Theme: Henchmen. Illustrated by an excellent cover painting by Michael Sutfin of an ornately armored knight with his attendant sword-bearer.

Forum. Ideas for an AD&D 3rd edition.

Sage Advice by Skip Williams. Popping a captive wizard into armor, rolling up immature giants, hurling entire necklaces of missiles, morninglord's effect on vampires, poison, mummy rot and other goodies.

Out of Character: Get a Life, Henchman! by Peter Adkison. A small chart for dungeon masters: generating personal quirks for henchmen.

The Wizard's Companion: The Care and Feeding of Homonculi by Lloyd Brown III. A great article covering in detail some new as well as basic homonculi: their creation, skills and maintenance. Adding spells to the homonculous creation begets the following intriguing creatures: ESP, the axonan (improved links, nightmares from bite); chameleon (a spell from Oriental Adv.), the bolan (camouflage, surprise); spider climb, the carian (dextrous, wingless pickpocket); feather fall, the chorasimion (feathered, bite blinds & deafens); water breathing, the gendrasian (gills, panic bite); summon swarm, the mervan (insectoid, poison bite); enlarge, the 2 ft+ mullan; chill touch, the thymban (magic item user, fever bite). Susan Camp's quirky paintings add a nice touch.

The Omega Variant--A Star*Drive Solo Adventure by Bill Slavicsek. Introduction to the Alternity system and the Star*Drive campaign setting; 10-page teaser adventure requiring only pencil and dice. Groggy after crash-landing and guided by your sexy-voiced computer companion, you investigate the latest sins of the Qaliban Corporation. Nice comics-style illustrations by Phil Robb.

A Few Good Henchmen by Christopher Perkins. 101 pre-generated henchmen, all character classes, complete with weapons, non- weapon proficiencies, and a two-sentence sketch. Includes basic humans and demi- humans, 2 giff, 2 mongrelmen, a lizard man, a centaur, and a doppleganger.

Wyrms of the North--Malaeragoth: The Dragon Unseen by Ed Greenwood. A very old Forgotten Realms male sapphire dragon with the new spells Ball of Fangs, Breathbarb, and Sapphire Shield, and four acid-hurling death wands.

The Great Hunt by Elaine Cunningham, art by Stephen Schwartz. Fiction; a wolfish story of orcs and elves.

Rogues Gallery by Dale Donovan. Four Forgotten Realms heroes from the inn of Selune's Smile in Waterdeep, with Rag Morales'excellent sketches.

The Ecology of the Flumph by Johnathan M. Richards. A story-style encounter with the little stinkers and their variants.

Bizarre of the Bizarre: Cauldrons and Cookery by B.A. Landires. Magic items concealed as kitchenware, utensils, and even as chamberpots.

The Wizards Three: The Night it Wailed Wizards by Ed Greenwood. Nine new 1st level spells from Ed's 3 gluttonous friends.

The Dragon's Bestiary: Chaos Creatures. From the Chaos War of Krynn in the Dragonlance campaign: Daemon Warrior (a different appearance for each who beholds it), Fire Dragon (a mock dragon of apparent living magma), and Chaos Wights, both Frost and Shadow Wights (nullification attacks)..

Comics: two pages each of DragonMirth and Knights of the Dinner Table.

Profile: author Elaine Cunningham (Daughter of the Drow, Tangled Webs, Elfshadow, Elfsong, Silver Shadows, and the upcoming novels Evermeet: Island of Elves and Thornhold).

--By Sharon Daugherty