Magazine Articles Archives - Through Dungeons Deep

Monster Matrix: Hobblegoblins!

Robert — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 20:23:56 +0000

This very short article was first published in The Dungeoneer #17, May/June 1980. No. Appearing: 1-100 AC: 6 Movement: 1.5″ Hit Dice: 1+1 Attacks/Damage: By Weapoin Alignment: Lawful Evil Bred by an Evil Wizard who wanted troops who never fled the field, Hobblegoblins resemble Hobgoblins with extremely short, stumpy legs that render flight impossible. Hobblegoblins ... Read more

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Carrying a Heavy Load? Let a Mule Do It for You!

Robert — Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:12:15 +0000

by Robert Plamondon First published in Dragon Magazine #48, April, 1981. Many players of fantasy role-playing games have their characters take mules with them on adventures, hoping to fill their empty saddlebags with loot. Few players think of putting more than a few arrows and an extra bottle of wine on the mule for the ... Read more

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Dragon’s Blood and Invulnerability

Robert — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 23:05:41 +0000

by Robert Plamondon First published in Dragon Magazine #41, September, 1980. Siegfried, hero of Teutonic and Norse myth, slew the great dragon Fafnir and bathed in its blood. The dragon’s blood hardened his skin to the point that no weapon could pierce it—except where a linden leaf stuck between his shoulder blades during the bath ... Read more

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Dungeon Ventilation Clears the Air

Robert — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 18:09:48 +0000

by Robert Plamondon First published in Dragon Magazine #45, January, 1981. Note: This is the second of two related articles, both published in Dragon #45. The other is Gas ’em Up and Smoke ’em Out. A major design flaw in many DMs’ dungeons is the lack of a ventilation system. This is a shame, since ... Read more

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Gas ‘em up and smoke ‘em out

Robert — Sun, 06 Sep 2026 17:54:03 +0000

by Robert Plamondon First published in Dragon Magazine #45, January, 1981. Note: This is the first of two related articles, both published in Dragon #45. The other is Dungeon Ventilation Clears the Air. Players in dungeon adventures are often confronted with situations involving poison gas, heavy smoke, and various magical clouds. Dungeon Masters who have ... Read more

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Devious Magic

Robert — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 22:29:08 +0000

By Robert Plamondon First published in Different Worlds #17, December 1981. Most players that have played D&D long enough can recite the magic item powers from memory, While 1 have never heard anyone say disgustedly, “Oh, it’s just another Throne of the Gods,” the appearance of an over-familiar magic item may induce terminal boredom in veteran players. ... Read more

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Hand-Held Thermonuclear Devices

Robert — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 19:15:22 +0000

by Robert Plamondon First published in Different Worlds #16, November, 1981. Players In fantasy role-playing games constantly search for new and more potent weapons. In any long-running campaign, the players will eventually work their characters up in power to a point where they can have just about anything they want. In some campaigns, a preferred ... Read more

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Running Low-Level Dungeons

Robert — Sat, 05 Sep 2026 06:31:55 +0000

By Robert Plamondon This article was originally featured in Different Worlds #11 (February/March 1981). Perhaps the most crucial adventure in fantasy role-playing is the first game, when a novice player with no experience plays a first level character and enters into a dungeon scenario. In spite of its importance as a means of hooking people on FRP ... Read more

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Give Them Enough Rope!

Robert — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:40:01 +0000

by Robert Plamondon Originally published in Dragon Magazine #135, July, 1988. What Can You Do With Fifty Feet of Rope? My characters have always used a lot of rope. They’ve used it to build bridges, lower people into chasms, climb mountains, hog-tie orcs, tether mules, and create traps. The creative uses of rope are nearly endless, but most game ... Read more

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Don’t Drink That Cocktail—Throw It!

Robert — Fri, 04 Sep 2026 00:37:54 +0000

by Robert Plamondon This was my first-ever full-length paid article, in Dragon Magazine, Issue #40, August 1980. Festus the Dwarf kicks open the wide door of the bandits’ dungeon home and throws in two molotov cocktails, burning one of the twelve bandits to death and wounding two more. Right behind come Rangers Smith and Jones ... Read more

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