News — TSR
My visual journey through the looking glass of TSR's Red Box [Part One]
Easley Elmore Jeff Easley Larry Elmore TSR
Where were you when the Red Box was released? I was in junior high, unable to read past a second grade level, and struggling with a newly formed weight problem. It was a tough time for many things in my life, but never my imagination. Nope, that always worked just fine, and by the time I could read at a level with my peers, had lost all the weight, and was in high school, the Red Box was a relic of the past, and yet it still remained entrenched in my mind even after I’d moved on to ‘Advanced’ D&D.I...
Dragon 174: If you don't know it, you haven't missed much
Today I’m going to take a look at Dragon #174 from October 1991. Now what was I doing in October 1991 you might ask? Hmmm, well, I was in my junior year at Indiana University, living in my first off campus apartment with two roommates, and probably playing WAY too many RPGs. At the time, I’m pretty sure I was doing a good deal of Shadowrun 2nd Edition, some Darksun, Dangerous Journey’s, and of course a bit of D&D in the Forgotten Realms. I was not, however, reading Dragon Magazine, which by that point had fallen off my radar because...
The Drow of the Underdark: When TSR uses FASA artists
Rick Harris Tim Bradstreet TSR
The Drow… certainly an RPG race with infinite possibility and a wide swing of emotion from gamers. I myself liken my days of the Drow to the release of Unearthed Arcana when Drow first became player characters, and those gamers older than me go back to the D Series of modules where this race is concerned. For most, however, the Drow were defined in the Forgotten Realms with the release of R.A. Salvatore’s famed Drizzt series. Whatever the case, the race is here to stay and has made a lasting impact on D&D over the years.Today I’m going to take...
SJA1 Wildspace, a quality product that falls flat on interior art.
Yes, sir, today is a Spelljammer day! Knowing how fun I think this game is [especially if you update it with a bit of Pathjammer like I do] it shouldn’t be a surprise that I enjoy talking about that art from the game.Unfortunately, this game, like several of the ‘B’ lines from TSR gets the great cover treatment and the blah interiors when it comes to art direction.That is the case with SJA1 Wildspace, which was produced in 1990. Written by Allen Varney, with ‘special thanks’ to Aaron Allston and Mike Nystul, this supplement’s content is incredibly well done and...
M1: Blizzard Pass was a solo adventure I could never finish
AD&D Modules Jim Holloway Tim Truman TSR
I’m not really sure when I got M1 Blizzard Pass, but I’m going to say it was on a shelf at the local Kmart in about 1984. At the time, I had the Red Box, very little ability to understand what it was trying to tell me, and no gaming friends. Thus, the appeal of a solo adventure seemed perfectly reasonable.However, like most Choose Your Own Adventures I tried over the years, Blizzard Pass wasn’t for me, especially considering I HATED playing thieves at the time which was the class required to run it solo.That said, I’m still captivated by...