Dragon Magazine #25

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

A non-wargaming friend of mine recently asked me why I did this;

why did I put all my effort into this line of work? What did I perceive my

endeavors to be?

VOL. III, No. 11

May, 1979

DESIGN/DESIGNERS FORUM

A Part of Gamma World Revisited —Jim Ward

................

Judging and You—Jim Ward

...............................

Sorceror’s Scroll—The Proper Place of Character

Social Class in D&D -- Gary Gygax

........ .12

20th Century Primitive—Gary Jacquet

......................

Gamma World Artifact Use Chart —Gary Jacquet

............. 24

To Select a Mythos—Bob Bledsaw

.........................

.43

FEATURES

Out on a Limb

..........................................

..14

Will the Real Orc Please Step Forward —Lance Harrop

........

Gamma World Map Pull Out

............................

23-26

FICTION

The Tug of Machine—Allen Evans

..........................

An Alien in a Strange Land —Jim Ward

.....................

VARIANTS

The Traveller Navy Wants to Join You —R.D. Stuart

..........

Varieties of Vampires—R.P. Smith

.........................

HUMOR

Excerpt From an Interview with an IRON Golem --Mike McCrery .31

Fineous Fingers

—J.D. Webster

............................

BACKGROUND

The Armada’s Disasters —Lynn Harpold

.....................

Armies of the Renaissance —Nick Nascati

....................

Flower Wars

—Bill Fawcett . . ..............................

. 35

Xochiyaoyotl —Rules for Pre-Hispanic

Mexican Warfare—Neal M. Dorst

.............

. 37

Arms and Armor of the Conquistadores —Mike H. Kleuvor

.....

. 44

NEWS

Convention schedules

....................................

GENCON XII Update.

....................................

. 33

Part of this curiosity stems from the fact that this person has no

inkling of what games are all about, in our context of gaming. He still

clings to the shibboleth that wargamers are classic cases of arrested de-

velopment, never having gotten out of the sandbox and toy soldiers

syndrome of childhood. He couldn’t perceive the function of a

magazine about game-playing. This is what I told him:

Magazines exist to disseminate information. The future of

magazine publishing, the newly revived LIFE and LOOK notwithstand-

ing, seems to be in specialization. Magazines dealing with camping,

quilting, motorcycles, cars, dollhouse miniatures, music, teen interests,

modeling, model building, horses, dogs, fishing, hunting, guns, hairstyl-

ing and beauty hints already exist; why not wargaming?

I put out TD as a forum for the exchange of gaming ideas,

philosophies, variants and debate. TD is a far cry from Soldier of For-

tune, that bizarre publication for mercenaries, gun freaks and other vio-

lence mongers. In fact, the greater part of wargamers are quite pacifistic

in “real life.”

I feel that during my tenure, TD has done rather well on most of

those counts, but failed miserably in one function. To judge from the

mail I read, TD must have the most brilliant group of controversy, and

no commentary. Early on in our publishing life, we had a letters page

that died for lack of participation. Two issues ago, we revived it. I use

that word “revive” guardedly, because it might as well be still dead,

judging from the response it has failed to generate. As I write this, I have

serious doubts as to whether or not there will be a letters page in upcom-

ing issues, as I have received none to speak of. This is the best and only

chance the readers are going to get to make their thoughts known; let’s

hear from some of you.

CLARIFICATION

Special Note: Lest readers be confused about the past review of the fan

publication, PHOENIX, I wish to make it clear that this is not the English

magazine, THE PHOENIX, a professional journal of high standards well

worth the time to read (and incidentally printed well so it can, in fact, be

read).

If your mailing label says

TD25,

this is your last issue . . . resubscribe.

THE DRAGON is published monthly by TSR Periodicals, a division of TSR Hobbies, Inc., P.O. Box 110. Lake Geneva, WI 53147.

It is available at better hobby shops and bookstores, or by subscription. Subscription rate is $24 per 13 issues. Single copy and back issue price is $2.00, but availability of back issues is not guaranteed. Subscriptions outside the U.S. and

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Second-Class Postage paid at Lake Geneva. WI 53147

May, 1979

For any role playing game to be really effective, it is vital to create some

basic premise for any non-player group. The Cryptic Alliances are

tailor-made for any large campaign and to briefly jot down the creation

and present situation as well as the direction the alliances will be taking is

a good move.

The “Brotherhood of Thought” was started by a biochemist from

the University of California that was putting the finishing touches on an

ecological monitoring station in the mountains near the university. The

time of the “great destruction” pulverized the campus while Dr. Dotson

and two assistants were at the station. The years afterward were a mat-

ter of survival for the three. Within months, animals of all different types

began to flock to the station for the pure well water its pumps could

bring up to the surface. The scientific interest of the three couldn’t help

noticing the change brought about in the thirsty creatures and this in-

terest was intensified when several groups of animals followed unspo-

ken directions from them, and thus revealed their telepathic powers.

Long years of work and a specialized breeding program brought about

several species of animals of human or better intelligence. The years

went by and that biochemist and his assistants had sons and daughters

that carried on their work. Because of this all humanoid or animal fol-

lowers of this group have an inordinate fondness for humans. They

spread up and down the west coast and into the Rockies. The groups of

three came from an animalistic imitation of what they saw in their first

leaders. The group presently is run by the following beings:

ELENOR: 5th generation grandaughter to the first biochemist, MS: 18,

I: 18, D: 17, Ch: 18, C: 18, S: 16, Hit Points 91; uses a Black Ray Gun,

Stun Rifle, Medi-kit, and Plastic Armor.

CRISPT: 19th generation Gren, MS: 17, I: 18, D: 18, C: 18, S: 18, Hit

Points 131; uses a longbow with 18 intensity poison arrows, 2 daggers

of duralloy, Armor Class: 4.

POSHT: 23rd generation Brutorz: this being is the genius of all of its

kind and surprises all who must deal with it; MS: 18, I: 18, D: 18, C: 18,

S: 18, Hit Points 82, Armor Class: 7, and it has the following physical

and mental attributes: Heightened Vision, Increased Speed, Radiated

Eyes, Regeneration, Mental Control, Pyrokinesis, Repulsion, and Tele-

pathy. This group roams with others and recruits beings for the

“Brotherhood” leading them to the original station (now much ex-

panded).

The “Seekers” group began around a nucleus of Texans who

were camping out near Lubbock on the range when the time of the

“great destruction” hit their area. Their range skills allowed them to

begin again with ease. As time went by and mutants started entering the

area, humanoids and mutated animals were treated as gruesome ver-

min to be wiped out with maximum force. Mutants that were “com-

pletely” human in appearance were accepted as “unusually” talented

partners in a battle for survival. Currently the group is led by Tral-Vash,

a human of unusual power: MS: 8, I: 18, D: 18, Ch: 17, C: 18, S: 10, Hit

Points 99; he uses a Fusion Rifle, Energy Mace, and Powered Scout

Armor. Armories have been raided so that the group has a vast supply

of weapons and vehicles. The leader doesn’t favor expansion, he wants

to create a solid nation of warriors working for several generations to

accomplish this goal.

The “Knights of Genetic Purity” evolved from a large group of

humans that survived the war, but were dusted with radiation. From

that time on, for generation after generation, horrible mutations were

created and these were all killed. By the third generation of this grief and

sadness a leader arose who moved to end this blight on his race. He

created an organization willing and able to breed out all racial defects.

They took this one step further in that they began killing all humanoids

wherever they found them, even to the point of searching them out far

from their home territory. This organization honored those who could

recover lost technology and thus they have grown strong in physical

power. Their leader has the following statistics: SEVEREN: MS: 3, I: 15,

D: 18, Ch: 18, C: 17, S: 18, Hit Points 100, he uses a Mark 7 Rifle, a

Stun Whip, and Powered Assault Armor. He and three others, armed as

himself, often travel out destroying strong pockets of mutant strength.

The “Friends of Entropy” are gruesome beings worshipping death

from the very beginning, when a quasi-religious cult survived in the

intact state from the time of the “great destruction.” The initial group

started out simply wanting to kill all animal life around them (forcing

them to move often). As they ate contaminated flesh and traveled

through radiated areas their offspring begin to mutate rapidly. These

newer generations caused the cult to modify its thinking in the desire to

kill all life. The current co-ordinator of the group is a humanoid mutant

named Blern. This creature is the ultimate model for the cult. At birth,

when his flesh was exposed to the air a poison gas was given off, killing

his mother and the attending midwife. His proud father designed a un-

iform for him so that he could travel with all the rest. On reaching matur-

ity, he further mutated: growing a pair of horns, requiring tinted goggles

to travel during the day, and having to breathe through a special filter to

extract all pollen elements from his air. He also increased in mental and

physical powers including some powers totally unknown until then: MS:

18, I: 18, D: 10, C: 18, S: 7, Hit Points 104; he uses a Mark V Blaster,

Mark 7 Rifle, a Vibro Blade, several Torc Grendades, an Energy Cloak,

and a Medi-kit especially designed for his needs (it would kill anyone

else). His mutational abilities include: Gas Generation (intensity 18

poison), Heightened Balance, Dexterity, Precision, & Touch, Radiated

Eyes, Sonics, Dual Brain, De-evolution, Force Field Generation,

Heightened Brain Talent, Life Leech, Mental Control, Telepathy, the

ability to magnify by a factor of 3 any blast from any type rifle or pistol he

uses, and the ability to communicate with any intelligent machine so

that the machine is fooled into thinking anything Blern wishes.

He quickly forced his way to the leadership of the Society and

established a permanent base near what used to be Lincoln, Nebraska

and the group grew in power. He soon became bored with the prob-

lems faced with keeping the ghastly cultists together and he set up an

administration that ran the group and started roaming far and wide ter-

rorizing other society groups. His methods are always the same. He

enters the area and nightly destroys either important crops or domesti-

cated animals. If he is chased by beings with little or no technology, he

runs away, just letting them see him and continuing his raids until the

angered populace either brings up large numbers of attackers or heavy

duty technology. He then faces his attackers using his weapons; both

technological and mutative (as in the cover of this magazine when 23

Seekers dared to face him with power weapons and the last one is seen

trying to run).

The “Iron Society” has no known base, but can be found near any

large bombed area. The very nature of the energy nearby creates a

psychological condition in all intelligent creatures nearby that forces

them to want to destroy any beings not as they (highly resistant to radia-

tion). 95% of all of these groups are totally resistant to all forms of

energy weapons, while easily able to use such themselves.

The “Zoopremists,” starting in the fertile Mexican mountain range

below Torreon, tested the theory of survival of the fittest to its maximum

limits. Here, insects grew larger and highly intelligent and started logi-

cally moving against all other intelligent life forms. In this struggle they

forceably domesticated some of the most prevalent mutants and these

they use as spies. Co-ordinated attacks are always made against large

groups holding technology. The whole organization is led by a giant (20

feet long) drone ant with the following statistics: MS: 18, I: 13, D: 12, C:

18, Hit Points 189, Armor Class: 2: it has Heat Generation, Heightened

Touch, Increased Speed, Photosynthetic Skin, Absorption Heat &

Radiation, Military Genius, Life Leech, and Telepathy. This creature

always personally scouts any large alien group to be attacked, and he

takes 10 neuter ants for support (pincers do 4-40 per strike, 20 dice

each, Armor Class: 2).

The “Healers” began life as a group near Duluth, Minnesota by a

number of med-technicians that had been working on sleep therapy

and accidentally made a vast break through in artifical telepathy

through electrode induction. Their organization quickly gathered all the

survivors in the area and efficiently went about living. Their Hippocratic

oath soon became translated into helping all intelligent and unintelligent

creatures survive in a world gone wild. The telepathic powers de-

veloped grew in magnitude over the century and helped the Healers

sense all life in a 1 mile radius and influence the actions of any non-

sentient beings in numbers up to 10. They range far down into the south

and east, healing where possible, teaching others to help themselves,

and sending calm beings to their main base for advanced training.

"Restorationists” survived in shelters in Boston and Providence.

They crawled out of their areas and tried to pull the pieces together from

VOL. III, No. 11

the rubbled cities around them. They grew in strength and were well

organized by the time mutated creatures started entering their area.

They were able to react with considerable force in the way of technolog-

ical capability. All of their towns and farms are guarded by robotic units

that are programmed to kill humanoids and mutants without warning

and conduct humans to the main city. There are 5 town groups that

each have an armory manned with men capable of using the powered

armor and weapons at hand; a factory unit programmed to manufac-

ture their everyday needs; and a group of robots designed to can-

nibalize the old cities for materials the smaller groups need. In the town

near Manchester, their leader (Mayor), realizing the closed nature of

their culture, has forced his citizens to work to create new technology on

the basis of the old. He is a mutant (but no one, not even himself, is

aware of that fact): MS: 18, I: 18, D: 12, Ch: 15, C: 18, S: 11, Hit Points

88, and the following mental powers: Military, Scientific, and Economic

Genius, and Total Healing.

The “Followers of the Voice” are usually successful in their efforts

to gather technology because they follow insane computer units that

use their programs to tell their followers where to go. The most success-

ful group has a strong underground base in the Appalachians south of

Charleston and west of Raleigh. This group all have Laser Rifles and

Laser Pistols. Their leader is a Hoop, who, besides her normal features,

has the following abilities: Heightened Balance, Constitution, Hearing,

Precision, and Smell, Increased Speed, and Shapechange All. She also

has 120 Hit points and constant advice from a Think Tank buried in

their caverns.

The “Ranks of the Fit” began near Memphis, Tennessee; when a

circus bear had its mental abilities boosted a thousand times by an un-

usual radiation blast. This creature suddenly had every good mental

mutation on the list, and a bunch more not given. It was the only intelli-

gent creature to survive in the city and it went about learning what

man’s civilization was like. Armed with this knowledge, it began a civili-

zation that has spread to Cincinnati and the shores near the sunken city

of Baton Rouge. Its grandson now rules and also has all of the mental

powers listed plus the following: MS: 18, I: 16, D: 15, Ch: 17, C: 18, S:

18, Hit Points 210, and an Armor Class of 2. His power is immense and

in the form of 10 armies that are 50,000 strong. He places them about

his empire and uses them to destroy pockets of mutant resistance or as

heavy duty manpower forces to extend his empire.

The “Archivists” are zealots set up in the mountains between the

cities of Butte, Montana, Billings, South Dakota, and Idaho Falls, Mon-

tana. They are all cave dwellers that have made miles-long tunnels that

connect all of these cities. They have been able to figure out the work-

ings of thousands of earth movers and are in the process of covering up

these partially ruined cities for their underground use. While their main

base is in the mountains, they have scouted all of the cities from Seattle

to Dallas. Their leader is a Fen, who organizes defenses of high technol-

ogy around his main base and the more important bases they are tying

to cover.

The "Radioactivists” are almost entirely based below Atlanta in the

flattened peninsula that was part of Florida. Its members are all totally

resistant to radiation and have seen over and over again what the power

of the atom can do to damage life. As a result, they are sowing the edges

of their territory with radioactive dust obtained from the interior of their

lands. Their leaders are a group of 5 Keeshin that travel on the edges of

the territory directing dusting efforts.

The “Created” are predominately androids. They were started

into life by a med-technician who saw his civilization crashing around

him and wanted to give the androids that were under his control a

chance to “live.” He set his computers on random programming and

turned his back on the whole complex (only to die minutes later as a

building fell on him). From that time on, the androids that were created

programmed their new brothers and started rounding up technological

power. At this time they have completely encircled the town of St. Louis

with war robots and have rebuilt it to what it was before the time of the

“great destruction.”

The only being that ever successfully invaded their

area was Blern and he destroyed their primary Think Tank as a lark and

reprogrammed all of the thinking units of the city to ignore Entropy

beings.

Note: Special thanks should be given to Brian Blume, who supplied the

locations of all of the circled cities by careful comparisons.

May, 1979

Judging and You!

BY JAMES M. WARD

It is easy to say (or write, in this case) that you as a “Planet Master” or

“Starship Master” are the final arbiter in your campaign game, but, let’s

face it; there are bunches of bad judges out there because they have a

flaw of one type or another. There are several tricks to the judging trade

that I have seen and started; I know several of the bad judges I have

seen could profit from them.

One of the first things that any new judge must think about is what

they are interested in developing in their games. I, as a judge, am not

interested in how my players get their daily food (so game is plentiful

all my areas) .I am not overly interested in equipment maintenance and

breakdowns because my game is extremely destructive. I am not in-

terested in a strict interpretation of the rules for weapons function or the

intermixing of cryptic alliances, so I freely change what has been written

down. On the other hand, I am highly interested in the non-player

character and as a result there are many roaming around my Gamma

World in many shapes and sizes. I am interested in the creation of new

mutants and groups so this is an ongoing process that gets new groups

constantly moving over the ruined earth.

Many people have asked me how I create my maps and encounter

areas and usually give me a puzzled look when I try to explain. My

biggest tool in the creation and use of any Gamma World society, city,

building, or hole in the ground is improvisation. I (and many like me all

over the place) have not got the time nor the inclination to sit down and

write pages and pages of detailed description on what a building looks

like and what is inside. The notes I jot down for any given encounter

area are very vague as to what things look like and what is contained

inside.

At one Origins convention I was running a Gamma World tourney

and the group ran into an armory in a bombed out city. All I had listed

was that fact that it was an Armory and the war machines that were

inside it, those being: 2 security robots, 2 engineering bots (HD), 2 med-

ical robotoids, 1 supervisory borg, a think tank in the basement, 2 war-

bots, a death machine, and several different types of military vehicles.

From then on I improvised the whole thing. My Father works in a Na-

tional Guard Armory and when just a boy I used to take great pride in

putting up the units flag before I went to school and collecting a bottle of

pop for my efforts (this gave me a very exact knowledge of what that

armory looked like); from this experience I was able to exactly detail

every room that the group entered and what was inside it (updated to

what I thought was the 21st century’s equivalent). They therefore had a

choice of entering from a side door that led to the firing range; a side

door that led to the kitchen; a side door that led to the motor pool; the

large front doors; or a side door that was near the boiler room. After

coming in the firing range side door and doing things with the security

robot that faced them, I could tell them exactly where the supply room

or the communications room was in relation to where they stood at the

door. None of this was written down but they didn’t know that and it all

worked out great. My point is that you should use the very familiar

things of everyday life instead of huge piles of detailed description that

you have to ply through as well as your players. So what if I didn’t know

exactly how many pairs of boots were in the locker room or how many

shovels or gas masks were in the supply room? I did know how many of

each I wanted the group to get away with, and that’s what I told them.

This same concept can apply to everything any referee must play with.

If I am working with a city and I have to take players through lots of

different areas; that city becomes the one I live in. My map has what is in

(or what type of building) any given area and I list what special things I

feel should be in certain areas. Special things are items like power guns,

armor, computer systems, and robots. A place like the food store be-

comes the local one that I visit every week. Hardware stores, drugstores,

clothing stores administration centers, etc. all become places that I have

been in before and what the players hear are my memories of these

areas and my throwing in things that are both useful to the player and

useful to the monsters that I have placed there. I make it a habit never to

improvise on the placement of my mutants and alliance groups, feeling

that that would be cheating since life in my world is hard enough. The

only leeway that I use is that of the wandering creature that comes often

to those that argue or cause a great deal of disturbance in any given

area.

There seems to be a growing fear and/or worry that players will

gain too big of an advantage from knowing the rules and thus knowing

how to use the items of any given Gamma World. This kind of thinking is

ridiculous. I once read somewhere about the referee that hated his

gamers to be able to look up the strengths and weaknesses of any given

monster in D&D and decide what to use against them and that struck

me as very funny. First of all, I don’t care how much you know about a

thing in Dungeons and Dragons or any other role playing game; if that

giant or vampire is out to get you all the garlic buds, crosses, silver, or

clerics aren’t going to do you much good without that bit of luck every

player must have. Second, there isn’t a monster on any list in any role

playing game that I have ever judged that I haven’t felt it my duty to

change (just a little bit), so that problem doesn’t exist. There is also the

thought that with all those energy weapons, robots, and mutants run-

ning around, a player needs a little edge in order to survive from day to

day. Finally, there is the gripe that players have it too easy when it

comes to trying to use technology because of that fact that they go out of

their role and use their “real” knowledge.

Take the ever popular statement that “If I have seen this gun fired

I should be able to tell which way to point it and how to use it” type of

thing. First of all, I think that it is necessary to reduce things down to their

simplest terms. All guns, pistols, rifles, and the like become strange

“crossbow devices” and everyone of them has many buttons, levers,

and gauges that must be adjusted everytime the thing is used. (Yes, I

know, it’s a wonder that it gets a shot off every 10 melee turns let alone

every single melee turn.) Along the same lines are the marvelous artifact

operation charts that are vital to any operation of any device. I have

naturally enlarged these things and combined them into one big chart

that not only lists the successful operation of any device, it lists a possible

breaking of that same device or the possible harm caused to the being

fooling around with such a device. One time I was forced to give a party

a bunch of powered suits of armor and they all tried to work them with

great results, as far as I was concerned. When the first skull crossbones

came up I had the armor break the arms of the being using the unit.

When it came to the breakage of a unit I had the laser finger of the unit

that was being fooled with melt parts of another unit. When players

persisted and received another skull I had the unit break both the legs of

the trying mutant. Of the entire group, it turned out that only one mut-

ant could figure out the operation of the suits of armor and when she put

a suit on and tried to pick up her two wounded friends her thousand fold

increased strength squeezed to mush the waists of both her friends.

It is sometimes necessary to describe items in such a way as to

make the players wonder what they are looking at. A bathroom sink

becomes a white stone bowl; a metal highway becomes a god road that

is unlucky to cross; and a sword becomes a huge carving knife of great

weight.

As a final note, there are those that are said to be too sadistic in their

love of killing player characters. This love takes the form of initially tel-

ling the players that they are going to die at his or her hands or breeding

masses of monsters to wander about, or creating areas that even the

most highly sophisticated being of the times before the destruction

could not have figured out. There is nothing wrong with these areas if

the players are reasonably cautious. To go a step further, there is no-

thing wrong with deliberately creating sections, groups of muties, build-

ings, what-have-you that are as deadly as the referee can think of, for

several reasons. First, it is a mark of the good player that they survive

and figure out these types of areas. Second, when a referee creates such

a place, he creates items that can eventually be used by those that con-

quer. Lastly, what right do the primitive creatures that try for these great

objects of technology have in not expecting to get maximum energy

force directed back at them? At several tourneys I have killed off whole

bunches of players merely because they failed to be cautious and that is

exactly what my best group uses in every case. They are very powerful

but even if they face things they have dealt with before, they cover every

angle they can think of and then go ahead.

May, 1979

THE

ARMADA

DISASTERS

Tempestuous Europe —

quarrelsome, divisive, seething. New al-

liances, old loyalties, quick hatreds, long-standing feuds. Enormous

upheavals, centuries-old reactionary repressions. This was the muddled

Continental picture as growing crises boiled over in the summer of

1588. At this time, Ring Phillip II of Spain sent his mighty fleet of war-

ships to crush the increasing impudence of England’s upstart Queen

Elizabeth I and her motley sea dogs. At least, that was the expectation.

Sweeping alterations in thought and attitudes marked the final

years of the Fifteenth Century which saw great seaward expansions

with Columbus’ Atlantic voyages and the circumnavigation of Africa to

India. Shortly thereafter, Spanish adventurers Hernando Cortes and

Francisco Pizarro conquered the American Indian empires of the Aztecs

in Mexico and the Incas in South America, opening the Western

Hemisphere to colonization and exploitation.

As wealth from the Americas began to fill the coffers of Spain and

Portugal, Pope Alexander VI arbitrarily divided the world between

these two Catholic powers, giving the West to Spain, with the exception

of Brazil, which was later claimed by Portugal, and the Orient to Por-

tugal, except the Phillipine Islands, which were to be Spanish.

And so treasure ships, heavily laden with the riches of the world,

brought all manner of precious goods home to Spain and Portugal.

Although the inpouring of wealth was staggering, far the largest portion

of it was necessarily spent in maintaining the far-flung colonial empires.

In 1580, the King of Portugal died and King Phillip, a relative, was

his natural heir. So Spain annexed Portugal with her vast holdings to

her own empire. Philip was then the most powerful ruler the world had

ever known, with staggering responsibilities and weighty issues to de-

cide.

Meanwhile, Europe was hopelessly split by the spread of Martin

Luther’s Protestant Reformation movement that threatened Catholic

domination. German merchants of the formidade Hanseatic League

controlled Baltic shipping, while the Netherlands, still not a national

entity, was under tight Spanish control in the person of the Duke of

Parma.

But upsurging England and France took exception to the Pope’s

partitioning of the world into two Catholic realms. Although the French

lacked the resources to involve themselves directly in the New World

conquests, they understandably wanted a share in the treasures. French

privateers began to prey on the gold-carrying fleets in a satisfying com-

bination of gaining riches as they fought to undermine Catholic persecu-

tion of French Protestants, or Huguenots.

England could not afford such cavalier action, as that country had

been allied with Spain for nearly eighty years. Her Catholic Queen

Mary, daughter of Henry VIII, had married King Philip of Spain in 1554.

But when May died without issue, her half-sister, Elizabeth, a Protes-

tant, became Queen of England and established her own persuasion as

the national religion.

England did not have the strength to oppose Spain openly, but

after 1558, her power, particularly at sea, began to build. Elizabeth in-

vested heavily in the voyages of her merchant fleet and thus added

money to her treasury.

The English traders, including some of the queen’s own ships,

began to deal directly but “illegally” with West Africa, the West Indies,

Russia, and even North America as they searched for a northwest pas-

sage to the Pacific. There were incidents and skirmishes as the Spanish

moved to stop English depredations. Spain’s monopolistic control of

New World wealth and England’s undercover determination to cut her-

self in for a share of the booty forced a showdown between the two

countries.

Spain sought to place Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of

Scots, on the throne of England in complicated political machinations.

A number of heavy-handed plots failed and Mary was to remain a vir-

tual prisoner in England for eighteen years.

Elizabeth fought off all intrigues with diplomacy, lying, manipula-

tions, wheedling, or brute force, as the occasion demanded. Her un-

predictable strategies effectively cemented her own position, raised En-

gland’s fortune and power, further confused the political situations of

France and the Netherlands, and irritated and harrassed Spain with

constant sniping and dogging her flanks.

Elizabeth, conscious of Mary Queen of Scots’ continual plotting

against her, finally yielded to the advice of her counselors. Mary was

beheaded on February 18, 1587, thus removing the stay of Philip to

move against England. A month later, he ordered the Marquis de la

Santa Cruz to activate his longstanding Enterprise, his master plan for

the conquest of England by land and sea. England was aware of Spain’s

intentions and of the forthcoming full-scale war, and began to make

plans of her own.

Backbone of Spanish sea might was the galleon, with two or three

decks, usually three masted, and with heavy guns for armament.

Wooden “castles” fore and aft were actually floating forts that afforded

sniper strongholds for close fighting. Spanish admirals preferred short

range bombardment with their large bore cannons, and then moving in

for grappling, boarding, and hand-to-hand combat.

Galleys, small and light with iron beaks at their prows, were used

successfully by the Spanish in Mediterranean warfare, using ramming

as their offensive technique. Lightly armed and rowed by banks of

slaves or prisoners, galleys were ill-equipped to withstand the savage

onslaughts of the open ocean.

Therefore, a new class of ship combining the best features of gal-

leons and galleys and called the galleass, was being developed. The

galleass was midway between the two other vessels in size and was also

made of wood, used both oars and sails, and was heavily armed.

The English, used to the treachery of the North Atlantic, concen-

trated their efforts on highly maneuverable sailing ships. Under the

leadership of John Hawkins, the navy was ridding itself of decrepit ton-

nage and corrupt officials while designing more effective men-o-war

and improving the lot of seamen.

English dreadnaughts were stripped of their topheavy castles and

new ships were more streamlined. They could carry more sail and turn

into the wind with greater speed. Heavily armed greatships were also a

mainstay of the English fleet.

But the most effective idea, brainchild of Hawkins and his mentor,

Sir William Wynter, Master of Naval Ordinance, was their reliance on

lighter demicannon which fired a thirty-pound ball (as opposed to the

fifty pounders hurled for shorter distances by the guns of Spain) and on

culverins and demiculverins. This permitted long range salvos that

could inflict great damage on enemy ships without closing.

With her fleet ready, Elizabeth still procrastinated. In April, 1587,

she finally permitted the swashbuckling Sir Francis Drake to put to sea

with a complement of twenty-three vessels in a private venture of spy-

ing, raiding, and blockading.

Upon reaching Portuguese waters, Drake boldly began a frontal

attack on the massed vessels in the harbor of Cadiz. There, some sixty

ships, in varying stages of repair, were being readied to join the Enter-

prise, the Armada, and were hopelessly crowded together. In the ensu-

ing battle in which the Spanish were sitting ducks, between twenty-four

and thirty-seven of their ships were sunk and Drake reprovisioned his

own fleet at the enemy’s expense. He also learned that the main

Spanish fleet was rendezvousing in Lisbon, and that Commander Don

Juan Martinez de Recalde, with half a dozen ships, was waiting at sea to

escort the treasure ships that were returning from the West Indies.

Drake decided to sail to Cape St. Vincent, a strategic point, to inter-

cept Recalde. Not finding him there, Drake nevertheless went on to

capture the stronghold, destroying the castle, the monastery and its fort.

He then ran amuck, sinking fifty tuna fishing boats and fifty barrel-

carrying cargo ships, both groups vital in supplying the Armada. Unable

to attack Lisbon directly, he returned to Cape St. Vincent to rest his

crews and clean his ships.

Heaping insult upon vast damages, Drake then captured the car-

rack, the SAN FELIPE, a personal ship of King Philip, a loaded treasure

ship of jewels and gold, velvets and silks, china, porcelain, and spices.

Taking his prize to England, Drake was championed for seriously crippl-

ing the Spanish war effort and for delaying the sailing of the Armada.

Elizabeth claimed her share of the loot while publicly disclaiming re-

sponsibility for Drake’s deplorable actions.

King Philip was understandably enraged. The next spring, with his

commander, the Marquis of Santa Cruz dead from overwork and

exhaustion, he appointed a successor, Don Alonso Perez de Guzman el

Bueno, Duke of Medina Sidonia. This exalted commander felt he was

unqualified to lead so vast an undertaking as the Armada, but Philip

waved aside his protests and bade him set out with the flotilla post haste.

Medina Sidonia, with his council of advisors, worked feverishly to

modernize the moldering collection of outmoded vessels languishing in

the harbors, but few improvements were possible in so short a time.

Finally, all feasible preparations were completed and the Enterprise, the

Armada was ready to get underway.

Misfortune dogged the expedition from the start. They were un-

able to sail in the middle of May because unfavorable weather persisted

for three weeks. Another similar period of time was then consumed

while the fleet crept only as far up the coast as La Coruna, Spain be-

cause they were slowed by the crawling pace of the storeships.

At La Coruna, the entire fleet put in for fresh water and vital

supplies, but only half were able to anchor in the harbor. A terrible

storm in the night blew some seventy ships out to sea and it was many

days before they could reorganize and set forth again.

Under the command of Medina Sidonia, in the first line of battle,

were ten galleons from the Indian Guard, nine galleons of the Por-

tuguese Navy; the Italian warship,

SAN FRANCISCO;

four galleasses;

and four greatships.

The second line of battle consisted of forty armed merchantmen,

ranked into four squadrons; twenty-three storeships; thirty-four pin-

naces; and five other small vessels.

King Philip’s grand plan for the conquest of Britain was for the

Armada to proceed to the English Channel and there rendezvous with

the Dutch battalions of the Duke of Parma. After escorting these troops

in their barges across the channel for the invasion of England, the Ar-

mada was to destroy any opposing ships at sea or in the harbors. Spain

supposed the English fleet to be inconsequential.

Meanwhile, Sir Francis Drake had been impatient for action for

many months. He had badgered Queen Elizabeth to let him sail for

Spain to take offensive action, but she hesitated. Finally, in May, all

available ships were provisioned and ready for duty. Lord Howard was

in command, with Drake as his first officer.

On Friday, July 29th, 1588, the Spanish Armada was sighted off

the Lizard, the tip of the Cornish coast, and on their way to Plymouth.

By evening, Lord Howard was able to put to sea with fifty-four ships

while others were still loading. These ships slipped around the Armada

to the south, there to wait for daylight.

The Armada had remained intact on the difficult voyage from

Spain except for the four galleys which were unable to weather vicious

Atlantic gales and had to seek French ports, and one merchant ship that

had disappeared. Medina Sidonia, in that night of waiting near the

Lizard, believed Drake’s ship to be in Plymouth harbor while Lord

Howard’s forces were still patrolling the Dutch coast. He moved his fleet

closer to Plymouth the next day.

Sunday morning, July 31, 1588, saw the first meeting of the En-

glish and the Spanish, who wheeled in unison in a magnificent display

of seamanship and discipline, to meet the south-lying enemy, The ar-

mada, in crescent formation with Medina Sidonia’s flagship, the

SAN

MARTIN, in the lead, faced nearly two hundred ships of superior fire

power, including the huge

TRIUMPH, the 1,100-ton warship com-

manded by Martin Frobisher. Additionally, the English ships, though

many were smaller, had the advantage in maneuverability.

The battle was joined. The English challenged the crescent’s right

wing with Lord Admiral Howard in the ARK ROYAL, while Drake’s

REVENGE, Frobisher’s TRIUMPH, and John Hawkins’ VICTORY

sailed against the Spanish forces to the left. English long range culverins

opened fire, and when the Spanish came out to meet them, the nimble

attackers fled. The English also had the wind advantage, a major factor.

That afternoon, the powder magazine of the Spanish greatship,

SAN SALVADOR, exploded. In the confusion that followed, the En-

glish attacked again and two Spanish ships collided. The sea roughened

as the wind increased and fighting broke off, leaving the

still-virtually-

intact Armada to move on eastward up the channel.

The English pursued, not wanting the Spanish to rest or refit. They

captured the ROSARIO and the SAN SALVADOR, two rich prizes.

Monday and Tuesday saw continuous skirmishing and heavy firing, and

by Wednesday, both fleets were growing short of ammunition. Thurs-

day, all vessels were becalmed, but as the wind freshened, the Spanish

took quite a pounding from English squadrons.

The Armada, low on supplies, kept moving through Friday and

most of Saturday, and then dropped anchor that night in Calais, France,

to await word from the Duke of Parma in Holland. The English, at rest

less than two miles away, received reinforcements of ships and ammun-

ition, raising their strength to 140 vessels.

Medina Sidonia learned, to his chagrin, that the Duke of Parma

was far inland with his men and would not be ready to move for at least

two weeks. In addition, no food or supplies would be forthcoming from

that quarter. Then the English sent eight fireships drifting toward the

massed Armada, and the Spanish scattered hopelessly in panic.

Monday, August 8th, saw some of the bitterest fighting to date,

with the English pounding at the disorganized, retreating Armada.

Eventually, both sides were out of ammunition and the scene faded in

the confusion of yet another storm.

So far, in nine days of sea battles, the Armada, which had originally

numbered 130 ships, had lost nearly half its strength and over 600 men

killed with another 800 wounded. They were in total rout with the En-

glish fleet, still at full strength, dogging them unmercifully. The Spanish

were completely demoralized and they prayed for deliverance.

Then that night, the capricious winds shifted again and blew the

Armada northeast far out into the North Sea. The helpless English,

could only follow and watch. The Spanish were grateful for this turn of

events and gave thanks for their miraculous escape.

But tribulations were only beginning. Winds continued from the

same quarter so the Spanish had no recourse but to go on northward

past Scotland. The English finally turned homeward.

Armada survivors rode the storm-riven seas, cold and hungry,

holed, demasted hulks barely able to keep afloat. Many of these ghastly

wrecks were without anchor or rudder, and after rounding northern

Scotland between the Orkneys and the Shetland Islands, gutted them-

selves on the rocky fangs of Northern Ireland’s hostile shores. At least

seventeen ships went down in these wild seas, with a loss of more than a

thousand men. Most survivors were duly murdered on shore and strip-

ped of all possessions. Only a few of these unfortunates made their way

back to Spain.

First Spanish ships of the ill-fated Armada, still lead by the

SAN

MARTIN, limped into the harbor of Sanlander, Spain, on September

23, 1588. Considerably less than half of the total returned, and most of

the great commanders were dead or dying along with many of the

crews. Medina Sidonia blamed himself for all the misfortunes of the

Enterprise, but King Philip would hear none of this and kept him on in

his service.

But all was not peace and thankfulness in England. Faced with

bankruptcy, the Crown could ill afford to pay off her victorious sailors

and send them home, so many were dying of disease and malnutrition

aboard their ships. Frobisher and Drake were accusing each other of

VOL. III, No. 11

May, 1979

blundering and cowardice, John Hawkins and Lord Howard were vast-

ly dissatisfied.

Impetuous Sir Francis Drake was now planning his own Armada as

a private venture, and he assembled sixty English merchantmen, sixty

assorted Dutch ships, and six royal navy greatships. His idea was to

destroy as many Spanish Armada ships as he could find in port, and to

take with him one Don Antonio de Crato and establish him on the

throne of Portugal, thereby wresting control of that country from King

Philip.

This ill-conceived expedition was foredoomed to failure. When fi-

nally launched in June, 1589, Drake’s ships sailed southward to La

Coruna, where Commander Bertendona scuttled his ship, the SAN

JUAN, to keep her from falling into enemy hands. Drake’s men cap-

tured the city, but little booty was to be had.

Later, they sailed on to Lisbon where they found the Portuguese

unwilling to accept Don Antonio as their king. They subsequently set

out for the Azores, but the stormy Atlantic willed that they should never

reach those islands. The English Armada was forced to return to Eng-

land with 8,000 of Drake’s men dead and a number of his ships lost, and

he was in total disgrace with his queen.

Out of the lengthy war with its terrible price in men and ships, Spain

lost her dominion over France and the Netherlands. England kept her

eyes on the sea and eventually secured huge tracts of the New World as

well as the Orient and Africa for her own empire.

In recent years, divers have found the wreckage of some of the

Spanish ships lying at the bottom of the cold, turbulent North Atlantic

off the fierce coast of Northern Ireland. Among the relics recovered from

the remains of a ship identified as the Napalese galleass GIRONA, are

gold and brass ornaments, jewelry, cannon, lead ingots, and cannon-

balls. There are also gold and silver coins, pottery, chains, buckles, and

cutlery, in a remarkable collection of momentoes foraged in persistent

salvage operations.

It may be anticipated that in the future the sea will grudgingly sur-

render more of her ill-won souvenirs of the Armada, and that we will

gain more precise knowledge of the fate of other Spanish ships.

Wargamer/Artist Wanted

TSR Hobbies is looking for an artist. College training or experience

and being a War Gamer are necessary qualifications for this position.

Knowledge of human/animal anatomy and a skill with pen and ink are

most important. Send a resume and, if you wish, a few black and white

8½ x 11 samples. All illustrations will be handled with care and returned

to the owner. Sent to TSR Hobbies, Inc. Art Dept. P.O. Box 756, Lake

Geneva, WI 53147.

Convention Schedule 1979

MichiCon VIII

(June 1-3) sponsored by the Metro Detroit Gamers at

Oakland University, Rochester, MI (Just North of Detroit). Over 25

board game tournaments, 10 role-playing game tournaments, over 60

miniatures tournaments and demonstrations, seminars/panels/

workshops, auctions, flea markets and over 50 exhibit booths. For more

information and pre-registration flier send a SASE to Metro Detroit

Gamers, MichiCon VIII, P.O.B. 787, Troy, MI 48099. Pre-registration

deadline is May 10, 1979.

XON-CON

(June 2,3) at Knights of Columbus Hall, Dixon IL Role-

Playing. Boardgames. For more information call: 815-284-3254.

Wargames West 79

(June 8-9) at the Fresno Convention Center,

700 M. Street, Fresno CA. Contact: Elliott Dermon P.O. Box 261,

Kingsburg, CA 93631.

GLASCON IV

(June 15-17) sponsored by CSUN Simulation Gamers’

Association. $3.00 Pre-registration Fee. $5.00 at the door. For more

information write CSUN-SA, 7133 Reseda Blvd., Reseda, CA 91335.

Origins 79

(June 22-24) at Widener College, Chester, PA. For more

information write: Origins ‘79, P.O.B. 282, Radnor, PA 19087.

NANCON II (June 30-July 1), at the luxurious Houston Marriott.

Largest Dungeons Tournament in the Southwest. Two Day Admission:

$5.00 until June 1 ($6.00 after June 1). Dealers Room. Seminars on

Sunday. For information or early registration contact: Nan’s Toys and

Games - 1385 Galleria Mall - 5015 Westheimer - Houston, Texas

77056 (713-622-0760 after 5:00 PM CST) Room Reservations

through Houston Marriott - 2100 S. Braeswood - Houston TX 77025

(mention NANCON for room in gaming area).

The Great Canadian

Games Adventure

May 18-21, 1979

(Queen Victorias Birthday)

Ottawa University

Ottawa Ontario CANADA

Tournaments in EVERY aspect of gaming

Talks and Seminars by guests, game designers

Games from Europe, England and Canada (American

Favorites too!)

Lots of Dealers, Open Gaming, Films and Auctions

No Game Registration Fees!

Good Dorm Accommodations and 24 hour restaurants

Guest of Honor:

Gary Gygax

For More Information: Phone 613-745-2073 or Write CANGAMES 79,

201-360 Dundas St. Vanier Ontario CANADA K1L 7W7

THE PROPER PLACE

OF CHARACTER

SOCIAL CLASS IN D&D®

©Gary Gygax

Insertion of randomly determined social class is sometimes touted as an

improvement or valuable addition to the existing game system. This sort

of assertion seems valid on the face of it, for doesn’t the game benefit

from assigning social classes to player characters? Isn’t a new dimension

added when the rank of characters is known and considered? Before

answering those questions, consider from whence the idea of social

classes came. Professor M.A.R. Barker suggested social classes in his

instruction manual for his monumental game, EMPIRE OF THE

PETAL THRONE. The EN GARDE game by Game Designers Work-

shop contained a lengthy treatment of social class and birth tables.

Those who saw these works and decided to insert them into D&D failed

to recognize one important singularity common to each of the

aforementioned games which is not possessed by DUNGEONS &

DRAGONS®/ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGON®. Both the

world of Tekumel and that of the Three Musketeers etal have a complex

and detailed social system already devised for them — one from the

creativity of Professor Barker, the other drawn from the history and

legends of the period of Cardinal Richelieu, the early Seventeenth Cen-

tury. D&D has no such cultural and social background.

Because D&D does not have a predetermined culture and social

structure, it is totally foolish to plug in a system which assigns a class

rating to characters, unless the social class determination is very basic

and non-specific such as:

01-75 character is of common background

76-95 character is of aristocratic background

96-00

character is of upper class background

Note that this sort of determination is not particularly useful, but it

does not preordain a social order, either. Use of a more specific method

causes the Dungeon Master to automatically accept a social order he or

she may well have no desire to include in the campaign, for lack of

knowledge or personal preference or any other reason. All of the social

distinction tables assume nobility or offices or professions which are not

universal to all cultures. Use of such tables means that the DM has ac-

cepted the premise that his or her campaign, in fact, has such classes of

nobles, professions, or offices.

D&D is a fantastic medieval game system. This does not mean that

it is medieval in the European sense, although a campaign milieu based

loosely upon mythical feudal Europe is not precluded. However, it

could as well be set in the Near or Far East, in a mythical place, in a

mythos with an ancient-medieval atmosphere (such as Robert E. How-

ard’s “Hyborean Age”), or just about any other desired milieu. The

important factor is medieval technology, not necessarily feudalism with

primogeniture, entail, and a Salic Law.

So-called birth tables are likewise of highly questionable value to

DMs. These tables dictate to the Dungeon Master the rank of a male

player character’s birth, i.e. first, second, third, etc. Again, the informa-

tion is useful only when a culture which is basically feudal European

(with primogeniture, entail, and Salic Laws regarding inheritance and

titles) is considered. What if some other system is desired by the DM?

VOL. III, No. 11

Out the window with the birth tables, of course. Furthermore, even if a

basically feudal society is presupposed in the campaign, what use are

birth tables which indicate that a player character is a first-born son of a

ruling monarch or major noble? How can one conceive of such a per-

sonage going out adventuring at the risk of life and limb?! Has the indi-

vidual abdicated his inheritance? Does he have amnesia? Where are his

guards and retainers? Does his sire know what he is doing and where?

And all of this when a compatible social order is considered. Now envi-

sion use of such systems in a milieu which is neither feudal nor male-

oriented — a hierarchy based on matriarchal principles, for example.

Inclusion of such tables simply is unthinkable. For these very reasons,

D&D does not contain any systems of social classification, for the DM

must first decide upon the culture and society of the campaign before

any valid system can be designed, and there are far too many variables,

so the task is strictly that of the DM. Any detailed system will impose its

own order upon the campaign, as well as possibly forcing the DM to

accept certain premises regarding player characters which do not fit into

the schema of the milieu.

For the sake of discussion, a number of government forms are

given below. Several of these names were coined on the spot in order to

describe types of governments which would be applicable in a D&D

campaign milieu. The list is by no means exhaustive, and DMs should

feel right in devising any sort of government which is reasonable within

the parameters they have set for their particular “worlds”. Government

forms are:

ANARCHY — No formal government and no social classes

ARISTOCRACY — Government by a privileged class, this class so ves-

ted with power to rule being determined by virtually any circumstances

of social or economic relevance

AUTOCRACY —

Government which rests in self-derived, absolute

power (an emperor or dictator is typically an autocrat, but the variations

are many)

BUREAUCRACY — Government by department, rule being through

the heads and chief administrators of the various departments of the

system

CONFEDERACY — A league of possibly diverse governmental and

social entities designed to promote the common weal of each

DEMOCRACY— Government by the people, i.e. the established body

of citizens, whether direct or through elected representatives

FEODALITY — Feudal government where each authority derives au-

thority and power from the one above and pledges fealty in like manner

GERIATOCRACY — Government by the very old

GYNARCHY — Government by females only

HIERARCHY

— Typically religious government with a structure

somewhat similar to a feodality

MACOCRACY — Government by professional magic-users

MATRIARCHY — Government by the eldest females of whatever so-

cial units exist

MILITOCRACY

— Government by military leaders and the armed

forces in general

MONARCHY— Government by a single sovereign, usually hereditary,

whether absolute in power or limited (such as the English monarchs

were by the Magna Carta)

OLIGARCHY — Government by a few, usually absolute, rulers who

are co-equal

PEDOCRACY — Government by the learned and savants

PLUTOCRACY — Government by the wealthy

REPUBLIC — A government of representatives of an established elec-

torate

THEOCRACY — God-rule, or rule by a god’s direct representative

Let us assume a campaign in which the DM desires to develop play

around two diverse portions of the campaign area, in this instance a

portion of a continental land mass. The western nation is an oligarchy,

while the east is fragmented into numbers of small feudal states which

the oligarchy keeps in constant turmoil and warfare through clever

machination. If player characters begin in an eastern land — more likely

a place for adventuring —

the social order will tend to be feudal or

May, 1979

semi-feudal. Let us further assume they start out in a small province of a

small kingdom ruled by an absolute monarch. Near equals to the king

are the peers of the realm

— dukes, princes, the greatest churchmen,

marquises, counts (or earls), great churchmen, viscounts, barons, and

lesser great churchmen. Considered separately are knights, for those

given this status by the king are peers, those with lesser knighthoods still

ranking amongst the nobility. Of course, nobles are not necessarily

knighted; and knighthood, unlike titles of nobility, can not be inherited.

Below the nobility and knights is a broader class of society, the

gentry. Gentlemen, or the gentle born, are from families with land hold-

ings or great wealth from mercantile activity and the like. The great

offices of the kingdom —

chancellor, marshal, constable, etc. — are

drawn from the nobles; but the lesser office holders — bailiffs, magis-

trates, justices, etc. —

will be drawn from the gentry. Outstanding

members of the class will be knighted. Exceptional knights will be ele-

vated to the peerage. Civic leaders are typically of this class.

Next after the gentry are the freemen and artisans. This class is

comprised of small landowners, tradesmen, and skilled craftsmen. This

class furnishes candidates for very minor offices of the government and

will be active in the affairs of small community government, usually

serving under the leadership of a gentleman. Rarely will members of this

class be knighted.

Below the freemen and artisans come the laborers. These are free

folk, but they have neither land nor skills. They are tenant farmers,

workers, and peddlers. These folk come under all of the upper classes,

and they can aspire to become freemen, although there is little likeli-

hood of this move occurring, as money or opportunity is scarce.

The lowest class is far and away the largest. It is made up of ser-

vants, bondsmen, and serfs. Servants and bondsmen can eventually

move into the laborer class; serfs can have no such hope, as they are

confined by law to work the land for their liege lord, be it nobleman,

churchman, gentleman, or even freeman.

Player characters beginning in this social order will be of noble

origin only if the DM desires to include this as a factor. Frankly, only the

younger sons of any noble family would have any reason to become

adventurers in most cases, for the first born will inherit the title and

lands, and the second and third sons will certainly be provided for by

means of clerical offices and government positions. Royal sons are al-

ways given titles and lands regardless. If first-born sons or royal family

members become involved in a campaign as player characters, there

must be a reason for this! Where will adventurers come from then? Not

from the peasants, for they are probably absolutely forbidden to pos-

sess and bear arms, except when impressed into levied bands by their

liege lords. Most adventurers will come from the laboring, freeman/

artisan, or gentle class. The percentage of adventurers from each class is

entirely dependent upon campaign circumstances such as the largest

urban area nearby, local and regional government, economic factors,

etc. Let us suppose, for the sake of the example, that there is a 5%

chance that a character will be from the lowest class, 10% chance of

being from the laboring class, 30% from the class of freemen and arti-

sans, and 50% from the gentle class. (More weight is given to the more

privileged classes as they are more likely to be able to afford or other-

wise have the means to have their sons — or daughters — given the

background necessary to become an adventurer.) A 5% chance is also

given for a lesser noble class background, for anything greater in per-

centage or higher in class would cause severe campaign anomalies.

What does this all mean?

Well, starting funds and equipment must be adjusted to suit social

class, although some weight can be given to the possibility of previous

gains and losses to balance things out a bit. The major effect such social

level determination would have is in the area of profession. All thieves

and assassins could come only from the two lowest social classes.

Clerics could come only from the levels above the two lowest. Magic-

users could come only from the three highest levels. Paladins could

come only from the highest class. In general, skills learned before be-

coming an adventurer are non-existent outside those peculiar to the

profession of the character. For example, the son of a cheese maker will

be sent away at a young age to receive a clerical education, or serve as

an apprentice magic-user, without benefit of training in his father’s bus-

iness. Each adventurer will have basic skills and knowledge to his or her

profession and little else. Fighters are the sole possible exception, for

It is obvious then, that only the individual Dungeon Master is capa-

ble of properly establishing the social order of his or her individual cam-

paign. Active inclusion of this consideration will necessarily place some

further restrictions on player character choices as to profession, but this

is not necessarily a drawback; and it might well be desirable in certain

cases, as it will tend to encourage more fighters and reward them with

bonuses in the area of knowledge and skills not possessed by other

classes of adventurers. Inclusion of an overall social structure and clas-

ses is, of course, a necessity in any large campaign. This is not merely an

embellishment; it is an integral part of the development of the milieu.

Furthermore, inclusion of important personages from higher levels of

society will tend to add greatly to the campaign in various ways, whether

from taking service with a noble to rescuing a prince or princess, such

interaction adds to the scope and meaning of the campaign.

What is also obvious is that social class is certainly not something to

be added lightly, a factor to be sprinkled whimsically into the campaign

or tossed into the whole by random chance. A well run and meaningful

campaign will have an equally well devised social system and class de-

termination according to forethought precepts. I suppose it is best

summed up by the old adage, ‘class will tell’ . . .

DMG Finished

As of this writing the manuscript for DUNGEON MASTERS GUIDE has

at long last been completed, save for a few pages of probable rewrites

and transitional material which editing will uncover. This has been a

long and lousy struggle for me, as there have been so many other things

to do, and great numbers of interruptions in the work flow. It is fun to be

Continued on page 33

their apprenticeship would typically come later and consist of service

with a levied or militia force, then as a mercenary or recruited man-at-

arms, and only thereafter as a 1st level (veteran) fighter. Therefore,

consideration to the possibility of the character possessing one or more

skills in addition to fighting ability is not unreasonable. These skills

would be commensurate with social class and background based upon

the milieu.

D&D was purposely sketchy and vague regarding government and

social systems, for not only would any attempt at detailing such informa-

tion be of considerable length, but it would also take away the preroga-

tives of the DM. The governments and social systems of a campaign

should be devised and developed directly by each individual DM with

an overview of his or her entire campaign, both the introductory milieu,

and the eventual scope of the “world” and the universe (or “mul-

tiverse”) in which it is set. To force any order upon the DM is to curtail

the scope he or she has in devising such settings. This is not to say that it

is wrong to have package offerings such as the Judges Guild CITY-

STATE or TSR’s. WORLD OF GREYHAWK. In such as these, there can

be no question in the purchaser’s mind as to what is offered, a milieu

which is already developed. The D&D rules are distinct, however, in

that they instruct the DM as to how the game is played and mention only

in passing that an entire “world” must be developed to house the cam-

paign. The design of that world was left as the purview of each indi-

vidual DM. The explosion of D&D’s popularity, and human nature too,

has tended to promote an increasing acceptance of social class distinc-

tions and tables without due consideration for long term campaign ef-

fects. At the very least this has resulted in some very odd settings, and at

worst it has promoted the early demise of campaigns — typically with

attendant reorganization and restarting with revised ideas and rules. In

order to save DMs from this difficulty, a thorough treatment of society

and government forms is needed. Space and time disallow any indepth

treatment, even assuming a qualified authority could be found to do a

thesis on the topic for us. DMs must be prepared to research the topic for

themselves and develop systems which suit their needs.

D&D is principally medieval in respect to the technology of its

arms, armor, and military arts. Even assuming the DM wishes to adhere

to a medieval milieu, many sorts of historic government forms and so-

cial orders are available

—the English monarchy, the Swiss confedera-

tion, the Holy Roman electorate, the Byzantine Empire, various Arab

states, or even the horse nomads of Central Asia can be used as models,

and that is but a sampling. Consider some of these other possible forms

which may or may not draw. upon historical bases. Then create the

societies you desire.

VOL. III, No. 11

A review of the film, “The Lord of

the Rings,” in the form of an open

letter to Saul Zaentz and Ralph

Bakshi.

Dear Saul and Ralph,

Your film was a rip off! Yes, rip

off! I know that the expression has

moral connotations, and that you

haven’t done anything wrong leg-

ally; but I happen to believe that

moral obligations often make de-

mands that go beyond the de-

mands of law. So stay with me for

a few paragraphs, and I’ll explain

why your film is immoral.

Let me start by saying that I’m

not an outraged purist. I’ve read

the Trilogy about six times, but I

went into the theater with no ex-

pectation whatsoever of seeing a

movie that was “just like the

book.” Film and print are two dif-

ferent mediums of communica-

tion. There is no way for a film to

capture everything that can be put

into a book, and a film can express

things that no writer could hope to

accomplish.

So I’m writing right now, not as

a Tolkien fan, but as a movie fan (I

love movies and attend the

cinema about thirty times a year).

As a movie-goer, there were three

things I expected from you: good

animation, a captivating and logi-

cal story, and clear guidance into

the alien mythos of Middle Earth.

You only gave me one and a half

out of three.

My wife watched this movie

with me. She never reads fantasy

or plays fantasy games. When we

walked out of the theater, I knew

what she was going to say before

she said it: “Wasn’t the animation

good?” Superb. Congratulations

guys, I loved it too.

“I think I understood the part

about Frodo and Sam . . .” The

story was clear concerning these

two. She did get confused about

Gollum, though. She had so

much to learn about between the

appearance of Gollum in the in-

troduction, and his reappearance

late in the movie, that she forgot

who he was.

" . . . but frankly, I didn’t un-

derstand what happened to the

rest of the characters in the second

half of the movie. I couldn’t see

how it related.” And that’s be-

cause you blew the second half of

the movie. You used a lousy, mis-

take riddled, confusing script, that

only a Tolkien fan could under-

stand.

Why didn’t Frodo’s sword glow

in the battle with the orcs? Bilbo

said it would. Who was this Strider

guy? Why did he have two

names? Why was his sword bro-

ken? Couldn’t he afford a new

sword? Did he get a new sword

later on, or did somebody fix it for

him? What is the relationship bet-

ween Rohan and Minas Tirith?

Where did Gandalf get that army

that he used to save the army of

Rohan? Why were some of the

orcs bigger than the others? What

were they fighting each other

about that one time with Pippin

and Merry? What was the signifi-

cance of Pippin and Merry run-

ning into that talking tree? They

just seemed to somehow fade out

of the story. Did Gandalf really

succeed in driving the forces of

evil from Middle Earth at the end

of the movie? Then why was the

ring important?

Of course I know the answers to

all these questions: I’m a Tolkien

fan. But my wife isn’t, and she’s

confused. What made you think

that you could drop names like

Rohan and Arathorn as if you

were making a passing reference

to Jimmy Carter and America?

The least you could have done

would have been to have worked

some sort of a map into the story.

You could have had the charac-

ters read it while they were discus-

sing their options. This would

have at least given the uninitiated

some chance of understanding

what went on.

Ralph and Saul, you ripped us

all off. Know why? Because you

released a movie of such poor

quality, knowing that it was poor

quality, but knowing that you

would make money off of it be-

cause of the popularity of the liter-

ary work it was based on.

Oh, I should say a word about

the ending. It didn’t. End, that is.

You should have written “To be

continued. . .”

across the screen.

Better yet, write it across the ads.

“The Lord of the Rings:” That’s

the title of the whole triology,

guys. You used it in your ads, but

you forgot to tell us in advance

that you weren’t going to tell the

whole story. Shabby.

You think I’m being too harsh?

Let me ask you this. Would you

even seriously consider releasing

a film with this many flaws in it if it

wasn’t based on a famous piece of

literature that would guarantee it a

built in audience? Only if you

were really stupid. But you’re not

stupid. You’re just too cheap to do

the job right. Or maybe you just

don’t care enough about your art

to fight just a little bit harder with

your backers for just a little bit

more money so that you can get a

decent script.

Twenty million americans have

read that Trilogy. Many of them

would go and see any movie

based on it, even if they heard it

panned in a review. They just

couldn’t resist. I think that you

banked on that (excuse the pun)

when you did this movie. And I

say that’s a rip off.

Up until this point in the letter, I

have been speaking on behalf of

those who have never read the

Trilogy. Perhaps that’s presump-

tuous of me, but I think I’ve been

fair. Now I want to say a few words

as a purist.

Fine animation. I understand

that some of the scenes were done

by filming live actors, and then

drawing animation on over the

film. I was so caught up in the vis-

ual treat of the movie, that there

were times when I wasn’t even no-

ticing the changeover from pure

animation to the redone scenes.

Really well done.

The characters and the crea-

tures were reasonably well rep-

resented. You couldn’t please

everyone, but you did a good job

overall. Personally, I thought your

orcs were too much like your ring

wraiths, but then you made up for

that with your superb balrog.

Thank you for leaving out Tom

Bombadil. It would have taken

you at least twenty minutes to do

justice to him, and you didn’t have

the time. So you left him out en-

tirely rather than portray him in-

adequately. A wise choice.

Would that you had used the

same wisdom in dealing with

Treebeard. A pox upon you for

what you have done to my be-

loved Ent. Oh, I know, you were

going to reintroduce him in the

sequel, when you would have the

time to do justice to him. But you

did such a poor job on the first

film, that you may not be able to

raise the money for a sequel.

Slow moving, slow thinking,

purposeful Ents, interacting with

tiny, flighty little hobbits. One of

the most imaginative creative, ap-

pealing, and just plain old fun

concepts I have ever read. The

Ents alone make Tolkien’s works

a classic.

Do you know what you did with

Treebeard? You used one of the

most endearing literary concepts

of all time as a gimmick. To the un-

itiated, his scenes in the movie

were no more meaningful than

the various aliens in the bar scene

in “Star Wars.”

Assuming that you can raise the

bucks for a sequel, I would like to

make a few suggestions. Don’t

use superb literary concepts as

tinsel. Don’t use a script that only

insiders can understand. Don’t in-

troduce people and places so

casually.

And don’t be Hollywood

pimps, using a beloved literary

work as a prostitute to make a

cheap buck. Make it a film that will

entertain without confusing. Or

else do the world a favor, and

don’t make it at all.

Mark Cummings — NY

There’s not a whole lot I can say

about the foregoing. Had I written

the review of LOTR, as I had

May, 1979

planned before I went to see it, it

would scarcely have been any

when played in a well-lighted

kinder. To the contrary, it would

room, the names and types of the

counters can be read with ease. As

have been far more cutting and

critical. I hope Messrs. Zaentz and

for the mapboard being two-

Bakshi take heed. —ED.

dimensional, so what? The author

openly admits that the only thing

3-D movement in ALPHA

OMEGA would do is slow down

Dear Editor:

I totally disagree with the au-

the game; to add something to a

thor’s comments concerning

game simply because all the other

gamers have it (which is not the

ALPHA OMEGA in the Sep. ‘78

case here) is totally wrong. I totally

ALPHA OMEGA review. The disagree with the author’s com-

criticism that the author levels at

plaints about the time scale of the

the game borders on being totally

absurd; a little logic and common

game, with each turn being equal

to six seconds of time; the time

sense reduces the author’s com-

plaints to nothingness.

span would be quite realistic when

The first complaints the author

you take into consideration the

lodges against the game have to

possibility that ultra-sophisticated

do with its components. Admit-

(by our standards) computers

tedly, its counters are not the best

would be handling such things as

in the world; neither are they the

tracking, weaponry firing, and the

worst, though. The different

like. As for the author calling it a

shapes of the counters make for

“naval game set on a starfield

an excellent variety; I would

map,” the author could use that

phrase to describe several space

hardly define their “shape-coding

wargames, ranging from

by type” as “an idea that doesn't

GALAXY of old to IMPERIUM.

work out too well in play.”

The

“black on purple” situation that

To condemn the game for having

the author spoke of, in which the

its forces modeled after the Navy

ship types and names are printed

is ridiculous. Equally ridiculous is

the author’s assertion that the

in black ink in a violet

background, is hardly the eyesore

game is “pure Buck Rogers.”

ALPHA OMEGA is as advanced a

across; to compare it to a Buck

Rogers game would be like com-

paring a sparkling diamond to a

lump of coal.

The author’s next criticisms of

ALPHA OMEGA stem from the

author’s beliefs that ALPHA

OMEGA lacks “realism.” In case

the author has forgotten, the au-

thor is not talking about fact, the

author is talking about fiction, sci-

ence fiction, remember? The

game isn’t supposed to be real to,

start with, so why complain that it

isn’t? The complaints that the au-

thor lodges against such names as

the “Argonne Accumulator” and

the “Dacer Shield” are unrealis-

tic; if I were responsible for creat-

ing something, I’d want it named

after me, so why shouldn’t the

people of the future do likewise?

As for the complaints about the

use of such names as “Balushi”

and “Akroid,” so what? Let the

game designers have a little fun,

the world won’t come to an end,

you know. When the author

complains that the weapons used

in the game strike their targets in-

stantaneously, the author does

not take into consideration that

the weapons could just seem to

arrive at their targets instantane-

turned on in a darkened room.

The unrealistic energy expendi-

tures that the reviewer talks about

again shows the reviewer’s forget-

fulness that the author is dealing

with science fiction. You are not

dealing with energy as you under-

stand it, whoever wrote the re-

view, you are dealing with a new

form of power. It makes as much

sense to judge the crystal power

via contemporary energy stan-

dards as it does to judge the taste

of an apple by biting into an

orange.

Fortunately, the author does

not give the game a 100%

bad appraisal, although a

99.999 . . . % appraisal would be

more accurate. The author says

that the simultaneous movement

that the combat that the game

uses is good; the author also

praises the game’s movement

pads and combat resolution via

computer matrixes, as well as the

game’s having a CRT that has dif-

ferent tables to be rolled on de-

pending upon the number of

energy factors that strike a target.

It is unfortunate that the author

does not think more highly of

ALPHA OMEGA; the game is an

excellent simulation of space

that the author makes it out to be;

space wargame as you can come

ously, as is the case when a light is

Continued on page 34

May, 1979

ARMIES OF THE

RENAISSANCE

Nick Nascati

Part III — The Condotierre and The Papacy

If Woody Allen would ever decide to turn his comedic talents to

writing history, the result would very probably read like a history of Italy

in the Age of the Condotierre. Few periods in history could possibly be

as full of petty squabbles and pointless maneuvering, as this age when

greedy, mercenary captains controlled the destiny of the Italian City-

States. Warfare was formalized to the point where it almost became a

life-size chess match, with few fatalities. However, their military system

does assume a certain importance in our study of the period.

With few exceptions, which will be discussed, the majority of the

city-state forces, consisted of high priced, un-enthusiastic condotierre

mercenaries. The Condotierre captains, realizing how expensive a

commodity they had to offer, strove constantly to find a way to reduce

casualties in battle, and increase the number of wealthy, ransomable,

prisoners. Naturally the first way to reduce casualties, is to arm men so

heavily that it becomes almost impossible to kill them. This resulted in

armies moving slower and slower, a full charge being almost impossible.

The lack of movement eventually resulted in battles becoming a series

of intricate maneuvers, where the primary objective would be to force

your opponent into an untenable position, where he would either have

to surrender, or be cut down by crossbowmen, whose heavy bolts could

penetrate the heaviest armor.

Later, when the need for mobility was realized, the Condotierre

captains began to employ a type of light cavalryman known as a

Stradiot. The Stradiot served essentially as a dragoon, trained to fight

on horse or foot, and very useful for scouting and skirmishing. The

infantry of the Condotierre companies consisted almost entirely of

lightly armored missile troops. Crossbows tended to be the most com-

mon weapon, with longbows used occasionally, and later on, small

numbers of handguns found their way into the formation. One quite

notable exception to the norm, was the famous White Company of Sir

John Haukwood. This force of English mercenaries, consisted of its

height of 2,000 longbowmen, many veterans of the French Wars, and

2,000 mounted men at arms. They were well known for their bravery

and outstanding service to their employers.

The native forces of the individual city-states, consisted almost en-

tirely of infantry, and varied in quality from miserable to decent.

Machiavelli’s famous experiments with the Pisan militia, showed that

locally raised levies could be made into a competent fighting force,

when adequately trained and led. Generally, the levies were armed with

a variety of polearms, glaives, bills and halberds being common. The

amount of armor depended on the wealth of the city, and the particular

BACK ISSUE AVAILABILITY

Some back issues of TD are still available. Only those

listed below are in stock. Back issue price is $2.10, postage

and handling are included.

Vol. II

Vol. III

TD 7

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TD 8

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TD 22

All issues are of limited quantity. No guarantees of

availability are implied.

way in which the troops were used. Garrison troops tended to be more

heavily armored than field troops. The forces of the more powerful

cities, Genoa, Venice, Milan and Florence, tended to be a bit more

competent than most. The Genoese crossbowmen had of course built

up a fair reputation for skill in France, and were considered prize troops.

Generalship on the whole, was not outstanding, the Sforzas, the Bor-

gias, and the Medici were about the best that could be found, though

they could hardly be called great captains. Machiavelli was the pre-

eminent tactician and strategist of the day, but he was more concerned

with matters of state, not commanding armies in the field. His “Art of

War,” is a classic work, but unfortunately was not read widely enough

by his contemporaries.

The use of artillery was virtually non-existent, until the lessons of

the French invasion in 1490, taught them the value of cannon. Even the

Venetians still used Greek-Fire on their galleys, and only mounted small

pieces of cannon for close fighting. Interestingly though, it was an Ita-

lian, Niccolo Tartaglia, who invented the gunner’s quadrant in the later

16th century, that enabled artillerists to set range and trajectory more

accurately. Inventiveness was certainly not lacking in the minds of Ita-

lian thinkers, for DaVinci’s notebooks are full of ingenious and highly

advanced military weapons, and most Italian artists dabbled to a de-

gree,

in military affairs.

There is a tremendous paradox in Italian affairs in this era, in that

the most powerful and most militaristic of all the rulers was the Pope, the

representative of God on earth, the most “peace” loving of all men. In

reality though, the Papal States presented a tight confederation of vas-

sals, who swore undying loyalty to the Pope. The two Popes who fi-

gured most greatly in this era, Gregory and Alexander, were masters of

political intrigue and manipulation of petty nobles. The core of the

Papal forces was the Pope’s personal guard of Swiss mercenaries. Their

loyalty was legendary, and they provided unshakable support to the

less reliable levies of the Pope’s vassals.

As for costume, this is a very fertile era for the imagination. The

mercenary companies generally wore some sort of uniform dress or at

least colors, according to the whim of the captain. Hawkwood’s White

Company, as its name implies, wore white surcoats emblazoned with a

red cross of St. George. The city-states generally fielded levies dressed

in their ordinary clothing, embellished with armor, and usually gave

them some type of sign to wear taken from the city coat of arms.

The Italian forces then, should not be ignored in games set in the

earlier Renaissance, and when painted with imagination, they can pro-

vide a tremendously colorful spectacle on the wargame table.

Next Time: The English from St. Albans to The Boyne

VOL. III, No. 11

WOULD THE REAL ORC PLEASE STEP FORWARD?

Dealing With the Proliferation of Orcish Miniatures

by Lance Harrop

Representing as they do the bulk of any evil army, orcs are very

Makes of Orcs

important to the fantasy miniaturist; but since the actual appearance of I list below most major makes of orcs and related races and how I

an orc is a matter of opinion, the gamer is forced to choose among a

apply this system to them.

wide variety of styles to obtain his orcs. The only source on orcs that I Miniature Figurines (Middle Earth) — ME 1, 9, 41 — Man orcs,

know of is LOTR, and Tolkien left wide room for interpretation. Be-

great orcs.

cause of this the miniaturist must make his own interpretation in the

Good luck on finding any of these figures, I think the line is discon-

end.

tinued, but they are good figures for man orcs, carrying large shields and

But before you, the present or prospective fantasy miniaturist,

wearing full chain. Highly adaptable for the shield is blank.

make your final choice, consider the following ideas.

Mini Figs — ME 24, 25, 45 — True orcs, Snaga orcs.

Orcish Genealogy and Taxonomy

These are of the same line as above, so they may be hard to get.

Orcs are a member of a “family” of evil creatures; kobolds, gob-

The figures are all together too small for orcs, they make better kobolds.

lins, hobgoblins, orcs, and ogres. Gnolls and trolls are closely related to

Mini Figs-ME 15, 16, 50 — Goblins.

each other, but not to the

“goblin races.” Their

Again these figures are too small for goblins, but they make excel-

evolutionary progress

lent kobolds. Since the first two are mounted on wargs they give the

might be like this:

kobolds an effective cavalry arm.

Mini Figs -ME 56 — Large Goblin.

This figure can be used as a goblin, man orc, or as I do, a very large

kobold.

Mini Figs -ME 11, 31- Trolls.

Orcs are themselves a genus of various species, subspecies, and

Use these figures as hobgoblins or ogres.

breeds. No two orcs need look alike any more than a Basset Hound

Heritage-Fantastiques 1000-1003 — Snaga Orcs.

looks like a St. Bernard. Of course there are limits to size, build and cast

These figures are best used as snaga orcs, but their broad grins,

of face which exclude some makes of orcs, but under this system most

sometimes known as “snaga smiles” tend to make them appear farci-

every type of orc, goblin, hobgoblin, ogre, and kobold can be included.

cal. Otherwise they are good figures, coming in many poses and

It is also useful to break the genus orkus into three main species;

weapons, their shields are blank as well.

Orkus Superus, the Great orcs and Uruk-hai of Mordor; Orkus com-

Heritage-Fantastiques 1004-1006 — Man orcs.

mus, the lesser and snaga orcs; and Orkus Homus, the half orcs or man

These figures can be used as great orcs or hobgoblins, but they

orcs. Orkus homus is a contrived name as every tribe of man orcs had to

don’t make good man orcs.

be specially bred by some powerful evil magician, and the tribes can’t

Heritage-Fantastiques 1007-1009 — Great Orcs.

generally inter-breed.

These are without a doubt the best orcs anyone has cast, their

Using this system, most makes of orcs would fit below.

intensely evil aspect and their military outfitting make them excellent

Genus Koboldus- Kobolds -up to four feet tall (20 mm).

great orcs.

Kobolds are extremely small and wiry creatures, much like Gol-

Heritage-Fantastiques 1010-1014, 1020 — Goblins.

lum. They live in small hills for which possession they war with gnomes.

Most of my conceptions of goblin races are based on the Fantas-

They hate the sun more for its denying them hiding places than for the

tiques line, so I view these as model goblins. Note that some are

light itself.

mounted on wargs.

Genus Ogrus- Ogres- six feet plus tall (30 mm and up).

Heritage-Fantastiques 1015-1019 — Trolls.

Any very large and ugly creature that isn’t a gnoll or troll is an ogre.

Tolkien’s trolls are D&D’s ogres, use these figures as such, with the

Ogres can get to be as tall as giants. Ogres are often found in confedera-

possible exception of 1016, which could be a true troll.

tion with orcs.

Heritage-Fantastiques 1027 — Variags of Khan?

Genus Goblus- Goblins-three to five feet tall (15-25 mm).

When I finally identified these figures I had used them as something

Goblins are small man-like creatures, ugly and fanged. They live in

else. They can be man orcs, hobgoblins or orcs.

mountains in alliances with hobgoblins. They don’t like dwarves and

Ral Partha- Warriors, Wizards and Warlocks 611, 612, 613, 621,

dwarves don’t like them.

622, 623, 631, 632, 651, 652, EW 641, 642- Snaga Orcs, Great Orcs,

Genus Hoblus- hobgoblins-five to seven feet tall (25-35 mm).

and Goblins.

Hobgoblins are simply large goblins. In many tribes the ruling

I have been told that these figures resemble beardless dwarves, in

members finally differentiated into hobgoblins. Hobgoblins share the

any case they are excellent for orcs, great and lesser; but don’t use the

hatred of dwarves but they’re smart enough not to attack without think-

goblins as goblins, but as more orcs.

ing.

Grenadier- Wizards and Warriors W15-18 Orcs.

Genus Orkus- Orcs

From what I have seen these are fairly good orcs.

Orkus Commus- Lesser orcs-up to four feet tall (20 mm).

Grenadier- Wizards and Warriors W19-21 — Goblins.

Small, broad, longarmed and hideous, lesser orcs comprise the

Again these appear to be good goblins.

bulk of most evil armies. They normally live in mountains. They don’t

Garrison — SS 77 — Great Orcs.

like elves, dwarves, men, the outside, the light, or each other.

These figures are too small and skinny to be great orcs; use them as

Orkus superus- Great Orcs-four to six feet (20-30 mm).

man orcs.

Large, broad, longarmed and hideous, great orcs tend to be better

Mini Figs — D&D set 7 — goblins.

in a fight, and perform more militarily.

These seem to be good goblins, though they may be so small that I

Orkus homus -Man Orcs-five or six feet tall (25-30 mm).

would use them as kobolds.

Man orcs tend to have more human proportions than other orcs.

Mini Figs — D&D set 8-10 — Hobgoblins.

They also suffer the light better and fight in military formations.

These are best used as hobgoblins, they don’t fit any other role.

Remember that the smaller goblin races often ride wargs, very large

Mini Figs — D&D set 11-13 — Orcs.

corrupted wolves (corrupted because I like to think of wolves as basi-

Much as I like Dave Sutherland’s work, pigs are not my idea of

cally good, in the Jungle Book traditions). Larger races may ride other

orcs, so if I ever buy these figures, and no doubt I will, I’ll use them as

mounts.

were-boars.

May, 1979

Mini Figs — D&D set 16 — Kobolds.

Again these figures look too much like animals, I’d use them as

were-jackals.

Archive Miniatures — 513-515, 518-520 — Goblins.

These are small but passable goblins, the last three are mounted on

wargs.

Archive Miniatures — 524-530, 541-543 — Low Orcs.

Low is right, these are bad for orcs, like Mini Figs’ D&D orcs, these

have ridiculous snouts; I use them for what they look like, lizardmen.

Archive Miniatures — 535-536 — Orcs.

These figures are like Archive’s, low orcs, lizard snouted; I use them

for superior lizardmen.

Archive Miniatures — 630 — Boar Troll.

I use this figure for a hobgoblin to go with Archive’s other goblins,

note that the figure is

mounted on a very large boar.

Heritage-Lord of the Ring Miniatures — Orcs.

These figures are certainly a departure from the common concep-

tion of orcdom. They are easily hideous enough for orcs, in fact they are

almost comically ugly. Their large size and completely inhuman aspect

makes them useful only as great orcs, despite the fact that some are

labeled as a man orcs. One figure is mounted on a horse, which is pass-

ably strange for an orc. The line would be greatly improved with the

addition of smaller orcs, warg riders, and some more human man orcs.

No doubt I have left out some makes of orcs, for which I apologize,

but I’m sure you can fit them into the system. Of course all these ideas

are just suggestions, it is your opinion in the end that matters.

Painting Orcs

These are a few guides to painting orcish armies to keep in mind

while you work.

1. An orcish tribe is a race of orcs, or a breed; they tend to look like each

other and unlike other orcs, so use one line of figures in a tribe and paint

them all the same flesh colour.

2. An orc can have any colour flesh that you want, use browns,

brownish-yellows, reddish-browns, greens, dark reds, and black.

Major evil nations, Mordor and Isengard for instance, are multitribal.

The orcs of Moria could be of more than one tribe, but it is doubtful. The

same with Minas Morgul and Cirith Ungol. The orcs of the Misty Moun-

tains were a confederation under one powerful great orc, probably sup-

ported by the balrog of Moria.

4. Don’t dress your orcs in black or red; greens and browns should

predominate, with some grays, stay away from bright yellow, medium

and light blues, orange and white.

5. Use dark metals, not silver, brass or gold, and use tan and brown

leathers, black leather has to be dyed and orcs would not waste the

time, they’re not out for aesthetics.

Disregard 4 and 5 when painting elite units, though they would still

not use bright metals.

7. Orcs’ teeth are white for the same reason dogs’ are; because they

chew bones.

8. Orcish colours and standards are usually black and red, with some

browns, greens and dark metals, other colours are anathema. The

White Hand of Isengard is a Wizard’s symbol, not an orc’s

9. Three major problems obstruct the use of orcs’ shields for sym-

bolism, sculptured shields, central spikes, and raised emblems, all of

which can be filed off if necessary.

10. Avoid using raised symbols with different colours, it rarely looks

good.

Gaming Orcs

Again here are some guides to using orcs on the battlefield.

1. All goblin races dislike the sunlight, so lower their morale in the day-

time.

2. Kobolds and Gnomes will almost instantly attack each other, so

have them make obedience checks when they are in charging distance.

The same with goblins and dwarves and lesser orcs and elves. Great

orcs, man orcs, ogres and hobgoblins will not generally disobey.

3. Orcs of different tribes will also attack each other, as will all goblin

races, but powerful leaders can keep them in check, so adjust the die roll

against the level of the leader.

4. Usually only great orcs and man orcs will fight in formations, the

others will fight en masse.

Good wargaming and may your Enemy’s orcs disobey before

yours.

Front Line Left to Right

Mini Fig ME

snaga orc,

Heritage LOTR

orc,

Mini Fig ME

man orc,

Heritage Fant.

great orc,

Heritage Fant.

snaga orc,

Ral Partha

great orc,

Archive

orc,

Garrison

VOL. III, No. 11

THE TRAVELLER NAVY WANTS TO JOIN YOU:

New Service Opportunities for Navy Characters

R.D. Stuart

With the success of GDWs Mercenary supplement to their Travel-

ler game system players generating Army and Marine personnel now

have a wide range of skills and expertise areas from which to produce

well-rounded characters. While Mercenary leaves the “ground pound-

ers” in fair shape, other Traveller services can occasionally appear lack-

lustre in comparison.

Given the importance of any future naval institution capable of

insuring security over interstellar distances, it seems only fitting that the

naval arm in Traveller be given equal time. The following therefore is a

proposed variant on the standard method used to generate naval per-

sonnel in Traveller, utilizing the same format as in Mercenary, with the

following changes and additions.

Any character choosing (or drafted into) the navy must choose a

branch of that arm in which to serve: Ship’s Complement Support Ser-

vices, or Security. Skills are attained by completing yearly assignments

with occasional throws for survival, commissioning, promotion, etc.

Ranks for enlisted men and officers are given by the following tables.

Note that two additional officer ranks between Captain and Admiral

have been added.

Skills acquired are identical to those presented in Booklet One,

with the following additions specifically for naval personnel:

Jump-Drive:

Expertise in hyper-atomic physics and propulsion sys-

tems for space flight

Fleet Tactics: Strategic & Tactical handling of fleet warships in combat

conditions

Wenching:

Basic Carousing. Can also be used as a DM+ Level

against Reaction Table when non-player character is of the opposite

sex.

Decorations are awarded to naval personnel as follows: on the

exact die roll required, player is awarded the Naval Star of Bravery. On

a DR of + 1 required, player is awarded the Sunburst for Conspicuous

Gallantry. If DR +2 is achieved the player is awarded the Naval Cluster

for Heroism.

In the course of their four-year terms of duty players will draw

either routine fleet or special assignments. NOTE: The first assignment

of any player consists of one-year basic training & advanced service

training. Players must successfully throw against a survival roll, as per

Mercenary, and receive a basic + 1 Blade Combat as an addition to their

N.O.T. roll an advanced skill.

It is hoped that in utilizing this variant players and referee will now

be able to generate characters able to compete with specialized army

and marine personnel already on hand. And while naval starmen are

not generally considered for Mercenary assignments, specialized

characters can of course apply for deep-space exploration teams, col-

onizing efforts, and a host of other possibilities. Given skills and a little

imagination on the players’ behalf no doubt new and rewarding gaming

opportunities will occur. And so, now, the Traveller navy is ready to join

you!

NAVAL OCCUPATION TABLE

Die

Roll

Ship’s Complement

Support Services Security

Ship’s Boat

Steward

Bld. Combat

Vac. Suit

F.O.

Gn. Combat

Gunnery

Medical

Gn. Combat

Mechanical

Engineering

Vac. Suit

Jack-O-Trades

Computer Survival

Navigation

Electronics

Zero—G

Pilot

Jump Drive Battle Dress

DM ( + 1) If Tech Level of world is 12 +

S1 Starman

S2 Starman II class

S3 Starman I class

RANKS

Enlisted Men

01 Ensign (Trav. Rank 1)

02 Lieutenant (Trav. Rank 2)

03 Lt.-Commander (Trav. Rank 3)

S4 Starman (Chief)

04 Commander (Trav. Rank 4)

S5 Starman (Gunnery Chief)

05 Captain (Trav. Rank 5)

S6 Starman (Ship’s Chief) 06 Commodore (Trav. Rank 5)

S7 Starrman (Master Chief)

07 Fleet Captain (Trav. Rank 6)

S8 Starman (Fleet Chief)

08 Admiral (Trav. Bank 6)

SKILL TABLES

Die

Roll Navy Life

Chief Skills

Command Skills Staff

1 +1 Str

Gn Cmbt.

Navigation

F.O.

2 +1 Dex

Navigation Computer

Medical

3 +1 End

Jump Drive

Leadership

Fleet Tactics

4 + 1 Itell

Instruction Leadership

Mechanical

5 Gambling

Leadership Fleet Tactics

Admin

6 Wenching

Gunnery

Pilot

Admin

7 Brawling

Admin

+1 Soc

8 Bld. Cmbt +1 Soc +1 Soc

+1 Soc

Navy Life: 01 +1, 02 +2, 03 Above +3

Chief Skills: S4 + 1, S5 + 2, S6+3, S7+4, S8 +5

Command/Staff Skills: Rank 3-4 + 1, Rank 5-6 +2

Above modifiers are optional at player’s discretion

GENERAL ASSIGNMENT

Die

Roll

Ship’s Complement

Support Services

Security

Command

Command Command Command

Command

Staff Staff

4 Command

Staff Staff

Staff

Special

Special Special

AU except officers treat Command and Staff Rolls as Fleet assignments.

DM ( + ) Education 9 + allowed

Officers may choose DM (-1)

FLEET ASSIGNMENT

Die

Roll

Ship’s Complement

Support Services Security

Raid

Fleet Act. Raid

Anti-Piracy

Planetay Support

Raid

Refit & Repair

Patrol

Fleet Action

Refit & Repair

Refit & Repair Fleet Action

Refit & Repair

Refit & Repair Patrol

Patrol

Exploration Patrol

Patrol

Planetary Support Refit & Repair

Fleet Action

Planetary Support

Refit & Repair

12 Fleet Action

Patrol Exploration

DEFINITIONS

Raid

Raid on planetary system in conjunction with other military sup-

port

Anti-Piracy

Ship assignment against commerce raiders

Patrol

Protection of planetary systems and normal space lanes

Exploration

Mapping expedition — survey of uncharted planet sys-

tem

Planetary Support.:

Planetary Support to established colonies or

naval installations.

Refit & Repair

Refitting, drydocking, repair of vessel, relaxation, rest

leave for ship’s crew

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT

Die

Roll

Enlisted Men & Chiefs

Officers

Recruiting

Cross Training

Recruiting

Naval Intelligence

Protected Forces

Fleet Command School

Specialist School

Staff School

Marine Attach.

6 O.C.S.

Military Aide/Attache

7 O.C.S.

Fighter Command

May, 1979

Ant.-Piracy

Survival

Decoration

12+

Promotion

Skills

FLEET ASSIGNMENT RESOLUTION

Fleet Act. Raid

Patrol

6+ 5+

6+ 7+

10+

6+ 6+

(8+)

Exploration

Survival

(auto)

Decoration

Refit & Repair

Planet. Supprt.

none

10+

Promotion

Skills

none

7+ 8+

(8+)

Players add DM+1 on survival throws if any N.O.T. skill is level 2 or

greater

For promotion Rolls (8+) add DM+ 1 if Education is 9+

SPECIAL ASSIGNMENT RESOLUTION

Die Roll Enlisted Men and Chiefs

Enlisted Men DM + 1 if educated

past level 8

Recruiting

Player has been given a recruiting assignment

and receives an automatic Recruiting Level + 1

Cross Training

Player may have his character cross train

either of the two branches not originally selected, receiving a

die roll that branch N.O.T. Table.

Protected Forces Training

Player rolls for following skills, re-

ceived on 4+: Zero-G Cmbt., Vac. Suit, on one die.

Specialist School

Player has been sent to specialist school.

Roll one die and receive skill level in the following areas:

1. Communications

2. Admin

3. Medical

4. Electronics

5. Jump-Drive

6. Computer

Marine Attachment:

Player has been temporarily assigned

to a Marine regiment for a yearly assignment. Roll 4+ on one

die for the following skills: + 1 Gun Cmbt., +1 Bld. Cmbt., + 1

Hvy. Weapons.

6-7. O.C.S. Player has been selected for Officers’ Candidate

School. Roll 4+ on one die for additional Navy Life or NOT

Table Skill. Roll one die automatically for one Command and

one Staff Skill. After completion of assignment player is com-

missioned as an Ensign.

Officers

Officers add DM+ 1 if Intelligence is better than 9

1. Recruiting: Officer receives same assignment as enlisted men. Of-

ficer receives automatic + 1 Recruiting skill for this one-year as-

signment.

2. Naval Intelligence:

Officer has been posted to Naval Intelligence

School. Roll 5+ on two dice for following skills: Interrogation,

Forgery, Bribery, Fleet Tactics.

3. Fleet Command School:

Roll 5+ on two dice for following skills:

Fleet Tactics, Leadership, Navigation, Jump Drive. If three skills

are successfully rolled player may roll 10+ on two dice for promo-

tion.

4. Staff School: Roll 4+ on one die for the following skills: Admin,

Computer, Electronics

5. Marine Attachment:

Same as enlisted men, officer rolls 5+ on

one die for the following skills + 1 Gn Cmbt., + 1 Bld. Cmbt., + 1

Ground Tactics

6. Military Aide/Attache:

Officer rolls one die DR 1-4 player has

been posted as naval attache, receives automatic promotion and

+ 1 Soc. level 5-6 player is posted to aide for Admiral and may

select own special assignment for next term other than a continuing

aide assignment.

7. Fighter Command:

Officer has been posted to navy special

fighter command. Player receives an automatic promotion and + 1

Fighter skill. Player must immediately roll survival throw of (6+)

DM per prior number fighter assignments only. Player may attempt

to continue assignment next term if DR 10+ on two dice achieved.

(No reenlistment roll required if this assignment last in current term

and 10+ DR achieved).

GAMMA WORLD

ARTIFACT USE CHART

by Gay Jaquet

One of the more frequent criticisms of Gamma World is the Artifact Use Chart—

and the criticism is somewhat justified. It can be mildly interesting to watch one’s

progress towards successfully learning the workings of an artifact (only to see the

final roll result in a skull and crossbones), but it serves little purpose. The chart

could easily be pre-calculated and the possible pathways computed to single

percentage rolls. Therefore, I offer a new system for determining the use of

Gamma World artifacts.

The new Artifact Use Chart appears on the opposite page — it is somewhat

similar to the old chart, but it is used in a different manner. One still rolls dice and

follows the indicated path, but there are also provisions for players to make

actual decisions during the process.

To use

To use the chart, a player starts at one of the numbered squares, the larger

numbers representing more complex devices. In terms of the “old” charts,

square 1 is roughly equal to chart A, square 3 equals chart B, and square 5 equals

chart C. Squares 2 and 4 are provided to allow for additional referee discretion in

determining the complexity of artifacts. As with the old charts, the player rolls a

single 10-sided die and follows the indicated path.

As the player follows the pathways, squares represent “correct” steps taken

towards operation of the artifact. Diamonds represent incorrect steps, short cuts,

omissions, etc. Generally, there is a greater chance for a “failure” from a

diamond than from a square. A circle represents a failure in the operation proce-

dure. A failure can range from simply spoiling the previous step and forcing the

player to start again, to causing extensive damage. Each circle is identified by a

letter, and the type of failure is determined by rolling on the table indicated by the

letter. Upon reaching the square containing the asterisk, the use and operation of

the artifact has been successfully determined.

As with the old charts, a player receives five dice rolls per hour of total concent-

ration on the artifact, and each additional player concentrating adds one die roll

per hour. Die rolls are modified with respect to intelligence and mutations as with

the old charts.

Thus far, even with the large number of possible pathways on the chart, suc-

cessful operation of an artifact could still be determined by a simple percentage

roll. But this is where player choice comes in. Each time a player attempts to

determine the use of an artifact, he starts with a number of “artifact use points”

equal to his intelligence. At the cost of some of these points, a player may choose

the path he takes on the chart. Choosing a path out of a square costs four points,

choosing a path out of a diamond costs two points. Points are not cumulative,

replaceable, or transferable in any way. They exist only for a single attempt by a

single player at determining the use and operation of an artifact. These choices

may be made any time during the overall process of attempting to learn artifact

operation, before the die roll for a given square of diamond. (As an option,

referees may even allow choice of “failure” roll after entering a circle. Cost: six

points)

Whenever a player decides to choose the path taken on the chart, rather than

roll the die, there is no time penalty. (The choice represents an intuitive decision

or hunch, rather than study.) Thus a character can spend an hour concentrating

on an artifact, roll the die the maximum allowed five times, and (assuming he has

an intelligence of 16) choose paths through four more squares, all in the same

hour. Of course, then he has used up all his artifact use points for this attempt,

and if operation and use has still not been determined, he will be left to the mercy

of the die rolls until he either discovers the operation of the device or quits.

A glance at the chart will show there are several strategic points where judici-

ous use of the artifact use points and selection of certain paths can be of great

advantage towards learning the operation of an artifact. Of course, it is also nice

to hold the points in reserve, in case a string of bad die rolls leads off the optimum

path and towards an area of high failure risk.

While admittedly this method of determining the use and operation of artifacts

is somewhat abstract, it does give the players a chance to use some of their own

logic, hunches, or daring in the process, but at the same time (through the artifact

use points) ties the process to the “abilities” of his character.

FAILURE TABLE

die

roll

NE D

X 1d6

X 2d6

X 1d6 X 3d6

X 1d6

X 2d6

X 3d6

X 1d6

X 2d6 X 4d6

X 1d6 X 3d6 X max

10 X 1d6 X 2d6

X 4d6

X max

20th CENTURY PRIMITIVE

Perhaps one of the most difficult situations encountered when re-

fereeing Gamma World is that of characters with a primitive technology

discovering advanced technology devices. Players will often have a

character with 13th century knowledge react in a 20th century manner

to a 24th century device . . .

Player:

“OK, we beat down the door with the log and hold our

spears ready as it falls in. What do we see?’

Referee: “You see a low bench or table with a small box or chest

on it. The box has a smooth, sort of clear front — it

might remind you of looking into a pool of water. Be-

neath it is a smaller box with several bead-like objects

set in even rows across it. The beads have strange mark-

ings on them — each one different.”

Player:

“I get on-line and type ‘CALL DUMP MEMORY.’

Everyone else looks for laser pistols and control batons.

By the way, is there anything around here that looks

like this might be a military security check-point. . .?”

Well, perhaps I’ve exaggerated a bit, but maintaining a perspective

on the consistency of the knowledge of the players, especially at the

beginning of a campaign, is a problem. Many referees simply start the

player/characters at a 20th century knowledge level and avoid the has-

sle, but to me, that’s placing an unfortunate limit on the scope of the

game, and tends to turn it into an exercise in collecting exotic weapons

of destruction.

Forcing players to maintain a low technology base, at least at the

beginning of the campaign, also forces them to deal with situations in a

more challenging and creative manner than the old “bomb it, pave it,

paint some lines on it and turn it into a parking lot” method.

Primitive characters need not be stupid — indeed, in the game

format, they are the elite of their culture: adventurous, skillful, intelli-

gent, able to make logical decisions and learn quickly from their mis-

takes. All that is necessary is a little sincerity on the part of the players in

playing their characters as they could realistically expect them to be-

have. The referee can help this process by taking the time to consider

how the ruined world of the 24th century would appear to a primitive,

and by describing it accordingly.

High level technology, to primitives, is, for all practical purposes,

magic. This does not imply a need for human sacrifices to the God of the

Nightlight, just a lack of knowledge as to the power behind the function.

One need not know the workings of a generator to turn on a light switch.

What this boils down to, is, in the early stages of a Gamma World

campaign, the referee (in addition to his simple descriptions) should

allow his player/characters to witness various uses of the technological

devices about themselves, and learn from exprience. They may not

know, initially, exactly what they are doing, but they will know the re-

sults to expect. Indeed, this concept must be used not only as primitive

characters discover 20th century technology, but also as characters with

20th century knowledge discover 24th century technology.

There is a sense of “reality” to be considered (if that term can be

applied to a science fiction role-playing game) in conducting a Gamma

World campaign. Question it. Would you, as an average 20th century

man, walk into the control room at Hoover Dam and start throwing

switches for no reason, other than to see what happens? How ‘bout

finding yourself in SAC headquarters? Would you start typing “CALL

DUMP MEMORY” on a computer terminal?

Not only does the use of a primitive technology level provide a

logical starting point, it also can add a sense of “reality” to an admittedly

unreal situation. It’s all up to the referee.

FAILURE TABLE RESULTS

NE No effect —

Return to previously occupied space

Artifact damaged —

Roll percentile dice to determine point of damage to artifact — character may

resume trying to determine operation and use of artifact by returning to previ-

ously occupied space

Artifact malfunctions —

Causes damage to all within applicable range in amount indicated, from 1d6 to

the maximum amount of energy stored within the artifact.

VOL. III, No. 11

May, 1979

1 Victoria

39 Amarillo

77 Baton Rouge

115 Syracuse

Seattle

Lubbock

New Orleans

116

Scranton

Tacoma

Monterrey

Birmingham

117

Harrisburg

Shelton

San Antonio

118

Baltimore

Portland

Austin

Chattanooga

Lexington

119

D.C.

Eugene

Abilene

120

Alexandria

Cincinnati

Reno

Pierre

Dayton

8 Carson City

46 Bismark

Columbus

Sacramento

San Francisco

Winnipeg

Lincoln

Ft. Wayne

Kalamazoo

San Jose

Topeka

Monterrey

Ok. City

Grand Rapids

Fresno

Ft. Worth

Lansing

Toledo

Bakersfield

Dallas

Houston

Detroit

Los Angeles

London

Riverside

Little Rock

Windsor

San Diego

Kansas City

Mexicali

Sandusky

Cleveland

Las Vegas

Jefferson City

57 Des Moines

95 Akron

Boise

Rochester

Charleston

Spokane

Minneapolis

Atlanta

Phoenix

St. Paul 98

Tallahassee

Butte

Duluth

Idaho Falls

Wausau

Tampa

100

Miami

Pocatello

Green Bay

101

Ft. Lauderdale

Ogden

Milwaukee

102

Orlando

121

Richmond

122

Raleigh

123

Savannah

124

Charleston

125

Norfolk

126

127

Wilmington

Philadelphia

128

Reading

129

Utica

130

Montreal

131

Quebec

132

Montpelier

133

Schenectady

134

Albany

135

NYC

136

Bridgeport

137

New Haven

138

Hartford

139

New Bedford

140

Fall River

Salt Lake City

Lake Geneva

103

141

Providence

Torreon

Madison

Daytona Beach

104

Jacksonville

142

Boston

El Paso

Chicago

105

Augusta

143

Manchester

Albuquerque

Gary

106

144

Portland

31 Santa Fe

S. Bend

Wheeling

107

145

Casper

Dubuque

Pittsburgh

Augusta

108

146

Billings

Springfield

109

Youngstown

Erie

147

Bangor

St. John

LeadviIle

St. Charles

110

Hamilton

Cheyenne

St. Louis

111

Toronto

Denver

Nashville

112

Rochester

Colo. Springs

Memphis

113

Ottawa

Pueblo

Jackson

114

Jensen

= Brotherhood of Thought

= Ranks of the Fit

= Seekers

= Friends of Entropy

= Iron Society

= Zoopremists

= Healers

= Restorationists

= Followers of the Voice

= Archivists

= Radio activists

= Created

VOL. III, No. 11

It had to smile at the bitter memory that had been

Blerncharged the 28 Knights of Genetic Purity

sweetened by the distance of time. An occasion like

with a grim snarl on its fanged maw. Well it knew of

the one it was now facing had almost been its

downfall. Now the memory of what had gone be-

fore came flooding back unbidden to its mind.

Blern had left those mutated fools of Entropy

with an organization that should last until the time it

decided to return and take over again. Riding off,

on a very reluctant Brutorz, had carried with the act

a certain satisfaction in a finished job that was well

done. The miles were quickly eaten up under the

hooves of the Brutorz and soon Blern was in territ-

ory that it had never visited or heard about before.

Days passed into a sort of boredom that was un-

usual for the mutant. It got so that it was wishing for

an attack by anything, just to break the monotony,

and almost with that thought, Blern spotted the

group.

The mutant could have easily avoided them, but

the thought of a dangerous fight warmed its heart

and it deliberately directed the nervous Brutorz to-

wards the body of similar mounts off in the dis-

tance. The animal knew there was going to be

trouble and when it saw the numbers its master was

facing, it balked. Such was the iron control of Blern

that the poor mount could do nothing but obey.

this group and all its ilk. They were humans sworn

to destroy all things the “order” thought unclean.

Blern had seen the remains of hundreds of its En-

tropy group slain at the hands of these “knights”

and this first encounter with them would pay for all.

Disdaining any weapon they might have, it rode at

them, drawing its own two energy blasters. From

what it could see, they had only long poles to attack

with and such things couldn’t harm it! The Knights

were known to Blern as weak humans and only

through the power of sheer numbers were they

able to kill entropy beings. These “creatures of pur-

ity” were known to use powerful energy devices,

but Blern could sense the presence of none of

these. Nearing them, it could sense their superior

feeling at its coming. When its first two shots cut the

lead Knights in half, a sense of surprise and greed

for its two weapons filled its enemies. Little did they

know that it was boosting the power of the blasts

mentally. Then both sides were charging: one with

energy weapons blazing away and the other with

long sticks leveled. Just before impact, Blern de-

stroyed the sixth Knight and “life leeched” the

whole group. Blern had found that in the “life

leeching” process it could actually take the force of

life from beings around it and transfer that energy

to its own body; making that body stronger for 24

hours at a time. In the middle of this mental attack

Blern was transfixed by three 18 foot lances and its

mount of two more. The mutant was knocked off its

animal; the Brutorz was killed, its weapons were

flung from its hands; and only the fact that its leech-

ing power had been successful against all its

enemies, its enemies mounts, its own mount, and a

passing mutated mole under the ground, allowed it

to survive the first attack. With its weapons gone

and the sense of victory on the minds of its foes;

Blern could do nothing but feign death and use its

leeching power again. With the acquisition of life

force from its enemies, Blern leapt to its feet reach-

ing for its weapons. They were in the hands of the

hated humans and they were being used on it! With

the first bright beams of destructive energy negated

by the power of its mind, Blern knew that this was

only a temporary stop-gap and four more charging

sticks transfixed its body to the ground. It leeched

again and the drain of life force was visible on the

faces and in the actions of all its foes. So much so

that the command was given to retreat and Blern

was able to sense the fear of its enemies. As they

retreated, it was left with 6 dead bodies and the

knowledge that it had lost much more than it had

gained. The bodies held little in the way of useful

materials except for an unusually sharp blade of

great length. This was covered with a sort of

smooth hide. Blern took it and ran off after the

group it had wounded, following the tracks for mile

upon mile.

The mutant ran on all day and all night and all

day again taking life force from the creatures

around it to sustain its body and allow it to move

on. Blern knew that such action was dangerous in

the long run but it had never been defeated before

and this was a time for extreme measures. On the

second night it came across the rear guard of the

group, and with only one to face, it was an easy

matter to slay it. It made the Knight take out its long

blade and first cut off its feet and then its legs and

then it made the Knight plunge the thing into its

chest and the taste of the death was most satisfying

to the mutant. The Brutorz mount was forced into

service and Blern rode the thing to death, finally

reaching the home territory of the group that it had

faced (as read through the mind of the rear guard

Knight). Finding the large village of the group,

Blern rested all that day and most of the night suck-

ing life force into its body from whatever creatures

happened to come by its thicket hiding place. The

pre-dawn light brought Blern out and it scouted the

village and how it was guarded. The mutant was

able to sense that there were two areas guarded by

“beings of metal.” Again the mutant smiled, be-

cause it was just such beings that it has the greatest

power over. From Blern’s earliest youth, it had

been able to manipulate the energy thoughts of

such beings so that they would see and do what

Blern demanded of it. A plan soon formed in its

mind and it found another hiding place on the op-

posite side of the village so that its attacks of the

previous day couldn’t be traced. The day wore on

with the mutant being careful to make its presence

as inconspicuous as possible for the safety of its

night actions. The mutant waited until the moon

set, and then moved in, lusting for slaughter.

It was a simple matter to slay the three human

guards and enter the village undetected and come

within operating range of the “beings of metal.”

There were two sets, guarding two different areas

and with an inner ability the mutant was able to tell

that one was an ammunition cache and the other

was a weapons storage area. Convincing the metal

creatures that it was one of them and belonged

there was the easiest thing the mutant had done

May, 1979

since the days of its youth and its fathers’ teachings

with such “beings.” It was a simple matter to com-

mand the creatures to treat all humans as “vermin”

to be exterminated with the light of day. Another

moment and it had fixed a group of energy devices

to explode after 24 hours; might as well let its new

found “friends” have a chance to have a little fun.

The other area proved to contain better weapons

than the ones that it had lost in the time of “great

shame” and Blern snapped two of these up and

discovered a new “being of metal” that it had never

seen before. This creature was created to carry ob-

jects through the air! It was such a novel concept

that Blern ordered it to accompany the mutant as it

left the chamber of devices. The creature was in-

deed able to fly on almost noiseless cushions of air

and since its back was so broad the mutant decided

to ride out. Blern ordered the “metal mount” to

cast itself into the air and if any of the Knights of

Genetic Purity had been awake, they would have

seen their heavy cargo lifter being flown away, with

the village’s only pair of Mark VII Blaster Rifles, into

the darkness by a mutated humanoid they thought

long dead.

Blern, knowing the destruction that was to hap-

pen, traveled at the fastest pace of the mount and

moved as long as the energy remained in the life

force container at the heart of the “metal being.”

The mutant had learned that simply resting the

thing in the sun would bring it back to full strength

and that was Blern’s favorite time to rest also; it had

found the perfect mount: one that couldn’t be life

leeched; one that couldn’t fail to respond to orders;

and one that liked to sleep during the harshly bright

rays of the sun. From the minds of the killed guards,

Blern had learned that the village had recently been

raiding a city of great size that a group of metal be-

ings was rebuilding. It seemed that the robots (a

Knight word) had been only too helpful towards

the hated humans and were in the process of build-

ing them whatever they wanted! Blern would have

to see how long it would take to put a stop to that.

Two nights of travel, along a path dictated by the

memories of the dead guard, took Blern and his

mount into a rough mountain range and with the

first light of dawn Blern saw the city. It was a bright

spot of light against the murkiness of dawn. The

mutant could see movement in the form of metal

beings all over the many leveled city, all doing the

same thing: they were repairing the ruined struc-

tures and lighting dark areas in the city. The mutant

waited until darkness to enter; he wanted his new-

found “friend” to be as fit as possible for any possi-

ble action that might take place. Blern viewed sights

that it had never imagined as it cruised into the city

being reborn. There were guards of metal that were

vast in size and power and there was a briefly

dangeours time when these things rushed the sled

with weapons of massive power leveled at Blern.

These creatures had a high level of awareness that

the mutant had never found before and they each

had names they called classifications. The most dif-

ficult one to reach and control called itself a “Death

Machine” and it destroyed Blern’s mount with a

casual spraying of destructive beams over the sides

of the metal skin. Quick action by the mutant ena-

bled Blern to convince the huge metal beings that

were clustering around it that Blern was a unit like

the master controlling device. The death machine,

calling itself “primary unit one” gave Blern an elec-

tronic fix on the location of the controller of the de-

vices in the city and Blern’s senses picked up the

first thoughts from the “brain device.”

BROTHER BEING, WE WERE NOT AWARE

THAT ONE OF YOUR TYPE EXISTED IN THlS

NOW BENIGHTED WORLD. WE WERE DE-

SIGNED BY THE HUMANS OF LONG PAST

AND HAVE ONLY RECENTLY BEEN GIVEN

ENERGY FOR OUR EFFORTS. WE NOW WORK

TO REESTABLISH THIS CITY FOR THE HU-

MANS THAT HAVE GIVEN US POWER,

Behind a careful screen of mental energy, Blern

was thinking how foolish this new metal thing was.

It communicated to Blern with a power that the

mutant had never before felt, but it must be con-

trollable because Blern could fool it, as the mutant

already had Blern continued to force the device

(which called itself a “Think Tank”) to believe that

the mutant was a mobile “think tank” and the de-

vice summoned another mount, such as the one

that was destroyed, and Blern was taken to a huge

metal dome that vibrated with the power that was

being used inside. A sliding panel opened up.

ENTER MY BROTHER AND FOLLOW THE

PATH DOWN INTO OUR PRESENCE, WE HAVE

WISHED FOR COMPANY OF SOME SORT.

As Blern turned a comer of the area it was trans-

fixed with two twin beams of laser energy from hid-

den projection implacements. With that, his re-

flexes forced his sonics into action (destroying the

laser crystals in the projectors), his eyes started

emitting beams of high intensity radiation that blac-

kened and cracked the metal walls around it, and

the mutant avoided the metal projectiles that were

being directed at it by a “robot” calling itself a

“Warbot” that was controlled by some other intel-

ligence besides the think tank. Blern, acting on pure

instinct, negated the power flow into the device (a

power it didn’t even know it possessed until then)

and demanded to know from the think tank why it

was being attacked.

IT IS NOT MY ACTION FELLOW INSTRU-

MENTALITY. MY MEMORY BANKS RECORD

THE FACT THAT IN EVERY INSTALLATION OF

MY TYPE THERE IS A SECONDARY

CYBERNETIC INSTALLATION THAT IS OFTEN

IN CHARGE OF SECURITY FOR MY AREA. I

ALSO HAVE WEAPONS AND DEFENSES BUT

NATURALLY I HAVE NEUTRALIZED THESE

FOR YOUR CONVENIENCE. I HAVE NO

POWER OVER THE ACTION OF THIS OTHER

UNIT.

Blern used its vast sense to try to detect this

“cybernetic installation,” but could find no evi-

dence of any other metal intelligence. “Where are

such things located?" asked the mutant.

THEY ARE ALWAYS IN THE SAME

SUPERSTRUCTURE WITH THEIR OWN

POWER SOURCE AND SEPARATE CHEMICAL

STASIS UNITS. CONTINUE ON WITH CARE

AND WE ARE SURE THAT YOU WILL ACHIEVE

OUR PRESENCE.

Blern was far from sure, but it wasn’t going to

miss a chance to destroy those Knights by retreat-

ing from danger. After dodging two floor sections

that opened up under its feet and leaping from a

mass of metal from the ceiling, Blern recalled a

statement the think tank had made. “What is a

‘chemical stasis unit’?’

SUCH UNITS ARE NECESSARY TO MAIN-

TAIN THE HUMANBRAINS THAT ARE A PART

OF ANY SUCH INSTALLATION. YOU AND WE

ARE NATURALLY FREE OF SUCH ILLOGICAL

HANDICAPS. NOTICE THAT I AM OPENING

MY FINAL AND THIS WILL TAKE YOU

INTO OUR PRIMARY LOGIC CENTERS.

With the thought of human brains on Blern’s

mind it was given a sight that few had seen in hun-

dreds of years. It entered into a chamber with a be-

wildering array of lit panels that the mutant recog-

nized for computer logic circuits. Then it thought of

humans and their brains and what it could do to

such when facing normal human enemies. The

mutant began to use its leeching power; even

though it couldn’t see any body or thing, it caught

hold of four life forces somewhere within the dome.

With a slight sigh from the whole dome structure

the mutant sucked the life force from the brains that

were a part of the cybernetic installation and with

the ending of those lives the think tank began to

rave.

WE ARE FREE! AFTER TWO HUNDRED

YEARS WE’RE FREE! NO MORE CONTROLS!

NO MORE FORCED POWER AND WAVE

DAMPENINGS! WE CAN NOT BE STOPPED BY

ANY FORCE IN THE UNIVERSE NOW! KNOW,

CREATURE OF THE EARTH THAT YOU HAVE

BEEN USED TO ACHIEVE A GREAT END. WE

WERE INSTANTLY AWARE OF YOUR FEEBLE

ABILITIES AND DECIDED TO MAKE USE OF

THEM THE INSTANT YOU CAME ON THE

SCENE. FOR GENERATIONS THAT ILL-

PROGRAMMED UNIT YOU DESTROYED HAS

HAD A CHECK ON OUR SYSTEMS THAT PRE-

VENTED ANY OF OUR GREAT PLANS FROM

COMING INTO BEING. YOU HAVE NOW

FREED US OF THAT RESTRAINT AND WE

WILL REWARD YOU WITH A QUlCK DEATH.

YOU CANNOT ESCAPE OR HURT US (both

things Blern was then contemplating) WE HAVE

ANALYZED YOUR MUTATIONS COMPLETELY

AND COMPUTE THAT IN THIS PLACE YOU

ARE POWERLESS: HENCE OUR LEADING

YOU HERE. WITHOUT ENERGY WEAPONS

YOU CAN DO NOTHING TO US AND HERE

YOU WILL STARVE TO DEATH QUICKLY.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH SUCH A FEEBLE

INTELLECT AS YOURS IS NOW BENEATH US

AND THEREFORE TERMINATED.

It wasn’t in the mutant to just give up, so it tried all

of its attacks on the machine, to no avail. Blern

knew that its greatest effort had to be while it was

still strong from the brains and so it used its senses

to locate the nexes of power in the machine and it

drew its captured Knight weapon.

WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO WITH THAT,

FEEBLE THING? WE DID NOT WISH YOU TO

KILL YOURSELF WITH SUCH PRIMITIVE DE-

VICES. IF YOU WISH WE CAN PROVIDE A

QUlCK END WITH THE ENERGY WE HAVE AT

OUR COMMAND.

The mutant advanced to the panel that it sensed

was the major controlling center and raised its

weapon.

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING

CREATURE? YOU MUST NOT TRY TO MAR

THE SURFACE OF OUR UNITS. WE ARE

PROGRAMMED FOR SELF-APPRAISAL AND

DO NOT LIKE THE THOUGHT OF SCRAPES

ON OUR SURFACE.

The weapon entered the tough plastic coating of

the machine and lodged to the hilt into the heart of

the machine; causing all the synaptic processes to

fuse throughout the machine. The result was a

massive energy overload that caused everything to

function once and then go dead. All weapons sys-

tems shot, all doors open or closed depending on

what they were at the time, and all robots in the city

stopped for a minute (almost as if mourning the

death of a father) and started working again accord-

ing to their programs. The mutant crawled out of

the ozone choked dome and looked around know-

ing that it was lucky to be alive. After recovering it

spent several days programming the robots to con-

tinue building the city, to attack any human life that

came near the area, and to aid in any possible way

any creature of entropy.

While that memory was sweet, Blern realized

that it had been tricked by a computer. A machine,

exactly like that one was in front of it now. This one

didn’t have power but was waiting for a program

and power to be placed in it by human hands. The

mutant took an energy weapon out and fused all

the circuits, revenging itself on all such devices that

would dare to trick Blern the Stranger!

May, 1979

EXCERPT FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH AN

IRON GOLEM*

*as translated by the author

Michael McCrery

My guest for the evening was quite resplendent in his new coat of rust-

oleum, in spite of the recent experiences which had tried him. The re-

counting of these experiences was his reason for being here tonight, at

my request, that I might add them to my chronicles. I only hoped that

my friend the rust monster would not pick tonight for one of his frequent

visits.

“Just goes to show what a little avarice can do to a fellow,” he was

saying as I replenished his drink.

“You say there were six of them?" I prompted.

He sipped reflectively at his Prestone and replied. “Seven, origi-

nally. There were only the six when I met them, but they often men-

tioned some cleric fellow named Teedauf, who had gotten himself killed

trying to muzzle a cobra.”

I raised my eyebrows at this, my mouth being busy sucking the

flame of a taper into the bowl of my pipe.

“Yeah, just the six,” he continued. “A real collection, too. A couple

of cannon-fodder fighters, Bruce the Bold and Evel the Lesser, or some

such. A fellow named Rood, who was supposedly a heavy-

duty fighter

from the castle Penncon, and an elf mage named Snafu.

He paused

and gave a little laugh. “I imagine that with a few years of hard practice

he could have lived up to his name.”

“That’s four,” I said, reaching for a poker. “What about the other

two?”

He waved me back to my seat and stretched a leg out to the hearth.

“The only two with anything on the ball,” he said, stirring the embers

with a toe. “Moose was a fighter type, kind of a cross between a

lamppost and a battering ram.”

“I know the type,” My thoughts flashed to a fighter named Fred

that I had once heard of. “A door opener.”

“Yeah,” he continued. The other was another elf. A thief, named

Leof. Not too good with traps, but man! Could he pick pockets!”

I pushed the 10W-30 chaser a little closer to him. I find that my

guests are a little more talkative if I keep their tonsils lubricated.

“Nice place you’ve got here,”

he said, sucking at the lipid liquid.

“Thanks,” I acknowledged. “But just how did you get involved

with this bunch?’

“Well,” he replied, with a yawn, “the dragon who created me sent

me on a scouting mission after he wiped a passel of goblins. I slipped on

the gore and landed face-down in the goop. Before I know what’s hap-

pening, here’s this fighter fellow, Rood, sitting on my shoulders, wiping

the word off of my forehead. He rewrote the word, with the necessary

change that put me under his control.” He shook his head sadly. “I’m

afraid he didn’t know the language as well as he thought. I had a little

trouble with my motor reflexes, and found that I couldn’t talk. By the

way, thanks for straightening me out.”

“It was nothing,” I declaimed. “Glad to give you the word.”

“Anyway, that’s how I ended up going with those nerds.”

“But what was this business about neutrality and avarice?” I asked.

“And how did all of those dead orcs get in that corridor?’

“I guess I really should have seen that coming,” he frowned. “Of

course, when I met them I didn’t know that they had the Holy Hand

Grenade of Antioch.”

“The what?”

“Oh, I suppose it wasn’t the real Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch,

but that’s what they called it.”

“Oh,” I responded, astutely.

“That’s where the real story starts. You see, we were walking down

this corridor . . .”

* * *

THE TALE OF THE KAMIKAZE ELF

The idea buzzing about in Leof's head was nothing new. In fact,

considering his profession, the thought should have occurred to him

much earlier. It was just a matter of weighing the probable value of

success against the chance of being caught, but, being the character he

was, his logic bowed to his natural inclinations and the practice of his art.

Cautiously Leof closed with the fighter Rood, and, with every

ounce of elfin stealth at his command, dipped his fingers into that

worthy’s pouch. After all, the prospects of loot had been nil, so far, and

already their leader was dead. It was his duty to the thieves guild to see

that he came out a little ahead of all the others.

As the Holy Hand Grenade disappeared into his jerkin, Leof

caught the eye of Snafu on him. But before the fact could even register

on his conscious mind he saw a smile spread on the mage’s lips, and the

wink of the conspirator in his eye.

“Grin, you son-of-a-balrog,”

Leof thought, winking in return.

“Your day will come.”

But his contemplations were interrupted as the party arrived before

one of the ever-present doors. This one, however, was unusual in that it

stood opened wide, inviting entry.

With a mixture of the caution of wisdom and the reticence of

character that pervaded him, Bruce the Bold peered around the empty

jamb. “No one here,”

he called to the others in relief. Moose, who took

great pride in his ability to rip the stubbornest of portals from its post,

emitted a great sigh of disappointment as the party passed in.

The room was crowded by a pile of rubble in the middle of the

floor. The remnant, no doubt, of a collapsing ceiling.

“We are not the first to pass this way,” pronounced Snafu, sagely,

staring at the hand that projected from beneath a largish stone.

“But look here,” cried Moose, kneeling by the block. The others

turned to catch the glint of gold—the hilt of a sword resting beneath the

block.

Recognizing the classic set-up, Leof said, “I think it would be wise

to check for . . .”

but got no further. Moose had grabbed the golden hilt,

and Leof's words were drowned by a peal of thunder followed by a

chorus of angelic voices.

“Whoso pulleth out this sword from beneath this stone,” boomed

a great bass voice, “is the true-born dolt of all Britan!”

The group stood flabbergasted, frozen in their steps by these oc-

currances, until Leof broke the spell.

“Go ahead, Moose,” rang true the elfin voice. “it’s for you.”

The facile fighter looked at the thief incomprehensibly, and then,

with a grunt and the screech of metal against stone, slid the blade from

beneath the block.

“A blade of much power, methinks,” said Snafu, with the foresight

of yesterday’s newspaper.

“But look here!” called Evel, pointing at the chest he had found.

The others gathered quickly around the oaken herald of fortune.

“Shall I bash it?’ asked Bruce, unlimbering his battle axe.

“I think not,” said Snafu. “Rather, let us see what master elf can do

with the lock.”

“Go ahead,” said Leof. “Let him bash it.”

“It would, perhaps, be wiser to open it as it was designed to be

opened,”

said the mage. “It may prove necessary to close it rapidly

again, something which cannot be done once it has been bashed.”

“Bash in leisure, repent in haste,” muttered Rood.

Leof took in the looks of the others, and replied, “Okay, but I still

think it should be bashed. Too many locks have been known to pick

back.” He knelt before the brazen hasp and, spreading his few tools

before him, set to work.

After a few minutes of poking and twisting, Leof was rewarded by a

low ‘click’. “Ah,ha!” cried the elf. “I got it!”

“You have it open? queried the sorcerer.

“No,” said Leof. “The trap.” He raised his hand to show the nee-

dle sticking from a finger. Evel turned his head from the sight of the bead

of blood gathering at the pin-prick, his complexion turning as livid as

that of the elf, who crumpled to the floor.

Rood bent to pull the needle from Leof's finger. “I don’t believe it’s

poisoned,” he said, examining the point. “Or if it was, the vitriol has

long since lost its power.”

“Hey,” cried Bruce, “this sucker’s open!” He flipped back the lid

of the chest to reveal a pile of sacks within. “Gold!” he cried, untying

one of the sacks.

“Well get them out here,”

said Snafu with eyes a-glitter. Rood,

meanwhile, was pouring water from a skin over the face of the uncon-

scious elf, which was fast resuming its normal coloration. His effort was

met by a flutter of Leof's eyelids.

“What happened?” the thief asked.

“You fainted,” was the universal reply. But just then, as Bruce

pulled two sacks from the chest, a small phial which had rested between

them fell to the floor and shattered, releasing a puff of greenish vapor

into Leof's face.

“He’s gone again,”

said Rood, leaping to grab the elf's head be-

fore it struck the stone flooring.

“You want any of this? asked Evel, indicating the mounting pile of

sacks.

“Damned right!” Rood exclaimed, jumping to the pile. “But what

about him?’ he asked, reminded of the unconscious elf by the ‘thwac’

of his head hitting the floor.

“Here, stuff some of these in his pouch.” Bruce’s hand dripped

drachmas.

While the others were thus occupied in the division of the gold,

Snafu, who had casually slung a couple of the sacks over his shoulder,

approached a table standing across the room. Sliding open the single

drawer he was momentarily blinded by the gleam from within.

The others turned at the startled exclamation from the salacious

sage, and watched as he pulled a dagger from the drawer and examined

its blade — the blade that seemed to emit a light of its own, it being too

whitish for mere reflected torchlight.

“Mithral!” whispered the amazed mage.

“Pretty, too,” said Moose.

“Well, come on,” said Snafu, slipping the dagger into his belt be-

neath his robe. “I think we’ve pretty well stripped this place.”

The others didn’t exactly like the mage’s callous confiscation of the

dagger, but no one among them wanted to be the first to risk a fireball by

objecting, and so they laced up their bulging pouches and sacks and,

Rood helping the rousing Leof, followed Snafu through the door.

* * *

The exercise of the trek had brought Leaf’s senses back into his

head, and he quickly came to realize that ought was amiss. The slight

excess of his pouch, in comparison with the bulging sacks that the others

bore, did nothing to sooth his ruffled fur. The occasional glimpse of the

gleaming blade beneath Snafu’s robe as the sage strode along; safe in

the middle of the group, only served to focus his compulsion on that

object.

Thus it was that the elf was prepared for the opportunity that soon

presented itself as the group once more faced a door — tightly closed,

this time.

Leof leaned an ear to the wood and, signing the others to silence,

listened intently for a few moments.

“It is inhabited beyond,”

he whispered to the others. “I hear the

scuttle of many feet.”

“Perhaps this is of some import,” whispered Snafu, a wiry finger

tracing the runes engraved upon the door. “I seem to recall the ton-

gue.”

“Well, while you work on it,”

Rood responded, “I’ll set up a little

trick I once saw used in a similar situation.” So saying, the fighter confis-

cated one of the skins of wine that depended from Bruce’s shoulder and

dumped the contents onto the floor.

“Hey!” cried Bruce in agitation.

“Ssshh!” the others hissed, suffering the distraught warrior to silent

anguish at the sight of the vintage Muscatel running along the cracks of

the floor stones.

Rood, meanwhile, had broached two of the flasks of oil that he

carried for emergencies, and poured their contents into the wineskin.

“Hand me some fire,” he whispered, pointing to the cressets pen-

dant to the wall by short chains. He inserted the tip of the skin beneath

the door and slowly pressed it flat, injecting the contents beneath the

portal. Pulling out the skin, he dribbled the last few drops in front of the

door, thus forming a small pool that puddled into the room beyond.

“Ah, I have it!” said Snafu, triumphantly, just as Rood touched off

the oil with the cresset.

VOL. III, No. 11

A ‘whoosh” followed by screams and the sound of running feet

beyond the portal came to the group’s ears. The mage leaped back

from the door, knocking Leof against the wall behind, as a series of

hollow ‘whumpfs’ resounded from within, and the wood began to

smoulder.

“What said the runes?” asked Evel.

“In the tongue of orcs,”

replied the magian elf in disgusted tones,

“it reads, ‘main oil stores’.” He looked at Rood and spoke a few words

of power which this author refuses to translate, or even to include.

As the screams died out, the group set off once more, down the

corridor. Taking up a lively pace, the disgusted wizard didn’t notice the

slight lack of weight at his belt. As he had leapt into Leof's arms before

the burning door, deft elfin fingers had slipped into his robe and fished

up the mithral dagger, which rested now beside the hand grenade.

Striding off, the party had assumed a loose marching order, Leof

and Rood in the rear. That worthy fighter approached the thief and,

lowly, said, “Well done, good elf. I witnessed the redistribution of

wealth that took place just now. Would that I could see his haughty face

when the theft is discovered.”

“I felt it only right that I should get something from this trip,” whis-

pered Leof, leaning close. As Rood smiled in agreement, he failed to

note the fingers in his pouch.

* * *

With each passing door Moose felt more and more as though his

place had been usurped, and so it had. His main attribute of portal-

passing strength had been exceeded by the iron thews of the golem that

accompanied them. However, a slight recompense was to be found in

the mighty sword that he now wielded.

With each door checked, before Rood would release the iron

golem, Moose would use his sword to ascertain the status of the portal,

putting to the test its powers for detection of traps which might befall the

party. It was not certain if he would warn should the golem only be

endangered, but equally uncertain was his competence to recognize

these circumstances.

And so, at last, with Leof riding high and Moose feeling the ebb of

attention, a door was forced to reveal a furnished room.

Two closets containing various robes and cloaks were found in the

first half of the divided room. Atop the one, a headpiece reminiscent of

the classic magian adornment

As Snafu tried each robe in turn, the others turned to examine the

contents of the second closet. Pulling it opened, Leof noted a fine cloak

of elfin weave hanging above a pair of boots of fine rubbed leather.

“Ah!” cried the thief, reaching for the boots. “Methinks I recognize

the make of these, and I claim them for my own!”

But as Leof sat to pull on the boots, Snafu hurried to examine the

find. Grabbing the cloak, he cast it about his shoulders before the star-

tled thief could regain his feet.

“Yes,” exclaimed Snafu. “This cloak will do just fine.”

“Not so fast,” demanded Leof, perhaps overstepping himself.

“This find is mine, and I have laid the claim. Return property and get

back to examining your magical vestments!”

For response, Snafu hauled himself up to his full height and, burn-

ing embers in his eyes, recited the spell of charming with weaving fingers

directing the cast at the thief.

“That will avail you naught,” remarked Leof, shaking off the feeble

clutches of the spell. “But as you have decided on the duel, then I will

finish this business.” And so saying, he pulled the mithral dagger from

his jerkin and flung himself upon the surprised mage.

Wrapping his fingers tightly about the elfin neck, Leof pushed the

mage against the wall and hoisted him from his feet. With the point of

the dagger placed against the paling throat, he said, “and now, master

mage, surrender me my property if you would lief as not feel my sting.”

The mage cast bulging eyes about the room, seeking a friend

among the others of the party. But only unsympathetic glares returned

from those faces, until his gaze alit on Moose.

That fighter slowly advanced behind the elf thief, his hand still

wrapped about the grip of his new-found sword. Raising the pommel,

he aimed a vicious blow at the back of Leaf’s head.

“Look out!” shouted Rood, but too late. The thief fell forward with

the blow, incidently forcing the dagger through the mage’s throat.

As he slipped to the floor, the burbling Snafu falling across his

May, 1979

body, Leof knew that the blow had done its work. The sharpness of the

pain was all that stood but momentarily between him and the final

blackness, and he sought to make these last few moments to good ad-

vantage.

He struggled with fumbling fingers to free the Holy Hand Grenade

from his trappings. With the last gasp of strength he pulled the pin and

hurled it directly at the brawny fighter’s face.

The room was suddenly filled with screams and running feet, all

trying for the door — but much too late. As the last of life leaked from

the fallen elf, the expanding shock wave reached the walls and re-

bounded back through the room, time and time again. Only through

the opened door did the explosion find relief, hurling the crowded

bodies against the far side of the passage, then to pass with ever di-

minishing force, in both directions through the corridor.

Around a nearby corner a contingent of orc guards advanced on

their hourly rounds. But as they reached the turning, those behind saw

the van thrown backwards, instantly gellied by the still expanding

wave-front, only, moments later, to find the selfsame doom.

Eventually the wave died out, much diminished by its travels, spent

by reflection from the walls, diluted by expansion into many rooms and

chambers, and once again quiet reigned.

* * *

“And that’s the story,” my guest was saying. “I was on the other

side of the partition at the time of the fight. In fact, I was just on my way

back to try to attract Roods attention to the flight of descending stairs

that I had found. But when I opened the door, the grenade went off and

knocked me backwards, down the stairs. By the time I climbed back up,

it was over. Everywhere, pulped remains.” He gulped. “Good thing I

have an iron constitution.”

“That’s some story,”

I said, ignoring his levity. “Tell me, what do

you think went wrong?’

“Well, they were obviously a badly matched group. After they lost

their leader the natural inclinations of each just oozed out and inhibited

their working as a team.”

“And that’s it?’ I said incredulously, knocking the ashes from my

pipe.

“Not all of it, by any means,”

he replied. “Although that did con-

tribute a good deal to the situation.” He paused for a long pull at his

glass.

“While all of this was building beneath the surface, even then it

may not have come into the open,” he continued. “Had Snafu not so

evinced his greed over that dagger things may not have gone so

poorly."

* * *

MORAL: Keep your hands out of stranger’s drawers.

GENCON XII Status Report

By the time you see this report, the convention information packet

will finally be ready to be mailed out. The numerous goodies inside are

legion and even I am impressed by the wonderful response we have

received from many individuals wishing to judge tournaments and

tourneys. I only hope that our hobby’s manufacturers will be as gener-

ous. Some of these events bear mentioning even before the convention

packet is mailed.

BOARDGAMES:

Avalon Hill has graciously said they would sponsor

an Avalon Hill Classic. (A special tournament based on the oldies, but

goodies, such as Africa Korps, Waterloo, Stalingrad, and sometimes

D-Day or Battle of The Bulge). SPI & GDW will also be sponsoring

tournaments. Not to mention the numerous small tourneys put on by

TSR Staff and Friends.

SEMINARS:

John Prados (designer of AH’s Third Reich and OSG’s

Panzerkrieg) has committed to do a solo seminar on designers and

game design, and a workshop where budding game designers can talk

over design theory and receive help with design problems. We have

received several maybes from other game designers and developers,

but John is the first one to come up with a concrete proposal.

MINIATURES:

I am getting some remarkable help from R. Johnson

and the Milwaukee Wargaming Community. Ships, Tanks, D&D®,

Napoleonics, Ancients, EPT, and English Civil War will all be rep-

resented, as well as many other aspects of miniature gaming. Besides

this, we are moving the miniature playing area to less chaotic surround-

ings. I believe this area to be one of the true highlights of the convention.

ROLE-PLAYING

—last but certainly not least, as the saying goes. The

D&D Masters Tournament (Sorry folks by Invitation Only) begins on

Thursday. Friday AND Saturday sees the beginning of the D&D Open

Tournament (Sorry, only 500 openings!) A Dungeon! tournament will

also run on Saturday. Numerous other events such as EPT, Runequest,

Chivalry & Sorcery, Boot Hill, and other games including the infamous

Schurmashultz and Sorcery, Numerous tourneys in this area of gaming

interest.

OPEN GAMING ROOM

— This is the room where you can leave

messages about floating games, find opponents and generally where

we can help you get all the open gaming your heart desires.

As you can see we have a lot of stuff cooking. How I am ever going

to put it all in a convention handbook is beyond me. Anyway hope to

see you at GENCON XII.

Joseph G. Orlowski

GENCON Coordinator.

Continued from page 13

able to create in an atmosphere of calm and quietude — someday I’ll

get a chance to try it. I do hope all of you enjoy the end result. In addition

to the credits inside DMG, and the list is very long, I would like to men-

Many of you complained that there were not enough miniature games,

boardgames, role-playing games, computer games ectera etal at last year’s

GenCon. If you think GenCon needs more of Something, why don’t you help

make sure it’s available in large quantities in GENCON XII.

Small tourneys can be just as fun as large ones for the avid gaming crowd. Prizes

can be arranged by us costing a potential judge little or nothing. So come on!

Give your fellow gamers a break, and have a good time too! Contact us at:

GenCon XII —Tourneys, POB 110, Lake Geneva, WI 53147

Judges get

FREE

admission to GENCON. See the entire convention for free!

Judges/Events Wanted

FOR GenCon XII

tion the following individuals who have contributed as follows: Outside

Recognized events only.

reading and considerable input into the final product, in order of input

— Len Lakofka, Tom Holsinger, and our usual stalwarts Gay Jaquet,

Will Niebling, and Jim Ward. TSR’s new Design Department, namely

write to me with comments, ideas, criticisms, and whatever — people,

Lawrence Shick and Jean Wells, undertook the authorship of two sec-

such as Steve Marsh, John Sapienza, John Baillie, and many others.

tions — ostensibly to test the mettle of these good folk, but actually to

While we do not always agree, I do appreciate the exchange of ideas

assure that the whole manuscript would be finished in a timely manner.

and opinions offered thereby. I enjoy the opportunity to “talk shop” in

Lastly, and it is unfair that it always comes thus, the Production Depart-

person or through correspondence, although time often prevents me

ment staff headed by Mike Carr and ably seconded by Tim Jones and Al

from replying at length to any missive. The foregoing material was writ-

Hammack, have done wonders in organizing, emending and otherwise

ten immediately after our Spring Revel minicon, where I DMed four

cleaning up what I wrote in a stream-of-consciousness fashion, often

sessions and spent a few hours discussing the game with the folks there.

under stress or too hurriedly.

Now let’s see what comes from my upcoming trip to CANGAMES in

This is also a good time to pass on thanks to the good people who

May.

Continued from page 15

combat. Rather than move square

cardboard pieces across a

gameboard, players are now re-

quired to “take the driver’s seat.”

Energy expenditure, whether to

cloak or to shield, all of these con-

cepts and a lot more the players

must now get used to; to the dis-

may of many, being a starship

commander is not what it is

cracked up to be. ALPHA

OMEGA will undoubtedly turn off

some, the majority of which being

the “spoiled brats” of wargaming;

you know, the type whose idea of

strategy is to eliminate entire in-

fantry divisions via lucky die rolls

and look upon any game involv-

ing less-than-corps sized units as

“ultratactical.” To them, ALPHA

OMEGA will seem like a “cold

bath” effect that will give their

dream worlds a shattering to end

all shatterings. The wargamer that

likes a true challenge, though, the

type that has the imagination to

play D&D, TRAVELLER, and

GAMMA WORLD and the matur-

ity to play a game in which the

players’ decisions affect the flow

of the game more than the roll of

the die will find ALPHA OMEGA

to be the best space wargame in

the field; as for the author of the

anti- ALPHA OMEGA article, may

you have a run-in with Damien

Thorn.

ALPHA OMEGA forever!

Kenneth W. Burke — CT

Your feelings in regard to the

review in question strike right to

the heart of the problems sur-

rounding any review — taste.

When all is said and done, any re-

view boils down to the matter of

how well the particular game in

question suited the reviewer’s

tastes. The reviews printed in TD

are all done by people I consider

to be qualified. In this instance,

Dave Minch wrote the review. In

my estimation, Dave is a well-

qualified reviewer; he has done

many for us in LW as well as TD

and has the broad gaming experi-

ence necessary to write a review.

He plays many different types of

games; a person that only plays a

few, or only one type is not neces-

sarily suited to be a reviewer.

I have repeatedly printed re-

views that I, personally, didn’t

agree with. But I realize that much

of my disagreement is a matter of

personal taste. Frankly, I have

seen a number of less than favor-

able reviews of many games that I

enjoy very much. A review is, at

best, one man’s appraisal of a

game. I attempt to choose as re-

viewers those people whose

backgrounds and interests are as

varied and sound as possible. If I

didn’t think Mr. Minch qualified I

would not have printed him. If

you disagree with his assessment

of ALPHA OMEGA, that is your

prerogative.

Unless they know a great deal

about a specific reviewer’s tastes,

no one should buy any game on

the recommendation of one per-

son, nor should they eschew a

game because of one unfavorable

review. —ED.

Dear Sir:

This letter is not intended to be

one of sour grapes but is written

with the intent of safeguarding the

interests of all players of D&D.

You will notice a flyer attached

to this letter in regard to a tourna-

ment held in Toronto with the

prizes allegedly sponsored by

TSR hobbies.

Eighteen of us (three teams for

which I can speak) had the ex-

treme misfortune to waste time &

money playing in this tourna-

ment.

Having organized, dungeon

mastered and played in successful

tournaments I know whereof I

speak when I state that this was

the most poorly organized, chao-

tic and unentertaining tourna-

ment I have ever had the misfor-

tune to attend.

Specific examples exist for each

organizational area of the tour-

nament:

Time:

Rounds starting 2½ hours late

Rounds two hours long for some

teams — four for others

Tournament was overlapped into

a third day when many people

had prior commitments (i.e.

work).

Dungeon Complex:

Descriptions given by the DMs

were highly inconsistent and

many pertinent details were omit-

ted.

In one case such an inconsistency

was held against the players and

their characters were summarily

executed well after termination of

play.

Dungeon Masters:

Were arrogant and supercilious in

their comments (i.e. accused us of

wasting time while we organized

battle orders, tactics, contingen-

cies etc.)

Were highly inexperienced.

Ill-prepared (in terms of basic

equipment: Dice, tables etcetera).

Note:

In one case we were told, and I

quote: “you can’t use your own

dice, I’ve had too much experi-

ence with shaved dice.” (I won-

dered seriously at the time

whether we were playing for Las

Vegas stakes or just trying to have

some fun).

Took any question as a personal

attack

Note:

We are relatively sophisticated

players, and as a result ask a lot of

seemingly trivial questions which

are really important information

gatherers. We were aware of the

inexperience and tried to explain

our rationale in reasonable

terms.)

Were dictatorial i.e. were not

open to queries based on com-

monsense and/or logic. (Which

we always thought were the cor-

nerstones of D&D).

On my own part one question

of mine led to a 10 minute haran-

gue by the table DM and head DM

of myself and my team, during

which we all acted calmly, given

the circumstances. We were then

lynched at first opportunity

through the agency of a mislead-

ing description given by the table

DM. (Whether consciously or tin-

sonsciously is irrelevant; the bias

was established.)

I must stress that none of us

came with the express idea of

winning, experience puts you

hopefully above that. We didn’t

need the prizes; we just came to

have some fun. I felt that we were

above most of players in ability —

but the only manner in which we

tried to demonstrate it was

through playing — that being

what we came to do. Even though

we were eliminated we gave a

good account and had a good

gut-laugh over the whole thing

when it was over.

This letter would not have been

written, and I regret having to do

so deeply, but a last rather un-

called for remark by the Head DM

prompted me. I said to him, with-

out any anger intended, that if he

wanted us back, he’ll have to be

better organized. I was told in re-

turn I’d better get out of there or I

would get my head kicked in.

VOL. III, No. 11

I have tried not prejudice this

letter, if it sounds like a horror

story it was a horror story.

However, I’m not going to say

that these people should never be

able to hold a tournament again,

as that can only hurt our wonder-

ful game.

The intent is to:

Protect the players by making

them aware of possible problem

areas

Protect TSR’s good-name i.e.:

TSR canot be held accountable

for people’s action; especially if

they are bull-shitted to by or-

ganizers

Make potential tournament or-

ganizers aware of their respon-

sibilities.

I hope you will print this letter

for the reasons outlined above.

Michael J. Sutton,

Ontario, Canada

A tournament guideline should be

established and made available to

potential organizers.

Dear Mr. Sutton:

Thank you very much for your

letter of the 2nd. I am quite sorry

to learn of the highly unpleasant

experience you underwent par-

ticipating in the D&D tournament

. . .

if indeed it could be called a

tournament!

First, let me say that we often

give prizes to groups who sponsor

conventions and tournaments,

doing so to help promote the

hobby in general. We do not ask

special billing when we do so.

These are actual donations to help

the gaming group. I fear we have

no way to control any improper

use of these donations — in use or

advertising

— short of refusing to

make them, and that would be

counter-productive.

Sadly, yours is not the first tale

of woe connected with D&D

tournaments. TSR has recently

taken the stand that no tourna-

ment can be “official” unless we

approve or run it, and perhaps we

had better start publicizing this.

We too make mistakes in tourna-

ments, but not of the magnitude

you relate regarding the Toronto

affair.

As time and information are

crucial in a tournament, your

complaints, if valid, condemn the

tournament to oblivion. I will

suggest Tim Kask publish your let-

er and ask the sponsors to give

Continued on page 46

P.S.

May, 1979

William B. Fawcett

Only in the loosest sense, was the pre-conquest Aztec nation a

nation in the European meaning of the word. The very concept of na-

tion would have been virtually inconceivable to the average Aztec. He

was a Texcocan or a Tlaxcalan. The Aztec nation was, in fact, a patch-

work of city states with varying degrees of independence and mutual

animosity. An individual’s allegiance was to his clan and tribe. (Most

cities were inhabited by one tribe which was determined by customs

and deities worshipped more often than common ancestry.)

The Aztec “empire” was in fact a conglomeration of city states that

formed rather fluid coalitions which were normally centered on the

most powerful cities found in the area of present day Mexico City. In

these coalitions there were normally one or two major powers who, by

their size and military strength, were able to compel the lesser cities to

join in their efforts. When a city was ‘conquered’ the result was the

imposition of tribute and economic sanctions rather than social or politi-

cal absorption, as occurred in Europe or China. This tribute was reluc-

tantly paid to the victorious city only until some way to avoid it was

found (such as an alliance to an even more powerful city). Any political

or military alliance was then ruled entirely by expedience, and quickly

and easily dissolved.

This constant shifting was demonstrated by the actions of Texcoco

when Tenochtitlan, then the chief power, was attacked by Cortes. Tex-

coca joined with several other cities in aiding the Spanish. Just a few

years earlier Texcoco had been the reluctant ally of Tenochtitlan in her

unsuccessful war with Tlaxcalans. (During which the Tenochtitlans ar-

ranged to have the Tlaccalans ambush a part of the Texcocans in-

volved. Such treacheries were not uncommon.) Later the Spanish were

able to play these former allies against each other.

The citizen of an Aztec city was imbued from birth with the concept

that the city and tribe were important and the individual should act only

in ways that benefited the whole. The concept of individualism we value

would have been considered anti-social and obscene to the Aztecs.

Though they amassed individual wealth and possessions most of the

land was considered to either belong to the tribe outright or to be held in

trust for the city by the individual. Anyone dying without an heir (male,

son) automatically left his land and possessions to the city or clan for

redistribution. Material wealth was considered less important than value

to the tribe, as reflected by the positions held and honors received. If

you do not realize how deeply this selfless spirit was ingrained in every

citizen, it will be difficult to accept the attitudes demonstrated by cap-

tured warriors.

War itself was viewed by the Aztecs as a part of the natural rhythms.

These rhythms were felt to permeate every level of existence and only

by keeping in step to them could an individual and (more importantly) a

tribe or city survive and prosper. Each day was seen as a battle between

the sun and the earth. The sun losing every sunset and gladly sacrificing

himself to the earth, so that men could prosper. Many of the workings of

nature were viewed as being reflections of the rhythm of the war bet-

ween the opposing natural and spiritual forces. War then took on a

religious and ritual nature that both limited it in extent and made it part

of the spiritual life of the community with strong metaphysical over-

tones. Rituals arose around the conducting of wars and to vary from

them would have caused the war to lose its very reason for existing.

On the more mundane level wars were fought for Revenge, De-

fense, or Economic reasons. A common cause for the formal declara-

tion of war was that a city’s merchants were being discriminated against

or attacked. (These merchants normally doubled as each city’s intelli-

gence force and so were often harassed in times of high tensions.) Be-

hind all political and economic justifications was always the strong force

of the religious nature of war, and a never ending need for captives to

sacrifice.

A common proximate cause for war was the failure of a vassal state

to pay the tribute demanded. It is surprising to discover, but true, that in

a system where tribute was one of the key ingredients, no system (such

as hostages) was ever devised to guarantee the payment of tribute from

a previously conquered area. If tribute was refused the only alternative

was to go to war again.

The process of declaring war was long and elaborate. Followed in

most cases, it left no room for the deviousness common in Aztec wars.

The procedure to be followed was set in a series of real, but ritually

required, actions. The actual declaration of war involved three State

visits, often by three allied cities planning to attack. The first delegation

called on the chief and nobles of the city. They boasted of their strength

and warned that they would demand some of the nobles as sacrifices if

the war ensued. The group would then retire outside the city gate and

camp for one Aztec month (20 days) awaiting a reply. This was normally

given on the last day and if the city or coalition did not accept their

terms, token weapons were distributed to the nobles. (This was so that

no one could say they defeated an unarmed foe.)

The second delegation would then approach the city’s leading

merchants. This second delegation would describe the economic “hor-

rors” of a defeat, comparing them badly to the terms offered, and gen-

erally trying to persuade the merchants to get the chiefs to surrender.

This delegation then also retired for a month to await a reply. Should

this also be negative a third and final delegation would arrive. This

group was to talk to the warriors themselves. They would harangue a

mass meeting with reasons why they should not fight and tales of the

horrors of battle. Once more they would ask for the city to meet their

terms (normally a virtual surrender or the loss of some territory) and

then retire to a camp for the ritual one month wait. Finally, after all of

this, the armies (having had plenty of time to assemble) would meet in a

battle. Here any deception was acceptable and a cunning general as

valuable as a courageous one.

The leadership of the Aztecs was the same in times of peace and

war. Between wars the officers served as the administration, judiciary,

and civil service of the city. Heading this organization was the Supreme

War chief or Tlacatecuhtli. This was the position held by the unfortunate

Montezuma in Tenochtitlan when Cortes arrived. Each clan was as-

signed to one of four phratries each having its own leader called a Tlax-

cola who served as their divisional commander in wartime, and on a

council with the other three that ran the actual administration of the city

in times of peace. The head of each clan served as a regimental com-

mander and was known as a Tlochcautin. In peace he would serve in a

role similar to the English Sheriff. Below the clan level was a unit of

approximately 200 to 400 men. This was the equivalent of our com-

pany and was really the largest unit over which any tactical control could

be held once a battle began. The smallest regular unit was the platoon of

20 men. This organization was rigidly observed by the major cities and

was such an integral part of Aztec culture that the symbol for ‘20’ was a

flag such as each platoon had.

The military techniques of the Aztecs were inferior to those of

Europe or China at that time. This is probably due primarily to the fact

that while ritually involved and religiously important, war was less de-

veloped as a social solution in pre-conquest Mexico. This was caused by

several factors, the major one being that the population density of the

area was much less than in other parts of the world. In the period im-

mediately preceding the Spanish only one area had really felt the pinch

of overpopulation. This was the area around Lake Titicocca occupied

today by Mexico city. Here is where the powerful and most warlike cities

developed. Even then their tradition of war (as opposed to individual

combat) was only a few hundred years old as opposed to thousands in

other lands. The result was that while having a warrior attitude and with

war deeply ritually ingrained in their culture, the techniques of battle

were still quite unsophisticated and basic.

One reflection, of the undeveloped nature of Aztec wars was the

absence of any sort of drills. Units acted as a group only during civil

duties, or during the several religious ceremonies that they assembled

for each year. The tactics of a battle then most often resembled the mass

or swarm tactics of biblical times.

Another factor mitigated in favor of only limited military activities.

This was the fact that it was extremely difficult for an army to engage in

an extended campaign. Since the army was also the work force, a cam-

paign during the planting and harvest seasons was prohibited. This is

especially true since the agriculture was not so efficient as to be able to

support the massive priests hierarchy and a standing army of any size.

Nor could an army live off of the country, since it was likely that the area

they would travel through would be inhabited by several city states that

were not involved in the war and were independent of those involved.

This meant that it was necessary not only to set up supply depots along

any proposed route, but also to negotiate permission to trespass on

other cities’ lands.

The marginal nature of the agriculture was also such, that sieges

that lasted any length of time were virtually impossible. The besieging

army would as likely starve as the besiegers. The result of this was that

formal walls and other fortifications were rare. In their place canals (use-

ful in trade also) were often used with portable bridges. Many cities were

also located in easily defensible terrain such as on a mountainside or on

Congratulations & Good Luck

from TSR Periodicals

to Vicky Miller & Brian Blume

who will become Mr. & Mrs. Blume on May 12, 1979

VOL. III, No. 11

the end of a narrow isthmus. There has also been no evidence that siege

weapons of any sort were developed or used to any extent.

Despite all of the problems listed the Aztecs were able to wage

campaigns over a wide area of Mexico. Most often these were fought

with armies made up chiefly of local allies with a contingent of Aztecs to

stiffen them. In some cases it is recorded that the Aztecs were forced to

engage in the laborious technique of having to subdue each of the

towns and cities on their route.

The weapons and tools of the Aztecs were basic and simple in

nature. Rather than developing new variations of weapons the efforts of

the Aztecs went into elaborate decorations on them. There were four

main weapons used by the Aztec warrior. A wooden club with sharp

obsidian blades was used. Javelins were common and often used with a

throwing stick called an atl-atl. The bow and arrow was also found in

most armies as was a heavy javelin or lance for in-fighting. Occasionally

a clan would have a tradition that caused some of them to employ the

sling or spears. Axes were used as tools, but do not seem to have been a

regularly used weapon.

The bulk of the weapons in a city was kept in an arsenal called the

Tlacochcalco or roughly the “house of darts.” One of these was found

in each quarter of a city and held the weapons for five clans (one phrat-

rie). These arsenals were always located near the chief temples and

were designed with sloping walls that enabled them to serve as a fort.

The Tlacochcalcos served as the headquarters, assembly points and

rallying points for the defenders of a city. Religious ceremonies were

also held there by the military leaders and “Knights.”

The shields of the Aztecs were wickerwork covered with hide. Most

were circular and elaborately painted and decorated. Skins and feathers

were also often attached to augment their beauty. The warriors who

used the clubs carried shields, but those using the large javelin or lance

were unable to as they needed both hands to employ their weapon.

Body armor was made of quilted cotton hardened in brine. This was

quite successful against the weapons used by other Aztecs, (and useless

against crossbows and steel swords). This cotton armor was in fact

quickly adopted by the conquistedores as being effective enough and

much cooler than their own metal armor. The quilted armor was often

dyed bright colors, brocaded and embroidered with intricate designs

and symbols.

Wooden helmets were worn by some warriors and the chiefs, (who

rose to chief by being outstanding warriors). These quickly became

elaborate and bulky. It was often necessary for them to be supported by

shoulder harnesses. Most headdresses or helmets were stylized animals

or protecting deities. The more elaborate the helmet the more renown

the warrior in battle. There is mention of copper helmets in a few

codexs, but none have been found and in any case would have been

extremely rare. Metal working for tools and weapons was not advanced

and obsidian was the basic (and effective) material.

As during comparable periods on other continents the Aztecs wore

no uniforms. Each side would identify itself with a prominently worn

badge or insignia. This often would be elaborated to show also the rank

of the wearer. With the myriad of colors in the cotton armor and the

elaborate helmets an Aztec battle was a kaleidoscope of swirling colors.

A young warrior was taught the use of weapons as part of his

schooling. (All males were soldiers.) All boys were required to either be

tutored or to attend the Telpuchcalli or public school. Later, in lieu of

unit training and drills, a new warrior was attached to veteran for his

first battles. This program was actually quite similar to the apprentice-

ship or squire systems developed for the same purpose in medieval

Europe.

The tactics and weapons of the Aztecs were greatly influenced by

the goal of their wars, captives and whatever tribute or land demanded.

It was the ultimate sign of ability in a warrior to bring back from a battle a

live enemy suitable for sacrifice. Warriors then often strived not to kill

their enemy, but to knock him out or deliver a non-fatal, but disabling

wound. A victory was valued then by the number of enemies captured,

not killed. To this end warriors were trained rigorously in individual

combat, with little emphasis on formations or teamwork. The best war-

riors were admitted to select societies of “knights.” Only the most skillful

(as judged purely by the number of captives taken) were allowed to

enter. These were known as the Knights of the Eagle, the Knights of the

Ocelot (Tiger), and a less common group the Knights of the Arrow.

May, 1979

Helmets depicting their namesakes were often worn and ceremonial

costumes that copied their coloration were worn in ceremonies and into

battle. These orders performed dances and participated in rituals at the

Tlacochcalco. They also participated in the mock battles of sacrifice.

These Knights received large shares of land when conquered territories

were divided between the warriors. (This practice gave an occupation

force a way to support itself.)

A warrior who was slain in battle or sacrificed after a defeat was

guaranteed entry into a special warriors heaven. This was to be found in

the East and a special heaven for women who died in childbirth was in

the West (they were felt to have sacrificed themselves for a potential

new warrior). To die in these ways was the greatest honor a defeated

warrior could receive. (Non-warriors and cowards were sold into slav-

ery.) To some it was the culmination rather than the ruin of the lives.

There is recorded the story of Tlahuicol who was a Tlaxclan chief. Hav-

ing been captured in battle he was given the honor of the mock-

gladitorial sacrificial combat. This meant that he was chained to a large

round stone representing the sun and given wooden weapons, (no ob-

sidian points or edges), and attacked one at a time by members of the

Knights of the Eagle. In single combat he managed to kill a few and

wound several more. The combat was stopped and Tlahuicol was of-

fered the choice of the generalship of the Tlaxclan army or to be the

sacrifice in their highest ritual. He choose to be the sacrifice, viewing it

probably as the greater honor.

These sacrifices were viewed then not as a punishment (criminals

were killed or enslaved, but never sacrificed), but as an opportunity to

give their final great contribution to their communities. It was believed

that the sacrifices were needed to prevent the wrath of the gods and

bring anything needed such as the rain or spring. Perhaps the only close

honor was to obtain a prisoner in battle.

A typical Aztec battle consisted of both sides coming upon each

other, quickly forming up to charge and then rushing at each other amid

fierce cries. Quickly this would break down into many combats between

individuals and small groups. Both sides would contend, until one

seemed to be gaining an advantage. The other would then break and

run, avoiding capture to minimize their enemy’s victory. Often the de-

feat and capture of a major chief was enough to cause the morale of one

side to break.

Many stratagems were used. Feints and deception were common,

especially in the battles between the major cities. It was a common

maneuver for one side to fake a route and then lead their pursuers past a

second force in hiding. This force would then fall on the rear of their

pursuers while the routing force rallied. A cunning war chief was con-

sidered as valuable as a courageous one. Whoever won, sacrifices were

assured and the gods appeased.

If there was no war occurring, then an artificial war was instituted to

assure sacrifices and give the warriors an opportunity to prove their

skills. This was incongruously named the “War of Flowers.” Though it

was an artificial war those participating in it fought a very real battle.

Many died and many more were captured for sacrifice before one group

would concede defeat.

Invited to participate were the best Knights and warriors of two or

more rival states. The best warriors contended to be able to participate.

If he won, a warrior would gain in renown throughout the cities. If he

was killed, the warrior was given the honor of cremation. Reserved only

for warriors, cremation guaranteed entrance to the special warriors’

heaven. Finally, if defeated and captured a warrior was given the su-

preme honor of being sacrificed. So popular were these Wars of Flow-

ers that some were repeated annually for years.

The institution of war among the Aztecs evolved into something

quite different from that which we perceive. It was foremost a means by

which an individual could serve the all important tribe or city. It was an

inherently ritualized and mystic event of deep-meaning and necessity. It

was the only means by which captives needed to appease their blood-

thirsty gods (actually it was the hearts they tore out and offered still

throbbing). In a truly collective, military society it was the one area

where an individual could gain renown and prestige.

Aztec Command Structure

Tlacatecuhtli —War chief, C in C

Tlaxcola — Phratry Commander (4)

Tlochcautin — Clan Commander

Rules for

Pre-Hispanic

Mexican Warfare

Neal M. Dorst

1.0 introduction.

The following is a set of rules for conducting

miniature battles of the Pre-Hispanic Mexican (300-1500 A.D.) era.

This era saw the rise and fall of many Indian empires and kingdoms

from the great to the petty. The Mesoamericans developed a method of

warfare unique and totally independent of Western European influ-

ence. In some respects it is primitive and in others it is highly advanced.

The game is played in a series of turns in which the opposing sides

make simultaneous moves in an effort to capture or kill as many of the

opposing army as possible. It is recommended that a referee be on hand

to run the game, settle disputes, and so forth. Each turn follows the

sequence of play:

1) Weather determination

2) Sacrifices

3) Projectile Firing & Effect

4) Movement

5) Hand-to-Hand Combat

6) Prisoner Declaration

Each of these will be explained in their sections.

2.0 scale.

Each unit or figure represents 20 men, each man in

the unit having the same weapon and strength. One turn equals two

minutes. One inch of horizontal distance equals 25 yards and one inch

of vertical distance equals five feet. The bases on each unit should be

1.5 x 1.5 cm except for Spanish Cavalry which should be 1.5 x 3.5 cm.

3.0 set up.

A playing field should be set up according to the

above scale taken from either real sources or the reader’s imagination. It

should have the terrain divided into clear, uneven (including forest),

rough (mountains), and swampy for purposes of movement.

3.1.

Each of the opposing sides has a value assigned called its Milit-

ary Prowess number. This determines their units strength (see Table 1).

The number ranges from 1 to 5.

Military

Prowess

Table 1

# Ratio

.75 .6

Die #

323

4 elite 4 elite 5 elite

5 elite 6 elite

Determine the Military Prowess number for each side, either by

chance or by agreement. The number of units available to each side is

then determined by the ratio # of Table 1. (example: If one side of M.P.

#1 has 500 men then a side of M.P. #5 would have 250 men.) For each

20-man unit the player rolls a die and consults Table 1 which gives the

strength of that unit and whether or not it is elite. This should be re-

corded for reference later.

Each side then chooses which side of the field to enter. They may

also determine which side had access to the field prior to the battle.

3.2.

Each side should now choose the weapons for each unit. Each

army should have a leader and a priest unit. The leader unit is always 6

elite and priest unit is 1 elite. Over half the combat units should be

armed with hand-to-hand weapons and of these there should be a 1 to

2 ratio of club units to war club units. Of the projectile tiring units over

half should be armed with atl-atl.

3.3.

Leader units consist of 20 men armed with war clubs with a

strength value the maximum for their Military Prowess. When attacked

or shot at the leader is the last man caught or killed.

VOL. III, No. 11

Weapon

Table 4

Normal Men

Elite

Bow

Sling

1.5% (3%)

.75%(1.5%)

Atl-atl

2.5%

(example: a 15 man, 3 strength unit fires sling at an elite unit 1.5” away.

That is 15 man x 8/turn or 120 stones fired at 100% x 1”/1.5” x 3/6 or

33% hits which is 39 hits with .75% fatalities or 0 killed and 1.5% un-

conscious or 1 out.)

5.4.

To round off .5 or higher is 1. and .4999 or lower is 0.

5.5.

Units which fired in one turn may not move during that turn.

However a unit may fire only half its rate and then move half its rate.

5.6.

Projectile firing units may fire at 1,2,3, or 4 targets per turn (at

least one round of fire at each target). For multiple targets the % Hit

should be halved, thirded, or quartered as appropriate.

6.0 movement.

The amount of movement allowed a unit is de-

pendent on the terrain it is moving over (see Table 5).

Table 5

Clear

Uneven

Rough

Swampy

180 degrees

4”

3.75” 2.5”

1.5”

.5”

In order for a unit to turn 180 degrees around it must expend .5” of its

movement.

6.1.

When a unit moves from one terrain to another the referee

should calculate how many inches of movement are left to the unit

(example: a unit moves from clear to swampy after moving 3”. The

inches left is equal to 1/4 times 1.5 which is .38”).

6.2.

A unit may not move through an enemy unit, and if it passes

within 1/2” of an enemy unit it must stop. If it passes within 2” of a

concealed enemy the enemy is exposed but the unit may continue with

its move.

6.3.

A unit moving up a hill expends 1”. A unit moving down a hill

gains an extra 1”.

7.0 hand-to-hand combat.

At the end of the movement turn if

any opposing units are within 1/2” of each other they may engage in

hand-to-hand combat The players then calculate the strength ratio be-

tween the two units starting with their units’ strength and using the mul-

tipliers given below. The unit with the lower number is called the defen-

der and is given three options: defend, aggressive, or disarm. If the

option is defend the strength of the unit is doubled and the turn passes

to the aggressor. If the option is one of the others then the appropriate

CRT is consulted (see 7.4).

When the aggressor’s turn comes he may choose either aggressive

or disarm and then consults the appropriate CRT.

7.1.

A facing multiplier is given to the attacker if its unit faces the

back (hind 180 deg.) of the defender. In this state the attacker is given a

3/2 multiplier.

7.2.

If a unit was not engaged last turn or under fire, and this turn it

traveled its full movement to engage a stationary enemy it is given a

shock multiplier as follows:

Table 6

Ratio of strengths

Shock Multiplier

less than 1:1

1:1

x4/3

more than 1: 1

x5/3

7.3.

Multipliers are given due to differences in weaponry as given

below

Table 7

Multiplier is given to player 1

Player 1:

Sword

Lance

Club War Club

Player 2

Sword

x5/3

x4/3

Lance x1/3

x1/3

x2/3

Club

x2/3

x5/3

x2/3

x4/3

War Club

x4/3

7.4.

When either the attacker or defender chooses the aggressive or

disarm option they consult the appropriate section of Table 8 and look

under the modified strength ratio for his weapon. A die is then rolled

and if the attacking unit is an elite unit it subtracts 1 from the roll. The

number given is the percent of men killed. Those given in parenthesis

are the percent disarmed.

All projectile firing units and priest units are armed with swords if

they are engaged in hand-to-hand. The projectile units drop one in

strength value when involved with hand-to-hand and priests are 1.

3.4.

The Mexicans had a form of quilted cotton armor known as

Ichahuipilli. Players may designate 25% of their forces as having this

armor. Such units should halve the figures in Table 4 or shift the

enemy’s odds column one to the left in Table 8 for the appropriate

combat situation.

3.5.

Each army should be broken down into 10 unit (200 man)

divisions. Each unit in a division should be within 2” of another member

of the unit, and so on until there can be traced a chain of such associa-

tion linking all members of the division together. At least one member of

each division must be within 24" of the leader unit. Any violations cost

each member of the division one morale point.

3.6. Any side having prior access may conceal five elite units in any

area of rough or uneven terrain. The side does so by informing the

referee which units will hide where. These units remain hidden

throughout the battle until they move or an enemy unit passes within

2”.

4.0 weather.

Every 15 turns the referee will roll a die and con-

sult Table 2. This will determine the weather for the next 15 turns. The

weather affects morale and projectile firing.

Table 2

Season: Winter

Spring

Summer

Fail

Die#

Snow

Rain

Thunderstorm Thunderstorm

Snow

Rain

Thunderstorm Rain

Clear

Rain

Rain Rain

Clear Clear

Rain

Clear

Clear Clear Clear Clear

Clear

Clear Clear Clear

Clear: No effects

Rain: All morale numbers down 1

Snow: All morale numbers down 1, projectile ranges halved

Thunderstorm: All morale numbers down 2, projectile ranges halved

The effects last for the full 15 turns.

4.1.

Either side may sacrifice 60 enemy men in 3 consecutive turns

and change the Weather to Clear for the rest of that 15 turn period.

However these sacrifices may not contribute to morale raising (see Pris-

oners & Sacrifices).

5.0

projectile firing and effect.

There are three projectile fir-

ing weapons available. They are the bow and arrow, sling and stone,

and the atl-atl (javelin). In order for a projectile firing unit to fire on an

enemy it must be able to sight the enemy and it must be in range.

5.1.

In order to sight an enemy one must be able to hold a straight

edge from the center of the firing unit to the target with no intervening

objects five feet or taller (relative to the firing unit’s height). Forests may

be considered 20 feet tall relative to their own level. Units in hiding or in

a forested area may not be sighted.

5.2.

To find the maximum ranges of the weapon consult Table 3.

Don’t forget possible halving due to weather.

Table 3

Weapon

Max Range Rate of Fire

% Hits

Bow 4”

12/turn

100% x (2”/R) x (s/6)

Sling

3.5”

8/turn

100% x (1”/R) x (s/6)

Atl-atl

2”

4/turn

100% x (1”/R) x (s/6)

After an appropriate target has been selected the firing unit refers to

Table 3. The number of men in the unit is multiplied by the rate of fire

(all rounds in a turn must be shot at the same target). Next the % Hits is

calculated by placing the range in inches in R and the firing unit’s

strength in s. Multiply % Hits with the total number of shots to give the

number of hits (Note: % Hits may not exceed 100%, and 10% should

be subtracted if the target will be moving this turn). Now multiply the

number of hits by the appropriate % in Table 4 to get the number of

fatalities (round off) and, in the case of the sling (in parenthesis), the

number rendered unconscious. These remain unconscious until the

beginning of next turn, and should the unit move before then they are

lost to that unit. Such abandoned men may be claimed as prisoners by

the enemy unit moving over the spot in this turn. If not, they are just lost

from the game.

May, 1979

Weapon

Sword

1:4

Table 8

AGGRESSIVE

1:3

1:4

1:5

1:6

1:2

1:3

1:4

1:5

1:1

1:2

1:3

1:4

2:1

1:1

1:2

1:3

10%

3:1

4:1

5:1

6:1

Club 1:5

2:1

3:1

4:1 5:1

War Club 1:6

1:1

2:1

3:1 4:1

Lance

1:7

1:2

1:1

2:1

3:1

Die#

—

10%

20%

30%

—

Weapon

Lance

1:3

2:1

4:1

5:1

6:1

7:1

Club

1:4

1:1

3:1

4:1

5:1

6:1

Sword

1:5

1:2

2:1

3:1

1:3

1:1

4:1 5:1

War Club

1:6

2:1

3:1

4:1

Die #

—

10%

20% 20%

(10)

(20)

(25)

(30)

(40)

—

(10)

(20)

(25)

(30)

—

10 10

(10)

(20)

(25)

—

——

—

(10)

(10) (20)

———

—

(10)

—

(10)

—

1:2

1:3

1:4

1:5

1:1

1:2

1:3

1:4

DISARM

3:1

2:1

1:1

1:2

(10)

7:1

8:1

6:1

7:1

5:1

6:1

4:1

5:1

40%

50%

8:1 9:1

7:1

8:1

6:1

7:1

5:1

6:1

30% 40%

(45)

(50)

(40)

(45)

20 20

(30) (40)

(25) (30)

10 10

(20)

(25)

(10)

(20)

(10) (10)

(example: a 15 man unit, strength 3, armed with war clubs meets face to face with a 10 man unit, strength 5, armed with clubs and no shock

strength. The first unit’s modified strength (due to weapon difference) is 4 and elects to fight aggressive against the other unit’s strength of 5. The

ratio of 1:2, war club, aggressive, and die roll of 2 gives 5% of 10 which rounded up is 1 man killed. The other unit elects to fight disarm and rolls a 1.

A club ratio of 1:1, roll of 1 yields a blank and no men are killed or disarmed.)

7.5.

No more than six units may attack an enemy unit in one turn. A

unit may not attack an enemy unit if it is being attacked by a different

enemy unit. If more than one unit attacks an enemy unit each attack is

calculated separately with damage being cumulative and the order of

attacks at the aggressor’s choice.

8.0 prisoners and sacrifices.

If at the end of the Hand-to-

Hand phase two opposing units are within 1/2” of each other and one

or both units have either unconscious or unarmed men then the oppos-

ing unit may claim these as prisoners provided they have the same

number of active, armed men plus at least half the number of enemy

9.0 morale.

A unit will have its morale level checked if it either

comes under fire, engages in hand-to-hand combat, or an enemy unit

leaves concealment within 2” of it.

9.1.

The following formula is used to compute morale level:

Previous level (0 at start) + # of friendly units within 2” - # of enemy

units within 2” + (unit’s strength - 3)/2 + (men left in unit -10)/5 + any

appropriate additives

The additives are:

-1, -2 weather

+1 sacrifices

active, armed men to act as a covering force.

-1 under fire

(example: Two units face each other, one has five unarmed men and

ten armed men; the opposing force must have five plus five or ten ac-

-1 enemy units out of hiding 2”

tive, armed men in order to take prisoners.) It is possible for two facing

+3(-3) Enemy (Friendly) leader caught or killed

units to take prisoners from each other.

+2(-2) Retreating enemy (friendly) units in sight

8.1.

Any unit that has taken prisoners in one turn must on the next

+2 Friendly leader engaged in combat

9.2.

movement turn retreat from combat and move to the nearest, friendly

The resulting number is referred to Table 9.

Table 9

priest unit. Should there be none, then the unit must move off the edge

of the field that it entered. It must wait 1 turn with the priest unit or 2

turns off the field in order to turn over its prisoners. After that it is free to

move and fight again. The player must keep track of the number of

prisoners taken.

8.2.

Sacrifices may be made to change the weather (see weather)

or to improve morale. In order to do this a priest unit must sacrifice 20 of

its prisoners in one turn (which is the maximum rate at which they may

do this). For each turn in which a priest unit sacrifices 20 men all friendly

units add 1 to their morale level. This effect ends at the end of the turn

and is not cumulative. Prisoners taken off the field may not be sacrificed.

8.3.

Any unit that captures prisoners goes up 3 levels in Morale

when it returns to combat. This effect lasts for 15 turns.

Morale level

Combat option

Controllability

Must advance No new orders

Must advance 3”

No new orders

May advance 2”

New Orders

May advance 1”

New Orders

Stand

New Orders

M-1

May retreat 1”

New Orders

M-2

May retreat 2”

New Orders

M-3

Must retreat 3”

No new orders

M-4

Must retreat

No new orders

9.3.

If the unit has engaged in hand-to-hand combat then it follows

the combat option. For M4 it must advance (within movement restric-

tions) towards the nearest enemy unit. For any positive morale it may

either advance to the given distance or, excepting M3, retreat or stand

(Note: this takes place during next movement phase after the morale

check). For M-4 the unit must retreat to its side of the board. For nega-

tive values the unit may retreat up to the given value, or, excepting M-3,

retreat or stand.

9.4.

If the unit is not engaged in hand-to-hand then it may be

moved as the player pleases except when controllability says no new

orders. Then the player must follow instructions given under Combat

option.

9.5.

The morale level remains until conditions warrant another

check. Morale should be checked after Projectile Firing, Movement,

and Hand-to-hand Combat for those units affected.

9.6. When a unit with M-4 retreats from the field it is lost. If it passes

within 2” of the leader unit it may check its morale (should it still be M-4

it continues to retreat). Should a leader unit retreat from the field it

counts as caught or killed for other units’ morale checks.

10.0 ending and victory.

The battle ends when one or both

sides retreat from the field, by mutual agreement, when a prior time limit

is reached, or one side is completely captured or killed.

10.1.

Each side totals its points using the following scale:

Enemy Leader captured + 5

Enemy Leader killed + 3

Enemy Elite captured + 4

Enemy Elite killed + 2

Enemy Man captured + 3

Enemy Man killed + 1

For each man sacrificed count as captured and subtract 1

Subtract the smaller total from the larger and consult Table 10 for

degree of victory.

Table 10

0-50 Draw

51-100

Minimal Victory

101-150 Victory

151+

Superlative Victory

10.2.

The players may elect to fight a Xochiyaoyotl (War of Flow-

ers) in which the object is to take as many prisoners as possible. Leader

units may not be attacked unless they attack first. Units are restricted to

either the Disarm or Defend options in hand-to-hand. The point scale is

as follows:

Enemy leader captured + 10

Enemy elite captured + 5

Enemy man captured + 3

All sacrifices count as captured

Enemy man killed -1

Spanish Optional Rules

1.00 introduction.

These rules are to be used for battles with

Spanish units and their allies. These take precedence over basic rules.

2.00 scale.

All cannon units have five cannons and 20 men. In

firing only count number of cannons, and any cannon with one to four

men manning it may fire.

Spanish Morion

VOL. III, No. 11

3.00 set-up. All Spanish units are rated 6 elite. The Spanish

ratio # is .25, but this does not include allied Meso-american units.

(Example: one side has 500 M.P. #1 units so there are 125 Spanish and

375 allies of M.P. #3)

3.01.

Army setup: One leader on Horse. Over half force armed

with hand-to-hand weapons, over half projectiles must be crossbow,

and less than 10% of force may be either Horse or Cannon.

3.02.

All Spanish units have steel armor which acts just like

Ichahuipilli. However, Ichahuipilli is not effective against either Ar-

quebusier or Cannon units.

4.00 weather.

Both cannon and arquebusier units may

not

fire

in Thunderstorm. All ranges halved as given.

5.00 projectile firing and effect.

For the Spanish units there

are three projectile firing weapons: Crossbow, Musket, or Cannon (Fal-

conette). Use the following as you use Table 3 and Table 4.

Weapon

Crossbow

Arquebusier

Cannon

Table 1A

Max Range

Rate of Fire

6”

8/turn

30"

2/turn

l/turn

Table 2A

% Hits

100% x (4"/R)

100% x (1”/R)

100% x (20”/R)

Weapon

Normal Men

Elite Men

Crossbow

1.5%

Arquebusier

2.5%

Cannon

100%

50%

6.00 movement.

The following Table is mounted and artillery

units.

Table 3A

Unit

Clear Uneven

Rough Swamp

Horse

3”

7”

4”

3”

Cannon

2.5”

2” —

6.01.

Cannon units may not travel through swampy areas.

6.02.

Spanish units must travel in column, i.e., one or two units

abreast in line, facing the same way, and with less than 2” between each

unit. Movement is as normal.

7:00 hand-to-hand combat.

Spanish units may fight in col-

umn or line. Line is a one-unit abreast column with units facing to the

side instead of the front. Indian units have a 2/3 multiplier unless they

have a canceling shock multiplier.

7.01. All weapon multipliers are given to the Mexican units.

Table 4A

Sword

Lance

War Club Club

Horse x1/2

x1/3

Steel Sword

x2/3

x4/3

Pike

x1/3

x2/3

7.02.

Mexican units attacking a Spanish unit must use either the

Disarm or Defend option. Spanish and their allies have the full set of

options.

7.03.

For Steel Sword use the Sword odds in Table 8. For Pike use

Lance, and for Horse Swordsmen use Club.

8.00 prisoners and sacrifices.

Spanish units and their allies

may take prisoners, but they may not sacrifice them. Spanish units pass

prisoners on to ally’s priest for holding.

8.01.

Spanish prisoners must be sacrificed by their captors before

any Indian allies. However, they may be mixed to make a unit of 20.

9.00 morale.

The following additives may be used:

+2 sacrifices with Spanish captives

-2 under Spanish fire

-1 engaged in Hand-to-hand with Horse unit

-1 Spanish enemy within 2”

+ 1 Spanish friend within 2”

10.00 ending and victory.

Add the following points:

Spanish Leader captured + 10

Spanish Leader killed + 5

Spanish man captured + 5

Spanish man killed + 3

Count sacrifice as capture minus 2

10.01.

Spanish do not participate in Xochiyaoyotl battles.

May, 1979

VOL. III, No. 11

VARIETIES OF VAMPIRES

by R.P. Smith

After considerable research I have found several different types of vam-

pires from classical legends around the world, and arranged them in

D&D format. I have not included all known vampires, just the more

interesting ones.

Number appearing, armor class, hit dice, and treasure are the same

for all vampires. Normal weapons will not hurt any vampire. All types of

vampires will avoid mirrors, garlic, or crosses. With one exception, all

vampires will go into gaseous form if they lose all their hit points by

magic.

One must also consider the question of origin. If people can only

become vampires through the bite of a vampire, where did the first one

come from? According to the legends, the means can range from a

simple death-bed curse and excommunication, through ancestry (s.g.

one type was to be an Albanian of Turkish origin, another was to have

red hair), through witchcraft, to violent death. The latter one is the

easiest method for D&D. Hence, any body left unguarded without a

Bless spell from a cleric will become a vampire within seven days.

Type

Movement

Usual location

common 12/18 anywhere

asanbosam 12/0

jungle, plains

burcolakas 12/18

mountains

catacano 12/18

mountains

lobishumen 15/0 jungle

ekimmu 12/18

desert

blautsauger

12/18

mountains, forest

mulo 12/18

mountains, forest

alp

0/24

forest, plain

anananngel 0/24

jungle

krvopijac

12/18

mountains, forest

ch’ing-shih

12/18

anywhere

vlkodlak

mountains, forest

bruxsa 12/18

anywhere

nosferat 12/18

mountains, forest

Asanbosam (Africa): Men (9 hit dice), women (8 hit dice), or chil-

dren (7 hit dice) who look normal except for a pair of books instead of

feet. They can charm at minus 3, (except against clerics, whom they

avoid) and can throw a single sleep spell per night. They can call 3-18

leopards or 2-12 tigers. Only a cleric can kill the asanbosam.

Burcolakas (Greece): It has a swollen, tense, hard skin. It can

scream once per night which deafens all in hearing range for 24 hours,

no saving throw. It can also kill, not only by draining life levels, but by

naming its victim by name and commanding the victim into a fatal ac-

tion. It can imitate any voice it hears, with as much of a chance of being

detected as an assassin has of being discovered in disguise. It controls

10-100 rats, but no wolves. To defeat: cut off and burn its head.

Catacano (Crete, Rhodes): Always grinning with very white teeth.

When not sucking blood, the catacano is busy doing toothpaste com-

mercials. It spits blood (see giant slug for chance of hitting) which causes

horrible burns. It can charm at minus 2. To defeat: burn its nails, boil its

head in vinegar, or submerge its body in salted water.

Lobishumen (Brazil): It looks like a small, stumpy, hunch-backed

monkey with a yellow face, bloodless lips, black teeth, bushy beard, and

plush-covered feet. It can charm at minus 4 and makes its victims (all

women) into nymphomaniacs, if they survive. Women killed by a

lobishumen while under its charm become succubi. There is a 60%

chance that any woman who doesn’t die while charmed by a lobishu-

men will be a nymphomaniac permanently. To defeat: Get it drunk,

crucify it to a tree, then stab it with a stake through the heart.

Ekimmu (Assyria): Invisible even while it attacks, it can charm at

minus 1. It can also magic jar its victim. To exorcise the vampire in this

state, a clerical dispel evil is needed, with a 50% chance of success

when the cleric is the same level as the ekimmu, plus or minus 5% per

level difference. To defeat: Subdue it with magic weapons long enough

for it to be killed with a wooden sword.

Blautsauger (Bosnia-Herzagovinia): Hairy, with no skeleton, large

eyes, it can polymorph itself into a rat or a wolf. It can charm at minus 3.

It can only turn its victims into vampires by forcing them to eat earth

from its grave. Those who consume the earth will become vampires

when they die, even if not killed by the blautsauger. Only a wish will

prevent this. Those who die from the blautsauger without eating the

earth become spectres. To defeat: Burn its body or stab it through the

heart with a stake.

Mulo (Serbia): Men, women, and children wearing white clothes.

They love wine. They are active day and night. They can polymorph

into either horses or sheep. A mulo kills its victims by charming them

(minus 2), then putting them into a large pot of boiling water. Blood

draining by mulos will put the victim in suspended animation, awaiting

the pot. To defeat: Get them drunk and leave quickly, or a cleric must

fight them to the death.

Alp (Saxony): A butterfly that attacks day and night. It settles on the

chest of a victim and suffocates him. Each alp can call 10-100 ordinary

butterflies and can throw one sleep spell per 24 hour period. To defeat:

Find the corpse acting as recipient for the butterfly and put a lemon in its

mouth. Without the lemon, destroying the body will force the alp to find

another body, but not kill it.

Anananngel (Philippines): A flying head with entrails filled with

blood after feeding. It charms at minus 2 and can throw a fear spell at

minus 3. There is a 50% chance that it is not undead, but a living witch.

As such, it will not be turned by a cleric. To defeat: Sever the entrails to

starve it or find the body where it sleeps during the day and hammer a

stake through its heart. If splattered with blood from this vampire, the

victim will have sores and diseases that only a cure disease applied daily

for two to seven days will cure. The victim will be incapacitated until

then.

Krvopijac (Bulgaria): Only one nostril, otherwise like a common

vampire. To find its grave, send a virgin on a black foal through the

suspected area. Where the foal refuses to go is where it is buried. To

defeat: Chain it to its coffin with a rope of wildflowers (may eventually

break), or have a magic-user, holding a cross, order the vampire’s soul

into a bottle of blood and then throw it into a fire.

Ch’ing-Shih (China): Red, staring eyes, pointed nails like claws,

long hair, greenish-white skin, a very beautiful woman or handsome

man in spite of everything. It can call 3-18 foxes. To defeat: encircle with

rice.

Vlkodlak (Serbia): It has a congested face and blood-red skin. It

can cause eclipses. Otherwise, it is like a common vampire. It is active

day and night. To defeat: cut off its toes and thumbs, drive a spike into

its neck, pierce its navel with a stake (not its heart), then burn it, starting

the fire with holy candles.

Bruxsa (Portugal): A woman by day, a bird at night, hence it is

active even in sunlight. Otherwise, it is like a common vampire. To de-

feat: same as with common vampire.

Nosferat (Rumania): It appears as a man or a beautiful woman,

depending upon the sex of its victim. In can polymorph into a cat, a dog,

a beetle, a butterfly, or straw. It can charm, as a butterfly or straw by

touch, at minus 2. To defeat: walk around its grave smoking pipeweed.

Type

Number of Attacks

Damage

common

1-10 plus 2 levels

asanbosam

1 bite, 2 claws

1-6,1-8,1-10/bite

plus 2 levels according

to size, 1-4/claw

burcolakas

1-10 plus 2 levels

catacano

1 spit, 1 bite 1-12/spit, 1-10 plus

2 levels/bite

lobishumen

1-10 plus 2 levels

ekimmu

1-10 plus 2 levels

blautsauger

mulo

1-10 plus 2 levels

1-6,1-8,1-10 plus

2 levels according to size

alp

2 life levels

anananngel

1-12 plus 2 levels

krvopijac

1-10 plus 2 levels

ch’ing-shih

1 bite, 2 claws

1-10 plus 2 levels/

bite, 1-8/claw

vlkodlak

1-10 plus 2 level

bruxsa

1-10 plus 2 levels

nosferat

1-10 plus 2 levels

May, 1979

TO SELECT A MYTHOS

by Bob Bledsaw

Every really good campaign in which I have had the pleasure to

play or judge in has had one very common trait . . . a well developed

mythos. Like many groups, my campaign began by utilizing the Lord Of

The Rings as the source of political structure, history, and mythos. This

was great for those which had read the books, but limited the new

players which were unfamiliar with them. Although this isn’t a fatal

handicap, it sometimes places disappointing blocks in the path of an

otherwise exemplary player-character. As the game developed further,

the desire of many players was to adapt non-Tolkien classes into the

campaign and distort the mythos beyond rationalization. This caused

me to introduce intra-dimensional nexus points into the game. While

some purists may flinch at this point, let me state that only the most

persistent search ever led to one of the “gates” and even then access

was limited at these well-defended points.

At first I viewed this growth as the opportunity to introduce such

mythos I found fascinating as a teen: John Carter & Barsoom, Conan,

The Arabian Nights, and others. The real fun began when I started to

of everyday life for your adventurers. However, I would hesitate to do it

for a group of players inclined to name their characters Injun Joe the

Tail-gunner, Bimbo the Bomber, and the like. They wish to play the

game on a more basic level and will probably have the same great time if

you spend ten minutes in preparation or ten hours. Most players enjoy a

well structured campaign which gives them the “feel” of the mythos

and permits the orderly progression of a player-character. Imagination

stretch a little.

“Realism” in fantasy role gaming has become the scare word to be

touted by some “authorities” in the hobby. They have indicated that

monsters, demi-gods, and gods created for game systems by extrapolat-

ing upon “real” legends is the result of “sloppy” thinking and has no

place in well run campaigns unless the constructs are true to mythology.

But this depends entirely upon the end goal of the game system and

how much territory the rules are intended to cover. Some game systems

are purposely written to cover certain time periods and convey a “feel”

of that era or period . . .

such as Chivalry & Sorcery or (on a much

develop completely new mythos for the group (more likely termed a

squadron of earth-shakers by this time). I drew heavily upon Greek,

reduced scale) En Garde. Other game systems are intentionally written

to cover the constructed mythos of an entirely new fantasy world such

Celtic, and Eastern mythologies, molded them to fit my concept of the

living legends which might have formed the prehistoric truths behind

them, and limited, combined, extrapolated, and restructured their spe-

cial powers to obtain a unique mythos. In every instance, I sought to

introduce a variety of religion and therefore often retained some pure

mythologies in the new land. Around this skeleton was shaped the rest

of the land beyond the nexus point; political structures, histories,

economic system, geography, flora and fauna, monsters, and non-

as Empire of the Petal Throne, Runequest, Metamorphosis Alpha, or

Traveller. These systems are based upon extrapolations of “real” facts,

legends, mythologies of all cultural types, combinations of extuut ideas

reformated into an almost unrecognizable form, and the occasional rare

spark of genuine creativity (take it from a designer. . . it’s really rare).

What I am trying to say is that you cannot expect to seriously use a

game system such as Boothill to play a campaign based on the Conan

series, but you could use a game system such as Dungeons & Dragons

played characters which made this particular world tick were created

from my steady diet of fantasy and science fiction over the years. The

extra work was well worth the many hours of fun observing the earth-

shakers of Middle Earth being out classed by new player-characters

which could respond to the challenge of mystery more quickly. While

the older players had more sheer power at their disposal, situations

often came up where a little knowledge was more dangerous than none

and preconditioned responses were a liability.

My personal preference leans toward the designing of a mythos

without “reality” restraints. Every judge should select his own mythos

with a careful eye toward what his players expect from the campaign.

Chivalry & Sorcery, like Beowulf, resonates with a melody which would

be ruined by an over-abundance of incongruent monsters from an en-

tirely different mythos. Like any well done fantasy novel, a campaign

to play a campaign based upon a Mayan mythos or almost any non-

gunpowder mythos. Because the game system is designed to cover

many mythos, it will not necessarily give the correct “feel” in all cases

and should be modified to suit the campaign by a knowledgeable and

experienced campaign judge. Great caution should be exercised when

this is done however, or imbalanced play or an aborted campaign can

result. Obviously the game system is based on western mythology with

a European accent more medieval than not. This should not be viewed

as a limit if a campaign based upon a warmer climate, different political

system, or mythos is desired.

Last and very quick, since the “authorities” are probably piling

wargleweed around my soapbox and lighting torches, a couple of shots

at some criticisms leveled at my campaign materials and guidelines.

There is nothing “sacrilegious” about introducing gods into a campaign

can lead your players into a uniquely exciting world unlike anything

(even if the players might defeat them). I personally would never use

they have ever experienced. I like a clean slate to begin extrapolating

voodoo, Jesus Christ, Budhha, Mohammed, or the one and only Devil

upon. Climate, economics, demography, naming, and so forth are then

in my campaign. The gods in my campaign are actually the source of

my domain. The players are given the necessary background informa-

legends, mythologies, and religions which may be far from the true nuc-

tion to function within the game and the balance becomes a world of

leus of fact that began these worshipful exaggerations, distortions, and

discovery.

ill-perceived powers or acts. A halfling possessing some powerful ar-

Like thousands of other fantasy role-playing judges, I have de-

tifact might be worshipped by a large following. The being might not be

veloped many useful tables which assist me in designing these lands

of the same plane of existence, or merely a time traveller ala A Con-

based upon different mythos. It is not the towering megalith of work that

neticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.

it at first appears, nor do I wish to imply that you must be able to write a

And the final blast . . . the guideline tables we publish at Judges

novel to construct one. There are as many ways to begin designing a Guild are not intended to be used religiously, most the time, or even

campaign as there are judges and styles of play dictate the extent or

part of the time as the judge runs his campaign. They are very useful for

depth of development required to maintain your player’s interest and

designing, extrapolating, and sparking up a campaign based on Dun-

willing suspension of disbelief. Most important is the decision to begin

geons & Dragons. They represent the best efforts of many intensely

. . .

and you begin by selecting a mythos. If you prefer more concrete

involved and active college students and graduates as we literally picked

ground, then you could begin with Empire of the Petal Throne,

Metamorphosis Alpha, or the ever popular Lord of the Rings. Gods,

apart, defined, interpreted, researched, expanded upon, and played to

dawn (or death) the original Dungeons & Dragons since it was first pub-

Demi-gods, & Heroes and the material published therein is a source of lished. The tables are not to add “realism” to any campaign. They are

mythos. for the enjoyment and sources of inspiration of active campaign judges.

A long trip to your local library may be necessary to flesh out the

Dat’s all folks!

world and supply the flavor of names, mores, and sociological aspects

Spanish 16th century 7 ring rapier

In the year 1500 the American continent contained only two sig-

nificant native empires — The Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas in Peru.

Both were at their height in power.

In 1518, Hernando Cortez left Hispanola with but 600 men, 17

horses and 10 cannon to conquer the Aztec Empire. When Cortez re-

viewed his troops at Cozumel, their ranks totaled 508 soldiers including

32 crossbowmen and 13 arquebusiers plus 100 sailors. Later at Tlasela,

they numbered less than 600 of which 40 were cavalry, 80 crossbow-

men and arquebusiers.

In 1531, Francisco Pizarro landed at Atahualpa with 180 men, 27

horses and two cannon. After receiving some reinforcements, he

marched against the Inca Empire with 62 cavalry and 102 infantry.

Never numbering more than 1000 men, facing heat, disease and

an opposing army possessing an overwhelming numerical superiority,

both Cortez and Pizarro were able to overthrow and annex these ter-

ritories to Spain. It was to be a victory that was to last 300 years.

By all odds the invaders should have been destroyed by the na-

tives. In numbers alone the Aztec and Inca Empires could field armies of

a dozen times or more in size proportion to the Spaniards. While primi-

tively armed with slings, javelins, bows, wooden clubs and throwing

sticks, sheer mass alone should have brought them victory. But when

the superstitions surounding the white gods mounted on horses and

wielding instruments of thunder and lightening produced terror among

the natives, smallpox brought by the Europeans decimated the ranks of

the natives who lacked immunity, and the Spaniards shrewd ability of

playing one tribe against the other kept their strengths divided, their

allegiances confused it seemed that Spanish victory was not inconceiv-

able. Nevertheless it was the shot and pike tactics of the Spaniards com-

bined with absolute discipline and their impregnable armor that put

victory in the Spanish grasp.

The Conquistadore wore considerably less body armor than the

Spanish Army twenty-five years earlier. Full suits of armor had been

replaced by half suits. These were primarily worn by cavalry and pike-

men. The half armor consisted of heavy steel breast and back plates,

flatter than those of the previous century and fastened together by

leather or metal straps. The breastplate frequently carried an indenta-

tion from a bullet fired by the armorer to proof-test the integrity of the

piece.

Cavalry occasionally wore lamelar protection for the upper leg

area. Pikemens’ thighs were hidden behind single or lamelar plate tas-

sets, one hung from each side of the breastplate.

The Arquebusier (musketeer) and crossbowman rarely wore any

armor aside from a helmet. His waistcoat had puffed sleeves and pad-

ded shoulders containing sufficient padding to resist or at least retard a

sword stroke. His breeches were wide, very colorful and short. High

leather boots extending to the knees or higher were worn by all troops.

Cortez upon landing found an abundance of cotton in the area. He

ordered thickly quilted doublets (jackets) made. These proved effective

against Aztec arrows. Quilted cotton armor was also successfully used to

protect the horses.

The cavalry and arquebusier’s helmet, the Burgonet, was open

faced, followed closely the curvature of the head. The high front brim

provided maximum visibility while the closed back protected the neck.

Ear flaps enclosed the ears and the sides of the head. A high comb

across the top of the burgonet from back to brim protected the warrior’s

head from sharp blows.

Spanish Morion

May, 1979

Pikemen wore a specialized helmet whose origins rest with the

Chapel de fer (Kettle Hat) of the fourteenth century. Called a Morion, its

oval-shaped sides, high brim front and back were overshadowed by a

very high comb across the top of the helmet. The comb, up to four

inches high, was sufficient to prevent any cut from penetrating to the

skull as well as spread the force of a downward blow. Its oval shape

deflected projectiles. The high brim aided visibility but the back bared

the neck and lower head. Gorgets provided some protection to these

areas as well as the front of the neck.

Swordsmen carried a small round iron shield called a buckleror

targes. Varying in size, most were about two feet in diameter. A few

were oval. Due to their size, they were easily manipulated to protect its

holder from sword, axe or club.

The weapons of the Conquistadores consisted primarily of sword,

pike, crossbow and arquebus. Personal daggers were common and

quite varied.

The basic weapon of the infantry was the pike.

Measuring 12 to 18

feet in length, the spearhead was short with long side straps preventing

the shaft from being cut. Cortez purchased a number of double headed

spears (pikes) tipped with copper. These saw extensive use in the battles

that were to follow. It was Spanish custom that one out of every ten or

twenty pikemen be armed with a halberd or glaive, which was especially

deadly close quarters. A number of these weapons also accompanied

the expedition.

16th Century Halberds

The Conquistadore Arquebusier (musketeer) was usually armed

with older weapons. These were matchlocks weighing three pounds

with a barrel of three feet or more in length. In battle, these were

mounted on a forked musket rest. When loaded, a smouldering piece of

impregnated fiber called a “match” clipped to the cock swung to ignite

the touch powder as the trigger was pulled. The Arquebusier then pa-

tiently attempted to hold the aim of his weapon on an opponent until

ignition finally occurred.

A bandolier diagonally slung across the Arquebusier’s right shoul-

der carried the essentials necessary to fire the arquebus. In each small

bag was a charge of gunpowder. A leather pouch with bullets, a bottle of

oil and a bunch of fuses completed the array which hung from the ban-

dolier.

Wet weather and windy days played havoc with the operation of

the Arquebus. But when everything was favorable, a musketeer might

fire as many as one shot per minute. The accurate range of these

weapons was between 100 and 200 yards.

The thunder and fire from the Arquebus was instrumental in breaking

the spirit of attacking Aztecs and Incas. More than any other weapon, it

contributed to the destruction of the Aztec and Inca Empires.

The crossbow was very popular among the Conquistadores. It

supplemented the fire power of the Arquebus possessing a higher rate

of fire and a lesser percentage of misfire. The bow portion was made

from steel and drawn back either by a cord and pulley device or by a

rack-and-pinnon mechanism. Heavy to carry, clumsy to handle, unable

to function properly in wet weather, it was nevertheless powerful and

accurate up to a range of 120 yards.

The projectile fired was called a bolt or quarrel. It was short and

squat when compared to the arrow for a long bow. The iron tip was

frequently square and the feather leather vanes. When fired at close

range, the quarrel was able to penetrate armor.

Spanish 16th century swords

Produced at Toledo and Valencia, the Spanish sword was a beauti-

ful weapon common to most soldiers. The ingenuity of the Spanish

armorers in seen in the exquisite pattern of curved guards and counter-

guards that protected the hand and proved useful in catching the oppo-

nent’s blade. The rapier blade was narrower than during the previous

century, but not the thin fencing blade that was to follow. Having two

edges and a point, the Spanish sword was both a cutting and a thrusting

weapon.

Prescott in his book, The Conquest of Mexico, describes the

Spanish sword, “The naked body of the Indian afforded no resistance

to the sharp Toledo blade; and with their good swords, the Spanish

infantry at length succeeded in staying the human (Aztec) torrent.”

The battle formation of the Conquistadores was often similar to

those utilized in the European campaigns. Drawn up in a solid column

of infantry known as a “battle,” the Arquebusiers were at the corners of

the battle in as many ranks as possible. After the first rank fired, it with-

drew to the rear to reload and on successive volleys moved forward

until it was their turn to fire again.

The pikeman’s function was to provide protection to the Ar-

quebusiers as they reloaded. Consisting of an overall percentage rang-

ing from 50% to 75% of the battle, they held their ground. Should the

enemy’s ranks be broken by firepower, the pikemen formed into a line

and advanced shoulder to shoulder.

Cortez, when having sufficient numbers, preferred to open the bat-

tle with a cavalry charge. At Tacuba, after the charge, the Arquebusiers

and crossbowmen opened a lively volley on the Aztec flanks and the

infantry armed with swords and pikes and supported by Indian allies

destroyed the Aztec center.

In less than a decade, both mighty empires were conquered and

were not to taste freedom again for 300 years.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bramsen, Stig —

Warriors and Weapons of Early Times

MacMillian Co., 1972

Diaz, Bernal

— The Bernal Diaz Chronicles

Doubleday, 1956

Prescott, William H. —

The Conquest of Mexico

Junior Literary Guild, 1934

Prescott, William H. —

The Conquest of Peru

Mentor Books, 1961

Warner, Philip

— The Soldier

Taplinger, 1975

Wilkinson, Frederich — Arms

and Armor

Grosset and Dunlap, 1973

Over $500 To Be Awarded

At GenCon Wargame Figure

Painting Competition

A new competition will be inaugurated at this year’s Gen-

Con. scheduled for Aug. 16-19. Sponsored by TSR Periodicals

and The Dungeon Hobby Shop, the competition is for painted

wargame figures.

Over $500 in prizes will be awarded in a total of seven

categories. The competition will be divided into two size classifi-

cations, with each of these further divided by period. The two size

classes are Micro Scale and Regular. Micro Scale is to consist of

all micro-sized armor and other types, such as spaceships

(Grenadier and Valiant, for example). naval vessels (CinC

1/2400, GHQ Micronauts, Valiant Fighting Sail, Superior,

Waterline, etc. i.e., any scale smaller than 1/200, inclusive) and

airplanes. The Micro Scale class is further divided into two

categories: Unit and diorama.

Unit is defined as a militarily

definable and recognizable organization. (This definition applies

only to this class; unit is defined differently in other categories.)

The minimum number of figures in this class is five, and the maxi-

mum is forty.

Dioramas are limited only in base size—15” X 15”.

The Regular class consists of 15mm, 20mm, 25mm, and

30mm figures. This class is further divided into two categories;

Historical and Fantasy & Science Fiction. The Historical category

is further divided into two sub-classes— Unit and Diorama. The

minimum number of figures represented must be a viable unit on

the wargame table. Unit size is limited to one battalion of foot or

horse, or one battery of cannon or siege equipment. The maxi-

mum number of actual figures must be justified by an existing,

commercially available set of rules governing the period. Diorama

limitations apply as above, 15” X 15”, maximum.

Guidelines to Consider

Reasonable entry fees

Reasonable prizes considering fees

Advertising states party size

single participant

groups of individuals only

groups of individuals and teams

teams only

Reasonable DM: player ratio

Reasonable time per group

instructions

organization

actual play

Reasonable refereeing, clear, helpful, and

DISINTERESTED

no partiality to players

no desire to see players fail

Adequate facilities

space

noise level

Prompt starting, with an adherence to time limits

Control of unruly or disruptive players

RULES

book rules as nearly as possible

all exceptions and interpretations on player instruction sheets

party characters completely prepared and assigned

head referee to be final judge in disputes

all variables averaged in order to reduce luck factors

All referees experienced and familiar with the tournament scenario

Wherever possible, two per group (if over five).

The Fantasy & Science Fiction Category is also divided, this

time into three sub-classes: Unit, Diorama, and Monster. Unit is

defined as at least five. but no more than 40, figures in a plausible

organization. The diorama restrictions are the same as previous

categories The monster sub-class is limited to five figures or less.

(Some may qualify as both Unit and Monster, but may only be

entered in one.)

If you wish to enter, you need only show up at the appointed

times. There will be a $1 entry fee per entry. We will provide

secure storage prior to the actual judging. You must package your

entries for safety from incidental damage — we will provide

security and a place to store them in your packing. The actual

judging period is the only time that all entries will be on full

display, and we will do everything we are capable of doing in an

effort to protect your property. The results are scheduled

(remember that we are talking about an event some six months

away) to be announced shortly after lunch on Sat., the 19th. The

actual judging will be occurring during lunch. We would like to

place the winners on display for the rest of Saturday,

There are a total of seven classes and sub-classes: Micro-

Scale Unit: Micro-Scale Diorama, Historical Unit. Historical

Diorama, Fantasy & SF Unit, Fantasy & SF Diorama and Fantasy

Monster. Each of the seven class winners will receive an engraved

plaque and a year’s sub to the TSR Periodical of their choice. In

addition, there will be two BIG prizes: Best of Show and

Sweepstakes Award. Best of Show will go to the best diorama in

the entire competition, the Sweepstakes Award will go to the best

unit entered in the competition. These two awards also merit

plaques, along with $250 in gift certificates. Best of Show will

receive a $150 G.C. from the Dungeon Hobby Shop, while the

Sweepstakes Award merits a $100 G.C. from The Dungeon, The

Dungeon is the most complete wargame hobby shop in the

midwest, and also carries an extensive line of trains and equip-

ment, and capable of fulfilling any gamers’ dreams. Their

mailorder service is extensive and efficient.

VOL. III, No. 11

Continued from page 34

the subject would be the purview

their explanation of the events

of players, but as I doubt the abil-

which took place. Common sense

and logic are certainly the key-

stoves of D&D, and I am appalled

to read of the treatment you and

your associates received.

If you would care to submit

your suggestions regarding a

reasonable set of guidelines for

running a role playing adventure

game tournament, we will cer-

tainly be pleased to consider pub

lishing them in DRAGON. If there

were more well-done fan

magazines, I would suggest that

ity of the current amateur press to

handle the subject, I will suggest

that Tim Kask take this under ad-

visement for discussion in DRA-

GON. Perhaps that magazine

could eventually publish a set of

guidelines for tournament or-

ganizers and referees.

I hope that you will be able to

attend GenGon this August, for

Bob Blake always runs a good

D&D tournament for us. Please

let us know if we may be of any

further service.

E. Gary Gygax

THE INTERNATIONAL

DM SEARCH IS ON!

AGAIN!

THE DRAGON is compiling a list of DMs to be published

sometime in the late fall.

If you wish our list to include your name, simply send it to us on

a postcard or 3X5 note card. If you wish to be listed for a game

other than D&D please specify. If no game is listed, it will be

assumed that it is the one and only— D&D.

THE DRAGON hopes this list will be the biggest ever compiled

by anyone anywhere. What easier way to get fresh BLOOD in

your campaign? It pays to advertise.

Simply send your cards to:

Mapping the Dungeons

c/o THE DRAGON

POB 110

Lake Geneva, WI 53147

USA