Due to space considerations, some letters have been edited. Even if your letter isn't printed, your comments are welcome and your stantions and constructive criticisms are considered. So keep the letters coming. Remember SHADIS is art interactive magazine - we want you, the reader, to be involved. --Jolly R. Blackburn Dear SHADIS, Thank you for putting out a great magazine. It's good to see a non-house organ that boldly covers a wide iange of game genres from a variety of companies. There's a feeling that comes across from your work that suggests you actually play and enjoy games for their own sake - a quality lacking in many of the slicker mass-market publications. Keep up the good work. Best wishes for the rest of this year and on into the future. --David 0. Trotti Fullerton, CA Thanks David. Since creating SHADIS, one of my favorite tasks was reading the incoming mail from our readers. As difficult as it will be to hang up my editorial hat at SHADIS and move on, it's very comforting to know that our efforts have been appreciated. --JRB Ken Carpenter, I am interested in playing Full Thrust hut have not been able to find it. What is the name and address of the company so I can write for more information? Also, I play the RPG Underground by MGI. I run some squad sized battles and miniatures rules might be a great help. What miniatures rules should I try and how should I modify them? --David Arnold Full Thrust is actually produced by Ground Zero Games in Great Britain, but Geo-Hex (aka Capricorn Space) distributes both the game and the figures in the U.S. You can write them at: 2126 North Lewis, Portland, OR 97227. As for a squad-level miniatures game for Underground, you could try Grenadier's Kill Zone. You'll have to customize it a bit, tailoring the 'hit' tolls and a few minor things like that, but the game does an excellent job of simulating squad level tactics. Many of the figures are also appropriate for Underground. --KC Dear SHADIS, Your magazine is probably the best RPG periodical that I have seen in years. It's fantastic -- just the kind of magazine I hoped it would be. I read with great interest the Gamemaster's Workshop, sighed with relief at the lack of irritating advertisements, and was impressed at the open and supportive attitude of the Mail Bag. But what impressed me most was the publication's Declara,tion of Independence, which set to rest my fears that SHADIS would turn out to be just another house-organ. There are scant criticisms, mostly regarding the coverage of those insidious, cultish card games which have so acutely gained (unfathomable, in my opinion) popularity in the minds of so many. But, I realize the need for comprehensive coverage, and since I haven't finished reading the entire piece, I'll reserve further editorials for a time when my opinions are complete. For the greater part, however, I'm very pleased with what I've seen. So much so that I gleefully set ablaze my entire collection of [name deleted by editor] magazines. You gave me what I asked for, and I'm thankful. As a result, please find enclosed the ashes from my [name deleted by editor] magazines. I hope they don't shift out of the envelope during mailing. My heartfelt thanks. As a player in my campaign is fond of saying, "The Goatman shall reward you well for your efforts." Good gaming! --Edward D. Smale Hellertown, PA Thanks Edward. The ashes came in handy. We sprinkled them on John Wick's (one of our staffers) powdered doughnuts one morning. He began speaking in several dead languages and started writing poetry on the warehouse walls with the art director's best Sharpie. A fist fight ensued and after taking the worst of it, John grabbed the company water cooler and darted out the door. The last time we saw him he was running down the 10 freeway with a copy of "Swim with the Sharks" under one arm and a mayonnaise jar with a mouse in it under the other. If you see him, send him home. We miss the mouse terribly.-- JRB Dear Jolly, I first saw SHADIS at ORIGINS '94 and was so impressed I had to subscribe and have continued. to be impressed by the many facets of the magazine. Unquestionably, one of SHADIS' main attractions is its unmatched diversity. So many things get covered that its hard to find an issue that didn't contain some pleasant surprises. From coverage of the more obscure aspects of our hobby's subgenres to well written articles and informative reads. And yes, I've purchased some new RPG stuff largely because of Mark Arsenault's Bits 'n' Pieces column. In general, I prefer the "Special Features" much more than any of the GM Workshop articles. Likewise, KODT is vastly superior to the other comics. Chris' Stick Figures, and Joe Genero are worthy as well. I'm told that despite a surprising array of new RPG professional magazines (in contrast to an apparent shrinkage in the numbers of actual RPG players buying RPGs) SHA IS is now the 3rd most popular game magazine - Congratulations! (Especially since I wouldn't bother subscribing to the # 1 or # 2 magazines.) As you can see, I'm optimistically willing to bet that regardless of all the other ambitious projects you have in mind, you'll still be able to spend enough time on SHADIS to keep me happy. --Mark Goldberg Las Vegas, NV Dear Jolly, I'm sure your time is short, so I'll make this brief. As an English teacher I know it can be hard to give out criticism, and cutting features out of a magazine can often be construed as criticism of a feature instead of the reality of limited space to appeal the most readers. I do applaud your efforts to involve the readers in the process, but don't lose sight of your own vision. just as a group of students need a teacher to guide their learnings and explorations, a magazine needs an editor's purpose, direction and vision. Thanks for letting your reader; have some input into the contents of their favorite magazine. --Matt Helms Elgin, IL Exit Stage Left Shortly after Jolly announced his decision to leave SHADIS his email address began to literally flood with heart-felt best wishes and support. Dear Jolly, I have been impressed by the honesty and decency you have displayed in all your dealings. I only hope you find joy in whatever you pursue next. --Edmund Shaw Editor, Familiar Dear Jolly, Good Luck, Jolly. You did a very rare thing, making a fan magazine successful. Good luck in your future endeavors. --John Baichtal AOL Email Dear Jolly, As a loyal reader I would like to thank you for your work in making SHADIS an excellent independent resource for today's gamer. You will be missed. --Michael Breen AOL Email Dear Jolly, I'm sorry to see you go jolly. You've been the heart and soul of the magazine for a long time. I hope that your new projects will take you to even greater heights. --Joe Kushner AOL Email Dear Jolly, Wow, what a shock! Jolly, I've only met you once in person, but you impressed me as someone who could get what they wanted. Hell, you even sold me a subscription! I'm sure that wherever you wind up, it will be on your feet and running. Best of luck to you. Thanks for growing us a great mag. If you're ever out near Syracuse for any reason, look me up. I'd like to buy ya a beer or three. --Scott Gardner AOL Email Dear Jolly, We're behind you all the way, whatever you choose to do. Hang tough, our man. There are always new mayonnaise jars on the sunny horizon. --Barbara Manui and Chris Adams Dear Jolly, Thanks for everything you've done, Jolly. A few years ago I was a burnt out middle-aged gamer with very little going on in my life to be happy about. One day I picked up a copy of SHADIS 10 and suddenly felt excited about my hobby again - something I hadn't experienced in ten years. For that I am grateful, for it persuaded me to make a phone call to an old gaming buddy I hadn't talked to in years; That phone call led to the reformation of my old gaming group. Now we play every Thursday night and we are all loyal subscribers to the magazine that helped heal the old wounds and brought our circle back together. For the record, there will always be a chair at our table for you. --Frank Butter San Jose, CA Dear Jolly, You ol' tar heel you. For the record this is one reader who will always be thankful for your hard work and efforts. Those crude early issues of SHADIS were every bit the works of art the newer mags are. You are SHADIS, jolly. Please keep the readers posted on where to find you. Perhaps SHADIS can do a 'Jolly Report' to let us know where our old friend and mentor has wandered off to. Thanks again. If you ever hit Evansville, I have a couple of drinks I owe you. --Randy Summers Evansville, IN I HATE WHEN THAT HAPPENS... We were recently informed that the plot line for the "The Gazebo" (which appeared in Knights of the Dinner Table Not Ready For Syndication (Comic book. KODT # 1) was erroneously attributed to the wrong person. Richard Aronson wrote a story in 1980 for SPELL BOOK the official publication of Mensa's Fantasy Role Playing SIG, The story, "Eric and the Gazebo" was later republished in Alarums and Excursions. As Mr. Aronson readily pointed out, the error was an honest mistake and he contacted AEG only to ensure his copyrights on the original story had not been jeopardized. We regret this unfortunate incident especially since we place tremendous weight on creative rights and intellectual properties. We acknowledge that Mr. Aronson's claim is valid and would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to him. Richard, there's an empty chair for you at the Knights of the Dinner Table at anytime. But remember, it's bring-your-own pizza. Back to Shadis #21 Table of Contents Back to Shadis List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master List of Magazines © Copyright 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group This article appears in MagWeb (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history articles and gaming articles are available at http://www.magweb.com