figure1.pcx
Welcome, fellow game-designers, to the ninth issue of the UANL! This oft-delayed issue has taken us a while to design, but rest easy, for the wait is worth it. Our eclectic mix of heavy hitting reviews, over hyped-intros (is that what I'm doing? ;), in-depth tips, and provoking editorials is in top form.
In short, the UANL9 is just plain fun. So kick back, open your eyes wide to the wonders of Role-playing, and enjoy yourself! The world of UA is in your hands, it is in your destiny. Open them wide and prepare to be immersed...
NOTE: take a look at the 'Editors Notes' section for an inside look at the future of the NL - and learn more about the NEW editorial positions!
The hair stands up on the back of your neck as you hear the inhuman howl. It has caught YOUR scent. You begin to run blindly away from that beastly howl, knowing as you do that flight is futile. The woods around you become a green blur of motion. You try not to notice as dry branches and briars tear your clothing and into your flesh, drawing blood.
As you run you become aware of another sound. A sound you fancy you can hear even over the thunder of your flight and the rage of your pulse in your ears. The sound of pursuit. The rustle of padded feet on dry leaves, the snap of a twig. As you round the trunk of a tree lights explode in you head and pain tears at your flesh. You curse the low hanging branch as blood begins to flow down into your eyes.
You continue running, but now you can hear the even, unlabored breathing of the beast behind you. Your vision is obscured by a haze of blood and gore. It won't be long now. It is the nature of the beast to feed on those who are weaker, slower. And now the beast will exercise its nature...on YOU!
Nature of the Beast is an Unlimited Adventures(tm) design for 4-6 characters with starting levels of 6-9. Set in the dark domains of Ravenloft(tm), the characters will find themselves surrounded by evil at every step. Only by cutting through the web of intrigue which envelopes them will they ever see their homes in the Forgotten Realms(tm) again.
In Nature of the Beast players will find that their actions have consequences. Many of the choices made in the game will affect the events as they unfold later. With a gripping and twisted story-line by UANL writing-tips columnist Alex Karaczun, and loads of horrifying art by UANL art editor Dennis Constantino (a.k.a. Dika Wolf), Nature of the Beast is sure to be a hellish roller-coaster ride through a world of fear and animal instinct.
Look for it... someday. :>
Art Review: Undead Collection Art Type: Icons and Small Pics Art Format: LBM and PCX Uploader: Great WyrmHere, various undead pictures and icons are put together to make a large (quite large) collection.
The pieces are taken from various sources, mostly captured from games, and from the art available online. Some of them I haven't seen before, but as the artists are not credited, I cannot know who created them.
In general, this is very high quality art. In particular, the Dread Wolf icon, and the reaper and Wraith pictures are very good. The Dread Wolf icon is in a strange position, which might make combat a bit awkward in appearance, but the art in and of itself is extremely good.
There is a good deal of Dika Wolf art, which, of course, is always exceptional.
A few aren't quite up to par, such as the undead treant, which has what looks like red scribbles on it. But overall, yes, I would recommend this to any horror game designer.
ED: One note to any other 'compilers' of art: please credit the ORIGINAL SOURCES of your collection. By uploading a set of art with no credits, we can only assume that you did it all (which, in this case, was not true). When in doubt, give credit. :>
Art:B+ Distinctness:A to A+ Overall:A--Nyx Nightshade-
Dawn Design Author: Coric (a.k.a. Bryan SM) Full Title: Dawn of Twilight Imported art: No # of dungeons: 1 Additional documentation: Yes (dread.txt & tutor.txt)When I play through a tutorial, I don't usually do it the same as I would a regular game. That was my first mistake with "Dawn of Twilight". It's not an easy walk-through. If not for the tutor.txt (which is larger than the game), and the notes in the NL, Dawn can easily be taken as a game in itself (which, in fact, it is).
What the tutorial is intended for is to explain virtually every type of event that can be found in FRUA. It does this, not with long-winded, technical and confusing explanations, but by using the events in an actual game setting. A designer can print out the tutor.txt and use it as he or she looks through the game to see how the events were set up.
Even for those who aren't interested in tutorials, I still recommend "Dawn of Twilight". For one, it's a very well done prequel to Coric's huge upcoming adventure, "Minions of Twilight". The game also offers several innovative concepts -- giving players the option of having random combat as the game begins, using text to simulate not only the npc conversations, but the party's reply, and an excellent approach to keeping the major villain alive for future battles.
The game itself has few faults and shows its author to have an excellent understanding of the UA mechanics. The only glitch I could find was an "outdoor backdrop" located on one square inside the Guardian Complex.
I was rather amazed out how much the author managed to squeeze into one dungeon. Although the text files indicate the game could be played in an hour (more with random combat), it took me six with a fairly powerful party. The random combats (if chosen) are well-balanced, though slightly more frequent than I normally prefer (although they're set for a high number of steps, the chance of them happening is pretty high as well).
This, combined with few places for the party to rest (and get spells), makes for a challenging -- if moderately frustrating -- beginning. Also, if you choose to enter the citadel (near the endgame), you'll find your party both unable to rest and unable to escape (until after the final battle)...and those Dread Guardians are tough!
Still, Dawn of Twilight does what few games, and even fewer tutorials, have accomplished; it draws you into the story. It makes you feel the tension, worry over your party's success, and fear the aspect of facing the major villain again. Finally, it gives you a sense of accomplishment when (or if) your party survives to the end game.
Overall, I highly recommend this one.
<Note: The game files for "Dawn of Twilight" can be found in UANL3>
Story execution: A Encounters: A- Graphics: N/A Bug Control: A Innovativity: A+ Overall: A<Autery>
Author: Lesonar Full Title: Garland's Grotto Imported Graphics: No For: IBM Additional Documentation: No # of Dungeons: 6This is a short adventure which I finished in about 20 minutes.
The adventure begins with an explanation of why you've come to Woodhall. It seems as if 'the leader' has been kidnapped, and money stolen by the wizard Garland. Your task is to recover the leader, Sir Avondell. But be careful, for not all is as it seems. Treachery, intrigue, and failure lurk in every dark alley...
It's a decent, short mod. I won't give away the surprise, though I have to admit that I was quite sure of what it was from the beginning. However, I will say that there were some problems with the way it was done, and it leaves a few questions unanswered. I wasn't really satisfied, in the end - there seemed to be something missing. The mod. has the unpolished feel of the rush-job. The attitudes of the people, for example, go entirely unexplained. You never know why they're so hard-up, or why they act so strangely towards the party.
Now, for the technicalities.
Any module which includes a completely unbeatable fight for no reason has one major strike against it. Depending on your route through a maze, you may find yourself up against Earth Elementals. This would be all well and fine if it wasn't for the fact that there have been no +2 or better weapons given out, and your characters will all be about 4th or 5th level. This leaves you in an impossible combat, unable to hit the creatures physically, and without the spellpower to damage them to death. Luckily, they move very slowly and I was able to escape the battle. Still, it's my considered opinion that no one should be forced to flee a battle for no cause.
There are no random encounters to worry about, which, frankly, is the way I prefer it. There are touches of atmosphere in the writing, and the touches are quite good. However, in light of the writing style of the *rest* of the module, its use seems a bit awkward.
The buildings in Woodhall go unmarked, which is one of my pet peeves. Shops, taverns, and the like should always include a sign, in my opinion. For convenience and logic's sake, you know?
All in all, I enjoyed the little run through Garland's Grotto... but don't expect a huge epic adventure, or anything particularly new. Just a bit of mindless fun, I suppose.
Story Execution: B- Encounters: B- Innovativity: B Bug Control: A Overall: B-Nyx Nightshade-
Storm Design Author: Gregg Abbot/Lutrian Full Title: Weather Demo Imported art: Yes # of dungeons: 1 Additional documentation: YesThis demo, found early in the "events, samples, and tutorials" section of the UA boards, has been out for quite some time. But, unlike some of the earlier works, it appears neither rushed nor too simple in execution. In fact, the complexity of the event chains (from a designer's view) is fairly impressive.
The accompanying text file explains some of what the design is intended to do, without going into a complicated explanation -- the events in the game are fairly self-explanatory (as will be found by generating a character, starting play, and walking through the various types of terrain).
In short, the Weather demo provides an alternative to random encounters and a touch of realism for overland maps. Where many designs rely on random monster encounters to spice up their overlands, Gregg Abbot's uses mankind's oldest and most common foe (Mother Nature) to vex would-be adventurer's. Whether it's a brief delay caused by a summer rain, a damaging encounter with a freezing snowstorm, travel through mountains where rock slides and avalanches are a constant threat, or a jaunt through mosquito-infested swamp, the author has included it all (or as much as could be placed on one map).
The only notable faults in the Weather design were the overland map and the text file. The former, a slightly recolored version of a map already in FRUA, could've used a touch more work. Also, the events in the module didn't always coincide with the map (you might encounter a desert sandstorm in the middle of a green prairie). The text file, on the other hand, was pretty much duplicated in the game itself. The author could've left out the file and ran the entire intro as play started.
Though I prefer modules that give a storyline (tutorials included), I can't say the lack of one detracts from the Weather design. There are simply too many good things about the demo to ignore. As the author states, the mod can be imported and used (in part or whole) in your own designs.
I recommend doing just that.
Story execution: N/A Encounters: A Graphics: B+ Bug Control: B Innovativity: A Overall: A-
proposed by David Knott (Kaviyd@aol.com)
Disclaimer: "Bard's Tale" is a trademark of Electronics Arts. "Bard's Tale Construction Set" is a trademark of Interplay Productions, Inc. References to these trademarks without special acknowledgement are not intended as challenges to these trademarks.
At present, "Unlimited Adventures" (UA) by SSI (1993) and "Bard's Tale Construction Set" (BTCS) by Interplay (1991) are the only commercialy available computer programs that allow you to create your own fantasy role-playing adventures and share them with others. These programs each have a lot to recommend them, but experience with them suggests many possibilities for improvement in the next fantasy construction set, which as far as I know, nobody has so far begun work on. I hope that the ideas in this article are useful for anybody who is considering such a project.
The five most important characteristics of a fantasy construction set are (in no particular order) simplicity of use, compatibility, flexibility, expandability, and ongoing support. BTCS and UA have achieved very limited success because they both fell short of these characteristics to varying degrees.
Simplicity of use means that creating, importing, and exporting adventures is a fairly straightforward matter, with most of the thought for the creation process going into the contents of the adventure as opposed to the technical details. Both programs fall short in this respect. It should be possible to export an adventure with a single action that would cause the program to compress the adventure into a single file that can be copied to a floppy disk, sent by E-mail, or uploaded to an on-line service or ftp site. More importantly, the process of importing an adventure should be set up so that a player can simply give the path name and file name for an adventure; the program would then decompress the file and install it so that he can play it immediately.
Compatibility means making these compressed adventure files platform independent as much as possible. Currently, IBM and MAC are the major personal computer systems, and I would be surprised if either type of computer were to be discontinued in the near future. BTCS is (as far as I can tell) an IBM-only product. UA has both IBM and MAC versions, but adventures containing imported artwork can only be run on one system or the other. Ideally, any adventure designed through the next fantasy construction set should contain sound and picture files that could be interpreted by either version of the program.
Flexibility is a feature that is lacking more in UA than in BTCS. EVERY quantifiable feature of the game system should be subject to change; there is no telling when somebody may wish to attempt something not anticipated in the original setup. At a minimum, it should be possible to import new pictures and sounds and to edit monsters, items, and maps.
Expandability means that the program is set up to facilitate future growth. AD&D, the system on which UA is based, is continually being expanded and updated by TSR. A fantasy construction set based on that system should be set up so that it can keep up. Even an original system such as that used by the Bard's Tale series must be expandable. For example, if goblins are used as intelligent foes in the original games, it is only a matter of time before somebody will want to use them as NPCs or even PCs.
Most important is ongoing support. Both BTCS and UA discontinued their technical support within a year of their original release. The wide variety of ways in which these programs can be used requires more support than most computer games do. We are still finding new bugs in UA, but the possibility of getting them corrected has now passed. TSR's lukewarm attitude towards UA limited what SSI and Micromagic could put into it; a more enthusiastic approach would have allowed a better and ever improving product. Anyone contemplating development of a fantasy construction set should either design their own game system or secure a very broad license for further development.
Many programmers have created support utilities that provide work-arounds for many of the limitations of UA, but none of these utilities are or can be integrated into UA itself. As a result, these utilities are somewhat cumbersome to use, although many of us are willing to endure these difficulties in the quest for the ultimate game.
More specific suggestions for a new fantasy construction set are given in this and later articles.
All you need is: The artwork :), Neopaint 3.0 (maybe 2.0, but I'm not sure).
If the artwork looks too cartoonish (some of the stuff from "Alone in the Dark 2", "Monkey Island 2", etc.) then use the Average Effect in the Picture menu.
If the artwork is obviously 16 color artwork, and looks bad, but might have potential (the draconian slaughter scene from Champions of Krynn comes to mind...:), then try loading other color palettes (with slightly different colors) and using the Average command. I made the aforementioned pic look GREAT doing this, and I did some others as well. (I will UL them after I'm done writing this. The samples contain both the original 16-color images with T_ preceeding the name, and the new images with either P_ or B_ preceeding the name.)
Try the other effects as well. For fun (not UA), check out Acid Wash in 16 Million colors. Remember Woodstock?
EKSTRA
Dark scenes represent all that is threatening, frightening, and Gothic in a gaming world. Imagine a wolf in full lighting - it looks so much like a dog that one feels compassion for the animal. It's not exactly threatening. The fear-factor is nill. Now imagine the same wolf in a shadowy dark setting, and it's a different story. Gothic writers often use shadows and darkness to send out the feel- ings of vulnerability, loneliness, and death. As Bram Stoker says in his novel 'Dracula', "What shall I do? What can I do? How can I escape from this dreadful thing of night and gloom and fear?"
If you've been to the movies lately, you've no doubt noticed the impact that gloomy visuals can have. The recently released "Interview with the Vampire" is chock-full of spooky images, half-seen through the darkness. The world of the undead, of the vampire, is, by all rights, DARK and GRITTY. The viewer, whether a gamer or a movie-goer, shouldn't have to imagine the pervading sense of doom in Gothic entertainment - the designer/film-maker should make it very clear.
We, the gaming artists, have to draw our art to reflect this mood. A game with ill-fitting art starts with two strikes against it, even before the game begins! Wether we admit it or not, glossy visuals tend to sway our perceptions. Remember the disastrous "Bram Stoker's Dracula"? Awful movie, but the shots were so moody and 'right' that I never noticed until it was over. It may be the right thing to say to game-designers, but good graphics can save (or at least partly- redeem) an otherwise undistinguished product.
Of course, not all art has to be dark or frightening. The use of art depends entirely upon what mood you're trying to create, what effect you're trying to induce. The art should fit the text. The art should compliment the game-play. If you're doing a 'friendly' adventure in the Forgotten Realms, then perhaps gloomy art isn't the best way to go. Similarly, a Dark Sun module should contain harsh, grabbing, and slightly-surreal art. The golden rule to atmosphere art is simple: make it fit the game.
Being known as an avid fan of the Gothic, I decided not to draw a dark picture for this article; instead, I wanted to focus on the lighter side of myself (yes, I have one!:). A light picture gives room for the romantic, the humorous, the pure - without the shadows of death encroaching it. This doesn't mean that a light picture has no shadows. Rather, the shadows become lighter as the drawing takes on a new persona, one that adds dimension to the picture without bringing gloom. A light picture also enhances the safety of the individual, a breath of sanctuary in an otherwise hostile environment, many times well deserved.
The different color-tones and hues add a lot of atmosphere on a very subtle level. Lots of bright pastels tend to create a 'video-game' backdrop - gamers would almost expect a blue hedgehog or an Italian plumber to come bursting out of a pastel-colored mod. 'Day-time' hues (the primary colors) lend an air of normalcy and well-being. Soft, muted tones add to this effect; the art is almost soothing. Dark hues of brown, black, blue, and red create a Gothic atmosphere (of course!). The pic. seems to be devoid of color, of life, as if a gigantic parasite sucked the essence from the frame.
Experiment with different shading patterns and color schemes in your art. Many drawing kits contain specific tools that automatically darken, soften, and shade your pics. It is possible, with an advanced program like 'Animator Pro' (BRYAN: what I'm using now), to create a single image and then layer in different atmospheric touches without re-drawing the whole thing, or re-doing to pallete. If your program has such capabilities, I'd strongly recommend that you use them! :>
When I draw any art, I make a short description of what it should look like, what's happening in the frame, and what feeling it conveys. For example: "A massive sea-serpent rises out of the mist-shrouded ocean. Rivulets of dark, blood-stained water funnel off its shining, twisting back. Numerous spears stick from its coils, but they only seem to anger the creature further. The tiny adventurer's ship is dwarfed by the serpent. The sky is dark and black, as if a storm approaches. The sea is choppy; white-caps break across rocky shoals and hidden bars." This little description helps me visualize the image before I draw it. I know what mood I am trying to create, and how to do it.
There are two points I'd like to make out about the picture I drew for this article (figure1.pcx). First, for personal reasons (which I describe in the text accompanying the picture), I decided to draw it in the more traditional styles of old graphic adventure games. Next, for purposes of this article, I spotlighted the features of the face of the main figure as it's the figure's facial expression that sets up the mood of the picture (mostly). I highlighted the eyes because it's the eyes that bring out the feelings of the character, though at times these feelings may be hidden by the rest of the portrait.
Also, I couldn't ignore the background, as I often point out - it's the background that places the figures in your pictures in the same room as its viewers. This time, however, I gave it less importance, as the main figure takes up more than a majority of the work area, for more or less the above reasons.
figure1.pcx
Well, until next time, when I hope I'll have something special for y'all. This is....
-DIKA WOLF (and a wee-bit of commentary by BRYAN SM :)
At this point, the plot broke down... Logically, the characters should've been dinner for the vampires and the game over. Instead, my charmed party was congratulated for defeating the monsters, a celebration ensued, and the end game acted as if I'd won... Not entirely feasible.
The point is, there are times when a designer may want to be certain the party won a battle instead of running away (or being charmed). The final battle in Skull Crag is a good example. Another might be a battle in which the party can win, but if it doesn't, can be marched off to another location. A fight with city guards is a good one here. You could set the combat so the "party never dies," but there's nothing to tell the following events whether to take the party to the town jail or not.
Actually, there ARE a few ways to check.
To make sure the party doesn't win by running away, before the combat begins, teleport it into a room with no exits. After the battle, use another teleporter to take it back to the original location. This method, explained to me by Kayvid, is fine for simple combats (with monsters that don't have charm spells or a penchant for allowing their victims to live), but what do you do for something more complex? What if you don't want the whole party to die if it loses?
Without getting extremely technical, here's a way to do it. I'll use the encounter with the city guard, since it allows room for an explanation of the additional events. Basically, what I want to do is have the party encounter a group of fighters (the guards). If the party wins, it goes on its merry way. If not, instead of being killed, the remaining characters wake up in the town jail.
Normally, there's no way to do it. The closest I can come is for the party to have endless battles with groups of guards. Each battle is set to "party never dies," and following each combat, the party is given the option of surrendering or fighting more guards. Close, but it doesn't give the party a chance to win. There's another way.
To set up the encounter, you need a special NPC. This is a person you'll add to the party immediately before the combat, for the sole purpose of telling the game whether the party won or lost. If you can guarantee a certain class or race of character will NOT be in the party at this point of the game, life is much simpler. Just add the appropriate NPC before the combat (with 1% of maximum hit points), use a damage event on the Selected Character (which will be the newly added NPC), run the combat, and check to make sure the NPC class or race is still in the party after the combat is done. If not, a teleporter event takes the party straight to jail (do not pass go, do not collect $200:).
The reason this works is because a party that loses a combat (through charm or flight), also loses all unconscious or dead characters.
Since I can't be sure of what type character will be played, I use a specially modified NPC -- one that has a permanent "detect invisibility." To create the NPC, go to the monster editor, copy an NPC into a monster slot, give him the detect invisibility "effect," and copy him back.
The first thing to do, as the encounter unfolds, is add the special NPC. He enters the party with 1% of maximum hit points (he explains that he's running away from a score of guards). With a damage event, inflict 1 hit point on the Selected Character (the guards show up and knock him out). Of course, if you really want to worry the player, you could inflict an astronomical amount of damage here ("the mage blasts Kraven into oblivion -- <damage event> Kraven takes 932 points of damage"). Because the party may have detect invisible activated, add a Pass Time event next. Four hours will take down any mage's detect invisibility spell (except the NPC's). You could use 24 hours, so it won't be obvious, but this will deactivate almost ANY defensive spell the party uses. Follow up with the combat: The guards charge forward: "Ah, good. More thieves..." And after the combat, teleport the party to jail if it isn't detecting invisible (the party is captured as it tries to escape).
Basically, the last chain of events is simply checking to make sure the NPC is in the party. So, why couldn't I just do that? Why not chain the teleport after an NPC Says event or an Add NPC? Simple -- it won't work. The game assumes the NPC is in the party when you attempt to chain off the event. For example, try this using NPC Says... He shouldn't say anything if he's not there, so setting a teleport to Happen if this Doesn't Happen should work. It doesn't.
Unfortunately, the "only" thing you can check for with this setup is a party that survives by running or being charmed. If the battle is set for "party never dies" and the entire party is wiped out, the NPC will remain in the group. If, however, even one party member runs away or is charmed, ALL unconscious party members will be lost. Thus, to be honest, this method should be reserved for the final battle of a game -- and only then if it's possible for the party to suffer the effects of charm or fear. The game obviously doesn't have to end at the conclusion of the battle, but the succeeding chain of events should reflect what actually happened. If the entire party is charmed (or flees), a text statement could be called up (describing the party's loss) and events in the game could be set to reflect that possibility. In any case, the party shouldn't be congratulated for defeating the monsters...
Well, that's all for this month. Until next time, may your imagination be boundless, your prose ever flowing, and your games without equal. :)
Autery
The following article was 'culled' from the UA mailing-list:
Having been disconnected for a few months I'm not sure if you folks have figured this out yet, so apologies if I'm wasting bandwidth.
In starting work on a character editor for the Mac, I noticed that the spell *book* section of the character file in fact uses the same spell ID's as the list of *memorized* spells:
Where a memorized spell is encoded in bytes 198-338 as:
1 + spell ID ( + 128 if cast)
the corresponding spell in the character's spell book would be in
byte offset
339 + (spell ID) div 8
at *bit* number
(spell ID) mod 8
where bit 0 is the least significant.
Thus "Ice Storm" would be memorized as a value of 86, and would appear in the spell book as a value of 64 (bit 6) in byte 349.
This will make *my* coding easier in any case - hope it's useful to the rest of you.
Chris.
ClericBless = 0; ClericCurse = 1; ClericCureLightWounds = 2; ClericCauseLightWounds = 3; ClericDetectMagic = 4; ClericProtectionfromEvil = 5; ClericProtectionfromGood = 6; ResistCold = 7; BurningHands = 8; CharmPerson = 9; DetectMagic = 10; Enlarge = 11; Reduce = 12; Friends = 13; MagicMissile = 14; ProtvsEvil = 15; ProtvsGood = 16; ReadMagic = 17; Shield = 18; ShockingGrasp = 19; Sleep = 20; ClericFindTraps = 21; ClericHoldPerson = 22; ClericResistFire = 23; ClericSilence15Radius = 24; ClericSlowPoison = 25; ClericSnakeCharm = 26; ClericSpiritualHammer = 27; DetectInvisibility = 28; Invisibility = 29; Knock = 30; MirrorImage = 31; RayofEnfeeblement = 32; StinkingCloud = 33; Strength = 34; ClericHeal = 35; ClericCureBlindness = 36; ClericCauseBlindness = 37; ClericCureDisease = 38; ClericCauseDisease = 39; ClericDispelMagic = 40; ClericPrayer = 41; ClericRemoveCurse = 42; ClericBestowCurse = 43; Blink = 44; DispelMagic = 45; Fireball = 46; Haste = 47; HoldPerson = 48; Invisibility10Radius = 49; LightningBolt = 50; ProtectionvsEvil10Radius = 51; ProtectionvsGood10Radius = 52; ProtectionvsNormalMissiles = 53; Slow = 54; ClericHarm = 55; PotionofSpeed = 56; ClericCureSeriousWounds = 57; PotionofGiantStrength = 58; JavelinofLightning = 59; WandofParalyzation = 60; PotionofHealing = 61; ElixirofYouth = 62; NecklaceofMissiles = 63; WandofMagicMissiles = 64; ClericCauseSeriousWounds = 65; ClericNeutralizePoison = 66; ClericPoison = 67; ClericProtectionfromEvil10Radius = 68; ClericStickstoSnakes = 69; ClericCureCriticalWounds = 70; ClericCauseCriticalWounds = 71; ClericDispelEvil = 72; ClericFlameStrike = 73; ClericRaiseDead = 74; ClericSlayLiving = 75; DruidDetectMagic = 76; DruidEntangle = 77; DruidFaerieFire = 78; DruidInvisibilitytoAnimals = 79; CharmMonsters = 80; Confusion = 81; DimensionDoor = 82; Fear = 83; FireShield = 84; Fumble = 85; IceStorm = 86; MinorGlobeofInvulnerability = 87; RemoveCurse = 88; Barkskin = 89; Cloudkill = 90; ConeofCold = 91; Feeblemind = 92; HoldMonsters = 93; ScrollofProtectionfromDragons = 94; DruidCharmPersonorMammal = 95; PotionofInvisibility = 96; DruidCureLightWounds = 97; PotionofExtraHealing = 98; BestowCurse = 99; ClericBladeBarrier = 100; ClericRestoration = 101; ClericEnergyDrain = 102; ClericDestruction = 103; ClericResurrection = 104; DruidCureDisease = 105; DruidNeutralizePoison = 106; DruidHoldAnimal = 107; DruidProtectionfromFire = 108; DeathSpell = 109; Disintegrate = 110; GlobeofInvulnerability = 111; StonetoFlesh = 112; PowerWordStun = 113; DelayedBlastFireball = 114; MassInvisibility = 115; PowerWordStun = 116; FireTouch = 117; IronSkin = 118; MassCharm = 119; OttosIrresistibleDance = 120; MindBlank = 121; PowerWordBlind = 122; MeteorSwarm = 123; PowerWordKill = 124; MonsterSummoning = 125; Chris Harwood-Jones chj@zool.wimsey.com 3508 17th St. h: (604) 558-1821 Vernon BC o: (604) 542-3179 Canada V1T 3Z1 f: (604) 542-5139
It is possible to create vampires (ala HoD), Orcs, Kobolds, Drow, and other 'exotic' party members. Just send me a brief description of what you want and a COMPLETE list of stats. Remember: you can use the icon inserter to create a new look for your monster PC, but only if it's 1 square large. That means that dragons, beholders, etc. aren't really possible. :/
If you're interested, please contact me and we'll see what we can do.
-Kaviyd@aol.com
I have sort of a half-baked request for anyone who knows about the existence of, or would be willing to create, combat icons of the major heroes of the Forgotten Realms? Such great people come to mind as Wulfgar, Bruenor, Drizzt, Alias, Elminster, Cyric, Dove Falconhand, Alustriel, Mourngrym, Tristan, Artemis Entreri, Midnight, Cadderly, and a host of others I could name. Ones from any Salvatore book would be very appriciated!
Also, I have a more serious request for an overland map of Icewind Dale, or just Ten-Towns. Anyone who would be willing to draw this map would have my utmost gratitude. Thanks!
-Deltar B@aol.com
The last two maps can be split wherever necessary, but I would appreciate either three or four overlapping maps to try out an idea for switching maps during overland travel.
Anyone interested in taking this project on for me?!
tanx(in advance);)
-slashem@aol.com
I think creating a module based on The Crystal Shard would be very neat indeed, but I need icons of Drizzt, Wulfgar, Bruenor, Regis, Catti-Brie, Akar Kessel, and Errtu. I already have an icon for Drizzt, but it's not very good, in my opinion. Come to think of it, I'd need to read the book again - it's been awhile.
Anyone willing to help me out here would be the first ones to recieve the module; I'll E-Mail it to y'all! Thanks folks!
-Deltar B@aol.com
Megalocentipede Megalocentipede Young Lichling, Young Lichling, MatureThe description of the Lichlings can be found in TSR's module FA2- Nightmare Keep. I am building a mod based on this module and need the art for these creatures.
Anyone want to take this on? I use an IBM clone and would prefer .PCX art (since I have Paintbrush 5+) but .LBM files would be welcome too since I have several graphics converters also.
tanx :)
-slahem@aol.com
Also, where's that wall editor?
gbane.pcx
Sir Greybane of Karathis
Character Type: MNPC
World: Generic
Race: Monster, formerly human
Class: Fighter
STR: 18 (00) Hit Points: 60-255 (see below) INT: 12 Magic Resistance: 0% WIS: 10 Levels: Fighter 12-40 (see below) DEX: 14 Age: 385 CON: 19 CHA: 9 Powers: Constitution 19 See Invisible Paralyze on Hit (Blacksoul, See Below) Mirror Readied (Mask) Immune to FearHistory: Sir Earl Greybane was a young knight who was the defender of a small village known as Karathis. A rampaging mage decided to conquer the village and use the populace as guinea pigs. Of course, our hero wouldn't stand for THAT! Greybane charged into the mage's fortress and attacked the unsuspecting sorcerer. The battle was one sided; the mage wasn't able to use his magic through the young knight's torrential assault. Before attempting to finish the mage off, Sir Greybane boldly declared that the mage had no chance against the "Greatest warrior in the world". The pause gave the mage time to cast a teleportation spell.
The mage spent much time recovering from his wounds and plotting his revenge. The mage returned months later to extract his revenge. First the mage destroyed Karathis completely, burning it to the ground. When Sir Greybane arrived and discovered his village reduced to ashes and burnt timbers, the mage viciously twisted Greybane's form, bonding his face to his bronze helm and twisting it into a leering demonic mask. Greybane was cursed with eternal tortured existence, until he actually became the "Greatest warrior in the world".
Until he is the strongest humaniod warrior alive, he must forever wander the world for all eternity.
Powers: Sir Greybane is nearly immortal. If Sir Greybane is killed he will crumble into dust and reform in the ruins of Karathis. Every time Sir Greybane is resurrected in this manner he is reduced to level twelve and sixty hit points. Sir Greybane can see the invisible in his cursed state and heals faster than most humans.
Sir Greybane's mask reflects gaze attacks. His sword, Blacksoul, is now an extension of himself, and effects creatures on all planes of existence. The blade disrupts the soul of the victim temporarily, paralyzing them.
Sir Greybane's curse can only be lifted when Sir Greybane is the most powerful humaniod warrior on the planet. Remove Curse will immediately reduce Sir Greybane to ashes. Polymorph others, Limited Wish, Wish, and similar spells can transform Sir Greybane temporarily, but he will revert to his own form in 24 hours. (ED: Spells not available in UA).
Motives: Sir Greybane strives only to end his cursed existence. Once he is the greatest warrior in the world he will become mortal again, and can end his pained existence. Sir Greybane is still a knight, and is honor-bound to defend the weak and helpless.
Possible Encounters: Sir Greybane can be found stalking powerful warriors to challenge. He can be used as both an ally and an adversary, attacking high level parties or aiding the party in the defense of the weak or to find and challenge a common adversary.
NOTE: this article was unsigned; we don't know who did it. However, if you (the writer) are reading this, please e-mail us at UANL@aol.com and we'll get your name in for next issue :>
Class:F/M
Special Abilities:Spellcasting, 1/2 dmg from weapons, immune to weapons
<+3, Charm Gaze, Dragon Fire Breath
History synopsis: Heloniqua is a demoness who resembles nothing so much as a stunningly beautiful mortal woman. Born in the depths of the Abyss, she never knew her parents, but proved strong enough and crafty enough to survive, even as an infant. Her mind has always been far older than her form. Eventually, she came upon a doorway to the prime material plane, and since, she's travelled extensively throughout the Primes, using the Abyss as her gateway. She tends to masquerade as a dancer. In her purest natural form, her eyes grown black, while her pupils glow red, and fangs emerge from her mouth. Strangely, wherever she goes, death tends to visit those in her presence....
She sleeps twice a day, for an hour during the dawn, and for another hour during dusk. The strangely tinted sunrays during these times seem to cause her considerable pain, but do not actually damage her. If she is forced to, she *can* move about during these hours.
Heloniqua always travels (and performs her dances) with two huge red dogs. They are strange creatures, with flesh ripped away from their sides to reveal their ribs. But in lands overrun with magic, this isn't terribly jarring. In truth, the Daemon Hounds are Heloniqua's creations, made from Hell Hounds, and created to serve and protect Heloniqua loyally.
Special Effect Note: To help descriptions, I've provided a few notes on her appearance when she uses her abilities.
When Heloniqua uses her charm gaze, her eyes glow white, and shine like stars. Her victim glows a soft white color, which swiftly fades regardless of the success, or lack thereof, of the attempt.
Heloniqua's flame breath appears as a column of wispy red flames that give off no heat, but burn hotter than any normal flame when actual contact is made. As she releases her fire breath, her eyes glow red.
All of Heloniqua's spells manifest as white light surrounding her right hand as she casts. When they are completed, Range spells such as Magic Missile appear as a white laser beam. Area spells such as fireball appear as white balls of light that travel to the area affected, then explode. Touch or self affecting spells act normally.
Motivations: Her motivations are simple. She enjoys hurting others, causing death and pain. She is, after all, a demon. But she is a strangely honorable demon, and will always honor an agreement... though twisting the meanings of such deals to best suit her is a regular game of hers. However, Heloniqua does enjoy intrigue and manipulation. Playing with politics and other's minds is a cause of considerable delight for her. She has no qualms in making alliances with other evils, but she always makes sure that her agreement leaves room for betrayals, and when the games no longer amuse her, she will often destroy her allies or betray them into the arms of enemies. She always fully intends to destroy the survivors of the resulting bloodbath, of course.
-Nyx Nightshade
Class: Fighter
Special Abilities: Protection Vs Good, 10' Radius, See Invisible, Efreet
Magic Resistance, Immune to Electric, Immune <+3 weapons, Regeneration,
+4d6 Fire Damage.
Background: There are two Daemon Hounds in existance at all times. They are created by the demoness Heloniqua from the hell hounds of the planes. If one is destroyed, Heloniqua will create another one. They are vastly powerful creatures, and travel with their mistress everywhere. For over two centuries, the Daemon Hounds Faviar and Delaben have survived at Heloniqua's side.
They mainly exist only to survive Heloniqua.
And now on to...
The Big Picture: Part III - Plot
[Excerpt from The Third Dream of Primion]We have finally come to the plot. Now we will decide exactly what we are going to do within the confines of our scope and setting.As Triamon sprawled there, still recovering from his birth, a quite devious thought occurred to Malbech. He new that, like Solestra, his brother would likely oppose his budding plan to awaken their father and thus end the existence of Rothon. Malbech was willing to do almost anything to prevent that from happening, so before Triamon could recover, he turned him into a brilliant golden fountain from which sprang the healing waters of life. Malbech quickly moved the now stunned and immobile Triamon to a cavern deep in the earth to hide him from the eyes of Solestra. He then went about creating minions to help guard this most important fountain.
Malbech created hundreds of fiends. Among them were Zethus, the Guardian; Fazri Sarr, the Foul; Bastellys and his spawn, the brute demons; and Vokrilus and his speed demons. Malbech also bent his will toward the creation of many other demons, including the dreaded pit fiends.
I once had a writing professor in college who maintained that the best way to come up with a good plot was to play a game of "What if" with yourself. I use his advice to this very day. The idea is to keep posing the question "What if?" to yourself, and just follow your stream of consciousness. An example might go like this:
Our plot for "To Awaken a God"... wait, I feel a name change coming on. Let's change the name of our design to "The Fountain of Life."
Anyway, our plot revolves around Malbech's desire to return to the womb, so to speak, and his plot to awaken the dreaming Primion and thus ending the world. Other major elements are why Malbech imprisoned Triamon, and the power that all three gods have to make the world of Rothon real, or permanent (didn't think I'd ever get to that, did you?). Also, of major interest are the reasons that neither Solestra or Malbech used that power up to this point.
Let's start with this mysterious power. The power that Primion's children share is the ability to make Rothon, real, permanent, independent or separate from the dreams of Primion. Use of this power, however, would be such a cosmic event that it would awaken Primion. None of the gods are quite sure whether this awakening would occur before the spell is completed and Rothon separated from the dream, or afterwards as a result of the separation. None of the gods are sure whether this will actually ensure Rothon's survival, or its destruction.
Malbech won't use the power because he is not willing to take the chance that Rothon will survive. He is content to use these beings that he doesn't even consider real as pawns to bring about Rothon's destruction in some other way.
Solestra won't use the power because she takes the opposite view of Rothon's inhabitants. She regards them as real, living beings. She cannot risk destroying them for that reason, even if her success would mean the defeat of Malbech's plans.
Triamon, being the God of Neutrality, takes a very realistic view of the situation. He knows that the beings on Rothon are not real, but that their only chance of becoming so is for him to use the power. He figures that if it doesn't work, nothing was lost, but if it works correctly, a world full of life is gained. However, in his imprisoned state Triamon cannot exercise the use of the power.
The plot revolves around a group of adventurers (the PC's), who find themselves caught up in the execution of Malbech's final solution. They are racing against time, trying to find evidence of a lost god, while Malbech's master plan nears fruition. The PCs begin as novice adventurers who are drawn into the fringes of the growing maelstrom of Malbech's plans, only to be sucked further and further into the center of cosmos-shaking events.
The tasks facing the PCs are many. They must discover Malbech's plan to awaken Primion, uncover the web of lies and half-truths around the imprisonment of Triamon, help hold together a world ever more rapidly going to "hell" in a handbasket, awaken Triamon, and survive the hoards of minions Malbech will use to stop them from completing their tasks. Needless to say, the PCs will be very powerful by the end of the module.
Oh, yes. By the way, the final battle takes place in a city of drow deep beneath the earth. In this battle the PCs must face Zethus, the Guardian, Malbech's right hand. Zethus is a demon of great power and nearly Malbech's match in power, intelligence and evil. Sound good?
Well, that's about it for this month. I could have gone on much more about the specifics of our plot, but that would have made this column just too darn long. We will add plot segments as we talk about other topics, and eventually flesh out the entire thing.
Next month we will discuss "LET THERE BE LIFE - CHARACTER CREATION & GIVING MONSTERS PERSONALITY",
Until swords part,
Alex D. Karaczun
Velcome to part II of the Rawenloft designer guides (these are not typos. I'm writing in a crappy Romanian accent). In this article I will discuss the use of Ravenloft in the UA environs. Mostly I will discuss making a creepy environment for the player characters to be wrapped in, as well as discussing some really cool personalities in the land of mists. There will not, although I promised it last month, an article on the Lich. Time ran out, and I couldn't do a quality writing in the small time I allotted myself.
Part II:The Machine
I. The Limitations of the Unlimited Adventures Engine
II. Using The UA Engine to it's utmost
III. Gothic Building types, and their use in UA
IV. Who's Doomed in Ravenloft
I. The Limitations of the Unlimited Adventures Engine
Ravenloft is a deep, sensual world. Everywhere you step, evil creeps. The dark, misty world is a visual and aural horror. Real easy to put into UA. Yeah. Right. In a place where each step is a computer beep (well, close enough) developing a sense of mood is extremely difficult.
The worst limitations given in the Unlimited Adventures is the lack of a sound editor (I know you can do it on your own, but it's a pain) and a music editor. Those would've come in handy.
We CAN tweek the art and monsters, though (see Dika's article for more info).
II. Building an Atmosphere in UA
Though the UA engine is limited, it gives it's designers complete control over the visual and textual description of the world, which is good. The following shall be tips on using what we've got to make things spooky.
A. Graphics
Graphics are definitely a good way to set the mood. A perfect example of this is in the only Ravenloft module currently out there - "Hunted". The entrance to the town is filtered through a dark blue, while the town itself looks run down and unhappy.
In the world of Ravenloft, one must alway keep in mind that the majority of people are rather miserable, as is the climate. As such, you won't be seeing many beaming happy faces poking out of crowds, and few sunny days pierce the gloom. Keep graphics dark, dank, and depressing, and you may be able to draw players into the world.
B. Sound
Though sound manipulation is severely limited in the UA Engine, using what we've got can build a pretty creepy atmosphere. Be liberal with sound use. If you're in a Haunted Castle, have battle sounds where one took place in the distant past, and footsteps following the PC's.
C. Events
One of the easiest ways to build an atmosphere is to simply describe it. Text statements are good for getting people in the mood, though they may become monotonous after reading page upon page upon page of text. Thus, you want to make sure of two things: the text is well written, and there is enough action to balance it out.
On the writing of good text, one must always keep in mind that Ravenloft is a horrifying place, and as such you want to not only move your hopefully intriguing plot along with the text, but also send the occasional shiver down the spine. This is not terribly easy, but I do have some tips that may help.
One thing that must be known is that the players are not in charge here. There are greater, darker forces at work than the players can hope to combat single-handedly. Even if the villain is a weak old man, His reputation should be built to the point that the players are afraid to face him, and believe defying him would spell certain death.
One thing that is often missed in modules is fully developing the villains. One-dimensional beings only hope of frightening a player is if you are a tremendous artist who can frighten by simply putting bit to computer screen. Otherwise, the villain needs to be fleshed out. Give him a history, a few odd habits, maybe. This can bring this being of evil to life, and allow him to truly frighten.
Another good point to remember in the horror module, or any module, is to focus on details. If you can properly describe something, you can properly bring it to life, and use it to properly scare. Occasionally, it might be nice to pull a "Necronomicon": creating books and artifacts, and referencing them a many times in different modules, or in the same module, if that be your want. An artifact of almost infinite power, which then falls into the hands of your nicely fleshed out villain makes for a nifty module.
III. The Buildings
Creating interesting and frightening buildings is essential to nifty, frightening, Gothic mods.
A. The Haunted House
The Haunted House is a mainstay of Gothic tales since the beginning, and as such I shall discuss the use of it in UA. Generally, a haunted house is either the basis around which an adventure is built, or simply a nifty aside. Either way, your going to need a heck of a lot of Text Statements and Sounds.
There are two types of Haunted Houses I'll write about: Those inhabited by spirits, and those who have people living in them.
In the former, there is no end to what you can have. The house can either be a dank miserable place, with cobwebs and odd noises coming out of every corner, or it can be boisterous with unlife. Any way you do it, you must not be overt with the RC.
In the latter, the people in this house of evil should be strange, to say the least. They have been warped or twisted by the dark evil that has made this house it's home, and will attempt to propagate it's evil will. Or maybe not. :>
B. The Cemetery
On dark nights, this is where necromancers go to carry out their evil rites, and maybe have a pizza. ;> Where the dead lie, there is sure to be trouble in a place where undead play such a strong role. A few rules for placing PC's in cemeteries. First, do it during the night. Graveyards are hardly frightening during the day. At night, everything takes on a decidedly deadly turn. A thick fog hangs around the ankles of the characters, and the smell of rotting flesh permeates the air. In this place, always have the PC's looking over their shoulders to explore a noise heard, or a chill wind. And of course... there will be nothing there. In a place where the dead are prevalent, make the undead scarce, and they will be used to better effect.
C. The Church
In the unholy land of Mists, this is one possible safe haven. From the gargoyles on the ledge to the symbol-laden altar, this place breathes warmth and protection. In here the evils of the outside world may be at least forgotten, if not entirely escaped. Of course, in an old, abandoned church, things can take a rather more dastardly turn.
All churches have their symbols: Christians have their cross, Jews their star of David, Taoists have those two mating whales, the Yin-Yang. In an abandoned church, or a church of Evil, these symobls of good should be desecrated or perverted. All lights in the fallen church should seem dim, the soft glow of good now gone. A sense of evil should now be prevalent. Always should priests of the Good gods feel watched, their power to turn undead weakened.
IV. Who's Doomed in Ravenloft
In the world of Ravenloft, there are certain lords whose personalities and actions set them apart from the mold.
*Mordenheim Human, Lawful Evil Armor Class 10 STR: 10 Movement 12 Dex 17 Level/Hit Dice 0 Con 9 Hit Points 55 Int 18 THACO 20 Wis 7 No. of Attacks 1 Cha 12 Damaige/Attack by weapon Special Attacks nil Special Defenses see below Magic Resistance nilMordenheim is a 34 year-old doctor and scientist. He is of wiry build, and rather weak. His face looks young, but his hair is prematurely gray. His facial muscles are tight and often twitch. He has a scar on the left of his forehead from a fall from a tree when he was 5, and half his earlobe on his left ear is gone. At age 23, he cut off the tip of his left ring finger while performing surgery.
He is basically the Dr. Frankenstein of Ravenloft. He is a gifted scientist who is obsessed with knowledge. He disdains magic, and believes in no gods. He married the daughter of a professor of his at college who shared with him a love of chemistry. After thirteen years of study, he attempted to bring life to dead tissue.
>From the Journal of Victor Mordenheim . . .
19 November '02. --It came to me last night--the secret of all secrets--how to restore life to a limp, soulless vessel, and make it breathe and walk among us. But the vision was shadowy and veiled. I saw the heart of it, but knew not how to make it beat.In the next few months, Mordenheim taught his creature. It frightened Elise, who herself had found an orphan whom she took in. Adam eventually went out of control, murdered the young girl, and beat Elise near death. It escaped to the Isle of Agony.31 January '06. --Still the vision haunts me. In the few hours of sleep I allow myself each night, it comes to me, imploring me to lift the veil that surrounds it, a shroud that clings to it as a foolish mother attempts to shield her son from his destiny. I The vision remains with me throughout my waking hours. I know I must cast all other thoughts aside, and draw this secret into the light. It is my duty, my calling, because alone have the skill and intellect to bring this greatest of gifts to mankind.
12 March '10. --Elise, my darling wife, has gone. I have sent her to reside with her cousins in Furchtenberg, despite her protests. It is for the best. Now no one, nothing, can distract me. With each day's work I grow closer; with each night's work I grow closer still. I must not falter now. A Storm is coming. A great, dark storm. And I must be prepared to greet it.
6 November '15. --For 13 years I have labored, tireless, devoted. I have performed a thousand experiments - dissectians, vivisection, injections - First with mice, then rabbits, then dogs, and finally, men. Now at last I have an answer. I alone understand the complex electrochemical alterations which in the tiniest particle of the cell. I am drunk with knowledge! I alone know the secret of prompting those alterations in a single cell of a corpse's flesh. I alone can impart the proverbial "spark of life" to its limp, livid tissue-a spark that will spread from cell to cell as a wildfire sweeps across a sun-parched plain.
Tonight, at the height of the storm, when the time was proper and the body correct, I accomplished precisely that. I have created life. He is assembled from the finest parts. His arms are stronger then the arms of Hercules, his legs swifter than the legs of Hermes. His face, grotesque to some, is to me more handsome then the face of Apollo. I will call him Adam. He is my masterpiece, my creation, my manly son. Only wonders can unfold in the days ahead.
Current Sketch
All night and all day, Victor works in Schloss Mordenheim to give life back to Elise. She is a hideous husk, no longer a woman. He is feared by the townspeople of Ludendorf, who credit him with murders his monster, Adam, commits.
Mordenheim will never revive Elise. The Gods who his disdains gave life to his other creation, yet will not give it to Elise. He has blinded himself to this.
Combat
Mordenheim is not likely to start a fight, nor could he win one if he did. However, he cannot die. He is connected to the creature of his creation, and as long as it lives, he will regenerate from the merest piece of flesh.
Adam Lord of Lamordia, Chaotic Evil Armor Class: 10 Str: 20 Movement: 15 Dex: 17 Level/Hit Dice: 12 Con: 20 Hit Points: 55 Int: 16 Thaco: 9 Wis: 12 No. of Attacks: 2 Cha: 2 Damange/Attack: 2-16 (+8 w/weapon) Special Attack: nil Special Defense: +1 Weapons to hit Magic Resistance: 25% Special Abilities: Regenrates Immune to natural cold and electricity (1/2 damage from magic) 80% hide in shadows '' move silently Strahd von Zarovich Armor Class: 1 Str: 18/76 Movement: 12, Fl 18: Dex: 16 Level/Hit Dice: 16(wizard), 11 Con: 17 Hit Points: 55 Int: 18 Thaco: 11 (8 w/wpn) Wis: 17 No. of Attacks: 1 Cha: 16 Damange/Attack: 5-10 Special Attack: Spells, Energy Drain, charm gaze Special Defense: See Below Magic Resistance: 15%Strahd is a tall man, standing at 6'1". His face is gaunt, with high cheek bones. His ears end in points, but that is easily hidden by his hair. His fingers are long and thin, his nails sharp. He wears black.
Background:
Strahd's Background is best stated in his book, "The Tome of Strahd: I am The Ancient, I am The Land". I qoute from the TSR publication:
My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just. I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god, but the war years and the killing years wore down my soul as the wind wears stone into sand.Strahd ended up murdering half the people staying at the castle for the wedding. After commiting this act of evil, his Barovia became the first land ever to be admitted into the Mists of Ravenloft.All goodness slipped from my life; I found my youth and strength gone and all I had left was death. My army settled in the valley of Barovia and took power of the people in the name of a just god, but with none of a god's grace or Justice.
I called for my family, long unseated from their ancient thrones, and brought them here to settle in the castle Ravenloft. They came with a younger brother of mine, Sergei. He was handsome and youthful. I hated him for both.
From the familes of the valley, one spirit shone above all others. A rare beauty, who was called "perfection", "Joy", and "treasure". Her name was Tatyana and I longed for her to be mine.
I loved her with all my heart. I loved her for her youth. I loved her for her joy. But she spurned me! "Old One" was my name to her--- "elder" and "brother" also. Her heart went to Sergei. They were betrothed. The date was set.
With words she called me "brother", but when I looked into her eyes they reflected another name - "death." It was the death of the aged that she saw in me. She loved her youth and enjoyed it. But I had squandered mine.
The death she saw in me turned her from me. And so I came to hate death. My death. My hate is so very strong; I would not be called death so soon.
I made a pact with death, a pact of blood. On the day of the wedding, I killed Sergei, my brother. My pact was sealed with blood.
I found Tatyana weeping in the garden east of the Chapel. She fled from me. She would not let me explain, and a great anger swelled within me. She had to understand the pact I made for her. I pursued her. Finally, in despair, she flung herself from the walls of Ravenloft and I watched as everything I had ever wanted fall from my grasp forever.
It was a thousand feet through the mists. No trace of her was ever found. Not even I know her final fate.
Arrows from the castle guards pierced me to my soul, but I did not die. Nor did I live. I became undead, forever.
Later, Azalin the lich had come into the land of Barovia. He taught Strahd his many magics. Strahd and Azalin escaped to Mordent, but were still in Ravenloft.
Strahd closes the border of his land with a chocking fog, but he gave gypsies an antidote which allows them to pass freely through the mists.
Current Sketch
Strahd is ruthless, cold, and calculating. He always has a contingency plan. His years of having his vampiric powers have given him an inflated ego. He looks down upon the lesser men of Barovia. This is one of his weaknesses: he often underestimates those who don't have his powers. His other weakness is his love for Tatyana.
Combat
Strahd is very powerful, as a 384 year old vampire. Weapons must be +2 or better to hurt him. He has many minions, and can summon up to one hundred bats or rats, or 3-18 worgs. His knowledge of necromancy has led him to create other, more powerful monsters. His undead are more difficult to turn than regular ones.
Strahd does not need permission to enter any home in Barovia. His bond is far too tight to the land. He controls many inanimate objects in Barovia. He can detect anyone who comes in his front gates. Once they have passed through the gate, they are lost to him.
Spells
Azalin the Lich Lord of Darkon Armor Class: 0 Str: 17 Movement: 12 Dex: 10 Level/Hit Dice: 18(wizard) Con: 18 Hit Points: 54 Int: 18 Thaco: 10 Wis: 11 No. of Attacks: 1 Cha: 14 Damange/Attack: 1-10 Special Attack: Spells Special Defense: +1 Weapons to hit Magic Resistance: NilAzalin is a lich. His body is made up of whatever remnants of flesh he still has wrapped tightly to his bones. Within one hundred years his flesh would have totally rotten from his body. He is always seen in clothing wrapped around his body foot to head. Only his face is seen.
Azalin will often wish to look like a normal human, not his horrible undead self. This is the result of a powerful illusion, which changes him into any demihuman male or female close to his own height.
The only things that never changes of Azalin is his aura of cold, common to all liches. Anyone too close to him shivers, even if they are native to cold climates.
Background: Azalin was once human, and once king of his people. He became obsessed with magic and power, and soon become a lich. As an undead mage, he ruled in a cruel and tormentious reign until a powerful band of mercenaries was sent to destroy him. They chased the evil king into a nearby glen cloaked in fog, but couldn't find him. Azalin had been carried to the first domain, Barovia.
In Barovia, he met Strahd von Zarovich. Though he was more powerful than the Strahd, he feared the vampire. He believed Strahd had some inexplicable connection to the land of Barovia, and if Strahd were killed, all would be destroyed. He became Strahd's servant, and hated every moment of it. He vowed he would never swear fealty to another creature if he gained his freedom.
He taugh Strahd magics, and the vampire became a powerful wizard. Meanwhile, Azalin was studying the mists of Barovia. Strahd wished for him to find an egress from the mist-bound universe, and Azalin readily complied. They had found passage to Mordent, where a student of Alxhemy had created an apparatus of soul transference. Once inside Mordent, they found no escape. It was linked to the Ravenloft universe.
Azalin figured out that any strong-willed personality would gain a domain if he stepped into the Mists. He created Darkon, the largest province.
Current Sketch
Azalin wants power. Ravenloft gave him strength, but it also paralyzed him. He can learn no more magic than he already knows. Even if an item is presented to him and he is tutored in its use, the information slips through his mind. He still knows that he once knew the magic. Whenever he sees magic being used that he does not know, it enrages him. Unable to progress, he longs for his past life.
In Ravenloft, few know he is a lich. They only know he is eternally old and eternally evil. Azalin is evil and brilliant. His plots are deep and intricate, pitting enemies against each other.
Combat:
Azalin rarely fights. When he does, he reveals his true self as a lich, causing fear in all who see him. His touch is cold from beyond the grave, doing 1- 10 damage. No normal weapons can harm him.
He is a fearsome spellcaster. His spells are terribly powerful.
Spell List*
-Kent Conrad-
-The UANL staff:-) *Editorial staff: Editor-in-chief: Coric <Bryan SM@Aol.Com> Editor (MAC platform): WiredChild <WiredChild@Aol.com> Assistant Editor: Kaviyd <Kaviyd@aol.com> Assistant Editor: Shdwmstr03 <Shdwmstr03@aol.com> *Columnists: Reviews & Previews: Nyx Night, Nyx N1ghts <same :> Art: Dika Wolf <Dika Wolf@aol.com> Beginner's Corner: Autery <Autery@aol.com> 'The Dungeon': Kent Conrad <KentConrad@aol.com> The Writing Workshop: AlexDK Contributors: chj@zool.wimsey.com (Chris Harwood-Jones), EKSTRA@aol.com The UANL address: <UANL@aol.com>The enthusiasm that new users have showered upon UA is truly astounding. With the re-release of the disks and the CD-ROM version, UA is expanding like the good old days (that is, slowly when compared to other products, but very fast for us :). Moreover, we've fielded more questions like "Where can I find UA?" in the UA area than ever before, as any old-timer can attest to.
So what does all this mean? Well, on the most obvious level, we've got more people to write, design, and play mods. Believe me: We're going to see more art and designs posted in the next few months than in a LONG time. But on another level, we'll get an infusion of new ideas and concepts. While the vets. work to hone their skills, these newbies are developing completely new scenarios and styles. Perhaps someone will create the much-awaited wall art importer.
In short, the future of UA continues to glow. With enthusiasm from both the vets and the new-comers, we can expect '95 to bring UA to new heights. '94 was the year of UA revolution: we had monster pc's, item editors, a chainsaw wielding horror mod, and more. This year, the skills and techniques that were created in the past few months will be taken to the next - and higher - level. I can only imagine what '96 will bring.
Coric-<C> (or Bryan SM; whichever you prefer :)
Submissions are a key part of any hobbyist newsletter; ours is no exception. As I've said time and time again, this is YOUR NL! If you want it to be the best that it possibly can, you need to submit. We, the editors, cannot do it all by ourselves; we need your help (esp. you Internet users!)
(NOTE: all submitted material is subject to editing for clarity, brevity, and/or vulgarity. The UANL staff accepts no responsibility for anything said or implied in the free-lance articles; if you have a gripe, see its author. ;)
I can say in all honesty that we're suffering from a small case of writing burn-out. It is becoming more and more difficult to write articles for the NL, not because there is no material, but because we're tired.
In my zeal to expand the market of both UA and its NewsLetter, I threw caution into the wind. We never really planned for the future; everything was done on an issue-to-issue basis. We incorporated new ideas as we got them, we wrote whatever we felt like. We were too busy hacking out the current issue to sit back and plan for the long term.
It was a heady time. And now, months later, they've caught up with us. The UANL continues to grow, but at a slower pace, and with a bit of trepedition.
So what does all this mean? Answer: we're going to take a *short* break, for a month or two at the most. During this time, I plan to COMPLETELY re-vamp the NL: a NEW graphical interface, new writers, more columns, and another attempt at some sort of UANL-published mod.
With our new-found free time, the we'll work to make the NL better than ever.
The 'Big Plan to Make the NL Better':
The more staffers we have (within reason), the better. We need new ideas, new voices, new perspectives. If you think that you've got what it takes to fill one of these positions, contact us at UANL@aol.com and you'll receive more detailed information on the open positions.
If you'd like to write about something that isn't covered yet, just submit a proposal (a sketch of what you plan to write about, who you are, etc.) and I'll get back to you ASAP. :>
-BRYAN SM-
UA was used to create the commercial 'Gold Box' games by SSI. These include such classics like: 'Dark Queen of Krynn' and 'Pools of Darkness'. However, this version of the gold box engine requires no programming skill or technical ability. With it, many would-be game designers, artists, and budding writers have been able to produce the game of their dreams that would not have been possible otherwise. I owe a lot to UA; its given me many hours of design - and playing - enjoyment.
Even if you are not a designer, I would reccomend getting UA. It is one of the most versitile RPG systems on the market: there are hundreds of games to play, games that cost nothing! If you tire of one module or finish it, just download one of the many others available. There are games of all sorts on AOL, Compuserve, and the Internet: traditional dungeon-crawls, epics, hack-and-slashes, and interactive novels. Like the pen and paper AD&D, this system can be enjoyed over and over. There is never an end to the fun; the options truly are Unlimited.
TO ORDER:
**UA is now available on a special CD-ROM bundle! For a low price, you get UA, D&D Stronghold, Fantasy Empires, and Dungeon Hack! Other users have reported that the disk-based UA is available in most computer stores, at a ROCK-BOTTOM price (under $20).**
If you cannot find one of the above-mentioned products, call SSI direct at 1-800-245-4525 or (408) 737-6800 OR visit your local software retailer. The number of copies of UA are limited; you may have to hunt to find one. You may also check with the mail-order software companies (who usually have a large number of any title and can get you the most obscure of disks with relative ease). The SSI mailing address is as follows:
Electronic Arts/CODE SSI 53 P.O. Box 7530 San Mateo, CA 94403or:
SSI Direct Sales 675 Almanor Ave., Suite 201 Sunnyvale, CA 94086-2901
c_macros.pcx