Another issue of White Dwarf and another fantastic cover.
This one is by John Blanche and what a wonderful job he has done. Unlike the
Dragon Magazine covers, White Dwarf seems to be emphasizing the beauty and
action of fantasy gaming.
All that said, does anyone have any idea what sort of
bird he’s losing this fight to? Seriously, he looks like that bird has been
kicking his ass for forty-five minutes and his only hope of coming back is that
the bird dies of exhaustion or loses interest in the fight altogether.
Got to be an elf.
Editor’s Letter
by Ian Livingstone
This month’s editor’s forum spends its lamenting the
state of the British gaming industry. Time and again he points to the leaders
in the industry being Americans, not that there’s anything wrong with that; but
“. . . Surely the existing Lord of the Rings following and the Friends of the DM
by Don Turnbull impending Star Wars mania would have inspired someone, somewhere
. . .” (pg. 3)
Not so much, yet. But Games Workshop will soon change
that I think.
Alice in Dungeonland by Don Turnbull
Mr. Turnbull presents his Wonderland level of a dungeon
for the Dungeons and Dragons game. There are some amusing parts to this
dungeon, but by and large there is nothing here that I feel like should be in
my games.
I’ve felt this way pretty regularly about Alice adventures
in general so if you’re a fan of those things this might be for you, but for my
money it’s a waste.
D&D Campaigns, Part II: Mechanics
by Luis Pulsipher
Still the best
part of the White Dwarf Magazines – even if this one is incredibly dry. Mr. Pulsipher
is able to provide you with enough kernels of wisdom that whether you’re a
first time player or a guy who’s be playing since ’78 that you’ll find
something worth keeping from this series.
Hyboria by Tony Bath
This article is the story of Mr. Bath’s Hyborian war game
that he created based on the works of Robert E. Howard. For those of you
looking for a real good guide for creating a fantasy world that will matter to
you and your players beyond the base levels explained in the modern Dungeon
Master Guides (3.5 and 4th) then this is an article just for you.
Lots of good stuff here.
Open Box, by Various
Nomad Gods by
Chaosium gets a 9 out of 10 from Lewis Pulsipher. Now having read enough of
these I can tell you that this means that there are a well-established set of
rules and that skilled play (a thorough understanding of the rules and stratagems)
is rewarded.
Star Empires by TSR
gets a 7 out of 10 and I have to say it sounds like an interesting game –
though incredibly time consuming! Has anyone ever played it?
Dungeon! By TSR gets
an 8 out of 10 and from what I remember that game is a lot of fun. In fact I
think that I’ve got one of the later versions over at my mom and dad’s. I’ll
have to check that out.
Melee by Metagaming
Concepts gets a 6 out of 10 but as it’s in the same series as Ogre I suppose it
should be forgiven if it doesn’t live up to its predecessor.
Monsters Mild and Malign
by Don Turnbull
Mr. Turnbull presents some interesting creatures but
continues to press his Monstermark system. It won’t ever work for me and
neither do any of these monsters.
Treasure Chest
A complete waste this time for me.
Competitive Dungeons and Dragons
by Fred Hemmings
The last of this series and I’ll miss it very much. The
articles have had moments where I scratch my head and wonder why anyone would
ever go through all the trouble, but by and large they have been incredibly useful.
This one is no different as Mr. Hemmings has continued on
with Pandora’s Dungeon and finishes up with a discussion of treasures in the competitive
setting.
Worth the read.
Finally we get to the back cover. Tell me you don't love this!
I like that each encounter area in the "Alice" adventure has a source in the original books. It's very much a product of its time, though; very literal, which leads to an enforced linearity.
ReplyDeleteThat tends to be a problem with most of Don Turnbull's stuff that I've encountered so far.
DeleteBy the way, thanks for commenting Joseph Bloch. I really enjoy your blog.