NOTES FROM A
SEMI-SUCCESSFUL
D&D PLAYER
by James Ward
-

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Dungeons & Dragons	-	Dragon magazine	-	The Dragon #13

I have been traveling around dungeons for a considerable period of time now,
and in that time I have thought up and copied many little tricks that have gotten
me out of some tight spots. I am setting them down in the hope that some will
profit by them. It also wouldn’t hurt if others sent their little tricks in, remembering
that sometimes we need all the help we can get.

The first is the creation of a continual light wand. This small baton will give a
heatless light in a 24 foot area. It is much better than a torch because you can
throw them in an unknown room and they don’t go out. It is only a second level
spell so it is easy to make. The baton can be kept in a leather holding pouch if
darkness is desired. To carry the concept one step further, you could put the spell
on arrows and when they hit those monsters used to the darkness the effect
would be near blindness.

The second idea needs the fourth level growth/plant spell and a plant control
potion. When I have the potion, I carry around a small potted rose plant, in the
dungeon. If the situation arises where I am trapped in one of those (ever popular)
dead ends and the monster is bearing down on me, the rose bush gets enlarged
into a wall and I order it to attack the monster! It is truly gratifying to see the effect
of those thorns on the hide of the monster.

Everyone knows of the usefulness of the ten foot pole in many tight places.
The use of a five foot steel rod is even more useful in those tight places. You can
hang from it and it will not break like the wooden version. It is great for the stopping
of those sliding walls. Last, but certainly not least, is its use as a lever of
great power.

While we are on the subject of steel, the use of steel potion bottles almost completely
ends the chance of breaking them when you fall into a pit or get hit. I say
steel, because if you make them out of iron, you could get poisoned. They might
be expensive to make but so is your potion.

Everyone knows that vampires cannot stand the smell of garlic. While this is
true vampires can stand off in the distance and summon those wolves and bats
that are not bothered a bit by the smell. What I do, is carry around small vials of
garlic juice that I have squeezed from the buds. If you think the smell of the bud
is strong, you should smell the juice. These vials are then thrown at the vampire
or just in front of it. I usually get them to turn into dust or gaseous form with
this sort of attack. The vials are kept in small steel pouches on my belt of course.

The polymorph spell can be one of the best double attack spells known, if you
use it right. For instance, if a cockatrice attacks and you succeed in turning it
into a snail you should capture the snail. Then, in the next battle, the snail is
thrown in first with a dispell magic following it. The snail becomes a cockatrice
and if it survives the transformation it fights your battle for you. If you do not
want to bother with the keeping of your polymorphed creatures, I suggest you
turn them into a gold fish so at least they die right away. We do not want those
creatures coming around again later for revenge.

Then there is the poison on the dagger trick, which every judge is always trying
to stop. I have been told that poisons evaporate, poisons exposed to the air lose
their effectiveness, or the most used of all, in your area there is no poison strong
enough to kill the things you want. I suggest to all you players and especially the
magic users that can use only daggers, that any amount of money and effort
spent in the procuring of a really effective poison is worth it. I spent over 90,000
gold and haven’t regretted a copper piece of it.

All you magic users out there should devote some time and effort to the creation
of new spells. It requires money and time, but when you have succeeded you
have a sellable item, in the form of a spell only you have. I made a fourth level
cold ray that really works great against all creatures and especially those fire
types. I particularly like what it does to red dragons. The list of possible spells to
be made is endless, with the only limitation being your imagination.

While we are dealing with magic, a set of extra spell books for the magic user is
a must. Those things are too easy to destroy, steal, or lose. I know the cost is
extreme, but considering their need for you to simply exist as a magic user, they
are a must.

My last bit of advice deals with the 8th level permanent spell. This spell, usually
only gotten with a scroll, has got to be the best spell there is and every bit as
good as a wish. I placed a fly spell on myself and made it permanent. Now gorges
and chasms are ignored, I can grab those floating treasures, and sometimes I escape
the monsters grasp by simply going up. Friends of mine, like infravision,
and protection from evil in combination. The haste spell would be nice, but I
have been told that it can cause heart failure, since the body is not made to stand
the strain. Sometimes the magic user is lucky enough to charm an extra strong
creature and making the charm spell permanent works out great.

Hope some of this helps, those ever suffering players, in the dungeons where
the judge is a real sadist!

NOTES FROM ANOTHER
SEMI-SUCCESSFUL
D&D PLAYER
by Jeff Swycaffer
 

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Dungeons & Dragons	-	Dragon magazine	-	The Dragon #15

James Ward, in The Dragon II/7, presents many fine suggestions
and tricks for a D&D adventurer. I admired them all, and was motivated
to present a few that I have used.

It seems to be a law of nature that stage magic is more impressive
than true sorcery, and that the “con” is more effective than valid argument.
Thus, as a D&D player of three years, my favored character type
is the "Maladroit." Simply put, I fight poorly, use no magic, cannot
pick locks, and never lead men. I do, instead, spend more than half of
my time on the road with stage productions, mime troops, and patent
medicine shows learning crowd control and con artistry, and my DM
takes this into account when calculating probabilities. I am not without
defenses, however.

I keep a dart gun with NON-poisonous darts. The darts are, however,
crusted with tarry tree sap. I have more than once traded an “antidote”
for my freedom, then run like the devil.

I keep a hollow tube full of charcoal, which, when blown in a
cloud into a burning fire produces a micro-fireball which can distract
some people, momentarily blind others, and frighten an occasional
monster.

In “The Swords of Lankhmar” by Fritz Leiber, The Gray Mouser,
thief extraordinaire, has a razor sharp coin sewn into the lining of his
jacket. I find this to be a clever idea, although I have never had the opportunity
to use it.

I have used, however, the length of pliable yet strong wire I keep in
my trouser leg. Once as a trip wire (it failed) and once as a strangle wire
(one dead orc, two badly cut hands; I now have small wooden handles
attached.)

How does one apply oil to mummies? I use a wine sack with a very
small nozzle, and squeeze it for a fifteen foot stream, but this cannot be
the most efficient method. If this becomes a regular column (It couldn’t
hurt) [Don’t count on it. ED.] somebody should suggest something.

A sling can be used as a club (for one blow, then the rock falls
out,) or as a whip with one of the worn handles striking the foe. Once I
actually fought a Kobold with my belt, hitting him with the buckle. (I
lost.)

My search for a good clue continues.

Smuggling drugs into a city fallen from its previous grandeur into
sleazy decadence, especially if illegal, can deliver quite a lot of cash per
haul, and that type of city has the most easily bribed watchmen. (I get
my stardrops from a wizard in the mountains.)

Finally, our group uses the SPI War in Europe maps for campaigning,
with World War II borders and countries (altered slightly,)
since for us the terrain in an unexplored hex is not as important as the
hex’s inhabitants. For us France is an empire with England and Spain
as provinces, while Italy and Sicily are broken into four countries and
two. Ruins, castles, caverns, haunted houses, and Brigands’ camps
abound.

Here’s wishing you a +19 on your next saving throw.