Our cover is from none other than Clyde Caldwell, wanting to do a good sorceress for a change. I really liked this cover. I wish the copy ow reviewing still had it.
Inside we are treated to an ad for "The New" Dungeon game. Looks like the old one with newer art. I have this one (I have all of them) and it is a nice big board and one of the larger boxes for Dungeon. This one advertises the new classes of Dwarf and Cleric.
A couple of ads for the WEG Star Wars game.
This issue's theme is magic, so that will be fun.
Letters cover the issues of the day including details on the revised Druid from a couple of issues back. Nice, but all moot now that AD&D 2nd Ed is out.
In a similar vein Forum covers some rulings on Clerics. Things are actually made clearer in 2nd Ed.
Skip Williams is up in Sage Advice with advice on various magic items like rings, potions, rods, staves and wands.
Sorcerous Secrets is our theme this month.
Patricia Nead Elrod is first with Getting Familiar, a guide on familiars. It is a 2nd Ed focused article (good) and covers what has long been a very neglected part of any wizard's (or witch's) life; their familiar. While the focus is AD&D 2nd ed the material on the types of familiars (Cats, Crows, Hawks, Owls, Weasels, Ferrets, and Toads) can be, and should be, used in any edition. Very solid article and a good kick-off.
An old friend of the Other Side, Vince Garcia, is up next with Variety, the Spice of Magic. Ok Vince knows his magic lore, so lets see what he has for us. This one is a 1st Ed article, not surprising given the time period. This covers substituting spell components for wizards casting spells. A great article if you are like me and track spell components. Lots of alternates are given with various chances of spell change or failure. Worth reading for ideas alone on spell components.
Gaze Into my Crystal Ball... covers, obviously enough, crystal balls from Krys Stromsted. Again this is an AD&D 1st ed article. I'll point these out as needed for this time of the Summer of 1989. A cleaner break was made between 2nd ed and 3rd ed ten years later. This one covers durations, distances, and how spells work through a crystal ball.
Spelling is Out by Douglas J. Behringer details writing out spells. Again AD&D 1st Ed focused. This includes the type of paper used to how the character writes the spell.
Richard Hunt gives us not just one, but four different Wands of Wonder in WOW Your Players. Four different wands with random tables of effects. Likely could be used with any edition with some tweaking.
And that is it for the special feature. Hmm. Kinda expected more.
Miniatures are featured in the Through the Looking Glass regular feature from Robert Bigalow. Some chariots pulled by lions, some V&V heroes and some impressive dragons.
Nice ad for AD&D 2nd Edition. Still the mock-up of the Monstrous Compendium, though it should be out in stores at the same time as this issue.
Our "centerfold" is the Magus game by Robert J. Kuntz. The rules are here but the game board and pieces are missing. Too bad, it might have been fun to try.
The Gamers Guide of small ads is after that and not in the end. Ads for dice, computerized FRPG maps, and a couple of ads for getting your character drawn.
TSR Previews reads like a collector's wish list. AD&D 2nd Ed books, the new Dungeon, the 1990 Forgotten Realms calendar. The Shadowdale novel. Dragonlance modules. Really fun stuff.
Ken Rolston reviews a bunch of magic-themed games in Role-Playing Reviews. This includes GURPS Magic, Ars Magica (the first one!), Talislanta, and magical offerings from the Forgotten Realms and Fantasy Hero. This long review goes into each book into detail. Generally speaking Rolston likes each of these books and what they offer.
Brenda K. Ward gives us Lord of the Keep our short story for this issue.
The Leser clan of Hartley, Patricia and Kirk offer up this month's The Role of Computers. They cover a lot of games for various computer systems. Commodores get the most of them with Amigas, and Commodore 64k and 128k machines. I always liked the Commodore 128k, I had a girlfriend at the time who had one and it was a fun little computer. These reviews are paired up with the Clue Corner feature to give out hints on various games.
Nice ad for the SSI AD&D PC games.
John C. Bunnell is up with the book reviews in The Role of Books. None titles jump out at me, but most of the authors do. There is a Vonda N. McIntyre one, Starfarers, that looks interesting. A Mercedes Lackey horror novel, Burning Water that looks like a lot of fun, and one from an author I don't know, Tom Holt, called Who's Afraid of Beowulf? that also might a fun read.
Convention Calendar gives us some of the cons that are happening the Summer of 1989. Surprising not listed is Gen Con.
Dragonmirth wraps up our issue. At the risk of sounding like an old fart, the ones from the early 80s seemed funnier.
So an interesting issue with a lot of great material if you are into magic and wizard types.
4 comments:
"At the risk of sounding like an old fart, the ones from the early 80s seemed funnier."
Speaking as someone who drew one of the cartoons from this issue, I agree entirely 😁
"Our "centerfold" is the Magus game by Robert J. Kuntz. The rules are here but the game board and pieces are missing. Too bad, it might have been fun to try."
If it helps any, I've played it and you're not missing anything much. Very weak game, a pale shadow compared to older classics like Snits' Revenge, King of the Tabletop, Planet Busters, Quest For the Emperor's Treasure...heck, even the lightweight Elefant Hunt. It's lackluster even when compared to Flight of the Boodles.
I think I'd rather have a cat or owl for my familiar than a weasel.
It's sad the computer I have at work runs about as well as the C64 we used to have around 1989. lol
I used those wand of wonder tables for additional wild magic surges for a character in one of my games.
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