Dragon Publishing released Dragon #83 in March 1984. It is 84 pages long and has a cover price of $3.00. This issue features Baba Yaga, James Bond, and the first glimpse of Dragonlance!
This month’s cover is by Denis Beauvais. Interior artists include Jim Holloway, Roger Raupp, E. B. Wagner, Larry Elmore, Kurt Erichsen, and Phil Foglio.
This issue’s special attraction is “The Dancing Hut” by Roger Moore, a high-level adventure centered around the fabled dwelling of Baba Yaga. The Hut’s interior is huge, with 48 large, unusually shaped rooms spanning multiple levels, filled with deadly traps, powerful foes, and perplexing puzzles. I was impressed by the creative scope of this dungeon when I first saw it and still am, though there are a few elements I don’t like. For example, Moore includes several pages describing spell alterations within the Hut, a common feature of high-level TSR adventures I’ve always opposed. There are also missed opportunities, such as the Grand Museum, which houses a Soviet-era tank but makes no use of it. Overall, though, Moore delivers an unpredictable and lethal experience that will challenge powerful characters. There are plenty of good ideas to steal, even if you want to avoid inflicting the entire ordeal on your players.
“The Many Facets of Gems” by Michael Lowrey provides a detailed exploration of the gems listed in the Dungeon Master’s Guide, covering everything from agates to zircons. Lowrey describes each gem’s physical properties and dives into its historical and mystical significance. It is well-researched, but the material is not that useful at the gaming table. Lowrey suggests players will lose their suspension of disbelief if the Dungeon Master cannot describe gems in detail, but that’s a stretch. The best parts of the article are when he matches a particular gem with a magic item (e.g., he suggests an agate is a suitable vessel for a periapt of proof against poison). But there are only a few such comments.
In “The Ecology of the Stirge,” Ed Greenwood directs his attention to this small yet dangerous monster. The bulk of the article is a purported address by the sage Elmdaerle to the assembled Guild of Naturalists in Arabel. The tone is amusing, and it contains a few tidbits of actionable lore and a brief appendix with some mechanical clarifications. It is good but is shorter than previous entries in this series.
Margaret Weis introduces us to the Dragonlance saga with “The Test of the Twins.” The story follows two brothers, Raistlin and Caramon, journeying toward a dangerous and mystical destination. Raistlin, a frail but ambitious magician, seeks power through a perilous test, while the protective Caramon struggles to understand his brother’s grim motivations. It might be “gamelit”, but I still enjoy this fiction more than some of the more literary pieces the magazine has published. Dragonlance, of course, became a massive seller for TSR. This story was Weis’s first contribution to Dragon.
“How to Finish Fights Faster” by Roger Moore proposes a streamlined system for handling unarmed combat in AD&D. The current unarmed combat rules are known for being clunky and time-consuming, something even Gygax acknowledged. Moore divides unarmed combat into three modes: pummeling, kicking, and grappling. Each mode has specific rules for how attacks are made, including the number of attacks allowed per round, how to determine hits, and the results. The system is more straightforward than that found in the AD&D core books, but it’s not exactly simple.
Merle Rasmussen’s “A Look at AOKs, Old and New” is another preview of the forthcoming Top Secret Companion, and it gives an overview of the Areas of Knowledge (AOKs) available for agents. These AOKs are essentially “skills” and include Botany, Engineering, Law, Religion and many others. It reminds me very much of the Call of Cthulhu skill list.
Finally, there is one game review in this issue, written by Tracy Hickman. James Bond 007 by Victory Games is an espionage RPG that emphasizes cinematic gameplay, focusing on action, gadgets, and intrigue. The system captures the feel of a Bond movie very well, offering players exciting opportunities for creative spy missions. The rules are simple yet versatile, using a unified mechanic to handle everything from combat to seduction. While the system leaves some outcomes open to interpretation, this flexibility allows for creativity and gives the game a cinematic feel. Hickman concludes, “With a rule book that is easy to digest and use, the game system conveys all the sizzle of 007’s world. Don’t expect this game to be anything more than a James Bond fantasy — but be assured that you’re getting nothing less.”
And that’s a wrap! It will come as no surprise that my favourite feature was “The Dancing Hut.” In the next issue, we have new familiars, tournaments, and Ares magazine!
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