The Strategic Review #3
TSR published The Strategic Review #3 in the Autumn of 1975. It had a cover price of 50 cents and was eight pages long.
The editorial, by Gary Gygax, is titled "What's going on here?" It concerns a harsh review of Dungeons & Dragons by Arnold Hendrick, which was published in a wargaming zine called The Courier. Gygax is furious at what he considers an "inaccurate and biased" review. He rails against game designers reviewing competing products and promises to use "disinterested reviewers" only in The Strategic Review. Hendrick was a prolific game designer who later did groundbreaking work for Microprose.
"TSR News" notes that the company is rapidly expanding and has created two new divisions. TSR Hobbies, run by Brian Blume, is a mail-order business that sells games and gaming-related products, like miniatures. TSR Games (presumably run by Gygax) will publish new games, including the upcoming Fight in the Skies by Mike Carr. The column also notes that TSR has employed Gygax full-time and that he is responsible for all orders, billing, and accounting.
"Creature Feature" returns and shares D&D stats for 9 new monsters:
Yetis are icy creatures fond of human flesh.
Shambling Mounds are intelligent vegetable life resembling a heap of rotting vegetation.
Leprechauns are small, fairy-like creatures with magical talent and mischievous nature.
Shriekers are mindless, ambulatory fungi living in dark places.
Ghosts are the spirits of humans who were totally evil in life.
Naga are snake-like creatures.
Wind Walkers are ethereal creatures living high in mountains or deep caverns.
Piercers are stone-like creatures indistinguishable from stalactites, attracted by noise and heat.
The Lurker Above resembles a large manta ray, attaches to ceilings, and is hard to detect.
There is no byline, but Gygax presumably created these monsters.
"Monster Reference Table Additions" is a humorous column giving stats for creatures such as weregamers and umpyrs. It was written by Wesley D. Ives, who later worked on Chivalry & Sorcery and Thieves' World.
"The Battle of the Ebro River in 5mm Napoleonics" by Bob & Paul Zahray chronicles a Napoleonic War reenactment where a Spanish force defeated a small French army. Both sides made tactical errors, but the French general's demoralization was crucial to their defeat.
"Wargaming World" discusses various new developments and offerings in the realm of wargaming. A highlight is Miniature Figurines Ltd.'s forthcoming "Swords & Sorcery" line, featuring over 125 figures ideal for games based on the Conan series. The article also touches on various wargaming publications, such as Bushwhacker, Signal, Bleak December, Wargamer's Information, Battle Report, Midwest Gaming Review, Aerodrome, and Europa.
"Gallery of Gunfighters: Part 1 The Art of Gunfighting" outlines the complexities and subtleties of gunfighting in the wild west era. Gunfighting required courage, speed, steadiness, and coordination, with many gunfighters having short lives and violent deaths. The article has no byline but was certainly by Brian Blume, an enormous fan of this period.
"Mapping the Dungeons" is a regular feature that lists the names and contact details of Dungeon Masters across the country. It includes the following play report from Dave (The Fiend) Arneson:
We had an interesting game this weekend…. A band of heroes went through the ol' teleporter, and after mucking around awhile… the locals sent the police and army after them. (The Germans thought it was guerrilla activity.) The army finally found the farm they were using as a camp and moved in to search it. While thus busily employed the heroes returned from a foray and ambushed them. It was The Great Svenny, Marty the Elf, Richard the Hairy, and 5 berserkers against 26 soldiers with 2 cars, 2 trucks, 4 light mg's, 2 motars (60 mm), and the usual bevy of small arms. Marty the Elf and 2 berserkers were killed, while the tropps lost 7 KIA and 1 wounded before fleeing — good thing too, for shortly thereafter the remainder of the heroes' force arrived, 3 magical types and another 12 berserkers! The Nazis will certainly be back in strength, and this will result in a big battle . . .
"The Unicorn Song" is an amusing poem by Michael Longcor, a filk singer and member of the Society for Creative Anachronisms. Longcor later released many fantasy-themed albums.
Finally, "Deserted Cities of Mars" by Jim Ward explores the architectural and cultural intricacies of the abandoned cities on Mars from the John Carter series by Edgar Rice Burroughs. This article was likely intended as a tie-in with TSR's Warriors of Mars game. Jim Ward later joined TSR and worked on many products.
And that's a wrap! My favorite article was the "Creature Feature," which introduced several iconic monsters. Next issue, we have polearms, panzers, and illusionists!