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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5692839" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 248: June 1998</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 3/8</p><p></p><p></p><p>Building a better dragon: Such as a dragon using these optional rules. Having had our requisite dose of machiavellian planning advice, we now have some more mechanical variations for them to make sure your players don't get complacent. Pick or roll randomly from this list of 50 powers (what, couldn't find enough for the full 101? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> ) , and then stack that on top of their regular abilities. Most of these are from mythological sources, and so feel appropriately draconic, and are simple enough in their mechanical implementation. And it's not all bad for players. You could get permanent magical abilities from drinking or bathing in their blood, and even more cool bits and pieces from their body. (of course, you could also wind up being transformed into a dragon yourself, which might be considered a good or bad thing. ) Given the level of sadism here, I find myself enjoying this article. Sure, not every dragon should be unique, just like not every magical item should have a name, but some should. And this is sufficiently different from previous articles on this topic to merit it's place. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Crystal confusion: Back to the old school again for an article on gemstones. These last got significant articles on them in issues 72 & 83, making this a fairly forgivable bit of rehash. And it's their equal in length, so I can't bash it on that ground. However, I can criticise it on grounds of artwork, which manages to be inferior to both of the previous ones in quantity and quality despite the recent increase in colour pages in the magazine. Plus one of the old ones was done by Ed, who of course took the opportunity to add a ton of fantastical details that made it so much more interesting to read. On the plus side, this does cover more varieties of stones than the old articles, but that means it goes into less detail on each. So when I add it up, the degree of overlap isn't so great that this is useless, but I certainly wasn't entertained by it, and it shows up some areas that the old magazines did better. They certainly never had pixelated jaggies in their artwork like this one. :bleah: </p><p></p><p></p><p>The dragon of Vstaive Peak: Birthright gets a unique dragon detailed again this year, just as with the last few birthdays. Since the line recently got cancelled, I suspect this'll be the last time barring the occasional nostalgia article. Still, they go out with one that's both impressive, and has a certain degree of pathos. A dragon that's fused with a mountain, so his power is vast, but his mobility is also seriously limited. (plus usual deleterous effects to the sanity, nach.) A cautionary tale for birthright rulers as much as anything, given their connection with the land. With a rich description, plus plenty of detail on the history, treasures, and political ramifications of him becoming active again, this is pretty specific to the world, and would take a bit of work to convert to elsewhere (except perhaps Ravenloft <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /> ), or even to another region, if the PC's domains are far away and they have to reason to go near Vstaive peak. But at the same time, it is very enjoyable to read, and the fact that he's trapped gives lower level adventurers a chance to engage with him without being instantly destroyed. It all adds up to a good bit of adventure design for a world that needs it's plot hooks kept fairly open-ended.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5692839, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 248: June 1998[/U][/B] part 3/8 Building a better dragon: Such as a dragon using these optional rules. Having had our requisite dose of machiavellian planning advice, we now have some more mechanical variations for them to make sure your players don't get complacent. Pick or roll randomly from this list of 50 powers (what, couldn't find enough for the full 101? :p ) , and then stack that on top of their regular abilities. Most of these are from mythological sources, and so feel appropriately draconic, and are simple enough in their mechanical implementation. And it's not all bad for players. You could get permanent magical abilities from drinking or bathing in their blood, and even more cool bits and pieces from their body. (of course, you could also wind up being transformed into a dragon yourself, which might be considered a good or bad thing. ) Given the level of sadism here, I find myself enjoying this article. Sure, not every dragon should be unique, just like not every magical item should have a name, but some should. And this is sufficiently different from previous articles on this topic to merit it's place. Crystal confusion: Back to the old school again for an article on gemstones. These last got significant articles on them in issues 72 & 83, making this a fairly forgivable bit of rehash. And it's their equal in length, so I can't bash it on that ground. However, I can criticise it on grounds of artwork, which manages to be inferior to both of the previous ones in quantity and quality despite the recent increase in colour pages in the magazine. Plus one of the old ones was done by Ed, who of course took the opportunity to add a ton of fantastical details that made it so much more interesting to read. On the plus side, this does cover more varieties of stones than the old articles, but that means it goes into less detail on each. So when I add it up, the degree of overlap isn't so great that this is useless, but I certainly wasn't entertained by it, and it shows up some areas that the old magazines did better. They certainly never had pixelated jaggies in their artwork like this one. :bleah: The dragon of Vstaive Peak: Birthright gets a unique dragon detailed again this year, just as with the last few birthdays. Since the line recently got cancelled, I suspect this'll be the last time barring the occasional nostalgia article. Still, they go out with one that's both impressive, and has a certain degree of pathos. A dragon that's fused with a mountain, so his power is vast, but his mobility is also seriously limited. (plus usual deleterous effects to the sanity, nach.) A cautionary tale for birthright rulers as much as anything, given their connection with the land. With a rich description, plus plenty of detail on the history, treasures, and political ramifications of him becoming active again, this is pretty specific to the world, and would take a bit of work to convert to elsewhere (except perhaps Ravenloft :) ), or even to another region, if the PC's domains are far away and they have to reason to go near Vstaive peak. But at the same time, it is very enjoyable to read, and the fact that he's trapped gives lower level adventurers a chance to engage with him without being instantly destroyed. It all adds up to a good bit of adventure design for a world that needs it's plot hooks kept fairly open-ended. [/QUOTE]
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