Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 9

Check out previous posts in this series HERE.

I mentioned last time how the production quality of the newsletter had improved under new editor Mary Kirchoff, and issue 9 continues the trend. This is a double issue, coming in at 32 pages. This came out sometime in the winter of 1982. As implied by its cover, this issue celebrates the release of TSR's sci-fi rpg Star Frontiers.

Aggghh! Roll initiative! Oh wait, that's just Gygax in a Santa hat. Gygax extends warm holiday wishes and discusses ambitious plans for the RPGA, including sending GenCon tourney winners overseas to compete, whilst hoping its members continue "dispelling the charges that roleplaying is occultist and...aimed at subverting the nation's youth". Ah, the good ol' satanic panic.

In Confessions of a Greenhorn Gamer, editor Kirchoff recounts her first experiences playing D&D, coming away from it amazed by the possibilities. The game has the same power today.

Steve Winter, he of too many awesome credits to list, provides an overview of Star Frontiers, which is also now available on the DM's Guild and still has a loyal following. Winter states the game has sold about 50k copies in just a few months. He gives an overview of the set, including the various playable alien races, the setting, and the adventure provided in the box. I was just talking about wanting to play this on my podcast last week, and this pretty much sealed it. The shapeshifting "blobs" aka Dralasites sound right up my alley.

Cute lil' feller

Moving along, we get a crossword puzzle ("_ _ - Monster is a psionic monkey!) and a half-page of fiction.

One of my all-time fave D&D designers, David Cook, provides a Star Frontiers encounter based on the cover. It involves an octopus-like creature riding a big lizard. What else is there to say, really?

Dispel Confusion, basically the Q&A section, breaks into three columns for the first time, supporting AD&D, espionage rpg Top Secret, and the post-apocalyptic classic Gamma World.

The Top Secret gadget contest results are announced, and this is probably the single most gameable article yet published in Polyhedron. 1st prize goes to the "fibre-optics probe", sort of a wire-thin surveillance camera, but my fave has got to be the "telegraph shoe", which allows you to communicate via Morse code by tapping the heels of the shoe. "Thus, a message may be sent under direct observation of the enemy." Yeah, nothing to see here, just a spontaneous bit of soft-shoe.

A new edition of Fight in the Skies, now titled Dawn Patrol, is plugged. In Spelling Bee, Mentzer discusses the various polymorph sorts of spells. There is a short piece offering hopelessly corny TSR carols ("I'mmmmm hunting for a white dragon, with every new torch that I light"). Audible groan.

After a short comic strip, there is a feature on GenCon 15, and wow...it is always so hard to believe how much it has grown. "7,000...gamers flooded the rooms and corridors of Parkside University...to attend gaming's largest convention." Incredible.

A scene from GenCon XV

Recipients of the RPGA scholarship fund are featured. Mentzer's tips in this issue's Notes for the Dungon Master are sadly uninspired. The Letters section is mostly dry, with questions about back issues and the like, although there is a bit of foreshadowing. One reader asks about modules possibly appearing in Polyhedron, and while Kim Eastland plays it coy, Polyhedron eventually contained tons of cool adventures for multiple systems. I will get there eventually!

The issues ends with a catalog of sorts, all RPGA related products, punctuated by my white whale, the awesome TSR belt buckles.

Although this was ostensibly a double issue, it doesn't quite feel like it given the amount of advertising in the back. Still, these continue to make for fun reading. Neat time capsules of games long gone by.

Early Polyhedron newsletters are now available on the DM's Guild.

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 8

Check out previous posts in this series HERE.

Well, if you can't tell by the cover, Gangbusters has been released, and this issue promotes it with a cover image and a couple of articles. This issue is also a much more professional looking affair, with more artwork throughout and a more consistent layout. It is no coincidence that it is the first issue under new editor Mary Kirchoff.

The Letters section is pretty standard fare. There is some reference to late issues being sent out, and you can tell that they have gone through the natural, expected sorts of struggles getting this off of the ground. The White Rabbit column suggests that the logistics of doing this sort of thing back in the 80s were nightmarish, with its talk of bounced checks and Canadian exchange rate fiascos.

The main section is part two of the Mike Carr interview. After some discussion of Fight in the Skies, the conversation moves to Top Secret. The most intriguing tidbit is what Mike mentions regarding the early draft. He says it was not so much a roleplaying game and was more "pre-programmed...with more of a flow chart type of arrangement". It would be interesting to see what that looked like.

Encounters is a new column that basically makes a little mini-scenario out of the cover image. So here Jim Ward does this Gangbusters shootout with Big Bernie, Lefty Fingers, and gun moll Maria Kirchinetti.

Someone must have pissed in Mentzer's cornflakes before he wrote this installment of Notes for the Dungeon Master, as it is solely devoted to screwing players over in sadistic ways. He gleefully suggests rear surprise attacks with carrion crawlers ("Ever see what the player...looks like when he's got to make 40 saving throws...before doing anything?") and casting time stop to steal spell components just for kicks. Sheesh.

Figure Painting is what it sounds like. Nerd's Quest is a forgettable fiction blurb. Rune Scry is a cryptogram puzzle.

Mentzer's Spelling Bee encourages strict record keeping of spell components as a way to control spell use in your game. It is really up to you if you consider this good advice. The main issue for me is the game could just paradoxically become a quest for spell components if you follow the 1e rules to the letter. However...there is a certain romantic quality in forcing your MU to carry around a live carp. So I am torn.

Mark Acres, one of the designers of Gangbusters, presents an article on starting a GB campaign. It is short but provides sound advice on different types of characters, NPCs, and motivations.

Dispel Confusion mentions that it is the only official source for rules answers and that Sage Advice in Dragon is more or less opinion. I found this interesting. We learn you can't haste a hasted creature. A bard returning from a long journey in which he gained 20k xp is out of luck, he can't train past 2nd level and really only gets credit for 4k. Sorry bud.

There is a little comic. Kim Eastland is now taking over as RPGA coordinator from Mentzer, as Mentzer will be devoting his time to what will become BECMI. The issue ends with a catalog page and membership drive info. I don't know if this means the Nor comic is cancelled or coming back.

Well, there is the sense reading through these that they are slowly getting better. I can't recommend tracking down print copies unless you are a really obsessed collector; there just isn't a lot of useful gaming material. At least not yet. If you are hardcore into Gangbusters though, you might try and find it.

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 7

You can check out other entries in this series HERE.

We have a serviceable, generic cover from Scott Roberts. In the editorial piece at the beginning, Mentzer mentions he is stepping away a bit from the newsletter saying "Essentially I'm to be #2, right after Gary....I hope to...reorganize the books a bit", alluding to the upcoming BECMI D&D products. This is all at some point in '82.

Nothing too intriguing in the Letters section. Dispel Confusion, which is kind of the Q&A section, explains that rangers cast druid spells at their level-7, magic user spells at their level-8. Also, ranged cure spells are called too powerful and "would need lots of playtesting before addition to a campaign".

The big interview piece is part 1 of 2 with Mike Carr, designer of Fight in the Skies and author and editor of various D&D and Top Secret products, including In Search of the Unknown, one of the most famous adventures of all time. He talks about how he got into gaming, how he worked at the Dungeon Hobby Shop, editing AD&D, that sort of thing. He waxes nostalgic about Wednesday game nights, playtesting early material with Gygax and Ward, and attending early conventions, then indulges in a little bit of a pissing contest between Gen Con and Origins, which you see a lot of in other mags around this time.

After this, Gygax steps in to address a question in a previous issue about actions per round. He basically says that D&D combat isn't meant to be a true, detailed representation of actual combat, that things are happening each round that aren't checked for ("parrying, fencing, circling for general position"), and that "combat is glossed over". This feels sort of like when he explains hit points. It is an interesting reminder of how new some of these concepts were at the time, and how some folks had a hard time balancing fantasy abstractions with reality.

Spelling Bee is surprisingly good this time, it goes through a number of Cleric spells with tips for each. It reminds me why I allow spontaneous casting as a houserule though, as many of these spells see so little play compared to Cure Light Wounds.

Campaign Clues provides some tips for Top Secret admins regarding time, scale, and how organizations might work in a campaign. I would really like to play some Top Secret sometime; guess I will have to run it myself to make it happen.

Ranch Encounters is for Boot Hill and provides, well, encounters on a ranch. There are also tables for job openings and pay. I could see this being useful for any western game. Notes for the Dungeon Master discusses replacing higher level PCs after they die, along with a few "trick" sorts of dungeon elements, including a magical corridor that shrinks the PCs without them realizing it. Actually could be pretty cool when I think about it.

There is a page on a membership drive for the RPGA, followed by a mouthwatering gift catalog.

This is followed by quick wrap-up of recent conventions. The issue ends with another Nor comic, which is actually getting pretty good.

All in all another fascinating little peek into the gaming of yesteryear.

                                                                                                                                                           

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 6

You can check out previous posts in this series HERE.

Ok, let's see if Polyhedron can bounce back from a weak issue 5.

So I dig the Boot Hill sort of cover.

In the letters section someone writes in about a religious group trying to ban D&D from their school. Ah, memories of the satanic panic. What is interesting is TSR replies here that if you need help with "these sorts of problems" to write to them with "Attention: Duke" on the envelope. Maybe I don't know my TSR lore as well as others, so if you know anything about "Duke" and if their job was just dealing with crazy moms 24/7, let me know.

Where I'm Coming From references TSR's acquisition of SPI. Notes from HQ mentions how to become a Top Secret game admin for the RPGA, and again plugs the RPGA belt buckles (I want one).

Part 3 of the Jake Jaquet interview is terminally boring. They talk about calling the mag Dragon instead of The Dragon. Jake likes basic D&D over AD&D. There is a little talk about how computers could eventually influence the hobby but nothing is particularly prescient or worth mentioning.

Notes for the Dungeon Master basically talks about complaints about "realism" in D&D, something that has always seemed kind of silly to me. It is game about, like, elves and dwarves and stuff. This issue is a bummer so far.

Mercifully, Jim Ward manages to give us something worth reading with some Gamma World items. The Weapons of the Ancients include things like a Crystal of Seeing (glorified telescope) and a Holarator (used to project holograms). The flavor here is good and at least it is gameable material.

Spelling Bee spends a lot of time talking about adjudicating illusion spells. Dispel Confusion covers thief armor (no studded leather allowed), monks wearing bracers of defense (they can, but wouldn't want to according to the author...yeah right), and then a question/answer that really struck me as odd.

Someone asks about to-hit rolls for monsters with just hp listed. With AD&D, I always just used the max level on the HD chart as the base (16+ for AD&D), but here they say to divide the total hp by 4.5 for the HD and extrapolate from there. This would make many monsters/gods even more powerful...to the point where there would never be a point in rolling anything. Did anyone play that way? Like a Tarrasque would be a 66+ HD creature. I'm no mathematician, but using this system with the AD&D charts, the THACO would be 0 around 23 HD....so yeah, 66 HD would be what, THACO -21? I know its a tough monster, but sheesh. Weird answer imo. I looked at BECMI, knowing it deals with very high levels, and a 35+ HD monster has a THACO of 1, which is much more sensible. In fact, from 25-35 HD, all monsters stay at THACO 2. Maybe they didn't think this one through before answering, but they probably killed a LOT of PCs in the wake of this answer. Hey wait, now it is growing on me.

There is a solitaire scenario for Fight in the Skies. A list of some RPGA charter members. Tips on how to run your own D&D tournaments. The issue ends with another "Nor" comic.

Another not-so-good issue. Maybe #7 will be better.

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue #5

If you would like to read other entries in this series, click HERE.

Issue #5 follows the pattern of the other early Polyhedrons, with the main feature being an interview. In this issue we have part 2 with then-Dragon editor/publisher Jake Jaquet. Unfortunately, the substance is not all that compelling, mainly dealing with RPGA membership info and Dragon mag not being a "house organ". No really interesting tidbits. He badmouths the Fiend Folio a little bit.

The art throughout is hit or miss, with a recycled Tramp image and a cover with some super shiny helmets going on.

There is a plug for a TSR belt buckle I wish I owned. Talk of the R series modules being late.

Notes for the DM has tips on balancing encounters vs the number encountered roll. Some readers offer sadistic ways to kill PCs, such as ten foot pole mimics.

The Round Table recaps some tournament play from GenCon XIV. Dispel Confusion clarifies some rules. Dragon breath does damage equal to starting hp in AD&D, current hp in Basic. Saddlebag carrying capacity. Enlarge spell info. Bag of Tricks offers a few tips from readers, none of which are really worth noting. Crappy issue so far.

Spelling Bee reprints a couple of spells from Against the Giants, "Crystalbrittle" and "Energy Drain". Crystalbrittle turns metal into fragile crystal, which is ok, but for a 9th level spell it is awful, especially since it is 9 segments and you need to touch the item.

We get some tips on mini painting, some cryptogram puzzles, and a list of RPGA charter members. A Top Secret gadget contest and Gamma World art contest are mentioned.

The issue mercifully ends with a Nor comic in which nothing happens.

Probably the worst issue yet, they can only get better from here!

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 4

If you would like to read the other posts in this series, click here.

Wow, it is has been forever since I blogged. It is what it is. Today we look at Polyhedron #4. This issue is not dated, but must have come out sometime in early 82'. This issue is notable as it is the first issue to reveal the title "Polyhedron", still one of the great RPG mag names. A gent named Bill Huber won the contest to name it, and received a 2 year RPGA membership and a choice of RPGA module. Other possible names mentioned included "Quasit" and "Readings Gathered for Personality Assimilation". Wow.

So there is a cool Top Secret sort of Larry Elmore cover. Very 70s/early 80s, and I can picture the dude with a suitcase full of cocaine.

The letters section contains one from Gygax, who would often write letters to various TSR mags. Here he references the prior Jim Ward interviews and mentions the somewhat familiar story of how they met. Gygax basically noticed some of Ward's Appendix N-era books and invited him to play some games.

Mentzer's editorial mentions possibly producing AD&D posters of the core books, some notes on the AD&D tourney at Gen Con, and Gygax's yet-to-be-published cantrips for AD&D.

The majority of the issue is part one of an interview with Dragon editor/publisher Jake Jaquet. Just like previous issues, the interview is the highlight. It is great to read old interviews as they aren't really colored by the passage of time, and the answers, while undoubtedly tinged with a bit of marketing-speak, generally feel more accurate that interviews 30 to 40 years after the fact. Anyway, Jaquet talks about how he got the job and his philosophy for the mag.

Jaquet and moustache

The most interesting stuff comes as they start talking about Gamma World. Jaquet states that Gamma World came about from a series of anonymous notes, then simply titled "Mutant", given to him by Tim Kask to edit into something comprehensible. He and Jim Ward then worked on them, adding a bunch of ideas from Metamorphosis Alpha. The interview goes into some depth about the development of the game, what he would change if he was doing it all over again, and the ideas they had to expand it (that were never realized). I wonder how much truth there is to the anonymous piece; I always just assumed Jim Ward came up with it, although I admit I have never bothered researching it in any depth. Anyway, very interesting. The Jaquet interview will be continued over the next couple of issues.

There is a short piece by Don Turnbull extolling his love for illusionists.

Spelling Bee goes into detail about the fireball spell and lightning bolt, and the dangers of using them in dungeons.

Notes for the Dungeon Master offers a few trick and trap ideas, none of which are particularly intriguing, although the author does recommend using "THAC0", which I know was around long before 2e but here is implied to have been in wide use since at least 82'.

Dispel Confusion tackles the Wall of Force spell, holy water uses, and ways to learn spells if you blew your "chance to know" check.

Basically Speaking is a short article that aims to help new players. Very basic info such as dice notations, etc, and key pages of the Moldvay rulebook.

There are a few notes on upcoming RPGA events, then the mag ends with the first installment of the comic "Nor", in which a spaceship crash lands on a typical faux Middle Ages fantasy world.

That's it for this issue! I will try to do these more often.

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 3, Winter 1981-1982

If you would like to read previous installments of this series, just click the "Polyhedron" topic link down the right side of the blog.

So issue 3 is a double issue, coming in at 32 pages. It features an awesome Erol Otus cover. The ray gun hints at things to come in the issue.

The front end material consists of notes on the RPG Scholarship Fund, "White Rabbit", which basically apologizes for delays associated with the newsletter and modules, and a little forgettable Xmas fiction piece. Mentzer pens a short column that announces the newsletter will be going bi-monthly instead of quarterly. The Letters section is dominated by reader suggestions for future content.

Dispel Confusion has a couple of interesting bits. One, a question about clarifying the use of caltrops, which I certainly would have found helpful at a young age. Two, a question about surprise segments in 1e. Poor guy's party got surprised by a group of gargoyles, and using the 1e rules to the letter, it ended up being something like 40 attacks. Needless to say, it is a rule I am happy to see gone, one that I have never used anyway, and probably an unexpected rule interaction on Gygax's part (I hope).

The main article (foreshadowed by the cover) is a long interview with Jim Ward. It is worth tracking a copy down just to read this, especially if you are a fan of Metamorphosis Alpha or Gamma World, both of which are covered in detail. He tells the story of meeting Gygax, how MA came to be, and touches on his personal introduction to science fiction and gaming. One cool thing about reading these old newsletters is seeing products referenced that either never came to be, or came out years later in different forms. In the letters section, a "forthcoming" work on fantasy weapons is mentioned; here, Ward talks about a Gamma World box set, "Metamorphosis Alpha to Omega", which ended up as the title to the 2nd edition of MA in 1994.

There is a recap of a Fight in the Skies tournament, followed by a preview of the 7th edition (Dawn Patrol). 

Turnbull has a short opinion piece talking about the nature of hit points; you see many of these sorts of questions and debates even today, and I find them just as tedious. 

There is a piece on miniature painting, even though I have been told numerous times on the internet that nobody really used minis prior to 4e. Whoopsy daisy.

There is a convention recap with tourney winners listed.

There is a call for submissions to a Top Secret gadget contest, a bit on cryptograms and codes (frustrating, as you have to mail off for the keys to the coded messages provided), and some more miscellaneous info on RPGA memberships and product orders.

We get another readable collection of mutants from Jim Ward. I dig Fluter the Mutated Sun Fish. This is followed by another contest, this one for Gamma World artwork.

Notes for the Dungeon Master offers traps and tricks sent in by readers. They are mainly of the goofy variety, such as polymorphing the party into fat orcs while they are squeezing through a tight space. 

Spelling Bee spends a page and a half sucking the fun out of the invisibility spell. Worth reading just to feel good about your own campaign.

Saga of Marnie is a guest article by a contest winner and her GenCon experience. After a few upcoming convention dates, the issue is over.

The Ward interview more than makes up for the rest of this issue, and if you are interested in the early days of the hobby and how the first sci-fi games came to be, try to find a way to read it. 

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 2, Autumn 1981

Issue 1 read-though HERE. 

Issue 2 has a great cover by Stephen D. Sullivan, with a dude being polymorphed into a tree. Harsh.

The Letters section is pretty standard, but it is revealed that the awful D&D Computer Labyrinth game retailed for $40-60 bucks! No wonder my parents wouldn't buy it for me. They weren't suckers. Apologies if you loved it.

There is a notice about Dragon subscription discounts and then the Sage Advice-ish "Dispel Confusion" column. The biggest takeaway here is that Carrion Crawler paralysis lasts 5d4 rounds, which is of course brutal as hell, but preferable to indefinite.

We get part two of the Gygax interview. He seems to have chilled out a bit since part one, but still takes a pot-shot at Bakshi's Lord of the Rings. Given the dubious quality of the script for the never-realized D&D movie, he was probably better off leaving it alone. He talks a bit about miniature licensing, even though to this day I still see posts here and there around the net insisting nobody used minis with AD&D.

The newsletter is very young and doesn't really have a name, so there is mention of a "name the newsletter" contest, along with a call for submissions to "Spelling Bee", a future column that will seek to clarify spell use and terminology.

There is a preview of Dawn Patrol, which I am completely ignorant of and likely always will be.

"White Rabbits" aims to become a forum to communicate about RPGA membership issues, especially in regards to errors and oversights.

Jean Wells has a decent article on monster creation that I might have found helpful back in the day. Turnbull pens a short essay on current gaming trends, extolling gaming clubs and dissing D&D knock-offs.

Probably the best article of the issue is Jim Ward's "Mutants", a Gamma World article containing new creatures and robots purported to originate from the chronicles of "Random of the Many Names". Gurosh the mutated feline requires three times its body weight in food per day, while the Wess Reel (mutated grape vines) have been known to protect secret societies in exchange for fertilization.

There is a list of RPGA products for sale, including R-Series modules such as Doc's Island.

"Notes for the Dungeon Master" has more trick and trap ideas, none of which really bear repeating. Allen Hammack offers some sensible Top Secret GM advice about keeping missions varied. There is a blurb about the world of Rocksnoz, he of the Tom Wham comic. The issue ends with an article about the RPGA tournament system.

Not a lot of meat on the bones in this issue, but it was still an interesting snapshot of a lost moment in time.

Let's Read Polyhedron: Issue 1, Summer 1981

Inspired by The Other Side's series reading White Dwarf, and Grognardia's old Imagine mag posts, I wanted to do a "Let's Read....Something" series. I settled on Polyhedron, primarily because the issues were so short that it seemed like I might actually have time to keep up with it.

This of course was the RPGA newsletter. I completely missed out on the RPGA back in the day. I was aware it existed from Dragon mags, and it seemed like it would have been cool to be a member, but I was a broke kid and didn't really have the wherewithal to do anything about it. Years later I got to rediscover the newsletters, and there is a lot of cool stuff to be found in them.

It had actually not yet been given the name Polyhedron when the first issue came out in the summer of 1981. The first thing you notice is that awesome, familiar art style of Darlene, she of amazing-Greyhawk-map fame and the talent behind many other iconic illustrations, such as this one from the 1e DMG.

Inside, we begin with a hello from editor Frank Mentzer and the beginnings of the letters section.

Next is Dispel Confusion, a regular feature not unlike Sage Advice that clears up various rules questions. Firm rulings were actually crucial to the whole notion of RPGA play, something that seems familiar today to participants in Pathfinder Society or the Adventurer's League. Nothing too revolutionary here: questions on max/min MU spells due to intelligence, humanoid armor, paladins and lycanthropy (they can be affected as it is both a curse and a disease), and the weight of magical armor.

Then comes part one of a fascinating interview with Gygax. This is smack-dab in his ultra-fiesty period, which found him berating game reviewers and designers in Dragon and lashing out at houserulers everywhere. I love Gygax. I never knew him, and can't really pretend to understand his motivations, but it always feels to me when I read interviews with him from around this time that he just wasn't that happy. I don't mean clinically depressed or anything. I just think the incredibly rapid, massive success of the game would be a lot for anyone to handle. Being a CEO of a multi-million dollar company all of sudden and trying to adjust to being a "businessman" can't have been especially easy. One would also have to be pretty damn self-actualized for all of that success not to effect their ego as well. You often see him say things about how little time he had to write or play games, and his tone had sharpened considerably from the hippy free-for-all philosophy of the LBBs. So here we get quotes like, "One of the reasons I was able to [focus on AD&D design]...is that I felt that a game was needed that would have more control over its audience, and one that was going to have more uniformity of play." This, of course, fits with the RPGA perfectly. The interviewer (Mentzer?) also notes that Gygax gets "testy" during the end of the interview, and that he will have to come back for a part two. Anyway, I am not making a judgment about the man. I love him and am thankful for him every day. His attitude made for some great reading around this time, so I am not complaining.

We move on to a list of Boot Hill stats for western movie and TV stars. Clint Eastwood's stats come out on top. I think I have seen this same list in Dragon; can't be sure. Pretty cool though.

Notes for the Dungeon Master is next, a regular feature, this particular one containing little trick and trap tidbits for DMs. Nothing too inspired, save for the idea of a henchman who gets a case of the hiccups in times of stress.

There is a preview/review/advertisement for Fight in the Skies, a game I have never seen nor played, and do not expect to any time soon, so I skipped it.

Merle Rasmussen pens an "open letter" to Mentzer promoting Top Secret.

There is a roundup blurb about that year's GenCon South (held in Jacksonville, FL) tournament results. A highlight was said to be a game on the "world's largest sand table": the beach! Apparently they played a large outdoor game of Tractics. That would have been cool.

Next, Jim Ward provides a little insight into the thought process of the design of Gamma World. It is interesting. He addresses questions he gets about the game, plugs Legion of Gold, and mentions that he is currently working on a Metamorphosis Alpha rewrite.

The issue ends with a Tom Wham comic, Rocksnoz in the Land of Nidd. You can't help but get nostalgic seeing his familiar, zany drawing style. Yes! I got to use the word zany!