From the editor-in-chief's description of the issue:
From Boris to Bounty Hunters, from Greyhawk to Gamma World, from clerics to conventions: This issue of DRAGON magazine contains articles and artwork that range far and wide across the vast spectrum of fantasy and fantasy game-playing.
Like the lettering on the cover proudly proclaims, the fanciest feature you'll find inside is an eight-page interview with Boris Vallejo, one of the best fantasy artists to ever lift a brush. For proof of that, one need look no further than the scintillating cover painting Boris created especially for DRAGON magazine - but if you need more convincing, turn to page 28 and savor the interview (conducted by staff member Bryce Knorr) and the accompanying photographs and paintings which illustrate it.
All of you who've been clamoring for a GAMMA WORLD adventure to appear on these pages can put away those laser pistols. Cavern of the Sub-Train is the creation of Jake Jaquet, our esteemed publisher and co-author of the GAMMA WORLD rules.
This issue's NPC offering is a three-for-one deal: We got so many Bounty Hunter submissions after making a request for just such a character class that we decided to give you a trio of tough guys to choose from.
The first few pages of the article section will answer the prayers of clerics everywhere. Robert Plamondon's general article on "The Role of the Cleric" is supplemented by a pair of shorter variants from Douglas Loss, plus 2-1/2 pages of Sage Advice questions and answers all about clerics.
For some insight into how and why the D&D Basic Set was created and how it evolved into the game it is today, check out the observations and opinions of the two people - J. Eric Holmes and Tom Moldvay - who served as editors for the first and second edition, respectively.
The offering for TOP SECRET players this month is Paul Crabaugh's discussion of undercover occupations. Historical specialist Michael Kluever is back with a contribution entitled "Knock, Knock" (as in, let me in or I'll batter your door down), an overview of siege warfare tactics and strategy through the ages.
The first major addition to the WORLD OF GREYHAWK Fantasy World Setting that we've published comes from the typewriter of Len Lakofka and is presented in Len's regular column, Leomund's Tiny Hut. The article gives guidelines for determining the place of birth and the languages known by inhabitants of the Flanaess - plus an appendix by E. Gary Gygax himself which describes the appearances of the races that inhabit this famous land.
The latest edition of Giants in the Earth presents Katherine Kerr's interpretations of two "island enchanters" - Prospero, from Shakespeare's The Tempest, and the legendary Circe, in a portrayal which is drastically different from the description of her in the DEITIES & DEMIGODS Cyclopedia.
In Simulation Corner, John Prados gives us the first installment of a series on the essentials of game design. More advice, of a different sort, can be found in Up on a Soapbox, where Lew Pulsipher tells DMs how to make up for their mistakes, and Tom Armstrong suggests how to get around the problem of the "know-it-all" player.
Our review section is larger in size and in scope this time around, with the addition of "Off the Shelf," the first course of what we plan to be a regular diet of book reviews by Chris Henderson. Immediately preceding the book section are three game and game-accessory reviews, and just in front of them is another two pages' worth of miniature-figure evaluations in Figuratively Speaking.
Rounding out the reading material inside is another chapter in the Minarian Legends saga by Glenn Rahman, designer of the DIVINE RIGHT Fantasy Boardgame which first made the continent of Minaria famous, and a page crammed full of notices of upcoming conventions around the country and across the sea.
After putting together a string of four straight appearances, Finieous Fingers didn't make it to number five, but J. D. has promised to continue the story of everybody's favorite thief in time for publication next month. Hold on, Finieous fans, and in the meantime we hope your funnybones are sufficiently tickled by a page of Dragon Mirth cartoons, plus another "What's New?" from Phil Foglio and the latest page from Tramp depicting the whimsical and wierd world of Wormy. Is the world ready for a one-eyed bloodhound? Ready or not, here it comes! - KM
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