Let's read the entire run

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 345: July 2006


part 1/6


80 (100) pages. The price goes up to $7.99, not even 2 years after the last increase. Yep, they are definitely increasing prices more frequently these days. Remember the 80's. They managed to go nearly a full decade without a price raise. Still, at least we have a sensibly dressed female adventurer for a change after the substantial upsurge of cheesecake on recent covers. But no real background detail again. Still, at least it's another theme they have yet to do this edition. Giants! (last seen in issue 254) Despite being the stars of the first D&D modules ever, and tons of myths, they're actually underrepresented in terms of overall screentime. Let's see just how much useful stuff they've managed to fit in this issue.


Scan Quality: Excellent, unindexed, ad-free scan.


In this issue:


Editorial: Back in issue 326, they tried leaving the big obvious blurbs off the cover to see if they could keep the magazine going without them, the way they did in the 80's. Turns out the answer is no. If they don't keep putting themselves out there and shouting for new readers, they get lost amongst the competition, of which there is a hell of a lot in the internet age. Roleplaying as a whole certainly isn't growing, and that means Dragon has to fight to capture as much of the remaining market as possible. Of course, even if they do have eye-catching covers, the fact that they're completely D&D specific now means it's harder for them to draw in people who have no idea what's going on, unlike when they had fiction, general advice and reviews that a newsstand browser could flick through and understand instantly. So this is a somewhat depressing editorial, even if it tries to be positive about the future. Progress steamrollers a whole bunch of things in it's path. I suppose it's just a good thing that once they went electronic and the covers were purely for people who'd already bought the product, they no longer had to worry about this, and left them off.


Scale Mail: Our first letter is the expected criticism of the april issue for not being funny enough. As they've noted many-a-time before, they just can't win on that front.

But they can do better than they are now. We get a highly amusing picture of a beholder in a bikini submitted to us, which I must admit is funnier than their attempts this year. Once again this shows the difference between using freelancers and full-time staffers for most of your articles. The freelancers are less likely to be worn down by the daily grind and afraid of losing their jobs for one little bit of silliness.

Another regular request is for prints of their artwork. They really ought to put really high-res versions of them up for print on demand. That'd be another way they could make some more long tail money for minimal effort these days.

And finally we have a request for more nonstandard classes in Class Acts, and a reminder that people should teach gaming to their kids if they want it to survive in the long-term. Both seem entirely reasonable statements to make.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 345: July 2006


part 2/6


First watch: The Monster Manual IV sees the designers try and avoid the dread spectre of diminishing returns by introducing not just new monsters, but new elements, such as various advanced versions of creatures, and lairs/prefab encounters as well. Not a bad idea, even if it did irritate some people.

Eberron gets Secrets of Xen'drik. Explore their very own Dark Continent, full of ancient ruins and savage monsters. Find out new things about eberron's history as a whole. Again, sounds pretty promising. Take an airship tour over it, and avoid a big chunk of the hassle of exploring.

A third official release this month. Rather more than usual these days. Dragondown Grotto is another Fantastic Locations adventure. Another 16 page adventure, and lots of add-on bits and pieces. Still probably not going to sell hugely compared to the first two.

A whole host of minis this month, both official and third party. D&D releases the 10th set of minis, as they've been spoiling for a bit. Goodman games releases a load of minis based on old skool monsters. And McFarlaine toys unleashes their own collection of dragons. Who will get your dollars? They also promote yet another battlemat for them to fight upon. I'm definitely getting choice fatigue in this area. How many battlemats does the average gamer need? If you want another game to play using them, there's Genesis by Dark Age games. Modelled by our very own Brom, this postapocalyptic combat game seems to be doing pretty well for itself.

No D20 books promoted this month. However, they do choose a White Wolf supplement. Mythologies for V:tR is a pretty good book, so I can understand why. The copy is a bit misleading though. Remember, all of this stuff is optional, and some explicitly contradictory. Don't believe everything you hear and read, especially in the world of darkness.

Online, we have an interesting experiment. Wolfgang Baur's Open Design project. See an adventure constructed through votes and fan feedback, and maybe join in. A definite case of the joys of the net. I very much approve, and wish I could make money doing something like that.

Also on the computer side, there's Fantasy Grounds, another attempt at simulating roleplaying, and facilitating online play. Looks pretty decent.

They also choose to promote the DVD of The Princess Bride, for some reason. Well, it isn't a bad movie, and it does have one line that's become ubiquitous in online quotes, but really, is it a classic? Really not sure what to feel about this one.

And finally, they take the time to promote the ENnies. Once again we see how much the forums now influence the official writers, and vice versa, since many of them are registered and regular contributors, talking directly to the fans. Everyone can join in, (albeit with varying success) as I've demonstrated over the past few years.


Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Another of our less sophisticated demon lords this month. Kostchtchie may be an ugly, bandy-legged thing with a bad temper, but ...... actually, no, he doesn't have hidden depths, he's just an ugly misogynistic thug who has a whole bunch of stupid pretensions and insecurities and acts in a decidedly sub-optimal way as a result of them. You've made it to the status of abyssal lord, get over yourself. They make a huge mechanical error in removing one of his big weaknesses of previous editions, (he should be slower moving than normal humans for a very good reason. If one of the big sources of his insecurities isn't backed up mechanically, then it's hardly a penalty. ) and the whole thing suffers from obyrith creep. They're supposed to be over, a footnote in the history of the abyss. They shouldn't be having more and more influence on the current plots and storylines. So yeah, while the quality of this article is as high as ever, I distinctively disapprove of the specific ways they've updated and advanced the character this time. Guess it's house-ruling time. Moving onwards then.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 345: July 2006


part 3/6


The giants of Xen'drik: Dark Elves and Giants have a longstanding connection in D&D, stretching back to the GDQ series. Eberron takes this, but inverts it, making them long-standing enemies who's wars ravage a continent. That's certainly a scenario that allows players a lot of adventure hooks while caught in the middle. This article works to add the personal touch to that scenario, with a specific location and NPC's there, making it really easy to run because the maps are sorted out and you can just wander in. Like Dreadhold last issue, this feels almost like one of those old school adventures that just details an area, and gives you plenty of room in how the adventure will turn out rather than trying to force you into a particular plot. And like that, it's very welcome as a kind of feature that they haven't really done before. This way of filling in a world definitely seems to be working for them so far. I hope it'll be a while before it hits diminishing returns like their other cycles before it.


Four ways to travel the world: We've had vast numbers of new monsters and spells over the years. New vehicles, on the other hand, not so much. They're mechanically much more complicated to create, and have a bigger effect on your game if you get one. It's not that there isn't the demand, but the lack of supply keeps the price too high for most. Well, someone's had the courage to submit this and get it published. Let's see if it fills this much-needed niche.

The Silver Trident is a big, (relatively) comfortable sailship with plenty of room for any treasure you pick up along the way, and a swashbuckling captain who'll be quite happy to join in your adventures. If you need to make a quick getaway, these are your guys.

The Kraken's Bane is a fantastical submarine that looks more than a little fishy. It's captained by a grizzled old salt who does not put up with fools or insubordination. Well, one puncture and you're in serious trouble. You don't have room to be forgiving in those circumstances. A stint underwater will put you in good stead for facing the tomb of horrors later.

Serella's Caravan is for those of you who are looking for a little company (and maybe protection in numbers) in your overland trips. It's run by a hard-bitten old trader who'll be cranky and suspicious of you at first, but loyal to the end if you prove yourself. It's all about long-term investment to create a viable business.

The Steambolt is a gnome-designed steam-powered Zeppelin, a combo which surprises me not at all. Couldn't you have a comfy halfling houseboat or something instead if you're going to stick with the racial stereotypes? Still, with special rules on what happens if you try to damage an airship mid-flight (not a good idea) this is a pretty decent implementation mechanically. So this article manages to be a winner in both setting detail and mechanics. It's nice that they can really combine the two again in larger chunks.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 345: July 2006


part 4/6


Sea Serpents: It's not just humanoids that can grow to enormous sizes in D&D. Snakes can do the same. Indeed, in mythology, many dragons are more serpentine than reptilian, writhing through the water or undergrowth rather than flying. So this article would have been just as appropriate last issue, as it gives us new dragon types. We can always do with new underwater creatures, especially since the last article increased our odds of going on an ocean voyage anyway. Let's see how these big beasties measure up to Kraken and Dragon Turtles in a fight.

Crested Sea Serpents produce music through the frills of their quest. This gives them both sonic blasts and hypnotic capabilities, so they're quite capable of accumulating a fair amount of political influence. Engaging one in conversation will be as tricksy as any true dragon.

Lantern Sea Serpents also have some hypnotic capability with their dangling lure, but their secondary powers are more visually based, with prismatic spray at higher level. They're exceedingly bossy, doing their best to impose order on all the inhabitants of their territory. You can be sure one will be a pain for people on the coast, especially if they have minions that can survive out of water for extended periods of time.

Spiked Sea Serpents are the least socially capable, with a combination of poison and insanity inflicting powers. They can still be pretty cunning, but are more likely to cause havoc than impose any kind of formal leadership over others. And while they might be slightly weaker physically than the other two, they're still a dragon, with all the epic level scaling that implies. I think these three manage to be as interesting as the regular dragons in the MM, rather than just being rampaging beasts good only for a physical fight, like the last few variants on the draconic theme they gave us in the magazine.


The ecology of the annis: Man, F Wesley Schneider really has a hard-on for hags, doesn't he. Hag based items in 300. Night hags in issue 324. Greenhags in issue 331. And now these girls. And it looks like he has more planned as well. Eeech. What's all that about. I find this vaguely worrying. He brings back another neglected 2nd ed deity, (man, there's a lot of them) Cegliune, the hag goddess, and draws on lots of folklorish sources to create a solid, but not particularly surprising ecology. Once again, the formulaic nature of these articles becomes a bit tiresome, making it feel like a computer could write them if you fed it the right data. How am I supposed to come up with interesting things to say under these conditions?

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 345: July 2006


part 5/6


Bazaar of the Bizarre: Very much in theme here, with magical items for giants, and for fighting them. Another thing the bazaar has managed to miss all these years, despite giants getting plenty of love in other departments. So once again I rather approve of this topic.

Cloud Giant Harps are another musical item that puts you to sleep. Some of them are also intelligent and able to talk. That seems pretty familiar, if not from D&D. Weapons shouldn't bogart all the sentience, as I've said before.

Hel's Death Staff is a kickass debuff/necromantic device that is super effective against giants. And once you beat them, you can have an extra large legion of zombie giants to rip up any further enemies. Stylish and full of synergy, this is a well designed item.

Ice Armor of the Northlands radiates cold. Unless you're immune to cold, such as, say, a frost giant, it'll also freeze your nuts off inside it too. Better stack up on your endure elements spells if you take this one from it's current owner.

Rings of the Frost Giant Jarl let you summon winter wolves and breathe icy damage on people. This is obviously of little use against frost giants, but is useful to them, and they'll probably be usable as bracelets for human size wielders.

The Sword of Giant Rending is weirdly square, and has different special properties specifically targeting the weakness of whatever giant you're currently fighting. If you rip out their hearts in classic bloodstained conquerer fashion, you can keep the benefit and apply it to everything. Huzzah! A fun set all round!


Spellcraft is also in theme, with some unique giantish magic. In fact, this follows on directly from the Xen'drik article, plonking it down in there. For a third time this year, they're giving a rare form of magic from the supplements some love here. This time it's Artifact spells. They may be more powerful, but they're a real challenge to memorise, requiring giant monoliths to properly record them, and repeated spellcraft checks to understand them. Unless you have routine teleportation, you aren't going to be able to draw upon them regularly, especially as adventurers. So this should have interesting results when incorporated into your campaign.

Disjoin Posession deals with anything in the area occupying a body it shouldn't. It also keeps them out after that for a decent time, which should let you kick said spirit's asses without worries of collateral damage.

Eskella's Soul Cyclone is an AoE energy draining attack. That's definitely more impressive than regular 9th level spells, and I can quite understand people fighting over access to this one.

Hibyrntic's Curse is an ongoing icy effect that isn't completely negated by successful saves. This may well be lethal, but isn't enormously ground-breaking. It's more interesting as a reminder how much they've nerfed ongoing effects in 3.5 and 4e.

Life Spring is just a slightly more convenient resurrection, bringing you up to full power straight away. Cool, but hardly worldshaking in D&D magic terms.

Telepathic Strike is a dual action scrying and remote attack spell. Since D&D is rather conservative about extreme distance magics that allow you to attack while remaining undetectable, this is another pretty cool one from a plot perspective. An article that both stands well alone, and is a good one for encouraging you to buy their new supplements. In that respect it's actually better than the Binder one.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 345: July 2006


part 6/6


Sage advice: Andy is teaching Geraldine how to read. Andy is sso proud. Who's a clever little mouse, collins collins. Maybe he can sstart answering questions ssome issue ssoon.

Does a barbarians fast movement stack with other speed increasing effects (Yes. It has no type, sso of coursse.)

Does a raging barbarian lose rage when they go unconcious (no)

Does uncanny dodge prevent you from losing AC due to feiiiiiinnnaaaaaaaarrrrrrghhhhhhhlark (Ssomeone already assked that one, collins collins. Hmph.)

Can a multiclassed cleric/wizard lose their wizard spells to spontaneously cast cure spells (no)

Do domain bonuses to caster levels apply to spells from other classes (yess)

Does trackless step work even when a druid is shapechanged (yess)

Can a druid walk on thin ice with trackless step (No. On the pluss side, it'll close up again after you go through, and there'll be no sign you died there. Your body can sstay one with nature forever.)

How does a favored soul ready spells (ssame ass a ssorcerer)

Do two resistances to energy stack (No. Only the besst countss)

Can a monk use a gauntlet attack as an unarmed attack (Sskip didn't think sso. Andy doess. You'll sstill ssuffer nonproficiency penaltiess though, collins collins)

If a creature with natural weapons takes monk levels, how do they interact (Itss complicated. Andy doessn't like that idea. )

Does ki strike allow monks to affect incorporeal opponents (no)

Does a monks spell resistance stack with a racial SR (no. Again, only besst countses, precious.)

Is using poison an evil act. (Andy doessn't think sso. Itss how you usse it. What iss evil anyway? )

Does a paladin use their turning level or their actual level to see if they destroy undead (Turning level, preciouss. )

Can you take 10 on use magic device with skill mastery (No Only warlockses get that sspecial power.)

Can you get sneak attack damage on burning oil (Yess indeed, teeheeheehee.)

If you gain evasion twice, do you have improved evasion (no)

Why do scouts have trapfinding, but not disable device (ssilly writerses. There iss errata for that already. )


Class acts: Adventurers get Equipment Arrays. Save on your shopping time and make sure you don't forget the essentials by picking up one of these. Perfect for quick generation of NPC's, and pretty helpful for players as well.

Divine gets Underdark animals. Since a big part of adventuring is underground, it might actually make more sense if you get a mount suited to that environment, rather than horses, which are noisy and not particularly suited to close quarters combat. A giant burrowing snake, an underground velociraptor, a large albino ape. All are definitely worth considering for your paladin or druid's animal companion. Just be careful not to overencumber them, because that greater underground flexibility does have a price.

Arcane is missing this month, but has been replaced by a Psionic feature, Psicrystal Substitutions. Like familiars, psicrystals only offer minor benefits most of the time, but if you're willing to spend a little extra on them, you can get more from them in return. Definitely worth considering, as they make your choice of psicrystal personality a good deal more significant.

Warriors get Combat strikes. A trio of tactical feats, each of which grants you three maneuvers. Another way in which the later 3.5 writers tried to rebalance fighter types with spellcasters in terms of overall power and versatility, and failed. More fighty stuff is not the key. It's all in the utility tricks.

Nodwick shows us another strange little part of their world. Dork tower reveal their terrible taste in music. Zogonia decide not to take on this particular dungeon crawl. They replenish too rapidly. OotS show how to handle monsters in a civilized fashion.


Well, this issue was pretty different from the last one, but still had plenty of interesting things to say about giants, so it comes as welcome. It's particularly good to see their attempts to seamlessly meld mechanical and setting material still improving, and more near-complete campaigns instead of little pieces that you still need to do all the assembly yourself. I wonder if that's also being mirrored by similar changes in Dungeon at the same time. Extended adventure paths definitely seem to be making a difference for them too. Let's see if next issue has any big, joined-up features that'll force people to remember them.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 346: August 2006


part 1/6


78 (100) pages. Wayne Reynolds isn't going raar this time, but he continues to produce subtly non-euclidean geometry and anatomy that reveals more problems the longer you examine it. The promotional stuff is better placed than usual though. It's there but not getting in the way. And apparently we have an article on card games, which is interesting and quirky sounding. Let's hope they can get the variety of interesting stuff in the magazine going up instead of down again.


Scan Quality: Good, unindexed, ad-free scan.


In this issue:


Editorial: Erik's editorial is devoted to the educational power of roleplaying. D&D (and for that matter, white wolf, or tekumel, or many other roleplaying games) introduce young people to a rather large selection of complex technical words, many of them archaic or from other languages, while not making learning seem like a chore. This has also made him a better writer, and a better editor, as the more words you know, the more you're aware of the differences between similar things, and the common mistakes people make when it comes to spelling. You can learn so much through play. Lest we forget, the play behaviour of creatures like cats and dogs serve to prepare them for adulthood in an interesting fashion. The idea that for learning to be proper, it should also be regimented and boring is one of the most toxic ideas that permeates the school system. Making the lessons fun can actually result in people learning more, and applying the lessons more successfully in later life, as they remember them better and actively want to think about their experiences. If there's one way we can personally make the world better for our children without sacrificing anything, that's it. Spend your money on games which'll make them develop skills other than precise thumb control.


Scale Mail: Our first letter is about an advert that used a card stuck to the pages. Trying to remove it resulted in ripping of the magazine, which is a real bummer. You need to peel them off slowly. That particular type of glue does unstick cleanly if you treat it right, thankfully.

Next we have a complaint that there was too much fiction in issue 344. You know, just 10 years ago, that was standard, with one full story and several articles which were not primarily mechanics every issue. Goes to show once again how people adapt and get used to the way thing are now.

Paizo's attempts to chip in after the Katrina hurricane do not go unthanked, with two letters from people very happy for their replacement gaming books. That'll keep their reputation good for a few years.

Bringing back old characters gets praise as well as complaints, with some newcomers eager to find out more. Erik fills us in, and lets us know that more instalments of Elminster, Gord or Haldemar's adventures are not off the table if you make demand high enough.

An amusing photo. Looks like there is a Faerun in Wales in real life. Huh. I wonder how many people that live there are in on the joke.

And finally we have a complaint that by having Tiamat on the cover of issue 344, but not including an article on her, they seriously missed a trick there. Apparently there was one, but they didn't finish it in time. It's quite possible it'll show up next birthday. It's still a scramble to get all the material together every month, no matter how long they do it.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 346: August 2006


part 2/6


First watch: They've experimented quite a bit with the magic system recently. Now they bring that same spirit to fighters with The Book of Nine Swords. Well ok, it's actually a fairly standard spell system with a few multiclassing refinements and no utility magic, but at least it gives them a lot more cool things to do in combat, and is quite friendly to being adopted mid-campaign.

The Realms gets Dragons of Faerun, following their usual pattern of doing a specific variant of something that already has a general book. Which does mean you'll get to see what they consider sound draconic spell collections and tactics. What use will you find for these guys?

The D20 stuff this month is particularly good. Must be trying to sell at gen con. Ptolus is out in all it's glory, of course. Good to see a big project arrive on time and still be top notch quality. Dragonlance starts converting the original module series to 3rd edition. Now more faithful to the novels, so you get more clues and spoilers from having read them. Still, I suspect many of the buyers will already have both read the novels and played the old versions. Rappan Athuk gets updated and compiled into a spiffy boxed set that'll chew you up and spit you out well into epic levels. I don't think you're ready to be turned into jelly. And Goodman Games make an odd step into 2nd ed territory, including an audio CD with DCC34: Cage of delirium. Whatever the opposite of nostalgia is, I'm currently experiencing it. You really want to remind us of THAT era of TSR products?

They pull out lots of big guns on the minis side too. WotC release a 14 inch tall red dragon, truly putting the regular minis in their place by comparison. I would love to see a fight run using that. They also release Dreamblade, another collectible miniatures game. Good luck getting it to match M:tG's success. Wizkids release Horrorclix, which seems depressingly self-explanatory. Even Cthulhu isn't safe from the collectible craze. And Dwarven Forge release another set of terrain for them to fight in - an underground lake. Don't see nearly enough of those. Where do those drow cities get their water from, actually?

Our other RPG promoted this time is Promethean: the Created. The storytelling game of just wanting to be a real boy. Rather a challenging game to play, but very interesting if you do it right. Just don't get caught in the angst trap.

And finally, we have an unusually large number of card sets. Vampire: the Eternal struggle continues the OWoD where the RPG's have ended, including new metaplot based card sets and all that jazz. Fantasy Mint release a set of cards representing magic items, giving you another way of avoiding actually putting stuff on your character sheet. And Green Ronin release an actual physical Deck of Many Things, which is damn cool. As an owner of Tarroka cards, I must say I'm tempted by this one, just so I can torture my players a little more.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 346: August 2006


part 3/6


Core beliefs: Pelor. Every pantheon has to have a goody goody, the kind of guy who makes you sick with just how nice they are. Course, given evil propaganda, it seems that all too often, good gets twisted into "intolerant bigot who expects everyone to play by their rules, and smites things that are different with prejudice." Something Pelor has avoided in the past, but seems to be just starting to fall prey too, in response to the recent unpleasantness on Oerth. Slippery slope man. Fortunately, he too has his own ascended demigod, Mayaheine, to watch his back, and help protect the people when he doesn't have time. After all, even gods can't be truly everywhere at once. The result is an article that feels quite focussed on relationships, those he has with other deities, and those he has with his worshippers. Not such a bad idea really. It's how you treat your friends as well as how you treat your enemies that really defines you as good or evil. The new crunch isn't quite as impressive this time round, but the strong setting stuff keeps this column worthwhile. It's well worth it's place in the magazine, even if it could probably be several pages shorter if formatted more efficiently.


Three dragon readings: We've had several dozen different ways of character generation with varying degrees of randomness and average power level detailed in the magazine, but generating your character with cards? That's a new one. The process works much the same as fortune-telling with cards. You assemble a pattern by laying out 12 cards, with each one contributing a little to your ability scores, and the final result balanced with regular point-buy characters. This will probably take a little longer than rolling the dice, particularly the first time when you haven't got the hang of it, but it does add a fair bit of flavour, particularly if you plan to use Ravenloft adventures afterwards. It's the kind of idea that amuses me because it's different, even if I can't actually see myself using it very often in actual play. Here's to trying out obscure things again. After all, you never know what might become the next big breakout hit, copied by all the other games.

 

[(un)reason]

Dragon Issue 346: August 2006


part 4/6


Games of chance: Having used the cards to create your characters, we return to the more familiar idea of card games within a fantasy world, as last done by Ed in issue 302. While longer than that and more generic, it follows pretty much the same pattern, making sure all the games can be played with a regular deck of cards (plus cups and dice in some cases) so you won't have any trouble doing so in an average household. (even if in game, the cards look different just to confuse newbies (ahh elves, always being snobby and eliteist, no matter the world. ) 8 games are detailed, all of which have at least one small element to tie them into a fantasy campaign rather than the real world. All seem pretty easy to learn, especially if you already know how to play cards anyway and equally easy to drop into a game. Another good example of how they're putting far more flavour in articles than they were a few years ago, and one they could probably do again for specific worlds for a bit without repeating themselves.


Supporting Cast: A third old school article in a row that's primarily descriptive detail rather than new mechanics. 3e might have got rid of domains and followers as a standard thing for reaching Name level, but any character can amass a sizeable retinue if they take the Leadership feat. Will you pick lots of characters the same class as you, or go for deliberately contrasting choices that will hopefully complement you and fill in for your weaknesses. Of course, one size fits all gets tiresome, and so they offer a bunch of new feats that let you customise the number and kind of followers you get. Do you want lots of low level followers, a smaller number with more high level ones, or a particularly devoted crowd. Most of them also add 1 to your leadership score in general, making taking lots of them synergistic in the same way heritage feats are. So advice-wise, this isn't anything particularly special, but the mechanics show the effects of the gradual refinement of the rules over the years, which is definitely a positive step. It just makes me wish characters got more feats, because one every three levels still isn't nearly enough to amass a real army before epic level. That continues to be a structural annoyance with the system.