Fiction story question (Was it TFT?)

[BlackHat]

I recall long ago reading a story of a party entering a castle of a Evil-Doer to defeat him. The party was at least a Warrior and a Wizard, (and maybe one or two more but I am not sure)

It had been a long fight and the Wizard was low on mana. They were probably going to be defeated soon. When they reached the castle dungeon, there are dozens of captured mage acolytes in cells. And the Evil-Doer is there gloating that soon the Party would be joining the other prisoners.

The Warrior suddenly yells "Aid the Wizard"

The Wizard then summons for a Dragon, and the Evil-Doer thinks its an illusion and tries to dispel it, but can't, then he realizes all the Acolytes are channeling mana to the wizard to he can maintain the power to keep the dragon present.


At this point we "pull back" and the story is of a group of friends playing a DnD type game, and the player running the Evil-Doer (maybe the GM?) concedes he has lost the game.

I swear it was something I read when I was playing Melee and Wizard when they first came out, or in one the the magazines at the time. The Space Gamer or The Fantasy Gamer (or White Dwarf?) I subbed to TSG and had nearly every issue.

I really did not read that many Dungeon magazine. So I don't think it was from there.


Does this story ring a bell with anyone?

[Shostak]

I vaguely remember a story in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine from the late 1970s that was about a D&D party (levels were mentioned) in a boss fight. But I’m afraid the title and author’s name didn’t survive the decades of cold storage in my brain.

[hcobb]

Space Gamer #22, page 20.

[BlackHat]

Great Thanks, I will see if I can find my back issues. They are all in a box around here somewhere. :D

[Steve Plambeck]

Not being one to have played D&D itself more than a couple times back in the day, I don't know if it had an equivalent to the Aid spell, but if that's what the story called it I suspect it was more TFT based.


Doesn't sound like the kind of story IASF Magazine generally printed unless it was intended as humor -- I've got years of issues but all packed away in storage.

[hcobb]

D&D has always been too Vancy-pants to have the transferable mana that the Wizard boardgame had on day one.

TFT wizards start stronger and stay stronger than D&D wizards for a long time.
See https://www.hcobb.com/tft/SRD_TFT.ht...cerers_Wizards

[Shostak]

Originally Posted by hcobb

D&D has always been too Vancy-pants

Oh, that’s thaumatological gold!