2

Pandemonium 8, January 19th-20th SPELWAMMER" games, and dale, IL 62901.4425, or call the Castle
Ontario garners should join us at Ryer- DRAGONQUES'T'" games. For informa· Perilous Game Store, 618·529-5317.
son Poly technical Institute, Jorgenson tion write: Prairie Con, P.O. Box 1731,
Hall, Hub Cafeteria, 300 Victoria St, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada R7A 6J3.
ConnCon 91, April 6th- 7th
1bronto. Featured are 50 different game
This convention will be he ld a t the
tournaments including a two-round Genghis Con, February 15th-17th Danbury Hilton Inn in Da nbury, CT.
Network event, two game auctions, and
The Sheraton Hotel & Conference center Many first-run RPGA Network events
a miniatures painting contcst. For infor-
in Denver, CO plays host to this gaming will be held, including Masters and
mation write: Pandemonium 8, 17B Gr and Masters tournaments. There will
weekend. Meet our special guests Jean
Wales Ave, Thronto, Ontario, M5T IJ2, be role-playing games, miniatures bat·
Rabe, Darwin Bromley, and Richard
Canada, or call 416-597-1934. Borg. Our ma ny gaming events include ties, war games, an awards ba nquet , a
a Puffing Billy Railroad event. Network Network members' meeti ng, and more.
JanCon, January 19th-20th events include tournaments for the J ean Rabe, RPGA Network Coordinator,
Networ k events a re among the featured AD&D game, Call of Cthulhu, will be joining us again as guest of
games at this two-day eve nt held at the MARVEL SUPER HEROES game, honor and will once again present a few
Quality Inn Conference Center in New TOP SECRETIS.I." game, FluffyQuest, seminars. Pre-registration will be
Haven, CT. Other even ts include and more. For infor mation call: George mailed at the end of January. The pre-
AD&D® games, Battletech, Diplomacy, Keras 303-297-3737 a nd leave a mes- r egistration fee includes three free
min iatures painting, movie room, and a sage. games and is $15 berore March 22nd.
dealers room . A banquet will be held on After March 22nd the fee is $20 with no
January 20th. There will be a benefit free games. Write to: ConnCon, P.O. Box
Total Confusion V,
game with all proceeds going to AI · 444, Sherman, CT 06784 . Th reserve a
Februa ry 22nd-24th
zhe imer 's research. For information room at the Hilton, call 203·794-0600
Our site is the Sheraton Worcester Ho·
send a SASE to: JanCon, P.O. Box 822, a nd be sure to mention ConnCon.
tel and Conference Center, 500 Lincoln
Shelton, CT 06484. St, Worcester, MA 01605, 508-852-4000.
Our schedule of more than 120 events Opticon, May 3lst-June 2nd
The Day After, J a nuary 21st will include AD&D games, GURPS, Held at the University of Akron in
Network events are a mong the featured Battletech, Diplomacy, Assault, Call of Akron, OH, this event will afTer a vari·
games, which include a benefit with all Cthulhu, Car Wars, DC Heroes, and ety of games, including Network events;
proceeds going to Alzheimer's research. Axis and Allies. A costume competition also an auction, dealer s' area, painting
These events are sponsored by the Net- and miniatures painting contest aJso contest, art show, and special guests
work, MechForce, and VOX . Games will be held . Registration at the door is (guest list to be announce d). Pre·
include Heroes Unlimited, Cyberpunk, $10. Pre-registration prices are $8 a day registration is $15 for the weekend.
a nd the AD&O® 2nd Edition Game. For or $20 for a ll t hree days. For informa- Dorm rooms are available. For informa-
information send a SASE to: JanCon, tion or a pre-registration package con- tion write: Opticon 91 , P.O. Box 4876,
P.O. Box 822 , Shelton, CT 06484. tact the Thtal Confu sion Convention. Akron, OH 44310, or call 216-972-7713.
P.O. Box 1463, Worcester, MA 01607, or
csU508-987-1530.
CanCon 91 , January 26th- 28th Attention Convention Coordinators:
Australia's biggest convention will be If you would like to have your conven·
up and running at the University of Egyptian Campaign '91, tion listed in the POLYHEDRON'"
Canberra in Canberra, ACT, Australia; March lst-3rd Newszine, send us the information six
with miniatures, board games, and role This convention will be held at the months in advance. This should a llow
playing. There will be severa l Network Student Center of Southern llIinois us to list your convention in at least one
events, a costume parade, and a fun University at Carbondale. The conven· iSHue. Necessary informa tion includes
time for all. Our special guest is Jean tion offers a wide variety of events in- the dates, times, and location of the
Rabe. For an entry form write: CanCan, cluding: a Network AD&D game convention; activities planned , includ-
GPO Box 1016, Canberra City, ACT, tournament, miniatures judging, and a ing tournaments, masque rade, dealers
2601, Australia. game auction. Pre·registration cost is $8 room, etc; fees; and where people can
for the weekend. One-and two-day write fo r more information or to pre-
passes are $5 in advance, $10 at the register.
Pra irie Con, February 8th-10th door. Admission on Friday the 1st is Th aid in listing your convention,
The Assiniboine Community College in
free. For information send a business· Network HQ has convention a nnounce-
Brandon, Manitoba will host Brandon's
sized SASE to: S.I.U. Strategic Games ment forms. These are available by
13th annual game convention. The writing to us at: P.O. Box 515, Lake
Society, Office of Student Development,
event schedule includes AD&D games, Geneva, WI, 53147.
Southern Illinois University, Carbon-
FORGO'ITEN REALMS" games,

p o L y H E o R o N
 3

Volume I I , Number I
Issue #57, January, 1991

SPECIAL MODULE FEATURE

23 Rakshasa - by Christopher Mortlka
Great rewards await groups with wits, guile, and solidarity in this short
adventure for the AD&D® Game. A swift and horrible death await all others.

FEATURES
8 The living City - by Eric Scan Vaughn
Burlon's Bouncing Bears otTer patrons of the Mooney & Sons Circus a show
About the Cover they'll never forget.
Artist Clyde Caldwell captured this
view of the notorious interstellar 13 Mutations - by Dale "Slade" Henson
crime boss Neaga Moonglow and
Meet Simon Dundee, an eccentric who haa compiled an extensive list of
her best friend, auntie maim, for hitherto unknown mutations for the GAMMA WORLD!' Game.
this issue's installment of The Liv- 28 More To The Maze - by Tom Wham
ingGalaxy. The designer of the MERTWIG'S MAZE" Gamefolio discusses its history,
answers the most-asked rules questions, and gives a brand new expansion
available only to Newszine readers.

EDITORIAL
4 Notes From HO - by Jean Rabe
The Network coordinator discusses the ins and outs of the ranking system,
and introduces the HQ staff- including our newest member.
7 Letters - from the members
Publisher
Jack Beuttell
DEPARTMENTS
Editor 20 The Everwlnklng Eye - by Ed Greenwood
Jean Rabe Ed and Elminster fini sh their discussion of the village of Maskyr's Eye.
Associate Editor 22 With Great Power - by Steven Schend
Skip Williams What's the best setting for a super hero campaign? That depends of what
you're looking for. Our columnist discusses three options for the
Graphic Director MARVEL SUPER HEROES Game.
Paul Hanchette 25 The living Galaxy - by Roger E. Moore
No campaign is complete without its cast of villains. Our columnist examines
Cartographer
Dave Conant their creation and use- from mere annoyance to deadly nemes is.
2 Convention Announcements
Production Staff
Angelika Lokotz 31 Classlfleds
Sylvia Deering
Charmaine Reynolds
Inside Front Maller Cover - Origins Judge Appeal
Back Maller Cover - GEN CON® Game Fair Judge Appeal

<> 1990 TSR. 1.-.:. AI Righl$ Reserved.

p o L y H E o R o N
 '/\'"
4 1\/\
"-
Notes From HO
Announcements. Introductions And POints
If you are a new member a nd t his is give Network members still more bene- Introduction '
your first issue of the Newszine. weI· fits and should he lp the membership
come to the RPGA" Network. We are grow. We'll talk more about that pro. Alt hough many Network me mben have
t he biggest and best international orga- gram in a future issue. met the HQ staff at conventions and
nization for role playing games. Mem- other gatherings, we know there are a
bers range in age from 8 to 70. They ar e More Issues-SIx of Them lot of you out there who have no idea
of var ious nationalities and back- who we are or who to contact about
grounds, and have varied interests. But Beginning in May, the POLYHEDRON'" various questions involving the Net·
we have one t hing in common- we enjoy Newszine goes monthly! work. This should help:
role playing games. The Newszine has come a long way in
Now is an exciting time to be part of the past decade, from a thin, quarterly
the Network. as we continue to expand all black-and-white issue w a mont hly,
our programs and activities and as we 32-page two-color edition. The art is
enter our 11th year. We are sanctioning better. the articles cover a wide variety
tournaments at more t han 120 conven- of gaming topics, and now, with our
tions annually throughout the world. increased frequency, RPGA Network
And the tournaments cover enough members have double the opportunities
differ ent game systems to keep almost to see their work in print.
everyone happy-AD&03 2nd Edition Of course, more Newszines means the
Game, D&Dt!I Game, GAMMA WORLO® cost of a membership is going to rise.
Game, TOP SECRETIS.I. ... Game, Current members will not 800 a change
BOOT HILL®Game, in price until it is time w renew. In
BUCK ROGEase XXVc'" Game, other words, you will be getting some
MARVEL SUPER HEROES Game, all bonus issues this year to fill out your
from TSR, Inc, Paranoia, Ghost Busters annual membership.
Internationa l, Star Wars, and 'Ibrg from We're counting on you staying a mem-
West End Games, Champions fro m Iron ber when your renewal notice comes
Crown Enterprises, Twilight 2000. 2300 due })e(:ause we think a monthly maga·
A.D., Traveller, MegaTraveller, and zine more than justifies the price in·
Space 1889 from GDW, DC Heroes and crease. For example, in 1990 a one-year
Chill from Mayfair Games, Star Trek U.S. membership cost $15. Now, that I'm J ean Rabe. I have worked as Net-
and Shadowrun fr om FASA, Thenage will r ise to $20; but for $5 more you are work Coordina tor since March, 1987.
Mutant Ninja Turtles from Paladium getting six extra issues. Prior to coming w TSR, Inc., I worked
Books, Thenagers From Outer Space Here are t he new rates: as a newspaper reporter a nd copy desk
and Cyberpunk from RTalsorian U.S. (bulk mail): ediwr. (l enjoy working for the Network
Games, Runequest from Avalon Hill, One year $20.00; two years $32.00; much better.)
Call ofCthulhu from Chaosium, Time· renewal $16.00 I'm the editor of t he POLYHEDRON'"
master from 54 " 40' Orphyte, a nd more. Canadian (air mail): Newszine, and as such I love to get
We have a club program where One year $25.00; two years $44.00; let ter s from members d iscussing what
Network-sanctioned clubs gain spe<:ial renewal $22.00 t hey like a nd don't like about t he maga-
benefits and can compete in contests International (surface mail): zine, I also like w hear about what kind
and tournaments; we are on·line wit h One year $32.00; two years $60.00; of articles you want to 800. But be fore-
the GEnie computer bulletin board renewal $30.00 warned that if you make a suggestion, I
system; we produce an annual Living International (air mail): might suggest that you write the art i·
City product written by members; we One year $60.00; two years $110.00; cle! I a lso edit tournaments for conven-
offer discounts on gaming products to renewal $55.00 tions a nd present seminars and writing
members; a nd new activities are added Special international rates are availa- workshops on behalf of the Network at
all the time. As an RPGA Network ble to members in Austra lia and conventions. My additional responsibili.
member you can get a 10% discount on New Zealand a nd in Europe. t ies include managing the day-to-day
gaming materials through the Mail All memben are invited to contribute operations of the Network a nd oversee-
Order Hobby Shop, 54" 40' Orphyte, to the Newszine. Authors whose materi- ing our Network branches in Australia
and Lion Rampant; in Europe t hrough als are accepted for publication are Bnd t he U.K.
TSR Ltd's mail order department ; and compensated with gift certificates to t he
in Australia through Jedko Games' Mail Order Hobby Shop or with mem-
mail order department. bership extensions. For writing guide-
We are establishing a Retail Program lines, contact: RPGA Network, P.O. Box
to involve local hobby shops-this will 515, Lake Geneva, WI 53147.

p o L y H E o R o N
 5

of the Network's paperwork. Tough On Tournaments

Th make Charmaine's work easier-
and to get the results from tournaments Because the Network is sanctioning an
you play in recorded faster-make sure increasing amount of tournaments at
you completely fill out your tournament conventions worldwide, it is important
score sheets. Thurnament score sheets that we know early which conventions
that contain complete information- want tournaments. The Network asks
including participants' membership conventions to give us notice six months
numbers-will be recorded first. in advance. This allows us to list the
convention in a few issues of the
Newszine and to schedule and mail
tournaments early. We like to give con-
vention coordinators their tournaments
about a month before the convention.
This gives them time to mail them to
the judges.
Skip Williams has been with the Net- Conventions which wait to the last
work full-time since September, 1989. minute to request tournaments will not
Before that he worked as a freelance be given tournaments. In cases such as
editor for the Net.work for two years, this, convention coordinators are not
and even earlier for TSR in various
capacities. Skip is the associate editor of
the Newszine, and handles submissions, POLnIEoRoN~ News,i"" Ohe o/ficial ne'N$lelter of TSR
Inc,'s ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIAT I ON~ NeIWOfk) ,.
convention announcements, and classi- published bi-monlhly by TSA. Inc The m;lll,"O add,ess lor all
fied ads. In addition, he edits tourna- correspondence os: 1'0_ Bo. 515. Lake Geneya. WI53 14 7
Telephone 1414)24a.362S.
ments, presents seminars at
conventions, and chairs the Network POLYHEDRON NewSl''''' is mailed Iree 10 all RPGA ~ Net-
Advisory Committee. James Martzhal is the newest addition wor~ mom~ , US membersl>ip retes are 515 per year 1t>u1~
to the RPGA'" Network, starting work ma.1 delivery .,.,...,,): Canadian ,ales a'e $22; !<)reign 'ales ",e
Skip is a veteran gamer, learning the in October, 1990. James, a member of 525 per ~a' 1surlace mail) 0<' 145 per yea' 1",r marl)_ All
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS!> Game at a prices are subjecllo change w.thooI ootice. Ct1ar>ges 01 ad-
very young age by playing it at the Network Club Damage, Inc., is the d, .... 10<' the delivery of membership materia's must be ,e-
Network's editorial assistant. c",ved al leaS! 30 days prior 10 the effective dale 01 1he
Gary Gygax's house. His knowledge of a c haroge 10 ensure unifteHupled delivery
variety of role playing games is exten- James manages the Network's tourna· POLYHEDRON Newszioo weIoomes unsolicited ... tmis-

sive, and he puts it to use in writing the ment and convention files. This includes sions of written mate<ial and 8t\woo-~ thai are accompaOled
Ily ou, Standard Disclosu,e Form. No respanSlbII:ty lor such
monthly Sage Advice column for assigning tournaments to conventions, SlrbmiSSIOOS can be E>SSOmed by the pUbfisher ,1\ rmy eyem

DRAGONe Magazine. taking charge of convention mailings, No ... tJrniSSiOl1w. be returned unless ~ is alSO accompaOled
by a sell-adressed. Slamped ""'elope 01 sulfici&nl sire
and handling all tournament submis- UnIe$$ specl8l arrangements to lhe contrary are maoo
sions. In addition, he assists Charmaine prior to pUbli<;auon. mat",ia/5 Wbrr\llled 10 Ihe publisher lor
pubioca1ioo ,n POLY HEDFION New..,,,,, are accePied solely
with recording tournament scores, and upon the;.orodiIion thai thoe mal",i. ls may be ed:ted and pub-
he edits tournaments. lished In POLYHEDRON News-zme 0<' used ,n RPGA~ N<l\·
If you are a convention coordinator worIc sancboood lournaments. cO<'wenl:ons and ..... entS
";thoul COS! to the publosher, TSA and the RPGA Nelworlc
and want specific tournaments for your shalf make "" OIlier use o1lhe maleri. u .... ess TSR and thoe
convention, contact James. Further, author or artist e ....'" into a I'o'ritten "!.Ir""",e m regarding such
please request tournaments six months "~
TSR qranlS 10 prospecuve authors a non-e. c lusive right to
in advance of your convention. All tour· use eopyrighledmatenalso1 TSA in !he;! submsssions to TSA.
nament requests must be in writing. An 3...thcX Itowew.-. sI'1a1t nave flO roght to pobli"" or 10 permit
oomeone OIher Ihan TSA 10 pubiOsh a sut>missoon tl'lat ,I)-
du!le6 any copyrighled materials 01 TSR Wlthrut [,rSl ODlal)-
ing the wr itten permission of TSR to do so,
Contacting The Staff At! leIIe.. addfessed to the RPGA Network or 10 TSR. tnc .
woII be COflsk\ered (OS sutmlssions and may be printed on
_ or in pan Jt me discretion of ttle edilor Urless the
When you send Newszine submis· sender $peCifocaily requesl$ OIherwtSe ,n wr~i"O,
sions, proposed tournaments, conven- Unless OIhefwise staled. Ihe opinions expre-ssed in
POLYHEDRON Nawsvne are lhase of Itle ,ndiVtdual atJt~ors .
tion announcements, classified and do 001 necessarty ,e/Ioot lhe opmio,",s 01 TSA , Inc .. {he
advertisements, and other materials to RPGA Network, or ~SSlaH ,
the Network, please mark on the out- Siandanj Dlselosu'e Forms . POLYHEORON Wr;MQ
Charmaine Reynolds has been the Net- side ofthe envelope what the material GU ideli nes . Tour namenl Request Forms . Membersh ip
Fonns. Clu b Forms, and Classilfed Ad Forms ~e a,ailable
work clerk since March. 1990. She is inside is. This will help it get to the 'r"", NeIWO<I< HQ,
responsible for signing up new members appropriate staff member faster.
through the mail and over the phone, • deSigoales '''IlISie<edlraooma,''-s crwood Ily TSA. Inc_
Because of the amount of conventions ~ desig'l8Ies lradem8lks owned b)I TSR . Inc.
handling the renewals of current mem- and activities we deal with. it is neces-
bers, and processing the results of Net- sary to get requests in writing. At
MOS! othe< produc1 names are (rademar-KS owned by the
companies fAJbIisI>ing those prOOUc1S_ Use 01 !he name 01
work tournaments. Network HQ we keep a file on each any producl".,lhou1 mention 01 trademark S!3''''!ih<Ud 001
Besides all of that, she assists with convention that has Network events be const,ued as a cIIalJenge 10 soch S1aIU$
new members' kits, ha ndles special and a file for each tournament. 01990 TSA , Inc_ All AighlS Reserved_
promotions, and takes care of the bulk

p o L y H E o R o N
 6

aJlowing themselves enough time to get many you received for tournament play times the numbers aren't a dded cor·
the tournaments to their judgcs, which and how many you received for service. rectly. This rarely means someone was
means the judges will not he prepared, Some members have asked us to print awarded first place when h e or she
which means the tournaments likely the point formula so you can keep a really got second. But it can mean that
will not be run well. Garners deserve a running total of your points. On the a person got a score of 25 instead of20
well·run event with prepared judges. surface that sounds easy; you could tell during a round because the numbers
at anytime how many points you had, were added wrong.
The Point System r ight? No. Therefore, the point formula will not
If Network HQ printed the point for· be printed.
Many new RPGA'" Network members mula, t he only way you could keep a However, we can understand why
ask about the point system. What is it? running total of your points was if you some players are interested in the point
How does it work? How many points do knew exactly how each player and judge system. They want to know how many
I need to become master-level player voted for you in every event-and how tournaments they would have to play in
C3rd level)? Is the point formula printed the judge r anked the overall perform· to make a certain level. So, Network
somewhere? Even the Network's Advi· ance of each group you gamed with. HQ asked the TSR computer depart.
sory Committee has been analyzing the Otherwise, you would not be able to ment to review the scores of all players
situation. apply those scores to the formula. This from the beginning of our tournament
Here's a brief explanation of the point goes beyond knowing whether you came program and come up with an average
system: in first, second, t hird, or last in an event. points award a player migh t expect to
The Network sponsors role-playing This means knowing your score, know- get for participating in various events.
tournaments throughout the world. ing how everybody at the table voted for What follows are averages based on
These events use a special voting sys· you-in every round of the event. And, actual tournament results.
tern to determine who played best and frankly, in the spirit of fair play, Net- One Round Tournament: first place,
how well the referee ran the game; each work HQ does not want that information 779 points; second place, 635; third
player fills out a ballot that has a sec- released. There could be an awful lot of place, 484.
tion for evaluating the referee and a hurt feelings if someone learned they Two Round 'fuurnoment: first
space for listing the four best players. came in dead last with 0 votes or ifthey place, 914 points; second place, 834;
The referee also has a ballot where he learned their best friend sitting right t hird place, 683. In addition, you receive
rates the group as a whole, and he also next to them didn't vote for them at all. points for participating in the first
lists his choices for the four best play- Besides, we think voting could be influ· round of the event, an average of about
ers. The votes each player earned are enced if a tournaments' participants 300 points for finishing firs t, second or
then totaled and t he highest-scoring knew that the way they voted would be third in that round.
player is declared t he winner. When revealed to a ll the players. Three Round Tournament: first
members participate in these events, It's also a matter of practicality. At place, 1,072; second place, 953; third
HQ records t he results. The more tour· large conventions it would be impos- place, 720. In addition, you receive
naments you play in, and the better you sible to allow all the players to review points for participating in previous
do in those events, the more interna· all the tournament packs so they could rounds. Points for placing third through
tional ranking points you earn. record all their scores. 'lburnament first in the first round average between
As you gain points you are assigned coordinators don't have the time to 150 and 300. Points for placing third
player and judge levels. When you handle that; they have to concentrate through first in the second round aver-
reach 3rd Level, you are a Masters on running the convention and events. age from 350 to 550.
Level player or judge; at 5th Level, you 1b top it ofT, you might see your tourna· Below is a listing of points needed to
are a Grand Masters Level player or ment score at a convention, record your progress to various levels for players
judge; and at 7th Level , you are a Para· results, and then become confused when and j udges.
gon Level player or judge. Special tour- you get a different total from HQ. You
naments are available to Masters, see, sometimes the people scoring tour- Take Care,
Grand Masters, and Paragons. Paragon naments at conventions make mistakes.
is a new division of play, and an AD&D® They are under a lot of pressure to score
Game Paragon Event will premier at things quickly so advancements can be
posted and winners announced. Some- Jean
GEN CON® Game Fair in August, 1991.
Network members also receive points
o
for writing tournaments, participating

.-.....
in membership drives, writing articles PlAYER lE\IEI..!i .!LOGE lEVELS
for the POLYHEDRON'" Newszine, and
for coordinating or assisting at conven·
tions. These are called "service points" ,-
.-
u~,

.-
,

•-
..-
......_--
~

.- _.-
POu.n' IIMIGE

,•

--- . -_.-
- ,_.
~.
,~

--,---
LEVU

.-
•,
,-
~

,-.,-,--,,-- ,--,,---
POlm RANlJE

,~ • M

-,- -,-,---
nN

,-,_.
and help build your level as a player or ~

-
n~
•
a judge. .
••
.,-
~ ~
When you renew your membership to ' .
the Network you receive an upda ted .....
. ,-,
•• a...- M-.
,_ . ,-,
1II1II a...oI M_-..... 1II1II t.e.eI Go.... w-
RPGA Network membership card.
Along with the card, you get a break-
"n 1111> lcooI 101_ ~
INl lcooI IoI_~ 21_g
"n 11l1I'-IGuM_ ,m~

down of your points-showing h ow

" " 1"""","'GuM_

p o L y H E D R o N
 7

Letters
Reflections on Conventions. a Farewell. and Thanks
Our colleagues at DRAGO~ Magazine Network tournaments. I'd especially like site, so long as plenty of members have a
forwarded this ktter to us, since the to see Warhammer by Games Workshop, chance to attend. HQ will continue to use
autMr ha.s QUf!stW1l8 about the Net· and Star Trek by Faso. common sense in deciding where to
work's tournament program. sanction tournaments, and we'll con·
Albert H. La Vigne
tin ue doing our best to m ak e sure every
Can you please explain the process for Staten Island, NY
member has as many sanctioned events
selecting judges for the GEN CON- as possible within reach every year.
Game Fair? Is t here a screening process Albert! We've been sponsoring non· TSR,
to insure competent GMs? Must a per- Inc. g ames in tournaments for more than
son have a certain number of Network three years. Any convention organizer Two Open letters to the
points in order to run a Network ovent? can get a list of games for which we have Membership
Lastly, is there a shortage of GMs? This scenarios. These include: DC H eroes,
seems important to me, since people pay Chill, Star Trek, Traveller, 2300 AD, S yLvia Deering, a longtime member of
to get into the Game Fair. they deserve Mega Traveller, Space 1889, Twilight the HQ staff, and her husband Eddie,
to play with GMs who are not over- 2000, Thenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, one of our most enthusiastic voLunteers,
worked. Star Wars, Paranoia, Champions, Then- moved out of the Lake Geneva area oJ the
agers for Outer Space, Call of CthuLh u, end of S eptember to enjoy some south·
J a mes E. Matelski
Warhammer, and more. western s um hine.
Greendale. WI Just let the organizers of your favorite
convention know what kinds of tourna- 'Ib everyone:
Th an swer your "most important" ques-
ments you'd like, and watch the I have never enjoyed working with and
tion first, there is always a shortage of
Newszine's conventions announcements for so many wonderful people as much
OMs at the Game Fair. 7'here are plenty page for tournaments featuring y our
of referees out there, but flot all of them as I have each and every one of you.
favorite game systems. Please accept my heartfelt thanks and
are lhdicated enough to judge event.8 at
the Game Fair. E ven fewer people get gratitude for so many good wishes ex·
In response to the letter from NECCe tended to Eddie and myself.
involved quickly enough to do the Game
in issue 155, I have the following com- I shall miss everyone and look for·
Fair much good-March or April is
when euent planning is winding down,
ments: ward to hearing from and seeing you if
I also believe that Network tourna· you ever come out to the Las Vegas
and anyone who wants to sign on as a ments should be given only to public
judge after that will be able to do so only area.
conventions. That is, those conventions Again, tha nk you for the opportunity
on a contingency basis. Th is issue of the
which open their r egistration to the of working, meeting, and playing with
Newszine, for example, contains an
appeal for referees for the '91 Game Fair
general public, even if it's pre· you alL
registration to a certa in number of Our love to you all.
and for Origins '91. Believe us, it's NOT
people or for a certain period of time.
too early to think about these events. Sylvia & Eddie Deering
That is what I consider to be the mini-
Except for our Masters, Grand Mas- Las Vegas, NV
mum requirement, no matter how the
ters, Pa ragon, and CLub events, the Net· convention is advertised.
work does not have judge level Dear Network Members:
For me, it's very simple: any conven-
requirements. In fact, we'l.l take non·
member j udges for feature and benefit
t ion is entitled to recognition by the A most sincere thank you for ma king
Network, which is signified by sanction- Okada the beneficiary of your annual
events. We do, however; track each ing tournaments for it, so long as it as
judge's performance, and we try to weed benefit tournament, and for the $1,600
some form of publ ic registration, even if you raised on our behalf. With the ex-
out those who get poor ratings.
it's limited or if special invitations are pa nsion of our program to include
Th become ajudge at the Game Fa ir; issued.
you have to fill out the correct paperwork compa nion/therapy and service dogs
and pay a deposit to insure you'll meet Aaron Goldblatt, your gift was not only generous hut
your commitments. The deposit is re- Fort Worth, TX timely.
turned after the Game Fair, provided you It is through donations of caring
ran your events. If you judge for the Well, Aaron, that pretty much sums up groups such as yours that we here at
RPGA"" Network, you are not charged the HQ staffs opinion on the matter. A t Okada can continue our work. We
the deposit, but you must agree to game the GEN CQN& Game Fair members deeply appreciate your efforts and wish
master at least three sessions. meeting, someone suggested that we also the very best for your organ ization in
shou ld require a conventwn to be held at the future.
I realize that the N etwork is associated a public facility-no sanctioning events Pat Putnam,
with TSR, Inc. However, since you are at people's homes. We think that's a good Okada, Ltd.
supposed to represent the role-playing idea, but we suppose any home that Fontana, WI
community as a whoLe I would appreci-
ate seeing olher companies' games in
boasts a large, convention-sized ballroom
probably should qualify as an acceptable
o
p o l y H E D R o N
 8

The Living City

Burton's Bouncing Bears
Ranger Abilities: Hide in shadows asked if he and his family could become
by Eric Scott Vaughn 43%, move silently 55% a new addition. Although it is common
knowledge to circus employees that the
Magic Items: Ring of warmth, Murly- Burtons are werebears, the family
"Hurry, Hurry, step right up and see nd's spoon, saw of mighty cutting, axe of never changes into bear form in public,
the grandest bear act, the pride of the woodsman· and the circus audience only sees them
the Jack Mooney & Sons Circus- as trained animals.
Burton's Bouncing Bears;' harks Appearance; Donald Burton is a tall, The other members of the circus troop
Jack Mooney, strutting ahout the burly man who appears intimidating. were a little nervous at the prospect of
circus grounds in h is ringmaster He often dresses like a lumberjack in living with a family of lycanthropes, but
garb. heavy shirts and pants with suspenders, after the first full moon passed without
"Burton's Bouncing Bears will a nd he usually always carries his axe at incident, tension in the circus began to
thrill the young and the old, the his side. His well-trimmed, full beard subside. Now, Donald has earned the
adventurous and the timid. We're and his shoulder-length hair complete loyalties of nearly everyone in the circus.
offering a special showing of the act the picture. Donald is quick to help set up circus
right here in Ravens Bluff, the tents, and rides; he finds the work easy
winter home of our fabulous circus. Background: Donald's great natural because of his massive strength. When
Get your tickets now. The action will strength and confidence have made squabbles break out on the circus
begin in just a few moments under him a role model for the children of grounds, he avoids combat, preferring
the Big 'Thp!" other performers. While Donald does arbitration to force. He will only join a
not have any formal education, he fray if lives are in danger.
Burton's Bouncing Bears is one of the knows a great deal about the woods Donald is a devoted family man and
largest acts in the Mooney & Sons Cir- and the area around Ravens Bluff. He plans to retire from active performing
cus, the greatest show in all of Faerun. does not like society's silly rules, but in a few years, turning the act over to
'Thke a look at the cast of characters and he possesses a strong sense of right and his eldest son, Billy. He has discussed
their performance. They can he used in wrong and will always fall back on his his plans with Jack, but has not yet
Ravens Bluff and Jack Mooney & Sons moral beliefs when they conflict with made any firm commitments.
campaigns. society's standards.
The father of a family of werebears, Pauline Burton
his act, Burton's Bouncing Bears, has 6th Level Female Human Werebear
Donald Burton thrilled audiences with acrobatics, danc·
7th Level Male Human Werebear Ranger Ranger
ing, and zany comedy routines for the
past seven years. The act was formed STR: 18/50
STR: 18/00 when Donald found humans trapping
INT: 11 INT: 15
bears in his home woods north of Water- WIS: 15
WIS: 12 deep. After Donald overpowered the
DEX: 14 DEX: 13
trappers, he learned of their plans to CON: 16
CON: 17 sell the bears to a circus based in Rav·
CHR: 14 CHR: 17
ens Bluff. Outraged at the prospect of AC Normal: 10
AC Normal: 10 his "cousins" being caged and beaten,
AC As Bear: 2 AC As Bear: 2
Donaldjourneyed to the Living City to Hit Points: 62
Hit Points: 73 take on the circus. However, when he
Alignment: Chaotic Good Alignment: Chaotic Good
confronted Jack Mooney and demanded Height: 6' as a woman, 7' as a bear
Height: 6'5 u as a man, 7'8 u as a bear
that the bears be released, Mooney gave Weight: 174 pounds as a woman, 378 as
Weight: 224 pounds as a man, 412 as a him a tour of the circus, showed him the
bear a bear
conditions, and allowed him to "speak" HairlEyes: BlacklBrown
HairlEyes: BlackfBrown with the bears. When Donald deter·
Age: 42 Age: 37
mined that the bears were quite happy
with Mooney, he apologized for his rash Weapon Proficlencles: Long sword,
Weapon Proficiencies: Long sword, actions and turned to leave.
dagger, weaponless mace, dagger
Mooney asked Donald if he wanted to Nonweapon Proficiencles: Agricul.
Nonweapon Proficiencies: Agricul-
stay with the circus, which was just ture (15), animal handling (bears) (14),
ture (11), animal handling (bears) (11), beginning its spring tour, until it
animal lore (11), carpentry (18), cooking cooking (15) (18 with apron), sewing
reached Waterdeep. Donald agreed, not (13), survival (15), fishing (14), hunting
(11), fishing (11), hunting (11), set wanting to make the trip to Waterdeep
snares (10), tracking (14) (14), set snares (14), tracking (16)
alone. But by the time the circus Languages: Common, Elvish, Thorass,
Languages: Common, Thorass, Dwar- reached Burton's home, he had become
ven, Bear Dwarven, Bear
attached to the people and Mooney, and

p o L y H E o R o N
 9

Ranger Abilities: Hide in shadows Billy Burton

37%, move silently 47% 9th Level Male Human Werebear Ranger
Magic Items: Long sword + 1, Beaure- STR: 18182
gard's beautiful bauble·, apron of com- INT: 12
fort· WIS: 13
DEX: 14
Appearance: Pauline Burton is a tall , CON: 18
athletic looking woman, who s ppears CHR: 18
much younger than her actual age_ She AC Normal: 10
is a ttractive, self-confident, and often AC As Bear: 2
the subject of admiration. Hit Points: 113
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Background: Although Pauline misses Height: 6'6" as a man, 8'7" as a bear
the woods north of Waterdeep, she is Weight: 234 pounds as a man, 458 as a
devot ed to her husband, Donald, and be.,
she finds no greater joy than watching HairlEyes: BlacklBrown
him and her three sons perform under Age: 19
the Big Thp. She develops the routines
her family performs. She also enforces Weapon Proficiencies: Long sword,
the strict practice schedule. When Paul- two-handed sword, dagger
ine isn't working out or streamlining Nonweapon Proficiencies: Agricul-
the acts, she helps with the cooking in ture (12), a nimal handling (bears) (12),
the circus kitchen. Large feasts a re her cooking (12), survival (12), fish ing (12),
specialty, a nd she always makes sure hunting (12), set snares (11), tracking
t hat no one leaves her table hungry. She (16)
often wor ks with the cin::us baker, Languages: Common, Thorass, Bear
Bando, a little gnome who found his Ranger Abilities: Hide in shadows
way here some months ago. Pauline 56%, move silently 70%
also helps make t he candied a pples,
chocolate covered cherries, and honey Appearance: Billy is a tall, powerful
crackers t hat are sold by vendors during looking young man. His dark hair and
the circus performances. eyes win him the admiration of many
Pauline met Donald while she was damsels. When in his human form, he
making a raid in her werebear form on walks with a slight limp, a reminder of
a Kobold outpost near Waterdeep. his adventuring days. The limp van-
Donald, also in his werebear from, was ishes when he shifts shape into bear
in the midst of the kobolds when she form.
arrived. When the battle was finished,
Donald changed into his human form, Background: Billy's adventuring ca-
Pauline, astonished, did likewise. It was reer ended nearly as soon as it began.
love at first sight, and they were mar- He was on his third expedition with a
ried a few days later in a simple cere- band of warriors when the band hap-
mony in Waterdeep. pened upon a scouting party of fire
Pauline has grown attached to the giants. After being man-handled by the
circus family. Most of t he circus per- giants, Billy decided that he had seen
formers' children call her Ma Burton. If enough of the world and returned home
the cin::us children are threatened, she to his family, which had just agreed to
will fight to the death if necesaary. She sign on with the Mooney & Sons Circus.
wilt not not transform into werebear in Since then, Billy has become an accom-
public unless the circumstances are plished performer and clown, and has
especially dire. She loves to perform, grown in his ranger skills under the
and she loves to train her sons. How- careful tutelage of Jack Mooney.
ever, she secretly longs to go back to t he Billy also has earned the reputation of
mountains where she grew up. She has being the local ladies man, although he
often talked of visiting her two daugh- honestly doesn't know why. He treats
ters who stil1live in the mountains with all women as though they were royalty,
their husbands. These daughters disap- be they nobility or peasants. This cre-
prove of their parents traveling with ates problems with jealous menfolk who
the Jack Mooney & Sons Circus. see Billy as a threat. Also unknown to
him is that he is being groomed to take
over the act when his father eventually
retires. The young Burton will never be

p o L y H E o R o N
 10

the driving force his father is; he is rick's companions died due to stupid Hit Points: 17
often filled with self doubt. The beating accidents and poor planning. Realizing Alignment: Chaotic Good
he took from the giants scarred him t hat he could have been killed just as Height: 5'3" as a boy, 5'9" as a bear
deeper than even he would guess. Billy easily, Derrick decided to take a break Weight: 108 pounds as a boy, 177 as a
does not truly believe himself worthy of from his risky profession. Coinciden· be.,
major success and tends to fall short of tally. it was about that time his father HairlEyes: BlacklBrown
his goals. In addition, Billy loves the returned to Waterdeep in t he company Age: 11
night life of Ravens Bluff. He caD be of t he Jack Mooney & Sons Circus.
found "tavern hopping" almost any He sees the circus as an opportunity Weapon Proficiencies: Long sword,
night the circus winters there. to continue adventuring, while working dagger, sling, staff
at a steady job. He studies Billy and Nonweapon Proficiencies: Fishing
Derrick Burton Jack Mooney to learn ranger skills, and (9), hunting (9), running (8), tracking
7th Leuel Male Human Werebear Ranger someday plans to leave the circus and (10)
adventure full·time. Languages: Common, Bear
8TH: 18162 He enjoys the company of warriors, Ranger Abilities: Hide in shadows
INT: 13 wizards, and thieves who watch the 15%, move silently 12%
WIS: 16 circus performances, and he will listen
DEX: 11 to any tale of daring and heroics that Appearance: Teddy Burton wears his
CON: 16 player characters might tell-no matter hair short and always keeps it clean,
eRR: 18 how tall it may be. but that is usually only the tidy thing
AC Normal: 10 Derrick is just rejoining the act, hav· about him. His clothes usually appear
AC AB Bear: 2 ing suffered a hroken leg several dusty and worn, as he runs about the
Hit Points: 69 months ago when he fell off a large circus trying to get a look at a ll the
Alignment: Chaotic Good warhorse he was learning to ride. His animals.
Height: 5'9 as a man, 7'7" as a bear
ff leg took quite a while to heal, and the
Weight: 193 pounds as a man, 414 as a incident left him with a limp. Background: Thddy is the youngest of
bear When not performing, Derrick is ei- the Burtons. Unlike his brothers, Thddy
HairfEyes: BlackIBrown ther practicing for the next night's has no desire to adventure. Socially
Age: 18 show, or else he is busy pestering the inept and terminally shy, 'Teddy prefers
warriors in the circus to teach him the company of animals to the other
Weapon Proficiencics: Long sword, anything they know about adventuring. circus people. However, he loves the
two-handed sword, dagger His curiosity a nd desire for information circus life and fully intends to stay with
Nonwcapon Proficiencics: Agricul- is insatiable. He often talks about the Jack Mooney & Sons for a s long as the
ture (3), animal handling (bears) (15), time he got his magic r ing (to the dis· circus will have him. When 'Thddy is not
cooking (13), survival (13), hunting (12), may of the other performers who have performing or practicing, he can be
set snares (12), tracking (18) heard the tales thousands of times) and found helping with the smaller anima ls.
Languages: Common, Thorass, Bear wants to know more about what awaits Although 'Teddy is somewhat afraid of
Ranger Abilities: Hide in shadows the brave and the powerful. them, the elephants seem to like Teddy
43%, move silently 55% Derrick is young and impetuous, but and often try to steal his food when he
his heart is made of gold. He docs not walks by. Other than these activities,
Magic Item: Ring of warmth interact well in large groups, but will Teddy leads a simple life. The other
deal with people two or three at a time. performers often worry about 'leddy,
Appearance: Derrick is strikingly Derrick is suffering from indecision and try to teach him how to read, write,
handsome, wears the best clothes in the about how long he should remain at the and pass on knowledge about the
latest fashions, and walks with an air of circus. On one hand, be loves the circus, Realms.
self assurance. He has curly shoulder- but on the other hand, he has wander- Thddy docs not venture into cities the
length hair, which he has styled in lust stirring in his blood. It is unlikely circus plays in-unless forced to aC(;om·
cities in which the circus plays. he will join any adventuring band in pany his parents on shopping expedi-
the immediate future, though he often tions. He spends all his spare time on
Background: Derrick idolizes his older dreams of it. the circus grounds. Teddy has romantic
brother, Billy, trying to copy some of his aspirations toward one of the girls in
mannerisms and the way he works with Theodore Burton the acrobatic troop, but he has not made
some of Mooney's circus animals. How- 2nd Level Male Human Werebear any outward gestures to l1er. He as·
ever Derrick possesses few of Billy's Ranger sumes she probably docs not even know
character flaws, being C()nfident, self- he exists.
assured, and reserved. STR: 15 Although 'Thddy is a budding ranger,
Like Billy, Derrick also embarked on [NT: 11 studying under his older brothers, he has
a short adventuring career before he WIS: 10 resolved not to become involved in
joined the circus. On his first adventure, DEX: 17 fights. He is afraid of hurting others, and
Derrick killed a drow that had a ring of CON: 14 he worries that if he is hurt he will turn
warmth. Derrick now sports the ring as CHR: 11 into a werebear. The young Burton is self
a triumph of his adventuring career. AC Normal: 7 conscious about his lycanthropy. Except
Several escapades later, half of Der· AC As Bear: 2 for performing and practicing, Teddy will
not change into werehear form.

p o L y H E D R o N
 11

Arnold Bixby AC Normal: 10 Height: 5'4'"

o Level Male Hu.man Hit Points: 8 Weight: 105
Alignment: Neutr al Good HairlEyes: BlackfBlue
STR: 13 Height: 5'6 ff
Age: 22
INT: 10 Weight: 164
WIS: 10 HairlEyes: BlondIBlue Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger
DEX: 18 Age: 31 Nonweapon P roficiencies: Cooking
CON: 18 (17)
CHR; 12 Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger Languages: Common, Thorass
AC Normal: 6 Nonweapon Proficiencies: Cooking
Hit Points: 8 ( 17) Magic Items : Ring of feather failing,
Alignment: Neutral Good Languages: Common, Thorass ladder of balance ·
He ight: 5'10-
Weight: 200 Appearance: J ason's long blond hair Appearance: Jennifer is a striking
Hair/Eyes: BrownIBrown hangs nearly to his waist. He often young woman who prides herself on her
Age: 31 braids it to keep it from beeoming un· looks, mannerisms, a nd dress. Rarely
ruly when working. He is tanned, has does a hair look out of place, and her co-
Weapon Proficie ncics: Long sword, sparkling a1;ure eyes, a nd almost al- workers have never spotted a wrinkle in
dagger ways wears a smile. He dresses simply, her clothes. She wears her long, curly
Nonweapon Proficie ncies: Tightrope but cleanly, a nd a lways is concerned jet hair piled fashionably on kip of her
walking (18), j uggling (17) about his looks. head; it is usually a lways decorated
La nguages: Common, Thorass with ivory combs or other items of paste
Background: Jason is a new arri'9'al to jewelry.
Appearance: Arnold has dark brown the circus. Spending his early life as a
skin, darker ha ir, and piercing eyes that driner, J ason fin ally decided to settle Background: J ennifer was born and
seem to look right through people. He down in Ravens Bluff. It was the start raised in Ravens Bluff. Her parents,
dresses in colorful, expensive clothes of winter, the circus had just returned to from a well-off section of the city, took
t hat he used to wear in his acrobatic act. the city, a nd he sought work there. He her to t he circus when she was a small
had no luck elsewhere along the wharfs child and she fell in love with it. Upon
Background: Arnold Bixby has been or Crow's End. In his short time with r eaching her 12th birthday, her father's
with the Jack Mooney a nd Sons circus Jack Mooney & Sons, he has become mercantile business fell out from under
since it began. The first few years were fast friends with Arnold Bixby, an old him a nd Jennifer's family became desti·
spent 8S a n acrobat, thrilling crowds hand who taught him a lot about circus t ute. Three months later, J ennifer fled
wit h feats of dar ing. Unfortunately, performing. Jason was hesitant about to the circus to escape the poverty and
when Arnold was trying a tr iple fl ip performing with t he Burtons when he harsh life she had fallen into. She has
from a tightrope, he slipped, fell, a nd found out their little secret . However, ~ n with the circus ever since. Her
shatter ed his h ip. A circus priest was Arnold was persistent and since Jason parents, sensing that she had found a
able to heal the wound, but the hip wasn't attacked in t he middle of the better life with Jack Mooney, never
didn't set properly. Unable to perform night, he agreed to sign on with the asked her to return home. She is cur·
the demanding slunts of the acrobats, lycanthropes. rently assigned to work with Burton's
Arnold began working as a clown. He Although J ason has established a good Bouncing Bears.
performed various routines until the working relationship with Donald Bur· During the past 10 years, she has seen
Burtonsjoined the circus. Arnold was ton, it is a tenuous one. J ason enjoys the so much of the world that she has vowed
one of the rust to befriend Donald and circus, but after listening to t he tall tales never to leave the circus. Jennifer is
his wife. Since that day, Arnold has of the retired adventurers who work loyal to Jack Mooney and often demon-
performed with the Burtons. there, he has decided the adventuring strates her dependability. Level headed
Arnold has few friends outside the life is for him. He envisions himself as a a nd calm, she has beeome a big sister kI
circus. He has ~ n part of the circus swashbuckler and is likely to joi n up many of the younger members of the
most of his adult life a nd intends to with the fust group of player characters Circllfl.
spend the rest of his life there. Arnold is that takes an interest in him. She has a crush on Jack Mooney's
not skilled at fi ghting, but can use his youngest son, although she docs not
long sword or dagger if necessary to Jennifer Bloom have the nerve to approach him. S he
defend himself or the circus. o LeueL Female Human dresses well and always makes herself
look nice, hoping he will notice. Jenni·
STH: 8 fer is concerned t hat if he d oes not spot
Jason Moorse her soon, she will be forced to look else·
o Leuel Male Hu man INT: 10
where for a beau. She fears she is get·
WlS: 14
DEX: 14 ting too old to be marriageable. It is
STR: 11 possible a handsome PC might be able
lNT: 11 CON: 14
WIS: 10 CHR: 16 w sweep her 01T her feet, but unless he
AC Norma): 10 were to base himself in Ravens Bluff
DEX: 11
Hit Points: 5 a nd not object to her staying with t he
CON: 14 circus, chsnces for a meaningful rela·
CHR: 15 Alignment: Lawful Good
tionship are slim.

p o L y H E o R o N
 12

Although Jennifer is a daring young little time for socializing. However, if • Ladder of Balance: This is a magical
woman, she has one strong fear- she hears of adventurers watching the extension ladder. 1\vo 15·foot-long sec·
heights. She wears a ring of feather act, she attempts to meet with them tions are connected to each other by
falling given to her by her father when later-she always enjoys hearing adven- steel hinges. The properties of the lad-
the family WlUI wealthy, and she never turing tales from wizards. der are that no matter which way the
climbs without her ladder of balance. ladder is tipped, spun, rocked, etc. it
New Magic Items will not fall down. The sections can be
Karen Smyth set up and unlocked manually or by
1st Level Female Human Illusionist • Axe Of The Woodsman: The long, command. By continuously giving com·
curved ironwood handle fits neatly into mands to set and unlock the ladder, the
8TH: 11 a mitheral-edged iron head. Enchanted user will cause the ladder to Jay down
INT: 16 to +3 to hit and damage, it is crafted slowly enough so t hat no harm will
WIS: 12 for felling the largest of trees. This is a come to anyone on it.
DEX: 11 magical variety of "woodsman axes:'
CON: 10 which are designed especially for lum- Burton'S Bouncing Bears Acts
CHR: 15 berjacks. Unlike other axes, a Woods·
AC Normal: 9 man's Axe is not a "slashing" weapon, In any performance, the Burtons appear
Hit Points: 4 and it is not balanced for throwing. The to be nothing more than bears- albeit
Alignment: Neutral Good axe was not created to be used as a very intelligent ones. They never ap-
Height: 5'2 ~ weapon, however it can be deadly. The pear to the audience in their human
Weight: 103 axe has the following weapon statistics: forms.
HairlEyes: BlondIBlue Speed factor 6, weight 10 pounds, size
Age: 21 M. type p, damage S-M Id4 +1/ ld4 +1. ACT I The lights in the tent dim, a
hush falls over the crowd, and a spot-
Weapon Proficiencies: Dagger • Beauregard's Beautiful Baubk: This light appears on Ringmaster Jack
Nonweapon Proficiencles: Astrology small stone looks very much like a Mooney. Looking up, he says in a loud,
(6), dancing (11) robin's egg and will radiate a faint aura clear voice: "Now presenting, in the
Languages: Common, Thorass if magic is detected for. The bauble has center ring, an act so entertaining that
SpeUs Per Day: 1, + 1 other if from the the power to release a calming effect on you'll want to come back time and
school of illusion all who look at it. Anyone viewing the again. They are amazing. They are
bauble must make a saving throw ver- fabulous. They are Burton's Bouncing
Magic Items: Ring ofprotection + 1 sus charm, those who are succ:essful Bearsl" The center ring lights up to
hear soft music and believe that the reveal three bears sitting. A fourth bear
Spell Books bauble is one of the most beautiful (Donald Burton) stands on his hind legs
things that they have ever seen. Those and roars at the crowd, and the ring-
First Level who fail their saving throw are in- master says, "Maestro, if you please."
Cantrip ChangeSeJ{ stantly calmed, at peace with them- Donald and Pauline waltz while Billy
Spook Ventriloquism selves and their surroundings. When and Derrick watch with practiced
placed in the hands of someone who is amusement. Once the applause dies
Appearance: Karen is a delicate angry or afraid, even if magically en· down, Billy stands up and lets out a
woman, appearing frail and small. De- chanted to be angry or afraid, the per- loud "Harrumph:' This is a cue to the
spite being with the circus for two son will become calm and happy- if the band, which hegins playing a jazz ditty.
yearf:l, she has kept a pale complexion. saving throw is failed, and any enchant- Billy dances a simple little jig and bows
QutdOOrf:l she always dresses in long ments dealing with anger or fear will be to the audience. Not to he outdone,
dresses and bonnets to keep the sun otT negated. Derrick gets up and dancea a few ballet
her skin. Her clothes, while neat, are steps, then sticks out his tongue at
inexpensive and plain. Still, she draws • Apron of Comfort: This magical apron Billy. Billy growls and hegins to dance
many admiring gla nces from the roust- must be worn to be effective. It makes faster. The dancing contest switches
abouts. its wearer immune to heat and fatigue back and forth until Billy and Derrick
caused from long hours in the kitchen, are dancing in tandem, then Donald
Background: Karen grew up in the or from prolonged adventuring in hot and Pauline join their sons in a "chorus
slums of Ravens Bluff. There. about ten climates. The apron will also catch any line" da ncing number to exit the tent .
years ago, she met J e nnifer Bloom and spills, stains, etc. before they can touch
decided to run away with her to join the the wearer or his clothing. Upon utter· ACT II Two clowns dressed as hear
circus. She now works with the Burtons. ing the «JRunand word, the apron will hunters, wearing shoes that are 20 or
Highly intelligent. as a child Karen clean itself and appear new. As an 30 sizes too big, sneak toward the center
often aspired to become the most power· added benefit, the apron increases the ring. They are carrying small bows and
ful sorceress in all the land. Now, cooking proficiency of the wearer by arrows tipped with large suction cups.
thanks to help from the Burtons and + 3. If the wearer cannot cook, the The clowns walk in tandem and every
Jack Mooney, she is beginning her stud- apron will tap into the wearer's natural time they take a step, a drummer in the
ies with an illusionist traveling with talent and grant the wearer a basic
the circus. She devotes every free mo- proficiency in cooking. Continued on page 30
ment to studying magic, leaving her

p o L y H E D R o N
 13

Mutations
Abilities That Add Spice To Your GAMMA WORLD® Campaign
by Dale "Slade" Henson
Simon Dundee, a pure strain human
who deems himself the utmost author-
ity on the Gamma World mutation phe-
nomenon, has created a 12·volume
encyclopedia devoted solely to these
genetic cross-strains. In the pages of
this Newszine, we will show you the
highlights of these volumes in a read-
able format. This was no small feat for
us, please understand. Dr. Dundee.
granted, was very thorough, but his
writing style is one that requires the
unabridged Oxford English Dictionary
to understand.
All references to the mutated genes
positioning on the DNA molecule have
been removed as well. The mutational
statistics given below, arc in the
GAMMA WORLD<!l game second edition
format. This edition of the rules has
been one of the most popular, which is
why we chose this format. However, the
mutations easily can be adapted to any
version of the game. and with a little
work they could be used in other science
fiction games or as super powers in
super hero campaigns.

Ablation
RANGE: 'lbuch TYPE: CM
DURATION: 10 USE: Once an
Minutes Hour
NUMBER: 1 DAMAGE: None
EFFECTS: Thia mutation allows the
character to touch the wound of another
and halt all blood flow. If the recipient
is not willing to submit, he is allowed a
Constitution check to thwart the muta·
tion's effects. This mutation, according
to Dr. Dundee, is very useful against a
bite attack, stopping the flow ofblood
until the venom can be removed.

Ablation (Self)
RANGE: Self TYPE:CM
DURATION: 10 USE: 4 times
Minutes aday
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
EFFECTS: This mutation is very simi-
lar to the Ablation mutation above,
except that its effects are limited only to
the mutant possessing the mutation.

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 14

Abulia HUMAN! Acclimate

RANGE: Self TYPE: U M DIE PLANT ANIMAL RANGE: Self TYPE : U P
DURATION: USE: ROLL GROWTH GROWTH DURATION: USE:
Permanent Constant 3 15% 10% Constant Constant
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None 4 26% 21% NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
5 39% 33%
EFFECTS: This mutation is a " .. EFFECTS: This mutation allows the
6 53% 46%
mental mutation which creates the character to adapt to any environment.
7 68% 61%
impairment or loss of volition ..." to Dr. Dundee has found that most altered
8 85% 77%
quote Dr. Dundee. This mutation pre- humans who possess this mutation have
9 103% 94%
vents the character from acting inde· all moved north of the 80th parallel.
pendently. When the character sees a 10 124% 114%
146% This mutation is now considered rare
role model performing a task, the mu- 11 135%
12 171% 159% elsewhere. A character with this muta·
tant will perform the same task, with
[3 tion must take two hours to adjust to a
198% 185%
identical r esults.
228% 10 degree change in temperature. Until
14 213%
Acapnia 260% 245% the mutation aligns itself with a new
15
climate, the character is subject to
RANGE: Self TYPE,CP 16 297% 279%
weather damage, but at 112 normal.
DURATION: USE: 17 336% 317%
Special Special 18 380% 359% Acephalous
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None 19 428% 405% RANGE: Self TYPE, UP
EFFECTS: A mutant with this power
20 481% 455% DURATION, USE,
21 539% 511% Constant Constant
can halt his or her breathing for up to
22 603% 572% NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
10 minutes per Constitution »Qint. The 23 673% 640%
character is unahle to perform tasks EFFECTS: A character possessing this
during this time. Once the mutation has mutation has no discernable head. The
been used, the mutant must wait half facial substructures are spread through-
the amount of time he or she feigned out the trunk of the body or on an ap·
death before using the mutation again. pendage. The character can ask for a
For example, if Sonja of the Red Death, eye in a hand if he chooses, but the GM
with a Constitution of 14, used the has the final say.
mutation to feign death for 140 min·
utes, she would be unable to use the
mutation again until 70 minutes
passed.
Accelerated Growth
RANGE: Self TYPE: U P V
DURATION: USE:
Constant Constant
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
EFFECTS: As its name signifies, this
mutation allows the mutant to grow
without experiencing a corresponding Acromegalic
increase of Strength, Constitution, or RANGE: Self TYPE: U PV
Dexterity. The matrix below shows the DURATION: USE:
amount of growth the mutant can expe· Constant Constant
rience. 1b determine growth, roll 2d6 NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: Special
and add the result to one·third of the EFFECTS: This mutation causes the
mutant's Constitution score, rounded
enlargement of the facial, hand, and
down. For example, Sonja of the Red
Death has a 14 Constitution. One third foot bones in the character, resulting in
a Charisma loss of 2d6. The damage
of that is four (rounding down). Sonja's
caused by weaponless hand and foot
player rolls a seven. The two numbers
are added together to get 11. Sonja's attacks is doubled for this mutant char-
acter.
player consults the chart to learn that
Sonja has increased her height by 135%.
Sonja is 5' tall; increasing her height by
135% makes her 11'9" tall.

Acromegalic

p o L y H E D R o N
 15

Acute Acne Alarm for sale he must eat 12 ounces of gold

RANGE: Self TYPE:UP RANGE: MS+lO for each liter or fraction of a liter of
DURATION: USE, Feet TYPE: UM blood withdrawn.
Constant Constant DURATION: USE:
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: Special When Asleep When Asleep /) Iron: This is the normal blood oxi-
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None dizer.
EFFECTS: This mutation causes the 6 Lead: This oxidizer creates thick
EFFECTS: The character who has this
character's body to force poisons, choles- black blood. All characters with this
terol, fats, excess sugars, and alcohol should roll 3d6 to determine the rela- blood content have a 1% chance per
out in the form of acne. This gives the tive strength of the mutation. Multiply
battle of having a minor heart attack
character an immunity to all poisons that number by 10; the result is the that causes 2dl0 points of damage.
radius in feet where danger or motion
which have strength ratings less than
or equal to his Constitution. For exam- can be detected. This radius remains 7 Mercury: The blood appear s to be a
the same throughout the character's gritty silver. It is also highly poison.
ple, Sonja of the Red Death, with a
life. The mutant will awake immedi- ous to all other creatures.
Constitution of 14, is immune to all
ately when a predatory a nimal or
poisons that are strength 14 a nd less. 8 Silicon: The character's blood is a
Poisons greater than 14 will have their violent-minded opponent enters the bright blue and has a very sharp
normal effects. This includes death area of effect.
smeU. The blood can be used as a
poisons, paralysis, and any other types. Albinism high temperature glue for objects
Adipocere RANGE: Self TYPE: UP such as gaskets.
RANGE: Self TYPE,UP DURATION: USE: Altered Structural Element
USE, Constant Constant
DURATION:
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None RANGE: Self TYPE: U P
Constant Constant DURATION, USE,
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None EFFECTS: A character with this muta- Constant Constant
tion gains a + 1 to his Charisma score. NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
EFFECTS: The skin of a character This is because albinos stand out, hav-
with this mutation secretes n brown ing no pigmentation in the ir skin, eyes, EFFECTS: Characters with this muta·
waxy substance that is water repellent. tion are not carbon·based life forms. The
and hair. The character sees well dim list below gives a few of the possible
All other substances are 40% repellant light. but is bothered by bright light
effects of this mutation.
as well. Once a substance has been and glare.
determined as repellable, the character ROLL CHANGE
should make note of it. The effect is Altered Blood Content
RANGE: Self TYPE: U P 1 Germanium: The muta nt receives an
permanent.
DURATION: USE: Armor Class deficiency of2, but gets
Aequorin Constant Constant a bonus of 2d4 + 6 to his speed.
RANGE: Self TYPE:UPV NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
2 Lead: This bulky character receives
DURATION: USE:
Constant EFFECTS: This mutation alters the a +2 Armor Class bonus because he
Constant
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None content of a character's blood and can- is more dense than other Gamma
not be removed by using the Devolution World mutants, but he is slower. The
mutation. The chart below reflects a few top speed this character can achieve
EFFECTS: This causes the character,
whether animal or plant, to secrete a of the possible changes that could occur is reduced by 2d4 from the original
glowing substance commonly found in because of t his mutation. stock.
deep ocean carnivores. This substance is ROLL CHANGE 3 Tin: The character receives a + I
not photoreactive. so once it is removed Armor class bonus, loses Id4 from
1 Actinium: This element is radioac-
from the mutant it stops g lowing within Speed and 1M from Dexterity, but
minutes. Opponents have a +2 to hit tive. When the mutant "bleeds" on
gains a bonus of + Id4 to Constitu-
bonus to hit a mutant during night or someone, the target must roll a save tion. These mutants look similar to
dim light situations. There is also a-I vs. radiation.
The Created android types.
penalty to attack the character during 2 Arsenic: This blood is white, and the 4 Silicon: This character possesses a
full daylight, since the character ap- mutant with it receives an extra
pears almost noncorporeal because of strong insect-like exoskeletal skin.
save vs. poison when he comes in The mutant gains Id6 Constitution
the glow. If the substance is washed off contact with poisonous substances.
points, but suffers a Id6 + 6 point
with soap and water, it wi ll be secreted The mutant's blood is deadly to oth- Dexterity loss.
to cover the character again in 1d4 e ....
hours. g Copper: The blood is green whenever Asexual
RANGE: Body TYPE:CP
it is oxidized. There are no other
DURATION: USE: Once!
bonuses or penalties. Constant 4 years
.. Gold: The character's blood is gold NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
colored and is worth fifty domars per
liter. During any week when the EFFECTS: This mutation is one of the
character bleeds himself to get blood most bizarre that Dr. Dundee discov·
ered. He found a tribe of completely

p o L y H E o R o N
 16

Control Birds
RANGE: 3d6 x 10 TYPE:UV
Meters
DURATION: USE:
Id4 Hours/Bird Constant
NUMBER: DAMAGE:
Unlimited None
EFFECTS: This mutant a ttracts birds.
Whenever birds get within range of the
character, they must roll a Mental
Strength check or be attracted for Id4
hours. There is no limit to the number
of birds that can be attracted to the
mutant at any given time. The birds
will flutter about, doing nothing harm·
ful. However, if the character is at-
tacked, the birds attack the aggressor. A
typical bird does one point of damage
per attack.
Control Insects
RANGE: 3d6 x 5
Meters TYPE:UV
DURATION, USE,
Id4 HourlInsect Constant
NUMBER: DAMAGE:
Variable None
EFFECTS: This mutation is identical
to the Control Birdi! mutation, except
Quadrupedal this mutation attracts insects. Any
character with this mutation will have
no less than 100 insects within the
identical people just south of Point BipedaVQuadrupedal specified range at any given time.
Barrow, Old Alaska. Seeing this, he RANGE: Self TYPE: UC P Death Ray
had to investigate. He interviewed DURATION: USE:· RANGE: Variable TYPE:CMV
many of the tribesmen, and learned Constant Constant DURATION: Inst. USE: Twice/day
that they " budded" to reproduce. Char- NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None NUMBER: 1 DAMAGE: Death
acters with this mutation will bud a EFFECTS: This mutation gives ani·
new person every four years. The bud- EFFECTS: This powerful mutation
mals the ability to walk on their hind will kill one opponent, if that opponent
ding process takes nine months, and legs. Humans or other bi·pedals gain
the person grows to appear identical to fail s his Mental Combat roll. The range
the ability to walk and run on all fours, of this mutation is 2d6 +(Mental
the "parent." sixes, etc. Strength/3). A mutational force field
Attention Deficit Cellular Psychokinesis will nullify the effect.
RANGE: Self TYPE:UM
RANGE: Thuch TYPE: C M Decreased Air Vesicles
DURATION: USE: DURATION: USE: Once/
Constant Constant RANGE: Body TYPE: U P
Vairable hour DURATION: USE:
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None NUMBER: 1 DAMAGE: None Constant Constant
EFFECTS: This mutation causes an EFFECTS: Mutants with this ability NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
inability to concentrate on one subject, can healld4 points of damage to an·
except in times of dire need. The mu- EFFECTS: This mutation limits the
other character once an hour. This mu- mutant's lung capacity by. 1·50%. The
tant will have a -4 on the die roll for
tation does not work on the mutant character's Constitution is lowered by
figuring out artifa~ts. With the .genius himself.
capabilities mutation, the .-4 rises to a Id4 as well, but any saves against air·
-2. During combat, there IS a 10% Color Blind borne poisons are increased by 4.
chance that the mutant will forget who RANGE: Self TYPE:UP Evolutionary Regression
the enemy is and strike at anyone. If an DURATION, USE: RANGE: Self TYPE: U P
ally stumbles and accidentally bumps Constant Constant DURATION: USE:
the character, there is a 75% chance NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None Constant Constant
that the mutant will believe he is the EFFECTS: This mutation prevents NUMBER, Self DAMAGE: None
enemy and attack the new target for
characters from seeing colors. The mu· EFFECTS: A humanoid character with
2d6 rounds. tants only see black, gray, and white. this mutation regresses on the evolu·

p o L y H E o R o N
 17

tionary scale. The chart below can be hump, which is physical and looks much laser pulse does Id6 points of damage
used with a random die roll, or the GM like a camel's hump, must be replen- for every three points of Constitution
can choose one. ished with heavy eating at the end of t he mutant has (minimum two dice).
the time period. The mutant must then rest his eyes for
DIE RESULT
three rounds before using the mutation
1 Australopithecus. This character
Incendiary Spittle
again, or risk permanent blindness.
gains a +3 to Strength and Constitu- RANGE: STR TYPE: C P
While the retina is storing the light for
tion, but Mental Strength and Dex- in Feet
the laser pulse, the mutant is unable to
DURATION: USE: Once per
terity are reduced by 3. perform any other activity.
Constant 30 min.
2 Cro.Magnon. This character gains a NUMBER: One DAMAGE: Light Producing
+ 1 to Strength, and must subtract 2 CON)( Id6 RANGE: Self TYPE: UP
from his Intelligence. DURATION: USE:
EFFECTS: A character with incendi-
Constant Constant
3 Homo.Sapiens. This is the end result ary spittle can spit his napalm-like
NUMBER, Self DAMAGE: None
to the human evolutionary track. saliva upon opponents if they are within
There are no bonuses or penalties to range. A normal to·hit is required. The EFFECTS: This mutation is gained on
accrue. However. the character looks range is equal to the character's an extremity. The player can decide
like a pure strain human. strength in feet. The spittle causes Id6 where this light producing organ is
points of damage per melee round for a placed, such as the palm of a hand,
4 Monkey. The mutant gains + 2 to
number of rounds equal to the spitter's forehead, or the end of a tail, but the
Dexterity and must subtract 2 from
Constitution. If the rancid saliva is GM has the final say. The light pro-
his intelligence. He looks like a go.
washed off, or dunked in moving water, duced by this organ enables the mutant
rilla or a large monkey, and he is
it will come off in Id4 rounds. The mu- to see within 30 feet in absolute dark.
capable of human speech.
tant is immune to his own spittle, but
no one else's. Mandibles
Extended Life Span RANGE: Thuch TYPE:CP
RANGE, Self TYPE, U P Kinetic Bolt DURATION: USE:
DURATION: USE: RANGE: 30 TYPE:CM Constant Constant
Constant Constant Meters NUMBER: One DAMAGE:4d4
NUMBER, Self DAMAGE: None DURATION: USE: Once
EFFECTS: Mutants with this ability
Variable an Hour
EFFECTS: The life span of a character have a bite attack. These beetle·like
NUMBER: One DAMAGE:
with this mutation is increased 1d6 mandibles are so strong that they cause
(MSi3)d6
times. However, this does not mean that 4d4 points of damage to the mutant's
for 80 to 480 years the character will EFFECTS: When invoked, this muta- opponents. The character is also able to
not die. Such a character is not immune tion sends a bolt of pure energy at a bite through normal metal objects at a
to damage by weapons, the environ· target within range. The bolt will pass rate of 1110 inch for every round.
ment, diseases, or creatures. through all metal and most force fields.
Any mutant with the Force Field Gen- Mechanical Empathy
Hands RANGE: 1 Foot TYPE: C M
eration mutation will not be effected by
RANGE: Self TYPE:UPV perMS
this mutation, if the force field is in-
DURATION: USE: DURATION: USE: Once per
voked at the time of the attack. The
Constant Constant Special 4 Hours
kinetic bolt will only effect living tissue.
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None NUMBER: One DAMAGE: None
Robotics, androids, and all other non-
Machine
EFFECTS: This mutation allows an living mechanisms are unaffected.
animal character to gain hands on the EFFECTS: This mutation allows the
Laser Eyes
front legs. These hands replace the character to gain information regarding
RANGE: (CON) TYPE:CP
paws or hooves usually associated with any machine, computer, computer com·
Meters
the animal. The animal with this muta- ponent, or peripheral. See the chart for
DURATION: USE: Once per
tion is allowed to use weapons. If a the information that can be gathered,
Inst. 3 Rnds.
humanoid gains this mutation, his feet and the time and minimum Mental
NUMBER: DAMAGE:
are replaced with hands. The character On, Strength needed to gain it. For exam-
(CONJ3)d6
can still run and walk, but his speed is ple, a character with a Mental Strength
cut by 25%. Weapons can be used with EFFECTS: This mutation allows the of 16 is able to gain the information for
these extra hands, but attack rolls are mutant's retina to store light and repel strengths 3 through 16.
reduced by 4. it in a forced pulse of coherent light.
This mutation causes blindness in the
Hump
mutant for one round as the retina is
RANGE: Self TYPE:UP
storing the light it is receiving. The
DURATION: USE:
next round, the mutant must find a
Constant Variable
target. Within a second, the retina
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
unleashes the stored light uncon-
EFFECTS: The hump mutation pro· sciously. At that point, if the mutant
vides the character with enough food were to accidentally look at an ally, the
and water to last for 3d6 days. The laser pulse still would be invoked. The

p o L y H E D R o N
J8

MS Time Information Lumbricales

03 010~ Is the machine plugged
into a functional power
supply.
04 020 Sec Is the machine in work·
ing condition. Non-opposing ThUi
05 030 Sec Is the machine on or can
it be turned on. - -, ~ ~

06 040 Sec Is there a touch alarm

activated on the ma-
ch ine.
07 050 Sec Is there a use a larm ,
activated on the ma-
,,
08
chine.
060 Sec What is the mental sta-
,
tU8 of the machine. Is the of hypothenar
machine, or think tank eminence
insane?
09 070 Sec Is t here an operating
security system within Transverse MUscles
range.
10 080 Sec Is there an operating carpal ligament at thenar
weight detection sccurity eminence
system within range.
11 090 Sec Is there an operating L.:,J
noise detection security Tendons
system within range. flexor digitorum sublimis
12 100 Sec Is there an operating
motion detecting security This mutation has the following limi- latter ability docs the damage of the
system within range. tations: original attack and can only be used
13 110 Sec Is there an operating once per four hours.
infrared security system 1. A force field ofRF+3 or greater on
within range that is the computer or machine will double Non-Opposing Thumb
activated. the amount of time required to obtain RANGE: Self TYPE: U P
the informat ion. DURATION: USE:
I' 120 Sec Is there an operating
u ltravisual security 2. A mutant with this mutation who
Constant Constant
system within range. NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
also possesses a Mental Strength and
15 130 Sec Is there an operating Intelligence greater that 19 will be EFFECTS: The character with this
electrical detection secu· detected by all think tanks within 2d20 mutation has thumbs on the wrong side
rity system within range. miles of the target machine's super· of the hand. The mutant is unable to
16 140 Sec Is there an operating structure or building. utilize weapons or tools which require
Gamma radiation detect.- an opposing thumb_
ing security system 3. For every Mental Strength point the
within range. mutant possesses above 19, the amount Phenomanalysis
17 150 Sec Is there an operating of time needed to gain information is RANGE: Sight TYPE:CM
bra in-wave detection cut by 30 seconds to a minimum of one DURATION USE,
security system within second. Constant Constant
range. NUMBER: DAMAGE:
18 160 Sec Are there defensive de- Mimicry Unlimited None
vices engaged on the RANGE: 30 TYPE:CP
EFFECTS: With this mutation, the
machine. Meters
character is able to determine by sight
DURATION: USE: Once per
I" 170 Sec Are the defensive devices
on this machine poten· Special 4 HOUTS
alone if a plant or animal js harmful,
poisonous, edible, contaminated, etc.
tially lethal. NUMBER: One DAMAGE: None
This also applies to desd plants and
20 180 Sec What are the defensive Machine
animals, which can be exam ined before
devices present. This will EFFECTS: T his mutation allows the eating. However, it does not extend to
give all information, character to mimic any sound that he cooked or processed food s.
such as location, type of hears. This includes natural and me-
damage, etc. chanical sounds. This mutation is usu-
21 190 Sec Is the central controller ally used by many creatures to lure
of this device aware of prey. The mutation also grants the
the mutant's location, ability to throw a sound attack back at
and how does the rna· the attacker, such as a sonic blast. This
chine feel about it.

p o L y H E o R o N
 19

Ruminant Stomach
RANGE: Self TYPE: U P
DURATION: USE:
Constant Constant
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
EFFECTS: This mutation gives the
character a multi-chambered swmach
similar to a cow's. The character can eat
normal foods, but prefers greens. When
relaxing, this mutant often chews cud.
The stomachs pump a ball of partially-
digested food from the stomach up
through the esophagus. When this
action occurs, the character tends to
produce unpleasant sounds.

Seasonal Stasis
RANGE, Self TYPE: UPV
DURATION USE:
Constant Constant
NUMBER: Self DAMAGE: None
EFFECTS: This forces a mutant to
hibernate for one· fourth of the year.
However, in the other seasons, t he char-
acter only needs to sleep one hour a
night. During the season before hiber-
nation, t he character must gorge him-
self. This stores up food which is
r equired to help him survive the hiber·
nation. All hibernating char acters must
gain at least 50% in their weight to
survive the hibernation. Anything less
tha n that will assure death.
Use the chart below to determine
during which season t he character must
hibernate.
1·7 Winter 8 Summer
9 Autumn 10 Spring
If a normally hibernative animal gains
this mutation, the hibernation instinct
is instead erased.
o
Ruminant Stomach

p o L y H E o R o N
 20

e I-
At Home in Maskyr's Eye
The land and People The most highly esteemed horse
by Ed Greenwood breeders of Maskyr's Eye are Elephon
In the valley below the tower of the Stoneshoulder and Gundul Hulvespur.
"Where lies the heart of a realm? Its archmage Maskyr, farms prospered. Elephon is tall, shrewd, and laconic; he
throne, some say. The one who sits upon Plowing was ha rd going at first, due to is related to the noble Stoneshoulder
it, others affirm, trying to appear more stony rubble well-mixed with the soil. family ofProcampur. His Northreach
wise, Nay, still others say, it is the one Many small rocks are still turned up by Farm is named for its location north of
who stands, whispering, behind it. the farmers' plows. The locals use these town. Gundul is a stocky, hook-nosed
"None of these, I tell you. No temple or to build loose rubble walls, wedge- man of broad humor and hard bargains.
castle, no sacred grove or mountain shaped ridges of heaped stones and Hulvesper Farm lies just south of
height holds the heart of a land of earth that are soon overgrown with Maskyr's bluff (which rises out of the
Faerun. [(you seek such a thing, you shrubs, quicklimb saplings, and creep- woods to the west of the road, somewhat
will find it in the eyes and toil-scarred ers. Such walls make good places to south of the center of the village).
hands of the farmers and yeomen who hide treasure that one doesn't expect to Vines have been planted on the steep
work the land, who answer the com- need for a while. The greatest problem hillsides of the east ern edge of the vale
mands of priest and king, who help with such hiding places usually is find- to prevent erosion and landslides. They
those in need, and who raise club, spade, ing them again later. yield only bitter, stunted grapes, much
or handy rock to defend their own, Farms on the east side of the road affiicted with "blackweb" (powdery
"Go then, and find hearts, When you tend to have a narrow frontage, running mildew) due to the cold damp of the
haue Mne that, you can begin the truly back from the road to the rising, bare climate. A thin, yellow·green wine
difficult task: finding truths in any heart rock of the mountain shoulders in long, called "sund" is made from them 10'
you have found. thin strips . Almost a ll are family- cally, and enjoys some popularity in the
"Search wel~' a lifetime is scarce time owned; few ha nds are hired on from vale. It is sharp and sour in both smell
enough to find a handful of truth." outside the vale due to recurring prob· and scent, and is very much an acquired
Storm Silverhand, lems of horse-theft. taste. It sells for as lit tle as 2 cp for a
The Song of One Harp, The few farms lying to the west of the large skin, or 1 sp for a barrel as large
Year of the Broken Helm. main road are t hin bands that parallel as a man can carry.
the road, and are well·fenced, for here Sund travels well. and is favored by
Sayings of the Realms, like the one the rugged blackhair horses popular in some caravan masters and traveling
above, tell us the thoughts and atti· the Vast are bred and trained. mercha nts for their own use, a lthough
tudes of the folk of Faerun. They are oft Blackhairs are short-legged a nd it has little value in trade. (In Calaunt
repeated by sages, bards, and tavern· broad, with terrific strength and enduro sund is often called "sheeprun" for its
talkers; and they give OMs portraying ance. They are sure-footed on slopes and supposed resemblance to sheep urine.)
argumentative NPCs and looking to a dd among rocks, having natural bony Root crops; carrots, turnips, potatoes,
local color to a party 's six·hundred·and· plates protecting their under hooves and the parsnip-like garsar (a white,
forty.ninth tavern·stop a lot of verbal against loose stones. They resemble sharp-flavored tuber as long as a man's
ammunition. ponies in build, but may grow as big forearm), grow well in the vale. The
In this case, Storm's words suggest a and broad (though not as tall) as the local farmers also grow black bramble·
way to study the village of Maskyr's great chargers favored in the South. berries (which grow large, tart, and
Eye, as it is today. We already know They are named for their thick, shaggy glossy black on t horny, ra mbling vine·
quite a bit about it from previous coats of black and dark brown, and can like bushes) and wildsage. The bramble·
columns, so let's ride in and explore. fetch up to four hundred pieces of gold berries make a sweet jelly much used in
Some may find this a long way from when sold fully trained in the markets the vale, and a wine that is either ex-
spells and swords, but it can ser ve OMs of Kurth and Hlintar. quisite or undrinkable; Brambleberry
as a model for many villages across Only outlanders pay such prices-no wine is undrinkable far more often than
northern Faerun, a nd we'll give it more local would expect to pay more than 75 exquisite and is seldom a ttempted.
attention than any other village proba- gp for a mount, unless expecting to r ide Wildsage is used in almost all local
bly will receive in this column. it to war in far lands, or to travel regu· cooking. It lends food a flavor rather
If the narrative seems to ramble at larly about the roads of the Inner Sea like buttered leeks.
times, well-that's the way Elminster lands conducting trade. Some poultry is kept in the vale, a few
talks, and I've never quite dared to In game terms, a Blackhair is: lnt farmers raise hogs and cattle for local
cross swords in earnest, verbally or Animal; AL N; AC 7; MV 24; HO 2 +2; slaughter and dairy yield, and the vale's
otherwise, with him. (Why? Well, to THACO 19; IAT 3; Dmg 1-311·6/1·6; SZ hunters bring game out of the surround-
quote the Old Mage himself: "The best L; ML 10; XP 65. Its load capacity, in ing woods.
sort of day is the one ye live to see the pounds (given in unencumberedlhalf- The full·time hunters of Maskyr's Eye
end or.") speed!one-third-speeds) is 200/310/420. are competent guides; they avoid only
the mountain heights (except during

p o L y H E D R o N
 21

spring, when they hunt wild goats and be refused without ill feelin g. t her of the present innkeeper) some
sheep) and t he monster-infested area '!\vice in t he past the Council has met eighty winters ago, after another inn to
around the Flooded Forest_ and thrown an unpopular Elder out of the south, The Three Dead Orcs, burned
The hunters are Thrst Skydark a nd office. One, the sour·tempered dairy down (orcs are said to have had a hand
his brother Thrvel (both natives of Then· farmer Kaerasz, proved too arrogant in helping t he fl ames).
tia), and the coarser, shadier Ulcrimmon and arbitrary in his authority. He re- The owner and keeper of the Ha nd is
Alskayl and his many brothers and mains a resident of the vale, friend to Lhullbannen Orlsyr, a retired huma n
bastard·kin (their father, Skuulaghh, few. male fourth level fighter of some fi ft.y-
was a notorious local rake-and a smug· The other, the cobbler and wizard t hree winters. He is reluctant to leave
gler and thief who is said to have Ssuntyr, proved sixteen winters ago to the running of the inn to h is massive
amassed an enormous treasure his be in league with drow and worse. As if wife a nd four beautiful, tomboyish
ofTspring have never found). hi s underground dealings weren't daughters. who he fears are not as par-
A traveler stopping at the vsle's lone enough, he also was caught using magic ticular about things as they should be.
inn, The Wizard's Hand, may well dine to sicken a neighbor and t hen compel Therefore, he is "too busy" to tutor
on roast stag with wildsage vegetable her to sell her farm to him ere she died. aspiring warriors unless offered thou-
stew. Sund, beer, and Mulmaster He was driven out in a vicious battle sands of gold pieces by someone he
brandy can be had for such a meal, and that left a nother farmer, Thurl likes.
for dessert, sweet-tarts with bramble· Northmane, dead, and two more badly The Ha nd has one grand suite which
berry jelly, or a bowl of sugar bread hurt. can sleep forty-five or so travelers in
soaked in brandy and covered with Ssuntyr vanished t hrough a magical comfort, and ten private sleeping cham·
cream. device that created a portal of fire. Be· bers. The Hand is well known to trav-
Simpler fare on one of the farms fore he stepped through, however, two elers in the Vast, and judged to be one of
would be a thick wilds age stew into locals wounded him badly. Hulthoon the three best road·inns in the region.
which cooked chunks of meat from Maer's axe nea rly chopped ofT one of his
squirrels, boars, the black·masked bear hands, and Arbrest Thunwyllun's pitch· Elminster fell asleep at about this point
of the Vast's forests, and pcrcupines fork transfixed him. a expect his visits here are rare opportu-
have been stirred. This is eaten with Each farmer has a voice in Council, 80 nities to relax; I know he sleeps very
beer and hardbread spread with do the village's herbalist a nd apothe. seldom when at MTM in Facrun), so
"bloodJick" (cooked blood a nd meat cary, Alzhanta (8 half-elven female we'll close the book on Maskyr's Eye for
scraps, thickened into a gravy and second-level druid), the innkeeper (see now.
mixed with a little bacon fat into a below), and the smith Garl "Black·
paste). Dessert is hardbread sliced thin, hand" Muirbar. Gar! is a broad, gnarl- Current Clack
toasted, and spread with brambleberry armed man of few words and slow
jelly or (in summer) wild honey. anger. His appearance s uggests that he '" Helbareim "The Storm Wind"
has some dwarven blood. The assembled Alanasker, High Suihk (rule r) of Orm·
Government and Commerce Council also settles boundary disputes par on The Shining Sea. is searching for
and decides who will help farmers with a daring thief thought to be from Water-
Maskyr's Eye is governed by an Elder, brush-<:utting at what times, and who deep or somewhere else on t he Sword
who has certain limited powers in the will help maintain the trade·road Coast. The miscreant stole a great
event of attacks on the vale, and can through the vale. quantity of carefully·guarded spices
pass decrees affecting trade within the For the past twenty years, the Coun- (including the city's ent ire reserves of
vale. cil's main work has been a public water the costly and highly-prized spice saf·
The present E lder is the t urnip farmer project. The village's water comes from fron), several magical blades that had
(first level warrior) Baernoth, a soft.· small creeks running down from the lain hidden in various secret storage
spcken, bearded man of mountainous mountains to the forest west of the road, niches around the Suihk's palace, and
build and iron strength (STR 17). He is and thence into the Flooded Forest. the Suihk 's daughter, the magically-
reasonable, careful, and afraid of noth- Irrigation of all vale farms, and the skilled beauty Alabhansree Alanasker,
ing on the face of Faerun (ML 19). He is diversion of the streams (three constant Chansreena (princess) of the city.
well respected in the vale, and expected and one intermittent) into a pond be· Helbareim is said to most suspect
to serve as Elder for as long as he de- tween the smithy and the inn is now Veldyn "the Fingers" Uruin of
sires. complete. The pond is used for watering Thlflamm, Thrm of the Knights of Myth
The Elder is chosen by nomina tion horses and local livestock, washing Dra nnor, a nd Hoond ofShu ssel, "De-
a nd open vote of the Council of the vale, cartloads of root vegetables, and for spoiler of Thmbs."
which also can overrule his decrees. The bathing. Creation ofthe pond allowed o
Council must meet to elect an Elder the road to pass over t he water on one
every twelfth Midsummer Eve, or when· broad stone bridge, instead of the three
ever the current elder resigns, fall s too (and in spring, four) broad, muddy fords
sick to fulfi ll his or her duties, or is that had made t he road in the vale an
challenged by another resident land- ankle-deep river of watery mud for
owner. At any election the Council may much of the year.
dismiss the incumbent Elder and name The inn at Maskyr's Eye is a low,
anyone (not just a stated challenger) rambling building of stone and timber,
Elder by majority vote. The office may with a thatched roof. The Wizard's
Hand was built by Riothar Orlsyr (fa-

p o L y H E D R o N
 22

Setting the Stage

has been detained in Asgard and the started from scratch. Consistently role
by Steven E. Schend Avengers a re away fighting Thanos. playing brand new characters can be
A Marvel Earth campaign can change quite a task. Campaigns tend to be
Heilo, my nanu is Steven Schend, and simply due to changes in the Marvel limited to areas which are familiar to
I'm a games editor here at TSR, In c. Universe; many New York heroes' lives the players, and many new players will
I'm also a confirmed comic book fan and were altered drastically when the In· create heroes that are so s imilar to
unreserved devotee of the ferno broke loose over Times Square. published heroes that they'd be better
MARVEL SUPER HEROES game. If There are hundreds of pregenerated otT playing the pregenerated versions.
you also are a fan of the game, or of characters available, along with many
superheroes in general. I think you'll graphic materials (comic books) you can Pseudo-Marvel Earth
enjoy With Great Power. The column use easily. Players can see exactly what
will feature LOTS of information for use Annihilus or the Four Freedoms Plaza This is a happy medium for creating
in superhero games. I want piayers and looks like, and the referee doesn't have superhero campaign worlds. This ver-
referees to get the most out of their he- to spend time sketching them. There sion of earth resembles our own and the
roes and villains. I also want this are literally thousands of adventure Marvel Universe's Earth, but is unique.
column to reflect what you-the reooer- plots available from comics and games. Marvel's What If? comic books a nd
want to hear about. Feel {ree to respond What fan wouldn't want to role-play the Roger Moore's adventure, The Gates of
to anything you read here. I want your Masters of Evil Assault on Avengers Wh at If! best exemplify this type of
opinions about the game, the topic of the Mansion? Or the epic battle between campaign world. 'Ib create your own,
month, and what you'd like to see next the X·men and the Imperial Guard on s imply take your favorite elements from
issue. Please send ail letters to the fol- the Blue Area of the Moon? the Marvel Universe, fold in your own
lowing address: Unfortunately, players already know unique characters, locations, and
about the characters, and how to defeat events, and you have a new campaign
, Mr. Steven SchendiGreat Responses the villains. A campaign without any
cia POLYHEDRON" Newszine world.

!
mysteries won't last long. Also, players This alternate Marvel Earth is the
P.O. Box 515
tend not to think of new ways to use a ideal setting for yeur campaign because
Lake Geneva, WI 53147
character's powers, but instead rely on it allows yeu to draw upon all t he ad·
the same old tricks all the time. vantages of the other two options. You
Choosing Your World have a familiar, well-detailed setting for
Hero Earth your characters, complete with a long
Your campaign world certainly will history and plenty of juicy adventure
have a direct and immeasurable impact This is the world as the referee sees it plots. You can use published heroes and
on your games. The world you choose, and presents it to the players. It is villains as ready-made NPCs, but you
whether it is the "official" Marvel Earth, probably in the present day, and can ignore anything in the comic books
Earth or your own original world, will the era of the superhero has arrived. that you don't want to incorporate into
determine the game's flavor, tone, char- Current events might playa large role your game. New villains can come and
acter role.playing opportunities, and in this setting, and games tend to center go, keeping the players guessing. Old
pre·game preparation time for the play- on home towns. Minuteman, the super- villains can return with new costumes
ers and for the referee. human Son of Liberty, Jives and oper- and new powers to keep the players
ates in Concord, Massachusetts rather guessing. Cities can be built just by
Marvel Earth than Boston (probably because the ref· piecing together the maps from the
eree knows Conctlrd better than Bos- boxed rules sets and modules; these
If you read the comics or play the game, ton). The referee and the players set the generic streets could be part of any city
you know what planet I'm talking tone, atmosphere, history, and hero whether your campaign uses Milwau·
about. This is the place where the demographics of this unique world. kee, Boston, Dallas, or anywhere else.
Avengers patrol both coasts, the X·men This campaign always has its mys- Dedicated city builders sbould consider
died and became legends, and everyone teries. They might range from "What the Deluxe City Campaign Set, which
who's anyone is a mutant (although can that villain really do?" to "Why includes 196 pages of information on
many people aren't happy about this). would that particular villain steal that New York, four huge poster maps, and
Placing your campaign here is simple: shipment of experimental tissue re- 15 resdy-to-use scenarios to start your
pick up the MARVEL SUPER HEROES storer?" The participants get the chance campaign otT with a bang.
game and your campaign is off to a to make their own comic book ideas
grand start. New heroes can race to the come to life. Go ahead and make the m ost of your
rescue, joined by Captain America or However, your own unique world campaign. Now if we only can get Loki
Spider Man; your fledgling team might requires long preparation time: charac· to stop cheating on his die rolls!
have to face off against the Absorbing
Man- it's them or no one because Thor
ter creation, map generation, adventure
design, and world history all must be
o

p o L y H E D R o N
 23

Rakshasa
Villain, Villain, Burning Bright
• Sophkant, a learned scholar snd the party has some particularly helpful
by Christopher Mortlka alchemist, paid money to have a mage magic item that could get them t here
cast contact other plane for him to re- more quickly. If the party thinks to
This encounter for the AD&O® 2nd veal the location of the four rings of consult the Mother of Hope's charts, th e
Edition Game is presented in the Book elemental control. The ring of air is PCs can obtain the direction to Hennia,
of Lairs format. See any of th e Book of somewhere in the Hennian Marshes, as well as some terrain features usable
Lairs products {or more information. and Sophkant is willing to pay 5,000 gp as landmarks. IT they decide to use the
for its recovery. charts as a guide, the PCs have the
'Thrrain: Swamp
" landmark sighted" modifier to becom-
Thtal Party Levels: 65 (Average 11th)
The Adventure ing lost roMG, page 128). IT they do not
Thtal Magic X.P.-: 6200 or 1200
use the charts, they should receive a
ThtaJ gp X.P.: 2300 or 6300
Monster X.P.: Mother of Hope is small as ships go, + 20 modifier to the roll, since a trained
with a crew of 20 and only eight sails. eye is needed to distinguish landmarks
Kill: 28,500 Defeat: 21,375
But shc is fast along the coastline, and in the Hennian.
Retreat: 7,125 The party may decide to leave a memo
maneuverable when she needs to be.
·Original AD&D rules only. Her captain, Lyran, is an elf who has ber or two on board the Mother of Hope,
been sailing for three hundred years. just to be safe, but this should be dis-
This encounter is intended for experi.
For the main of the journey, the party couraged. The ship's crew is sensible
enced characters, and experienced play-
can do nothing but wait the first two enough to wish to remain bolted in the
ers. A well-balanced party of characters
days as the ship follows the coast past hold, which ought to be safe enough for
who rely on each other's abilities and
the Great Forest into the marsh lands a few days, a nd the hold has stores
compensate for each other's weaknesses
surrounding Hennia. If the Mother of enough for five days.
will fare well in the Hennian Marshes,
Hope sails all night, she'll make port by And so the adventurers head out into
defeating a powerful opponent after an
sunrise. The Helmia port has a Iight- a trap.
exciting battle and earning treasure
commensurate with the risk. A party tower, 80 Lyran is inclined to travel
that does not resct as a team is likely to through the night. However, twenty Ora; The Rakshasa
get munched. miles from Hennia, things start to go
wrong. The marshlands are the home of a t'ak·
The winds turn harsh, and the sea, shasa going by the name of Orai.
The Set-up choppy. Lyran decides to wait out the Rakshasa (1): Int Very; AL LE; AC -
storm. As he approaches the shore look- 4 ; MV 15; HD 7; hp 39; THACO 13; IAT
• The party is summoned before Trevor,
ing for a safe anchorage, something 2; Dmg 3-121by weapon; SA Illusions,
a representative of the old king, ChaeL
comes out of the mists and attacks. The spells, ESP; SD Hit only by magic weap-
Chael has been a good king, but he is
ship runs hard aground, taking a great on s, weapons of less than + 3 do ha lf
dying now, and there is nothing his
hole to her hull. damage, blessed crossbow bolts kill; MR
priests can do. The party is assigned to
The next morning, the ship is trapped Immune to spells lower than 8th level;
travel to the city of Hennia, seven days' in the marshes, the land is dark and
journey by boat to the south. There. the SZ M;ML 16.
muddy, and t he foul smell of freshly Orai manifests himself in the Prime
PCs will find Chael's daughter, Tanalia,
disturbed rotting vegetation fills the air. Material as a humanoid with the fea.-
who has been governing the place as its
The mosses hang from the trees like tures of a wild boar rather than a tiger.
mayor. The PCs are to bring Thnalia to
thick spider webs, and the air is thick Because of t his, he figh ts w ith a weapon
the Royal Palace for final preparations
and hot. rather than with two claw attacks. But
to be crowned queen and successor to
And Lyran is dead. He, his first mate, his bite is more savage than typical.
her father's lands.
and the sai lmaster were killed the pre- When revealed in his true form, he
The day the party is set to leave on
vious night; they each have fang marks wears a red·and-green silken robe, and
board the ship Mother of Hope, Trevor
deep in their ne<:ks. One sailor, Lame golden bracelets worth 4,300 gpo
approaches the party again and unex-
Iglen, saw "Somethin. Some shape come Orai knows the following wizard
pectedly doubles the offer. It seems that
out of the fog. It just appeared, there spells: enlarge. hypnotism, sleep, Itn seen
all of the normal diplomatic channels of
you arc. And it killed the cap'n, the servant, glitterdust, misdirection, sum-
contact with Hennia have been cut ofT.
mate, and Dougand the sail·master,just mon swarm, Buggestion, and uampiric
Trevor isn't sure what this means, hut
as you please, with no bother. It just bit touch. He can also cast the follow ing
Tanalia might be in danger-and he's
them on the necks and they fell down." priest spells: cause fear, entangle, and
just issued the PCs hazard pay. Without
a better idea of what they might be If pressed for details, Iglen just re- faerie /ire. He carries a scroll containing
sponds, "J don't know. It sure wasn't the spell create darkenbeast (see Mon·
facing, t he PCs will have a hard time
human, that's all I know!' strous Compendium In, " Darkenbeast:'
convincing Trevor to raise his offer any
Hennia is twenty miles away, two for a description of the spell). He has
further. days by foot through the swamp, unless armed himself with a short sword +2

p o L y H E o R o N
 24

from one victim, and wears his most First Impressions The unseen servant will not discr imi·
precious possession, the ring of air, on nate between active victims, needing a
his len hand. It was with the control Late in the afternoon of the first day, " to hit" roll to successfully drop one
winds power that he beached the ship the rakshasa (invis ible due to the power pack or pouch; it can make one such
the past night. His one other possession of the ring of air) uses his1imited ESP attempt each rou nd. Those casting
of note is a crystal hypnosis ball, con- power to discern why the party has spells are considered automatically hit.
nected to a rakshasa maharajah on t he come to Hennia. He also tests the party The servant can strip a fa llen character
rakshsss's home plane. by sending a phase spider to attack for in two rounds.
1\vo years ago, Orai was living in two rounds and then flee. Orai observes Hound Three: Orai casts faerie fire on
Hennia, feeding quietly off the popula- the fight from a distance and makes the party, and the phase spiders begin
tion there. He carne to the attention of note of a few t hings: is the party strong their attacks on randomly selected
Preston, a priest of the local sun god. enough to handle themselves in a fight? characters, changing targets each
Preston didn't know how many other What weapons to the characters prefer? round.
rakshas8s dwelt in Hennia, and so Are there any wizards, and if so, how do Round Four: Orai entangles the party
made a pact with the monster: Orai and they wor k in combat? And fina lly, does (the spiders, of course, are immune to
all other rakshas8s would leave Hennia, t he party cooperate in a fi ght? If so, the effects) in the swamp weeds and
and no others would ever enter. In re- then tactics to separate the PCs might tanglovines. Characters who succeed in
turn Preston would let Orai depart with prove useful. t heir saving throws are not slowed, but
his life. The rakshss8 h ad looked at the At this point, Orai is taking pains to are rather held in place by the vegeta-
10 crossbows pointed at him, each keep from being caught. He observes tion. They can fight as well as they
cocked with 8 blessed crossbow bolt the fight from a safe distance a nd does please, and even receive their Dexterity
simed at his heart, and he agreed. Rak- not enter combat even to save his pet bonuses to Armor Class, but they can·
shasas keep their word. spider. not change their position or orientation.
But such a pact lasts only as long as Near sunset, the party will be at- The bats arrive.
those who sgreed to it. Orai has been tacked by four megalo-centipedes. This Round Five: Orai casts his acfoll spell ,
searching for someone powerful enough attack is not part of Ora i's plans, but and 12 bats in the swarm are turned
to use as a n agent to send into Hennia merely a chance encounter. into darkenbcssts and attack.
a nd kill Preston, at which time Orai Megalo-centipedes (4): Int Non; AL N; Darkenbeast (12): Int Semi; AL NE;
will consider himself released from his AC 3; MY 18; HD 3; hp 18, 17, 13, I S; AC 4; MY 18; HD 5 +5; hp 28, 26, 29,
vow and will return to the city. THACO 17; ' AT 1; Omg 1-3; SA Poison; 33,31,35,2 1 ,3 0 ,23,24,36,39;T~CO
1b this end, Orai has killed or other- SZM;MLIO. 19; IAT 1 or 3; Dmg 1-411-4/3 .12; SA
wise isolated all the conventional meso Rear claws 1-4/ 1-4; SO Immune to mind
sengers into and out of Hennia, control; MR 25%; SZ M; ML II.
isolating the city from the rest of the Combat Round Six: The rakshasa takes this
kingdom. He correctly believed that the round to try and counter any offensives
old king would send a group of powerful Three hours later, Orai launchell his the party has begun. He might use
troubleshooters to Hennia. He has inter- assault. He will wait until the party is sleep, cause fear; gust of wind, wall of
cepted the party and intends to test relatively relaxed (for example, eating force (especially as a counter against
them and then use one character as an dinner or retiring for the evening. Be· spells like fireballJ, vampiric touch, or
assassin. fore the combat begins, he summons his suggestion . This type of defensive spell
Orai has gained an ally and two unseen servant and casts misdirection casting is called "opportunity attacks?'
"pets" in his years in the swamp: a on himself. He will fly directly above Round Seven: Orai enlarges one of the
crimson death, and two phase spiders. the party, invisible. darken beasts.
Death, Crimson (1): Int Genius; AL Round One: The r akshasa casts glit- For the rest of the combat, Orai will
NE; AC 0 (4); MV Fl 12, FIG after feed- terdu8t on the party immediately before engage in opportunity attacks where
ing (Bl; HO 13; hp 60; THACO 7; 'AT 1; the crimson deat h appears. The crimson appropriate. It is important that the
Omg 3-30; SA Invisibility; SO Hit only death attacks the strongest.looking OM take Orai's motivations into ac·
by magic weapons; MR 95%; SZ M; member of the party, unless Orai has count. While the crimson death is look·
ML16. very good reasons for instructing it to ing for nothing more complicated than
Spider, Phase (2): Int Low; AL N; AC attack someone else. blood, the rakshasa is not trying to kill
7; MV 6, Wb 15; HD 5 +5; hp 27, 31; Round Two: Orai casts summon the party, but rather to subdue it. 'Ib
THACO 15; ,AT 1; Omg 1.6; SA Poison, swarm , and his call will be a nswered in this end, he will not attack in such a
-3 initiative bonus, a ttack from be- two rounds by a flock of bats. In addi- way as to kill most of the party's
hind; SO Phasing; SZ L; ML 15. tion, his unseen servant begins its wor k. thieves, as he will need one to act as a n
It was the phase spiders that attacked Orai has charged it as foll ows: Begin· assassin. The others could be used as
the ship last night, killing the captain ning with the most lightly a rmored hostages and bargaining chips to keep
and some crew. Of the party were to opponent and working up, loosen all the selected assassin in line.
check with a detect poison spell, the buckles and straps, and remove all When he believes the party to be
dead crewmen would reek of powerful pouches, belts, and packs from the indi- suitably helpless/defeated/despa iring,
venom.) vidual, dropping them in the marsh. Orai dismisses his attackers a nd ap·
Items dropped in the marsh have a 75% pears before the PCs in the illusory
chance of being recoverable, this chance guise ofThnalia. "She" demands to
decreasing by 5% for each round of know who the PCs are, and what their
combat in the area. COlltinued on poge 30

p o L y H E o R o N
 25

gGa
Opponents Make The Worlds Go RouncJ
sources, lind t h.is aspect shou ld be em· 2_ SF vil lai ns must fit you r cum-
by Roger E. Moore phasized ollen and well. paign. In ma ny fantasy·based books,
Rut. in the end, encounte rs w ith live, movies, ami nile-playing games, Cootl
Everyone loves a really good bad guy. active, thinking beings are the ones and I;:villlre t reated as real and Jl h so-
You may hate h im, but a great villain that pose the greatest risk ami offer t he lul e. i!:VL'n ! he gray areas in gaml·· bascII
stirs the heart of a hero, drives him to b'Tcatcst excitement. Consider ways of morality m·e o.;]carl.\' del"ineti as " ue utral
perform great deeds, and invites any mixing conflicts with foes and conflicts alignmenL.'· Uuod und }>~vil are also U5e(\
number of gaming adve nt ures and se· wit h nature tAl heighten the te nsion in in super hero comics and games, Wit h
quels. an adventure, getting the best of both good gu.ys :1 nd bad guys you know by
But all too often we forget that our (had) worlds. heart. T here's little question as to
enemies are human, too. We reduce OUf E.nlll1ple: In POLY H EDRON'" issue where t he m ajor dUl.wcters stand on the
foes to stick figures with no other di · 152, the "primitive" world Vizah!;h. was issues,
mensions than those that offend u s. Any described. Picture a scenario in w h.ich Science fiction often has Illude u se uf
personality that a n opponent might the PCs are asked to hel p on a search · t his type of villain. E.t<:. " Doc" S mith 's
have is buried or distorted so there is and·rescue mission in a swampy, coasta l monstrous Edciorians, Flas h Gonion's
nothing left. to understand about this area of Vizahsh similar tAl parts of old Ming the Merciless, and t he Slnr Wars
person besides our need to fight him. If Florida. A passenger steamshi p fu ll of saga 's Darth Vader Are alt Evi l heings
he is "bad" enough , t he oppon ent ceases Kronx (the reptilian aliens who domi· who must be stopped by those who are
to be believable, becoming a caricature nate the pla net) h as not ht.'Cn heard Good . There's a lot tAl be said for having
of eviL And if you don't believe in your from following a garbled I·adio message villai ns like this. T he existence of Evi l
foe, you won't believe in your struggles about engine failure . The PCs CUll takc I;illes a gamc campaign gr"t.:at st rc nj.,>i. h
against him, either- and there goes the one or m ore of the port's reasonably hy creating very obvious a dventu re
campaign. sophisticated rescue bOilhl (or even the ir hooks. In West }o;nd Games' S tar \Vars
Science·fiction role-pl aying games own starship) in search ofthe ship. system , yOll have yo ur work cut out
make use of every sort of opponent. In The Kronx, meanwhile, are in a s hip. lighting the evil forces of you ·know-
some games, the word "villain" is not load of trouble. Their disabled vessel who. The xenophohic Salllll r atlmnpl to
applicable. as your foes are not neces· has dr ifted onto a sandba r in a n island iilllughtcr all othel· races in 'I'Sit's S'IJ\R
sarily evil- they simply oppose your chain inhabited by savage huma ns who }o'HON'r IEHS" game. And K lingons
plans for their own reasons. In other are trying their best to kill all the gleefully fru str[ltc the plans of starllhip
campaigns, Good a nd Evil are clearly Kronx they can . 'rhe Kronx are not well cllptni ns in lo'ASA's Star Trek cam·
cut, a nd everyone belongs tAl one side or armed, but have fou ght on· two native paigns. Villains like t hese a re easily
the other. attacks so far. Bigger assaults Are on identitied and univcrsally fought. (See
There are more kinds of opponents the way, led by fanatic warriorli from the editorial in DHA GON- magazine
than there are starships. Here are some selleral island tribes. 1b ma ke thin gs issue 1 157 for related comme nts on why
comments (in no particular order) on the worse (of course), a major tropical storm demons a nd devils make good fantasy·
kinds of foes one encounters in science is brewing and wi ll arrive shorlly hefore game foes; many oflhe com me nl.s there
fiction games, as well as some ways to the pc!; reach the stranded s hip. which apply here a.~ wcl J.l
create more interesting opponents and lies a quarter-mi le offsh ore of a fH iriy But some science fiction campa igns do
ways to better use them. Creating vil· large island. not wurk on thc assum ption t hat Good
lains, antagonists, foes, and opponents If the PCs can get Uw Kronx off t he and Evi l, ~IS a tmol uwlI, exist. Antago·
involves not so much a set of h a rd and sh ip tAl the isla nd. t hey can find shelter ni!;ts abound in the interstellar reaches
fast rules as it does a loose set of guide· in the high hills to weather the storm, of GDW's Megu1'ruvdler a nd 2300 An
lines and opinions. Just adopt the ideas which will bring lO'·waves t hat will games an d FASA's Battletech game- but
that best suit your campaign. And dri ve wreck the steamshi p. But t he warlike moml issues here are often shaded with
the adventurers wild. humans don't want tAl give up a ny part w ay. An obnoxious s muggler mi ght ~d so
of their island to anyone, and ta lking btl a staunch ally. A g reedy me rchallt
1. Mother Nature is an adversary, with them is useless. might have a soft spot fOl· young: p{~(}p le
too. You can run entertaining scenarios It would help to rcad up 011 hurricanes Hlld ch ari ties, in memol·y 01" h is hal"!'h
in which the characters must survive SO you ca n gradual ly introduce t he Pes childhood.. A terrorist mig ht, he vipwed
monster·filled swamps, exploding suns, to more snd more had news us t he sce· 8S 11 freedom fighter by t he pooplt, for
earthquakes, and hurricanes while nario and the stAlrm prog'I·Cs;:;. You might whom he fi ghts.
exploring ancient ruins or abandoned even consider giving the barbaric hu· Campaigns like thi.'o! ga iu strcHg"t h by
alien spacecraft. Science fiction games mans some autAlmatic weapons to really being rea listic. WI' kilO\\" fro m 1"(,;11 life
are generally less dependent upon bat· surprise the PCs. Where did primitive how hard it can be tAl sort out right from
tles between good guys and bad guys humans get advanct.'<1 wellponry? Who wrong. Har~h , gritty, flo-easy·a nswer
than are fantasy, super hero, or espio· t.aught them to u se it? '['hese quest ions prohlt 'rnfl face our everyday li ve!'. and
nage games. Outer space is a deadly will have tAl wait until later. 'rho adven· Ilvery road has its pitfall~ . ~IJ mig ht it
adversary in itself, with limitless reo turers have enough to worry about now! tw in s('ic nc~' fiction 1"Oie playing games.

p o L y H E [) R o N
26

Are the PCs doing mor e harm than good is greatly a ltered in the face of ruthless, tool became our deadliest e n emy?
by shipping loads of firearms to a war- unforgiving struggles for survival. Still, Even in th is case, it woul d h elp to
torn pla net? Is the dictator governing a villains h ave their niches in t hese make th e rogue computer killable (or at
planet really 8S evil as he is painted? games, too. Epic super villains are more least give the PCs a good shot at crip-
Should the PCs capture a guerilla at home in the Warhammer 40,000 pli.n g it so t hat future attack s against it
leader or join his struggle? Such ques- universe, a nd common opponents are will be more successful). If the PCs are
tions lend a vital edge of realism to a best for t he other. meant to fight it, t he computer should
campaign and fuel creativity in role be mortal-but no one said it ha d to die
playi ng th e scenarios. 3. No opponent, no matter how easily!
The opponents th at PCs meet in sce- tough, is eternal. It often helps to end
narios should reneet the theme and feel an adventure by having a villain escape 4. Give your villains brain s . I once
of the campaign. Foes in Good V B. Evil when the heroes close in on him , but heard a group of players accuse a GM of
campaigns are often cosmic in power, how long do you think the players are cheating because he allowed the mono
possessing onc or morc special talents going to put up with that? Even Adolf sters in his fantasy campaign to use
(often magica l in nature) that make Hitler lost in the end. No villain should their own treasure to defend them·
them extremely dangerous just by be immune to the plots of the adventur- selves, and because he allowed his mon·
themselves. Major foes excel in badness, ers; overcoming the opposition is the sters to create traps and tactics to use
overshadowing petty criminals with whole point of adventuring. Certainly it against the PCs. I say, "Thugh noogies!"
their villainy. They often command h elps for every villain to have a few The most dangerous villains are those
immense forces that outnumber those of back doors through which he can escape who think for themselves.
the good guys, a nd the ir reach extends to torment the PCs a nother day. But if Of course, saying this is one thing;
acr oss many star systems. The good th e PCs block the exits, give them the doing it is another. 'fake a close look at
guys can run, but they cannot hide (not satisfaction of ending the villain's reign the tactics t hat t he PCs use to defeat
for long, anyway). The motives for such of terror (and make up notes on what their foes. Do they use heavy firepower,
villa ins nearly always boil down to the you should do in case the PCs do exactly surpr ise, camouflage, psionics, raids, or
desire for more and more power. Insan- that). Remember: You can make up new computers to remove the opposition?
ity is sometimes seen among these vil- villains anyt ime you like! The only Once you see what they do. have your
lains, as it is assumed that on ly insane r eason that super villains keep return· NPCs do the same. It's the old trick of
people would be so exceedingly bad. ing in the comics is so t hat t he comics having the orcs use ambush es, long
Opponents in "realistic" campaigns, companies can preserve the t rade marks bows, flaming-oil grenades, magical
however, are notable for t heir normal ity they keep on the villains' na mes. You potions, and heavy a rmor to stomp the
a nd their limitations. They have normal don't need to worry about that, so give fantasy heroes who had expected to
human str engths and weaknesses, and the heroes a break . r omp off with victory. You can make it
they have access to th e same materials Example: The supercomputer Guard- work in science ficti on games, too. Play
that are used by the PCs who oppose ian, described briefly in this column in NPCs as if they were your own PCs.
them. These foes may commit terrible POLYHEDRON'" Newszine 152, looks Example: Look at Arnold Brown, who
acts and be called villains, but they are pretty hard to beat. If the adventurers once ruled t he criminal organization
neither truly evil nor insane; they sim- get on the wrong side of it, they would HYDRA in the MARVEL UNIVERSE
ply operate under priorities not sh a red be in for t he r un of their (short) lives. (yes, this is not exactly in the SF genre,
by the player characters. Their goals The computer has unwitting agents and but bear with me). Here was a guy who
are varied; few wa nt to conquer or de· computer subsystems a ll over the place. had absolutely no superpowers whatso-
stroy the world , as t hey have their I designed it that way because I liked ever. Physically he was a wimp, and he
sights set on more easily achieved ends, the idea of a sentient computer that out- couldn't use magic, psionics, or any·
such as getting moderately r ich by drug thought humans at the survival game. thing else. But he was smart. And he
trafficking or arms smuggling. Besides, Guardian is not evil; it just was determined. And he had NO moral
Pick the type of villain that best fits wishes to preserve its people's safety. or ethical qualms to stop him. With his
your campaign-but don't feel con- A game master, however, could easily exceptional skill at managing things, he
str ained by these stereotypes. The sud· turn Guardian into a rogue military created and directed one of the most
den appearance of a superhuman computer t bat spits out viruses and dangerous groups of foes that any hero
adversary in an other wise "realistic" deadly programming a ll across its end ever battled. Arnold knew what to do
campaign can really add a thrill to the of the galaxy. Maybe it was pro- and he did it. He plann ed a h ead, ex-
proceedings, while run-ins with petty grammed that way by an enemy govern· pected t he unexpected, and trained a nd
criminals in Good.-vs.-Evil games will ment, or it has genuinely decided to equi pped his men with the'best weap-
add a stronger thread of believability. destroy or rule humanity for the com· onry th at existed. Pity the galactic
Do wha t you h ave to do to make the puter's own ends. The fi ght against the heroes who run into a foe who is his
game work best for you and the players. computer could go on for decades, far equal, who runs a force as deadly and
(As a side note, one might add a third longer tban t he campaign's exped.ed well organized as HYDRA once was.
category to science fiction mora l sys· life, but it would ma ke a wild backdrop Remember: In comic books, superhu-
terns, t he dark-future setti ng. Cyber- for an interstellar campaign. The ad· man heroes fought HYDRA. In science
punk and post-holocaust games, Steve venturers would often fight the rogue fict ion games the heroes will be people
Jackson's Car WarsfAutoduel system, computer's attempts to control or de- like you and I. Good luck.
and Games' Workshop's Warhammer stroy them, using computer viruses,
40,000 game depict SF settings in which hired assassins, a nd killer satellites. IS. Villains must be belie v a ble. A
normal morality is nearly worthless or Would huma nity survive if our greatest good villain must be realistic, even if he

p o L y H E o R o N
 27

borders t he fantastic in his abilities. He monstrous lengths to " purify" his cho· most honorably-for his cause.
should be a reasonable model of the sen people. The latter, unfortunately, is - AI Capone, from your history books.
worst in humanity. A good villain is not true. Say that the city of Novatown, from this
a raving megalomanic with his fingers Dion Alexander is not really insane. column in POLYHEDRON Newszine
poised over nuclear triggers. He is a He likes dogs and children, and he is a 153, has a serious crime problem among
complex and unique being. A nut case devoted family man. But he believes in its other troubles. Mob bosses are chal·
like Batma n's foe, the Joker, should be the r ightness of his mission to put le nging t he ruling Cortez family for
rare. Criminals in the real world have Springfield in control of the world, and control of the city's fant astic income
normal drives, like hunger, hatred, he is backed by weaponry and soldiers from interstellar tourists a nd mer-
revenge, desire, greed, and fear. Even in willing to see his dream become reality. chants. One such boss has decided to
high-powered Good-vs.-Evil campaigns, He is a human being with dreadful send a "big, red valentine" to one of his
a foe's motives and goals should be flaws, and unless the PCs oppose him, r ivals-and the PCs happen to be in the
understandable and realistic. millions will die on battlefields and wrong place when the "valentine" (six
Th strengthen a villain 's " realism:' "prisoner holding" camps. aircafS full of men carrying automatic
model him on the life and personality of weapons) is delivered. Perhaps the sur·
a real·world individual from history or 6. A viUain should have style. viv ing PCs would like to send a valen·
current events. I recommend that you Think about Darth Vader from the Star tine of their own back to " Big AI."
fudge with such characters enough to Wars trilogy. Here is a villain who has Petty dictators. corrupt m erchants,
hide their historical origins, especially style and character. He controls his treacherous mercenaries, war criminals,
if they a re based on well-known, underlings by fear. He ruthlessly seizes gangster a, r eligious fanatic s, vengeful
modern-day, still-living figures 0 know any chance to gain more power. His nobles, violent sociopaths- it's not an
better than to suggest a ny by name in meehanical breathing, his hollow but easy universe to live in. But adventur-
this column). commanding voice, his red Iightsaber, ers weren't born to lead boring lives.
Exampu: Let's again go hack to and his black armor and cape are his And neit her were those who challenge
POLYHEDRON'" Newszine 152, in trademarks. And he has his quirks, too, them for the glory a nd riches of the
which a world named New Columbia such as casually stra ngling those who galaxy.
was described. One of the " governors"
of this odd feudal society would make
fail him. You can see that nothing mat-
ters to him except his own will; he ig.
o
an excellent opponent in an adventure nores everything that has nothing to do
based on this world. For a villainous with his plans, never wasting time or
model. let's choose Adolf Hitler, who effort. He is supremely confident.
becomes Dion M. Alexander, the gover- Darth Vader ;s a unique foe with
nor (really the absolute dictator) of the style. He is true to his personality and
state of Springfield. 1\vice defeated in has attention-grabbing looks and behav·
wars with its neighboring feud al states iors. When he finally did step out of
of Albany, Columbus, and Nashville, character in The Return of the Jedi, the
Springfield had a ruined economy and sense of disappointment [ felt was
was kept from maintaining its own acute. Here was a really great bad guy
army. Then Dion Alexander came to who had been ruined. It would have
power, and he quickly-eve n openly!- been better to have kept him true to
built his state into a major military form all the way through . Don't make
power. Alexander is charming, but he is the same mistake with your villains.
driven by a sense of destiny and wants
his state to control a ll others. Most 7. Use every source you can to
Springfielders revere their leader, who develop ne w opponents. Don't just
has pulled their state out of chaos and comb old SF books and movies for bad
given them a future to follow. guys. Dig around and adapt what you
But the future Dion Alexander envi- find to enrich and enliven your cam-
sions is one paved with hideous a troci- paign. You can fi nd:
ties and world-wide destruction. He has -Goldfinger, from the James Bond
bargained for and captured considerable novels by Ian Fleming. Here is a shrewd
amounts of advanced weaponry, and he and calculating man whose greed knows
even has two starships with nuclear no ends. No risk is too great a nd no
missiles placed in secret retreats. In the deed too treacherous if it will bring him
great rallies that he holds from his wealth.
ornate governor's palace, he preaches - Lancelot, from the play Comelot, by
his gospel of war and conquest , and his Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.
people listen. The states around him are Wait a minute- Lancelot? Hey, no kid-
divided as to whether Alexander is a ding. A honorable and highly trusted
vital world leader of tomorrow or a warrior who brea ks with his
warmonger out to avenge earlier war· commander-in-chief and starts a civil
time defeats, willing t o make scape- war is a pretty striking opponent. Why
goats of any number of other nations did he do it? There could be a hundred
and ethnic groups, and willing to go to reasons, but he still fights hard- and

p o L y H E D R o N
 28

More To The Maze

History and Errata for MERTWIG'S MAZE'M Gamefolio
However, fortune is ever fleeting, and but he is, in fact, a Monk. Therefore, he
by Tom Wham the new game company quickly ran into is entitled to wield the holy symbol of
the reefs of financial difficulties. Their Anabachazz.
It probably all started back when 1 lived first economy measure was to drop their
in this enormous house in Lake Geneva, board game line, which, at the time THE TRULY INVISIBLE RING In
t he upper right hand corner of the Invis-
WI, with Jeff Perrin and Jeff "Duck" consisted of Mertwig. I was lucky, I got
ible Ring (a 1\-easure Card ) should be
Leason. At the time, all three of us to keep my advance. Lest you pe<lpJe out
printed the number 3. Anyone wearing
worked for TSR. Perrin has since gone there think I made a killing, believe me
the ring adds three to his or her defense
to Rockford to work for Royal Hobby, I didn't. The game had consumed nearly
value
and Leason has moved to Chicago and 400 of my hours, so a dollar an hour was
works for Mayfair Games. not really the best return t could get. In THE FLEE The magic spell Fear has
For most people. a living room means fact, I think one can earn more collect- proved through experience to be a real
couches and chairs. Our living room ing aluminum cans! pain. Therefore, it is now no longer an
featured II 6·(oot by 24·£oot wargame Once again, the game returned to its area effect spell. Fear, when cast, ap-
table. Upstairs was the computer room brown box, and 1bm Wham went with- plies to only one character or encounter.
with myoid TRS SO, some gaming ta· out things like food. Then, however, in a Problem solved.
bles, and a million shelves of books. fit of brilliance, I called old friends at
Next to that was my game.designing TSR and asked if they might be inter- RAPID TRANSIT IN THE P YRA·
ested in a fully·developed and play- MID The first sentence of the move·
room with three more tables and games
everywhere. Back downstairs, in the tested game ready for publication. ment rule for the Last Pyramid in the
Sand should read: Roll the die and move
den, was the real game room where Miracle of miracles, the answer was yes!
one-half t he amount indicated (round
people from a ll over town came to play. An advance came, I ate, and t he game
fractions up).
One of the things they played was the went into production. Thanks to t he
beginnings of MERTWIG'S MAZE" able editing of Steve Winter, the game A FINAL NOTE ABOUT ENCOUN·
Gamefolio. matured and became what it is today TER AREAS When a player places
I had been forever searching for the (oh, yeah, I realize it is small potatoes his marker on an encounter card, the
ultimate board game version of the compared to all the role·playing stuff only way he can get back to the map is
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS'> game, so out there today, but there are players through the normal exit of that encoun-
that my fortunes would equal those of who don't want the complication of a ter (unless he uses a teleport scroll).
Dave Arneson and Gary Gygax. But full-fledged role.playing game all the
what I came up wit h was a game i time.) The rules are relatively simple SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE THE
called The Dungeon (hey, it was only a GAME Late in the game t here always
and easy to master. The complexity
seems to be a shortage of treasures. One
working t itle). in it, players were dealt comes in the player interaction (which
quick fix is to take the one spare 1\-ea-
cards of adventurers and a hand of gets us right back to role playing).
encounters; treasures were kept in a There's the history. Now for the prob. sure Card and make it an instant pay
25 gold pieces. Another, more drastic
separate deck. You went down into the lems:
dungeon and other people played remedy for this condition costs a mere
encounters on you until you were killed $10. I know it sounds awful for the
Errata For MERTWIG'S MAZE game designer to suggest this, and I
or couldn't stand it any longer and came
back to the surface. Of course, treasure Gamefolio could profit if you do, but buy an extra
was obtained a long the way. Combat game and use both decks of treasure
was simple (dIO vs. dIO) and results THE MISSING TRAP In the Mystic cards. This gives you plenty of treasures
were swift. Vale, there is no explanation for the (not to mention two Onyx Oxen). You
TRAP found at Leo's Little Leantoo. could a lso use both arms and treasure
Well , times changed and so did for·
tunes. Myself a nd 200 others were laid There has been much debate over what decks. Do not, however, double up the
off from TSR, and my game went into to do here. Many players just apply one encounter deck or the character deck.
the proverbial brown box. The game wound to anyone member of t he party.
THE TALLEST TREE IN THE
languished for some years until I got an Here's t he official ruling. Randomly FOREST Here it is, a new encounter
offer from a then new, now gone, game select anyone member of the party (not area for the MERTWIG'S MAZE Game·
company, to sell them some board the player character). Then roll a die. If foli o. You have to color it yourself, and
games. I took two armloads of brown the result is a 0 or exceeds the charac-
cut out or photocopy the page from this
boxes to them one afternoon and we ter's defense value, that character is Newszine. We'll cover adventure areas
spent the day playing a few a nd mulling trapped (removed from the party and for the Colossi of Morg, the Boneyard,
over t he rest. Happily, t he net result r eturned to the discard pile). Eagle Rock, and the Thing that Fell
was a contract (with money!) for a new THE MlSSING MONK Among the From the Sky in future issues.
board game to be called MERTWIG'S
MAZE.
character cards, there is one called
Marldyk. The card says he is a warrior,
o

p o L y H E o R o N
 29

ELVEN
DINING
HALL

START •

Tallest Tree In The Forest THE BALCONY: Great view, 80 inspiring. In fact, you're so
overwhelmed all wounds on everyone in your party are healed.
This famous old tree is a happy place, inhabited by elves, ea- Then, roll a die:
gles, snd many other creatures. A powerful magic surrounds 0,9,8 Encounter
the tree a nd you may not enter if you have any evil characters 7,6 THIEF (see dining hall)
in your party. By the same token, you may never have an evil 5,4 Elf Charm (see dining hall
encounter while at the tr ee. 3,2,1 Elven Box-l treasure
Movement: Roll the die and move the full amount indicated.
You may NOT move less than t he die roll u nless you choose to THE EAGLE'S NEST: The Great Eagle and his friends live
stop in one of the two named rooms or in t he Eagle's Nest. If here. They are more than willing to fly you a nd your party a
you roll a 0, you do not move, but you have an encounter in· good distance toward your goal . Move one die roll in the direc-
stead. A trip through the tree should take four or five turns. tion of our choice and go there now. You may not, however, be
Special: If you brought the Magic Plant Spike with you, first flown directly to another adventure area.
collect your reward. Then, you have the option of subtracting
one from any and every die roll you make while in the tree. STAR SPACES: When you land in a star space, the encounter
This improves your chances for treasure and decreases your player must playa starred encounter on you (remember no evil
chance of an encounter. allowed in the tree). If the encounter player does not ha~e a
such an encounter that is not evil, he passes the Encounter
ELVEN DINING HALL! Any party with at least oneelf csn Player card to the len and that person must playa starred
subtract one from this die roll (cumulative if an elf has the (non-evil) encounter. If the Encounter Player card circles t he
Spike). table to return to its original holder, there is no encounter aner
0•• Encounter all. You can never play an encounter on yourself, so if the card
8.7 THIEF (Lose 4 gold or 1 arm) reaches you , pass it on.
6.5 Elf Charm-5 gold or 1 magic draw
4.3 Elven Box- l treasure
2.1 Big Elven Box- 2 treasures

p o L y H E o R o N
 30

Burton's Bouncing Bears tandem. After going around the ring der and save Teddy. Jennifer sternly
OJntinued from post 12 once, Arnold and Jason freeze in their shakes her head no and suggests Karen
tracks a nd slowly turn around a nd see should be the one to climb the ladder.
band beats his snare. After a few mo- Derrick. Derrick smiles stupidly and The two argue silently with exagger-
ments the clown in the rear (Jason) lets waves to Arnold and Jason. Arnold and ated gestures until Jennifer forces Ka·
out a small sneeze. Arnold, in the front, Jason look at each other with an expres- ren up the ladder. Karen climbs up the
stands tall and looks angry. yelling, sion of exaggerated horror on their faces ladder until she reaches the three-
"What are you doing? Do you want the and begin to flee, shouting and scream- quarter point. The ladder then bends at
bears to hear you? We're supposed to be ing. Derrick drops to all fours and runs the hinges in the halfway point and
hunting bears. It is extremely impor. after them, right out of the tent. begins to fold down; she is soon upside
tant that you be quiet. If you're not down, climbing toward the ground.
quiet. then the bears will know that ACT III A spotlight shines on the When she reaches t he ground. she rolls
you're coming. Won't they?" Appearing high wire. Over the center ring- ofT the ladder and looks around in
humbled, Jason nods to Arnold. Arnold halfway across the wire-is Teddy, who amazement. The antics with the trick
and Jason begin sneaking around the wails pitifully. The bear cries again, and ladder continue for several minutes.
ring, not yet entering it. As they r each the ring below is lit up showing two During this time Teddy gets tired of
the front of the ring, Derrick (in bear female clowns dressed in rags a nd waiting to be rescued and walks the rest
form) comes out from the back of the amazingly large boots. The first clown, of the way across the high wire. Eventu·
tent. He is dressed in a clown Buit and Jennifer, points to Teddy and runs to the ally, Jennifer gets the ladder to work.
has red circles painted on his cheeks. center of the ring. The se<:ond clown. and by the time she reach es the top,
He runa around the ring, following Karen, runs to an extension ladder that Teddy is gone. The bending ladder
Jason and Arnold until he is behind is lying to one side of the ring. Karen places her back on the ground, where
them. Derrick stands on his rear brings the ladder over to Jennifer and Karen is petting 'leddy.
haunches and a ll three begin to walk in gestures that she should climb the lad-

Rakshasa Word Search Revisited

Continued {rom fXJ8e 24
L A T N E MEL E R S N 0 P Y N E 0 T Y UGH L D
business is in this area. "Thnalia" will
accept credit for the attack, claiming o GR T YT P QAC B A I R T 0 VG R V E 0 YX T
that the party was trespassing on her L E Z 0 U A R V E RUT N E V 0 A 0 A K 0 B 0 L 0
land. T REA N T TEL 0 N Y S TOO M I P Y R L Q S r
Orai will gain the PCs' service H L DOD Y H 0 Z E RIG S E J P V W H A I G RP
through as many ruses aa he can mus-
ter. First, "'Th.nalia" will claim her GNAXEKBLMXEZANCUITTEVNROI
rightful privilege as queen of the realm, MJATACSNRVYQUOFDRNYGIWOPS
and order Preston executed. If that A I L FOE G 0 J C T I A MAT EON L S M L N T
doesn't work, Orai will ofTer a bribe: a UWSMOIKGYPSOBBCUGMFIHARPY
beautiful crystal ball (actually, a crystal
hyp1W8is ball). If that fails, he will try to V H N R L L GAR GOY LEA N A L 0 DIM A 0 X
cast a suggestion that Preston is actu· OPOAZRT REA SUREC IAGEWEMWE T
ally a worse threat than Orai, that the T TAN I Q R 0 L T E F H E THE REA LOU M I
priest haa made pacts with a rakshasa A NAG A T T H N GTE J U C Y N E S R D L N T 0
and " intends to do me harm." 'Thchni-
cally speaking, this is true. Finally, if TROECORUWRAITHRERGOFURITH
all else fails , Orai will drop his guise A N G R E R M MIS G H NEE J AUG RAM C R E
and threaten the PCs. If this fails as WOFMMZAXMOETYKTTWZIMAXOKL
well. he will call back his phase spiders o R C Z B I M U IRE H T I H C U LAB Z M R M I
and attack the party hand·to-hand until
he kills the party or he fails his morale A 0 Y C T V M X U N ZOO I G Q HAN E R T N V A
check and takes off flying. LEA HAM 0 Y v S L U R T I S HAT Z TEl M P
The details of the results of this par- WHRAYBTAFWINLLFLETOHSPRPM
ley are left. to the DM. If the PC chosen EYXRSGHIRMAGICHAPTWIPTVSN
assassin does indeed decide to kill Pres·
ton, or agrees to do 80 in hopes of luring C L R Y T S H A E H RET CAR A H C R E Y ALP
the rakshasa into a trap, Orai will keep VOL D W R A I M 0 ROW S C 0 E I NS L X NOS
the rest of the party as hostages. If Orai R PAL A DIN C K A N 0 C NEG E T S L I A G N
is convinced that the PC haa in ract HNOMKGEHKHNARGAONFPHSGMEO
killed Preston, the rakshasa will then
turn on the party with hunger in his
eyes. 0 Try using this grid to find "dungeon related" words. The puzzle that ap-
peared in issue 156 had two lines of letters missing- sorry.

p o L y H E o R o N
 31

s
Finland A l6.year -old, male AD&D:t Wisconsin Attention all garners living
game and fantasy freak is looking for in the Fox Valley area. Please contact ATI'ENTION ALL MEMBERS
pen pals. Please write Saku Mantere, me. I wish tojoin a Network club or Do you need a little something extra
Sarsantie 4, 00920 Helsinki, Finland. form a new one. I'm lonely, but I know from HQ? Use one of our forms to get
there must be other members here. it quickly, a nd without hsS&le--if you
Write Roy Plamann, 1800 W Pershing complete the right form you won't
United Kingdom Our group 0(20 to forget anything important. Our
Apt. 6, Appleton, WI 54914, or call 414-
22.year-olds on the Isle of Man invites forms include:
749·1218. Show me you're out there
new members to take part in forthcom- please.
ing campaigns designed to bring out the • Convention Announcement (Must
character in your character. We mainly be filed at least six months in
play the AD&D game, although we Genera1: Female gamer, 16 years old, advance.)
enjoy many others including Call of seeks as many pen pals as possible, • 'lburna ment Request (There is a $5
Cthulhu, Rolemaster, and Space master. especially overseas. I'm interested in fee for each tournament round
Contact Justin Unsworth, 13 Third Ave. Rolemaster, the AD&D game, Call of un.less you're providing one of your
Douglas, Isle of Man. Cthulhu, Paranoia, and others. My own. Must be filed at least six
other interests include computer s, mar- months in advance.)
tial arts, and science fiction. I would • Classified Ad (Your ad will appear
New Hampshire Is there a role- like to correspond with anyone who in the next available Newszine.)
playing group located within one hour • Club Registration (Any six Net-
writes novels and short stories or enjoys
of Portsmouth, NH? Please write Mark Stephen King's work. Please write Sue work members can form a ssnc-
Moore, P.O. Box 143, New Castle. NH O'Reilly, 728 Caroline St, Ogdensburg, tioned club. $35 fee, $25 renewal.)
03854. • Standard Disclosure (Must accom-
NY 13669.
pany any Newszine or 'lburnament
Oklahoma Attention any and all submission.)
garners in the 'lUIS8 or Stillwater areas. General: I'm looking for used Paranoia • 'lburnament and Newszine Writ·
supplements a nd adventures. I only am er's Guidelines (Getting these
I'm an avid player of the AD&D game
willing to pay under the retail price. ahead oftime saves time and in-
and its spinofTs. [ also enjoy Robotech
and I'm eager to learn new games. Please send list to Christopher Willson, creases your chances of being
2179 CR 204, Durango, CO 81301. accepted.)
Please contact Laymon R. Rupe, P.O.
Box 21, Waldo, FL 32694.
General Wanted: the original AD&D
metal miniatures boxed sets. I need
Pennsylvania Mature 15-year-old OM!
player looking for garner s in the Fighters, Rangers, & Paladins and
Reading-Pottstown area. I play both
Undead Creatures. Send the name of
the set and the condition of the figures
versions of the AD&O game, TMNT, to Andy Vance, 313 So. 3rd St, Delavan,
Shadowrun, MARVEL SUPER WI 53115.
HEROES game, Stormbringer, Battle-
tech, the D&D8 game, Blood Bowl, and
others. t am a great fan of the General For Sale: Collection of RPGs in
SPELWAMMER'" campaign setting. good to excellent condition. For exam·
All ages are welcome, but I prefer ma- pie, FORGO'fTEN REALMS'" boxed
ture and experienced players. I am sets and source books, TOP SECRETI
perfectly willing to learn other games. S.I.'" game sets and source books,
Write Matt Pennington, 124 Russel Ave, MARVEL SUPER HEROES game ad·
Douglasville, PA 195 18, or call me at ventures. Reasonable prices. For a list,
215-385-6201. send SASE to: Frank Troise, 1 Morgan
Lane, Staten Island, NY 10314. Also
Texas Attention Fort Worth garners. willing to trade.
We're looking for a few good people for a
\ \
local club. Interested? Contact Tom General Seeking pen pal who enjoys
Allen, 4408 Springbranch, Fort Worth, playing and sharing experiences for the
TX 76116. We've tried most mailUltream GAMMA WORLO® game and Call of
(and some unusual) RPGs. Cthulhu. Any age welcome. Write
Michael Kcdziora, 4636 Passaic Ct,
Huber Heights, OH 45424.

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