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|| DRAGONQUEST Newsletter February 1995 ||
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|| Volume 2 / Number 2 ||
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The DQ Newsletter is for discussions of the DragonQuest role
playing game. The key addresses you need to know are:
Philip Proefrock (Editor, Article Submissions, Etc.)
psproefr@miamiu.muohio.edu
David Nadler (Distribution Coordinator)
nadled@daytonoh.attgis.com
Drake Stanton (FTP Site Coordinator)
drache@netcom.com
All articles are copyrighted property of their respective authors.
Reproducing or republishing an article, in whole or in part, in any other
forum requires permission of the author or the moderator. The DragonQuest
Newsletter also maintains an ftp archive site:
[ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dr/drache]
which includes back issues of the newsletter and other articles of
interest to DragonQuest players and GMs.
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C O N T E N T S
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Administrivia
Editorial
Letters -- "Gray Mouser" (Cameron King)
-- Mike Buri
-- Anthony Ragan
Column: The BEASTIARY
New DragonQuest Archive Site Discovered -- Philip Proefrock
Announcing the DragonQuest WWW Home Page -- Daniel Allbutt
Column: DQ ARCHIVE
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ADMINISTRIVIA:
=================================================================
NOTE: I haven't prettied up this edition, but want to get it out in
February. If you can't read it, let me know. Also, please see my new
e-mail address above. Hopefully its easier to remember and use and less
prone to error.
Dave Nadler
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EDITORIAL:
=================================================================
It has been a busy few weeks in terms of new DragonQuest material.
First, a new DragonQuest archive site has been discovered. While not
exactly a "new" archive, it is one that we have been unaware of until now.
Second, for those of you who have the ability to browse items on the World
Wide Web (WWW), there is now a DragonQuest homepage, established by Daniel
Allbutt. Third, the "Canonical DragonQuest Index" is finished and
available from the Archive. Further information about each of these items
can be found in this issue. I have also received several submissions from
different people (so much so that I am putting off some things I was going
to put in this issue into the April issue; see below). Hopefully, this
means that we are getting to a critical mass point with the Newsletter,
and I can stop begging for submissions as often as I have been.
This also means that we have received enough material specific to a single
topic to announce our first special feature issue: The April issue will be
dedicated to shape-changers. I have a couple of items for this issue
already (including some discussion of the topic from the Internet
rec.games.frp.misc newsgroup that took place a couple of months ago), but,
if you have some shape-changer material, now is the time to send it in!
If this works out, we may try to have more special feature issues of the
Newsletter in the future.
On an unrelated note, we have been having some questions about the FTP
site, and about how to make it more accessible to everyone. The following
note is from Drake Stanton, the FTP site archivist:
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A Note About the FTP Site
Recently, I have recieved some questions/complaints about the fact that
most of the files in the archive are compressed. Some people didn't know
this, and others were unable to use the proper tools to uncompress the
files. When I set the archive up, I assumed most (if not all) of the
users would be accessing it via some flavor of UNIX system. Is this an
inaccurate assumtion? How do you get to the archive? Are you able to
uncompress the files with no problem, or is it a difficult chore? Are you
able to uncompress at all? Would it be easier for you if some other
compression system (like PKZIP) were used instead? Please contact me with
answers to these questions. I would like the archive to be usable for as
many people as possible. At the same time, I am reluctant to simply
uncompress everything, because I pay for disk storage space on my system
every month. What do people think? Email me, drache@netcom.com, with any
feedback. Thanks.
Drake
DragonQuest FTP Site Admin
drache@netcom.com
------------------------_L_E_T_T_E_R_S_--------------------------
=================================================================
Subject: Letter to the Editor
I just read the latest DQ Newsletter, and I was pleased to see the
rec.games.frp.misc discussion on Investment summarized. If I may, I'd
like to make a few final statements.
You are correct about the designer's notes (that it takes only one Pulse
to activate an invested item). At the time I originally posted my
statements to the newsgroup, I had not read "Arcane Wisdom," and so based
my conclusions upon the 2nd edition rulebook, which seems to indicate
otherwise. Having now read "Arcane Wisdom" (and I can't tell you how
delighted I was to do so), I fully concur with your correction.
However, I think it would be a grave mistake to apply *any* environmental
modifiers to the BC of casting invested spells. One of the things that
appeals to me about DQ is the low-magic style: in my campaigns, magic
items are rare and priceless; casting spells is almost always at least
slightly dangerous, and the players have to really use intelligence and
creativity to solve problems. Compare this to AD&D (for example), where
almost anything can be overcome by "Mordenkainen's Deus Ex Machina" and I
think you may agree.
If, indeed, environmental bonuses are applied to invested spells, I would
have to agree with the original poster, who stated that Rituals of
Investment would produce an "arms race" of invested items. I know that if
I were an Adept in such a world, I would immediately learn the Ritual, and
invest everything from my hat to my shoelaces. The advantages? Far-
better-than-normal Cast Chances, ability to contact cold iron and still
release spells, no Fatigue loss for casting, and halved casting time.
Have I forgotten anything?
You may still disagree with me, but I don't think that common sense (and
game balance) or rule-interpretation support the environmental bonuses
argument.
-- Gray Mouser (c_king@cc.colorado.edu)
(P.S. to Elliot Wilen: I actually *own* the "Frontiers of Alusia"
supplement. It's no "World of Greyhawk," but I'm still pretty jazzed
about it.)
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Howdy.
I have played DQ for 10 years (in Erie PA) and would like to start a
group in Raleigh NC. If you know of others in my area, please let me
know. Article idea - list of all DQ newsletter subscribers. Thanks.
-- Mike Buri (mburi@unity.ncsu.edu)
[EDITORS' REPLY: Mike is not the only one who has suggested this idea.
Would this be a genuinely useful thing for all of you? Right now, we only
have about 60 subscribers, so it may be that there aren't yet enough DQ
players networked together for such a list to be really useful.
Making this information generally available might not be such a good
idea, either, but if we limit the distribution of such a list to those who
are on it, I don't think there would be any problems. This list will not
be available from the archive; we will e-mail copies directly to those who
want to participate.
We could also start running DQ related "classified ads" in the
Newsletter if those would be useful. As always, everyone's feedback on
this topic is requested. -- ED]
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Hi there,
I thought I'd pass on some news that might give heart to fans of out-of-
print games like Dragonquest. If you're familiar with the Warhammer
Fantasy Roleplay game, you'll likely know that it was allowed to die in
spite of being very-well received by the gaming public. (Kind of like DQ)
Well, January saw the announcement of a licensing arrangement between
Games Workshop and Hogshead Press that will allow Hogshead to reprint old
WFRP items and bring-out new material. For fans of WFRP, this was a happy
moment indeed. :)
And that got me thinking of Dragonquest, another out-of-print game that
deserved a better fate. If the resuscitation of WFRP is sucessful, maybe
that will set a precedent for bringing back other popular oldies. Who
knows? At least it's fun to dream.....:)
-- Anthony Ragan (IrishSpy@aol.com)
-------------------_The_ _B_E_A_S_T_I_A_R_Y_---------------------
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Gnomes & Centaurs -- Two New PC Races
-- Russell H. Whyte (russell.whyte@sheridanc.on.ca)
[EDITOR'S NOTE: Yes, I know that gnomes and centaurs already exist in the
DQ rules. What Russell Whyte has given us here is a set of guidelines to
allow gnomes as a race of PCs. Presumably, the other information from the
Monsters section of the rules still pertains to these character races.]
I have not included chance percentages simply because I allow players to
be whatever races they wish. Besides, one group of players I had a while
back always managed to make their desired race rolls anyways (Not while I
was there, of course! :-)).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Gnomes
Lifespan: 500 years
Stat Modifier
PS -3
MA +2
FT +2
MD +1
WP +2
EN +1
TMR -1
Exp. Mult. 1.1
Special Abilities
1. Can be healers at 75% of listed experience costs.
2. Vision is equal to dwarves.
3. Any skill involving stones is at 50%. This includes mining, gem-
cutting, stonework/mason, and any others you may have. Any item created
will be high in quality, compared to most other races. These guys are to
stonework what dwarves are to metalwork!
4. +25 reaction rolls with underground races (dwarves, hobbits, etc)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Centaurs
Lifespan: 75 years
Stat Modifier
PS +3
MA -1
MD -2
AG -1
WP +2
EN +2
Exp. Mult. 1.3
Special Abilities
1. Can gain Rank with the following for 50% listed experience cost:
Bow/ Ranger (woods or plains)/ Healer/ Astrologer/ Hunter
2. Hide absorbs 3DP per strike.
3. TMR is 12.
4. Thief/Spy is at 150% of listed Experience Pont cost. (Gonna try
climbing walls with hooves?) [I would suggest as an alternative that
Thief/Spy could be learned at normal experience cost, but that the climb
ability simply is not available for centaurs. -- ED]
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NEW DRAGONQUEST ARCHIVE SITE DISCOVERED
-- Philip Proefrock (psproefr@miamiu.muohio.edu)
=================================================================
In a recent posting in the rec.games.frp.misc newsgroup, I came across a
posting that listed the locations of a number of gaming-related FTP sites.
As I was scanning through this list, I came across a DragonQuest site that
wasn't the one Drake Stanton set up at Netcom for the Newsletter. I tried
out the address, and discovered that yes, there is another site with
DragonQuest material, some of which I hadn't seen before. To spare you
any further suspense, this site is at:
ftp://cerebus.acusd.edu/pub/Role-Playing/Fantasy/DragonQuest
Among its files, there is a copy of a posting from the newsgroup
rec.games.frp.misc which mentions the DragonQuest Newsletter, but as far
as I can tell, no one involved with the site has ever tried to contact us.
We are trying to get in touch with them, and hopefully we'll have them
joining us soon. This is the 00readme file:
.. These extra files (Craftsman, Martial Artist, and the McLaren Home
.. Rules) will eventually be added to the DragonQuest Home Companion.
.. Until then, I'm making them available here.
..
.. Just because it's been over a year since I wrote the previous
.. paragraph, I haven't forgotten. I'm doing about one word a day :*)
..
.. Jerry
The cerebus.acusd.edu/pub/Role-Playing/Fantasy/DragonQuest directory
contains the following files:
00readme
Craftsman
DQ Newsletter
Dragonquest Home Companion.rtf
Dragonquest Home Companion.word
Home_Companion.txt
Martial Artist
McLaren Home Rules
Some of the articles at this site (or excerpts from these articles) will
probably be included in future Newsletters. Some of these articles are
copies of things that have already appeared in the Newsletter (such as the
Craftsman and the Marial Artist skill). But, for those of you who can't
wait, you have the site address to go and download your own copies of the
rest of the materials they have there.
-- Philip Proefrock (psproefr@miamiu.muohio.edu)
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ANNOUNCING THE DRAGONQUEST WWW HOME PAGE
-- Daniel Allbutt (dallbutt@st.nepean.uws.edu.au)
========================================================================
ANNOUNCING: The (Un)Official DragonQuest WWW Home Page
LOCATION: http://kay.st.nepean.uws.edu.au/~dallbutt/dq.html
MAINTAINER: Daniel Allbutt (dallbutt@st.nepean.uws.edu.au)
DESCRIPTION: At the moment, the page has the following:
* Past DQ newsletters online.
* DQ Home Companion
* A link to the Canonical DQ Index
* Links to DQ-related FTP Sites
The way I see it at the moment is most of the above are once-only items.
That is, you look at them once on the WWW page, get a copy of them, then
look at them at home from then on. So in order to make this Web Page more
"useful", I would like to ask you all for suggestions. Here are some of
my ideas for the future of the Web page:
* A Bulletin Page where various announcements can be made ASAP
instead of waiting for the next newsletter. It could also contain
requests for certain modules or skills, etc. that people have heard of.
* A review page containing reviews on adventures that are at Drake's
FTP site and also future adventures from the adventure magazine organized
by Andrew "It'll be done one day" Carter :) (refer to v1n2 newsletter).
If you have any suggestions or problems connecting to the Web Page, send
me some email at the above address.
-- Daniel Allbutt (dallbutt@st.nepean.uws.edu.au)
---------------------_D_Q_ _A_R_C_H_I_V_E_-----------------------
=================================================================
[Archive ftp site is at: ftp.netcom.com in the pub/dr/drache directory.
[ftp://ftp.netcom.com/pub/dr/drache]
Archivist and ftp Guru: Drake Stanton (drache@netcom.com)]
The Races of Oaerth -- by Charles Summerhill
ARCHIVE NAME: oaerth.pcs
Some of this material has already apeared in the Newsletter over the
past few issues. This file is for those of you who are interested in
having all of this material gathered together in one place.
>From the introduction:
"I have added several new races to my DQ campaign, and changed some of
the others in various ways. What follows is those new and changed races
(ones not changed are not included). The GM should carefully read the
changes to the ShapeChanger, they are most significant -- strangely enough
they resulted from my original gaming group and the way that we all read
the rules.
" Race Multiplier Table:
--------------------------
Ahl-at-Rab 1.1
Druas 1.3/(0.85)
Elf 1.2
Giant 1.5*
Halfling 1.1*
Human 1.0*
Runir (Dwarf) 1.1
Shapechanger 1.6
Sylvari (True Elf) 1.4
Uruku (Orc) 0.9
* No additional rules are provided for these races in this
supplement. The standard rules for these races should be used."
-----------------------------------------------------------
The Canonical DragonQuest Index -- by Philip Proefrock
ARCHIVE NAME: dqindex
This is an index of all (known) published DragonQuest related materials:
including adventures published by SPI, Judges' Guild, and TSR; articles in
'ARES,' The Dragon,' 'Different Worlds,' and more.
You will probably find that there were more things available for
DragonQuest than you knew about. Not all of it is worth digging up for
your campaign, but I think it's useful to know what else is (was) out
there. I started putting together the list for my own purposes, since I
would like to eventually have a complete collection of all of these
articles, at least to have for reference. It would be nice to have the
articles generally available online, but getting permission to do that is
unlikely. Now, at least, I know what magazines and issues I have to find
(although this doesn't make tracking them down any easier).
The DQ Index file can also be found (along with several other gaming and
games magazine indices) at Shannon Appel's rpg-index directory (which
inspired the DQ Index) at: ftp://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu:/pub/rpg-index.
I am sure that it can (and will) be expanded somewhat more as additional
obscure references are rediscovered and accounted for.
-----------------------------------------------------------
New Archive Site
[ftp://cerebus.acusd.edu/pub/Role-Playing/Fantasy/DragonQuest]
See the above article for further details about this new DQ ftp site.
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### End of DragonQuest Newsletter v2/n2 -- February 1995
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