Dragon 363 - Epic Binders

[Shroomy]

Binders get the epic treatment in the latest issue of Dragon. You can read it here.

 

[Nifft]

At first glance, it looks pretty good.

Nice to see continued support for my favorite new class.

Cheers, -- N

 

[frankthedm]

IIRC the 3E ToM strayed kinda close to some real world occult themes, including the binder glyphs, but this time...

Bind Amun-her Khepeshef "Desecrated Scion" [Epic Vestige]
Once the firstborn heir to his people's kingdom, Amun-her Khepeshef represents the souls of the firstborn sons of the empire, whose lives were tragically extinguished by the god of their slaves. The collective will of the spirits begged the death-god for oblivion, becoming the vestige known as Amun-her Khepeshef.

I can't be the only one who noticed this...

 

[Shemeska]

I dunno.

There's nothing about the vestiges there that strike me as especially spectacular compared to some of the non-epic vestiges, especially when vestiges like Tenebrous, Acererak, and a prior incarnation of Primus already exist. Those three by themselves really eclipse any notion of "epic" the ones in the article might raise.

 

[amethal]

Its great to see some epic support for binders.

However, having a meagre 2 skill points per level I'm not sure every binder character will have chosen to max out knowledge (history) on the off chance they might need it when the epic rules finally come out.

 

[Alzrius]

I'm thrilled to see some support for 3.5 on WotC's website, and in e-Dragon no less!

I thought the article was pretty good myself. The epic vestiges seemed pretty in-line for what you'd expect at their level, compared to normal vestiges. My only complaint is that more didn't come from D&D's existing mythology. I'd hoped that Zuriel would be Zariel, the deposed Lord of the First (layer of Hell), for example.

As an aside, the bit about Amun-her Khepeshef didn't bother me at all; I find real-world connections to D&D to be cool, so long as they're done subtly (as this was).

 

[JustaPlayer]

Secrets of Pact Magic

If you like binders, you should check out Secrets of Pact Magic at www.pactmagic.com.

Here's what they say about it on the site:

Immerse yourself in the intricate rituals and legends of Goetian magic. Grab thick chalk, inscribe a geometric seal around yourself, and invoke the name of a terrible spirit to aid your quest. Behold! With a final intonation, you surrender to the spirit, and a quivering surge of power emenates from deep within. Are you ready? Embark on your journey, following steps once trodden by shivering demons and martyred titans, lost mortals and chastised gods. The vestiges of a hundred sundered souls lie at your fingertips, yours to command if you dare.

You will discover...

Over 100 spirits to bind, including elemental, fiendish, and epic spirits.
A rule for any spellcaster to try pact magic for a day.
New races, plus base classes that allow your character to bind spirits the way you like.
Dozens of feats, spells, prestige classes, magic items and creatures.
Thirteen organizations that aid or hinder your cause.
Adventure sites, from the Apocryphal Desert to the Outer Darkness and the Ravaged Sea.
Tools to place pact magic into your campaign.
Almost 100 unique, professional fantasy illustrations.

This guide opens gateways to perilous and exciting adventures. Mere mortals who risked all to bind spirits have ascended to heroes, and you will too!

Some of the things I like about it are the new classes, the fact that they make binding checks matter, and the organizations. They also have 9th level "spirits" as well as epic level. I'm sure the epic details are different than WotCs as they came out before the dragon article. There are slight differences here and there but works well with the ToM version and requires very little fudging if any.

I'm using this book in my current campaign that I play in.

 

[JustaPlayer]

Now that I am home from work and have had a chance to look at WotCs Epic Binder, is it me or are the Vestiges missing thier binding DCs?

 

[Ankh Pilgrim]

Now that I am home from work and have had a chance to look at WotCs Epic Binder, is it me or are the Vestiges missing thier binding DCs?

I wondered that myself. Was this an oversight, or are epic vestiges so mighty that no binder could possibly resist their influence, making the binding check unnecessary? If it was an intentional omission, I'd like to see that explicitly stated. It makes a difference- if the vestige that compels the binder to destroy undead (I believe this was the interesting Egyptian themed one) were bound by an undead being who had the 'Ignore special requirements' feat, he'd be compelled to destroy himself regardless. (Or am I being careless- does 'ignore special requirements' not apply to epic vestiges?)

I do like the feats, and the vestiges themselves, all very timely, since the doors seem to have just closed on the last of WotC's official 3.5 content. How different is their epic material from that in Secrets of Pact Magic?

I am very curious, JustaPlayer, about your experience with Secrets of Pact Magic. How does it actually play? I've only looked at the sample material thus far. I like the adjusted premise better than the ToM Binder- it's more flexible and flavorful if you can make pacts with other kinds of beings than vestiges beyond reality- and I really really liked the idea of the capstone power, because it makes the binding check have significance beyond how you RP your character. I like the idea of multiple classes using binding. But the sample base class they provided struck me as... odd, nothing I'd ever use.

The table of contents suggested there was a lot more interesting material, but I'm very curious how it actually plays out at the table.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I'll second the recommendation of "Secrets of Pact Magic."

Yes, some of the prose is cheesy, (if not downright bad!!!), but overall there's a TON of useful information, and the new Vestiges (Sorry, "SPirits") will add alot of utility to the Binder class.