News — TSR

Ok, so today is a ‘big one’.  Perhaps not as big as they get, but certainly in the upper echelon of what makes a classic TSR module. D3: Vault of the Drow was written by Gary Gygax sometime around 1978 and finally released in this particular version in 1980.  It is a pretty cool piece of work, although really more of a stopgap [much like D1-2 Descent into the Depths of the Earth] between Against the Giants and Queen of the Demonweb Pits.  Coming in at a rather standard 28 pages, Vault is a smooth running exploration adventure that leaves...

Today I’m taking a look at Dragon Magazine #167 from March 1991.  The volume was edited by Roger E. Moore and art directed by Larry W. Smith. First off, I’m going to go over content.  The issue doesn’t have a specifically central theme, which is usually something I enjoy.  That lack of cohesion makes the issue seem fragmented and random, and the art layout does nothing to help with this. Articles of interest include an intriguing piece for Oriental Adventures called ‘Lords of the Warring States’ by Thomas Kane.  Odd, since TSR was two full years into the release of...

I mean seriously, of all the TSR adventures from the 1980s, does any have a title better than Against the Cult of the Reptile God?  I really think author Douglas Niles must have stolen this title from a lost Robert E. Howard Conan manuscript because it is really that cool. Niles, a personal favorite TSR author, spins a tale of the ‘dying’ village of Orlane located near Greyhawk’s Gran March.  Once thriving, now only a maze of locked doors and frightened faces, Orlane needs a band of brave adventurers to help free it from whatever evil plagues the settlement.  Well,...

Today I’m going to take a look at one of my favorite games, Star Frontiers.  The oddity of that claim is that I’ve really only played Star Frontiers once, for a single two month campaign back in 1988.  Therefore, I can only see Star Frontiers as appearing so high on my list of favorite games for one reason, the artwork. The second boxed set, Knight Hawks, brought forth a series of space adventure modules that continued to feature great artwork and one of the best would have to be the 1984 release of SFKH1 Dramune Run. Written by another of...

To be honest, I’m not completely ‘taken’ with Dragon Magazine #147.  Sure, it provides one of artist Clyde Caldwell’s trademark half-naked women, and she’s as lovely as can be expected, but somewhere along the way the issue tends to get lost and never recovers. Brought out in July 1989, I’m initially caught by the fact that for me the advertising seems ‘off’.  Now granted, my memory of the events of 1989 are a tad foggy by this point, but to feature an advertisement on the inside cover for the ‘All new 2nd Edition DMG’ that is available in June confuses...