The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Oct 1981
Among the usual contents of the magazine (fantasy and science fiction stories, mostly) was an ad for “unicorn gold”. I don’t remember the ad very well, but I don’t think it was clear about what it was for. I think it was one of those oblique buzz-creating ads, like the spots in the old Strategic Review magazines that just said “The Dragon is coming!!”
The Unicorn Gold ad caught my eye because it had messages written in runic. Because of a childhood misspent playing the Ultima games, I can sort of read runic script. I remember translating the runes – but I’ve now forgotten what they said. I feel like the dad in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. “I wrote them down so I wouldn’t have to remember!”
After my copy of the magazine was stolen, I went online to see if I could find any information about the ad. What was it for? Did anyone else remember it? And that’s when things got weird.
It seems that it was part of a promotion for a 1980 Steve Jackson RPG called The Fantasy Trip. One of the RPG products was called “Treasure of the Unicorn Gold”. As part of the advertising campaign, the book was part of a real treasure hunt: a real golden unicorn statue was buried somewhere in the United States. The RPG book contained hidden clues to its location, most of them oblique and many of them in heiroglyphics or other ciphers.
Here’s the thing: the publisher, Metagaming, went out of business before the contest ended. The golden unicorn was never found. The people who buried it have stayed silent about its location.
Here’s a story about a guy who went on a road trip to find the unicorn, and his solution for the puzzles. He didn’t find the unicorn, but he thinks he came close.
The unicorn statue is probably long gone – or, in the midst of Metagaming’s financial troubles, they never buried it at all. That would explain their later silence on the issue. But maybe it’s still buried, and some intrepid puzzle solver will find it some day.
I keep thinking about the ad in my lost copy of the Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. I haven’t been able to find any scans of it online, or mentions of it in the lists of Golden Unicorn clues. What did that runic message say? Was it a clue, like the message on the back of the medallion in Raiders of the Lost Ark that tells searchers to subtract 1 kadam from the measurements given on the front?
There’s a fantasy for you. Maybe there’s a treasure still out there, buried somewhere in the United States, just waiting for someone who can find and read the map.
Tags: everybook
Ha! Neat. I’ve never heard of that.
I actually owned Metagaming’s Melee, Wizard, and – yes – Treasure of the Unicorn Gold. I never got to play any of these with friends, so they were read through a few times, put away, and lost 25-30 years ago. I vaguely recall the hoopla about the Unicorn Gold treasure hunt, but at the time, I was 13 and although fascinated by the idea, never really pored through the adventure or the map. It was nothing more than an unplayed module lost long ago. But thanks for reminding of it. I had wondered once or twice if anyone had found it. Guess not…
Sniderman, if you hadn’t lost your module, and I hadn’t lost my magazine, we could be halfway to the unicorn by now!
Sniderman’s got friends in every town and village from here to Skull Island. Paul speaks a dozen languages, knows every local custom. With any luck… they’ve got the unicorn already.
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While reading one of my back issues of the Dragon Magazine September 1981, I came across the ad. It mentions a person by the name of Thomas Davidson who won $10,000 from metagaming on September 21st he found a silver dragon on top of New Mexico’s Sacramento peak by decyfer includes new treasurer of the silver dragon.reading 1 of my back issues of the dragon magazine september 1981, I came across the ad. It mention a thomas davidson who won 10,000 dollars from metagaming on september 21st y. He found a silver dragon on top of new mexico sacramento bee by decipher includes the treasure of the silver dragon.
While reading one of my back issues of the Dragon Magazine September 1981, I came across the ad. It mentions a person by the name of Thomas Davidson who won $10,000 from metagaming on September 21st he found a silver dragon on top of New Mexico’s Sacramento peak by decyfer includes new treasurer of the silver dragon.reading 1 of my back issues of the dragon magazine september 1981, I came across the ad. It mention a thomas davidson who won 10,000 dollars from metagaming on september 21st y. He found a silver dragon on top of new mexico sacramento peak by decipher includes the treasure of the silver dragon.
While reading one of my back issues of the Dragon Magazine September 1981, I came across the ad. It mentions a person by the name of Thomas Davidson who won $10,000 from metagaming on September 21st he found a silver dragon on top of New Mexico’s Sacramento peak.
So I saw the statue at a convention in 1980 (I think?). It was a pretty neat idea – and my friends and I all loved the narrative in the two microquests. We played the hell out of them – altho as 13-year-olds we had no hope of figuring it out.
I’d love to hear the story of this, if anyone ever gets the whole story.
@Andrew D Astolfi
Can you recall anymore details about the Silver Dragon statue? Or even which convention? It would certainly have been early to mid-1980 (that was the year the adventure was published) and the statue seems to have been found in September of that year. I’ve been doing some research on it, and would appreciate any additional insights you have:
http://angantyrs-games-things.blogspot.com/2015/03/martian-metals-microtures.html