Dr Simon Reads...

Issue 47 The Trist   This was the first issue of White Dwarf that I bought (having read earlier issues from about 40 onwards that were owned by my friends). And so it holds a special place in my heart, especially for the pretty cool Bushido scenario Kwaidan. The Fiend Factory is titled “ Mini Monsters ”, sub-heading “ Tiny Terrors to cause Trials and Tribulations ”. It’s a collection of monsters only loosely linked by being small sized. The Diabolo from our old pal Phil Masters is a slightly tougher kobold, with magic-user abilities. As the kobolds have been adept sorcerers since 3 rd Edition first arrived, these are a bit redundant. Not this time, Phil.   The Trollkin , from Dan Lukacinsky , are described as a cross between brownie and troll. What is it with brownie crossbreeds? As I recall the Micemen of One Eye Canyon were a brownie-orc cross. And I also seem to recall that the brownie itself is a Halfling-pixie cross. Not the trollkin of RuneQuest, these are q...

Issue 46 The Vily It’s interesting how the quality of the artwork accompanying a Fiend Factory can sometimes affect how one sees the quality of the monsters. Case in point is this one, a little mini scenario called Death in Green . The artwork is not some of the best to grace the pages, and it always made me overlook the creatures herein, but actually they’re really not bad. Compare to the similarly themed Out of the Woods , from Issue 26,with the wonderful Ian McCaig illustrations, and here the monsters are quite a bit more complex than the ones given there, whereas it’s the opposite for the illustrations. The scenario, broadly, involves a former gold-mining town that has now turned to trapping for trade once the gold has dried up (so far, so Klondyke). Behind the troubles of the town is a secret war between hostile and benevolent nature spirits, with the hostile ones using plant creatures to harass the town. Mixed in with the “proper” monsters are a couple of plant hazards by M...

Issue 45: Fire-Tongues   What’s this? No Phil Masters? You okay Phil? However, it does give somebody else a chance, in this case two “somebodies”, Alan Craddock and Jason Micklewright, who give us a collection of elemental creatures in a Fiend Factory subtitled Plane Speaking .   The first of three entries from Alan Craddock is the Sand Demon , aka Dust Scurry . Now, I could have sworn that there was an officially published creature called a “ dust devil ”, but I’ve checked both the Fiend Folio and Monster Manual II, without success. The index in the MM2 lists creatures by pseudonyms as well, so even if the monster was under a different name, it would still be there, but it’s not. No, now I come to think of it, it was a spell, possibly in Unearthed Arcana. And, I finally tracked it down. A second level cleric spell in the old 1 st Edition Unearthed Arcana. Phew, I thought for a moment I was going mad!   Be that as it may, that’s essentially what a sand dem...