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Managing Editor
Michelle Sturgeon Associate Editors
Loren K. Wiseman Julia Martin
The Magazine of Science-Fiction Gaming
MegaTraveller Consultant
Charles E. Gannon Text Processing
Stephen Olle
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Pennsylvania Crude All you have to do is see the convoy through. If there's no trouble, it's afree ride. Right. Mitchell K. Schwartz
Graphic Design and Production
Steve Bryant Jeff Kohl LaMont Fullerton Amy Doubet
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HOW TO: Obtain Maps for Gaming Learn where to find maps that suit your specific gaming needs. Loren K. Wiseman
Interior Artists
JuEan Protectorate
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Interactionbetween Vargr and humans dominates the Julian Protectorate as it does in no other region of space. M~haelR. Mikesh
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'It'IheDam
Your assignment is to rescue prisoners held near a controverisal Imperial project. Kevin Scrivner
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About the Cover
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en Id's Lances, Not Lasers
Pregunpowder settings require special combat considerations. These rules will be especially helpfulto those involvedinthe three-part "Behind Blue Eyes"adventure which started in Challenge 48 and will continue in Challenge 50. Charles E. Gannon
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D. J. Barr Paul Daly Bob Dvorak Earl Geier Dell Harris Rick Harris Jeff Laubenstein David 0. Miller Phil Morrissey Mark Schultz Kirk Wescom
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"Berserker" by Bob Larkin
Challenge, the magazine of science-fiction gaming, is published bimonthly. Twilight: 2000,MegaTraveller. Dark Conspiracy, 2300 AD, and Space: 1889 are all trademarks of GDW. Cadillacs & Dinosaurs is used under license. Most game names are trademarks of the companies publishing those games. Use of a trademark to identify a product commented upon in this magazine should not be construed as implying the sponsorship of the trademark holder, nor, conversely, should use of the name of any product without mention of trademark status be construed as a challenge to such status. ChallengeOl991 GDW, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved. ISSN 0894-5535. All editorial and general mail should be sent to Challenge, P.O. Box 1646, Bloomington, IL 61702-1646 U.S.A. The issue price is $3.50.Six issues are $1 5 in the US and Canada. Foreign subscriptions (outside the US and Canada, but not to APO or FPO addresses) by surface mail are $30 per six issues. Please make all payments in US funds drawn on a US bank. Submissions: We welcome articles and illustrations for Challenge. Please inquire before submitting manuscripts, enclosing a stamped, self-addressed envelope. We will send submission guidelines. Address manuscripts and art portfolios to the managing editor, c/o Challenge. Foreign inquiries (except APOIFPO) please include an International Reply Coupon.
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Challenge 49
46 Explore Thymiamata, a grand canal junction located near the equator of the Red Planet. Neil V: Young
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Operation Back Door A secret mission through a back door into Kafer space. Episode 1: Cat's Feet or Catspaw? Charles E. Gannon
From the Management ............4 Letters from our Readers ........4 Traveller News Service .........42 Cartoon .................................43 Product Distribution ...............52 Conventions ..........................53
Briefs .....................................81 Reviews ................................92 Classifieds .............................94 Feedback Request ................96 Next Issue .............................96 Feedback Results .................96
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Wrecking Zone A Boostergang occupies a chemical production facility in the ruins of Old Detroit. Michael C. LaBossiere
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Inferno (Cadigal I) A company mining world inside a star. Allen Varney Page 6
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Explore a region claimed by no known species, where no Federation ship has ever logged a voyage. Jeffrey Groteboer
F*IeLeT*H*
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The Fully Integrated LaundryTreatment Headquarters:a DOASector setting for Paranoia. Merle M. Rasmussen
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Dandrian9sRing Infiltrate the Alpha-Omega, the largest asteroid in Dandrian's Ring, in this daring rescue attempt. Chris Hind
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wuj A planetary sunfey and minicampaignfor Renegade Legion: Cenfurbn. Christopher King
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World Generation Generate your own gaming environments in this "Mind's Eye" RPG by Rapport Games. Devin Durham
Cowabunga! It's the Beach Challenge takes a humorous look at beach locations in this April Fools' swimsuit special.
lnserf Challenge 49
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MEMO
I AUROIP;EA;N BIOGI4ENIISTIRY
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Challenge 49
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Management I realize that my name may be unfamiliar to some of you, but after months of bothering Michelle, Julia, and Loren for an arfitorial, they've finally conceded. So I'm here in the swimsuit/April Fools' issue to explain just what goes on in the art department at GDW. (April Fool? Hey! Waitaminute! Are they trying to tell me something...?) Just what do you do around here? Well, along with fellow Senior Graphic Designer Amy Doubet and Art Assistants LaMont Fullerton and Jeff Kohl, part of my job is to keep improving the look of GDW products in general. You know, flashier covers, bolder diagrams-the works. If you've checked out Cadillacs and Dinosaurs or the new Twilight: 2000,l think you know what I mean. Even this issue's cover was one of those "let's see what we can get away with" experiments. Another part of the job is coordinating the artists. While this can be one of those wish fulfilment situations of contacting Frank Frazetta (whose work graces the cover of Challenge 43), it can also mean calling artists and asking them to produce brilliant artwork virtually overnight. And they do. In the case of this special swimsuit insert (to be referred to as the "Swimsert" from now on), I even got some illustrative contributions from the art staffs of FASA, Chaosium, and West End. Thanks again to all these great people-l had a blast doing it, and maybe we'll do it again next year. Of course that's not all there is to the job, but that's about all I can go into now. Write and let me know what you thought of "Cowabunga! It's the Beach!" Until next time, I'm outta here.
Aurore Sourcebook page 25 and Kafer Dawn page 12 (2300ADproducts) both state that "Auroran animals are either actively poisonous to humans when eaten (causing anaphylactic reactions such as described for the bloodsucker) or they do absolutely nothing for them, passing through their systems undigested. This is because Auroran life is based on right hand, or dextro-animo acids, mirror image (and undigestible) forms of the levo-amino acids necessary for human life. For the same reason, humans eaten by Auroran life forms either do nothing for the predators---or make them very, very sick." As far as I can see with my limited knowledge of biochemistry, provided that an Auroran life form is not poisonous to humans, it is not true that it would "do absolutely nothing for them, passing through their systems undigested." Levo-amino acids are useless to create protein built on dextro-amino acid and vice versa-so far I agree with the text. On the other hand, carbohydrates, trace minerals, water, and perhaps even vitamins ought to be present in an Auroran life form. I can see absolutely no reason why those should be undigestible or useless to humans. Thus, eating nothing but Auroran life forms would, in the long run, leave you with a severe shortage of protein, causing deficiency diseases. It would, however, be possibleto use Auroran lifeforms (provided that they are nonpoisonous) as a supplement to normal food, especially if the norma1 food is rich in protein. Is this reasoning correct? Dag Stalhandske Sweden
vessel ascends or descends, rods are added or removed. Each rod represents a height level and is two inches long (the same length as a game hex is side). I assemble them by using perspex tubing with an interior diameter of three millimeters and rodding with an exterior diameter of three millimeters. Icut them into two-inch sections and glue each rod one inch into the tube, so the final assembly has a one-inch rod projectingfrom one end and a one-inch tube at the other. Thus, they can fit together in any order. The ships, after being painted and modified to make them look better, have a one-inch perspex rid fitted into their bottom, so they fit onto the height rods. The plastic ships are quite stable, even atthe heighest level, but Ihave discovered that the metal miniatures are top heavy and, at high levels, fall over with vexing frequency! I am now experimenting with one-inch-high rids and/or larger/thicker/ heavier bases. The final result is visually very effective and also makes the game easier, with height differences, weapon angles, and line of sight easy to see. I strongly suggest that Sky Galleons playersadopt asimilarscheme, and should also paint and customize their ships. This will provide for maximum visual' impact, which is, after all, the main reason to use miniatures ratherthan piecesof cardboard on a flat surface. G J. lmisides Australia
BROWNIE POINTS
Where have you been? What has happened to you? We have met before-way back in your young days (issue 25), when Loren Replies: Dag, you are 99% correct. you were just asolemanufacturer'sgames NonpoisonousAuroranfifeformscansupplemen~ magazine. All you did then was look at Terran food. The simpler the nutrient, the easier GDW-there was no room in your life for itis to absorb, as you pointout, andlifeforms are me and no life in your room for me. more thanjustprotein.Someof the more compliBut we were destined to meet again. A catedcarbohyc9atesare toughertomakeuse of chance find in the Virgin Mega-Store in however. I would take issue with one point: beautiful Birmingham-l discovered that Lacking a needed amino add is not a deficiency you had blossomed into much more. disease; it is starvation. You now can never take your eyes off any science-fibn game, regardlessofwho makes it. You're just my type. And now you have I would like to share with fellow Space: changed my life-l have nowtaken achance 1889 players how I use the miniatures in with games by GDW and have been pleasSky Galleons of Mars. antly surprised. Thank you, Challenge. Well, GDW, what can Isay but "brilliant."A I have made my game three-dimensional by using a series of perspex height near-perfect magazine with the production rods, which fit into one another. The base qualities of an expert. Your articles are inforrepresents Very Low altitude, and as the mative, interesting, useful, and game genre-
One of our players has created a defense which makes it diiiutt for the Genestealersto win. He accomplishes this by positioningthree Marines on the north wall of the room, with the center guy facing down the corridor and the other two adjacent to him. Two additional Marines stand next to the entrance to the room. These five will always be on overwatch. The flamers are positionedat the ends of the finalTintersection with the doors open. Their job is to spend four turns flaming the intersection, then to go out and commit the Genestealers to kill them. The sergeants are placed hatfway between the final corridor and the intersectionson overwatch. The final Marine is placed about three squares upthefinalcorridor, and he is also on overwatch. This defense has never lost. I can hear someone exclaimingthat hecan'tfireout of the Thank you, James, for the glowing praise. room due to special rules within the scenario. We're happy with the direction Challenge is The flamer is the only weapon that cannot fire heading, but then again, we are a bit biased.... into or out of the room or the final corridor section. We recommend that the Marines be B GING SPACE reducedto one squad for the scenario. "Warhammer by the Numbers" in ChalI'm wriiing in responseto "BalancingSpace Hulk" in Challenge 43. I agreed with most of lenge 44 was also a nice article, but it didn't his points. However, the Marines would be address everything. Sure, the Orks have a toughness of 4, which makes them harder hard pressed to lose Scenario 6.
to kill. But with a small addition to the Marines in the form of toxin grenades and missiles and virus grenades, the Orks are dead and their toughness makes no difference. All the grenadelmissiles have to do is hit. The Orks don't have sealed suits unless the referee allows them to have them. I also disagree with the vehicles being too tough. Generally, if one is on the field it draws a lot of fire power to it to try to destroy it. Three tacticalsquadswithcrackmissilescoulddestroy it from a reasonable distance away. Certain psonic powers could take it out without much problem and a vortex grenade would definitely takeavehicleout.Generally we havefoundthat wewould ratherspendthepointsontroopsthan vehicles. Mike Beavers Watsonville, CA Have any comments on this issue? How about gaming in general? Letters from our Readersprovides garners an opportunity to air their views. The opinions presented do not necessarily reflect those of the magazine. Challenge reserves the right to edit letters. Write to Challenge Letters, PO Box 1646, Bloomington, IL 61 702-1646 USA.
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crossable. Take a brownie point! Why did I say near perfect? You see, I think you ought to do thefollowing--drop all the articles, artwork, editorial, etc., and just have blank pages. Thus, we could scribble in whateverwe wanted and have the perfect personalized magazine! Every issue would suit each individual, and thus your subscriber range would be maximized. Seriously, no magazine can have everything everybody wants. To use the old adage, "You can please all of the people some of the time, and you can please some ofthe people all of the time." So stop printing all those letters from the moaning minies, and instead have an annual readers survey. James Clay United Kingdom
Challenge 49
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