Polyhedron #008

8/2/2019 Polyhedron #008

1/16$2.00


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ots of changes going on in the RPGA'"work, not the least of which is theof the POLYHEDRONT Newszine.of new things. I, for instance, haveped out from behind the protectiver that print provides with a new reg-column - Editorial Statement and

From my prospective, thishe best POLYHEDRON Newszinee ever, at least until the next one. Letshow you why.aria, Big Bernie and Lefty, that calmwary trio on our front cover are theects of the POLYHEDRON's first

page. Sprung from the fer-immagination of TSR's own JamesWard, Encounters is simply a onediscription of each issue's cover artse them to tryout new characterses, test problems, or incorporateinto YOLK own campaigns.is issue concludes our interviewMike Carr; author of the FIGHT INSKI EST" game, and its revision,N PATROLT game. For those ofwho are novices of the FIGHT INSKIES game, Mike outlines the howand for those TOP SECRETgameusiasts, Mike discusses the where's. Don't miss artist Jim Holloway'sired portrait of Mike, either.

by Mary KirchoffWitness the return of the long awaited

conclusion to Michael Brunton's FigurePainting. The article, reprinted from theD&D Players Association Newsletter(our counterpart in the UK) gives vitaladvice on how to paint successfully. Ofspecial interest to those who paint fig-ures is the RPGA Network special offerfrom FLOQUIL POLLY-SoKim Eastland, the new RPGA Network

Coordinator has added his own literarytalents to the list of POLYHEDRONNewszine features. Nerd's Quest is thecontinuing saga of librarian Reiga Nerdand his pun-dropping cohorts. Kim hasalso contributed a set of runes found en-circling a doorway in a dungeon - de-cipher them quickly, there is somethingbehind you in the corridor.Mark Acres, the designer of the

GANGBUSTERST game gives an out-line of this new TSR role playing game.And in our regular columns, SpellingBee, Notes for the OM and Dispel Confu-sion, Frank Mentzer discusses OM stra-tegy, and spellcasting components.And finally, Kim Eastland gives his first

address as RPGA Network Coordinator- a State of The Association addressyou might say.See for yourselves. . . - MK

Contents

view with Michael L. Carr - The conclusion 4e Painting - The conclusion you've al/ been waiting for, by Michael Brunton 8N" Network special offer - Paint charts from FLOQUIL POLL Y-S 9Scry- Solve the runes quickly - there's something behind you 10ng started in the GANGBUSTERS'" game - By Mark Acres 12

- Editorial Statement and Perspective 2rs 3Rabbits - The Rabbit is resurrected (sigh J . . . . .. . . . . 3unters - Meet Tom, Maria, Big Bernie and Leftyfrom our front cover, by James M. Ward 6s for the Dungeon Master - Strategy, by Frank Mentzer 7's Quest - Tales of the nerdly librarian, Reiga 10ing Bee - Components, by Frank Mentzer 11l Confusion - by Frank Mentzer 13s from HQ - A State of the Association Address,

by Kim Eastland 14Catalog 15A Network Membership Drive 16Issue #8

POL YHEDRONVolume 2, Number 5

Issue #8Publisher: E.Gary GygaxManaging Editor: Kim EastlandEditor: Mary KirchoffContributing Editor: Bill HoyerCover Artist: Jim HollowayContributing Artists: Jim Holloway(pgs.5-6)

Harry Quinn(pg.7)Laura Roslof(pg.8)Timothy Truman(pg.10)Scott Roberts(pg.11)Bob Walters(pg. 11)Ron Shirtz(pg.13)

Other Credits: Photo (pg. 9) cour-tesy of Jeff Perren

The POLYHEDRON' (the official newsletter ofTSR's ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION'"Network) is published bi-monthly by TSRHobbies, Inc. The mailing address is POB 509,Lake Geneva, W153147, telephone number (414)248-3625.

The POLYHEDRON'" welcomes unsolicitedsubmissions of written material and artwork.However, no responsibil ity for such submissionscan be assumed by the publisher in any event.No submissions will be returned unlessaccompanied by a self-addressed stampedenvelope of sufficient size.

The POLYHEDRON' is mailed free to al l RPGA'members. Membership rates: 1year $10; 2 years$18; 5 years $40. All prices are subject to changewithout notice. Changes of address for thedelivery of subscriptions must be received atleast 30 days prior to the effective date of thechange in orderto insure uninterrupted delivery.

All material published in The POLYHEDRON'becomes the exclusive property of the publisherupon publication, unless special written arrange-ments to the contrary are made prior to publi-cation.

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, ADVANCEDDUNGEONS & DRAGONS and TOP SECRETare registered trademarks owned by TSRHobbies, Inc. "TM" designates other trademarksowned by TSR Hobbies, Inc. ROLE PLAYINGGAME ASSOCIATION', RPGA', and GENCON are service marks owned by TSR Hobbies,Inc. 1982TSR Hobbies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.


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ltTTtRSWhat should I do about problemracters who always think that theyhot stuff (other than kill them)?"- Dave Sayers, Demotte.IN

e question of "hot shots" is intriguing.w about it, you referees and players?w do you handle arrogant, trouble-e types short of "wiping them out"?

ose types tend to run into high-levelC's in my world and learn humilityl fast. How about in your world? - KE"I enjoy reading the newsletter when itmes. I would be interested in seeing action of the newsletter for classifieds.is would be used as a communica-s medium for subscribers and mem-rs to be able to advertise something. Ik that this would be a large benefit toth the newsletter and readers alike."- Bruce Rothenberg, West Islip, NY

e subject of classifieds usually comesat one time or another with our type ofszine. The trouble is how to monitorvalidity or quality of what is being

vertised. If someone gets "ripped off"there is a misunderstanding betweenmembers, is The POL YHEDRONT"wszine or the RPGN" Network Coor-ator supposed to intervene? No,

overall it could become really messy.DRAGONT" Magazine tried it back in1980 and it did not get a worthy responseat all. Not to mention the fact that to listthe classifieds would require a small feewhich would mean accepting advertis-ing, and we really don't want to do that. Ifwe did we'd lose space and you'd be in-nunda ted with "hype," and after hearingall of the commercials and ads you nor-mally do, we know that you appreciate anewszine free of this "persuasion. "- KE"I'm sending a few comments on how

the RPGN" Network is doing. Unfortu-nately I feel that the answer is "not toowell!"The newsletter, though somewhatsmall, is of quite good quality but it surewould be nice to receive it on a regularbasis. I know that it's hard for a new or-ganization, but I am renewing withouthaving received all four of the promisednewsletters for the first year."We also have not received the prom-

ised directory of clubs and directory ofgamers. One and a half sheets is hardly adirectory."I (as my friends are) am renewing to

give you guys a second chance. I think

Letters may be sent to"Editor, POL YHEDRONNewszine'', c/o RPGANetwork HQ.the theory of the RPGAT" Network isgreat, but unless you shape up, don'texpect as many renewals next year.Thank you."

- Gary Dean,Carrot River. Saskatchewan. Canada

Thank you for your concern and trust inus, Gary. Instead of giving excuses, letme tell you what's on tap. As you mostlikely know (unless you're a newmember), we caught up in our issues lastsummer. Mary Kirchoff, POL YHEDRONT"Newszine Editor, worked her fingernailsoff but they were all completed (and verynicely done, too). Past this point we ex-pect to stay on schedule with the news-zine. The flood of new members hasslowed us down a mite, but we are pro-cessing the packs as fast as possible.More information will be coming to younext issue concerning new projects, in-cluding the New Club Drive. This is, oneof the reasons that the Club Directoryhas not been released. It will be releasedthis winter. The members list will also bedone in the winter so we can list all of thenew members picked up at the conven-tions. You' ll see, Gary, that yourrenewalwas definitely not in vain as we bring youmore this year than hoped for. - KE

The RPGA Network hassadly revived the Rabbit- our "late things"column. The Rabbit isDead - "short" live- theRabbit.

Canadian Members: Please make allyments to the RPGN" Network inerican funds only. We will bill anyhange difference to you if you insistpaying in Canadian money,heck bouncers: When the RPGN"twork receives a returned check frombank for any reason, we get stung

0.00 per check. If we notify you that ack was rejected for payment, we willfor the amount plus $10.00 to coverfee charged us by the bank. Further,will request that the payment byde by money order or cashier's check.ther billing procedures: If your pay-nt is short due to postage, we will shipmerchandise to you but we'll includeotice which will require you to pay the

WH ITE RABBITSdifference before purchasing furthermerchandise. We do maintain records ofthese transactions.Renewals: Members will receive a

renewal notice from us at least a monthbefore your membership ends. We can-not give any grace period on member-ships, so please renew promptly.Tournament news flash: The

UALR gaming group from Little Rock,Arkansas is sponsoring a tournamentunder the auspices of Clyde Scott.WHERE: University of Arkansas

Little Rock Campus.WHEN: November 13-14.FEE: $2.00 per person.

RPGAT" Networkmembers free.

Missing and presumed gaming:Larry Bragg Jr., Greenfield, INJohn James Mcinnes, FPO NYMikel Wayne Hess, Great Lakes, ILChaw Kim Choo, New York, NYSteve Benifold, Forest Park, GABill Evans, Nashville, TNJames J. Casey, Great Lakes, ILIf you know any of these members,

please tell them to submit a Change ofAddress, We can't locate them, and thePost Office keeps returning their mail-ings to us. Thank you. - BH

POL YHEDRON 3


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MIKE CARRPOL YHEDRON Newszine presents the conclusion of a two-part interview with TSR Hobbies Inc. executive Mike Carr, author

he FIGHT IN THE SKIES Aerial Combat Game.

How long does an average FIGHTTHE SKIES game last?: A game can last, depending on the

umber of players, anywhere from 30inutes to as long as 2 hours.That's all?: Yeah. An occasional barn-burner

ill go toward the 3-hour mark, butat's unusual.Is there a Dungeon Master equi-

:No; if the players are skilled enoughnd know the game, they can conductheir own air battles, figure their exper-ence and monitor their pilots on theirHow do each of these players inter-

ct with each other as a group then, ifhey're determining their own actions?:Well, when a particular game is setp, the players dice off into sides -erman side versus Allied side, - thenteraction starts when they chooseheir pilots" Those pilots check the ros-ers to see which pilots of those nation-lities are available for the types of air-raft that are chosen. Then, generally,e most experienced pilot personality,e fictional character, that is, becomeshe Flight Leader and will then lead thatroup into combat. And then it be-omes a team flying situation, whereot only is each player trying to suc-eed in downing the enemy, but they'rerying to cover their wingmen and re-pond to the situations that develop. Allorts of things can happen - from gunams to critical hits, to engines being onire and possibly exploding, and pilotsailing out. The surviving pilots gain aission plus any kills that they mayave scored in the battle, and that goesward the accumulation of experience.nd then, if something extraordinarys happened, or a pilot is experiencednough, there's a chance to win awards,dals, and commendations.What do experience points do for a: Just as in real life, the more

Issue #8

experienced fliers and airmen gain bet-ter shooting ability, better abilities totail their opponents in combat, betterchances to gain the initiative in battle,and so on.HQ: Bill Hoyer asked about a Cross andCockade Society that he, as a FIGHTIN THE SKIESTMplayer, would be inter-ested in knowing more about.Me: Yes. The Cross & Cockade Societyis a group ofWWI aero-historians - it'sreally open to the general public. It wasformed in 1960, and every year sincethen has published quarterly excellentscholarly journals on World War Iaviation.

HQ: Do these journals give you ideasabout FIGHT IN THE SKIES gamescenarios?Me: Sometimes, yes. Collectively thetwenty-plus editions of the Journalform a real wealth of information andhistorical data on WWI aviation.

HQ: When you sit down to design a sce-nario do you take it out of a campaign,do you think "Gee, that really workedout well?"Me:Well, Ilike to start from scratch, butjust as in the design of anything, youneed a good idea as your basis, andyou grasp upon a good idea usuallyafter examining and discarding otherideas which are not so good. I like to dogame design as a hobby now since Idonot do that as a full-time job as I oncedid. I enjoy doing things for the TOPSECRET game. TOP SECRET gameplayers are probably familiar with the"RapidStrike" module that Corey Koe-bernick and I co-authored, and anotherone entitled "Lady in Distress" which iscurrently in preparation for publicationwithin the next few months.HQ: What was your part in the develop-ment of the TOP SECRET game?Me: Merle Rasmussen is the author ofthe TOP SECRET game. He broughtthe game to TSR, really, in its earliestform, and it was a very programmed-type of game. I saw that it had really

great potential. Iwas instumental in theacceptance of the game by TSR, andAllen Hammack did a lot of the editingwork related to the publication. Ofcourse, Merle Rasmussen is the guybehind the TOP SECRET game, andremains really the foremost ofAdministrators.AI Hammack and I, as some of the

first TOP SECRET game devotees atTSR - have been promoting the ideaof a TOP SECRET game expansion, orBook 2, or a followup game whichwould give more weapons, more bu-reaus, more equipment etc.

HQ: What do you mean that the TOPSECRET game in its intial phases was"programmed?"Me:Well, when Merle first conceived thegame, he presented it in more of a pro-grammed fashion. There was not theemphasis on role playing, and the free-dom of actions and options that existnow; it was more of a flow chart type ofarrangement. But still you could seethat it was, even in that form, a greatidea for a game, and role playing beingwhat it is, espionage and spy settingsare ideal.Another advantage the TOP SECRET

game has is that it's set in the modernday. It's something that each of us, liv-ing in the 1980's, can identify with. Thegadgets and the political climates arethings that are easily accessable to usto learn about. I'd urge TOP SECRETplayers to delve into world affairs andcurrent politics - they don't even haveto more than scratch the surface tocome up with a wealth of ideas.HQ: What do you play these days?Me: Actually, I don't have as much timeto game as I would like. We do playFIGHT IN THE SKIES games fairlyregularly - we try to have' a game orgames every week or two. Twelve of usat TSR are playing Computer Baseball,which is a very enjoyable game playedon home computers, and we've just re-cently completed a 48 game season,


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nd we're preparing for the World Ser-s. I clinched the pennant in my div-ion as the "Durango Outlaws" fromurango, Colorado. I sometimes enjoyn occasional game of another sort,nd Corey Koebernick and Itry to meetvery Wednesday night to work on ourOP SECRET tournament module.I enjoy spectator sports, such as col-ge football, professional baseball,uto racing, and hockey. And catchingflick.It is a well-known fact that literacy

s we know it is dropping. Any rolelaying game that I've seen requiresome intelligence and degree of liter-cy just to understand the rules, muchss play it well. If this trend is correct,hat hope is there for role playing?: I think that the beauty of most rolelaying games is that with a skilledame master, ANY individual, regard-ss of their own background, readingbility, or level of intelligence can stepand play! Now it's true that if you'reoing to become a good game masterr go from a novice player to skilledlayer, you are going to have to make aeal effort to learn the nuances of what-ver particular role playing gameat you're participating in.Role playing games have unques-bly increasedreadingabilities.They've

creased learning opportunities foreople of all ages, and I think a lot ofmes these games, because of theirpecial appeal, inspire their players too and learn more about it.The role playing game as a doorstepknowledge?: I would say very definitely. All

ames are, but even more so the roleaying games.What about the future? Where is

SR Hobbies Inc. going from here?:Well, TSR has defined its corporateission rather broadly as wanting toxpand in the leisure time field, andat's certainly not limited to games.SR sometimes suffers from peopleaking the comments that 'TSR's do-g this, or TSR's doing that, and theyay be abandoning gamers", and I'drtainly like to put that misconceptionrest in the fact that TSR wants to doore and bigger and better things foramers, as well as for hobbyists and forny number of people who enjoy leis-re time activities. Our acquisition of araft company is a good example,here we're going to promote our phi-sophy and hopefully our regard foruality products into a new field.I'd also like to say that the people

ho have put us on the map are theeople who play and enjoy our games.'s been very gratifying to produceames for them. The enthusiam thatey show for our products has beenntastic. It provides all of us with atisfaction that you can't get any other

HQ: What does Mike Carr see?Me:Well, in the future I hopeto continueas a part of TSR, and its many activities,and I also would like to continue todesign a game or module or whateveras time permits. Like all good designers,I've got lots of ideas that I just needsome time to put down on paper, andthat's what I look forward to doing. Ilament that there is not enough time todo more designing, but I suppose if Idid it all the time, some of the noveltywould wear off.

I look forward to continuing in thehobby and doinq more things, and try-ing more new games. You never knowwhat's coming next, and there's lots offun things out there that haven't evenbeen conceived yet.HQ: Has exposure to gaming, throughdesigning and creating ruined itfor youin any way?

Me: No, not at all.HQ: It'd be like seeing the backdrops ofDisneyland; sometimes it takes awaythe magic.Me:No; no, - as Shakespeare said, "thegame's the thing," and it still is. If it's atopic that interests you, then certainlyyou can enjoy participating in it, andexploring all the options. A game is avery interesting creation; it's not quitelike a book, it's not quite like a song,and it's not quite like anything else. It'ssomething that each person explores,and if it's a good game, it's differentevery time you play it. You never tire ofit, and that's why role playing gamesare popular, and that's why we still en-joy playing the FIGHT IN THE SKIESTand DAWN PATROLT games, y'know,even 13, 14 years after it first began,because there's still that magic.

Now, we certainly don't want to playgames in ALL of our spare time, be-cause there's other fun things in lifebesides games. But it's still very enjoy-able. And I look forward to next Satur-day night's game of - whatever. Be-cause I know it's going to qe fun.HQ: What I find most astounding aboutrole playing games is that when you sitdown and think, "wait a minute, I canmake this guy do this, and this," itmakes you very aware of how manyoptions there are in the REAL world.Me:That's definitely true; I think peoplewho play role playing games learn verysoon that they have lots of different al-ternatives and courses of action, andthe fun part of gaming is that they cando some of the crazy and off-the-walloptions that they would never do in reallife. Nonetheless, the lessons that arelearned as a role playing game partici-pant are certainly going to help peopleintheir own life situations. That's a verygeneral statement, but I think it's true.HQ: How old are you now?Me: I'm 30.HQ: And you were born when?Me: In St. Paul, Minnesota, 1951. I at-tended Macalester College in St. Paul,majored in history, studied to be ateacher. From there I went into the res-taurant business as a manager trainee,and now I'm in the games business. Sothat just goes to show that what youstudy in college is not necessarily whatyou'll end up with.

I certainly have no regrets, and it'sas fun today as it always has been. I'menjoying my association with TSR andbeing a part of this hobby.HQ: Thanks again for writing the articlesin the past newsletters, - they've beenwell received. Will you do some morefor us in the future?Me: Maybe. Someday. When timepermits.HQ: Well, thank you Mike Carr.Me:My pleasure.

POL YHEDRON 5


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e scenarioTom O'Donahur had been a beat copr two years. He liked the job and he wasood at it. There were times, however,hen he didn't enjoy the things he had too. He'd heard the shooting and used aall Box to send for help, but the Littleeople alone knew when that was com-g. He turned the corner to find wreckedrs allover the place and the three ofem sitting calm as you please on a carat had more holes in it than a piece ofiss cheese.He pulled out his trusty .38, but on onede of the car stood a Tough with ammy gun and on the other a pretty girlith a derringer in her hand. Using therned cars for cover, he got as close asdared and called to them to drop theireapons. This was going to be one ofose days ...M O'DONAHUR - patrolman, footvel 2 Police OfficerS:58, AG:79, OB:72, DR:68, PR 3,:50, HP:19eapons: .38 revolver in a belt holster,ghtstick, whistleARIA KIRCHINETTI - Big Bernie'sn moll (age 22, Sicilian)vel 1 Criminalcord: NoneS:41, AG:78, OB:38, DR:56, PR:8,:47, HP:20eapons: .22 Derringer (two shot)Issue #8

b~ JaDle~M. Ward"Encounters" is a new addition to the POLYHEDRON'M featurecolumns - it is a one page encounter description of eachissue's cover art depicting a TSR role playing game. They maybe used by referees to interject something unusual into theirgames or play test problems on their players, or by playerswho want to explore different character classes.

Maria has been with BigBern ie for years and is sort ofbored with it all. She seekssituations like this for thethrill of it. She is the mostlikely one to begin battle, butthinks Tom is cute.BIG BERNIE - SyndicateBoss (age 32, Irish)Level 3 CriminalRecord: NoneMS:77, AG:46, 08:62, DR:54,PR:9, LK:06, HP:18Weapon:.44revolverinashoulderholster.

Carries $3,000 in big bills.Bernie is holding the tommy gun, but

knows there are no bullets in the thing.He will try to bluff his way out of thesituation by approaching the policemanfrom around the fallen car to talk.LEFTY FINGERS O'MALLEY - Second-in-Command (age 39, Irish)Level 5 CriminalRecord: Frank O'Malley. Wanted in Eng-land and Poland for Extortion, Pillaging,and Dog Napping. Served 5 years inState Penitentiary.Aliases: Dave the Cracker Johnson,Babyface Jim Drawsinski, and NorvelThwackerman.Weapon: .38 revolver in his coat pocketand blackjack in side pocket.Carries $95.00 in small bills.Referee's sectionThe three will calmly talk to the po-

liceman from their car and claim self de-fense. They will not allow themselves tobe stripped of weapons and will fight itout with the patrolman. The tommy gunis out of ammunition but may be used tobluff. Naturally, help will not come untilthe referee decides one side or the otherneeds it.It is perfectly possible for either party

to talk their way out of a direct confronta-tion; the referee should encourage Ma-ria, Bernie, and Lefty to do so. Tomshould avoid battle because of the 3-1odds and hope that help will come.

If all else fails and it comes to shoot-ing, turn to the "Gunfight modifiers ta-ble" in your GANGBUSTERS game.We will assume that Tom is behind anoverturned car with only his head andgun hand showing. The three are in plainsight, and Bernie is the only one with anunusuable weapon.Because Tom is behind cover, the oth-

ers must subtract 30 percentage pointsfrom their "chance to hit" scores. In theadvanced rules, the "Hit location and in-jury chart" is used. Only those shots thatsuccessfully strike Tom and then rolledfor the Head, Right Shoulder, Right Arm,and Right Hand will influence the char-acter. All others will miss completelyeven if a successful strike is made. ThePenetration options can be used frompage 58 of the rule book if Tom, as theplayer character, makes attempts atmoving out of cover.'In the event that Maria, Bernie, and

Lefty are used as NPC's, consider; in thefirst round of shots from Tom, the refe-ree Simply uses his Agility Score for thepercentage needed to hit. From then on,the referee must determine what all threeof the NPC's are doing. Perhaps in thesecond round, Maria ducks into the car,making her a -30 to hit. Bernie beginsrunning around Tom's car while reach-ing for his gun, making him a "Runningtarget" and a -20 to hit. Lefty drops be-hind the partial cover of the car, makinghim a -20 to hit. All of these are subtract-ed from the Agility Scores. In the nextfew rounds of battle, some or all of thethree will fall under the "Hit location andinjury chart" if struckThere are many ways to extend this

scene into other aspects of theGANGBUSTERS game rules. Theycould drive off in a car, necessitating acar chase of some lenqth:: weaponscould be made available to Tom or thegroup from cars in the area; police andother criminals could easily be broughtinto the action, all of which could makefor a very enjoyable 30 to 60 minutes~


7/16

We're being lazy withour monsters and trea-sures. The party opens thedoor, sees a few iron go-lems, chops them up withtheir +5weapons, and getsan Artifact for treasure.Say what?Dungeon Masters, you're

not using strategy. You'ret using your brains. Suppose theyen that same door and see an emptyom, go in, and get surprised (pre-setthe DM) by a pack of carrion crawlersnging from the walls and ceilings, for aal of +8 or so to hit vs AC Rear? Evere what the player of a 20th level palad-looks like when he's got to make 40ving throws vs. paralysis before doing

(And a roll of 1 always fails ... )What does the 30th level mage do afterLich the party is looking for has

nd them first, teleported in nearbyvisibly), cast a time stop, and stolen allspell components (including holy

mbols), just for a good laugh? Oren the fighters give all their weaponsorpal, sharpness, holy, etc.) away to albog, without even a saving throw forCaution: don't pull this stuff on low-el parties or novice players. But there'snty that a good DM can do to keepse lordly super-characters in line,t with preset situations and tacticalcounters, without getting into unfairAP because I don't like you" situations.Some folks complain about lairs with-t good treasures. Well, you can (andould) adjust rolls if the play is goodough to have earned some goddies, oryou really want to insert a nice itemo the game. But the treasures arerefully balanced to fit the rest of thestem; if you give away outrageousngs, be prepared for outrageous usethem.What if a player says that his charactervents" something - like a tank? I'dl him "your character wouldn't think oft". Remember the cultural setting;re are lots of things that are obviousus, now that we've got technology andience and all that finely developedowledge to go on. But the medievalventurer doesn't have those conceptsbuild on, and therefore couldn't evennk of that elementary way (for US) oftting a couple of routine items togeth-to get a blockbuster.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented lots ofstuff, sure. But that's literally one geniusin a million (or less); even a 20 intelli-gence doesn't necessarily have creativi-ty. (Ever use acomputer?) And, althoughhe sure came close, even Leonardocouldn't figure out how to build a hangglider.Fighting fire with fireIf your player characters are burningevery monster in sight with flasks of oil,send a group of orcs or hobgoblins atthem that do the same thing. They couldhave stolen a few dozen barrels of oilfrom a merchant party (a plausibleenough occurrence), and then set up allkinds of traps based on it. Note that oildoes 3d6 per flask (spread out over 2rounds), and that one small barrel prob-ably contains dozens offlasks of oil.Once when I was feeling exceptionally

nasty, a group of characters went into avery hot dungeon area hunting salaman-ders and whatnot. No problem, they

by Frank Mentzer

thought, putting resist fire on everyone;but alas, as they were approaching thehottest area, their map went up in flames.(Read the spell description carefully.) Ijust reached over and took the players'map away - the one with 100+ roomsthat they'd been mapping for 12 adven-tures or so. (I relented later under theargument that more than one characterwas mapping, including some that didn'tgo on that particular trip. But the victimshad to find their way out, first....)Don't look now, but ...Most folks don't know good strategy. If

you throw a few creatures at them that"break morale" and turn and run, partymembers will probably pursue, with theirtoughest characters in front. Then hitthem from behind with the real problem.Or, at a "T" intersection, attack from

both sides. If they split up to counterat-tack, have a tougher force move in frombehind; it'll probably catch their wimps(mage, thief) right at the intersection. Q ;

POL YHEDRON 7


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igure Paintingby Michael Brunton

This article concludes our seriesee issues #3 and #5), reprinted withrmission from the D&D Playersssociation News.ainting the rest of the figureNow that the flesh is done, you canrryon with the rest of the figure.It is best to block in the lighter areas oflour first, all the whites, buffs and palelours and work on the darker tonester you have finished with the lightes entirely. Try to apply the colours inntinuous smooth strokes. Paintingall patches of colour, or working witho small a brush roughens the surfaced prevents a smooth finished product.When you have blocked in a majorea, it is time to bring it to life by shad-g. This means emphasizing the shad-s and highlights that occur to prevente figure looking flat. Look at the areau have painted, and see where theadows naturally fall when the lightJ S above the figure. This is where

Whites have to be handled in a slightlydifferent manner. Treat them as verypale greys and paint them accordingly.However, by using colours other thanblack to produce these shades a wholerange of "greys" and "whites" can beproduced. Ochre gives a linen or wooleffect, depending on what is introducedwith it; umber produces a dull dusty lookon its own, and with a touch of ultrama-rine gives a range of very interestingtones. Using reds and greens produces apure fantasy effect which can be veryattractive if not overdone. All of theseoff-whites can be highlighted with purewhite, but for the very highest of thehighlights add a tiny touch of blue. It isn'tonly washing powders that seem whiterwith a blue-white.Throughout this article I have talked

about "lighter" and "darker" shades of abase colour - but how are these arrivedat? In most cases the answer is very sim-ple: "lighter" means adding some whiteand "darker" means adding some com-plementary colour (not black, which just

Always use a matt varnish. If youdon't let it dry, your figure w ill bepermanently iden tifiab le as yoursbecause of finger and thumbprints.e painted shadows are going to occur.ix a darker shade of the base colourd apply it to the depressions in eachease, blending it with an almost dryush into the base colour. Now make uplighter mix of the base shade and applyt to the upper side of the crest of eachease, again blending this into the baselour with an almost dry brush. If yourt results at this dishearten you, re-ember that the more practice you havebetter you will get.Issue #8

makes the colours look murkier, and istoo emphatic to be used on a 25mm fig-ure anyway). Darker shades can beachieved by adding small amounts ofumber and ultramarine to any particularcolour, some blue into reds or a smallamount of red into a blue. The only rangeof tones where the general rule aboutlighter shades breaks down are the reds.Add white to any red and a cold pink willbe the result. Yellow and oranges (in-cluding yellow ochre) have to be used.

Metallics, as has been mentioned be-fore, should be left until last really. Rath-er than painting a metallic straight fromthe tin and then varnishing it, it is farbetter to shade them. Metallics shade byadding non-metallic colours to them.Browns shade gold, and blacks and bluesshade silver, converting it to steel. Ofcourse, with fantasy figures there is noreason why reds, greens, purples andsky blue should not be used.Many of the best effects with metallics

can be obtained by dry brushing. Umberpaint should be applied to all those areasdestined to be gold on the finished pro-duct, and then the gold paint dry brushedon. By doing the same thing with a red/orange/brown mixture with a finishingdry brush of a steel colour, rusty armouris created before your very eyes.FinishingOnce you think that the figure is fin-

ished, look at it very carefully, as thechances are that you have missed some-thing, some little spot that you didn'tquite reach. When you do find some-thing you have missed, touch it in withthe relevant colour. There is always the"brute force" approach of giving the fig-ure awash, avery thin wash of dark greyor umber to cover any little patches ofundercoat that are showing.When you finish painting, put the fig-

ure to one side and leave it to dry com-pletely. If you have finished the paintingsession, go and wash your brushes now,before you forget. Do not try to force-drythe figure in any way, either actively witha hair drieror passively by leaving it overa radiator, as this will probably cause thepaint surface to crack up.When the figure is dry, varnish it. This

will give the paint surface a much longerlife, although eventually, if you handlethe figure a lot, it will show the ravages oftime. Always use a matt varnish, and let itdry completely. If you don't let it dry,your figure will be permanently identifi-able as yours because of finger andthumb prints! (Tester's DullCote Spraymay also be used. - Ed.)


9/16

You can add bits and pieces to thegroundwork - broken swords,skulls, axes, etc., which can beobtained from a number ofmanufacturers.

Now that the figure is at this stage, it'sst about ready for use: you can eitherint the cast base a neutral colour andrnish it, and when dry take the figuref its painting handle and use it, or youn mount it on an extra base. If youoose the second course (which isater and gives the figure a measure oftection by providing a "handle"), thenu should glue the figure to a piece ofid material which is large enough toovide a stable stand, but not too large.ave found that a square of thin balsaod, plastic card, or thin plywood of

%" x 3;''' is just about ideal for mostures. Glue the figure firmly down.The creation of the groundwork is thext stage. Almost any good quality fillerill do the job. (WOODLAND SCENESa good range of products. - Ed.)y the particular material you are usingto the base round the casting and overe casting to the edge of any shoes,oaks, etc. There are basically two fin-hes which can be produced: a rough-

cast finish, which generally involvespricking and prodding the surface intoshape; or a dungeon floor style finishwhich involves scribing a flagstone pat-tern into the filler with the tip of a craftknife. You can also add bits and pieces tothe groundwork at this stage - brokenswords, skulls, axes, etc., which can beobtained from a number of manufactur-ers. When the filler is dry, paint it withwhatever dark colours you want to use.There is no real need to varnish it, as thepaint will soak into the filler.That, then, is it for this time. Any com-

ments or questions will be welcomed.~JPhoto at r ight:

Voltigeur15th Legere1804-1813Painted by Jeff PerrenPhotography by P. Murray Palmer

Special FLOQUIL POLLY-S offerIf you have ever wondered what a specific paint color lookede when it was dry, you can stop wondering. FLOQUIL-LLY S COLOR Corporation has made five paint chip colorarts available covering their entire line of paints. Unlike otherint chip charts that are only printed to show a representationthe specific color, the FLOQUIL-POLLY S chip charts aretual paint chips: they are the actual colors. The RPGNMtwork would like to extend a special offer price of 50 perart (the number of chips varies on each type of chart) to ourmbers on these paint charts from FLOQUIL-POLL Y S. AnyGA Network member can order one or all five of the chartsfollowing a few simple-instructions. This offer is only availa-to RPGA Network members; please note that you are amber (include your membership number) on your letter toOQUIL-POLLY S.The first two charts listed below are their line of solvent basedints, and the other three are their line of acrylics (watersed) paints. Thetwo cannot be intermixed, but between themcan create some really great color schemes for your

One further note of explanation: while there is one chartcifically listed as Model Railroad Colors, do not be misled

into believing that these colors cannot be used on miniatures.Quite the opposite. They offer some very nice colors that havebeen used on some of the winning entries in painting contests.FLOQUIL Model Railroad Colors: Item #A240; 86 chipsFLOQUIL Military Miniatures Colors: Item #A242; 37 chipsPOLLY-S General Colors: Item #A244; 52 chipsPOLLY-S Camoflage Colors: Item #A246; 84 chipsPOLLY-S AD&D Colors: Item #A247; 69 chips

Order directly from FLOQU IL-POLL YS COLOR Corpora-tion, RTE 30 North, Amsterdam, NY 12010. Send the approp-riate amount, plus (and this is important) a #10 Self AddressedStamped Envelope (SASE with 40 postage). FLOQUIL willsend you the chart (s) you request, plus information on theentire line. Again, please note that you are an RPGA Networkmember, and don't forget the SASE.

POL YHEDRON 9


10/16

neco's quest"What is it, Riega?" The old sage glanced through his filthy

spectacles at the youth, "This, Lad, son of Watt, is the last FaerieStone in existence. Note its delicate weight and structure - veryfragile, young man. Up until 2 months ago there were three of itskind, but now only this lone survivor exists."They were in the keeping of our own Baron Bascali when he

decided to offer one to the High King for his annual tribute. Butthe party escorting the stone was attacked while crossing theRiver Styx by innumerable monsters. The only survivors swearthat a huge Crayfish crawled aboard their vessel, scooped thestone into its maw, and crunched it down. Immediately all vio-lence stopped and the monsters departed."The second stone, along with its armed escort, was broken on

Bone Bridge. That ancient span of Giant's bones seemed tocome alive, forming huge skeletal claws that crushed all within.Again, the aggression ceased upon the stone's demise. And nowthe last Faerie Stone must arrive, by the morrow's eve, at theroyal palace or the High King shall lash out against our Baron.That is why we carry it ourselves. For who is the Baron to turn to,after arms and spells fail, but his learned librarian, Riega Nerdand his assistant, Lad, Son of Watt.""But Riega," the youth pleaded, "the only way we could makeit to the King's palace by that time is to cross Marsh March! No

one goes through that bog, infested with Water Weirds as it is."The creaking tomekeeper wheezed, turned back to his books

and scrolls, and muttered, "Exactly! And if my Librams have re-corded the truth, 'tis the safest place to be."

Standing on the "King's drawbridge" the following dusk, Nerdand Lad turned to watch the waving Water Weirds retreat intotheir swampy lairs.The boy shook his head. "That was weird ..." The gaunt scroll-

master groaned his dismay at the apparent pun. "Really Riega,a whole day of those dripping beasties popping up around us -only to watch and wave. How'd you do it, I thought those thingswere deadly?""Oh, they are, boy, they are! But old tomes never lie. And one

of the oldest says, 'Styx and Bones may break your Stones, butWeirds will never hurt you!'." And with that, Nerd strolled acrossthe drawbridge. ~

SCRYisted to the left are the runes a partyund encircling a doorway in a dun-on. It is known to have been placedere by Diln Amekast, an eldrich wi-of great power and knowledge.t is in English, although the symbolsmostly in Ancient Theban. To trans-, simply try to find the key of letters.or instance, the runic symbol 71/'7 ' isally the English letter "U." Now youve 2 spaces filled, one in the end offirst line, the other in the sixth line.It takes time and experimenting. Re-member, they were hand written somay vary slightly from one rune tother. Work fast, there's somethingbehind you in the corridor and youst decide whether to go through theor turn and face it.

Z~~~ ~~~g ~~~V~~7Zt'1 ~~ ,,~~~

V ~~~~ 1& ~'1"l~;t~~~i ~~~~ ~~1~

't~1 ~~~g ~ ~~~ ~ ~~g ~t e g~ : r ~ ~ 7 / , f r v : ? Jl ; r ? f F ~~'g,?9 - ~ ~~'? d;: l~ ?g~ ~ /l ~ 1 , , ' 1

~'8~ ~\'~~~7(~Issue #8


11/16

This column serves as aforum for discussion ofmisunderstood ormisused AD&DTMspells.Please send questions orsuggestions to "SpellingBee, " Editor,POL YHEDRONNewszine.

by Frank Mentzer

IComponents can be one of the OM'sprimary controls on magic use.

Consider; without his bags full of goodies, that wizard is justmuch whiz, and without his holy symbol and some otherraphenalia, the high priest is just. .. well, just another fighter.Some of the most successful campaigns I've even seen in-lve a close watch on components. The OM can create wholeventures for parties to go looking for the rarest items.Before I get going, here's one Official Note: unless specifiederwise, with the exception of holy/unholy symbols, all com-nents vanish when the spell casting is completed.And a note on Diamonds: according to the DMG (pgs. 25-26),iamond is worth 1,000 gp minimum. Okay, you usually don'te it all, just some of it, powdered. But a gem of that valuepears only 10% of the time; check the "base Value" chart formstones. It is not a common treasure; even if that value isled, the OM could choose or roll to see which of the 14 listedes appears; only one of them is diamond. (One in 14 can betermined with 1d8 and a "high-low" die, rerolling if an 8mes up.The same applies to the other rare, huge gem types, likeerald, Ruby, and so forth. The campaign world might con-n a mine where dwarves or gnomes have struck a lode ofluable stones. But this could then require a long trek to themi-human excavations, negotiations with the powerfulners (who overcharge, of course, when selling to adventu-s types with expensive weapons and armor), and so on.erical spellsA drop of mercury is needed for a resist fire; when's the laste you found a drop of mercury on the sidewalk or in a field?at's only available from an AD&D city alchemist or some-ng, and for a price. (OM's discretion on all of this; note that acould support such a strange occupation, but a small

n? Certainly not!)Every glyph of warding of 5' x 10' or larger uses some pow-red diamond. A locate object calls for a lodestone; while nota specified frequency, that item could be added to the Orna-ntal or Semi-Precious gem charts as a randomly found item.ose forked metal rods (tuning forks, I call them) for a plane

must be expensive and rare, occasionally found as trea-res. And don't forget the lowly piece of iron needed fora hold

the local smithy probably sells specially prepared pie-s to the clerics, at incredible markup.gic-user spellsMy wizard Felonius, like all magic-users, has a rough time ofHe doesn't want dirty, common items; he needs good stuff forod spells. The alchemist appears, again making a handsomefit on little bags of guaranteed pure powdered metals, rosetals, and so forth

spellInGBee

Of course, he could buy the raw materials and powder themhimself; this takes time, and he misses a few great adventureswhile getting his stuff together ...He needs a live cricket or spider or carp for some spells.

Where does your mage keep them while traveling? Oh, yeah?He uses up an eyelash and some gum arabic for each invisi-

bility. Know what eyelashes cost? Neither do I, but mine suredon't grow very fast.While carrying around some skunk cabbage or rotten eggs

(for stinking cloud and cloudkill), Felonius is not a very popularguy. The rank smell may even tip off the monsters his party isapproaching, negating the chance of surprise.That's a fragile (and expensive) glass or crystal rod being

used for that lightning bolt. Probably almost as expensive asthe little glass or crystal cones for cone of cold.Those little ivory and ebony dogs for a repulsion spell are

sure nicely carved. Alchemist, how much are those doggies inthe window? What? You toad!So, the OM can't control magic-users by doling out only

those spells desirable to the campaign, but he can maintaincontrol through components. Don't strangle them with this, butuse it constructively; it can add a lot of spice to any campaign."

POL YHEDRON 11


12/16

A GANGBUSTERS Game Feature

(7ettinu tar-ted inhe (7A~(7 I3UST~12STM uame------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.. #t~kIIThe GANGBUSTERS game, the new20's role playing adventure game fromR, is taking off just as its name implies.e game features a simple system de-ned for playability above all else. Int, the system is so simple that anormous amount of action can becked into a single gaming session.Characters generate percentile scoreMuscle, Agility, Observation, andck. Agility is used for shooting, punch-and resolution of difficult movement.scle determines a character's punch-score and contributes to his/her hit

ints. Observation helps charactersoid surprise and spot unusual or hid-n clues, while Luck is a character'sility to miraculously avoid certainath. Each character also has a Drivingore, the average of Agility and Obser-tion, which allows him or her a percen-e chance to do outrageous thingsh a car or truck, and a Presence scoreich modifies ~PC reactions.In the game, players have a wide cho-of careers: there are three types ofenforcement careers to choose from,well as careers in newspaper report-private investigations, and yes, crime.ction in the game tends to be fast andquently fatal for player characterso ignore the advantages of fistfightsr gunfights, and running behind coveren the shooting starts! Hit points rangem a minimum of 11 to a maximum ofA single burst from a Thompsonmachine gun could do as much as 20ints of damage to a character, and thelucky would almost certainly die inh a hail of fire.hort scenarios, which are fast paced,iting and sometimes zany fun can beyed in as little as half an hour. In thatrt amount of playing time some char-ers have managed to rob a bank, par-ate in a car chase, have shoot-outsh the police, and get to a doctor fore very necessary healing.ven more exciting, however, is cam-gn play of GANGBUSTERSTM roleying game. The game literally bringslife a city of the 1920's or 1930's.hat makes campaign play particu-y fun is the fact that characters areIssue #8

not confined to anyone setting as theyare in some other role playing games.Characters are not "down in the dun-geon" with only four corridors to choosefrom; they are loose in the city, with anentire world waiting for their arrival!Furthermore, characters in even a smallcampaign do not necessarily know oneanother at first; each character is free topursue his own interests.Here are some tips for beginning play-

ers and game judges to help them getstarted in their own GANGBUSTERScampaigns.Law enforcement characters: Each ofthe th ree types of law enforcement char-acters have a unique set of problems andopportunities. Prohibition Agents, dedi-cated to enforcing the Volstead Actagainst the manufacture and sale of al-coholic beverages have to deal with avery thirsty public, which makes boot-leggers rich. Rich bootleggers can buypolitical protection. Political protectionmeans that the most dedicated Prohibi-tion Agent can have his plans thwarted,sometimes by his own crooked super-iors! A very dedicated agent can, how-ever, make a big difference in the cam-paign city, ruining the best laid plans ofthe crime lords and drying up theirsour-ces of income and thus political support.Most law enforcement characters,

however, begin as beat cops. If yourcampaign has a good judge, the role of abeat cop can be one of the most excitingand enviable in the game. Within thosefew city blocks lurk a large number ofunsolved crimes and seedy criminals.There are also literally hundreds of NPCbusiness owners, residents, and honestcitizens, all of whom are more than likelywilling to help you in one way oranother. A smart beat cop player wouldcultivate and use these NPC's to his bestadvantage, and would in a fairly shortperiod of time build a "tough" reputationfor himself. A good job here means re-cognition, promotion, and chances foreven more adventure.Reporters: In play test campaigns, repor-ters have had the funniest, and in someways most fun adventures. The repor-ter's goal is to get the story, any story, by

almost any means he or she can. It is notunusual for reporters to impersonate po-lice officers, lawyers, landlords, and al-most anyone else to be involved on thescene of crimes, clicking away with theircameras while dodging bullets, and pes-tering politicians.To playa good reporter, the player

must cultivate sources of information. Itis very important for a reporter to makegood use of cronies, those lifelong friendswho have jobs in mundane places, butwho often get good leads and informa-tion on what's happening on the streetsof the city.Private investigators: Private investiga-tors like to work alone or in small teams,and a good campaign can be run withonly a few players if some are PI's andsome are reporters or law enforcementofficers. PI's walk a tightrope betweenthe law and the criminal element; to gettheir jobs done and done right, theyoften need close contact with both theunderworld and its enemies.If you are the type of player who likes

to use your head as well as your triggerfinger, you should give serious thoughtto being a PI. A good campaign judgewill give you baffling cases which willrequire all your mental as well as physi-cal prowess to solve. For example, in arecent play test campaign, two PI's werehired by two different people to find thesame item of stolen jewelry. It took thePI's about two days (and two attempts ontheir lives) for them to realize they hadbeen hired by competing criminal syndi-cates who were involved in a deadlygang war. Then they had to figure outhow to avoid being walking targets whilethey pieced together what was reallyhappening!Reporters would make good use of

cronies and other NPC's who may bevaluable sources of information.Criminals: At some time or other, almostevery player will want to try a criminalcharacter. Criminals can have someexciting adventures,. but only the mostshrewd and lucky will survive past firstlevel and make it to the upper levels ofthe underworld. ~


13/16

Your AD&D gamequestions will receive Of-ficial Answers in this co-lumn. Send questions to"Dispel Confusion," POB509, Lake Geneva, WI53147

: What happens if you haste someoneo's already hasted?Nothing. As it states in the spell des-iption, "affected creatures function atuble their normal movement and at-ck rates." That's double normal, notuble their current movement and at-ck rates.Note that the slow spell is phrased dif-rently, and appl ies to the cu rrent situa-n; thus, a slowed gargoyle would at-ck twice per round, but only once if

But the most you canit up to is double attacks, i.e. 8 per

During a long wilderness adventure,1st level Bard accumulated 20,000perience points. Can he spend a longe in college and leave as a 5th levelOf course not. The DMG (pg. 86)arly states that you can't. You actuallyquired 4,000 XP, not 20,000; those incess of 4,000 (the maximum for 2ndel) are ignored. Sorry!How do you combine a fighter's mul-le attacks per round with a weapont gets more than one attack per round?You don't! Only missile weapons haveltiple attacks, and the "Attacks perund" table (PH pg. 25) says "With anyusting or striking weapon" - not mis-weapons.Note that the rule at the bottom of theme page, referring to the "one attackr level" rule for fighting creatures withs than one Hit Die, replaces the 3/2 orattack rule; they do not combine toe 1 1/2 or 2 attacks per level.Special cases may arise if the relativeeed factors allow a weapon to be usedre than the given rate (DMG pg. 66);ain, this multiple-strike rule supercedesothers.Is "Sage Advice" in DRAGON'M maga-Official?At this point, no. It gives good guide-es to solving some problems, but does

t contain Official Answers to yourestions; this column is the only Offi-l source. (Another good reason foring an RPGA'M Network member.)

by Frank MentzerQ: When a character has one abilityscore low enough to be "forced" into aclass, what happens if the character'sother scores are not high enough toqualify for that class?A: The character must be discarded, andanother one rolled up. For example, acharacter with a 5 Strength and an 8 In-telligence "can only be a magic-user"(PH pg. 9), but a magic-user "must havean intelligence of no less than 9" (pg. 25).He doesn't, so he can't be anything butan NPC wimp.Though this is rare, it can happen, es-pecially using the original "3 dice 6times" method for character generationin D&D games - which, please note, isnot part of the AD&D system! We re-commend Method #1 given in the DMG

(pg. 11) though all of the four given the-rein are quite acceptable. Don't mix thegame systems. They are different games.Q: My 18th level Paladin just went throughmodule 0-1. Where should he go now?A: First of all, one unholy word fromLolth could have blown your Paladinright off the plane. But as to your ques-tion, you'd better talk with your DM, andsee if you should retire the character forthe sake of the campaign. A skilled DMwith spare time (a tough combination tofind) may create some adventures forvery high level characters, but they arefew and far between, and usually involveworld-shaking or other-planar disasters,quests, and so forth.

POL YHEDRON 13


14/16

Kimber Eastland,new RPGA Net-work Coordinator,gives his firstState of the Asso-ciation Address.

4 Issue #8

N O T E 5

Greetlnqs from the RPGNM Network HQ!First, let me introduce myself to you. Myname is Kim Eastland and I am the newCoordinator of the RPGNM Network. Why,you may ask, has there been a transfer of"the helm"? To begin with, there has been arestructuring of positions (for instance, thereis no more "President" position, just Coordi-nator) resulting in one overall "head" of thedepartment. There was also the need forFrank Mentzer to devote more time to devel-oping the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Fan-tasy Adventure gaming system. Thus, it wasdecided that a new Coordinator was neededto free Frank for the things he does best.After various people were considered, the"powers that be" settled on me for, I believe,a number of reasons - a decade of gaming,

2 years in the toy retail business, a year asPR person for Grenadier Models FigureCo., and a great fondness for communicatingwith gamers. I am to coordinate all aspectsof the RPGNM Network; the general directionof The POL YHEDRON Newszine andRPGNM Network Modules (Mary Kirchoff'sdepartment), and all merchandise availableto our members (Sill Hoyer's department), inaddition to Research and Development ofnew products. So, if you have a comment tomake or question to be answered, please feelfree to write anyone of us. More on that in abit!Let's talk about merchandise for a minute.The policy regarding "exclusivity" is beingaltered slightly. Instead of the RPGNM Net-work "R" Modules being offered to membersonly forever and ever, they will be released toour members exclusively for about sixmonths - more than enough time to pur-chase one and be the first in your group torun the adventure - then they'll be availableto the public at a higher cost. Membershipwill give "early release" on some items andguarantee a discount and provide the ROLEPLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION'M Networkwith greater working capital. This will allowus to fund more projects and merchandise tooffer to you.Third, in case you're thinking about writingto us, here's a brief guideline for you.A. Write or print clearly and in pen or ink. Wecan't answer what we can't read.B.lt is best to address questions to an indi-vidual in charge of that area.C. Any article or artwork usually must be freeto appear in The POL YHEDRON News-zine, and must be accompanied by a signedrelease form in order for us to print it.Please write to us first requesting a releaseform, and we will be happy to send one toyou.

F R O M HQby Kim Eastland

D. We cannot promise to answer everythingwe receive in the form of questions, com-ments, etc., quite simply because of thesheer volume of mail received from you. Itwill help if you enclose a self addressedstamped envelope (SASE) with your letter.That will cut down on our cost and time,and thus expediate our replies.E. Please don't send any new monsters,spells, etc. to us. We are not a gaming aidpublication (such as DRAGON Magazine,the best in the industry), but a means ofcommunicating the average gamer's prob-lems and ideas. We will not receive any"variants" on weapons, range, etc. of anyestablished gaming system, but will returnthem immediately.F. Address: POS 509, Lake Geneva, WI 53147G. All artwork should be submitted in blackand white ink only, on heavy stock paper(not tracing paper), and should be com-pletely original in nature. Don't rip anyoneelse off! We cannot guarantee that we willuse the artwork, and can only return it ifyou enclose a SASE with it.Let's spell out what the RPGA Network isabout. "Role playing gamers" are the folksthat comprise our association, and conse-quently we aim to please themIn past issues of POLYHEDRON Newszinewe've discussed the possibility of touching

on other products. TSR Hobbies, Inc., runsand funds this organization. After years inthe "biz" I am convinced that not only arethey the frontrunners in Role Playing Games,but are one of the only companies that reallyhas an interest in the people who game.Their scholarships, inexpensive gaming con-ventions, and the very existence of the RPGANetwork further shows that while other var-ious games "flash-in-the-pan" for a flurry ofbrief excitement, nothing else compares tothe DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ADVANCEDDUNGEONS & DRAGONS TOP SECRET,or GAMMA WORLDTM game systems (or theother fine role playing games by TSR). Sowhy would we even bother with them?"Network" is the second key to our organi-zation. A net of interested, intelligent gamerswho seek to communicate with others of thesame interests and who have exclusive privi-leges by belonging to this organization(merchandise, a newsletter, etc.). Of course,all of this depends on you, the members, towork. Your interest and letters keep us go-ing. Your word of mouth recommendationkeeps us growing. And grow we shall, withmore new products, modules, and benefitsthan ever before. Take care, and we'll talkagain next issue. @


15/16

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POL YHEDRON 15


16/16

The POLYHEDRON is proud to announce a ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATIOW" Membership Drive!The ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATIONT" Network (The ONLY Official DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Club) is sponsoring aper-duper 9 month Membership Drive, to start at GEN CON Game Convention on August 19th, 1982. Each and every membern participate. It works very simply: when HQ receives a new application for membership, not a renewal, and if that application hasexisting member's number written on it, that existing member gets credit for recruiting 1new RPGN" Network member. We willep electronic records of the recruiters and their totals. The competition runs through May, and all recruited applicationsstmarked after May 31,1983 are ineligible.

A handsome wood and metal plaque, thesame type as we give to tournament wi nners,PLUS a super special prize never beforeavailable: YOUR FAVORITE CHARACTER,from any game you wish will be illustratedby a professional TSR staff artist in f u ll c o-lor!We'll get all the details from you, includ-ing race, items owned, colors worn, and soforth. Just imagine what your gamingfriends will say, with an ORGINALARTWORK of yourfavorite game characteron your wall for all to see!

100 Members: For this incredible achievement, you willreceive two incredible prizes: FIRST, anOriginal Collectors' Edition of theDUNGEONS & DRAGONS game, personallyautographed by the author E. Gary Gygax(a very rare item), PLUS an RPGA ticket to

A UNIQUE offer - a T-shirt designed any ANY GEN CON Game Convention youway you want! Select ANY black & white art wish to attend! The RPGA Ticket coversfrom ANY TSR product - including books, ALL event fees, convention registration,modules, or other accessories, from ANY admission into otherwise restricted seminarsTSR game - and we'll put it on a T-shirt and events, PLUS VIP treatment for theJUST FOR YOU, along with your name, whole weekend. Winners must supply theirclub, or just about anything else you want own transportation, food and lodging; we'llto say. cover the rest!

The TOP THREE recruiters in the drive will receive very special awards. One very special AD&DT" game will be held at the GENN XVI Game Convention. The Dungeon Masterwill be the Grand Master of Dragons himself, E . Gary Gygax- and YOU can beplayers! The Dungeon used will be the Original, never-published, CASTLE GREYHAWK - the very birthplace of theNGEONS & DRAGONS game!!

What if the top 3 winners can't afford to come? Well, the second part of these top prizes are:FIRST PLACE:

An ALL-EXPENSE paid trip to GEN CON XVI Game Convention, PLUS a seat at the GREYHAWK game.SECOND AND THIRD PLACE:

An RPGA Deluxe Convention Pass! This valuable item will cover ALL EXPENSES except transportation to the GEN CON XVIme Convention you wish to attend, including meals, lodging, all event and convention fees, and Deluxe VIP treatment for theekend, plus a seat at the GREYHAWK game.

Prizes will be awarded to EVERY member who recruits another! Prizes are cumulative (for 5 memberships, $5 in credits plus theecial listed hereafter). Special prizes include:Member: A full $1.00 credit towards ANY RPGA Net-

work purchase. This maybe used for part ofa Gift Catalog order, or saved towardsa membership extension. Save them up,and get YEARS of free membership!

50 Members:

embers: One "RPGA Recruiter" button, AND oneRPGA Tote Bag, with the RPGA symbol onthe front. It's just the right size for pens,pencils, dice, and other gamingaccessories.

Members: Your choice of ANYone of the "R" series ofRPGA AD&D T " modules, each one from aGEN CON Tournament, and specificallydesigned with the players in mind.

Members:

All of these astounding prizes WILL be awarded. START RECRUITING NOW! Remember, you win both ways - for each andery new recruit, plus special prizes for 5,10,20,50, and 100 recruits, and grand prizes for the top three recruiters for the year,Winners assume all liability during travel to and participation at all GEN CON Game Conventions. Text for T-shirts subject toision at the discretion of the RPGA Staff.

ROLE PLAYING GAME ASSOCIATION', RPGA', and GEN CON are service marks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc.DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and D & D are registered trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc."TM" designates other trademarks owned by TSR Hobbies, Inc.

1982 TSR Hobbies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Polyhedron #008

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Transcript of Polyhedron #008