e es The Magazine of Adventure Gaming eA) by E Tr ae MW ITM OLoyr ile cw Cm Celta ig (ot Reena * PARANOIA * FINIEOQUS FINGERS * LETTERS * 13 PAGES OF APSULES * GAMELORDS TRAVELLER la SOs PYTHON ILLUMINATI *COME TO THE SOURCE! If you're a fantasy gamer who's looking for inspiration, or if you simply enjoy reading fantasy fiction, then you're somebody who ought to be reading Fantasy Book. For more than three years, Fantasy Book has been at the leading edge in the field of illustrated fantasy fiction, featuring stories by such noted authors as Paul Edwin Zimmer, Jessica Salmonson, Katherine Kurtz, and Alan Dean Foster, plus artwork by the likes of Stephen Fabian, George Barr, Alicia Austin, Alfredo Alcala, Dave Carson, and Walter Lee. In each quarterly issue, readers of Fantasy Book ccan expect to see 80 full-sized pages of the finest in illustrated fantasy fiction. Recently, Fantasy Book has featured Brian Lumley’s latest venture into the Cthulu mythos, the complete novel: The Return of SIN BOOK mT the Deep Ones. Add to this some previously unpub lished works by Robert E. Howard, and our regular fantasy gaming column which will begin in the nina mee March 1985 issue, and you can see why each issue A tinting of Fantasy Book is a fantasy event not to be missed. by Brian Lumley We're so certain that you'll enjoy what Fantasy = sole by Book has to offer that we're willing to send you , ae the first issue of your subscription absolutely free. Paul Eouin Zimmer Instead of receiving only four issues of Fantasy Book at our usual rates, you'll receive Jive issues for your $12.00! That's only $2.40 per issue, a sav- ings of almost 40% off the $3.95 cover price. All you have to do is clip out the coupon below, or send us a facsimile, and we'll send your first issue to you right away. Obviously, we hope you'll renew and extend your subscription at our regular rates once you've had the opportunity to read the magazine, but in the meantime the pleasure of bringing you limitless worlds of fantasy fiction is yours and ours. © YES! Please send me five (not four) 40% off the cover price. Di D l Begin wll Che curent ue ont Delay! None Subscribe Today! Address More Address City____State__Zip Send to: FANTASY BOOK, PO Box 60126, Pasadena CA 91106Space Gamer Warren Spector ‘Allen Varney Scott Haring WG. Armintrout Willa A. Barton Matthew J. Costello Jerry Epperson Fick Swan Asslatant Editor: News Editor: Contributing Eators: ‘Steve Jackson ©. Mara L Marie Mahoney im Strombo Allen Varney Marie Mahoney Publisher: Production Statt: Typesetter: Mark Chandler Caroline Chase Croede Lamioard Business Manager: ‘Advertising Manager: Circulation Manager: ART IN THIS ISSUE courtesy West End Line Art: Kyle Miler: 10. Allen Varney: FM, 11, 22. Dan Wiles: 24,25. Photographs and Game Art: Adventure ‘Systems: 27. Greg Costkyan: 14, Gameloras 8,7, Seve Jahaen Games ne 10,1, 2028, Most game names are trademarks of the companies publishing those games. In part lar: Dungeons & 5 Advanced Dun (eons & Dragons, D&D, ADED, Top Secrot, Gangbustors, Star Frontiors, Boot Mil, Gam- ‘ma Werkd, GenCon, Drive on Stalingrad, Alr War, and Conquistador are tracemarks of ‘TSR, inc.;Marvel Super Heroes and al Marvel characters, of the Marvel Comice Group: The Fantesy Trip, Treasure of ihe Sliver Dragon, Treasure of Unicorn Gold, and Traliblazer, of Metagaming: Chill, Timemaster, and Star ‘Ace, of Pacesetior Ltd; Powers & Perils and ‘RuneQuest, of The Avalon Hil Game Com any; Paranola and Web & Starship of Wet End Games; Traveler, of Game Designers ‘Workshop all Gamotords supplement, of Game- lords Lie and Call of Cthulhu, of Chaosivm. ‘Characters and ideas trom Monty Python's Fy ing Creus used by permission of Python (Mon- ‘9) Productions Lid. Use ofa trademark to isan ty @ product commented on in this magazine ‘SROULS not be consttued as mpiing the spon sorship of the vacemark holder. Muminatl is 2 registered trademark of Stove Jackson Games Inc. Al names of other games published by Stove Jackson Games inc. are trademarks of ‘Steve Jackson Games Inc, of Used under be ‘conse. Use of the name of any product without mention of vademark status should not be con: ‘Sted as a chalonge fo such status Number 7 Jan/Feb 198: SPECIAL SECTION Muminati ‘SJ Games’ ever-popular conspiracy continues to provoke devi- expansion set. The machinations begin on page 20, Death to Deadheads! * Terry H Jones ‘The Evil Geniuses Are Here! * L. Creede Lambard More Groups illuminated + Russell Grant Collins ‘The Monty Python Illuminati + Bill Cassel Keeping Posted: liuminati PBM * Robert S. Cushman ‘MWuminati PM Designer's Notes * Draper Kauffman ARTICLE Intervie : Greg Costikyan ‘Ate Sheboygan in his first published interview REVIEWS Gamelords Traveller Supplements * Tony Watson With accompanying capsule reviews by William A. Barton TOON « R.A. Greer Paranoia * The Statt Capsule Reviews GAMES: Arle & Allies, Conquest of the Empire, Broadsides & Boarding Parties, ‘Justice inc., Mekton, To Challenge Tomorrow, Warhemmer, Heroes Unilmited, ‘Starship Duel | and l, Dark Cults. SUPPLEMENTS: Trall of the Gold Spike, ‘Swordthrust, Deadly Power, Shipwrecker, Evil Ruins, The Keep, The Compleat ‘Adventurer, The Comploat Alchemist, The Compleat Spel Caster, Shado of the ‘Sinking Plain, Organization Book 1, The Fuins of Chicago, Beyond the Wal of Tears, Operation Lucifer, From the Deeps of Space, Bad Medicine or Dr. Drugs, World of Vog Mur, The Dragon Lord, Murderwortal, Uiaferee, Quagmire, Orion Fuso, Time Trap, London by Night, Ravenioft. PUBLICATIONS: The Army, Vo 1, Th. COMPUTER GAME: Legacy of Liylgamyn. REGULAR FEATURES Counter Intelligence * Allen Varney Letters 2 Where We're Going * Steve Jackson Finieous Fingers * J.D. Webster ‘Scanner/Convention Calendar Index to Advertisers ‘Murphy's Rules * Michael von Glahn ‘Space Gener ISSN 07649977, USPS 434-250) poblsed br manny by Slava Jackson Garros ncorporatag P.O. 80x 18957, Aus, TK 78760-7087. Second conse postage pls ot Austn, TX. POSTMASTER Send waares changos io Sd Games Ine. P.O. Bon 1857, Ausin, TX 78780-8967 “Al maar is conyight © 1964 ty lowe Jackson Games Incorporated. All rights reserved Pratod n US A: oy Futora Prot, usin. ‘Stoserpfon it, otectve 127/84 In the Ute Ss subesrpion' 8200 Canada, ado 30s pr leave for postage and handing fo sarerses ous the US. and Ganaca, 40081 per ss or furlace mas, Tore roidors posse ad 5), sales .— months 9 esun) $8 one you (csuce)$18:2 yours 2iesve) $28 Al , GRA Intamatona rater autjctto change as petal aos change. Now: Al payments MUST bein US. dolar, mode by iteration Money Ordre chooks drawn on & US. 0% Canadian Dank. ous little articles, as well as a play-by-mail game and yet another BSSRRS The outspoken designer of TOON, Paranoia, and Creature That 4 BSSSS awCounter Intelligence The State of the Art Welcome to the new, improved Counter Intelligence. This i the editorial page, where ‘we examine the ble picture rather than the in- dividual produet. Each issue one of us here at ‘Space Gamer, or one of you out there, will Ihave the opportunity to climb on the soapbox ‘and address issues of importance to the gant- ing community. SG. Assisunt Editor Allen Vamey leads off with his views on the “state of the art" in roleplaying, Let us know what you think —Warren Spector Editor-in-Chief “State of the ar."" This nebulous term ‘ccasionally springs up in game reviews, In that context, i refers to some design or game ‘mechanic which represents a benchmark, an advance beyond previous efforts inthe form — it's more playable, more “realistic,” what Ihave you, All other games ofthe type are com pared to it, What follows is my opinion of ‘what currently constitutes “the state of the ‘at in one area: roleplaying games With the proliferation of RPGs recently, ‘we can see many examples of strong design elements — and many more (too many) of ‘weak ones. All ths variety gives us plenty of ‘choices in deciding what works best. My cri- terion is simply player satisfaction: not “ealism’” or simplicity (except incidentally), ‘but how enjoyable the roleplaying experience ‘becomes with these mechanics. With this sub- Jective “fun quotint" in mind, here's what 1 ‘think belongs in a state-of-the-art design: ‘Customized character generation. This is sapparestly sil an issue in the hobby, but to my mind random character cretion is passe. Point allocation of characteristics may not be more realistic, but it's certainly more falling = unless you like the challenge of trying t0 turn string of random numbers into a believ= able personality. Me, [want o shape a charac ter for optimum wish-fulflment — and not take any guff from dice that tell me otherwise. 'No character classes, no alignments, no level. These are archaic and sily concepts Concise tributes and minimal numbers crunching. The redundancy of characteristics in most RPGs is depressing. You can convince sme that “Dexterity” is really different from “Agility,” for example — but not that it rakes any measurable difference in game play. Likewise “Inelligence” and “Wisdom.” ‘Yet numerous designs distinguish these — and provide entirely superfluous number-scores for education, personality, and — soe beide! = "charisma," These are matters of roleplay ing, not of numerical values. T say 2 good design should need no more than four or five atibutes, clearly defined and comprehensive. ‘By “number-crunching” I mean the ap- palling formulae some games require for fig- ‘uring hitpoints, carrying capacity, apd similar secondary attributes. I suppose Powers & Perils the recent The Avalon Hill Game Com- ppany game, is the quintessential shameful ex= ample. Formulae should be relatively simple for — even better — absent Functional mechanics; clear style; sensible organization ‘Si-sded dice. This is a chancy statement and an extreme minority opinion — but I feel polyhedral dice are a Bad Idea, They're clunky. They encourage ls2y number-crunch- ing design mechanics (witness most TSR re leases). They're not widely available except in ‘ur own small hobby, and they alienate the general public (“What are those things?"). 1 ike Bucldean solids in math books, where they belong. Six-sders, though, are immediately sc cessible, elegant, and have millennia of tradi- tion behind them. They call for robust game ‘mechanes, based on the (pardon my chapso- izing) profound beauty of the bell curve. ‘There is nothing remotely fads about them. ‘As for games that use both six-sided and various polyhedral dice — well, that’s just effete. ‘Adaptability. A state-of-the-art roleplaying system can no longer content itself with one background or era, Is just not practical any more for a group of players to learn yet fanother complex stem every time they want f@ change of venue; the same system that served them well in ancient Aantis should ‘Support their adventures in Dodge City. or ima comic-book metropolis, or in pos-Rolocaust ‘America, or amid the rings of Saturn. The esign should encompass anyehing the players feel like doin. [Now this can be handy if you want to trans- fer a character from ane campaign world 10 another — to let your superhero wipe out an ‘entire Napoleonic regiment, for example — and T suppose this ean lead to some offbeat adventures, Tt would be senseless to discour tage such flamboyance. But argument for “universality ‘mete utiliy: You can play in a whole new World with the minimum of effort and culture shock, because you already know the system. Some fine-tuning may be needed, but how mich less aggravating that is than having to wade through sill unother rulebook! ‘Obviously a publisher, too, has some inter- ‘esti promoting a universal system: Each new —— Allen Varney “world for the system will have a builtin audience of players from the previous worlds. Releasing non-compatible games means a pub- lisher must siart over with each new design. Fantasy Games Unlimited is an instructive ‘example: With fourteen mutually-incompatible roleplaying systoms now available from FOU, you have to wonder what's going through the publishers” minds. ‘Support. The ideal benchmark system should have numerous supplements by talented professionals, published frequently, and a variety of adventures, modules, and useful play-aids, Some kind of magazine providing Articles and scenarios for the game would be Judged by these criteria, most entries the RPG sweepstakes may be eliminated out of hand. (Note. for instance, that most TSR re= leases utterly botch every point but the las.) ‘The Chaosium system, based on RuneQuest, is an admirable achievement despite its random character generation and lumpy polyhedra, but requires constant and extensive tinkering, from release to release; the Chaosium’s games aren't compatible and don’t attempt to be. Regnarok’s To Challenge Tomorrow “zener system takes a novel and attractive ap- proach to character generation, but has ots of Formulae, spety support, and horrid produc- tion values. About Avalon Hill, he less said, the better. Most other publishers don’t even pretend to the sate of the art. Jn my thinking I have returned repeatedly to Hero Games, ‘The small San Mateo com> ‘pany has produced three RPGS to date (Cham= lons, Espionagel, Justice Inc.), all working ‘on the “Hero System” of point allocation, six sided dice (in large quantities), sharp mechan- ies, adaptability with minor tinkering. to feveral milieu, and admirably clear writing and organization (though Tl never understand Why we're told how to throw things in the mid- dle ofthe character creation section). Support for the Hero line has been ireg~ ular but is improving, and the Adventurers Club magazine, now edited by former SG ‘editor Aaron Alston, is looking beter. So are the games themselves — though in & lot of ‘ways Hero remains a bush-league operation (see the Justice In. review in the capsule se<- tion). There are more attributes than necessary in the Hero System, and Tean never remember the formulae. But it surpasses the rank and file jn so many important respects that T have no misgivings about declaring the Hero System the state ofthe art. For now, anyway. oCran 1978: pbc. 1981: 1982: Uy 1984: Fae Melee Meee G.E.V. In the Labyrinth Car Wars Illuminati The Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame Designing his biggest project ever . . . 1985: Steve Jackson’s GURPS Generic Universal RolePlaying System Cem CME L Co Meee) STEVE JACKSON GAMESLetters [A Speedy Response Dearie Varney” Tl arn pice wit am of econ ment yu make n'your Counter Ieligence ca) Ginn G7), tk there eather ie othe Sony There ean be no denying the privacy of jer sasfaction*moe'sevatomon ofa game bat what sates you may not satisfy ter, Td tke to un down Jour ist of sta the-art RPG tSaracersi and comment on 4 fe ‘Customized character generation: implicit in oor tame Tan shapes characte or op Fun ner henna {ultiment the prnary function of olepiyng. 1 find toy in rlelayg isin he ares ne Sing th sir ers an pang the to ‘Mtatver the de roll give me. And yeh, fenoy dl hulage of turning sting of numbers, oa ‘SStevable personaly.” When Trolepay. I'm an Actor a mich ae a gime. How the rambrs get on {he paper realy dosnt mater as ong as B10 an tap ste No character clase, no alignmens, no evel ye ham Tes elie apres ih Dungeons Dragons. whch pioneered cach of iow concep, iwc be hypoerical of te 12 of them. In theory, T agree: These ae a ie sly. In practice, and in combination ih fan i ros they canbe vane ai 0 role im Poise arbues and mint narber-ranch- ing’ Aron, brother meat longs Jou dont lei ene os aye ie The on ‘tne vane" een Is a teary vasen is peceny. And shat of tne Post souls bo dnt have the nit och ok Finy ath caroma character’ Arete doomed 0 Ploy thdllans im games asin ie Where's the ‘erhfaliment ine Sill de Non, od tin, Surly yon woukia't deprive me ofthe Joy fa Soe’ die. ove old ine dae One| could argue tha they provide diferent ebay sie San one iin nd fn at wise mere pty. fe oles ever theft prsn wha comes op wih + Sortable hdres ie wl be Sabie my sonal hal f fame And what te robust pone Gre il wor word: admire your courage in going ct ns inh ad senting te Hero Gare se {So he chit the taste a ten ‘Srrendy avaible, hive a sch courge Tsay Sly thes y-own sate-fche-ar sem Would ‘Repeat tn fandom gente ares ard {point alocion system fr sil woul Rev {Einar cases, bo ignents anno levee ‘foud have abut four tax cones nom redun i tbs Geng, Dey, ineliene, sraybe Charter, sme wy to gue overall py cal welcbeing, ike Sting when he Serer copes mei. what ad Cal of "without Say ol tke very Ein of sie imaginable ld mon erinly cope ovary of setings a hans a ITE be walla. gee the Choosom genes cise tucpwte rp souhe ck bli. The nen suf from Pacseter sin con tention, bat the Chill Timemaster, and Star Ace fules.read beter than they play, and they're jst & {don the simple sige for my taste Tihink 1 walt forthe neat generation of roe playing games before sicking my neck ot any Tur- fer that ao id Sincerely, Worren Specer "Your boss Noted Dar Me. Varney: “Al of ug here in TSR's. Legal Department enjoyed. reading your Editorial” Commentary Weed Excess” which appeared inthe aly! sapere See Ger Maa t However, we find it necesary. and mast ir sine tof you know that to be coeecthe second paragrah should read and don't forget, his game isa "Product of ‘Your Imagination™™ trom TSR producers ofthe DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® pare. ‘Very truly yours, arncia Wolaeger egal Deparment ‘One More Round with Greenwood Td lite o thnk Don Greene forbs cogent and wellreasonod ltr in Fonasy Gamer bit ‘Teh he argued that gane designer coe ler Toyals st suber fr good feos Ao0gs | ‘Gdagoe ngenerl wth Ms conclsions, i eter Sra preset) he Kn of dalog| wad i provoke when’ Paate my omgima rand Tp he Tome 4 numberof important point “Grecmwood pressed tun arguments 0 suppor ins posites Theft wasn eee, tht fame designs by nature a collaborate effort T ‘ere and ac i eam Sesion amet ower ropes I ane at isorsufie eaom set deiger’s yates a Sut oneouth of wha suthore ere Greamwood's second arzamen iat most «professionals in eu dare notably lacing in protesionsiam. Im fored to gre, Ive been Freed inthe raha of ue designs or ‘oth SPL and West End Games and mst hat ton designer, scuding some of te Best know ind ont fespectd in he indy, seem we i ‘Sie of competent developmen Wages, Here ick professionali ng sled professions. Rate han simply Spiga wh we Tf gare companies begin to insist on «higher degree of potion anne Ger Seip tol fect dr wl ne sl fo tore proersonslyConpences cen Goths by {Dring to ap games which are not adequate iy developed) requrng rules tris and vse elope by designer, when fas are foun ind’) oflerng higher tats ofp) to Adequtly Sereloped pues. ‘Ar omone who tiesto make living as a free- lance dengner, Tim faced sh config incon tres Aran, want do the best job of which In capa, aed fel pela. ples and ahh pines do xen. As mone he 0 et, aso know tht have to design and sell a ett our games year in ondrto survive There ‘aiwayeatinpian skimp and toi ao dba fe es Re ye poly fod ‘tough and f could be spending the time do Somching class to avid finding” Hines ‘cae fe payad the gume' enogh mye nd their resus probably won't produce that many ‘hangs. I's tration ty aout dont ‘Senge cents Pa sucead more often that extra ‘Son produced xr income for me Se pe act Gat Sc For ae, dvalon Hiren Sova 8 fants game {he received htop royaly fe Kew what srs, and didn't waste fine arguing about because TB my chance af hencring twas mirc Vira anypreviousy-pubisted designer oi + receive tht same rate — regardless of how polished {Shis deign, Atte rick of sounding arvogan, 1 low tt the gene T submited was in much belt form than Post of what Avalon Hil receives — yet Games Boo, make da it yu: the net tine ‘one for Avalon Hil, Tl do every rewrite of the ies Ifyou seca probiem, lt me Kaow and feast i you want me o se @ parila ules Stes Tbe happy to adopt fe ram the Bing feng, an forward yon copies of my eters he ‘Sse and thet response, Let me know what feed wo make your in hows jo esser —and Til Fappily comply wih your stander forms fr map tage, counter manifest ee write ad and box fovee text for you, if jou tke [ake the ain ‘dow o Balimore i pat the galleys and bes. Tn Short il do everything can to minim your i= Hoan at ne a expense yu fer me royalty tate of 38, wih the extra PY pins cone Sng on you beg wholy Stated wa my Everyone else wil want tbe extra. points, of course. Fine: give to them they'll do the same Sinouni of afk: Together, peehape, we'll help ‘read profesional ln tis in remain, you humble and obedient servant. (Greg Costar PS. The figure of is, ofcourse, open to neg Wo Dear Later Column wash tke 4 moment to respond tothe eter by Don Greenvood which eppearad in ie leer ‘ofthe aes ase of Fatasy Gamer. ant w support his goneral claim which ates that game designers almost neve do av much final trent an book author. To compare the to markets Eimer ~ thay ate othe same. ACChaosium we ‘aye do inal work onthe prod. ‘However. most ao disagree with Don's state ment concerning. Avalon Hil peliy for names 09 bores He i dead wrong, and should consult with Nie boss Sefore making sh rash statements about nen be can putt descr s name on a box. T rovenly had two Boardgames published by ‘Avalon Hil, which they published withowt ay anges ty submission, and we incded the amore ssaraton for picts and board which had forbs changed sigh forthe Avalon Hil forma. Yetiny mame didnot appear onthe boxes. Furthermore, we submited RumeQuest in its final format types, at in place, coor sepraions de, a all We had been told wo would have [Mthrs names on the Bor tont, bt were rather {Urprncd when the color proof eame back without theln. Upon inquiry wih ine present of AH we tere told tha is company policy to keep names ‘fF bones. The theory i hat Avalon Hil compuny recognition Ws More Important than any author Feengaition ‘personaly disagree withthe policy, as can be seen y the profusion of nues whic appears on all ‘Ghagstm products. c0 not deares with Avalon STE pn doo, ats any erly led tea ifferet atiude from mine — not wrong. But | walt corre Donon bis eNerstatemet. 1 do no fel he shoul misleads pteal come ba- tors about AH pole) Correction iin ec nay ton ao pron) night ali ero in ms “Competitive Cuizens fre [SG-70. I's i the last semence ofthe fist pargraph under the heading “Reenlistment and Mtunterng Out." The setence reads "Characters ‘tho have served four or more sears rall rmally ‘he table." The sentence shoul read ws follows Characters who have seryed Tour of more femme roll normally 0a te able" Dan Pere Hooston, TX,A Major New Challenge in Roleplaying: ‘Twiicut:2000 Combet: Everything from a kick in the head to an artillery barrage on an MIE2 tank is settled by answering threo questions: did you hit? where did you hit? and how hard did you hit? Coolness under fire is a major factor in ‘combat— inexperienced characters may panic and freeze Skille: There are nearly 50 skills. Any task can be resolved by determining its difficulty and the applicable skill or at tribute. Many tasks are described in the rules, and it’s easy jolve others. Skills can be improved by experience, 1nd observation. ules are provided for everything needed to keep istilation to grenade fishing. riety of encounters results from a rolls: people of all kinds—enemy units, traders, bandits, refugees—plus towns and farmhouses, animals, wrecked vehicles, and more. Rules for NPC Quickly flesh out important NPCs with complex motives. GDW:: Designers’ Workshop PO. Box 1646 Bloomington, illinois 617024646 few di pp. wy 2000 nm five on me 1 ped Ging weleot wat weal go your wot! ago " rs the The real trick in game design is to produce detailed, accurate effects with simple systems. That's what we did in Twilight: 2000. Equipment: All kinds of equipment—the advanced military ‘gear of 1995 and the lengthy chronology of the war's first five years and not ‘on conditions in central Europe. A beginning adventure, Escape from Kaliez, forms the basis of a whole campaign, With information on enemy units, nearby towns, rumors. and prisoner interrogations, and radio traffic, plus an ac ‘count of the death of Sth division and the division’s last issued intelligence briefing. ‘Modules: GDW will be issuing a series of adventure modules, with new background information for your campaigns. Watch for the first soon: The Free City of Krakow. With a large city militia (once the Polish 8th Motorized Divi- sion), working factories, and—so the rumor goes —electric. ower, Krakow is strong enough to declare Its neutrality. It’s a major center for what trade remains and—like lstan- bul in the 30’s—is crawling with the espionage services of both sides. $16 at your local hobby shop or direct from GDW. Write for our free catalog.Featured Review by Tony Watson Traveller Supplements from Gamelords During late 1983 and early 1984 a new company called Gamelords, Ltd. made an impressive entrance into the Traveller play aid market, releasing eight supplements for Game Designers’ Workshop’s SFRPG. Contracting with some of the best designers in the field, including the ubiquitous Keith brothers, Gamelords produced a diverse line of aactive, good-quality. products. This varied Tot falls into several categories: en vironment guides, which concentrate on the circumstances, equipment, and encounters pertinent to-a certain planciary environment; ‘adventures of the traditional sort (hough it's Interesting that both Garnelords adventures are related to environment guides); several vol- tumes. of scenario outlines, offering short synopses of adventures that a referee is re quired to flesh out; and a guide to the worlds ‘of one space subsector (A Pilot's Gude to the Drenilthar Subsector, reviewed by William. Barton om page 8). The Environments ‘The environmental guides are unique inthe universe of Traveller play-aids; they deal en- tirely with the description, in considerable detail, of a single ype of planetary environ ment,” There are two of these guides: The Mountain Environment and. The Undersea Environment, both by J. Andrew Keith. The Mountain Environment explains just about everything the Traveller referee would want 10 know about using mountains as a seting for scenarios. A substantial section outlines how a ‘mountain can be modeled for RPG use, includ ing the creation of slopes, Faces, and summits, and explaining the effects of pressure, altitude, temperature, and weather. A referee can keep any’ adventure interesting with the extensive list of special encounters and events, such as various sorts of difficult terrain or nasty weather, But for all the emphasis on geog- raphy, the character aspect of mountain adven- tures hasn't been neglected: A new still, ‘mountaineering, is introduced, along with the rules to use it in actual "climbs" during adventures, The booklet is rounded out by a Seo long list of mountaineering equipment, an ex ample of a mountain map, and some ideas for possible adventures The Undersea Environment shifs from the heights of tall mountains to the depths of ‘alien oceans. Two new skills, swimming and ddving, make their appearance. ‘The supple- ment considers all sors of pertinent factors such as pressure, gravity, temperaure ‘decompression after dives, and the effect of the undersea environ on such activities as eom- munication and combat, There are 2 dozen of 0 special encounters (“underow, ling weed"), some scenario idea ‘enough underwater gear to keep any futuristic Lloya Bridges happy ‘The tight focus and elaborate detail of these supplements is both their strength and weak ness, Just about all aspects of mountain and tindersea environments are covered, but] ‘wonder just how much of this material is really going to make its way into the average adven-ture, For example, is it necessary for you 10 consult detailed decompression tables for an underwater adventure, or to take the tine 1 prepare a complex mounian map? Maybe not, ‘ut if you do, these will certainly provide you with all you need, The Adventures ‘These two adventures fit ino the mold that Traveler players have come to expect: com- plete scenarios with a beginning, middle, and fend; non-player character listing; encounter eseriptions; and detailed setings. In this ‘ase, the wo adventures are ted directly tothe environment booklets, ‘Ascent to Anekthor, by J. Andrew Keith, doesnot technically require the mountain sup- plement — but since the peak to be scaled, the {ourteen-kilometer-high Anekthor on te plan- ot Glenshic, is designed using the Mountain Environment formas, its use would certainly be helpful, In fact, about a quarter ofthe book is devoted 10 a description and map of the ‘mountain in that format. (The adventure pre- sumes some mountaineering skills among the player-characters, which may be difficult in an ‘ongoing campaign.) "The players join the mountaineering expe- dition of one Lady Sandra Lockhart, a dare- devil noblewoman who has a wager with two other climbing groups. As the expedition pro- fresies, the characters learn that the other {groups are willing to resort to some lessthan- Sporting means to win the bet. Things are com- plicated by the entrance of the Yn-tsa, the ‘Anekthorian version ofthe abominable show. ‘man, who are more inierestng than the squab- bing noble NPCs. Ascent to Anekthor is certainly not the most inspired of adventures, but the climb, if handled correctly, can be a tense and diverting venture forthe players. William H. Keith's The Drenslaar Quest, at sixty pages and $6.95, is the longest and ‘mast extensive play aid in the Gamelords line On the watery world of Yarfah, the players TRAVELLER | THE | DRENSLAAR QUEST by winae 6 Kes de Bevan ae ets 4 LISLE BURA Dears are approached by a native of Mérissar, a world rebelling against the government of the Carillian Assembly. An important consign- ment of weaponry was lost when the 1800-on transport ship Drenslaar was shot down by Assembly forces over the neutral world of ‘Yarfahl, The ship is now wrecked under the ‘ocean, awaiting salvage. . . and that's where the plaver-characters come into the picture. ‘The bulk of the bookle is devoted to describ ing the particulars of the salvage operation ‘Assembly naval patrols and the very masty ‘Yarfalian sea life keep things interesting, but ‘weather and the dangers of the actual salvage work are often the feal excitement. Since $0 ‘much ofthe adventure takes place underwater, The Undersea Environment is of obvious util ity here. The adventure is very complete, in- cluding deck plans forthe Drenslaar aswell as, Yarfahlian ocean craft. The animal descrip- tions are particularly good. The two adventures reviewed here are solid, playable offerings, but it's clear that they gain their strength from their unique envi- ronments, allowing for the maximum use of the two environment supplements Gamelords offers Encounters and Scenarios The remaining three play aids fll into a general category of encounters and scenario tutlines. They are something between envi- ronments and full-fledged adventures. ‘Lee's Guide to Interstellar Adventure, by Gregory P. Lee, is part planetary description, par scenario, and all very good. Ten of its eleven entries begin with listing of the Uni- versal Planetary Profile code ranges accept- able forthe planet on which the adventure is fet, (The eleventh deals with xboat space routes.) Especially thoughtful is a listing of the worlds that meet these qualifications within the Solomani Rim and Spinward Marches sec~ tors (both of which have been treated in GDW supplements, and thus are likely to be aval able to Traveler refs). Fach eniry gives a brief sketch of the world, highlighting any unigue physical, climatic, poitieal, and economic aspects. The sdesigner has extrapolated scenario ideas from these characterises that take advantage of each world's nature. There's a mercenary adventure, a quest for water on a desert world, several mining ventures, and fascinating sce- nario set on a world that has recently suffered a devastating, nuclear war. Lee provides the basic idea for the scenario along with some indications of plot twists, metivations, and complications. NPCs, if described at all, are offered in the barest of terms; the emphasis is fn interesting scenario ideas with plots that faren't heavily predetermined. The details are left tothe referee, who can customize the story to fi any campaign. A soli, original effor. ‘One enduring locale for starting of adven: tures, meeting patrons, and just generally get- ting into some trouble has been the Startown rea surrounding every planet's starport. With its shady businesses, seedy bars, and treacher- ous denizens, Stunown is often an important route of an unfolding. plot reedo and the whole cantina sgang,"* John Marshal's Startown Liberty is a guide wo encounters and evens in the area sur rounding a world's port of eal ‘Startown Liberty is divided ino three se: tions. The first isa series of encounter tables for the streets of Starown. Entries for each of the encounters provide some general informa: tion ("you encounter a shabbly dressed beg- gar" or "your party is approached by several (ofthe local police") and several possible out- ‘comes for the encounter, determined by dic roll. The oceasional tourist encountered can be harmless or finger the player group as mug- ‘er; the Marines on leave can offer to buy the erty @ round of drinks oF lapse into challen: Ing insults; and so forth The next 1wo sections follow the same for- ‘mat, “Entertainment Tonight” describes the LEE’S GUIDE 70 INTERSTELLAR ADVENTURE _. &‘A PILOT'S GUIDE TO THE DREXIL- ‘THAR SUBSECTOR (Ganelords, Lid: $5.5. Designed by J. Andrew Keith One 6” x 9" ‘f-page bookie. Published 1988, Past Troveller supplements designed 10 elineate a certain sepment of space in which Playersbaracters could adventure have alvays ‘oncentated on the sector level, providing 16 fubeccors full of lunes as a backirop for venturing. Examples are GDW's Spinward Marches ot Solomant Rim. As wrest nf ‘maton on various planats had to be skechy — ‘sully only thet univers planetary profes, Now, Gamelorés and I. Andrew Koi, with A Pilots Gude othe Drexithar Subsector, have broken this end by presenting a supplement for ‘Traveller tat covers only one subsector inthe Keith’ Reavers" Deep sector liming this Booklet to only the single Drexithar sibsecor, Keith is thus able provide ‘ckground information o the 27 worlds in the subsector ata dapth never before available ina Traveller release (excep in an avertrefocus- ing on a single world). Following inreduciory section giving the history of Reavers’ Deep and the Drenlhar subsector and peoviing world list of Drxithar, te main part ofthe book is