These are my reading notes of various Dragon Magazine articles. Learn more about the collection here.

This time the topic is Psionics. All articles bellow are from a Dragon Magazine #78 which dealt exclusively with Psionics in AD&D 1e.

Psionics is different... And that's putting it rather mildly

Author: Arthur Collins Issue: Dragon Magazine #78 Rating: ★★★★★

Arthur does a great job of explaining psionics, highlighting some issues, and offering potential workarounds. Authors often intertwine rules-as-written with their house rules, so I'm very grateful to Arthur for explicitly signposting what is RAW, what is his interpretation, and what is his proposed change.

Funny enough, his take on psionics is very much how I like to run things:

Let your player characters find out the hard way (if they ever do find out) that so-and-so is one of them. ... Let the possibility of psionics always be in the background, lurking around, waiting to surprise, horrify, and delight them.

This is a must-read for anyone interested in 1e psionics.

Overhauling the system: A three-part remedy for problems with psionics

Author: Robert Schroeck Issue: Dragon Magazine #78 Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

A title that oversells the content which ultimately boils down to three issues experienced by Robert. :

1. Too strong level 1 characters » change psionic point acquisition.
2. Psionic combat is black box to players » decide how much information to give based on the level of character with psionic talent.
3. Player characters stop using psionic powers at higher levels » make their psionic powers atrophy when unused.

This is a brief two page article, but it just feel like filler compared to the comprehensive Psionics is different... by Arthur Collins.

Initially I ranked this one with two stars, but reduced it to one star because it introduces issues in one way (power, combat, non-use) and then solutions in different way (power, non-use, combat). Unforgivable.

And now, the pscionicist: A class that moves psionics into the mainstream

Author: Arthur Collins Issue: Dragon Magazine #78 Rating: ★★★★★

Arthur does it the second time in the same issue. Carefully thought out Psionicist class which can coexist with those who have psionic talents.

It is for those characters who want to dedicate themselves to mastering the Talent. In addition to fleshing out the class, it also introduces several new Minor and Major Disciplines, as well as completely new Grand Disciplines.

Six new magic items are offered as well: shiral crystal, jerraman crystal, merasha (potion), transfer portal, mind link medallion, and wards major matrix.

Although the class slots in nicely with AD&D 1e rules, I personally will probably use it to flesh out Psionicist NPC rather than giving it to the players. Either way. it is a ell written article that I'll definitely include in the final collection.

Spells can be psionic, too: How and why magic resembles mental powers

Author: Kim John Issue: Dragon Magazine #78 Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

“Mom, what does this mean?”

“Mooom, what does this meeeaaan?!”

“Moooooooooooooooooooooom!”

Kim addresses why “spells resembling psionic powers” resemble psionic powers in six gruelling pages of dense, small three-column text.

Here, let me sum it up for you:

Characters and creatures who use psionic disciplines or related powers may not have the slightest inkling of the nature of the forces they're tapping; the important thing is that those forces obviously can be tapped and use for the benefit of the one who does so.

“Mom, what does this mean?”

“Mooom, what does this meeeaaan?!”

“Moooooooooooooooooooooom!”

What, you want really detailed explanation for each damn psionic power that resembles a spell? Then go read the full article.

No, this one won't make it into the final collection.

Psionics: Sage advice

Issue: Dragon Magazine #78 Rating: ★★★★★

Great complement to two articles by Arthur Collins.

Questions answered are:

• How often should a character check for possession of psionic abilities?
• If a non-psionic character has his intelligence, wisdom, or charisma increased by powerful magics (tomes, wishes, etc.), would this allow for a new chance to become psionic?
• Can a character lose his psionic potential if he suffers a decrease in one of the three important ability scores?
• How can the chance for psionic abilities be quickly assessed for NPCs who have no previously noted scores for intelligence, wisdom, and charisma?
• Which player character races in the AD&D™ game can possess psionic ability?
• Is it possible for a character to use a wish spell to become immune to psionic attack?
• If a psionic character is surprised by a psionic monster, does the monster get to attack the character as if the character were defenseless?
• Shouldn't psionic attacks or defenses put up by experienced and high-level psionic characters be more effective than those put up by lower-level characters or creatures?
• Can a psionic character cast a spell while employing any sort of psionic power (attack, defense, or discipline)?
• If a psionic spell caster has a thought shield defense up while casting a spell, would a psionic attack made against the character cause the spell to be lost, or would the defense hold and allow the spell to be cast to completion?
• If a character is slain by psychic crush, can he be raised or resurrected? Would he still then possess psionic abilities?
• The Players Handbook states that thought shield is the only defense against psychic crush, but the charts in the Dungeon Masters Guide contradict this. Why?
• What does the Players Handbook mean when it says that thought shield can be kept up at all times, unlike other defenses?
• During multiple psionic operations, when two or more psionic characters are transferring strength points back and forth, how are the points distributed after the operation is ended?
• The line at the bottom of p. 77 of the DMG (“Damage accruing beyond the point ...”) is unclear. Can you explain?
• Can psionic creatures or persons sense the presence of other psionic beings? If so, at what range does this ability function?
• If a fighter gains the discipline of domination and then switches to the thief class (as a bard would do), would this character lose the domination power?
• Can the psionic discipline animal telepathy be used to communicate with humans? After all, humans are animals.
• Could someone possessing the cell adjustment discipline become aware of his own or someone else's hit-point total by using this power? How long does it take to use this discipline, in terms of “casting time”?
• Can a character with the discipline of energy control negate the effects of a powerful spell such as wish, feeblemind, or disintegrate? Does “spell level” refer to the level of the spell caster throwing the spell at the psionic character, or to the level of the spell on the spell tables in the Players Handbook?
• Does the “Detection of Invisibility” table on p. 60 of the DMG apply to psionic invisibility? Can a character using the discipline of invisibility attack another creature and still remain invisible to that creature?
• Can molecular agitation be carried out on any visible object, even if seen through a crystal ball, wall of force, by clairvoyance, and so forth? Also, if a creature only possesses a small quantity of metal, can it still be burned if this metal is heated?
• Can a psionic character levitate himself by the use of the telekinesis discipline?
• Do magical protection items (rings, stones, cloaks, scarabs, etc.) affect saving throws vs. psionics?
• Should a character gain experience points just for using a psionic discipline or attack/defense mode?
• If a psionic character uses psionic blast on a non-psionic monster and slays it, should the character be awarded experience points for the kill just as if he had slain the creature in normal (physical) combat?

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These are my reading notes of various Dragon Magazine articles. Learn more about the collection here.

This time the topic is Magic.

“Oops! Sorry!” Spell interruptions can spell disaster

Author: Donald Hoverson Issue: Dragon Magazine #163 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Donald offers a simple procedure for adding a little bit “oh no!” to spell interruptions. Whenever a spell caster gets interrupted they roll a d20 to determine what happened. There is 80% chance of nothing but spell loss, 10% chance of ill effect, 5% of neutral effect, and 5% for helpful effect.

In those 20% cases of something happening, there is 75% effect will be minor, 15% it will be medium, and 5% it will be major. Minor effects are approximately at the level of 1st and 2nd spells, medium at 3rd to 6th level spells, and major mirror spells of 7th to 9th level.

The progression is basically annoyance » oh, no! » oh shit!

There is another table to determine what the effect actually is. It has 20 generic entries that the Judge must adjudicate based on the situation. For example “spell affect caster” or “spell effect oscillates in duration or effect (over a period of 1–100 rounds for one day).”

Here is my problem with this article: I'm not sure that the proposed procedure has been sufficiently play-tested. I mean, there is 10% chance that interrupting the big bad casting a spell results in them casting a better spell! That's a lot.

My final verdict will be as follows. It's a short article (just page and a third) worth skimming. I won't include it in the final collection.

Spells between the covers: Details for delving into magical research

Author: Bruce Heard Issue: Dragon Magazine #82 Rating: ★★★★☆

Bruce explains and expand on AD&D 1e procedures for magical research. The article is verbose and sometimes a bit dense, but worth working through. It has many examples to help with understanding the procedures.

Allow me a brief aside. Sometimes OSR judges talk about their dislike of XP for gold, and how the players get loaded with wealth they have nothing to spend on, and what not. Well, I'm quite certain their players are not using all their available investment options. Magical research is one of those. And it has fantastic returns.

After explaining the basics of magical research, Bruce offers procedures for creating an arcane library, purchasing books (including a table for random determination of book value, and table with 71 spell book), and appraising a book's value. He also gives very brief advice on the appearance of library.

Final section covers “special books” which are in essence, you guessed it, special and powerful arcane books. My favourite might be the devious “vampire” book which slowly devours the magic-user's arcane library without them noticing.

Ultimately, I've found this article worth my time investment. I might try to write a simplified version one day. Yes, I'll include it in the final collection.

The Laws of Spell Design

Author: Ted Zuvich Issue: Dragon Magazine #242 Rating: ★★★★★

A titanic effort by the author to reverse-engineer spell design rules from the AD&D 2e Player's Handbook. Ted argues there are four types of new spells:

• very similar to an existing spell,
• somewhat similar to existing spell(s),
• derived from an existing spell, and
• entirely new spell.

The “laws of spell design” are most applicable to the first three cases, and can be used as a guideline for completely new spells.

There are 21 laws:

• Generalized Law of Parameters: Law of Range, Law of Components, Law of Duration, Law of Time, Law of Areas, and Law of Resistance.
• Implicit Spell Parameters: Law of Changes, Law of Control, Law of Damage, Law of Expertise, Law of Forms, Law of Information, Law of the Mage's Price, Law of Metaspells, Law of Power, Law of Presence, Law of Self, Law of Self Knowledge, Law of Specifics, and Law of Targeting.
• The Final Law: “There will be exceptions.”

Each law is well explained and supported by examples. All laws are summarised in the Generalized Law of Parameters and Implicit Spell Parameters tables. Once you read the article it is easy to reference them.

This is a great article with good ideas to think about spell design. Still, I must address elephant in the room: AD&D spell balance was shit. It was an afterthought, a consequence of numerous play sessions. D&D was a revolutionary game, no doubts about it; and I personally don't care so much for balance. Still, AD&D 2e wasn't that much better in the balance department. The author struggled with that, and delivered the best he could given the conditions.

Procedures offered in this article are best used collaboratively with the player wishing to design a new spell. Yes, I'll include this article in the final collection.

Paths of Power: A variant magic system for the AD&D game

Author: Wolfgang Buar and Steve Kurtz Issue: Dragon Magazine #216 Rating: ★★★★☆

I thought I would hate the system offered in this article, but I ended up liking it very much.

The basic idea is as follows:

• Spells are linked together to form a “path of power.”
• Magic-User must learn the spells in the path sequentially.
• This gives different flavour to Magic-Users (from random collection of spells in the spellbook to deliberate collection of paths of power).

The paths are divided into greater (starts with level 1 spells), and lesser (high level magic, can only be reached through greater paths). The article offers 89 paths (!), of which 61 are greater and 28 are lesser.

Here is what I like about the system: it gives players an option to develop their Magic-User in a very flavourful way. “I'm dedicated to Storm Road, Road of True Sight and Path of Terror” sounds quite epic to me. At the same time, the limitations of paths themselves ensure that “path” Magic-Users don't outshine the base class.

Another thing I like, especially as judge, is that it basically creates hooks automatically.

The downside, as I see it, is that it requires a very, very proactive player. I'd never go through the trouble of creating bespoke paths for my campaign without heavy player buy-in.

There is also a bit of video-gamey feel to the whole concept, but if that's a plus or minus largely depends on you and your players.

Final verdict? Worth reading for inspiration; don't try it unless you have a player who is willing to do the work; yes, I'll include it in the final collection.

The Color of Magic: Specialized spells for D&D game spellcasters

Author: Dan Joyce Issue: Dragon Magazine #200 Rating: ★★★★★

Brief, but influential article that can be perfectly summed up with the following quote:

...the key to creating hundreds of new spells to suit any kind of spell-caster: make cosmetic changes to existing spells. Describe spells differently.

Worth reading. Will go into final collection.

Even Wilder Mages: If your wild-mage PC isn't strange

Author: Joel E. Roosa & Andrew Crossett Issue: Dragon Magazine #202 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

In this case we actually have two articles rolled into one.

First section is about creating random effects for wild surges (two random tables, one for variation type, and one for variation intensity).

Wild mages are very rare (does anyone even play them today?), so I'm not too keen on tacking on a lot of cosmetic procedures (which these ones are). At the same time, I could see using tables here when one needs inspiration for creating spell variations.

Second section offers alternative approach to make wild surges less predictable and more disruptive. A 2d10 table of wild surges is offered.

Although not badly written, I see this as primarily cosmetic article not worth including into the final collection.

Good stuff for a spell: Magic focusing: a new dimension for possessions

Author: John M. Maxstadt Issue: Dragon Magazine #111 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

I don't remember what I expected from this article, but it sure wasn't what's written inside.

The whole gist are magic-focusing items which allow the wielder to expend their spell in order to cast the spell embedded into the focusing item.

For example a Magic-Focusing Wand of Magic Missile would allow the Magic-User to “cast” Detect Magic, or rather, focus it through the wand in order to end up casting Magic Missile instead.

It's not a horrible idea, but the whole article is grossly overwritten (four pages!) and includes questionable Judging advice (a lot of hand-holding for the players).

Ultimately, this article is worth skimming, but will not make it into the final collection.

Charging isn't cheap: How to make and fix rods, staves, and wands

Author: Peter Johnson Issue: Dragon Magazine #101 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Great article if you have 10th+ level Cleric and 14th+ level Magic-User player characters in your campaign. Alternatively, can be used to torture your players with fetch quests.

First page and a half are most interesting because they summarise magic item creation rules from the Dungeon Master's Guide. Rest of the word count is spent on “recipes” for creating and charging of the following items:

• Rods: Rod of absorption, Rod of beguiling, Rod of cancellation, Rod of lordly might, Rod of resurrection, Rod of rulership, Rod of smiting.
• Staves: Staff of command, Staff of curing, Staff of the magi, Staff of power, Staff of the serpent, Staff of striking, Staff of withering-
• Wands: Wand of conjuration, Wand of enemy detection, Wand of fear, Wand of fire, Wand of frost, Wand of illumination, Wand of illusion, Wand of lightning, Wand of magic detection, Wand of magic missiles, Wand of metal and mineral detection, Wand of negation, Wand of polymorphing, Wand of secret door and trap location, Wand of wonder.

I won't be including it in the final collection.

The Mystic College: Magical academies for AD&D game sorcerers

Author: James A. Yates Issue: Dragon Magazine #123 Rating: ★★★★☆

You have a player haranguing you to play Dumbledore? Are they insisting on building their own Unseen University, with blackjacks and brazen strumpets? Maybe they want their very own Island of Rorke on which they could become impotent?

Oh boy, then this article will save you, beleaguered Judge!

Ten pages of painstakingly detailed explanations on how to establish a magical academy, covering everything from finding land and securing permits, to determining residents of the school, their benefits and obligations, student advancement (the joy and adrenaline of getting 0-level scrubs from -2000 XP to 0 XP by lecturing them for 25 years is indescribable!), faculty advancement (watch-out for that ambitious Snape-wannabe, who knows what might they be plotting), territorial development (how to hire your own King Arthur or Mordred), and policies and domain growth (will you terrorize the locals lawfully or chaotically?).

I fell asleep six times whilst reading this magnificent treatise. I cannot imagine greater punishment for any player that pesters me for opening their own arcane college. On the other hand, I'll sleep well, for procedures presented within are quite fine.

This article will make it into the final collection.

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These are my reading notes of various Dragon Magazine articles. Learn more about the collection here.

Swords Slicing into a Sharp Topic

Author: David Nalle Issue: Dragon Magazine #58 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

A brief historical overview of the sword. Main message is summed up with this paragraph:

Swords weren’t just stamped out by the hundreds. Each one was a unique work, embodying the skill of a bladesmith. Swords of quality should not be sold cheaply and are a warrior’s mark of success.

Or in other words, think twice before hand-waving away a band of 10+ adventurers walking in a hamlet in the middle of fucking nowhere and buying swords, armours, and 100 gallons of oil.

Enchanting Weapons: Putting the “Magic” into Magical Weapons

Author: Mike Nystul Issue: Dragon Magazine #243 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

A series of prompts on how to make magic weapons a bit more unique, divided into following categories:

• Weapon's origin: commission, badge of office, masterpiece, secret society, special purpose.
• Weapon's location: bad guy, in a stomach/digestive tract of dangerous monster, fields of the fallen, test, thieves, twist of fate.
• Assigning abilities: interesting is more effective than powerful, attunement, damage dice, helping hand, initiation, priming, restrictions.
• Associated plotlines: equal but opposite, give it back, it isn't working, one of many, treasure hunt, whatever you desire.

It's a fine article to read once or twice, but hardly a mandatory one.

Always Wear Your Best Suit: Making armor and weapons unique for all characters

Author: Gordon R. Menzies Issue: Dragon Magazine #148 Rating: ★★★★★

Three ways to pimp your arms and armour:

• Decorations: enamelling, simple engraving, complex engraving, and elaborate engraving.
• Plating with precious metals: copper, bronze, silver, electrum, gold, platinum, mithral, and adamantite.
• Making them from different metals: copper, bronze, meteorite iron, mithral, and adamantite.

Everything has cost, impact on value of base item, time required, impact on encumbrance, and functionality. Each metal has brief description, plus reference to an article Fire For Effect! in Dragon Magazine #123 which includes melting points for each.

Now, this is exactly the type of article I am looking for! Just three pages, has fluff, has mechanics & procedures, and tables! perfect. Yes, I will include it in the master collection.

In Defense of the Shield: Shield-using skills in the AD&D game

Author: Tim Merrett Issue: Dragon Magazine #127 Rating: ☆☆☆☆☆ OR ★★★★☆

Do you think shield improving AC is too simple? Do you yearn for CRUNCHY SHIELDS?! Do you agree that shields were historically difficult to use? That they were more important than armour? Ever wished you could spend your proficiency slots on handling a shield?

YES?!

Well, then this is the perfect article for you!!!

Not for me though.

Two Hands Are Better Than One: A handy guide on handling weapons

Author: Donald D. Miller Issue: Dragon Magazine #127 Rating: ★★★★☆

At first I thought that the only good thing about this article is the illustration of cleric bonking some pitiful fool, sporting a big ass grin, a big ass cross, and double wielding maces.

But then I had the following question in one of my game sessions:

“Wait, can dwarves carry polearms? Aren't they huge?”

This article provides and answer in one page of text, and two tables. And I love it! It provides maximum length and weight for secondary (off-hand), primary (prime-hand), one-handed, two-handed, and pole arm weapons for dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, halflings, half-orcs, and humans.

And then, to make it even easier, it lists all AD&D weapons and races and how many hands it takes them to wield 'em. Perfect.

This one might be included in the final collection.

Different Totes for Different Folks: Basic backpacks for every D&D game adventurer

Author: Vince Garcia Issue: Dragon Magazine #191 Rating: ★★★★★

If you are playing any flavour of the classic D&D (B/X, BECMI, RC) or their retroclone, then this is a must-have article.

It replicates and expands adventuring gear from the core rulebooks in just page and a half. All the additions are meaningful, with clear in-game application. In other words, the spirit of simplicity is maintained.

Here is a list of all added items: explorer's backpack, waterproof backpack, bandages, bedroll, block and tackle, bow strings, candle, chisel, hand-held climbing hook, disguise kit, hand-drill, heavy gloves, soft gloves, inexpensive holy symbol, vial of ink, blank journal, knapsack, utility knife, bullseye lantern, leather lasso, leather in bulk, lockpicks, magnifying glass, explorers' map, detailed map, general map, stringed musical instrument, wind musical instrument, oil in metal flask, papyrus, parchment, parka, cooking pot, quill pen, quiver (back and belt), salt, waterproof scroll case, sewing kit, blank spellbook, spellbook cover, tents, twine, empty glass vial, and whistle.

Further, each class gets a starting kit as well, which are in essence predefined equipment packs with price and encumbrance.

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These are my reading notes of various Dragon Magazine articles. Learn more about the collection here.

The six main skills: What AD&D game abilities mean in real terms

Author: Jefferson P. Swycaffer Issue: Dragon Magazine #107 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

A verbose description of the six ability scores, from “the most material to the least”:

• Strength: a measure of muscular power, reflected in speed, lifting ability, throwing ability, jumping range, capacity to absorb damage or resist pain, and endurance.
• Constitution: a measure of overall health, endurance, and vigor. Reflected in strong heart, healthy lungs, and a good muscle tone.
• Dexterity: a mix of manual dexterity, coordination, and agility.
• Intelligence: people are perceived as intelligent when they are observant, methodical, or articulate.
• Wisdom: strength of willpower.
• Charisma: a matter of being smooth, suave, positive, persuasive, gentle, and sincere; natural leadership; pride and envy are the primary sins against charisma.

As you can see from the above definitions, Jefferson does well defining physical characteristics but fails short with intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. He essentially uses circular, self-referential logic to describe each.

All in all, I don't regret reading this article, but I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the absolute newcomers who are wondering what does each attribute stand for. And even then, wouldn't you expect that to be described in whatever ruleset you are using?

Realistic vital statistics: A new system for figuring heights & weights

Author: Stephen Inniss Issue: Dragon Magazine #91 Rating: ★★★★★

Awesome and practical article for generating believable heights and weights for characters. In fact, I've extensively used it to generate NPCs.

Stephen finds the following faults with the system offered in AD&D:

• Dwarves, gnomes, and halflings are implausibly heavy and extraordinarily dense for the given figures.
• Human and half-human females weigh less for their height than do their brothers; this isn't the case with real-world humans.
• Human males are 9% taller than females, whereas in the real world the difference is smaller.
• It produces extraordinarily tall humans.
• Height and weight are determined independently.
• Provided tables do not make provisions for all the allowable character races.

Now, Stephen doesn't stop at the critique—he offers a completely fleshed out system contained in seven tables:

• Table A: Average heights (roll for humans, look-up for demihumans)
• Table B1: Variation from average height (roll)
• Table B2: Height adjustment by strength (look-up)
• Table C: Character weight by height (look-up)
• Table D: Weight modifiers by race (look-up)
• Table E1: Variation from average weight (roll)
• Table E2: Weight adjustment by strength (look-up)

Don't allow the tables to discourage you—it doesn't take long to use them. Stephen claims “a minute or less” but it will most likely take you a bit longer the first time.

Final verdict: I will include this article in my “final” Dragon Magazine Collection. I might also include it in the Wilderlands Gazetteer I'm working on for those players that like to have that kind of detail.

Short hops and big drops: Here's how far and how high characters can jump

Author: Stephen Inniss Issue: Dragon Magazine #93 Rating: ★★★★☆

A simple system for determining how far can a character jump. Everything is based on a so called “jump number” which is determined by the character's strength, dexterity, race, and class. Various environmental modifiers are taken into account in order to determine how far can the character jump.

Another great article by Stephen. I've used it a few times to determine if characters could plausibly jump over the chasm. Most notable use has been during a play-by-post session when a sole survivor was fleeing for his life. He stumbled upon an 11-foot wide chasm so I gave him the article and asked him to figure it out.

With that being said, most of the time I default to anything shorter than 5-feet is automatic success, unless there is combat or some other distraction. The procedures here are nice back-up for those special cases.

Yes, this article will also make it into the final Dragon Magazine Collection.

Sight in the Darkness: An open-eyed look at infravision, the Underdark, and your PCs

Author: Roger E. Moore Issue: Dragon Magazine #211 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Roger explains what infravision is, how it works above- and under-ground, how it was treated in different game editions (Chainmail, D&D, AD&D 1e, D&D Rules Cyclopedia, and AD&D 2e), and “clever” tricks with infravision.

I'm on the fence for this one. It is not badly written but is very thin on usable stuff, at least for me. As a trained engineering familiar with thermodynamics and thermal imaging, there was little new for me on the scientific side of the article. The gaming side was thin and limited to small gimmicks (e.g. making light bombs).

Actually, I found the historic overview of infravision in various editions of D&D to be the most interesting part of this article. The biggest takeaway for me is that I should remove infravision from elves.

Note: There is an updated version of this article called Infravision & Your Fantasy Hero.

The 7-Sentence NPC: A new way to bring nonplayer characters to life (in game, that is)

Author: C. M. Cline Issue: Dragon Magazine #184 Rating: ★★★★☆

A seven-point checklist for describing NPCs:

• Occupation & history
• Physical description
• Attributes & skills
• Values & motivations
• Interactions with others
• Useful knowledge
• Distinguishing features

Four example to see it in action.

Good article, highlighting what is actionable & gameable information for the Judge. At the same time, today we know better than presenting all of the above in a single god-damn paragraph.

Yes, this article will also make it in my Dragon Magazine Collection.

A new loyalty base: All the tables you need, all in one place

Author: Stephen Inniss Issue: Dragon Magazine #107 Rating: ★★★★★

Man, I love tables. This article has 25 of them:

• Table A: Encounter reactions (roll)
• Tables B: Encounter reaction adjustments (look-up)
  • Table B1: Charisma
  • Table B2: Species reaction
  • Table 23: Alignment difference
  • Table B4: Alignment
  • Table B5: Physical aspect
  • Table B6: Social behaviour
  • Table B7: Social group
  • Table B8: Inducements
• Table C: Loyalty (roll)
• Tables D: Loyalty adjustments (look-up)
  • Table D1: Charisma
  • Table D2: Enlistment
  • Table D3: Association
  • Table D4: Status
  • Table D5: Pay or profits
  • Table D6: General treatment
  • Table D7: Discipline
  • Table D8: Special circumstances
• Table E: Morale check (roll)
• Tables F: Morale adjustments (look-up)
  • Table F1: Perceived odds
  • Table F2: Personal situation
  • Table F3: Leader's situation
• Table G1: Interactions of character species and “humanoids” (look-up)
• Table G2: Interactions of humanoid species (look-up)
• Table H: Reactions between alignment types (look-up)

Stephen reworks the original AD&D 1e system from d00 to d20 with roll-high logic while collating all the reaction, morale, and loyalty rules into one place. There is hardly anything that I could disagree with in this article, but I can see it being dismissed as too crunchy or intimidating.

The reality is that the procedure is simple: a single d20 roll. Where it slows down is referencing all the look-up tables, which are granular. Good news is that any Judge can easily reduce the granularity by shortening the modifier bands. Heck, just keeping Charisma between 3 and 18 removes 17 lines from table B1.

Ultimately, I'd recommend all the Judges to read this article, even if they don't plan to use the rules and procedures within. Stephen peppers it with enough useful advice to make it worth your time, while all the numbers in the table are useful even without ever using them as intended.

Allow me to explain: each table has thoughtful modifiers which you might've not thought of. By reading through them, even once, and their proposed numerical expression, you will at least have an idea how might they manifest in your own game.

Usable, thought-through procedures is what I'm looking for in Dragon Magazine. Therefore, this article will also be included in the final collection.

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These are my reading notes of various Dragon Magazine articles. Learn more about the collection here.

What good PCs are made of: Play characters with more substance than statistics

Author: Katharine Kerr Issue: Dragon Magazine #96 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Player Characters (PCs) are players' way to contribute and shape the Judge's world. Most players fail to create “true” PCs, i.e. characters that are different than themselves. At least that is what Katharine presents as the core challenge.

She offers solid advice on how to create characters by thinking about social class (random table), family life and background (random table), motivation, way of talking, opinion of the world, and polytheism.

The article is well written and well argued—I especially appreciated brief discussion of medieval upbringing and polytheism—but ultimately doesn't really match neither my play- nor judging-style.

For better or worse, the main campaign I'm running has had quite high death toll. To follow Katharine's advice to the letter would be frustrating, for it does take more effort than rolling six attribute scores and picking your class.

On the other hand, I could see myself using her guidance to create name-level and other NPCs of importance. I could also see it used after PC hits level 4 or above. You know, when they don't die from a single slap anymore.

Notes From a Semi-Successful D&D Player

Author: James Ward Issue: Dragon Magazine #13 Rating: ★★★★★

Ten tips in ten paragraphs! In order, they are:

• Make Continual Light wand light-sticks as soon as possible.
• Carry around a small potted rose plant, Growth/Plant Spell, and Potion of Plant Control.
• Get a ten foot pole and a five foot steel rod.
• Invest in steel potion bottles.
• Carry freshly squeezed garlic juice in small vials (kept in steel pouches, of course).
• Polymorph cockatrice into a snail, throw the snail at adversaries and cast Dispel Magic on it.
• Get all Magic-User poison for the dagger, no matter the price.
• All Magic-Users should start creating new spells as soon as possible; trade and sell them.
• A set of extra spellbooks for Magic-Users is a must.
• Get Permanent spell as soon as possible, for it is as good as Wish. Make Fly permanent on fragile characters, Infravision and Protection from Evil on Fighters, and Charm on foes.

I think I understand why Gary got to increasingly dislike Magic-Users.

And now I know what I'll start spending money on in The Keep on Yeoldelands campaign.

Be aware and take care: Basic principles of successful adventuring

Author: Lew Pulsipher Issue: Dragon Magazine #79 Rating: ★★★★★

Absolutely amazing article, should be mandatory reading for players trying to get into OSR play-style as well!

“The qualities that characters, and the players of those characters, must exhibit to succeed in a fantasy adventure are founded on the ideas of common sense and cooperation...”

The article is well written and very practical. The advice is broken down into following buckets:

• Generic: elementary precautions, whom do you trust, know your objective and stick to it, gather information, keep a monster chronicle, provide for rescue/escape, equipment, security in camps.
• Behaviour during the adventure: avoid mental passivity in battle, coordinate efforts, keep reserves in reserve, don't take separate routes, concentration of attacks, you can't beat everything, get out while you have some “bottom,” never flee into unknown areas, don't back yourself into a corner, guard your spell casters, make lists, other precautions.
• Staying alive after the adventure: search for enemies, search for hidden treasure, examination of items.
• Using magic wisely and well: deception in place of magic, phantasmal forces and illusions, imaginative use of spells.
• Adventuring and referees: know thy referee.

The only controversial advice might be the last section, which in essence encourages players to understand the Judges' behaviour and then exploit it. For example, if your Judge is willing to fudge the dice in your favour, you should leverage that.

I can understand that advice in a more adversarial Player-Judge relationship, which was perhaps more common back in the day. Today I'd say that collaborative play-style is more prevalent.

Either way, this is a truly evergreen article, which I'll definitely include in the final Dragon Magazine Collection.

Assessing, not guessing: How PCs can make their own value judgements

Author: Lionel D. Smith Issue: Dragon Magazine #104 Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Lionel offers a simple procedure for PCs to randomly determine value of treasure items. It takes into account class, race, and level to determine base probability for successful estimation, and then uses d20 and a control die to determine the result.

Although the procedure and advice are solid, I see them more fitting for a Sage or NPC than PCs. The closing sentence is an important reminder to those who struggle with traditional gold-for-XP systems:

“The business of buying and selling can and should be an adventure in itself.”

Just because the players returned with a large haul of jewellery, gems, and who-knows-what doesn't mean they are rich. Give them XP, and then let them figure our how to liquidate all that wealth in a world where most don't earn a single gold coin in a single year.

#Resource #DragonMagazine

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The Crossroads of Chaldén, an adventure resurrected from 1986, which I had the pleasure of editing (mildly) and laying out has been published in July:

Crossroads of Chalden takes place near the barbarian lands of snow and ice. The people are gruff and suspicious of outsiders, and to folk from other lands they seem introverted and superstitious. First written back in 1986, this Dragonsfoot publication is a ready-to-play module with an introduction to a new world for First Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Plenty of information to flesh out the world in which Chalden lies, or to place it within the World of Greyhawk. Included is also helpful hints for new DMs in how to run and adjudicate the module. An AD&D adventure for Characters Levels 2-3.

Download it for free from Dragonsfoot.

And here is the forum topic where you can ask one of the authors (Peyre) questions.

I'm confident this module won't be everyones cup of tea, but it is a fascinating window into a home-brewed adventure from mid-80s, 1e era.

#Resource #Adventure #ADnD

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Last year I collected 143 most recommended Dragon articles into a reading list. Given the size, I divided them into three collections: Player Advice, Judge Advice, and Setting Advice.

Now I'll begin reading the first collection, Player Advice, with the intention of noting anything interesting and worthwhile. I plan to share my notes as I go, since others might benefit from them.

Here is the table of contents for the Player Advice collection:

• Player Advice
  • What good PCs are made of: Play characters with more substance than statistics (Katharine Kerr, Dragon 96)
  • Notes From a Semi-Successful D&D Player (James Ward, Dragon 13)
  • Be aware and take care: Basic principles of successful adventuring (Lew Pulsipher, Dragon 79)
  • Assessing, not guessing: How PCs can make their own value judgements (Lionel D. Smith, Dragon 104)
• Characters
  • The six main skills: What AD&D game abilities mean in real terms (Jefferson P. Swycaffer, Dragon 107)
  • Realistic vital statistics: A new system for figuring heights & weights (Stephen Inniss, Dragon 91)
  • Short hops and big drops: Here's how far and how high characters can jump (Stephen Inniss, Dragon 93)
  • Sight in the Darkness: An open-eyed look at infravision, the Underdark, and your PCs (Roger E. Moore, Dragon 211)
  • The 7-Sentence NPC: A new way to bring nonplayer characters to life (in game, that is) (C. M. Cline, Dragon 184)
  • A new loyalty base: All the tables you need, all in one place (Stephen Inniss, Dragon 107)
• Equipment
  • Swords Slicing into a Sharp Topic (David Nalle, Dragon 58)
  • Enchanting Weapons: Putting the “Magic” into Magical Weapons (Mike Nystul, Dragon 243)
  • Always Wear Your Best Suit: Making armor and weapons unique for all characters (Gordon R. Menzies, Dragon 148)
  • In Defense of the Shield: Shield-using skills in the AD&D game (Tim Merrett, Dragon 127)
  • Two Hands Are Better Than One: A handy guide on handling weapons (Donald D. Miller, Dragon 127)
  • Different Totes for Different Folks: Basic backpacks for every D&D game adventurer (Vince Garcia, Dragon 191)
• Magic
  • “Oops! Sorry!” Spell interruptions can spell disaster (Donald Hoverson, Dragon 163)
  • Spells between the covers: Details for delving into magical research (Bruce Heard, Dragon 82)
  • The Laws of Spell Design (Ted Zuvich, Dragon 242)
  • Paths of Power: A variant magic system for the AD&D game (Wolfgang Buar and Steve Kurtz, Dragon 216)
  • The Color of Magic: Specialized spells for D&D game spellcasters (Dan Joyce, Dragon 200)
  • Even Wilder Mages: If your wild-mage PC isn't strange (Joel E. Roosa & Andrew Crossett, Dragon 202)
  • Good stuff for a spell: Magic focusing: a new dimension for possessions (John M. Maxstadt, Dragon 111)
  • Charging isn't cheap: How to make and fix rods, staves, and wands (Peter Johnson, Dragon 101)
  • The Mystic College: Magical academies for AD&D game sorcerers (James A. Yates, Dragon 123)
• Psionics
  • Psionics is different... And that's putting it rather mildly (Arthur Collins, Dragon 78)
  • Overhauling the system: A three-part remedy for problems with psionics (Robert Schroeck, Dragon 78)
  • And now, the pscionicist: A class that moves psionics into the mainstream (Arthur Collins, Dragon 78)
  • Spells can be psionic, too: How and why magic resembles mental powers (Kim Mohan, Dragon 78)
  • Psionics: Sage advice (Dragon 78)
• Procedures
  • Credit where credit is due: Elaborating upon the experience-point rules (Katharine Kerr, Dragon 95)
  • New charts, using the 5% principle (Lenard Lakofka, Dragon 80)
  • You've always got a chance: Using ability scores to determine success or failure (Katherine Kerr,  Dragon 68)
  • When the rations run out: Characters don't live on hit points alone (Paul Hancock, Dragon 107)
  • Wounds and weeds: Plants that can help keep characters alive (Kevin J. Anderson, Dragon 82)
  • Good Hits & Bad Misses (Carl Parlagreco, Dragon 39)
  • Magic resistance: What it is, how it works (Penny Petticord, et al, Dragon 79)
  • A Hero's Reward: The hero-point system for the AD&D game (Leonard Carpenter, Dragon 118)
  • The fighting circle: Gladiatorial combat in the AD&D game (Dan Salas, Dragon 118)
  • High Seas: Ships, fore and aft, in fantasy gaming (Margaret Foy, Dragon 116)
  • Same dice, different odds: Divided rolls add variety and uncertainty (David G. Weeks, Dragon 94)

More to come soon...

#Resource #DragonMagazine

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We are upgrading from Owlbear Rodeo (OBR) 1 to OBR2.

Follow the steps below to set-up everything needed to play.

1. Create an account

You will need a free account (“Nestling” level).

• Head to: https://www.owlbear.app/
• Click PLAY FREE in top right corner
• Fill in your email address
• FIll in sign-up code you receive in your email
• Create a password

2. Prepare an account

OBR2 is “empty” compared to OBR1.

To populate it with generic tokens, as in OBR1, do the following.

• Login into your profile: https://www.owlbear.app/profile
• Scroll down to Starter Sets
• Click Add on Characters and Monsters and Sticky Notes

3. Join the Wilderlands game

That's it, you are almost ready to play.

• Head to: https://www.owlbear.app/room/XET3q1fuMwqn/Wilderlands
• Send me a message if you have different username than the one I know

Owlbear Rodeo 2 guides

Although similar, OBR2 does handle a number of things differently compared to OBR1. Here are links to guides you might find helpful:

• Images (types, usage, transformation, management, editing)
• Drawing (modes, fill, stroke, editing, layers, trim and join)
• Text (editor, shortcuts)
• Measure (modes, type, scale)

#Resource

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Will Mistreta continues collating OSRIC errata.

You can download the latest A4 and letter versions here.

#Resource #OSRIC #ADnD #OSR

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Will Mistreta continues collecting OSRIC errata.

Newest additions include notes for:

• Know Alignment
• Water Breathing
• Lurker Above
• Phoenix
• Naga, Spirit
• Spider, Huge
• Squealer

I've added them to the A4 and letter versions available here.

#Resource #OSRIC #ADnD #OSR

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