Volume 1 Issue 2 The Strategic Review - Summer 1975

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Volume 1 Issue 2 The Strategic Review

More info to follow over the next few days.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

This issue was published noted as Summer 1975. Prominent on the front was this:

IN MEMORIUM
THIS ISSUE IS DEDICATED TO THE
MEMORY OF DONALD R. KAYE, COFOUNDER
OF TACTICAL STUDIES RULES,
LONG-TIME FRIEND, AND FELLOW
WARGAMER. DON WAS BORN 27 JUNE
1938 AND DIED 31 JANUARY 1975. WE
DEEPLY MOURN HIS PARTING.

This  death was to have far reaching effects on Gygax, TSR and the future of D&D. One of course was the effect of the loss of a lifelong friend. Two was the loss of, as Rob Kuntz put it,(and I am paraphrasing here) the only person that Gygax would listen to. Apparently when Gygax would go to his ledge, Kaye could talk him down. Some of the worse things that happened over the next few years and perhaps the next 30 years, might have been avoided if Kaye had remained hale and hearty and involved. We can only speculate, but it is conceivable that Arneson might have remained with TSR, Kuntz might have gotten out of the mail room and done full time design and perhaps OD&D would have received long term support even if the excesses of AD&D still happened. We almost certainly would have seen the publication of the Kalibruhn Supplement V and likely at least a few more OD&D supplements after that.

We might have seen The First Fantasy Campaign published by TSR and BTW it is the real Blackmoor Supplement. We might also have seen a lot more of Arneson's alternate rules published.

All in all, IMO this was the worse single thing that happened in the early days of the hobby, because without Kaye, it opened the door for the Gagax ego to wreak havoc, something that might have been prevented.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next up was an opening editorial by Brian Blume. Perhaps is it my personal bias or perhaps just 2020 hindsight that makes me view this editorial as less than sincere, when he says that "TSR is not around solely to make money." IMO the Blumes were responsible for enabling Gygax and starting the company down a road that lead to a dark place for both Gygax and the company. IMO they were one of the voices that put money before quality and good common sense.

He said,

When I mentioned that the members of TSR were long-time gamers I was speaking of a combined total of about 50 years for the three of us -- that is 50 years of battle gaming, for if chess were to be included it would be more like 75 years!

So that would be Gary Gygax, Brian Blume and with Don Kaye having passed months before this came out, was he talking about Arneson as the third person at that time or someone else. I will have to dig around and look at time frames to illuminate this.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next a little blurb for THE STRATEGISTS CLUB. Also extending the deadline for their poll about what people were interested in.

A. Ancient-Rules
B. Wild West Rules
C. Napoleonic Naval Campaigns
D. More D & D Supplements
E. STAR PROBE Additions
F. Medieval Rules for the Crusades (compatible with CHAINMAIL)
G. Rules for Aurthurian Legend (compatible with CHAINMAIL)
H. Rules for Robin Hood (compatible with CHAINMAIL)
I. American Civil War Rules
J. Revolutionary War Rules
K. Napoleonic Wargame Rules for Super-Large Battles
L. Colonial Wars
M. WW I
N. FIGHT IN THE SKIES game
O. A Fantasy Boardgame
P. A Battle Game Similar to those Offered by AH & SPI
Q. A “Dippy” Variant with Rules and Full-Sized Mapboard
R. Name Your Own Poison

Ranked from 9 as wonderful to 0 as you wouldn't even give the offering a thought.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

BTW this issue was 8 pages.

The Publishers Statement as I noted for Issue 1.

CAVALIERS and ROUNDHEADS RULES ADDITIONS

WARGAMING WORLD

Some news and highlighting two conventions.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Also this tidbit:

Scott Rich may hate me for this, but I cannot resist mentioning his postal Midgard variant game and its attendant zine BEL-RAN RUMOR MONGER. It is doubtful if he has any current openings, but if you are interested in postal S & S games it would be worth your trouble to send an inquiry (but be sure to include a stamped return envelope !). Scott is also working up a Swords & Sorcery Diplomacy Variant, and from the draft I saw it would be worth a try, so if he plans to run that it should prove to be a lot of fun. The spells he includes are the likes of The Misty Fortress”,“The Berserker, The March Nowhere, and The Quick Winter. The address is: Scott Rich, 1640E 1140 N, Logan UT 84321. On the subject of Midgard, Tom Drake, Rt. 10, Box 293 K, Cookville, TN 38501, is reportedly in desperate need of assistance typing stencils. Tom, the creator of Midgard is willing to pay for stencils and the postage both ways, so
if you'd like to help out, please let him know.

How I wish I had engaged in correspondence with Scott Rich and Tom Drake.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next up is Questions Most Frequently Asked About Dungeons & Dragons Rules.



You can find that posted elsewhere on the forum. I can only say that this should have been expanded into a supplement of its own and IMO that would have been a no-brainer 60 page digest sized supplement. Just file this under a lost opportunity.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

After this we have in Creature Features The Roper, in some respects a small purple worm crossed with a spider that shoots sticky rope-like excretions or as I would have called it "webbing."

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next up is
RANGERS I
AN EXCITING NEW DUNGEONS & DRAGONS CLASS
By Joe Fischer

I have always wondered why it was titled "Rangers I".

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next is an extensive section on MEDIEVAL POLE ARMS
A SPECIAL FEATURE THIS ISSUE WHICH COMBINES THE
REGULAR COLUMNS THE ARMORY AND CASTLE & CRUSADE
By Gary Gygax

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Next is TSR NEWS which I will quote here:

Things are happening around here so quickly it is difficult to keep pace. We like to keep you informed of developments, but at the same time this column must be written a number of days prior to taking the whole of the newsletter to the printer, and there is a delay of perhaps three weeks between that time and the time when you receive this in the mail. A lot can happen in a month, and it has been turning out that way. You will note that we are offering discounts on three titles -- CHAlNMAIL, PANZER WARFARE, and GREYHAWK (D&D Supplement I). We had an unexpected surge of income which allowed us to rush ahead with production of those booklets, and we hate to keep you waiting! Now we are Iining up our sights on our rules for the Wild West and a set of ancient wargame rules. BOOT HILL will cover both single games and campaigns for 1:1 play. We have tested and reworked them for over a year, and they are at the stage (pardon !) where little more can be done to improve them, i.e. ready to publish. Play isn't too serious, generally speaking, but it is loads of fun and moves quickly. Brian Blume co-author them, and Brian will be doing a regular feature from SR #3 onwards. It will be entitled “Gallery of Gunfighters” and will include both specific and general information regarding the art of gunfighting and the gunfighters themselves. CLASSIC WARFARE is the overall title for the ancients set which will be comprised of four booklets. Each booklet will cover a successively later period of time, and each will include a complete set of rules. Having complete rules in each booklet serves two purposes: it makes each volume complete in itself, so if you are interested only in ancient Egypt, for example, you need buy only the first booklet. Even if you have the entire set four complete sets of rules are not superfluous, for it enables up to four players to have copies of the rules handy, and if your games are anything like ours, that is a real necessity! Each booklet will be sub-titled according to the general period it covers: Chariots, Phalanxes, Legions, and Iron Riders. Those of you who have read the ancient articles in WARGAMERS DIGEST written by your Editor will have some idea of what the set will be like. Does this increase in production mean that we ore about caught up with possible offerings in the way of rules and games? No chance! If we manage to step up production to one a month we’ll be able to keep providing you with new goodies for about a year and a half from ready manuscripts and commitments from various authors.

All this doesn't mean we are not interested in hearing about a rules set or game you have designed, for we depend upon the independents for the bulk of our material. Some of our products are done by TSR people, but as we've mentioned before, they are individuals too ! Besides, we don't receive submissions in all of the periods desired, so some titles will undoubtedly be done by our staff in the future also . . . Keep them coming boys! We'll see you at GenCon, or if you can't make it there perhaps we'll soon be able to attend more of the conventions held elsewhere -- there is nothing like a personal chat to find out what we can do to provide what you want. TSR is now considering doing a fifth edition of FIGHT IN THE SKIES, our first shot at boardgames.

Finally, be prepared for an increase in the price of multi-sided dice sets. The volume of business we do in dice is increasing, and what has been carried as an accommodation has reached the point where it is barely breaking even; then the manufacturer upped our price by some 35%. The cost will go to $2.50/set immediately.

You will undoubtedly wonder why PANZER WARFARE, a booklet of twenty-eight pages costs $4.00, while CAVALIERS and ROUNDHEADS with thirty-six pages sells for $3.00. We argued this very thing with our printer, all to no avail. That shifty fellow had the gall to point out that cover stock had increased 100% in price since C & R was done, paper likewise went up 50%, various miscellaneous supplies (ink, plates and the like) had doubled in cost also, and salaries and wages for his employees had unfortunately (imagine!) been increased to keep pace -- almost -- with galloping inflation. Nothing spoils a good argument like hard facts, so we shut up and quietly stole away, but the 
upshot was a cover figure of four bucks on PANZER WARFARE. We hate to do it, and in fact our Kindly Printer hated to sock us for the extra dollars too, but that is the result of a miserable economy, and what can any of us do about it? Anyway, if you decide to send ticking packages, be sure that the printer gets one also . . .

[The Perilous Dreamer]

This was followed with a convention ad and then this article:

PANZER WARFARE: ADDITIONAL UNIT ORGANIZATIONS
By Brian Blume
Due to space limitations, PANZER WARFARE included only a basic number of unit organizations. The following may be added to those in the rules, and utilize the same format. More organizational information will appear in future issues of this publication.

Then a table with unit organizations.

[The Perilous Dreamer]

The rest is ads and a list of items being sold. Along with this teaser for the next issue!

THE FALL COPY OF SR IS THE
MONSTER “MONSTER“ ISSUE!
Also
- Adventures on Barsoom --
Warriors of Mars or D & D
- Recreating a deserted
Martian city
- Further Organizations for
Panzer Warfare
- A Napoleonic Battle Report
of a 5mm Scale Game
- A n d M o r e !

[The Perilous Dreamer]

Let me know if you have questions or comments.

[Red Virtuoso]

Feb 12, 2021 20:34:58 GMT -5 The Perilous Dreamer said:

Next up is Questions Most Frequently Asked About Dungeons & Dragons Rules.

You can find that posted elsewhere on the forum. I can only say that this should have been expanded into a supplement of its own and IMO that would have been a no-brainer 60 page digest sized supplement. Just file this under a lost opportunity.

I think you are right, an expanded FAQ would have made a great supplement.

[Yaleric]

Rangers as a fighting-man subclass were introduced here and are one of my favorite classes. A lot of people think they were over powered, but I see this as perfect and later changes were just wrong.

Any new write up of OD&D that anyone might do and release to the wild would include the FAQ from this issue.