[...]... nonstandard material components in spell-casting may be found in DRAGON issue #147, “Variety, the Spice of Magic.”] Monstrous evolution If you assume evolution exists in a fantasy world, then it follows that monsters such as dragons and hydras must have had supernatural ancestors in the prehistoric past Various dinosaurs could have evolved into dragons and other reptilian monsters, the displacer beast may... evolved into dragons and other reptilian monsters, the displacer beast may have had a sabre-toothed ancestor, and so on Indeed, writer Peter Dickinson argues in his speculative book, The Flight of Dragons, that dragons really did exist and evolved from the big flesh-eating dinosaurs DMs should feel free to go wild in creating supernatural prehistoric beasts, including those supposedly created by one or... to gamble, as well Tournaments (jousting) are common in conjunction with medieval fairs In Greco-Roman areas, gladiatorial contests, beast hunts, and chariot races in coliseums are staple events [See DRAGON issue #118 for several articles on gladiators, jousting, archery contests, and fairs.) 10 By the beautiful siege Sieges are great changes of pace in a campaign PCs find besieging castles dull (it... convention before, please check out the Convention Calendar feature in this issue for the game convention nearest you Take some of your own gaming -friends along, too — and make it an experience to remember DRAGON 13 18 Get me to a doctor! Having a member of the party fall seriously ill or get himself seriously injured is a device for imperilling the party Without the proper healing magic (which the wise... each for reptiles and birds, which do they use when the DM hits them with a giant Archaeopteryx? As will become clear later, it is possible that neither may work! Our heroes may decide to live off the DRAGON 17 land, finding food for themselves and for any mounts or pack animals they bring along One might think that there will be plenty to eat once green plants appear on land in large quantities One... random events Select your encounters according to your experience of what works Is it time for a big encounter, or do you think only a minor harassment is called for? Should you soften the PCs up some DRAGON 11 more, or is the party having a hard time keeping up with what you’ve thrown at it so far? Pay attention to the rhythm of the game and how the players are handling it Keep them slightly off balance,... or crossing a jungle can be a great adventure, even if the errand that sent you there is rather mundane (goals can be critical, too, of course, such as having to gather spell components, rare herbs, or dragon s eggs) [Among many other adventure examples, see DUNGEON® issue #27, “Courier Service.”] Dealing with the aftermath of an earthquake, blizzard, flood, or some other natural disaster can be exciting,... offense Many prehistoric beasts already have good combat abilities in melee; just keep the magic-equipped characters from using this advantage to run roughshod over them A carnivorous ancestor of the red dragon may appear to be a perfectly normal winged dinosaur from the outside, until your magic-user sees it fly through his wall of fire as if it weren’t even there When the fighter with a vorpal blade... sword, while a mace of disruption is just an ordinary mace + 1 if there are no undead to fight Many types of arrows of slaying will be totally worthless, unless their owners “waste” them by using them DRAGON 19 as ordinary arrows Mages who have memorized the wrong spells can learn appropriate ones if they were lucky enough to have brought their traveling spell books along (though this doesn’t help the... of wiping them out, thereby preventing the spread of a race that will otherwise give their characters no end of trouble in the modern world For that matter, if some prehistoric animals are ancestral to dragons or other troublemakers, the PCs may undertake a worldwide cross between a safari and a search-and-destroy mission A truly great and noble idea, right? Well, not exactly Even assuming one’s morals . Send address changes to DRAGON Magazine, TSR, Inc., PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. USPS 318-790, ISSN 0279-6848. DRAGON 5 Because this is the 101st* issue of DRAGON Magazine that I have. material published in DRAGON Magazine becomes the exclusive property of the pub- lisher, unless special arrangements to the contrary are made prior to publication. DRAGON Magazine welcomes unsolicited. the United States and Canada, write to: Letters, DRAGON Magazine, PO. Box 111, Lake Geneva WI 53147, U.S.A. In Europe, write to: Letters, DRAGON Magazine, TSR Ltd., 120 Church End, Cherry Hinton,