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Welcome back.

The only reason I am writing this babble is because "this is the bit that nobody reads". So if you are reading this, kindly stop now. There is so much more interesting stuff inside. Ha, still reading, couldn't resist, could you?

Anyway, to all those of you not actually reading this, we have another packed issue of BEHOLD! for you. The Euvgeni saga continues, followed closely by the Game Guide. Taking up its customary spot in the rear is In Character. Oh yes, not forgetting the Rotan News - with Rotan still plague ridden, we shall resort to a documentary on Rotan itself.

As I am fast running out of things to write, what say we throw in some congratulations to waste space:

• To the five people who celebrated birthdays within the last few months. (Thanks for telling the rest of us!)
• To Keith and Geva on their new positions in the WARP and Computer Society committees respectively.
• To Dominik Wysocki for another smashing cover art work.

Tally-ho!

Simon McQuade

2    Editorial
3    Rotan News  Instead of the usual news service, we have a short article about Rotan itself.
4    Middle-earth Roleplaying  An introductory article all about the game set in Tolkien's world.
6    Stop! Do NOT Turn the Page!  Yes, another wacky Paranoia article.
7    Fiction Feature: Euvgeni (Part 2)  Another part of the story of young Euvgeni.
8     Words from the Heart  Cthulhu has claimed its first victim...
10    Apply Within  Extracts from an interview with a prospective employee in the Shadowrun world.
11    Into the Shadows 1: Ritual!  The first part in a series of guides to past Shadowrun games.
12    Cave Magicum  An introduction into the complex but highly adaptable Torg magic system.
14    AD&D Game Guide (Part 2)  In this week's guide, Opand joins the group and a wyvern dies.
15    In Character: Sagar Anrian  This month we take a good look at a Star Wars character.
16    Hotline  Whose number did we get wrong this time...?

Cover: This issue's cover, Angmar: Assault on Carn Dûm, by Dominik Wysocki, features a battle scene from Middle-earth. For more about Tolkien's world, see this issue's article on Middle-earth roleplaying.

Once again, owing to circumstances beyond the editors' control, we are unable to bring you the Rotan News. This issue instead contains a brief overview of Rotan, including a map of the surrounding area, some background information on Rotan and a quick look at the city itself. There will also not be a Rotan News next issue, but it will be back with a double page in December (hopefully).

[Image caption: A map of the Rotan area. The city itself is at the bottom of the map, towards the left. Many farmsteads are located in the surrounding hills.]

History: Rotan was established as a base for a major mining operation some fifty years ago. It never really flourished, since only the low-life typical in a mining town lived in Rotan. It sprang to life some twenty one years ago when the royal palace at Ivrea was destroyed, along with much of the city of Ivrea. All survivors of this great disaster fled to the shanty town Rotan, and soon it became the capital of this part of the world. Nowadays most youngsters don't even know that there are any mines in the mountains, since they were worked out a long time ago.

Features: The most unusual feature of Rotan is that it is not built near water. In its early days, this was not a problem, since several small streams flowed within two miles of Rotan, and these were diverted to supply water. These streams stopped flowing however, when a major mining catastrophe caused the collapse of part of the mountains, blocking the streams forever. Soon after this disaster, the priesthood of Artafor used their mighty powers to create the Rotan dam. In doing this, they increased the strength of their support in Rotan greatly.

Current Status: Currently, Rotan is ruled by a group of seven city "elders", who each represent some portion of the populace. There are representatives from the priesthood, the druidic conclave, the city's merchant guild, the Rotan guard, the Arena (a recommended stop for visitors to Rotan), and from the guild of mages, a powerful organization in Rotan.

Facilities: Locations in Rotan which may be of interest to travellers include the Arena, a skilled armourer and weaponsmith and a busy market in the city centre. The city's inn, The Inn of New Dawn, is a top quality establishment, and well worth a visit.

Middle-earth (Endor) is a continent on the world of Arda, created by the deity Eru (the One) as a land for his Children. Powerful forces once battled for dominance; the evil powers of Morgoth were overcome and he was thrown into the void, but his servant, the lesser god Sauron, the Lord of the Rings, succeeded him, only to have his One Ring destroyed and his powers broken.

With the destruction of the Ring, the evil powers under Sauron's command broke free of his constraints, leaving the world in a situation which is, if anything, worse than ever.

While many oppose the Dark Forces, few do so openly for any length of time. Some communities, however, do unite and dedicate themselves to the destruction of evil. From such communities come the heroes, standing for what they believe to be right in the world. The player characters are part of this group of heroes.

If you have read Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you probably have a fair idea of the scenario and character types, but don't worry if you haven't.

MERP is designed to be expanded with ICE's Rolemaster System, so some of the rules, equipment lists and monster tables are pretty restrictive on their own. Happily it is simple to adapt many of the AD&D tables for use as supplements.

Die Rolls
Most die rolls are "open-ended" percentile die rolls, which work as follows:
    06-95        No adjustments, the die roll is taken as is.
    96-100        Roll again, and add the result.
    01-05         Roll again, and subtract the result.
Of course if a second roll is more than 95 or less than six, you roll a third time, and so on...

Character Attributes
In MERP, character attributes are all percentages. A character has similar scores to AD&D: Strength, Agility, Constitution, Intelligence, Intuition, Presence and Appearance.

Abilities
In a manner similar to the Star Wars system, every character has some chance of success when attempting to do something. Even if a character does not have a specific skill in whatever he is trying to do, he can use his general chance of success in that action group.

Spells
Spells are sorted into class-restricted lists of 10 spells each. Each list has one each of level 1-10 spells.  To cast a spell the character must have a level equal to of less than the listed number, and the casting then costs that many power points (PP's). So a fifth level spell can only be cast by fifth level and above characters and costs five PP.

Generating Characters
This is a lengthy procedure, as characters gain abilities according to their race and the society they were brought up in, as well as adolescent skill progressions, background skills, secondary skills, hobbies, and professional skills. Designing a character can easily take over an hour, but the end result is a highly detailed, exceptionally playable character which rivals any existing system.

Money
Conversion tables are simplicity itself, with 1gp = 10sp = 100bp (bronze) = 1000cp = 10000tp (tin). So any amount can be written as a standard decimal number. For example: 15125 = 1 gold, 5 silvers, 1 bronze, 2 coppers and 5 tin. The exception to the above rule is mithril coinage, which varies from 10 to 100gp depending on the region.

Races
The general race groups (which are further divided) are dwarves and half-dwarves, elves and half-elves, hobbits, men, orcs and trolls. The last two are not available to players unless the GM rules otherwise.

Experience
Experience works as it does in AD&D, level advancement likewise, but instead of choosing specific proficiencies, percentage points are given for allocation as the player wishes. Each player starts proficient in all abilities, penalties for non-development are however severe.

Combat
Combat is resolved simply by comparing attack rolls to defense bonuses, and rolling critical hits if necessary.

Religion
Religion is optional; it does not affect spellcasting at all. Animists are the only class which must worship a deity, but choice does not affect spells.

These then are the bare bones of an expandable, detailed gaming system which is ideal for new and experienced roleplayers alike.

Will you accept the Dark Lord's challenge? Can you face the forces of evil and survive? Come to Middle-earth and pit your skills against those of the masters of chaos and the Rings.

Extreme Paranoia: Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Shot! by Ken Rolston

Yes, it really is a Paranoia novel. The hero of the book, Homer, has to complete an almost impossible troubleshooting mission. Why is it impossible? His mission is to assassinate the untouchable High Programmer Whatta-U-SAY! The books follows Homer's progress, and is set is the Year of the Computer 194 A.B.O. (After the Big Oops). It is based on West End Games' Paranoia roleplaying game and is, of course, completely mindless.

R&D Catalog from West End Games

What could be worse? The good citizens working in R&D have gathered their greatest and most favoured items together into one catalog. This is a Paranoia accessory in the true Paranoia style. It is packed with equipment, includes an adventure and is a necessity for all troubleshooters who want to survive (Huh? "R&D" and "survive" in the same sentence?!? - Ed).

Second Edition Rules: "The first edition of Paranoia is perfect and without flaw in every respect. The COMPUTER says the second edition is even more perfect. Do you doubt the COMPUTER?"

The fact is that the second edition Paranoia rules (only to be read by those of ultraviolet security clearance) are a big improvement on the first edition. Better charts, tables, and smoother running rules mean that your poor, slightly paranoid GM can now speed up the rate at which your clones transmute from organic molecules to ionised atoms*. Instead of rolling many percentage dice, you now get to use a snazzy d20, which also allows the action to run smoother.

Another good piece of news is that the Mutant Powers have been revamped. No longer will you possess a puny power like "Enhanced Touch" (which is only useful in romantic situations - and those don't exist in Paranoia), while another jerk (Jerk?!? - Ed) is running around with "pyrokinesis" putting citizens' hair on fire (heh, heh, and did that work well or what?) (Yes. - Ed). The powers are also more dangerous to use now which adds to the excitement. ("Oh dear, he seems to have fainted. Let's see if we can revive him. Bring the hacksaw. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing.")

Another big problem that has been cleared up is the calculation of skill point totals. They are very easy to work out now. Each major group of skills has a base starting value dependent on one of your abilities (strength, moxie, etc.). Your character receives a number of skill points which you can then assign to your skills. To check whether you succeed in using a skill, you have to roll below the number using a d20. So, from now on you get to design your characters. You will still get character templates, but they will lack certain necessary survival skills (it is not easy to survive without a laser - eh, Keith?), which you can fill in.

Schemes and Things: Since all you loyal citizens do so much for your secret societies, they should do something for you. Starting with the next game, if you want something from a secret society (custom made), tell me about it before the game, and if it does not interfere with the game plans, you can use it.

Here are two ideas to demonstrate:

• A hand grenade with a zero time delay pin: plant it on someone and don't be there when they use it.
• A green laser barrel painted red with paint that melts at high temperatures: when the hapless victim uses this, everyone will know it was a trick, but they will shoot him anyway.

[* This article did originally have a footnote, however in the process of transferring this document from paper to the COMPUTER, the footnote was lost. Since the author of this article could no longer remember the contents of the footnote, there will be no footnote in this article. We apologize for any confusion. After all, nobody's perfect. Umm, oh yes, except the COMPUTER, of course.]

In last month's issue, Euvgeni had just discovered his exceptional strength by up-rooting trees, in this issue, his story continues...

A couple of years and many uprooted trees later, the three boys decided it was time to tell the village about the recurring event.

"You have much to explain, young man." The village president leaned out of his chair, raised what looked like small windows towards his eyes, and loomed over the three boys. The conference room was circular with a horseshoe shaped table with the village big-wigs seated around the outside edge. All of the plaintiffs were to present their gripes from the inside of the horse shoe. They had even given the conference room the affectionate name: "The Horse's Mouth".

"The senate does not look lightly on such events. You have committed a serious misdemeanour against the livelihood and very existence of the tribe's economy." (You can see here the actual workings of the ancient ways of uncivilized tribes.) Especially since you are aware that our main source of income is the trees of the forest." The president's voice began to drone out his objections rather like a small breeze. "Well?" - A stiffish breeze.

"Sirs, in defense of the defendant, we the defence would like to point out that the defendant is a minor and therefore under the custody of the senate. His parents take full responsibility for the child and we recommend public service as suitable punishment." A man in rather odd clothing and wearing what seemed to be a white wig stood up, said these words and sat down again.

"In accordance to clan law, we, the prosecution, are satisfied with the proposed solution and propose the following punishment. Euvgeni Maryamitrevnavich will repair the damage, and will become a carpenter to annul the damages done to the economy." Another funny looking man stood up and sat down again. "The senate will adjourn and will return in four hours' time, at which time the defendant will be sentenced. This hearing is adjourned." The senate all stood as the president left the room and then left themselves.

Four hours and many ales later, the senate returned to the "Horse's Mouth" having left the "Horses Inn". "Will the defendant please rise." The court bailiff droned in much the same voice as the president had done earlier. The president stood up, or at least tried to. (Everybody on the senate discusses sentencing in the healthy atmosphere of the bar at the inn.)

"Although Euvgeni, urp, hic, has kept his crime secret for more than one year, the senate recognizes the reason for the actions of the defendant. We, the senate, hic, attribute these events to temporary insanity and until such time, hic, as he learns control, he is forbidden to enter the forests without parental guidance. He will also pay the sum of seventy gold coins to the present owner of the forest by obtaining employment with the aforementioned, hic, person and learning the trade of a carpenter. He will be paid the salary of one gold coin each month, and the court will cover the balance remaining after five years. He will also be withdrawn from the Warrior program until his seventeenth birthday. Replacement of the uprooted trees will commence tomorrow. This concludes the sentencing, the court will hear the next case, hic, oops sorry."

In this issue, we introduce you to Jeroboam B. Winthrop III, a Fundamentalist preacher and part-time kerb crawler who, thanks to the intervention of a large lizard-like creature with six-inch claws, recently made a career move into advanced decomposition. If he were not missing several vital internal organs, he might tell the following story:

Worse yet, I wasn't alone in my troubles. In all, there were four of us implicated in the robbery. Thrown together by fate (or, perhaps, by even more powerful forces), we had to work together to clear our names. Putting up with the unreasonable behaviour of my companions was more than any mortal could bear: One was bent on eradicating all the babies on the face of the earth; another dealt in prohibited chemical substances and kept the company of shady Italian "friends"; while the third dealt in even more despicable wares - blasphemous and ungodly occult books which should all be BURNED; consigned to the ASHES OF HELL from whence they came!!! (Ahem. Do excuse me.)

Astute readers may have begun to suspect that our friend the preacher might not be quite the ideal model of reasonable behaviour after all. This suspicion is confirmed when we see him standing inside an occult bookshop, in the midst of a giant pile of books, brandishing a lighted match and yelling "BURN! BURN!" with maniacal glee. Only the quick intervention of the bookshop owner - and a lucky sanity roll - saves the books (and most of the people in the immediate area) from going up in smoke. But this is jumping ahead in time. Let the preacher resume his story:

Eventually, we learned the truth: we had committed the robbery, but we were possessed by our ancestors at the time. Unfortunately, the courts aren't likely to think very much of that line of defence. What's more, we soon discovered that proving our innocence was the least of our problems. The forces of darkness were abroad, and evil was upon the face of the earth...

In less biblical terms, we had about three days to save ourselves from possession and to save the rest of the world from unimaginable horror. All in a day's work for a man of God - or so you might think. The scriptures mention that evil is among us, but they're alarmingly short of practical advice on getting rid of it. Having faith works up to a point, but it's just not enough when you're confronted with everything from agents of organised crime to bloodthirsty pterodactyls to horrible things with glowing eyes and long, poisonous tongues.

The things with the tongues were the worst of all. Pterodactyls are, at least, immediately identifiable. This lot was not. They could take on human form, and were thus able to hide their true identity completely - no dripping fangs; no lingering sulphurous smell; no "I Love Disembowelment" bumper stickers; nothing! Nothing, that is, except a slight reluctance to open their mouths.

This was the case with the mysterious person who befriended our group. The others had already met one of the long-tongued creatures; an experience which left two of them badly scarred - one physically and the other psychologically. They were therefore rather suspicious of his habit of speaking through clenched teeth. In time, though, they too came to believe that this was probably just the result of an embarrassing dental problem. How wrong we all were!

We now turn to a small bar near the docks, where our intrepid adventurers are about to become painfully aware of their mistake. A meeting has been arranged with their lock-jawed "friend" to discuss certain important rituals. He arrives on time, but their suspicions are aroused when he insists on leaving early. Despite their protests, he leaves; but the bartender follows him. At that moment, the occult bookshop owner arrives. He immediately recognises the beast for what it is. The bartender tries to shoot at it, but the bullets serve only to enrage it. It grabs the gun and twists it into a useless blob of metal within seconds.

It then turns its attention to the interior of the bar, where the preacher is busy trying to engage the baby-hater in conversation. When he sees a set of powerful claws tearing the front doors open, it begins to dawn on him that all is not well. He turns to run, but at that moment a voice in his head commands him to stay. He is powerless to resist.

The creature advances. In a futile attempt to fend it off, the preacher holds out his crucifix. It attacks. Thanks to a damage roll of 2, it only manages to scratch him. The preacher sighs with relief; but before he can do anything, the creature lunges again. This time, the damage roll is a 12. With lightning-quick action, it rams its hand through several inches of bone, muscle and other tissue and rips out the preacher's still-beating heart. With a feeble protest of "Give that back! It's mine!", the preacher collapses and dies.

Perhaps, though, the preacher's end was a merciful one. Unlike the rest of the party, he has been delivered from whatever horrors are to come. In Cthulhu, there are worse things than death...

 Amen!

The Sapphire Rose by David Eddings

The third and final book in the Elenium trilogy has just been released in Britain. The Sapphire Rose continues the story of Sparhawk, the Pandion Knight, and Sephrenia, the ageless sorceress, as they race against time to find a cure for young Queen Ehlana. The Sapphire Rose is currently a best-seller in Britain, while the paperback version of its predecessor, The Ruby Knight, is also in the charts.

The Elenium consists of: The Diamond Throne, The Ruby Knight and The Sapphire Rose.

"So, you wanna run the shadows, chummer? Don't look wired up. Don't look like no wizkid either. Why d'ya think you'll survive a datasteal? I seen plenty other mundane snots like you geeked."

"'Cos you're lucky? Ha! Karma only lasts so long, chummer. After that you're hosed. Frag man, only luck I need 's a good decker, a chromed razorguy, an' a breathing street mage. Da's all I need to bring Mr Johnson the results."

"You can learn? Sure, den who's watching my rear when I'm watching yours. Drek! You ain't got no idea what's out there, chummer. To start you've got the trogs. Them fang faces will rip you 'part before they blink a fraggin' ugly eye. Den ther's the corps. Their dataslaves monitoring your every move. Dere wagemages are real good wid fireballs. And dere vatjob muscle, they don't miss, chummer. And they're the best money can buy. Den deres also the Mafia and the Yaks. You know, the Yakuza. For Japs dere Kobun muscle sure is big guys."

"Whada 'bout the elves?" you ask. "Chummer, dem dandelion eaters works for whoever gives dem the most nuyen. But they ain't never loyal. Always got dere mind on the Tir. Yeah, da's right, Tir Tairngaire. Sovereign dandelion country."

"The law? Oh, ya mean Lone Star. Dey ain't got no problems dat a strategically placed .45 slug don't solve. If ya ever working the sprawl an' ya get taken down in a heatwave, don't give dem no drek, man. Let dem do dere jobs an' ya both walk away happy the next day, maybe."

"Now da's an int'resting question. Wa's the best thing to steer clear of in the sprawl? Wizworms, chummer. Mos' devious things ever ta live. Never, ever, ever, cut a deal with a dragon!"

Glossary of Slang in 2050
           Courtesy of Worldwide Wordwatch

Chipped adj. Enhanced by cyberware (senses, skills, reflexes, muscles, etc.).
Chummer n. Pal or buddy.
Dandelion Eater n. (vul.), adj. Elf or elven. Highly insulting.
Dataslave n. Corporate decker.
Geek v. To kill.
Heatwave n. Police crackdown.
Kobun n. (Jap.) Member of Yakuza clan.
Mr.Johnson n. Refers to any anonymous employer or corporate agent.
Razorguy n. Heavily cybered samurai or other muscle.
Samurai n. (Jap.) Mercenary or muscle for hire. Implies honour code.
Sprawl n. A metroplex.
Trog n. (vul.) An ork or troll. From "troglodyte". Highly insulting.
Wagemage n. A magician, usually mage, employed by a corporation.
Wired adj. equipped with cyberware, especially increased reflexes.
Wizworm n. Slang. A dragon.
Yak n. (Jap.) Yakuza. Either a clan member or a clan itself.

The path to fame, fortune and wealth in 2050 is a hard one, and only the brave, powerful or stupid dare walk the shadows to find it. On January 15, in the sprawling multiplex of Seattle, Mask and Cyclone dared to tread that path.

Their first run together was for Vintner's Winery, the only remaining winery in the entire Seattle area. They had been facing pressure to sell their land for corporate development, and now their employees were spontaneously combusting - just bursting into flames. After uncovering a run against Vintner's contracted Biotech Corp they began to suspect ritual sorcery. All that had been stolen was blood!

Mask, a competent combat mage, used his magical abilities to discover where the rituals were being performed. Cyclone, a slick but deadly razorguy, used his contacts to get into the Puyallup barrens to strike at the source of the ritual.

They found the hide-out of the ritual team deep in Lake Acid territory. The juve gang had hired out a team of their top wizkids to an, as yet, unknown corporation to perform the rituals. The wizkids were backed up by a group of chromed street punks and a cybered up dog. Mask and Cyclone got fireballed, with almost disastrous effects, when they weren't watching their backs. They succeeded in wiping out the ritual team and retrieving the blood samples, but one question still remains unanswered. Who had bankrolled the Toxic Acids?

(Mask is played by Simon  Mc Quade and Cyclone is played by Sebastian Wysocki.)

This issue's theme is magic. Yes, you heard correctly, magic. The magic system to be dealt with is the Aysle and Orrorsh magic system most commonly used in the Torg roleplaying system.

First off: there are four schools of magic: Abjuration, conjuration, apportation (moving things) and divination. These are also the skills a character must take to be able to cast spells. The effect of spells hinges around the school used to cast them. A fireball, for example, is usually conjured.

The next thing necessary before a character can cast spells, are arcane knowledges. Only a mage with knowledge of fire (a sub-group of essences) can cast a fireball. Likewise, knowledge of living forces (part of the mixed force group) is used for the charm person spell.

Arcane knowledges are in fact the bread and butter of any mage. With these knowledges he can create just about any effect he chooses with his magical manipulations. But, just as these knowledges allow a mage a wider variety of spell effects so does having too few knowledges restrict the magician in his choice of spells. Arcane knowledges can not be used unskilled. Any spell that is cast has at least one school governing it and at least one arcane knowledge involved to control the results of the spell.

As far as actual spell effects are concerned, the primary rule of magic is: A spell will have no positive effect without being willed by the caster; negative or non-effects are generally a result of insufficient control and will. Another important fact is: Nature concedes the destruction of anything, the construction of nothing. So beware when travelling across an arcanely powered bridge or other fancy footwear.

To cast a spell, the caster generates a spell total from the appropriate magic skill and compares this total with the spell difficulty number as listed in the spell description. If the total is higher than the difficulty number, then the spell casting is successful. However because of the natural resistance of a spell, which is unleashed when the spellcaster attempts to cast it, he takes mental damage. This mental damage is determined by comparing the backlash value of the spell to the caster's casting total. The amount that the backlash exceeds the spell total by is read as result points on the combat results table.

For example: A mage tries to cast a spell with a difficulty number of 10 and a backlash value of 14. The mage, rolling rather badly, generates a spell total of only 8. Firstly, the spell fails, since his roll of eight is less than the needed number of ten. Secondly, he suffers mental damage to the effect of 6 points, since his total was six less than the backlash value of fourteen.

This is where casting from a grimoire has distinct advantages over casting on the fly. Most (successful) spellcaster's own grimoires, which are books containing formulae for spells. Any spell cast using a grimoire gives the caster a distinct benefit against backlash. If the spell total for a spell cast using a grimoire is less than the spellcaster's mind value then his mind value may be substituted for the spell total to determine the backlash of the spell.

Spells can also be cast "on the fly", which means made up on the spot, this is difficult but not impossible. Be warned: Do not cast spells "on the fly" unless you like fried brain-burger patty, or you have sufficient skill (in magic skills and knowledges) to control the vast amount of backlash in a new spell. To cast spells on the fly, the caster must have skills in all the necessary elements of the spell.

Obviously, there are certain limits to the amount of backlash damage that a caster can take and still cast successfully. If the caster is KO'ed by one casting attempt, the spell caster loses the arcane knowledge used to cast that spell. The character must wait a full day before re-acquiring that knowledge or undergo a refreshment spell. If the caster is heavily wounded, then he loses both the arcane knowledge and the appropriate magic skill. The same recuperative rules apply. Additionally the caster's wound status may not be healed to better than wounded until he has restored his skills.

There are further advantages to owning a grimoire. Magic users can spend one week and one possibility to learn a spell, and, once learned in this way, it is not necessary to consult the grimoire again to cast it.  The caster may simply cast the spell at will, and still receive the benefits of a grimoire spell. This does not usually alter the grimoire but some strange things have been known to happen (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more...). The spells cast using a grimoire have been designed previously and require only one main magic skill and one arcane knowledge to cast a spell. All lesser requirements are built into the spell by the designer.

But spellcraft is not limited to just learning and casting spells. Spells can also be impressed for use at a later stage, or focused onto a particular object or area. Mages can also use magic to weave illusions.

One of these types of spell is the impressed spell. Impressed spells are those spells that are partially pre-cast by the mage and then held for future use. There are a number of requirements before a spell can be impressed. First off, the magic axiom level must be 17 or greater. To impress a spell, the caster rolls to beat the difficulty number and checks for backlash as for a normal spell. If he is successful, then the spell is impressed in his memory. The spell may then be released at any future time. When the spell is released, the caster rolls his magic skill again, with his roll adding on to the success of the spell. Now since difficulty and backlash have already been checked, the spell always succeeds, and there is no backlash at the release of the spell. A mage may hold as many impressed spells as he has adds in conjuration magic and the state knowledge. Any combination of impressed spells is possible, and some spells can only be cast impressed.

Focused spells are spells that are placed into an object so that the spell effect emanates from the object and not from the caster. These spells are commonly detection or warding spells, they are often placed in doorways.

The final type of spell is the illusion. Illusions are magical "cheats", ways of conjuring reality without actually spending the energy to create the full reality. An illusions "borrows" possibility energy from those around it who believe in the illusion and thus becomes more real over time. This effect is temporary, though - as soon as the belief ceases, the illusion vanishes as well. The gamble for the caster is that a successful disbelief dissolves the spell completely - and not just for the disbeliever. Even the caster is required to make a disbelief roll, and would be well advised to have many people around him who believe in the spell, as that makes it more difficult for him to disbelieve his own spell! Any physical effects from an illusion are real enough if they affect a character prior to disbelief. A successful disbeliever regains control over his spiritual and mental self and may act as he wishes.

That is the abridged version of the spell rules of the TORG system. For more complications and contusions try spell design: It will literally knock your block off! Beware: In the next adventure the mystic powers of Aysle are upon you, so look straight, never squint in daylight, walk tall, and be careful of that big pulsating ball of flashing lights. What ball of fla.....

We left the band of heroes journeying Northwards in the last issue, their story continues...
 

Game 4: Fragments of a Group

Featuring: Tekuna Chand, Clytor Clyss, Souriin Draco, Shadow Kaylar, Opand Rupdel and Slyoak Woodguard.

Four of the heroes (Tekuna, Souriin, Shadow and Slyoak) travelled North to the village of Stigler. In Stigler, they were introduced to Clytor and Opand, who were to travel with them in the search for the rod. The heroes were also asked by the head of the village to rid Stigler of a raiding kobold tribe in the nearby woods. Setting off to do this, they were attacked by a gigantic winged form, which, by luck more than skill, they managed to defeat. The group then decided to burn the forest which contained the kobolds, and were made to regret their decision when the Mistress of the Forest intervened.

Creatures encountered: Giant Rats, Kobolds, a Wyvern, Large Spiders, Hieracosphinxes and Treants.
Game Dates: 26/12/92 - 1/1/93
 

Game 5: Traps Galore

Featuring: Tekuna Chand, Clytor Clyss, Souriin Draco, Shadow Kaylar, Opand Rupdel and Slyoak Woodguard.

After this meeting, the heroes journeyed on to Rasra, where they were captured by the town guards, and transported to the dungeons below the town. It was here that they first met the sage, Alti Shann.

Creatures encountered: A Yellow Musk Creeper.
Game Dates: 1/1/93
 

Game 6: Dungeon Rasra

Featuring: Tekuna Chand, Clytor Clyss, Souriin Draco, Shadow Kaylar, Casoe Quantamine, Opand Rupdel, Slyoak Woodguard and Vraytar Zythorac.

After meeting with Casoe and Vraytar, who had also been transported into the dungeon, the heroes teamed up to fight the mage-ruler of the town - Blamonis. In the struggle which ensued, Blamonis was defeated and the group was transported by Alti Shann (who was not all he appeared to be) to the West of Rasra. Clytor left the group to pursue other interests, and the other heroes purchased a boat and began to sail downstream...

Game Dates: 1/1/93 - 2/1/93

"My first impression of the party was one of total unreliability. There was the slightly plump female thief, who had an annoying habit of borrowing things that were not hers. Then there was the tall fighter who looked deceptively as if he had nothing between his ears but sand. As I recall, he had not only an unpronounceable name but also several nasty brothers. Also in the party was a wizard; although he was rather sneaky, he did prove useful in several minor fights. We were joined by other members later on, some of whom died."

                                                                                        from Opand's Chronicles, book one, chapter one.

Character: Sagar Anrian
Race: Human (Corellian)
Character Type: Smuggler

Game Statistics: DEX 3D+1, PER 3D, STR 3D, KNOW 2D+1, TECH 2D+2, MECH 4D.

Background: Sagar's first experience as a starship jockey was as an in-system bulk freighter pilot. He soon realised, however, that this was not his calling; no excitement, no fire-fights, no pirates: BORING! His natural talent for flying quickly surfaced, and after being fired for reverse parking a Kuati Drive Yard Bulk Cargo Transport (difficult enough going forwards), he was taken into the service of the smuggler Dana Thram. As Dana's co-pilot, Sagar quickly learnt the tricks of the trade for which the universe was originally designed (especially how to fire a blaster!). In this exhilarating and deadly game of hide and seek with customs frigates and pirates, Sagar proved to be an adept at the skill of evasion.
After taking a substantial loan from a Tatooine gangster, Sagar bought his first ship, the Super Nova, from Dana. They soon went their separate ways, but perhaps this was for the best, as on a journey to Kashyyyk, Sagar met his lifetime companion and co-pilot, the Wookiee, Karancha Waba. Sagar needed a technician, Karancha needed a ride and a deal was struck.

After many harrowing experiences along the spacelanes, Karancha first heard of, and introduced Sagar to, the Rebellion. Karancha's words in Wookiee were, "It's a gold-mine of wealth and spare parts. What could be easier?" This was when Sagar first met his other companions, Jonn and Ronan.

Deeds of Note: On his first mission for the Rebellion, Sagar lost the Super Nova, but "acquired" the IRSS Hawk (and has never looked back). This stock light freighter is his most valued possession, and he and Karancha are piling hard earned credits into fixing it up.

Karancha owes Sagar a Life Debt after he valiantly saved him from the clutches of the Empire on the planet Sedri. This involved dragging the Wookiee through an Imperial base, stealing a TIE fighter, blowing up the base's control tower (after being denied authorization to leave), and downing three other TIE's. Sagar is renowned for his accuracy with his blaster (Blaster: 7D) and his skill in handling spacecraft (Piloting: 7D, Astrogation: 6D, Starship Gunnery: 5D). Even though he has a Dodge skill of 5D, he has spent more than his fair share of time in the bacta tank. He is working to improve his bargaining capabilities. His weapon of choice is a trusty heavy blaster pistol.

Deeds of Disaster: Sagar succeeded in an extravagant fly-by of an Imperial tower, adding to his long list of felonies and resulting in a skirmish with three TIE's. He once dreamt up a plan which involved flying a snowspeeder (minus wings) down a thin corridor and then looping it through a hole in a platform onto the other side of a deep chasm. Fortunately, he never got a chance to try his plan. Sagar thinks that the biggest mistake he has ever made was letting the Jedi, Jonn, fly his ship through Hyperspace using his mumbo-jumbo (force skills).

IRSS Hawk:

Hull: 4D; Sublight Speed: 3D; Shields: 1D+1; Manoeuvrability: 0 (not for long!);
Light Cannon: 1D Fire Control, 3D Damage;
Proton Torpedoes: 2D Fire Control, 9D Damage.
Kills: Imperial Shuttle, Nebulon B Frigate, 6 TIE Fighters

Yes, this is BEHOLD!'s first competition - we, as a group of dedicated gamers, need a name for our loose affiliation.

We are currently using the name "Lords of Rotan" for our tournament teams, and because we want to keep the good reputation earned by our teams in tournaments so far, we are going to keep this name. However, "Lords of Rotan" doesn't seem an appropriate name for the whole gaming group, so we would like to invite you to give us suggestions for a name.

To encourage you to think, we will give you the next three issues of BEHOLD! free, if yours is the best suggestion. The closing date for suggestions is Friday 15 November, and we will have a telephone poll during the following week to give everyone a chance to choose their favourite name.

Well, the only events around this time of the year are exams, so the editors of BEHOLD! would like to use this opportunity to wish everyone the best of luck with all of their exams, and especially to Jonathan and André who are writing matric finals. Good luck!