doing massive damage within its range limitations, the Splat Gun does have definite liabilities. In addition to the amount of time neces sary to reload the weapon and its extreme illegality, there is the problem of avail ability, both of the gun and its ammu- nition. Even on the black market, the Ex- plosive Scatter Gun is not readily avail able due to the penalties associated with its possession in Imperial space. Whenever a character is attempting to locate a Splat Gun, a roll of 10 will dicate that one is indeed available for put- chase somewhere on the planet. Wher and how a character finds it will be up t the referee. DMs that apply to availability: +1 if attempting to locate it on the black ‘market; +1 ifthe population of the world is 95 2 if population is 3-;+1 if the law level is 0; -1 ifthe law level is 7+; 10 if tech level is 3+ -1 if searching within the borders of the Imperium; -2 if searching in a one-subsector radius of Core subsect- (or; +1 if searching within the borders of the Asan Hierate or its colonies (but chances are a Splat Gun found there will be of the Aslan variety, usable only by a character with a ST of 134) Ifa supplier is located, he will have 146/2 (minimum cof 1) guns available, If the supplier is a Dlack-market contact, the price of the sun will be 146 x base price (minimum 150% cost if roll is a 1). Streetwisdom may help somewhat in getting a better price, as may the Merchants d& Merchan- dise skill of Trade & Speculation, at the referee's diseretion. A bipod will be avail able for each gun. Just managing to locate a Splat Gun is ‘no guarantee, however, that an ample supply of ammunition will be available, Splat Gun ammo is not sold separately outside of factory-sealed magazines, so the amount available is limited by the number of magazines a dealer has. Maga- zines can be reused at some tsk by sub-stituting snub pistol ammunition (either HB, HEAP, or both) for the regular shells The fit is not exact and some problems may result from the use of snub ammo, but it is, at least, readily available, It ~ takes one round to load the snub shells into a Splat Gun magazine, character considered evading. Explosive Scatter Gun magazines are somewhat easier to locate than the weapon itself, Roll 9+ for the magazines to be available, using the same DMs s for locating the gun, with an additional +1 if any Splat Guns are aval able on the planet There will be 146 magazines available per gun for sale or 2d6-4 magazines if the gun is not available (minimum of 1 mag: azine in either case). Black-market soure- es, however, may have up to 346 maga zines available, but any number over the previously-noted rolls will be used maga- zines filed with snub ammo and sealed up as if new. Except under close inspec- tion by a character familiar with the gun and its ammo, these will be indistinguish able from new magazines. The price of a magazine from a black market source will be 246 x base price (halved if character discovers it to be a used magazine). When snub pistol ammo is used in a Splat Gun magazine, the gun will gradual- ly be damaged, and there is always a It’s abook... It’sagame... The Traveller Book Science Fiction Adventure in the Far Future We've been in the future since 1977 with Traveller — the first, the best, and the most complete science fiction role-playing system on the market. We started with Basic Traveller, then Deluxe Traveller. Now there is The Traveller Book, everything you need to play Traveller, all under one cover. chance that the magazine will explode, dependant on the number of times the magazine has been reused with snub shells, Roll 144, with a +1 DM cach time snub ammo is fited from a used magazine, for an explosion. In any event, a ma zine may not be used more than eight times in this manner (or more than twice using actual Splat Gun shells) due to dam- age resulting ftom the ightly mismatched ammo. On the 9th time a magazine is used, it will always explode. An explod- ing magzzine will do 4d x the number of shells it holds in damage to the frer and adjacent characters, and the gun will be destroyed ‘A--3 DM to hit is imposed whenever snub shells are used due to the inexact fit of the shells in the magazine and chamber, Impose an additional -1 to hit ifthe tar get Is in battledress or an armored vehicle unless half or more of the mix consists of HEAP shells, and a -1 DM if the same magazine is used more than four times. For every 25 times a Splat Gun is fired using snub’shells, a cumulative -1 DM to hit is added to the gun permanently to reflect the damage eaused to the barrel by the mismatched ammo, If improper am. mo is used to0 often, the gun becomes worthless. Only an experienced gunsmith (Mechanical 4 or Explosive Scatter Gun 2+ and Mechanical 2+) can detetmine the The Traveller Book The Traveller Book 9 extont of and repair such damage, The cost to repair the gun is 25% of its base price (90% if it has more than a 4 per ‘manent DM). Since black-market sources are not the ‘most reliable, guns purchased in this man- nner may already be damaged due to use Cf snub ammo, just as magazines may be used ones filled with snub ammo. The ref= free should secretly roll 2d for each gun ‘or magazine (other than the extras that will always be used) purchased. A roll of 3- indicates that the gun has been fired more than 25 times with snub shells; roll 1d6/2 for the permanent DM (mint ‘mum -1). A roll of 4 exactly indicates the gun has been fired 44 times with snub shells (4:24) and will develop the -1 DM on the 25th firing. A roll of 6 fora mag- azine indicates itis a used magazine with snub shells; roll 246-4 to determine the number of times ithas been fired previous: ly (minimum 1). (you're not buying on the black market, roll 2 exactly on 2¢ for a magazine to be used and loaded with snub shells.) Weapons and ammo purchas- ed in Asian space will never have been used with snub ammo, especially those that are strictly Aslan design; there are strict laws against such practices in the Hierate, the Aslan having too much respect for the weapon to tolerate misuse oft But that’s just the beginning. In addition to the boxed sets, adventures, supplements, boardgames, and a galaxy of licensed products, we plan a whole new line of hardcover Traveller books: The Traveller Book ‘The Traveller Adventure The Traveller Alien The Traveller Encyclopedia and more! Game Designers’ Workshop P.O. Box 1646 Bloomington, IL 61701 GDW books and games are available at better hobby shops around the world. Free catalog on request.10 ‘Yaquinto’s new rolesplaying pirate game is one of the strangest products Pve ever seen: a wild mix of good and bad in the same box, The box itself is gorgeous, ass the art work throughout this game. Inside, you'll find three rulebooks, a character sheet pad, seven game aids, and two uninked (Gamessience) dice. Pirates and! Plunder is unique because It is designed to be played in ready-made “episodes” rather than in GM-designed adventures, Three of these episodes are in the first book, and are designed to teach hoth the players and the GM the rules in 4 modular method. The idea is that the GM can pick up Book 1 — The Basic Game ~ right out of the box, read the prologue, and then gather together a yang to play the game. The book provides some material for him to read to the players, explaining that they are pirates who were captured by the Spanish while raiding the mainland, then adjourns to the character generation rules. In the Basic Game, each player may have one Major character, one Supporting, character, and any number of Extra char- acters, Major characters receive a +3 on. most attribute rolls; supporting characters get a +1, The attributes are: Rolled on 2d10: Strength, Agility, Vision, Hearing, Stamina, Wounds, Intell gence, and Training for Muskets, Pistols, Swords, and Fists, Rolled on a Table: Height, Weight, FeatureD Review: Handedness, Luck/Adrenaline, Movement, Nationality, and Religion. Derived from Other Attributes: Senses, Reload, Languages, Religious Fervor, and “to hit” numbers for Muskets, Pistols, ‘Swords, Fists, and Throwing When characters are completed, the rulebook resumes its narrative. It explains that the characters have been placed in a remote Spanish jail, and that circumstan- ees have forces the pirates to fight non- player pirates in order to got their grucl This first episode is forced on the players to show how fist fights work, and four extras” are provided to do the fighting. Fist fight rules are unusual, Each turn, each player gets one chance to hit one other character. An aitack is made hy rolling 2410 and checking the Hand-to- Hand Combat Table, where there is a basic 45% chance to hit. However, the characters must compare their Fists:To-Hit numbers — the player with the highest number gets the difference in the numbers as a bonus to his die roll. In addition, a character with agility four or more higher than his opponent gets 2 free “fast attack” with die roll plusses, depending on the difference in agility. Damage is taken as stun points, sub- tracted trom stamina, Stamina loss causes immediate drops in all attributes. Loss of all stamina results in unconsciousness. However, all stamina points can be healed in & peaceful half+hour. ‘After the compulsory fist fight, the narrative picks up again. This time, the characters are dragged from jail and forced to duel with non-player pirates in front of the Spanish. Sword fight rules are now introduced. The rules for sword fights are identical to fist fight rules, with these excoptions Damage now results in wounds. Wounds sre deducted from the Wound Rating causing attributes to decline in the same way that stamina loss does. Wounds are also docked from each area of the body (head, arm, groin, ete.), which ean cause a character Lo lose his offensive abilities (Most often, characters ae lft as “walk ing wounded” rather than actually Killed incombat.) ‘With the sword fight out of the way, the narrative picks up again, The ehara ters are released from jll by Old Billy (an NPC), and are urged to kill everyone in the vicinity. Everyone in the vicinity means militimen, mostly drunk, and their naked gislfriends. After everyone is kalled, says Old Billy, they should strike ct for Ciudad Vargas and steal a ship 50 they ean return to Port Royale More rules are aed at this moment Stealth and Courage ate new attributes. Rules also cover time and movement, sunfire, reloading guns, throwing knives, and silent movement. Guns are pistols, muskets, and blunderbusses, anil are one shot affairs, To hit with a gun, a character must roll a number on 2410 fess than his™ “to hit” number for thet weapon. Like wise, reloading, throwing, and silent ‘movement require rolling Iess than their appropriate attribute. A special form of silent movement covers silent killing and whether or not the backstabbed victim makes a noise as he dies Book I closes with descriptions of the nearby buildings, and the characters can march off — free at last fom rulebook restrictions ~ to pillage and fight as they please. The second rulebook — The Advanced Rules ~ covers what items the GM should know before venturing to the fourth epir sode. The most noteworthy of these are: New Attributes: On 2d10 — Constitue tion and Courage. From a table — Adren- aline (now separate from luck), Age, Physical Appearance, Swimming, and Drinking, Derived — Reading and Writing. Extras must also roll for personality traits in the categories of Greed, Cruelty, Mor- ality, Courage (separate from the attr bute), and Emotional Stability Ability. Checks: Whenever a character wants to do something not covered in the rules — tree climbing, lock-picking — he’ must make a die roll against the attribute the GM declares governs that action. The GM may use the Everything Table to establish die roll modifiers depending onwhether the aetion is “very dificult,” “slightly dificult,” or any other qualifier oon the table. The GM may also use the Everything Table to modify the die rolls to fite guns Advanced Combat: Fist fights remain the same, with new options of clubbing rabbing, and hurting your hands. Sword fights become more complicated, with ‘options for drawing and (invohuntarily) iopping your weapon, breaking your sword, use of combat “patterns,” and possibie double attacks. Missle fire is completely redone, with a new Damage Table, special blunderbuss rules, and pro- visions for gun misiizes and explosions Damage: Wounds, which couldn't be Inaled in the basic game, may now receive very limited care, Wounds caused by fist fights may heal normally. In addition, characters must make e saving rll versus constitution whenever wounded or suffer Unconsciousness Other new rules cover swimming, drinking, losing stamina points outside of combat, using primitive grenades, falling down, horses and wagons, mass combat, experience points, gaining attribute points by taking clases, and picking up “sil friends” back at Port Royale. Book Ill — The Adventures — contains ‘mote episodes in this same adventure, and adds les for quicksand, wet guns, ple cannon fire, and for extra pirate characters to go wild and loot everything insight, ‘The new episodes cover a hacienda that should be destroyed, two villages, random and required encounters along the road, a swamp, two forts, and the port of Ciudad Vargas. Gamemaster and player maps ate provided for the major Tocales So, that is Pirates and Plunder. Evaluation of the game highlights one of the strange things about it: As GM, 1 wasn't all that crazy about the game, but the players thought it was one of the betier games they'd ever played. Everyone agrees that the first two epi- sodes are horrible. The players hated being “locked in” to a fist fight and sworufight without any choice, and the GM is obligated to read page after page of narrative out of the book. On top of that, three characters must go through both is — and, considering that the fist fight is so unbalanced that player charac ters will almost certainly take actual wounds as well as stun points, the odds are that atleast one playercharacter wil die in the frst two episodes. Even though the losses will only be “extra” characters, players may still be discouraged by the lack of balance in the opening episodes. The only saving grace for those epi- sodes is the NPCs presented ~ folks with names ike Bloat, Sally (a man), Old Billy, and Hawksworth Fawiks — who are fleshed out in fine detail After that, the players have a great time, Combat rules are easily picked up and quickly become sicond nature. The game itself has a wonderful atmosphere: part historical, part Errot Flynn, and pa tension (the players are, after all, strand: ed behind Spanish lines). Sneaking in the dark past guards, bursting in doors and loosing a fusilade of shots, swordfights im a ratinfested basement . . it can be ‘great fun for the players Fun for the players, at least. The GM. will have trouble. Yaquinto should first have found someone who knew how to edit rules, and then someone who knew how to lay ‘out the rules into a printed page. 'm not saying these rules ure as bad as Original D&D or anything like that. Rather, they are maddeningly elusive. It is possible to read an entire section without eatching what it means, because rules are present ed without coherent order, or are some- hhow hidden in the middle of some innoe ‘uous paragraph. Reading these nules made me begin to believe 1 was hallucinating — everything seemed to be organized, but 1 couldn't find what I wanted until I read that section two or three times. At least the index will help locate the general vicinity of most rules. Then come the holes and mistakes. The grossest of these is the fact that the Basic Game says stamina is an Advanced Game attribute, the Advanced Game has nothing to say about stamina, and Episode One (the fist fight) requires stamina. Because of that, I bet more than one player is marking stun points trom wounds rather than stamina, Other holes deal with the adventures. ‘The maps for Episodes Three and Four are wholly or partially unlabelled. In fact, the episodes themselves get sketchier as you go — dwindling from room-by- room descriptions and pre-olled NPCs to building-by-building descriptions and eat egories of NPCs, Major gaps occur when. players begin to capture ammunition. In Episode Three, for example, they can ‘grab 26 full powder horns, Great! Now, hhow does that translate into shots for « musket, pistol, or blunderbuss? Can they make grenades with it, blow up buildings, or start fires? The other problem is that the game does a lot of its simulating by throwing the job on the GM, Let’s say that a pirate wants to pick the lock on a chest, The GM has to guess what attribute governs the action (agility? stealth?), then decide on the die roll modifier (difficult, ~4 11 extremely difficult, -82), Not only does this put pressure on the GM (as the play- cers ety,"Make it a -6, OK?"), but it leaves die roll modifiers in a realm of how-the- GM-happens-to-feel-at-that-moment, More complaints! Some attributes are too powerful — agility can leave you open to constant fast attacks if you rolled bad, constitution may mean you faint every’ time you're hit, while wounds and stamina . .. well, baad rolls mean you die easily ‘As for “entia” and NPC characters according to the rules, they only take damage to wounds (total) and not to body areas. That means they can’t be kulled in the Basie Game, and makes them damn hard to wipe out in the Advanced Game. Besides, it means that player characters are the only ones who ean take akick to the groin! Combat also has some kinks. If your “to hit” number in a swordfight or a fist fight is higher than your opponent's, then that is plus to your die roll (which ‘means more damage). You have the ad vantage. Lot's say the advantage works, and you put mote hits on your opponent than he does on you, Damage reduces all attributes, including “to hit” numbers, and if you are hurting him worse than he is you, then the margin between “to hit” ‘numbers (the die roll modifier!) is steadily increasing. In other words, the guy on top tends to stay on top ... and, in fat, will have a good chance of crippling an oppo- nent if the margin widens far enough. ‘One last complaint: advertising fraud! The box invites us all to “Hoist the Jolly Roger and set sal with the moming tide. The whole of the Caribbean waits to be pillaged and looted...” Actually, the pres- ent rules cover only the episodes already described — land expeditions, Naval rules ‘and episodes are not covered. Isn't that deceitful, Yaquinto? Summing up, Pirates and Plunder is 3 mixed bag. I'm really not all that fond of it, speaking as the gamemaster who had to fight his way through the rules. It's certainly not “state of the at.” Yet those that did the playing loved the game, rank- ing it up there with D&D and TFT (0 my amazement). In fact, they are looking ahead eagerly for the promised high-seas episode pack 1 suppose that makes it a game players will enjoy, i they can convince some poor soul to GM it for them. Pirates and Plunder is designed by Michael S. Matheny and published by Yaquinto, It retails for $19 and contains three rulebooks, character sheet pad, seven game aids, and two uninked (Game: science) dice, boxed.12 WHERE WE’RE GOING It’s celebration time. At long last, we have gotten The Space Gamer back onto slossy paper . . . and the better, cleaner Printing that goes with it. We'll also be able to have more color on the interior pages. We hope you like the way the new ‘TSG looks. ‘The new format will also allow us to print photographs inside the magazines with no risk of smearing or fuzziness. ‘Thus, we'll be able to include pictures of designers, box covers, convention scenes, etc, All in all, we think it's a big improve: The increased cover price is the worm in the apple (though we would have had to go to $3.00 in a few months anyway). Subscription rates will stay the same for now. When we have to raise them, there will be enough advance warning to allow resubscriptions at the current rate. Please send us your comments on the NEXT ISSUE T've had it. No more promises, If you get anything at all in next month's TSG, it'll be by sheer luck. But if you do get an issue, it may include. “Westway,” a British campaign setting for CAR WARS; “The Great Buffalo Hunt,” a comparison|contrast featured review of CATACOMBS OF CHAOS and HEROIC FANTASY; "Submitting Your Game Design” (What? But that trick never works!); Treacherous PBM fiction from the man who brought you “A Super Named Jolin"; And a twit, an angel, and a blivit. Good luck. ‘new format, and your suggestions as to hhow we can best use it to improve TSG still more. Where “Where We're Going” is Going You probably noticed that thiseolumn isn’t in its accustomed place on page 2 There's a good reason for thet. Although SI Games owns TSG (as well as Fire & Movement), neither magazine is 2 “house organ.” But I use this column to talk about the magazine itself, upcoming ‘SJ Games products, the state of the game industry, and anything else that crosses my mind .. . so “Where We're Going” is sort of a houst-organ column within the magazine, And it’s not the most impor- tant thing in TSG. So WWG is being ‘moved farther back into the magazine, 10 leave the opening pages free for feature articles. ‘And, Speaking of House News... Several new products are under way around here. Truck Stop will add 18- wheelers to Car Wars; several other Car Wars supplements are in the planning stages. Iron Men (or Ironmen or IronMen or something ike that) is on Ogre-universe game ['ve been talking about for years, in which each counter will represent single infantryman in powered a will not be “compatible” with GELV,, since the scale will be different but Jron Men could be used to play ‘out what happens within a single hex in GE. when opposing infantrymen meet It will appear in the January TSG, and will probably be released later (in expand. ced form) in a Pocket Box version We ace also, at long last, beginning to ‘work on a new RPG system. 11's too early to say much about it; for one thing, we don't even have a name picked out. For another thing, the market is clogged with role-playing systems right now. 1 don’t want to spend a lot of time and money publishing “just another RPG.” I have some ideas I chink will turn into the frst true third-generation role-playing game. If a couple of months of paytesting bear that out... great! Ifnot . . . forget it. 1 refuse to publish a mediocre game, or even a good one that contributes nothing, new. We'll see. ‘We've also added a new member to the‘TSG team: Pat Mueller (formerly assis. ant editor of Flying Buffalo's Sorcerer's Apprentice). Pat has been guilty of a couple of mailer cartoons already, and will probably be supplying more as time goes on; her “regular” duties will include typesetting and graphics. GenCon Report Last_month’s Origins report passed over TSR light, with the comment that, sinee they had not come to Origins, theit GenCon releases would have alot to say about their progress. Well, we went to GenCon — our fist time there — and things were very interesting indeed. In the first place, TSR did indeed have several new releases. OF greatest interest to TSG readers are Star Frontiers, theit new SFRPG, and Gangbusters, a role playing game’set in the Prohibition era. 1 can’t offer a true review, but the physical quality of both games seems high, and I Saw several groups playing (and evidently enjoying) Gangbusters. Also being demon- strated was Mattl’s new D&D computer game, which will no doubt bring more megabucks. into. the Mattel and TSR coffers. The convention itself seemed well: organized. For the most par, it was more bureaucratic (but, therefore, better struc tuted) than Origins. The number of can- celled events seemed comparable, and the general mood of the participants similar. The crowd was noticeably younger, but enough of us releatively ancient sorts ‘were there to allow, for instance, several tables of Napoleonics. Fantasy dominat- ed, but did not monopolize, the weekend. ‘Two events marred the con for us, One came on the second day, when our booth as visited by a committee of two TSR xecutives” (Who turned out to be a Janitor and the son of one of the stock- holders). They informed us that Killer ‘would have to be removed from the table immediately, as it was on a “banned” list An “industry ethics code” being promul- gaied by TSR was also mentioned, though not defined. We've been promised a fuller explanation from responsible per sons at TSR; we're waiting ‘The second (and far more serious) event was the release of issue no. 65 of TSR’s Dragon magazine, featuring three-page editorial by TSR founder E. Gary Gygax. Among other things, the ed torial defined Origins as a conspiracy to destroy GenCon, and encouraged readers not to go to both conventions, as the GAME MASTER GAME MASTER exists 10 answer questions on your favorite games. If you have a rules question or play probiem, send it in. Questions to be answered will be chosen on the basis of general interest. They will be first referred to the game publisher or designer. If no response is received, GAME MASTER will offer ts ‘own interpretation of the rale. Sony — ‘no individual replies are possible, ‘One-Page Bulge 1. Doss one have to stop moving if one’s unit “moves into the zone of control of an emmy unit even if ver Is between the two of them? 2. If one docides to attack across a river, does one have to attack every adjacent enemy unit or only one ~ Hike the “town’ rule? Herbert Grate 1. Zones of control are considered 10 ex tend across rvers therefore, your unit has 10 stop moving when it enters the adjacent hex, even though the river i there 2. As per 81, aunit doct not have to attack an adjacent enemy acrots a rver. Therefore, if ‘you decile to attack one wnt, ou do not have to attack others ‘Steve Jackson Star Smugate Heritage has provided us with erate forthe ‘Star Smuagler bate prices ‘Due fo an unfortunate error, “base price amount” appeared afer many paragraph tiles, instead of the actual base price value. If you have a fist printing booklet that omits these ‘values, plese note them in your rales booklet: 1318 — Base Price 208. 1319 — Base price 25 S. 1320 — Bass Price 30S. 1321 — Base Price 40S. 1330 — Base Price 25 1331 — Bato Price 50 8, 1532 — Base Price 1008. 1333 — Base Price 246 x 100 8. £314 ~ Base Price 50 S. £335 — Base Price 100 8 1336 ~ Base Price 100 8. 1337 — Baso Price 1008, 1338 — Bao Price 50, £1339 — Base Price 100 {In paragraph 1333, doe roll 4, the base price results quoted in there should be multiplied by ‘en (additional die roll of 4 means 1,000 , 5 ‘means 2,000 S, and 6 means 10,000 $) rnold Hendrick 13 Game Manufacturers’ Association (which sponsors Origins) did not support Gen- Con! This came as quite a shock to the many GAMA members, including myself, who had booths, tourneys, and other events there. The fact that TSR owns GenCon lock, stock, and barrel doesn't have to detract from its importance to the hobby — as long as other companies are still welcome there and are treated fairly! That editorial was a shoc hhope that it doesn’t become a self-fulfilling prophecy. ‘More About Origins Last month’s column mentioned that Avalon Hill hadn't introduced anything carthshaking, I forgot that not all of TSG's readers are strictly science fiction and fantasy fans! AH di release GI: Anvil of Victory, which drew tremendous kudos from the historical gamers at Origins More embarrassingly, the Mayfair re port contained an error of fact. Mayfair hhad two new fantasy releases at Origins The Nanorian Stones and Beastmaster ‘Mountain, both generalized FRPG supple- ments. Keep reading; I'l get it all right someday. ~ Steve Jackson DRAGON HUNTERS So you're going after a drag- on? You have your longbow, your arrows, and your long- sword — but do you have a Dragon Hunting License? Remember, in some realms you can be fined for hunting hout one! Send $2.75 to — LONGSHOT ENTERPRISES Department 101 P.O, Box 4742 Shreveport, LA 71104 Dealers please write for quan- tity discounts.by John Rankin c A show the size of Origins is often overwhelming; its difficult to notice spe- cific tends until one gets home and sifts thro ogues, p ‘of loot picked up. There was no such problem in °82, though. | knew, even as l collected review samples and talked to folks at the various companies, that the miniatures industry is not just healthy . .. i's thriving. There were tons of new releases of every variety (which one expects at Origins). But even more impressive was the quality of both design and casting. Amazing standards of excellence are being reached virtually industry-wide, Herewith is a cursory (and by no means complete) glance at some of the new toys, If something catches your interest, please write the manufacturer all the mental impressions, cata ss releases, and vast quantities for a catalogue, Most miniatures compan- Jes do a lot of direct-mail sales, and since most shops can't begin to catty all the different lines, this is often the best way to get exactly what you want. (Tell them you saw it in Metal, All those companies that supply me with review figures need to be reminded now and again that doing $0 is indeed a sound investment.) Asgard — available from the Armory, 4145 Amos Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21215, This extensive English line of 25 mm fantasy and 25 and 15 mm science fiction figures has never enjoyed proper distribution in the U.S. With the Anmory sales, that should change. Fan- ures. are large, extremely well |, and loaded down with all sorts of dungeoneering equipment (including optional weapons, shields, etc.). Well worth a look. Castle Creations — 1322 Cranwood Square South, Columbus, OH 43229. This relatively new company offers 25 mm Fantasy, superhero, soldier of fortune, and spy types. The sculpting often shows considerably more enthusiasm than skill, but balancing this is an extremely wide selection (55 comic hero types alone). 20% discount on orders over $40.00, and a number of unique figures (Alo: Ameticun spies!) available from no other company. Citadel Miniatures UK ~ P.O. Box Cincinnati, OH 4: ures fiom Merry OF cast and distributed in Americ 2. These fig- England are being by Ral Partha, with the fine quality control that company is famous for. Origins provided my first opportunity to examine this line in depth, and I came away mightily im- pressed. The new releases feature state-of the art sculpting (even the skeleton war riors have personalities) and are highly compatible with Ral Partha figures. A. wollillustrated catalogue detailing this vast line is available for $2.00, It's worth every penny. Highly recommended! FASA — P.O. Box 6930, Chicago, IL 60680. FASA enters the miniatures field ~ sort of — with Gray-Ball. Something akin to Rollerball in free-fall, this boxed game features 15 mm player figures by Martian Metals, Look for a review of this game in TSG soon, Fineous Phigures — P.O. Box 12291, Norwood, OH 45212. That’s right, Fin- cous freaks, Mr. Fingers and his pals Rupert the Ranger, Boredtak the Wizard, Grond the AntiPaladin, the evil wizard Kask, Fred, Charlie, and Mergatroid are available for ten bucks a set. Sculpted by the ubiquitous Tom Meier, these figures approach absolute perfection in capturing tho essence of these comic characters, If you're a Fincous fan, your life will be empty until you own a set of these. What more ean I siy? Heritage U.S.A. ~ 14001 Distribution Way, Dallas, TX 75243, The million or so of you out there playing Champions will be interested to know that the first five figures (all supervillains) of the licensed Line are now available. Sculpting and cast ing are superb. With this sort of quality approach, and the popularity of Cham ions, Heritage appears to have a big win net. Look for the modular hero figures to follow soon. Steve Jackson Games ~ P.O. Box 18957, Austin, TX 78760. Yes, we finally debuted the Autoduel miniatures for Car Wars. Packs now available include Vans and Luxury Cars; Pickups, Mid-Sized Cars, Compacts and Subcompacts, Station Wag cons, Cycles, and Sidecars and Turrets will follow soon, Scale on these models is 1/180, which makes them quite compal- Ible with N-scale model train accessories. Such items as cars, trucks, busses, com struction equipment, cops, and ambulane- es (often pre-painted) are available at any hobby shop specializing in model rail- roading Ral Partha — 5938 Carthage Court, Cincinnati, OH 45212. The limited edition Imperial Dragon was the most impressive hhunk of cast metal at Origins. With this piece sporting a $50 price tag, I doubt ‘many will buy it purely for use in a game. For those of you who might purchase such an object either as an investment or as a work of art, I have a suggestion. In stead of painting, give the dragon a rub- ‘on pewter finish using Pewter Patina by Woodland Scenics. It’s available at the aforementioned model railroading hobby shops. Saxon — P.O, Box 121, Rockville, MD. 20850. Saxon’s gure designer, Conan Scanlon, is one of the most talented new sculptors in the business. I was pleased to find out that his abilities also extend to painting said figures, and that Saxon in- tends to market these collector-quality pieces. I particularly remember a large, beautifully dry-brushed dragon on for 35 dollars. Having been in this partic ular business, 1 ean tell you it was an ex cellent buy. Write for more info. Superior ~ Box 99, Claymont, DE 19703. Wizards & Lizards is an absolutely incredible 25 mm fantasy line. Sculpted by designers of large-scale collector fig ures like Ray Lamb, these are some of the most lifelike, detailed, and at the same ‘ume, paintable miniatures on the market. They're expensive (high grade metal and first-class quality control are ample com pensation), they're somewhat hard to find, and the line expands slowly. But they are worth it, Only a few new releases were evident at Origins, and these were mostly larger figures like a Genie and anAnd now LC. Rolemaster Series Presta Re be td Character law A masterful set of guidelines for fantasy role-playing character development. Includes 18 character classes with both potential and temporary stats. Unique trait development system allows all characters to increase their ability in any Protea era eetee iter thee rts eet og there are no absolute restrictions. CHARACTER LAW... +++ $10" (U.S.) Pee Caw eee eee erent PTO Rae ee eee RL Se ee ag eas Femi aioe ane ed Ceca ae aaron asa ede Nace ea eae ad Peoria ny a et) IRON CROWN ENTERPRISES | DEPT. / P.O. BOX 1605 | CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA 22902 NAME STREET IF PO. RI. ON RFD. PLEASE INCLUDE PHONE NUMBER cry STATE zip RUSH ME: C1 SPELL LAW s17" ARMS LAW $10~ 0 CLAW LAW s6~ O BOXED SET $16~ 0 CHARACTER LAW $10" C ROLEMASTER $38" OIRON WIND s8~ All Canadians add $2.50 postage. . send self-addressed, stamped envelope for more Information.16 Ogre. As more gamers and collectors become familiar with this line, it will undoubtedly grow much faster due to its eased popularity. In the meantime, there are plenty of these remarkable fig: ures to get started on. [ urge you to have alook. You won't be disappointed Task Force Games — 1110 North Fil more, Amarillo, TX 79107. Another rela tive newcomer to the miniatures field, Task Force has made a huge splash with its Star Fleet Battles spaceships. Additions to the line included the Klingon Dread. nought and Battle Cruiser, a redesigned Romulan Warbird, Tholian Dreadnought and Patrol Cruiser, and the Kainti Strike Cruiser. Also on display were a set of four 25 mm Swashbuckler figures by TFG’s sculptor Richard Kerr. These were a big hit among the swashbuckling erowd here at the office, and more should be forth- ‘coming if these prove popular. A Trip to Mars When this company profile started taking shape, the urge was strong to do “a proper send-up.” Considering the Mar. tins’ weird public image, it would have been easy to fob off a few bizarre tales on an unsuspecting public. Their carthbase, Tocated 45 miles from SJ Games, does have a room full of pet tarantulas. But those of you who tuned in expecting to find Martian Metals owned by the Master Cylinder will have to be disappointed, Actually, Forest and wife Carol (who manages the money side of things) are very nice, normal people . ..kids, animals, house in’ the suburbs. I know that’s at ‘odds with what one might surmise after reading their ads (which, by the way, were originally conceived with the help of an individual whose initials are SJ), and the dichotomy extends to the com- pany itself. Martian Metals is a successful ite company, and yet there's not any ‘one aspect of its operation that jumps out at you (other than the aforementioned ad campaign). Head designer Scott Penn (aided by Mary Peralta) is not exactly a household name in the industry, and yet the Martians won the H.G. Wells Award for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Fig- ure Line at Origins "82 against some very stiff competition with their Traveller Dragonslayers 15 mn lines Forest has a Incrative license with GDW for Traveller, and yet one of his ‘own lines, Dragonslayers provides one of the most interesting licensing stories I've heard. You might recall that there was a movie of the sume name a while back. It seems Paramount was only weeks away from releasing the film when they found ‘out Martian had an ironclad trademark on, the name, Hasty negotiations brought about a lucrative settlement for Forest and company, and the movie was duly released, Score one for the good guys. Nove, to update the story: Forest was recently negotiating with Paramount to do a line of Star Trek figures. Things were going fine until a member of Paramount's gal department siw the Martian name. Bells rang, negotiations became decidedly unfriendly, and the licensing fee suddenly skyrocketed. Don’t look for Star Trek fig ures from Mars (word is Grenadier got the license). But at least Forest has the mem: ory of sticking it to one of the big guys, and if rumors are to be believed, 50 grand fn the bank. Quality control is another area where MM has received little attention, and yet their standards are right up there with Just about any company that comes to mind. Laid back, for the most part, describes the work atmosphere on Mars (Forest is gone a lot), but mold cutter Jim Zepeda and production chief Butch “Leadsmith” Leeper keep things runni nicely. The axed working conditions do mean the figures get inspected proper Jy, and that, my friends, is what quality control is all about. So wiiat’s new on Mars? The Traveller line is being constantly expanded and wi soon include spaceships in both 1/1200 and 1/2400 scales, The big news, though, is the new 15 mm armor series (perfec for Striker) by T-Rex designer Ab Mo- basher. Those of you familiar with the TRex line (which is now being manufac- tured and distributed by MM) know the fine detail Ab puts in his work; these vehicles are by far his best effort to date Look for them if you do 15 mm science fiction battles. They're absolutely super, In other areas: MM is doing figures for Inclusion in FASA’s new boxed games Grav-ball and. Tro Ball, Last but not least, 25 mm RuneQuest figutes are finally available! Four packs are out, with eight more 10 follow soon, They are very nice figures... RuneQuest aficionados will not be disappointed Martian Developments ‘ka Martian Metals Boks 788 Cedar Park, TX 78613, Founded: 1980 (Owned by: Forest Brown Employees: Eight Number of figures sold in 1981: Over 1,000,000 Next month: We return to Earth for something com- pletely different, New for Traveller tm UT Oe Ue) Cle eS DARKLING SHIP “The intrepid crew of the patrol erusior Hrunta heads "right into he tooth of Increased pirate Setivnty at they follow up clues tos mysterious iost Gonerotion ship. Adventure and intrigue ‘ound ta the fringe aren of the: tmpeciums Baling ” Subsector, "Search and ese [aktrack’ the eryptie cloaking machines and the slusve humanfaien presence tots soures The thind in the Border Prower Adventur Jere st inthe Gateway Quadrant of the imperium. ‘This 32 page adventure, IncludesUNNIGHT ee eRe ete Pee Dare eeoa er Creer rer eens William A. Barton, and Chris Smith recom ences cna Piaytesters and Technical Assistants: Meteorological Data Ro Cee Oct ee ae OS eon Cae ence Se ee porate ng setae Ae poh Perey are en Unnight is a prepared world-setting for Space Opera, Details Unnight Political Map . . ree eee ttt mm y erag ey its satellites, and suggestions for appropriate adventures are Wildlife Encounters included, The Unnight system is located in the Outworlds sec- Creature Examples or cinerea ey Cea ed eae Pere aE cae mec ee and creature and character statistics, Unnight can be easily Ancients and Artifacts . used as 2 setting for other role-playing games of a science- Appendix I: Travel and Equipment Restrictions . ere teres Pree oP ee18 I. Introduction Unnight is the planet of a MO star in the Outworlds sector. It is one of the many worlds which were settled in the great _wave of exploration and conquest begun in the first century interstellar. As with many of these early colonies, tech- nical civilization fell, sending the inhab- tants into a dark age. At present, Un- night is undergoing a rapid and rocky re- introduction to interstellar society. Great ‘opportunity exists for those who seek power and wealth; people who have ‘sworn to protect others from exploitation will find that they are needed here, also NPCs and. situations provided will sometimes be given in vague form; this is to allow the SM to tailor the situation to his or her own play-style and the strength of the PCs. ML The Unnight/Orb Planetary System Unnight is the larger member of a inary pair. The other world is Orb, an. cy, quite lowadensity planet with a thin atmosphere and low gravity. The two ‘orbit about a barycenter within Unnight; total distance between the two is sbout 1.055 light-seconds. The two worlds are facelocked, which prevents the nasty problem of huge tides sweeping across the globes. The “orbital” period ~ AA bout the barycenter is 480 hous, about 20 Terran days. The two worlds orbit about the sun (an MO class dwarf) takes only five days, or 2,400 hours. Astronomic Data ; ‘The Unnight/Orb planetary syste within the Stuzak solar system, is peculiar and has caused some specula tion among interested. astronomers. The two planets revolve around one smother, around a barycenter within the surface of Unnight, in relation- ship similar to that of Earth to Earth's moon, In addition, small moon (unfortunately named Orbette by an unduly schmaltzy original colonist) 10- tates around O:b. The diagram to the right suggests the view of Orb and Orb- ette as seen from Unnight; a diagram, to scale, of Earth's moon shows the difference in the size of the bodies as seen, An aesthetic oddity of the system is that an advantagsously positioned viewer on Unnight’s surface at night would see Orb rise at disk in the phate Of the new moon, wax steadily to full moon at “midnight,” 120 hours later, and then wane back to newsmoon status by dawn, another 120 hours later. (However, 8 the Unnight night 4s 240 hours long and temperatures 4rop into the profancly uncomfortable, Earth's mC | paokm Unnight’s young lovers don’t tend to marvel at this.) In addition, Orbette, revolving around Orb in an orbit por- pendicular to a center-to-center line fiom Unnight to Orb (end thus visible all hours of the night), mirrors Orb’s pisses during the course of the orbit. Orbette’s orbital period is 240 hours; thus, once per night, Orbette travels around Orb as a mirror of the secon- ddary planet's lunar phase. Astronomers have computed the mass of Orb and Orbette and can con- clude only that the system is the re sult of some powerful planetary engin- cers or the result of an extremely un- likely natural development. Orb and Orbette ae likely to be hollow; if they are, they are composed of avery strong ‘material (Such as core iron); else they would have broken up ages ago. The planetary system is strangely stable, and Unnight/Orb orbits well within Because of the faceocked attitude of Unnight, ech hemisphere is it by the sun for about 240 hours a “day.” The planet's thick atmosphere and lage occans help to even out the drastic temperature changes that would normally result, but even so, fone can expect snowfall at night and 30°C+ temperatures in the day. The reflected light from Orb provides « very adequate source of illumination (45 times the light provided by Terra's full moon) to the facing side of Unnight. Overall climate on Unnight is on the chilly sid, The ive caps ae lage; they ex tend, on an average, to the fourth line of hexes from poles’on the map. (When land masses are near the poles, they can extend out to the fifth and sixth hexes, but when large ovean masses front the poles, the ice caps only extend to the seo fond or thitd hexes.) Only the temperate and equatorial zones are comfortable to humans The stability of the binary system is snomalously high. Some planetologsts we suggested that Unnight was tour formed by an advanced civilization, or ‘even that the world was placed into its current telationship with Orb for some unknown purpose. More information on Unnight’s astronomical data and climate appeat in the boxes on pages 19 and the former diameter of the sun — the diameter before it collapsed into its current dwarf stage. The facelocked attitude ofthe two ‘worlds diminishes the effect of tidal forces, but their proximity to the sun ‘means that there ae sil tides, Data on the mass, diameter, and orbital periods of the three bodies ap- pear at bottom. Eclipses occur twice an Unnight “year,” or once every 1200 hours (2% “days"). Therefore, there will be one daytime eclipse and one nighttime ‘eclipse per S-day year. More data appear on the planctary map information sheet on page 22 Planetary Bodios Data Unnight 0% xi0* 6x17? Orbette Mass (inks) x10?” Diam (inkm) 13,000 19,000 2,500 Orbital Period Gini) 2400 480240 Surce —1G__2.24x107 6.s9x10°Meteorologic Data Unnight is a chilly would compared to Earth; the only relatively comfortable areas te within the equatorial regions. On the chart below, the zones mention- ‘ed work this way in relationship 0 the plan= ‘tary maps: The polar zones are epproxi imately two hexes wide, and cold temperate 2zonas are two hexes wile, the warm temper- fate zones ate thuce hexes wide, and the ‘equatorial region is five hexes wide. The chart below gives the normal temperature ange in tems of season, planetary reston, and whether i's noon of midnight. Nature ally, thee wil be a gradual heating trend from midnight to noon and a gradual cook ing trend from noon to midnight, 20 the SM fan improvise any temperature of the day ‘rom these parameters. These are only nor- mal temperatures; the SM can provide for ‘specially harsh oF mild seasonsashe pleases IL, History of the Unnight Colony ‘Unnight was settled in the first century LE. by a Terran colonization group from a cooperative of Third-World nations. The ships, leased from an early trading com- pany, left the half-million settlers in two groups on the new world, then headed for home. In the confusion of these decades, no follow-up visits were made. At first, this did not bother the colonists; they had plenty of equipment and all the won- ders of 22nd.century Terran technology to help them. The gene-tailored crops were planted and prefab cities grew like ‘weeds. At the end of the first Unnight. year, everything looked rosy. Then disaster struck. The colonists’ buildings were constructed of a fiber grown from gene-tailored microbes, a ‘material which was cheap, plentiful, and versatile. Unfortunately, it was of a chem ical base similar to that of Unnight’s life forms, and the local microbes literally ate the stuff. During a spectacular eclipse of Orb, the colonists’ buildings began to fall apart. Within hours, the first colonization ‘group was in big trouble. Plumbing, hous- es, important installations and the ware- houses turned into piles of goo. The second group was warned, but before it could find a way to stop the destruction, the power generation facilities were gone. ‘The oceans have a moderating effect on temperature extremes. Within S00 km of the ocean, average the temperature listed above with 12°. "As for rainfall or other precipitation: ‘The base chance for precpitetion during a Spring oy mat dey nat polrNonh “25 "Ho “12 “0 cold tempes. “12-250 “A warmtempetl6 41 420 46 squatorial 430 15 430. 415 Wurmtempe.+ 7 422 +5 420 Coldtemper, 1 +3 6 +8 T:polarSouh “16 = 4-26 12 Fall As if to add insult to injury, the planet hhad been treating the colonists to a harsh year of rains and wind. Within days, the ‘crops were ruined. A few resourceful indi- viduals headed for the hills to hunt; some stayed in the landing-spot settlements to scrape through the year, In ten years, the surviving colonists had learned to live off the native wildlife and wide forests. Towns of stone and ‘wood appeared as the widely-spread refu {gees of disaster settled down to farm or hunt. In a hundred years, the settlers formed nations. As nations always do, they fought over property and prestige. Technology ‘was then low techetwo: swords and spears and primitive bows. Metals were scarce, especially those denser than iron, which ‘made mines another object of wars, Three hundred years after the great crash, a new force came to light: a wan- dering class of merchant/scholars who called themselves “Wizards.” Everybody else called them Wizards, too. After all, they could throw balls of fire, cure diseas es, summon demons, and kill their enem- is with invisible forces! The Wizards be- came an important tool for the leaders of the kingdoms of Unnight; with a few hired Wizards, a battle could be won against amazing odds. When Unnight was rediscovered by Midgard survey cruiser some 50 years ago, Summer summer or winter day is 15%. Modifiers: Within 500 km of the coast, #5. Ina lage Torest area, 43%. In the mountains, +5! AC night, +5%. In the spring, +10%. In the ‘all, 9. The umvarying chance, reoadless of season, for precipitation in a desert or polar region is 1%, ‘Another phenomenon of note: A full solar eclipse occurs at high noon of every Unnight day. The overll eclipce (partial plus full) lasts 646 minutes; the fll eclipse fasts 4.2 minutes. (These times are some- ‘what shorter the further away from the equator you are, and at the poles only Dui ectioges occu.) A lunar’ eclipse of ‘comparable length happens every Unnght sight at midnight Fa day gt day +2 -4 421 71 426 47 +30 Winter the settled regions of Unnight were divid- ed among eight kingdoms. The Wizards hhad set up permanent schools and were busily expanding their power at the ex pense of superstitious commoners and ureedy nobles. Technology had advanced to level thiee, with gunpowder known only to the Wizards, who used it to throw fireballs and launch rockets. The Ardecco province of Midgard was given the task of contacting the people of Unnight. The Ardeccans chose to use the Wizards as a tool to spread off-world knowledge, The Wizards, pragmatic oppor- tunists all, gratefully accepted the job, and are now telling tales of how they con vinced a race of off-world demons to serve them, ‘At the time of the PCs’ adventures, the Ardeccans' plansare proceeding smoothly. The commoners are starting to receive education and the fields are being sown in more efficient ways. Politically, things are not as hopeful: The eight nations are taking advantage of off:world knowledge to make their wars more widespread and frequent. There are rumors that other ‘Midgard provinces are trying to muscle in fon the Ardeccans’ monopoly on native artwork and cultural items. Mercenaries who agree to use low-tech weapons are allowed to work on Unnight, provided that they work for the Wizards’ Guild or their allies.TV. Maps and Notes The planetary map (page 22) is on a 1,35 km = 1 hex. The crosses are towns of slightly less than 10,000 people. There are hundreds of much smaller towns seat tered about in the settled regions; for pur poses of clarity, these are not shown, The political map (page 23) shows the approximate borders of the eight nations. There are no set boundaries; as the local nobles are continually fighting for new territory, the borders tend to change reg. vlad. V. Nations and Peoples of Unnight Xingush is on the western limb of the Crassant continent. The land is mountain fous and not very arable, resulting in a hhunting- and herding based agricultural system, The storms caused by the falling lemperatures during the night are partic ularly fierce in Xinguth, due to its loc tion between two major oceans. ‘The government of Xinguth is an un. pleasantly harsh council of clan heads ‘The government uses its large army keep the lesser clans in line and to patrol the borders. The Wizards of Xinguth are particularly corrupt and worldly, but make an effort to avoid overly improper acts that might upset the Guild. Xinguth’s population is two million, too large for the poor land and small fish ing fleet to properly feed. The capital is Bazilnio, a closed city with a major trad. ing port and a very crude starport that the Xinguthites hope will attract off world trade’ Xinguth faces away from Orb. Iquazor is a very loose confederation cof villages held together by a common church bureaucracy. The “nobles” of Iquazor are all clergymen or women in a church descended from Terra’s Roman Catholicism. The land is very fertile here, providing the Iquazor with the source of trade in- ‘come from Xinguth. There are numerous fishing villages along the Far Ocean coast, which provide another source of food and Tquazor has a very small, mostly ce monial atmy. The clergy is not interested in expanding its territory or even fighting fone another. The Wizards are not an isn portant force in Iquazor, as they consider the underpopulated nation too weak 10 bother with. ‘As with Xinguth, Iquazor commands no view of Orb. Inwundanch lies on the southern shores of the Dawn-to-Dark Ocean, on a narrow sirip of land between the’ sea and the Ghatost mountains. The major sources of income are fishing and hunting. Inwundanch is ruled by the Khamis family and its noble followers. There is, no capital city, or even regional capitals The fall of civilization made the Irwund- ers a wandering people, and the tradition lives om in the government, The rulers of a region ride about in large caravans, tour- ing their territory and stopping at towns to settle local disputes. Every five years, the caravans meet, and a grand council/ fair is held to solve any pressing problems and to celebrate. Tn time of war, the landowners arm themselves and are led by the forces of the “local” noble’s caravan guard. Irwun- danch fights occasional skismishes with Xinguth over islands in the Dawn-to-Dark Ocean and the mountainous terrain be tween the two nations. The Wizards in Irwundanch are very Guild-loyal and help the nobles preserve the status-quo between the nations, Iiwundanch does command a view of Orb — the further east, the better. Byilikin is on the iittleexploted con tinent of Carkip. Most of the population lives on the coast, where fishing provides the country’s major source of food and trade, The outback country is sparsely settled, and the coastal people cons it folk backward and uncouth, Byilikin is ruled by a king and a coun- cil of village mayor/nobles. Inland regions are occasionally run by outcast coastal nobles or, more often, by petty military officers. The government is based from forts and enforced by royal troops. There are about half a million people in Byilikin. The standard of living is among the highest on the planet and is improving due to the intervention of the Wizards, who maintain a strong presence in the country, Byilikin is. in the Orb-force horizon zone, and so affords a poor view of the sister planet. Gamotch is a large, flat country on the western shore of the Incald Ocean The land is fertile, and even the desert regions have proved fruitful, ‘The country is governed by warlords The head warlord acts as king and com mands the navy. The military le is harsh, but is supported by the enthusiasm of the people, The Wizards act as a mod erating influence, which is much needed, as the individual warlords still fight territory and make raids on each other and on other nations. ‘The military is large and well-equipped. Gamotch iscurrently at war with Loosyick over the rich, well-watered lands between the two countries, Visitors are advised to exercise caution when traveling in Gamotch; offworlders are held in deep suspicion or outright hatred, and kidnappings and lynchings are not unknown, Gamotch faces Orb Loosyick is a harsh land north of Gam. otch. Much of the territory is mountain- fous or cold dosert. The stormy seas of the north Incald Ocean make fishing a mar- ginal source of food.Like Irvundanch, the nobles of Loo- syick travel about the lands in caravans, Unlike the Irwundans, the Loosyick nobles do this to tax and otherwise op- press the peasantry. The head of the country is a hereditary monarch who lives. in a mountaintop forttess/palace called “The Scarps.” Due to the poor land and little mineral wealth, Loosyick cannot afford large army. ‘The Wizards greatly supplement the forces that do exist, as a weak Loo: sylok would invite invasion by Gamotch, Loosyick also faces Orb, Mensod is located on the eastern shore of the Dawn-to-Dark Ocean. Its fertile Jand and abundant mineral wealth make Mensod one of the richest nations on Un- night. A good portion of the country is forested Mensod is ruled by a monarch and feudal lords. Fortunately for the common: ers, the king and nobles are enlightened rulers and are concerned with the welfare of their people, The army and navy are very small ~ too small, in fact, to effect ively protect Mensod from raids and inva sions. As in Loosyick, the Wizards have intervened to preserve the status-quo. ‘The king’s palace is located in the bus tling port city of Meddyfice. The primary starport of Unnight is also located near Meddyfice, and the Wizards’ Guild’s nom- inal headquarters isin the vieinity. Mensod commands the best view of Oth of all the planet’s nations, Kiroon is located north of Mensod. ‘The ocean curtenis make the weather warm but rainy, a boon for the farmers con the rich coastal regions. There are num- ‘erous ports on the ocean, and fishing and shipping have become major industries. Kiroon is ruled by the Tyrant of Tysn ington, an absolute ruler chosen by force and contest from the army. The aristoc- racy in Kiroon consists of rich merchants and landowners who ‘try to curry favor from the Tyrant. The commoners are gen- erally poor and illiterate, but enthusiastic about their country and its wealth, The country’s army and navy ate large, but the Wizards do not give any support to Kiron, as they believe the country is not keeping up with their goals. Despite this, Kiron is waging an economic eold war with Mensod, Visitors are welcome in Kiroon, and the picturesque capital city of Tyrnington is an excellent trading center, Mercenaries. are warned by the Wizards’ Guild to seek employment elsewhere, Kisoon is also illuminated by Orb at night Races: The settlers of Unnight came from a wide variety of backgrounds on 21 Tea, Virtually ll were from the “Third World” nations, particularly those in South America and AVrica. Because there was little chance for the various colony roups to meet, trade, or intermix during the long period of chaosafter the collapse, istinct racial types still appear. Xinguth and Iquazor are both populated by folk descended from Latin-American counties, and have cultures similar t0 those of that Terran region. Irwundanch was settled by people of Mongolian-Asian descent, while the: remaining countries have peoples of African ancestry. Offworlders wil be eas ‘ly recognized as auch, unless a specific offworlder if one of those racial stocks and has heavily studied Unnight culture and dialect. Student of the appropriate Terran languages will be able to commu nicate with Unnight natives, if somewhat clumsily, Basic’ economic data is presented in the box on this page VI The Wizards One of the most unique aspects of Un. night’s society is the existence of the Wize ards. These scholar/scientist/showmen are not really sorcerers, of course, but they do their best to Keep the common folk and greedy nobles convinced that they ‘Actually, the Wizards are the descend- Economic Data Unnight’s peoples, existing as they do in a very feudalistic society, have not developed very sophisticated rates of exchange or economy: ‘mechanics. In fact, the primary mode of exchange is (naturally enough) still the barter system. Regional lords take their tithes and taxes in livestock and goods. Major cities do have a monetary system; the dominant coin is the plata, a silver coin. The rough exchange rate of the plata is one such coin per fifteen credits: thus, especially to the Unnight peasant, posses- sion of such a coin would be a godsend, Platitas are worth a tenth of the major coin, and a cente is one one-hundredth of a platita, Coin money is not commonly found outside major cities, and actual credits are not used for exchange except in Meddyfice, location of the planet’s starport. In addition, the Wizards’ Guild carefully limits the amounts of exchange of monies, so that a bare minimum of Unnight coinage ever makes its way off planet; stringent inspections at the starport also help regulate this. All trade is handled on a barter basis. Other rates of exchange do occur in back- woods minor cities and among strange clans. The SM should feel free to create these as he pleases.22 United Federation of Planets Department of Interstellar Survey Survey Evaluation, Planet Unnight Star System Designation Stuzak Stellar Primary Type MO (White Dwarf) Planets in Star System 5 Bearing from Marker Star 258° Distance from Marker Star 56 ly Vertical Coordinate -32 Planetary Type Terran Far Side Contacts Service Sentient Race Report, Planet Unnight Technological Level 3 Sentient Race Type Human Standard Population Level 12.5 million Population Density low-very low Social Organization Aristocratic Societal Strength 5 Xeno Acceptance Index 6% Major Starport Dosking Cites Population Faeltee Charges TMeddytice 20,000 D BONO 2Tymningten 15,000 2Dyrevle 8.000 4 The Scarps 11/000 BBailine” 17000 «ESOS Government: Type of Government Multi-Government Bureaucracy Level Generally low Support Index variable Orbital Distance 303 LS Length of Year Five “days’” Length of day/month 480 hours ‘Temperature Range ~48 to +30°C Planetary Diameter 13,000 km Surface Gravity Field 1.0 G Hydrospherie Rating 60% ‘Atmospheric Type Oxyaen/Nitrogen Comments on Atmosphere: Moderately dense, has an anomalously high per- centage of noble gasses. The density Of the air tends to level temperatures. Corruption Index @ 15% Law Level 17 Tax Rate ‘@ 40% Political Parties and Significant Policies: There are eight kingdoms on Unnight, all feudalistic. The commoners have some petition powers. The “Wizards” have considerable influence through fear and respect. Current Political Situation: Party in Government Feudal Lords Party/Parties Opposing Wizards’ guilds / Freemen’s guild Vote —— Current Foreign Alliances: Trade Alliances Contact service of Mid: g2rd’s Ardeceo province prevents im- port of high-tech goods. Outworld League junior partner. Comments: Unnight is the heavier of two bodies in the planetary system. The other element, Orb, stays ata mean dis- tance of 1.085 LS. Orbital period about the barycenter is 480 hours. Both worlds are facetocked, which makes the Unnight day 480 hours long, also. Orb's high albedo and angular diam- eter provides Unnight with 45 times the light of # moonlit night on Terra. The temperature changes are levelled in effect by the dense atmosphere, Far Side aque Defense treaty. SADAR and patrols maintained to protect the world from piracy or in Other Alliances None Planetary Trade and Commerce: Industralization Index. Primitive agricul- tural ‘Average Income 300 Technology and Anomalies The “wizards” are skilled chemists and showmen who hold a monopoly on technological ‘goods and learning. Efficient detection of “psionic” skills notable Major Imports Primitive arms, medicines, tools Major Exports Foodstuffs, artwork Import/Export Restrictions and Duties ‘The Ardecco contact edict permits trade in low-tech goods: Medicines ‘and books must be sold to the “Wiz- ards." Trade Acceptance Index 30%23 General Comments: The tensions between __with tech-3 weapons are welcome, if __at Meddyfiew for instruction. the kingdoms occasionally turns into _they fight for the nations of which Ar- Two “Valkyrie” corvettes provide ‘open warfare, with the Wizards selling ecco approves. Visitors are asked to _ protection. 61% SADAR network with help to both sides, Mercenaries armed report to Ardecco contact service HQ —_orbital monitor station, United Federation of Planets Planetary Type Low density, thin atmos- Comments on Atmosphere: 80mm pres: Department of interstellar Survey phere / binary sure Orbital Distance 303 + 1.055 LS Comments: Moon: Orbette — 2500 km Survey Evaluation, Planet Ord Length of Year Five “days” diameter, orbital period 240 hours. Star System Designation Stuzak Length of Day 480 hours ‘Smaller element of a binary planet Stellar Primary Type MO (White Dwarf) Temperature Range -150°C to +10°C system. Orbits about Unnight; bary: Planetary Diameter 19,000 km center Is within Unnight. Surface Gravity Field 0.00224 G There are no life forms or installa 1c from Marker Star 56 ly Hydrospherie Rating 0% tions on Orb. Low density indicatos chance of valuabl a Vertical Coordinate -32 Atmospherie Type Nitrogen/Methane Tiel24 ants of a group of colonists who manged to preserve a modicum of technology while the rest of the inhabitants of the planet descended into. near-barbarism, Some of their knowledge was preserved merely in books and records, but several technological items were saved by the group as well. Their secrets wore guarded Jeslously at first, and no one else on Unnight was aware of the knowledge possessed by these Wizardsto-be, Even tually, the guardians of tcchnology 4 cided it was time to reveal their presence and make use of what they'd kept — for reasons both noble and ignoble, Thus was bor the Wizards’ Guild, The Wizards perform many tasks throughout the various Unnight nations They advise the peasants when to plant their crops, nobles how to tax and run their holdings, and generals how to fight battles. By coordinating their actions, the Wizards have become an important force in maintaining the nations’ status- quo. while advancing their own interests, The Wizards recruit irom the peasant ty and merchants from all of the king: doms. ‘These apprentices are sent to fortressschools to learn the trade and hhecome indoctrinated in the Wizards’ Philosophy. Apprentices who rebel. or turn out to be incompetent are sent to mines and herb-plantations to live out the rest oftheir lives. Adepts who survive are assigned to a village to senve (or prey upon), or are trained to be wandering showmen or mercenaries. A Wizard's abilities are many. When a peasant child suffers from rickets (a com: ton occurrence on Unnight), the village Wizard can administer a potion of vitamin D. Ifa nasty animal has chosen to roost for the day in the town square, the Wiz- and can loose a gunpowder fireball to destroy or chase it away. Ifa noble needs to scare a town into paying its taxes, a troupe of showmen can summon a demon (Getually trained animal, shaved and Painted to resemble a monstrous being) to rampage through the rebellious town's fields and eat the livestock Using a tihtly-organized net of inform 1s, messengers and spies, the Wizards’ Guild can learn of important events very quickly. Sneak attacks are virtually Impossible without Guild approval. PCs ‘who try to smuggle high-tech goods or provide skis to a nation the Guild doesn’t like may find themselves in hot water. Encountered Wizards will ll be at east “above normal” NPCs. They will be knowledgeable in survival and scout skills, linguisties, herbal medicine and first aid, showmanship, primitive chemistry, anim: al handling, ‘streetwisdom (very high), administration, and swimming. A typical Wizard will have throwing daggers, prim tive grenades and pyrotechnics, bags of disguises, and a load of small scrolls and books in a cryptic language .. . messages for Wizards in towns through which he or she plans to travel. Some Wizards will have large (cass L) animals to act as pets and guardians. Wizards make up about 0.1% of the population. Virtually every town of more than 100 people will have one in resi dence, and larg cities have many, some times ving in a single fortified house, complete with secret rooms in which t0 hide valuables. Mercenaries occasionally hire Wizards to assist. them in battle (hough the Wizard in question may eon Sider it the other way around), and nation al armies in favor with the Guild may have martial magicians in their employ VI, Wildlife Encounters On any untamed planet such as Un- night, vast regions still exist where native animal and plant life dominate the envir- fonment. Because of the early scattering of the settlers, farming villages were usually separated by tracts of wilderness In some regions, farming villages are patches of civilization in vast seas of wild country, On each day (24-hour standard day, still in use by the settlers, who tell time by the revolution of Orb’s.asteroidal ‘moon, Orbette) of travel in the wilderness, there is a 10% chance of a “significant” animal encounter; it is assumed that there will be many sightings of common herb- ivores and small, unassuming carnivores throughout the day, but these encount- ers will lead to nothing unless the adven- turers decide to hunt or attack. Creature types are described on page 25: For the basic encounter type, a d100 {s rolled and the chart below is consulted: Roll 14100: 1-50 Herbivore: ‘The PCS’ party en: counters one or more herbivores in such a manner as to constitute a nuisance or danger to the adventurers. Examples: A stampede of herd animals; a lage, very curious ereature starts feeding on the par- ty’s tents; ora swarm of locustlike insoets chew up the party's rations. At night this encounter type will be quite different, as 90% of herbivores will be hibernating ot hiding, Roll a second 4100: On a roll of 1-50 there will be no encounter; on a roll of 1-90 the party will stumble on a herbivore or herd of herbivores in “night mode,” (in shells, cocoons, or eusled into litte balls for protection). There isa 15% chance thet 2 scavenger or earnvore will be trying to break open a shell to feed on the contents. On a roll of 91-00, the PCs will encounter a herbivore species adapi- ed to night living. Sueh a species will eat anything that doesn't try to get away, such as cattion, garbage, shelled animals and plants, etc. 51-80 Scavenger encounter: The party encounters several dangerous scavenger- types. They will attack from hiding, or lurk after the party, waiting for them to run into trouble. The PCs will be in no anger if they spot these animals, which avoid attacking prey that can fight back, [At night, scavengers will be more danger. ous, and this elas will include swarms of vermin (rodents and insects) that make mass attacks on anything not ina shell or hiding up a tree. 81:95 True carnivores: ‘The party members will be attacked by a vory large or mumerous creaturestype that attempts to kill them for food. The beasts wil run away if sedously threatened, dragging sway any prey they might have killed at that point ‘At night, roll 4 4100; On a 1.50, the party will find an excapsulated carnivore. If the PCs pester the creature in this tate, {t may suddenly come to life, spray a noxious/poison liquid, or tunnel into the ground. On a roll of $1-75, a night c nivore is encountered — a totally fierce and berserk creature that will tear apart anything ican get its paws on with no regard to its own safety. Pack-huntingUnn ght Animalac: Representative Samples ‘of Unnight Fauna Following are several examples of animal life indigenous to Unnight, These should be considered medium-sized examples of class 5 of animals; for each one presented below, there will be largo and. smaller vaziotios, varieties edapted for specific envionments, ee, ‘Sith: (eraze Class K animal; carying capacity — 10%; natural weapon ~ J; move- ‘meat — slow; armor ~ E. ‘The sith isa roughly turtisshaped anim- al which is dark brown in color Tika total Jy passive animal which wil withdraw into its hell tthe fist sign of dang. (hint: (carnivore) Class 3 animal; carry. dng saci — 30; natal weapon — se armor — ‘aren anh ‘armadillo and a eentipede. It seeps during the. duy” dnd hunts for eeping animale during the night. Tis retracible probiscus ‘excretes a speck acid which, in Tess than five minates, will eat « small hole in any ‘ative animal's abl ‘The hint is prized for ‘the aid makes, which is of spoil intrest (o the Wizards’ Gua. versions of this type are really trouble. On a roll of 76-00, « canopener class ‘creature will be found. This type lives sole. ly on encapsulated or shelled creatures, avoiding any resisting prey. They often have natural countermeasures to protect themselves from the poisons some hiber. nating animals use for protection. 96-00: This is an unusual or plant en- ‘counter. Plants in the daytime are usually close to earth-normal. At night, things are very different. Plants either shrivel up, leaving spores or roots to carry on, or cusl into shells and pods to guard against the cold. A final plant type isthe colony tree In the day, the colony trees lve via photo: synthesis. When the sun slips below the horizon and the cold enroaches, the tree's limbs wrap around the trunk and small ports open along the trunk. Inside these holes live one or more species of rodent or insect that forage nocturnally, leaving droppings and dead bodies in the tree to it during the night. Colony trees serous; if a living creature t one, the limbs shoot out and smash the intruder, providing a ready source of carrion for their symbiotes. Other encounters can include earth: quakes (which are very common due to the wobble/drift in Orb’s orbit; if the two worlds were not face-locked, the tidal effects and resulting earthquakes and vul ‘Spiker: (ambusiet) Class L animal car ying capacity ~ 100%; natural weapon — F ‘ovement — very fast armor —K. "The spiker is u sinall animal with vory Yong and thin legs, After finding suitable shell (emptying ft if nesesary), wil crt {nade ie on is hack, and walt tobe atack- ed, When its attacked, its lees spring out of the natural sell openings with all of the spikes amazing strength behind them. Note that the spiker hs no shell of its own; it eles totally on evacuated shells for protection. Pebb: (standard savenger) Class O am finaly carrying capacity — 20%; natural Weapon ~ I; movement ~ fast; armor ~ E. ‘A pebb is a small animal which bulls its shel! much Ikea caterpillar bulls cocoon. ‘While inside its shell, its movement rate is very slow. It-moves by shifting its weight, ccasionslly poking its head out to see ‘where i's going. It can also mote indepen ently of its shel (as, but it rarely does so. When stationery, itis often mistaken for arock, canism would be much worse), bad storms, forest fires, and other accides VIL Native Encounters The SM should roll for encounters every day in the deep wilderness, every two houts in settled countryside, every hour in a town or large city Large Town: More than 1,000 people. ‘Add six to the roll on the encounter table in a major town or city (more than 10,000 people) and add ten in capital cities and starports. There is a $0% chance per hour of an important encounter. Roll 1d100: 1.50 Townsmen: Merchants, craftsmen, local officials, fortune-tellers, etc. They may have an opportunity for the PCs 51-70 Commoners: Country folk, in town to sell theit goods, They will be very suspicious, frightened, or fascinated by offworlders. 71-75 Backwoods trader: He or she ‘may have interesting goods. He or she will senerally be a Wizards’ Guild spy or adept. 7680 Mercenaries: A group of 12410 men with swords, armor, bow weapons, and excellent taining. ‘There is a 5% chance that 1d10 are offworlders seeking their fortune. Some of the mercenaries will be Wizards’ Guild informers. 8185 Noble: With 2d10#10 retinue. ‘Sfhe will be eager to impress the PCs and ‘ual Weapon — maximum for lass move ment’ very slow to fast (ependent on fg) armor — starts at J and becomes 1 at Animal cast armor If at class, and #5 on, funtl armor becomes A. st animal clase A “The brok is a sn creature whieh, fom the surface, appears asa liye flat disk, the Giametcr of which varies with ago m ‘when young, 6 m when Tully mature, 12+m When very old). The dik is actually the brok’s shell From underwater, ite many tentacles may be seen. The brok is capable fof reaching above the water with its tenta- tes. It is very aggressive when approached, but wil not actively pursue prey. (Note on all animals ~ damage factor, stamina factor, shock CR, and hand-o- hhand must be soled for each animal scoot Sng tothe chart in section 17.0 of Space Opera: Volume 2, “The Beasts") Of course, these are not the only types ‘of animal life indigenous to the planet: the SM is. free to create other eppropriate Dfeforms. In addition, many varctes of standard Terran animals were brought fo the world: cats, dogs, horses, cate, some Yarieties of binds, llamas, and many’others, several of the originl colonists were conser Yationists who hoped to give the Ter- fan species anew lease on life by bringing ‘thom here. Generally, though, these species fare. fully domesticated, needing man's protection from the elements dutiag the plane's severe nights might invite them to his or her estate Nobles from some countries will be less polite... 86-90 Conflict situation: A fight be ‘tween gangs of workers, a noble or mor- chant fighting off thugs, a bar fight, a Wizard blasting someone who crossed himn/ her, etc. The SM may wish to involve the PC in the situation. 91.00 A major Wizards’ Guild official: With retinue and assistants. He or she may be anxious to coverse with the PCs to find out what is going on out in the universe. Employment and information ‘may be available from the offical 101-105 High noble and retinue. 106-110 Offworlders. Farming Village: There are thousands of these seattered about the countryside. Roll every two hours, 50% chance for an encounter, Note that strangers will always draw a crowd of local children, gossips, and curious folk. These people will not bother the PCs unless provoked. The encounters below are “active” encounters that deal directly with the PCs. 1-50 Commoners ask the PCs to tell a story, read a sign that the local noble put up, of ask them for advice on an obscure subject. 51-80 Townsmen offer the PCs trade26 goods, or ask the party if they have any- thing tose 81.85 The village Wizard meets with the PCs, He or she may be checking up on them or simply curious, The Wizard can report to his local HO by a trained bird or animal in 46 hours, so the PCs may have hard time keeping their movements secret 86.90 The local noble and retinue are in town to administer justice or collect taxes, ‘91-95 A troupe of showmen comes through town, They are Wizards’ Guild alles or informers and are excellent fight- ers, Important business is often caried cout by the Guild under the guse of sich 96.00 A. troop of mercenaries or na tional troops. Both may be possible em- ployers for the PCs. Wilderness: There are two types of wilderness: the deep woods and settled areas, The latter is land within 1 hex of a major town or capital city on the map. coll every two hours in these settled areas, with an encounter taking place 10% Of the time. In the deep wilderness, roll once per day, with a 50% chance of an encounter taking place. Roll 14100, adding 20 if in settled land. 1.50 Wandering merchant on foot alone or on a wagon with 141045 guards 51-60 1410+10 bandits on riding beasts. They have bows, leather armor, spears, and swords. Offworlders might be able to cow them or make them allies 61-70 Showmen troupe, as in Farming village encounter. 71-80 Mercenaries or national army. They will stop and question strangers, 81-90 Religious group on a pilgrimage: 3410 people, unarmed, with 10642 hited auards, Depending on the religion of the ‘mob, they may be enthralled or enraged by the offworlder PCs. 91-00 Traveller's inn: This is @ group of buildings with a protective stockade. Food and shelter are available here. There will be 346+5 guards on hand to protect the inn from brigands, about ten workers, and servants, and a number of guess. Roll once on the fezming village chart to see if any unusual guess ae present. 101-110 Farm house and fields. If properly approached, most farmers will put up travelers for the night. There will always be work that needs doing, especial ly near nightfall, and the farmer will lt his guests know this (nudge, nudge). 111-120 Farming village with SOxd6 people. An inn will be available, Roll for ‘encounters on the foaming village chart. Nighttime travel: At night, all but the hardiest and most foolhardy travelers stay at home or make semi-permanent camps. The animals, people, and phenomena abroad at night are not conducive to long life, Temperatures drop 1410°C per 24. hhour day after nightfall for three days, then stabilize around the seasonal norm. (see page 19). The light from Orb is more than adequate for travel, but provides no heat. Near seas, violent storms are a vir. tual certainty The Night Dance: No one is sure what it is, or what causes it, but the phenom. ion known as the night madness or the “Night Dance” is a fact oflife on Unnight. When someone is out at night, away from, large concentrations of people, there is a chance that he or she will go’ mad, run- ning off into the woods, climbing trees and making funny noises, etc. The most ‘common manifestation is the “mumbles” ‘The victim talks in an unknown tongue, staring fearfully about at his friends and familiar objects, and generally acting “out of place.” There is a 10% chance per 24 hours spent on the road at night that a random. ly-selected party member will become af- flicted with the Night Dance. This chance is decreased by 1% for every 10 people in the vicinity. When someone contracts the Dance, roll 14100 for the degree of effect and 1410 for the duration in hours. A roll of 1-30 for effect indicates that the victim lies down and chants in a strange language; 51-80 indicates that the affect ed one runs into the woods and capers about shouting the words to a weird alien song; 81-00 indicates that the victim has become dangerously disoriented and may become violent. ‘Some Wizards have drugs that can shock a peison with the Night Dance back to reality. A strong stun bolt will hhave the same effect IX. Scenario Ideas Unnight has many potential opportu nities for adventure and PC employment. Below are a few suggestions, listed by ‘employment type. ‘Mercenaries 1. On a nearby world (Alkast, if using The Outworlds), the PCs are approached by an agent for a Midgard-based corpor- ation that manufactures tools and weap- ons designed for primitive cultures. The agent will ask the party leader to mect him at a restaurant to discuss business. The company needs a small number of mercenaries (around ten) to assist on a trade mission on Unnight. The wartiors will be given passage there and back, standard pay for security duty, plus 0.1% of the company’s stock per man. The mission will prove more dangerous than the agent indicated, The PCs and their NPC underlings will have to guard five very pushy and. undiscriminating salesmen on a trip from Meddyfice to Xinguth. The Wizards of the intervening countryside will not be very happy about the vist, as the salesmen are trying to sll Xinguth’large amounts of titanium and improved-design primitive weapons, 2. The Arddecan contact service se quires the services of skilled off-world mercenaries to train and reinforce the armies of several nobles on the border of Gamotch and Mensod. The nobles were formetly neutral, but have now allied themselves to Mensod in exchange for support from the Wizards’ Guild and off- world anmsmen. Pay will be 1.5 standard combat pay to encourage mercs to brave the dangers of warfare on the primitive, hogpital-free world. 3. Pirates running tech-four gunpowder ‘weapons to rebellious clan heads in Xin- sguth need guards ‘Merchants: 1. A vast market exists for tools better Jn design than the crude iron and steel mechanisms made by the Unnight folk. A ‘caravan touring the backwoods of Byii- kin or Iquazor can make thousands if it survives bandits and hostile animal life 2. Unscrupulous traders can try to smuggle high-tech weapons onto the plan- et, but must be prepared to make a quick getaway: the Wizards of all nations will Object to the local nobles arming them- selves with superior weaponry. Researchers. 1. There are many unexplored places on Unnight. Strange wildlife and odd cus-toms abound. The Ardeccans will be glad to sponsor expeditions into the outback and may provide native guides. 2. Unnight and Orb have some very definite oddities: Neither world is old enough to have become face-locked; the orbits of the two worlds are much too stable: itis predicted that the worlds will remain in their present configuration for at least another four billion years; and Orb doesn’t have anywhere near the mass it should for its size and apparent compo- sition, 3. And then there's the Night Dance Whoops: Accidents can force a group of PCs to spend time on Unnight. The Pemzann- Ceti Nebula surrounds the Stuzak system; the pirates who are based there may re” lease prisoners here or damaged ships may hhave to limp here to await a repair ship. X. Ancients and Artifacts ‘Though they never would have suspect: dit, the human settlers on Unnight were not the first colonists. The only apparent sign of these folk is the Night Dance; this phenomenon is literally a form of “posses: sion.” The Omon were a widespread and highly-advanced race extant some seven million years ago. The Forerunners fami jar to the Federation were barbarians compared. to. these folk: Whole worlds were moved by them, and Unnight sas one of these. For some unknown reason ~ perhaps whimsy — the ancients put the newly-tetraformed world into a binary relationship with Orb, which they had hollowed into what is now essentially a planetary balloon. (An interesting cam- paign forthe industsious SM might be to explore and find out what is inside the hollow world, once that planet's nature is discovered.) Orbette was also added into the system, possibly only for amusement. The colonists left few traces of them. selves or their tools. It is thought that toward the “end” the beings tended to rely more and more on psionics. Eventual Jy, the creatures died out, or pechaps mu- taied into unintelligent life forms. They left one device in operation: a psionic record-keeper. This device is what causes the “Night Dance”; a scared or lonely petson emanates the telepathic “phone number” of the storage devive, and the mechanism sends out the requested infor- mation. Unfortunately, the average hu- man will misinterpret the information meant for an alien mind, reslting in the ‘nati behavior of the Night Dance. Archaeology: The SM. may wish to have « peasant find an artifact or build ing ste, The object may become a local curiosity, or the basis of a weird religion, The PCs may have an interesting time convincing the locals to give up their treasure, 99% of all artifacts found will either be s0 simple as to afford no information, or 30 incredibly complex as to baffle the ‘most advanced engineering lab. The re- maining 1% will be usable objects, such as PSI crystals, solid rods that project holo- ‘graphic images when held, and “Black Boxes” that perform intetesting. tricks when analyzed or opened. “Magical” ef: fects, within limits, are possible and sometimes used by Wizards. TNE A Using hand tools, one man will have a cumulative 0.1% chance of finding an art- fact per day. In a site area (SO chance of fone per 10,000 square km of area) the chance is doubled, If high-tech instru ‘ments can be brought in, the chances of finding an object are increased by a factor of five, Note import and travel restric- tions! If Ardecco or its competitors find out about successful archaeological projects ‘on Unnight, the competition to get a piece of the action will be fierce! Mercen- aries and criminals will have afield day i the fracas that follows. Append ‘Appendix I: Travel and Equipment Restrictions Upon landing at either starport, travels lers will be under the jurisdiction of Ar. deeco contact services. All luggage and personnel will be thoroughly searched, and IDs checked. No vehicles other thant beast-drawn or sail powered are allowed The latter may have a communicator oF emergency signaling device installed, but the set must be tuned to the official emergency channel. Travellers may carry personal. med: kits, unpowered armor, and other equip ment with a purely defensive function, Each person may carry a short-range (PC/S maximum) communicator. No high-tech weapons may be carried, and complex equipment of all sorts is frowned upon! Trade goods must be inspected by an Ardeccan offical, and local Wizards will zealously guard their prerogative of dis- pensing knowledge and technology to the common folk. Appendix Il: NPC Attributes ‘The NPC race section for humans in Volume Two of Space Opera can be used to generate NPC attributes. The following suidelines should help. ‘Common folk: The average peasant will be a Below Average human. Peasants will have a wide variety of skis related to sur- vival and making a living; i. a fisherman would have marine survival, small-craft hhandling, and perhaps weapons skills in ices crossbow and sword or brawling, Very few peasants will be literate, and even fewer will know what lies beyond the horizon visible ftom their home village. Soldiers: Mercenaries will be better fed and educated than their commonfolk par- ents, Most will be Average, with about 30% Above Average, while officers are Competent or better. Skills appropriate to a low-tech armsman, plus 2 heavy as- sortment of survival skills, will be avail able to every soldier. Wizards: The stats and skills are given for Wizards in Section VI. Weaponry skills emphasize ranged combat. “Magic” weaponry equivalents: Primitive rocket{fireball: Disposable Rocket Launcher, range x %. Breath of Death: Hisized grenade with « 4 poison gas chemical released on ex plosion. Demon: A class L beast, 20 DF, 75 Stam- ina, HTH rating 20, class F weapon + 4 poison on metal spurs, “fast.” Dragon's Breath: A 20kg Flames Pistol, range x %, Very dangerous to both sides ina battle, The “Greek fire” thrown bums for 16 rounds. Other: All Wizards carry small (J- end Hsized) smoke and HE grenades. All are 2d6 heavier than their modem equival- ents, and are somewhat unreliable, AU of the above equipment will be surrounded by a “smokescreen” of useless parts, cryptic instructions, and booby. traps. Soldiers who try to use wizardly weapons captured on the field don’t live very long,28 Vehicles for TRAVELLER Martian Metals vocssse ciomrmes.r00CAPSULE THE SPACE GAMER reviews board games, roleplaying ames, computer games, video games, and game supple- ‘ments. We review play-by-mall games ifa reviewer is enrolled. We will review any science fiction or fantasy game ifthe pub lisher supplies a copy. We do not guaran tee reviews of historieal wargames. TSG ‘may publish a review of a game we are rot sent - IF a reader susmits @ review. Tne staff will make reasonable efforts to check reviews for factual accuracy, but opinions expressed by reviewers are not necessarily those of the magazine Games and game items for which reviews hyo boon assigned or recelved include Alma ‘Mater, Aslan Mercenary Ships, Berserker, revised Ghampions, Defender, Dragon Rage, Encoun- ters, Progser, Goblin, Man, Myth & Masi, ‘Mere, Merchant Class Ships, Phase VIL, Rescue (on Golatea, Shootout at the Saloon, Star Pron ters, TET Character Reeord Sheels, Theseus GEMS .75 & OPAQUES .50@ ana’ more! Sesisee roacing 1 du 20. they Gamorsies standard. sine dot pereantog itd fr Bo Date ran sgn ihe Secempanic making atynesia dc, aly Gamescionee saver ta guarantee fa Soles dice wi sure a ona? years fra wet gamemop “hat saling Garsesconce brand CGameaciene’ epost taka swat sect coeeeas Hoo tes ‘aulnort ks 07 (i) 896-300 Guarantee to last more than 2 years! REVIEWS and the Minotaur, The Traveller Book, wvised Villans & Vigilantes, The War Machine, and Vegarth Rules System, Games and game itoms for which we ae cure tently seeking reviews. include. Beastmaster Mountain, Behind Enemy Lines, The Black Vial, Eon's Borderlands, Daredevls, Dworse, Fez I, Galaxy, Gangster, Hoax, Jondril, The Jowney, KABAL, Kamabura, Noworian Trees, Official Superhero Adventure Game, Runes, SoloQuest 1M, Star Smuggler, Trolipack, Voyager 1. a) Warrior. CLAW LAW (Iron Crown Enterpeises; $6. Desisned by S. Coleman Charlton, Bruce Neidinger, Testy K. Amthor, Leonard: Cook, and Peter C. Fenlon, Jr. Supplement to Armt Law, Twelve 8%" x LI" parchment sheots Published 1982 CLAW LAW is the “long-awaited” supple: ‘ment to Arms Law, is main ateaction fe the 12 new attack tables, such a8 bite, talon, sting, te. These tables are dane in a similar fasion to those found in Arms Law: a singe die roll re- solves both hit and damge. Also included are four new critical hit charts, over 3 hundeed ‘monsters and animals converted. into CLAW AW statisti for use in Tantasy campaigns, a Aetaled martial arts system, and 44 new weap. ‘ons to be used with Arms Law, In short, CLAW AW isa dataled combat system for monsters and animals, usable with “any FRE." “The bes thing about this gume is that s¢ adds mote teaism toa game without taking away any of the playability. The now critical hit charts add flavor, but the pace of the com bat remains very fast Another useful item is the monster lst. Despite the small size of the list its useful to GMs who want to create new ‘monsters or adapt old once to the CLAW LAW system. ‘The martial arts system included. is short, but urable, ‘The only real problem I saw was the price. ‘Six bucks for a dozen sheets of Mimsy card: board! I think this could have been lowered Also, the comedians who wrote the critical hit results get carried away occasionally. Consider is possible (though highly unlikely) for arab- bit (Or normal size) to jump up in the air and sever a man’s jugular vein Hmmm Tf you own Arms Law and lke it this efor you. Ifyou are pleased with the comnbat system You use now, or you don't ke th ida of killer ‘abbils, you can ive without Richard Wolfe, J FANTASY WARGAMING (Stein and Day); $1495, or reduced price through the Science Fiction Book Cub, Compiled ty Bruce Galloway. 300-page hardback book. Published 1981 in Britain, 1982 in America This is a book of rules for «fantasy role- laying game set in a medieval European e- ronment; “fantasy wargaming” means “ontasy roleplaying." The fist 117 pages explin the 29 society, religions and monster lore of histor Europe, and provide guides to modern fantaxy suthors and how to be & sumemoster. The femainder of the book provides game rules. Characters may specialize in clrial, magical, of ‘combat work, Nineteen attebutes are tll! on 5346. To use magic, a character must use "mana" points to establish & lnk (o the ethoil plane 4nd make the right dic rolls; mana i retined throweh meditation, frantic dancing, and other activities In combat, the difference in apity Indicates a column ‘on the Combat Results Table. Percentile dice thon indicate if the blow landed and where. Monsters and adventures are taken from legend and heraldry Some ideas are fine: the mana and ether pats of the magic system, sven chapters ‘evoted solely to background materi, using heraldic beasts (onheaded eagles, et), and modifying attributes by zodine sien However, this game is abysmal. The rules are vapue (Um sll ot aire how to fol up a charae- ten), limiting (Characters must make saving rolls, {o svoid “temptations” sich sgreed o bravery, and to avoid following a leader's orders), and provide no specific help on designing an adven Ture, Black magi rules for human sacritie add duck touch to thisgame. And the introductory material is relly not as good a3 what you could Pick up at any libery Te never seen a worse game. It’s too bad that many people's fist experience with TRE ‘may be through buying FANTASY WARGAMING through the ScienceFiction Book Club. WG. Armintout SUPERVILLAINS (Task Force Games); 89,95. Designed by Rick Register. 24page rule book, 17" x 22" map, x 11" map, 108 counters, two sivalded dice and one twenty= fided di, boxed. Por two or more players Playin time variable, Published 198 SUPERVILLAINS ill itself as “the game ‘of roleplaying and tactical combat in modern ay New York City.” It ie presented in two forms: basle game, which isa tactical combat, game for superpowered individuals, and an Advanced game, which purports to be a role- playing system. ‘One should endeavor to say something nice bout the subject ofa review. In this ase, an ‘oi out thatthe sioner has thoughtfully pro= Vided over Half column of insteuetions on the homenclaure and conventions of die rolig, find has devoted considerable eae the proce dues for determining the physical appearance of player-characters. The two-player base gan fs Straightforward, Within a game turn the playets roll dice fo determine initative th perform movement and combat;ie. the phasing player moves all his pieces and then resolves their attacks before his opponent does so. Each spaceon the map represents ten foot of distanes, and movement allowanees range trom 1 to 6. ach game tur represents one hour (unless this {sa typo, these super eters move with glackal spood). Combat can be hand-to-hand orange sd in mode material of Intangible, Damage ie done in terms of hit or stun points subtracted fiom the characters Initial value, Reduction to ‘zero stun points means unconsciousness, 2210 hit points death, Basically, attacking requires determining odds streneth dexterity, and attack honuses vs. strength, dexterity, and. defense bonuses) and. consulting «table to determine the dio roll needed 1 slcoeed. A succesful attack inflicts damage points according to ls ‘mode and the weapon or power employed. "The combat rules are the heatt ofthe gam but are sketehly written, Too many situationsUNLESS YOU'RE AN ELF YOU'LL WANT DWARVES a complete dom and Adventure P.O. Box 5987 Chicago, IL 60680 312 - 243-7700 ave during play not covered by the les, s0 the players must constantly improvise. Alot of play- fester are credited, but the finshed product feems to have benefited litle by them, The sdvanced “roleplaying” game is @ teaverty. Tt equires a gamemaster ‘and allows multiple players, but it ix really just a multiscenario fampaizn with almost no scope for roleplaying The object Isto conteol as many as possible of the 20 distiets into which the city has been divided, This can be done only in two ways: Bribe the local officials, or beat the local street rains into. servitude. The latter obviously re- Aultes combat. The former is accomplished by rolling dice, using bribe money generally ob tained by robbing banks hile superpowered villains ate the stuf of comic books, a: game about them must be de- flened at a level demonstrating more sophistice tion than a comic book. SV fail inthis reed Mr. Register has s vivid imagination, but has failod to translate his ideas into a coherent form, Coupled with this i the typical lack of care shown by TEG in proofveading, editing, and izunizing their products, The combination is deadly, Avold SUPERVILLAINS, Steve List SUPPLEMENTS LIBERATION AT RIVERTON (Timeline); 57. Scenario for The Morrow Project. Desiened by HAN, Voss. One 816" x 11" S2-page book, 11" x 17” Project Dizecion’s map and screen, For Project Dieotar and three to ela player playing time indefinite. Published 1982. LIBERATION AT RIVERTON i the frst teleased scenario for Timelines excellent after theholocusst RPG, The Morrow Project. Desig nated as Project File O01, RIVERTON is designed for use by bepinning players, though with a litte alteration it could erve ae 9 challenging exeursion for experienced MP players 28 well Tt centers around 2 Morrow Recon team awakening from its unscheduled 150-yearlong nap near the ite community of Riverton, 4 fown all but wiped out during the turmoll following the war, The mission of the recon team, once i's clear Ht is cut off from other Morrow groups, is to find its supply caches znd to use them and the toam member’ exper tise to help rebuild ewilizaton inthe area There are some problems: The surrounding ter= ritory, thanks to a nearby nuke hit i sine ‘what changed from that shown on the players maps. And there is a nearby military reserva: tion, where the descendants of some National Guard MPs (now called “Imps” co a8 not to he confused with the Project personnel) may Prove troublesome... The seenario package Contains everything needed. for the Project Director (the new title for the MP GM) to run the adventure, including a map of the area's true appearance, player's map of how it once looked, maps of the remaining part ofthe town and of'a local farm, a map of the Imps’ camp and the armory HQ building, stats for impor- fant town and Imp NPCs, an interior diagram Of the team's V-L50 vehicle and of the MP “volt hole,” plus six pregenerated player characters for uso by the players Chough up to eight characters may Mt in the bolt hole). Th addition, some new weapons and Heme of quipment azo introduced in this scenario Imoluding complete stats on weapons from the 45 automatic and the M3A1 “grease gua” to ‘the M68 105mm cannon weed on the MODAL MBT, and vehicles from the ubiguitous jeep to the M60 Main Bette Tank itself. Asan added Fleet Maneuvers The PBM Tactical Space Conflict, Four Teams of Four Players, Each Deploy a Cooperative Fleet of Individually Controlled Starships. Unique Races, Powerful Starbases, and aVeriety of Weapons make Fleet Maneuvers an Exciting Challenge Cost: $2.50 per turn, $2.50 for set up $ 1.50 (redeemable) for a rulebook Send $ 15.00 for Free set up & rulebook plus 6 turns Fantastic simutations Ro. sex 2a © Denver co. soazaattraction, there are nine pages of very detailed. hit location bles for the V-180 and. the MBOAL. for those. who ave realism fanatics LIBERATION AT RIVERTON is an excel: Tently conceived and executed product. As much info as any GM (PD?) would need for ‘either # onesbot seenario or tho basis of an extended campaign beginning withthe Riverton Situation i provided. It fils a gap that hae boon empty in the Morrow Project product list for too long now. Especially alee are the plans forthe V-1S0 and the new suto-nav unit that provides the players with (possibly. mir leading) area maps. The only flaws I've found so far with La isin th priming of the maps: Some of the lines on a couple of them didn't print well and are fo light it is dificult to make out some fese tures. Alo, due to the printing on the PD and players* area maps, T have yet to positively Toeate all six"of the team’s supply caches Sill, LIBERATION AT RIVERTON is worthy effort and Is, one hopes, only the first, Ina string of scenarios for use with TMP to alleiate te problems of these ef us who don't Taye the tie to ereute our owe, “Wiliam A, Barton RUNEQUEST BORDERLANDS (Chaosium) 516. Supplement for Runequest. Designed by 2 cast of dozens. One 48-page referee hand- book, one 32-page encounter book, seven sconatio booklets, one 17” x 22” map, other phy aids, boxed. For four or more players With referee. Multiple play sessions. Published 19 BORDERLANDS is a complete adventure comprising seven progressive. scenarios, each Intended for « group of 46 medium-powerful and 12 beginning characters. The setting is in the valley and envizons of the River of Cradles, Which forms the border between the Pains of Prax and the Genert Wastes to the east. The time is not given but seems to be about two years after the battle of Moonbroth (1610 ST) in which the Lunar Empire defeated the par- tilly united tribes of Prax to extend its vay beyond subjugated Sartar to Covflu and Favs. Politiel turmoil within the Empice hs ed to the exile of many nobles gully of no worse than having the wrong. telatives. One such is Dike Raus of Rone, who in compensation for his lost lands has boon given Wels Domain, entered on the River cat of Horm Gate. The Duke, with hie family and household, has fed to establish a fort and prepare for the inlux of Lunar colonists the folowing year. Players are to. become mercenaries in the Dukes servic, and will gain in experience and possibly wealth as they. progress through the Scenatios. These start with a tour of the holding to so up the native inhabitants and apprise them of Raue's areal; later ones are more involved and. include a police action Against ver pcate ducks and a kidnap rescue attempt The information provided for the referee is very detailed and comprehensive. (although Tamulinty with Cults of Prax and Outs of Terror is vey helpful). Some of it has been previously published (e¢., Aimori and Moro Kanth articles in Myrm's Footnotes, treasures fiom Rudy Kraft's Plunder), but the majority {is new material. In addition to some extra ells there is fascinating lore, auch as the reproduc tive and recreational sexual habits of broos (Gecch), and two representatives of a new type fof elt This isthe spirit cult, basically a shine officiated over by a shaman and devoted to a spint rather than a deity. Such cults provide Feudal Lords ‘The firs pom seme of economic development, Z ima conquest, ond imate rte FEUDAL LORDS is a computer: moderated correspondence game in which up to 15 players vie to become King of Arthurian England, You, as head of @ flefdom, have 30 types of military, economic, and dipiomatie orders available You provide for your knights townspeople and peasants, You may make an assortment of investments 10 build your economic and miliary base. You can acquire vassals and influence through force or diplomacy ~ You can spy on other flefdoms. CAN YOU BECOME THE NEXT KING? GRAAF SIMULATIONS 27530 Harper St. Clair Shores, MI 48081 ENTRY: $10.00 for the rulebook, setup, and fist three turn $2.50 per tur. RULEBOOK only: $2.50 «BYTHESWORD} ‘ANEW APPROACH TO FANTASY MINIATURES BATTLES TheLEGIONNAIRE .:soares00swossscvoen an ‘04 fnat pine ies fon Ung mt {57 it truncate Fon Ghar Sytem that ety ho, monde and. more, + Beds eran ‘ieee with over 6 uns ‘for only $8.00, postpaid32 QuesZors* QUESTERS 15 A steaTecie soaro UNLIKE CHESS, “HOWEVER, OUESTERS 18 PLAYED ON'A TRI RENTS. OF THE’ VARIOUS. PLAY TIC PLECES ARE VERY EASILY LEARNCO QUESTERS ALSO EXPANDS. OW) CHESS BY" provroziic SEVERAL DIFFERENT FANTASY ADVENTURE. SCENARIOS. WHICH ALLOW EACH. ANE” PLAYED TO BE StT Ur OIFFERESTLY Fon OURAGILETY, THE INITIAL Prayine 080" (ours 1GHLD #1) EDHES TIA 221 ine PRESS OPENS LIKE 8 200%. NITHIN Gio 15 enorecteD ay A-SMEET Sr 2003 GAUEE, “CLEAR ACETATE. Tito-tHe GRtD HOLDER. “CENERAL PLAYING. INSTRUCTIONS ARE ALSO SPECIFIC PLAYING INSTRUCT 1OnS Fon EACH, ADVENTURE. cone, BOCED PIECES ARE T.75 In, HIGH. onsrRucTeD Ar sTUnoY PRESS ORDER TODAY: DAdventure 21, relapereseamesyroreinlt. sail Wolters 15950. : ‘DAvventure #1 Sheet, w/out Grid Holder: $11.90 mysterious mouse pum Limited rune magic and some of the benefits of the more powerful cults The general ds: feusion of the political situation in Prax and Pavis at this time (a5 well as loose ends left from the various scenarios) allow the Duke's Desai to remain in use asa Setting even after he seven scenarios are completed, while an fption is given to allow players fo ti into activities In. Daazar (the general setting of Griffin Mountain)... The physial production ‘of the compononts is excellent. The artwork is attractive without being intrusive, the layout {is wll-planned and the contents ar remarkably five of typos. The desken crodits ave detailed fon an insert sheet; altogether, 14 individuals fre credited for pars of the design and many Tore with other aspects of the production ‘This package ig not Inexpensive, Dut i's worth the price, Howover, the emphasis here 4s on the senazios, so BORDERLANDS isnot ‘useful asa source book as Griffin Mountain. Unlike Griffin Mountain, thoush, the scenario structuze provided requies vistually no scene fetting by'the GM before play can begin. For RO fans, the only reason not to acquire this, ‘oneis the hope of one day paying in Steve List THE SOLOMANI RIM, Traveller Supple- ment 10 (GDW); $3.98. Designed by John Harshman. One 6” x 9” 48-page booklet, Pub> Tished 1982, For those Traveller enthusiasts who have long worsdered “What about Earth?” GDW has released ils star sector supplement on the teion of space around Tetra ~ THE SOLO- MANI RIM. RIM Is designed in the same base {format as The Spinward Marcher ~ some basic information on the area, 16 subsector maps with planetary stats foreach world in the sub T6E BRAGOH TREE supplements and accessories for tise with Dungeons & Dragons* Cl The Handbook of Traps and Tricks cover 100 taps of all types. . . $9.50 Amazon Mutual Wants You #1 ‘Most Amazon Mutual Life Assurance jobs involve rescuing prisoners or ecovering the bodies of dead policy holders for resurtection by AMLA clerics ~ But not always! .-. $6.00 1 The Book of anifacts ‘Over 200 new artifacts with complete ‘eseripions, prets, powers, uss, and misueae yeas 470) the Dragon Tree Spell Book ‘Over 200 spells in standard format, Including two new types of sells "Zero Level” (housthold/indusral) ‘and "Dragon Spells”... $7.50 Te ORAGON TREE 118 Sayles Blvd Abilene, TX 79605 ‘*Dongeons Dragons i. repistered trademark of Tit Hobbies Ine sector, and an explanation of what the world Gata slats mean so it ist necessary to Keep refotring back to Book 3. RIM also hus some Improvements that GDW has initiated since 33 ‘Marcher book. One of the handiest is min ture centerfold ‘map of the entre ctor, showing cach subsector in relation to each ther with xcboat routes connected, raking fubstclot to subsector travel much simpler envision — something Spinward sadly lacked. ‘The map coding system is the new one devel- ‘oped for Fifth Frontier War, showing world population and political status by the size and olers of the letters in the name, or the pres- ‘ence of nor-presnce of water by color, ete ‘Several feature of THE SOLOMANI RIN. axe quite outstanding. Some of the world data odes have been updated, for example, Atmos plore typos a extended 10 F to reflect espe- ially unusual conditions, such as an ellipsoid ‘world with aspherical atmosphere, asin Lasry Niver's Known Space world of Jinx. Much fore data about the history of the Rim ke tiven (han wap about the Marches in the easier fupplement, including information on the mys ferlous Vegans and their Autonomous Distt, fiset mentioned moze than two Years ago Adventure 1, The Kinuit, And then, of course, ae the familar "buzz words" of the names of ie is is Joel gag — Sie, Alek eat ‘Tau Ceti, Barnard’s Star (hough some are listed under theix snajor wodd's name rather than by Har) — plas those that fist appeared on 1 Inperium ‘aapboard ~ Agidda, Cashidda, Digit, Kinunir ~ and of course the obligatory liecary references — Miskatonic, Nyarathotep, Barsoom, and even Keypton, There are few problems in THE SOLOMANI ‘RIM, most being mere matters of taste Pa have liked 4 bit more information on the Vegan physical (and mental) characteristics than merely “roughly humanoid in body shape but completely nonhuman in detail” And several fof the planet names have appeared in other sector supplements ~ Nyarlathotep in Beyond, Busoom in Vanguard Reaches, ‘Thamber in ‘Spinward, ec. OF course, in such a large arc of space, duplicate names certainly can be Aiscountea a8 unrealistic, s these stent really awe ‘Overal, THE SOLOMANI RIN should definitely appeal to any Traveller player oF ref who has Jonged to adventure in the area of ‘Torr ot who simply wants 19 know as much about the universe ak posible, “Willem A. Barton TRAIL OF THE SKY RAIDERS (FASA); $6, Designed by J. Andrew Keith. Approved for Traveller 6" x 9° S6xpaze bookiet, 1” x 17" ‘map insert, 38 players; playing time indefinite, Published 1982. For those of you who enjoyed FASA’s Legend of the Sky Raiders and yearned for mare information on the mysterious Sky Raié= fs of the Ul, there is now a sequel. TRAIL takes up where Legend left ofl, with basically the same playercharacters now in command of the Far Trader thatthe group had the opportun Ly to steal tthe ond ofthe est adventure. On 4 minor world In the Leage of Suns in the F Frontiers, the characters find hanging on the wall of a bar an artifact that looks suspiciously like those found in the Sky Rakdcrs cache on Mirayn, the location of Legend. Since the Inst tute of System Stodies on Alzene in the League paid a considerable sum for those artifacts, it ‘would seem reasonable that they might want ‘more... Which leads the group into an adver: ture of intrigue, kidnapping, and archeological discovery that results in the uncovering of the33 This 100 PAGE book is all you'll need. Alien playing character High technology Weapons Space vehicles Psionics & more Just when you thought the Mechanoid threat was over -.the nightmare begins, IN ff IW ANS NEW WY Vy \ = separate game or in conjunction with books 1& 2 HE JOURNEY CTA ) DETROMT, MICH, 48210 Book One: THE MECHANOID INVASION 50 pages su 75 ‘The planet Gideon Fis besieged by cy34 Build MOUNTAINS to match your men... Expand your wargame scenarios with 19mm hex size trapezoid terrains, on cardboard or thick plastic backing. Sets of 2, 8, 18, or 32 combine to form a single large hex; 18 combine more than 131 billion ways Choose from mountain, forest, suburban, and pasture terrains, All types are fully compatible. plastic cardboard Set of 18 $16.25 $14.00, Set of 8 S780 $6.50 Sampler of2 $2.75 $2.25 When ordering, specify number and types. Make checks payable to GEOTACTICS, 2.0. Box 420728, Sacramento, CA 93842. (California residents odd 6% sales tax. GEOTACTICS Cast Your Own Fantasy Figures 25 MM Fully Round Casting your own figures i easy and fun. F ‘molds for fantasy figures have been made, and by the largest pro ‘veer of molds in the worl. The illustrated moldeaze the fist ‘ones produced for DAD players and there are three figures per ‘mold, More ate coming, Molds ate only $8.95 each pus 15% postage, insurance, and sanding. rte for complete brochure, Dealer inquiries welcome, origin of the mysterious Sky Raiders. Several important NPCs from the firs adventure reap- pear, including Lorain Messand, the young so nti whose father had been obsessed withthe Sky Raiders, and the evil Fner Kalomanary and Ise henchmen, Several other intersting NPCs, & ‘wealth of libuary data and subsector informa tion on the League of Suns and the Naziewue Desearotie Hegemony in the Jungleblut Sub- sector, excellent illustrations by Bll Keith, and set of detailed instruction, rumors and clues for the referee (0 disseminate a9 the players seck out tho answors to the mysteries they face ‘make TRAIL just as complete and es satistying an adventure sits predecesor ‘Aside from being 2 ripsnorting adventure, ‘TRAIL is notable in that t presents she players with a puzzle that thoy"l have to solve with, thoit brains rather than with the tiger fingers, ‘There inevitably will be some combat during the course ofthe scenato, but investigative ac- ton, stealth, and deductive reaconing wll prove Just’ as important — and usually. more so. ‘TRAIL alo includes the fist mapped-out sub- sector of the Far Frontiers yet to see print, plus {Jot of background info about the area to help fll out the eampaten. The only problems evident In the adventure are in the nature of typos. Most are merely an- noyanees, but one in the section on informa tion available at the earport allows ramers to be dlepeneed on a roll of 2+, when the cll is ‘more likely meant to have been at beat 87+ Overall, TRAIL OF THE SKY RAIDERS looks to Be one of the hetter Traveller adven- tures published yet this year by anyone. Chalk lp another suecess for she Keith brothers nd for FASA. =Wiatiam A, Berton GOST as RB TAK the fst time, 8 eee Distributed by The Dunken Co. 20303 Silbury Ave., Katy, TX 77450 (713) 492-2692 ARCADE GAMES BERZERK (Atar); $29.99. Cartridge for ‘the Atari VCS, with instruction and comic book. One player; playing time usually under S minutes, Released 1982. TBERZERK is the latest hit arcade game to bye released lor the VCS. Here, you eonttl 3 ‘human who must shoot his way out ofa robot packed maze, To make things tough, the robols cam fire back and a smiling, bouncing face namod Evil Otto comes to attack near the fend of each round. (Depending on the game variation you choose, you can have “non shooting monsters, no’ Otto, or any combina tion you desir.) ‘The graphics in BERZERK are not eye popping, but they work. The mazes are not ‘hat complex, but they suffice. The robots are ‘Similar to the arade version: Sometimes they'e fairly cunning, other times they're stupid. The tame play is very similar to the arcade version, And it should look very good to the DERZERK fan, ‘The biggost difference between this version fand the arcade game is the lack of speech, When the arcade version was released, it was among the fst to have a “voice chip"; it could ‘make the robots say “Human ~ fight like a robot!” of “Chicken” and other nasty com ments, DERZERK lores something without {alking robots. (TRS-80 owners have hed Big S's “Robot Attack” for almox « year now. It talks through the casstte port) Als, « (vo player — take turns game would have bean nice ‘And with the cartridge, Atar includes a comic book produced by DC Comics. Defender had fone, t00) Apparently this isa continuing saga buy the latest arcade cartridge for the next chapter. Tf you liked BERZERK, or if you simply ‘enjoy shooting evil robots in electrified mazes, then look for this at your local store. But ‘wateh out for Evil Otto! = Ba Driscoll (CHOPPER COMMAND (Activision):526.95 Designed by Bod Whitehead. Cartridge for the ‘Atant Includes one cartridge and. three-page intruction booklet. One or two players; pay ing time one to five minutes. Published 1982. AAs a chopper pilot, the player must protect vital shipment of medial supplies being moved ‘crow the desert Below in 12 trucks. The only Weapon the player has against the enemy ight rr and helicopters i hs rapi-ire autoeanon, The enomy siciaft have mltbwashead mises and wil practice kamikaze attacks often. The graphics are up to Activision standards, ‘though not particularly new. The main change from a standard shooting game is the insert of 0 Tong-ange scanner map at the bottom of the serven, which shows the positions your trucks tnd the enemy Toress, even if they ate off the main viewseraen, With ten waves of increasing Aifcalty in enemy fores it will be extremely difficult for anyone 0 ever seo the end as ele Jing four ot five Levels i teal feat. The sounds are also done well, with the chopper bladss whooshing and autofite rattling, but again, nothing is particularly seat. CHOPPER COMMAND is a moderately suc- cesful shoottheenemy game with the added Worry of protecting the trucks, but it isalot of ‘money to toss ata Standard cartridge. Tt f welldone, but if you wish to avoid an other areude shooting match even if thas nice Sound and graphics, then pat up. Richard A, Edwonde35 The Correspondence Game!! Would you like to be the CAPTAIN of YOUR OWN starship like the ENTERPRISE?!? Would you welcome the challenge of solving the mysteries of space, battling the Klingons, and exploring new worlds?!? This is the adventure of STAR TREK. This is where you'll find alien cultures embroiled in problems that you can solve only after unraveling the secrets of their strange customs. This Is where you'll struggle against both the fabric of space and the steel of your starship. This is where you'll find more Klingons and Romulans than you REALLY wanted tol! The mysteries are all here ... and so is the excitement and adventure! Here’s how to bring the adventure to you ... EC! now introduces a STAR TREK game that you play in the mail!! From the very start, you'll be placed rightin the center of the Bridge! Here you'll take the role of CAPTAIN of a Federation Heavy Cruiser, either the Enterprise or one of your own choice! At your disposal will be the tremendous power of a Starship, the technology of the far future, and an entire crew ready to obey your orders on the double! ‘YOUR PLAYER'S KIT: (1) A 24 page rulebook teling you EVERYTHING about your ship ang how to play tho STAR TREK game! (2) A Crew Roster with 400+ crewmembers including name, rank, akils, nd duty post! {@) A Ship’s Technical Description giving you all tho details about your own individual starship! (4) Your Orders and Adventure to get you started in the most exciting correspondence game ever! YOUR STAR TREK MOVE: (1) Each move we send will be a complete narrative description of what happened as @ result of your last actions! (2) You'l gota ship status report, detailing Crew Status, Department Status, Technical Status, and Damage Control Reports! (@) Youwillbe ablete write THREE PAGES of description for ANY ACTION YOUIWISH TO PERFORM! Yau can ute any oral of your erew at ‘YOUR DISCRETION’ There are NO special action charges, no limits on what YOU can decide 10 do! (4) Each month you'll receive a newsletter telling the stories of the most exciting adventures, giving hints on play, and sometimes running contests with cash prizes! EC! Is using the acclaimed SIL VERDAWN move system to bring you the science fiction ole play'ng game o! your dreams! The STAR TREK Player's Kits $6, plus $4or each adcitional Starship. Each move thereatteris $4, I not completly satistieg, you can return the Playor’s Kit fora full retune, ENTER TODAY, and soon you'll be getting your first mission orders from Starfleet Command! Name I want: _____ Enterprise Address _ oh hi nami city _________state______zip chocoessiise) Please send me Federation Heavy Cruisers at $6 for the first Starship and Player's Kit and $4 for each additional Starship. Mail to: ECI, 6923 Pleasant Drive, Charlotte, NC 28211 [STAR TREK is the registered tracomark of Paramount Pietures Corporation. Used by EC! under exclusiwo lconse tom ParamountFREE LEAD FIGURE : ey WITH PURCHASE OF ALL—NEW CATALOG $1.00 HOBBY HOUSE 8208 MERRIMAN DEPT S-56 WESTLAND, MI 48185 TSR GDW RAL PARTHA AVALON HILL GRENADIER CITADEL AND MORE TAXMAN (HLA.L. Labs); $23.00. Designed by Brian Fitzgerald. 48K disk for Apple. One 10 fv players playing time variable. Cannot be saved, Published 1981 nthe land of Tanstaal the citizens revolt, denying the government of its rightful Yenue, and rioting in the streets, You are the TAXMAN, selfappointed champion of the co¥ cament coffers. The sily citizens don't know what's good for them, and have developed They ure armed and rebellious tendencies. dangerous. To help you there are tax centers {neach procint. Passing through one gives You the temporary power to “pucly” the angry is But, alas they are soon back on the Causing more damage and. destruc ‘Thus reads the introduction of TAXMAN. “This game is very neatly a carbon copy of the aeede game PacMan. It has extremely good raphict which are true to the original, ight flown to blinking Blue phoste after you pase through a tax center (eat a power dot). There Js color or b/w option, 99 wo users with Diack and white monitors don't have to puzdle fut what shade of grey corresponds to a specie color ‘The game docs have one flaw: You can’t use paddies ora Joystick, you're forced 19 wse the keyboard, The Keys chosen are rather close together, which takes some getting used to. Aetiitely recommend this game to all who Waste too many quarlers at arcades, ai is just tsaddictive asthe oriina, Incidentally, HAL. Labs is offering a $100 prize tothe first person who identifies the fartoon after the 23rd level. Pve only made it 1o the Sth level after two weeks of determined cftor. Karl Westerholm MINIATURES ELF CHARIOT (Ral Partha); $10. Seulprod by Tom Meer. 2Smm lead miniature chariot ten pars, including. tree horses and two crewmen, Released 1982, This small chariot isa finly-detated “command” unit. From the dstinet (and die- tinctly inhuman) features of dhe elferew tothe rich caparisoning of the hoes, itis dofnitaly a fantasy offering, and wil no doubt find its place in many a fantasy amy. Figures of other Faces could easly be substituted for the elves supplied, and, or those who like @ more sine et appearance, very litle work would be required to turn the egle-wings of the chariot {nto at or dragon pinions ‘No. instructions were included in my set, bout assombly is only a mattor of putting the Wheels on the” axles and studying the box photo for the proper placement af the “winged Shield” par My Teaetion to this set was somewhat ho- Jum, and Iwasa fist a lose to explain why, ‘ven {0 myself... i alteictive and well-cast But ve en ehiriots before, At two fet, only the wings distinguish this rom several histories! chariots The ortinalty that distinguishes mony fantasy minature sts is somewhat lacking her, But it a wel-eratted pleee and paints up very nee. Look it over. ~ Steve Jackson ZHODANI MILITARY, SWORD WORLDS MILITARY, IMPERIAL ‘STRIKER FORCE (Martin Metal); $3.50/set 12 15mm figures per actin bubble pack, Approved for use with Traveler, Released 1982. ‘Martin Metals is buy adding more 15mm figures. 10 its line of approved-for- Traveller you ae int forthe boy EERE eel SYA YAY eqn OwUINDeA ) | a Hoare ence Fagus hat nora you tothe awesome wore of the Golden igen sinisasea name, ora degenerate sou Su for & lg nd her Bhar tthe 8 ° of at gaieonn asavage Peedi. the exci fare Spann Yown ad he eh ing Ae aor ard peru se you hase hame Tite Save makes beoned esto 2nd feo coung wth ‘hearted wenches, Sevtaugant arese War oa eso TATE Lunes cn cet itorno ae You worked ip amans seat Youve weuthed he Jars the tot ea beh soy exchange of muse, = salt dame up he ren ach cua ees yy athe end ofa ard wetking week, ane 1900 Pbteatns, RO. Box 24767, Dal, Texas 7528 Ac $1 raenece 50ee a eee Oe ee eee eames) articles on variants, strategy and tactics, and com- puter gaming; fiction by game-oriented writers like PERC ONS ne cee ouuni tag Cae ae oe eee aon read and respected reviews in the hobby. SC er eu) great one? Since news is always popular with our read- PR ce eee ee ecu ey “news department” the hobby has to offer. eee ea eer ua sive you a complete game four times a year — begin- Re ny Rete rea cnet cee Rem omc et cme OR Pier CR RCS 9) ee Pee eM cmos CS ecco ee re om eer PSS ena eee aera ee cae emcee) Lair of the Fat Man, a Top Secret mission by W.G. Armintrout; Warlord of the Western Plains, a Morrow Dee A a Roe eRe Pei Get in ona good thing. As a TSG subscriber, you'll save money ($9.00 per year over newsstand prices) Be reece ce seen egos Re a ee ee RR a ey Re Ae Oa eet oe Earnie ttc nied ree cena ean em as Ee er SURFACE MAIL Ried Peay Pind Bra) 24 issues (monthly) ero errr) Subscription Rates: icine neta ry rN) ee aOR EU Pie racce tard CCC ALS eco aOR Saco ‘Austin, Texas 78760-8957Terrain Stamps Mapstamps Dragon Stamps Fantasy Stamps Meta-Stamps Suite 222 834 Chatmers Chicago, Mlinois 60614 send $1.00 for our catalog (make checks payable to “Letters”) rminiatures. Among the latest are three packs Of figures all ready for battle stations during the Filth Frontier War — ZHODANL MILL TARY, SWORD WORLDS MILITARY, and IMPERIAL STRIKER FORCE. The Zhodani pack features figures. cad in the distinctive ‘Zhodani battledress The Sword Worlders ae flishly lower tech level troops with smaller ‘weapons, and are apparently clad only in cloth ir (or bare uniozms) with beretype caps 1¢ Imperial Striker Force is the lowest tech level force of the throo and feature Figures in various poses with a variety. of small arms, plus a miniature of the map box featured on the cover of DW's Striker miniature rues Gin fact, the Force itself could have almost been Aesigned from the cover at). ‘The fiquos reflect the genoral hish quality ‘of MMs 15mm figures ~ not quite as nicely Setaled” as Ral Partha's 155, Dut sill quite fcceplable. Flash and defects are. minimal. Plus, MM seems toi fiom the prevalent ‘many of te eur Complaints are mioimal on these sts. sul waiting for some of those turbaned Zho- ani nobles, 2 prototype of which was dis played at lat year’s GenCon. But this set was Gesiened as fighting troops, 50 the omission is understandable — expecially since this st is 50 ‘much more satisfying than the earlier Zhodant fet. The Sword World. troops have Title to feally distinguish them as Sword. Wonders, thei berets making them similar to the eater Meroenaries sets, so that some might find them superflious, Stil, there are some nice posee in the ‘Overall, the ISmm miniature enthusiast wi probably find all three sets of ‘use, a6 will Traveller payers and refs who wse the mini tures in their roleplaying campaigns. MM con: tines to improve inthis line Wiliam A, Barton PLAY AIDS TRAVELLER DICE Gamescience); $4.00. Four 5/8” dice in bubble pack. Released 1982. Approved for uso with Dravellar For those of you whose gaming accesories have to be “offical” and who also happen to ‘be Traveller players, Gamescienee has now released a set Of is pact dice offically approved for use with Taveer, The dice come four to a peck and are cast in Diack with a White sunburst (as seen in the TAS news releases in the Journal of the Travellers" Aid Society) and red disital-style numbers. ‘So. what eke canbe sild about dice? TRAVELLER DICE are typical high-quality ‘oxamples of the species, as are all of Came fcience’s They do add a cerain fair to rolling for ayace suit mishap ors hit with a acer sie ‘They're nioe to look at, sturdy, and seem to roll” nicely on most “susTaces (planetary. or otherwise), ‘OF course, one does not really need “off cial” dice for playing, Traveller, Any sixsiders will do just as well, And at four bucks for four dice, you'e going to have to want that “approved for” stamp. quite a bit more than most gamers — especkally if you have to keep tubs onthe finances like some of us do. Sull ~ what ean I say? ~ bought « se just for the novelty of i. And they do look fomewhat more impressive than regular dice ‘when rolling up that random encounter for the players. (In other words, Gamescience probably isn't goin to lose money on these) MOVEMENT “HE FORUM OF CONRUCT SMAATON Fire & Movement is recognized as the best magazine of its kind in the field of historical wargaming . . . it has won the Charles Roberts Award for “best magazine covering boardgaming” for the last three years in a row! Now, Fire & Movement is published by Steve Jackson Games. Each bimonthly issue will include news, strategy articles, designers’ notes, and reviews . . . from the same award-winning editorial staff To subscribe, send $21.00 (for twelve issues) or $39.00 (for 24 issues) to: FIRE & MOVEMENT Box 18957-T Austin, Texas 78760 Your subscription will start with the next issue published. Each copy will arriv. protective mailing cover, Note: F&M sub- scribers, like TSG subscribers, get free Postage on most SJ Games products when ordering from us, as well as other special offers and “freebies.” If you enjoy what we're doing with TSG, and you play historical games — you'll like Fire & Movement, that made F&M so highly respected.(eS TASK FORCE GAMES — The NEW FORCE in gaming =) 39 rE LEGAGY LIVES ON First there was STAR FLEET BATTLES, reach- ing into the un- known void of the Star Fleet Universe to cap- ture the excite- ment and thrill of tac- tical space combat. Then came EXPANSION #1 and #2, pushing back all limits known to man and ex- panding his knowledge of the cosmos. And now, TASK FORCE GAMES is proud to present: Star Fleet Battles Expansion #3 The endless legend stretches forth to strain the limits of the universe! STAR FLEET BATTLES EXPANSION #3 brings you a myriad of new ships including the in- novative Romulan Sparrowhawk with interchangeable modules, four new Pseudo- Fighters, three new types of Fighters, Pseudo-Fighter Tenders, new Light Cruisers for several races, civilian ships, and the terror of the galaxy—the Andromedan Domi- nator! There are twelve new types of mines, intricate rules for mine warfare, and Minesweepers for all races. EXPANSION #3 also introduces a new race—the WYN, allied with the Orions; a new monster—the fearsome Space Dragon; and new weapons systems, including Enveloping Plasma Torpedoes, Aegis Fire-Control system, and ECM Drones. There's a new mini-campaign—Admiral Kosnett's War—as well as new Tholian web rules and complete errata for EXPANSION #2. And more! STAR FLEET BATTLES EXPANSION #3 The Legacy Coming this fall to a game store near you.40 SCANNER: —— “ws rom rue wortp or apvenure camming ——— TSR Decides Fate of SPI Magazines ‘TSR Hobbies, Inc. has recently report ed its decision on the eventual fates of the SPI magazines, Strategy & Tactics, Moves, and Ares. In aletter to SPI magazine subscribers, TSR reported its perspective of the events leading up to the SPI takeover and an nounced its decision regarding former subscriptions to the magazines. AAs had been theorized by industry ob: servers, Moves will be folded into S&T, S&T and Ares will both be published bi monthly at 64 pages; games will appear in each magazine every other issue. The hanging. subscriptions to the magazines will not be picked up by TSR; the com- pany instead will be offering “two-for fone” subscriptions to former subscribers — purchase of a one-year sub will net the buyer two years of magazines. SAT life- time subscribers are offered the same deal, with the addition of free back issues dat {ng before the start of the lifetime subs. Despite increasing reports of discon: tent among lifetime subscribers, only one Tawsuit filed against TSR by a lifetimer has been reported to TSG. Preliminary analyses by legal advisers indicate the TSR is in a very good position legally, and that individual lawsuits by lifetimers high chance of success; the nuisance value of these actions will have to be dealt with by TSR. The company’s good legal position comes from its method of acquising the copyrights and trademarks to the Simula- tions Publications products: TSR loaned approximately half a million dollars 10 SPI; the collateral against the loan was the aforementioned rightsand trademarks, When repayment for the loan was not forthcoming, TSR picked up those trade- marks and copyrights without acquiring any of the debis or liabilities tothe com pany News Briefs FASA to Produce Deathworld FASA, publisher of Traveller supple ‘ments and the Rekind Enemy Lines RPG, hhas negotiated an agreement with author Harry Harrison to turn his Deathworld tuilogy of novels into a science-fiction RPG. The game's appearance is tentative- ly scheduled for the summer convention season of 83. Paranoia Press Folds Paranoia Press, producer of such well known Traveller suppl as SORAG. and Scouts and Assassins, has confirmed that it will “cage to be” once current in- ventory is exhausted; the existing stock is being sold to distributors at a 70% dis count. The company is also seeking a buyer for the copyrights to its five Trar- eller supplements. Spy-Game Agreement Negotiated Flying Buffalo, Inc. and Hero Games are currently negotiating a cooperative licensing agreement for their upcoming spy role-playing games. Under the terms ff the agreement, all adventure supple- ‘ments and scenarios for Hero's Espionage and FBI's Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes games will be usable’ with either game. Nuts & Bolts Returns The Nuts & Bolts of PBM, which temporarily ceased publication in April °82, will be returning to a publication schedule as The Nuts & Bolts of Gaming Primary concentration will still be on PBM, but the scope of editorial coverage will be extended to SF&F “face to face” games as well (GDW, Avar Sign License Agreement Game Designers’ Workshop has signed a licensing agreement with Avar Produets, of Denver, CO. Avar will be producing mounted “adventure boards” of starship deck plans, player aids, and referee aids for Traveller for the upcoming Christmas season. New & Upcoming Releases Strategic Simulations, In., will be 1 leasing The Warp Factor for the IBM; the game will cost $39.95, $81 also intends to release a genuine computer monstergame, Guadaleanal Campaign, which can last up to 80 play-houts. The’ game can also be played solitaire; it retails for $59.95 for the 48K Apple. Manifest Destiny is the PBM offering of Viking Enterprises; each player guides, a “nation destined to become & super power.” Setup fee is $5.00 and inchides rulebook and setup tuen; thereafter, turns are $3.00. Viking Enterprises can be con- tacted at 5500 Closeburn Rd., Charlotte, NC 28210. ‘Midkemia Press has released Jondril: Gateway to the Sunken Lands, a city setting compatible with “most popular Fantasy Role-Playing Games on the mas- ket today.” ‘Star Traders, an outerspace trade computer game, has been teleased by Hayden Softwares it’s $19.95 for the 48K. Apple Il. Prisoner 2, sequel to the Prisoner pro- gram, has been released by Interactive Fantasies; it is in Applesoft and requires 48K (and $32.95), Star Frontiers, TSR’s longexpected science fiction RPG, was finally released at GenCon, along with Gangbusters, an RPG of Ganen and speakeascs, and Davon Patrol, a WWI game, all retailing for $12. TSR also entered’ the computer game field with Dungeont, the computer version of their boardgame, and Theseus and the Minotaur. Both games are $25 and are for the 48K Apple I Flying Buffalo has released the second- edition rules to Herote Fantasy; they are free to anyone who bought the first edition rules.Convention Calendar ‘Ovlober 1:3: ARMADILLOCON 4. SF conven: tion. Comtact c/o Robert Taylor, £.0. Box: 9612 NW Station, Austin, TX 78766. October 2:3: TOL-CON *82. Gaming con. Con- ‘act. Mind Games, 2001 Nerth Reynolds ond, Toledo, OF 43615. October 8-10: WIN GAMES IT. To bo hold at University. of Manitoba. Contact the Unk voit of Manitoba Wargames Cub, Box 80, University Conte, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. ‘October 9-10: MADCON IV. ERE. miniatures Wargames. Contact Mark Anderson, c/o Peet ‘aus Games, 222 West Gotham, Madizn, 'WI53703 with SASE. October 29: STARCON "82. Stratepy, tacts, RPGs. Contact lenacy Lipise, 229 East 22nd Avenuo, Vancouver, B.C. VSV 178 Canada, October 29-31: FALL SCL! CONVENTION. ‘SF, Halloweon programs, costume conte RPG rooms, Contact © 213/337-7047. November. $7: WARGAMERS. WEEKEND. Contact Chris’ Game and Hobby, 83 Lata tte Road, Salisbury, MA 01950, ot eal 617/462-8241, November 12-14: MDG WINTER GAMEFEST, oardzames, minitures, RPGs, Contact MDG, WIT Info, Box 686, Wyandotte, MI 48193. November 12:14: WESTERN RECON ‘82. SF ‘SF, fantasy gaming, Contact Karl Miller, 41 837 North Universty Vilage, Salt Lake City, UT, 84108, 801-582-6076. January’ 22°33, 1983: WINTER CAMPAIGN lL RPGs, boardgames, Napolonics. Contact Winter Campaign, 2.0. Box 14630, Univers sity Station, Minneapolis, MN 55414-0630, February 26-27, 1983; GAME FAIRE. RPGs, mmiccoarmor, chess, arcade games, ce, For information, contact Shannon Ahern, Book and Game Company, West 621 Mallon, Spo- kane, WA 99201 of 309/325-3358, March $46, 1983: CENTCON I: Squad Leeder, D&D, Backzarmon, Risk, Kingmoker, Top Seere, ete. Contact Ron Vincent, Treasiter = CentCon I, 471 Commonwealth Avenue, ‘New Britain, CT 06053. ‘tuly 14-17, 1983: ORIGINS °83. Adventure famine con, Contact MDG, Box 656, Wyan- ddote, MI 48192. ‘SI GAMES and TSG willbe atending the con- ‘ventions matked above with seteriske PBM Update EARTHWOOD (Gane Systems, Ine.) ‘The fist eight games are proceeding strongly. Games 9 and 10 are now open for new players. Game 1; The bitter hatred has ceased between the Athians and the High Elves. Rumors of an alliance are stirring, The Hill Dwarves have stormed and taken the Halfling Citadel of Snuvelton. Rumors spread of a wizard’s research brewing in the Giant Kingdom Game 2: A huge force of Mammoth Men mined beneath the Rumonian City of Rume, taking the defenders by sur prise. A fierce, sorcerous battle resulted in victory for the Conjurer over the Nec- sromancet and his undead minions. Game 3: In spite of losing three cities in rapid succession, the High Elves con- tinue their siege of Escobar. Alliances are being sought. Game 4: A three-player alliance and a growing Empire are the eurtent major for ces to date. Il omens run rampant as large numbers of Wizards flock to Linden. Rumors of a large Halfling army afield continue to flood local taverns Game 5: Tales of a clover thief enter- ing and stripping the treasury of Yumuri have many Lords tightening security. The Anorocians continue to annex nearby ruins, Game 6: A devastating defeat has hurt the morale of the Giantas as they were driven from the walls of Asturia. The Gnomes and their allies, however, have tasted sweet victory in wars against the Mountain Dwarves and Halflings Game 7: The upstart “Stardom” has found only bitter hatred or staunch sup- port om all fronts, Revenge drives the For- est Elves on their march towards Escobar. Meanwhile, the Rangers continue recruit- ‘ments of large numbers of NPCs to swell their armies’ ranks, Game 8: Only weeks old, already alli: ances are formed and battlelines have boen drawn, This will be an interesting and dangerous game. Peter Stassun UNIVERSE II (Clemens & Associates) ‘Company News: The special version of Universe If for players in Europe contin: Les to grow at a rapid pace. European res- ‘dents wishing to join may contact ICBM, P.O. Box 100 Bath Street, Walsall, West Midlands, UK. Game News: Quadrant I: Where will the Regaian expansion lead to next? Rumors say eith ex Arturus or Vindemiatrix will be next. The uncertainty about the Eohippan Alliance has endod: they have disbanded. Quadrant I: No major wars are cur. rently active, Most groups seem to be building up their defenses. (Quadrant II: The power of the PAF Alliance has been broken by the SA and CSA ships. The star system in BAL7 has been reclaimed. Quadrant IV: The Unity Alliance ships ae consolidating their gains. The final in tention of their activities in the former Regaiian empire is unknown, ‘Regajian Empire: Tne empire is strong ex than ever in Quadrant I. It is rumored that the loyal RSS ships and the dissident RSS/UFO ships will soon reconcile their differene Zxtli Empire: Plans are under way to Jaunch a counterattack against the Rega- jian forces which have expanded up to our borders. ‘Muar Empire: Task Force 4 of the Muar Raiders is conducting a recom-in- force toward the Alkes area. Reinforco- ments have arsived from Quadrant IV. Jon Clemens Index to Advertisers Avalon Bill .3 (Central Tees Computing «22-222 a8 Compleat Strategist Te back cover Dragon Tree 32 Dunken Co. (Prince August) 3 Entertainment Concepts. 2... 35 on Products Ronnie Fantasie Simutions Bie 30 FASA, ate ee, Fueg iiovemene. 1... ie ‘lying Bua. 5 Game Designer's Workshop 9 Geotactes u Graaf Simulations. 31 Hobby Howse 36 Iron Crown Enterprises 15 Judges Gut 16 Legionnaire deseseeree sh Letters eee Longshot Enterprises 00000220 Tig Martian Metals =. 28 Mayfair Games. 0 Mysterious Mouse’ 2 Palladium 3 Retailers 4 ‘Solubel & Son ‘side jront cover ‘Steve Jackson Games 7 Task Force Games 21.38 eee ‘ack mailer West Bl Games | back cover Yequinto i 36 Zocehi Disirburors (Gamesclnce) 2942 LETTERS This letter is a rebuttal to the “Musphy's Rules” presented in isue $3 of The Space Gamer, "AL Hero Games, we cateully research all aspects of the rules shat we write, In order to provide proper backrsound material fo the see tion on Falling” in the Champions rules, we threw, pushed, or defenestated our playtesters fom tall buildings. With a test sample of 43 people, we found that 28 of them were able to ‘walk sway from three-story fll onto concrete (hough some of them did need some coaxing). ‘Once the. playtesters recovered, we tested the effects ofa tenstory plummet, This second test was more difficult to organize, es some of the playtesters evinced some rotloenee t0 ths aspect of playtesting. However, with some per- fuasion, we conducted the second test, this time with only 37 people (some of the other playtesters were stil in intensive car). We found that 17 people survived the fll, which we felt was pretty good, considering how dam- ged some of thom Were "Thus, it fe clea thatthe "Murphy's Rule was incorrectly lampooning a good rule, and I hhope that a suitable retraction is published Hero Games Belmont, CA Thanks, guys I imagine thor there's an entertaining story behind the creation of your SR ea = COSMIC ENCOUNTER...QUiRKS... HOAX...RUNES...DARKOVER Ask for EON games at your local hobby and game store. EON PRODUCTS, Inc. ‘Sheldon Road, RFD 2, Barre, MA 01005 “breaking. things” systems, too. However, ax some sections of Belmont are sil standing, it Toke like your research om that section wasn't -AA | am amused to see that David Hargrave i claiming (sue $4) that Ardudn is “all original” Sure. Unchuh, And the Russians invented the airplane The Arduin Grimoire (rst came out in 1977, 1 your which Hargrave apparenly believes “pre: ates” D&D. tt was plainly and simply a sip. plement to D&D. In fact, in the “Forward” [ste], Hargrave refered to the Grimoire as "th supplement.” He made a numberof disperaging remarks concerning greedy “nonamateur game designers” who tried to suppress purehearted amateurs suchas himac if their produts “even remotely rescmbled any those big businesses typex hid. published.” He wat careful not t0 mention TSR or D&D by name. ‘Asan “original” cretion, the Grimoire wasa disappointment. It was very’ sloppy and poorly organized. It did have “eharacters” and “mon: sters" with “level,” “alignment,” "hit dee,” “ving throws.” and “experience points." Fach of the character races, including human, elf, dwarf, and hobbit, had a range of charsctr istic which included strength, intelligence, wis dom, dexterity, constitution, and. charisma. ‘There was an equipment Ht that ineluded every thing on the original D&D lst, down to the bellidonns and wollsbane. Thete ware tables with special ables for all of the D&D charue- fer types. There were lets of spells, including mage," “levi” and “druid.” ‘There was 2 clerievs-undead” table. There was a. combat {able that required a “01-20 Die Roll to Ht, By Level," against various armor clases, ranging EON is gaming with a difference! *Action- packed Innovative play Eye catching graphics Quality components Wide appeal fiom nine to (wo (Full plate armour with ik"), with plusses above, There were many assorted tables and rules which seemed to fit neatly into the D&D system. And, oh yes, each (of the monsters listed fad" lia.” In his “Forward,” Hargrave suld “This sup- plement is basically original, and conceived by myself.” Now he says Arduln is “all original.” The prosecution rests Forrest Johnson North Helly wood, CA What can 1 say? TSG and $I Games just keep getting better and better. For goah sakes, Keep it up... there are few enough quality ‘mugazines avaiable nowadays. The recent TSGr have been, quite simply, fantastic. "The Lone GEV" in TSG $2 was 4 grat story, and’ Forres’s article was useful, especially 10 those GMs (or FM, or whatever) Who hadn' bothered to do much work in that area. “A Super Namod Joh” was one of the best superhero stories P've readin years (I'm an. avid comic book collector). TSG. 54 was es- pecially pleasing, with “The Conjuring™ and *Sfoaic Backlash’ stealing the show from overy- thing els. I look forward to allen. Vazney's ‘Necromancer next issue. Keep it coming, sys! Now for just one litle complaint (thore's ays one, isv't there). The way you've got ings set up now, a subscriber can’t got is bonus on an order without fearing off the cover ‘of his magazine. I may be in the minority, but 1 Keep my mailing covers on my copies of TSC and can’t stand the thought of tearing them off Isn't there a better way to accomplish things Won't photocopying work just as well a5 send ing you the original cover? Let's see those 48 papes sometime soon, huh. ‘So rauch for now. Until next time, Ibid you and yours, Good Gaming! ‘Steve Woodeoe Sullivan, MO We've never objected to a photocopy, Steve It’s Just startling to us that 50 many people ‘enually do. keep their mailers, the mailer ‘covers were originally designed a8 a throwawey attached merely to protect the magazin. ‘AS for 48 pages, well instead be trying to stick to 44 pages om sick paper, Keep your fingers cross. AA ‘The parpose ofthis letter isto apologize to those subseibers to this magazine who attend tel Origins "82 snd were ierlly turned away from the Avalon Hl booth at closing time Such a situation is really a testimonial ro the sucocss of the National Gaming Convention itsell, thanks in great part to the Hobby Indus- try whose promotional funds allowed GAMA to promote this event heavier than normal. And, too, many game manufacturers exceeded their obligations bY promoting Orkin: "82 heavily fon their own. Such an outpouring of promotion resulted in the laget convention attendance ever it my experience. And I've attended many! Unfortunately at closing time, 5 pmSunday, we had no alternative but to begin tearing down ‘Our exhibit booth. in accordance. with the ulations laid down by the college. This, of course, dissppointed. many attendees still hoping to be ‘erviood at the Booth and it is {o them Avalon Hil offers this public spoloy. "The Avalon itil Game Company Thomas N. 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