I never even knew White Dwarf existed until the last 90’s. So I have have no nostalgia for the covers like I do for the older Dragon Magazines. That being said, I do like this piece. It’s very reminiscent of that older style. It’s not quite as static feeling as some of the other covers from this year, but I’m here for it. I’m not sure if the armored guy is chaotic, and killing orcs, or if he’s good. He’s got lots of skulls, so I’m assuming he is evil, and it looks like there are some dead adventurers at his feet? Who knows. It is interesting.

The Good, The Bad and the Downright Odd - Phil Masters

This is another one of those articles that is hard to read. I don’t know why they thought this was a good idea.

The entire article is a good one, if you can get past the layout. While laid out in the Super-Hero RPG, the entire article is a good exercise in creating NPC’s for any RPG, or any wargame for that matter. I recommend reading it.

Open Box

Reviewed herein are Paranoia by West End Games, Aslan, K’Kree and Vargr Alien Modules by Games Designers’ Workshop for Traveller, and The Romulans, The Orion Ruse, and Margin of Profit by FASA for their version of the Star Trek RPG. I actually have copies of that game, plus I have the Romulan and the Klingon Expansion. I use a couple of different apps to make what I call “fun” money. It never amounts to much, but it does give me the freedom to buy “stupid” things I find on occasion on Ebay that I think I might want one day. I should actually find the time to read them at some point in the future.

Spring Fever - Dave Langford

Ahh Dave, this is the first time that he reviewed books I was familiar with, and I take offense with his a couple of his comments.

Another series I missed is David Eddings’ `Belgariad` …. Spies tell me that despite corny passages and an excessively naive hero, this is a fitting close to an OK series. Not so OK is Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Margaret Weiss, Tracy Hickman and a cast of thousands

I just reread the first two Dragonlance novels, and I still enjoyed them. I personally think they are great novels. Character development, hero’s that are just trying to do the right thing for the right reasons, etc.
I haven’t read the `Belgariad` in several years, so I’m not as current on it as I wanted to be. It is on my reading list again. I remember enjoying them a lot. I think `Elenium` is a better series. I like Sparhawk better than Belgarion. Sparhawk is just a guy doing the best he can, while Belgarion is essentially a “god”, but your mileage may vary.

Mr. Langford has some choice words for a variety of other novels, mostly the Dune series.

The Distressing Damsel - Dave Langford

As a reviewer Dave is great. As a writer, his short stories are okay. They take the usual trope, and turns it on their head. Which is of course the point of the whole story. Was this a good story? I enjoyed it, but I wouldn’t say it was great. It’s always fun to see how things turn out in the end.

Smile Please - Graham Miller

If you aren’t old enough to have watched good TV, then this adventure doesn’t hold up. It is Candid Camera in the Traveller universe. I actually enjoyed reading it. It was a good twist on the “normal” adventure, but I’m not sure it holds up as well as other more evergreen adventures. I think you had to be in that time to really understand it.

Still it is great idea and it can help you get past the hack and slash adventures that I used to run back in the day.

Balancing Act - Mike Lewis

Subtitled - Why Rules and Role-Playing Don’t Mix

This was an interesting essay on roleplaying versus rules. It is something I have been, “complaining’ about? It feels like the last year or so of the Dragon Magazine has been about adding more realism to the AD&D game.
What actually are hit points? More realistic falling damage rules, more weapons, etc.
Rather than just complain about it though, he gives some actionable items you can incorporate at the GM. A lot of his argument is that rolling dice, ruins the effect of role-laying. If there is a high chance of success, just let the player’s succeed. If you can’t remember the rule, just role with it, and look it up later. Don’t just add random encounters because the rules call for it. Some solid advice can be garnered from this essay.

The Sahuagin Heel - Graeme Drysdale

I read this adventure. These short adventures are long on ideas, short on actual implementation. I feel like there are some decent ideas presented here, but I also feel like it could be expanded on. I think I would rather see scenario ideas, and less scenarios in games todays. Now I didn’t run it, and I didn’t spend hours pouring over all the text, so maybe it would flow better than my cursory read of it.

The Other Imperium - Micheal Scott

This is the kind of thing I really enjoy. Why not add a few new organizations, or groups to your roleplaying game. While this was written for Traveller, there is no reason not to take the ideas, or just lift the groups completely and throw them in your Star Wars game. The Imperial Police Confederation are exactly what they sound like. Your PC’s committed a crime on Alderaan, why wouldn’t there be an interstellar police force that can apprehend them on Tatooine, and extradite them back to Alderaan for trial? Even better, the PC’s are on Alderaan right as the Death Star turns up. Now the PC’s really need to find a way out of jail, and off planet very quickly.

Forecasting the Runes - Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson

The bi-montly RuneQuest article about reading runes, as I usually say, this is another article that could be lifted and put into any game that uses prediction methods. Always a good idea to let the PC’s lead the game. Why not have them meet a fortune teller, and the tailor the next adventure to what the runes say, or don’t do that at all. It could happen years down the road.

The Noegyth Nibin - Steven Prizeman

Anyone who reads these should know by now that I am not a fan of new monsters. This were interesting in the fact that they are lifted from the The Silmarillion. So I’ll allow it to pass. It was interesting to see learn more about the lore in The Silmarillion, since I am never going to actually read it.

Armed to the Teeth - MJ Bourne

Newish weapons? If you need rules for a Misericorde, or a poniard then this is the article for you.

Horse Sense - Joe Dever and Gary Chalk

Everything you ever wanted to know about horses and how to paint them. Evergreen content, use oils. Oils have been making a comeback lately on the YouTube.

And finally, the cover that gives some ideas on making the figure from the cover art.