LTH: Experience	Angels	GITE: Muirtagh the Bowman	GITE: Umslopogaas	GITE: Edward Bond
DDDD: Quickfloor	DDDD: Pedestal Room	The AD&D National Player Rating System	Masters III: Search for the Armadillo Amulet	FN: The Mystery of the Bow
Inert Weapons	Ripples in the Fabric of the Multiverse	DDDD	What's Ahead For TSR?	Dragon

‘Diversity of TD’

Dear Editor,
I would like to nominate TD #35 for The
Royal Order of the Timely Arrival. It was as if you
knew exactly what I wanted. In only two days,
my copy is showing age due to the handling it
has received from the other eight people who
have read through it.

I had just started working on a complete
table of encumbrance for other items when The
Dragon appeared in my mailbox. I needed this
type of table for a tournament I am running in
May and this is saving me some valuable time.
The red pen has swept through my AD&D books
(Monster Manual, Players Handbook, and
DMG) and a lot of questions have been cleared
up. It is amazing how much confusion can be
dispelled by changing a sentence like the correction
made in the Mace of Disruption description.
I hope that any other addenda will appear in
future issues.

[...]

I agree with Howard Cohen, who appeared
in the “Out on a Limb” column in TD #35, on
two points. The first is the chronic misuse of
wishes. I have found, however, that a player will
reconsider a far-fetched wish if the DM gives him
a nice smile when he suggests it. If they still insist
on using a wish like one that would raise him
eight levels, the DM can fall back on Mr. Cohen’s
suggestion and raise him eight levels . . . into
the air.
<wish>

Mr. Cohen’s second point is that the campaign
is the PLAYERS’ fantasy. Because of this,
a DM must be careful not to ruin it for them. This
is especially applicable when death is the subject.
People become turned off to AD&D if they
spend an hour or so writing up a character who is
killed within another hour. Although the above
example is an extreme, a DM should give much
consideration before announcing a character’s
demise. I am not saying that a player should
never die. If this were the case, my world would
be overrun with kamikazes who knew they could
not die. If a player deserves it, he should die, but
make sure he deserves it.

If there is no way to avoid killing someone in
a given situation, consider NPC’s and hirelings
first. If you feel that a player should die when he
becomes too powerful, then do not let him become
too powerful. If it does happen, remedy it,
but not by teleporting the guy to Tiamat’s lair. A
Wraith and a lightning bolt can do wonders in
removing excess magic and extra levels. Whenever
the question of player death arises, think
about how you, the DM, would feel if you were
the character’s creator.
<death, ctg?>

Finally, the clincher that helped make this
issue my favorite so far was J. D. ’s conclusion to
“Dragonquest. ” “I’m chaotic and I don’t care,”
is already becoming a favorite saying here, and
his balrog cartoon brought back many memories.
Thanks for the great issue.
<check>

Chris Warack
—Redlands, CA
(The Dragon #37)


‘Poor taste’

Dear Editor:
The cover of #35 was a blast! I had to do a
double-take to make sure I was really seeing
what I was seeing, but once I was certain I didn’t
stop laughing for some minutes. Mr. Foglio deserves
deserves hearty congratulations for “Snowmen of
Doom.”

[...]

Vaughn L. Shepherd
—Lafayette, IN
(The Dragon #37)
 
 

'Improvement'

Dear Editor:
After reading through the March issue of The
Dragon I'd have to say you finally got your act
together. Just looking at past issues I certainly
see an improvement through the months.

In this month's issue you published the surprising
corrections to the three AD&D books. I myself
have these books and will find the corrections
needed. In the future would you plan on printing
the appendix that you didn't include?

The regulars were excellent as usual and so
was Gary Gygax's article on TSR and its future. I
hope "Queen of the Demon Web Pits" will be
released soon. At last "Giants of the Earth" returned,
why not make it a regular article? The
story on "Angels" by William Fawcett was impressive
and unbelievable. And, of course, who
could say anything bad about the final long-awaited
episode of "Finieous Fingers" by JD? I
<HOPE> his next story is as good as this one was.
In closing, I'd like to say thanks to all the staff
who make The Dragon what it is today. Keep up
the good work. . . .


Patrick O'Sullivan
--Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
(The Dragon #38)