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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5758495" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 258: April 1999</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 5/7</p><p></p><p></p><p>Wyrms of the north: Ed draws on a less common trope this month, that of identical twins who pretend to be a single person, which allows them to seem smarter, more prepared, and more omnipresent than any one creature, however active. This becomes particular scary for dragons, when combined with invisibility, trap-setting and long range communication. So this month's dragon(s) aren't the scariest Ed's ever detailed, but they are a real Gotcha! moment if played right, with each having different sets of prepared spells and magical items, and more than enough intelligence to use them tactically. In addition, plenty of effort is put into showing how their personalities contrast, but still have plenty of similarities, and how they'll likely interact with PC's. Twice the fun, hopefully more than twice the number of encounters, which also means more efficient use of page count. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The ecology of the flail snail: Last april, the monster hunters association failed to get the better of flumphs. They still haven't lived that down, or properly replenished their coffers either. This year, it's the flail snail, another oft-mocked monster, that is their target. Far more than last time, this is played for laughs, with the humour becoming increasingly broad and character based, and the monster being almost an afterthought. Even the footnotes have jokes in them. It's still just about usable, but this is a bit too far towards straight-out zaniness for my tastes. Really, if they carry on like this, their organisation'll break down completely in a few episodes. I don't approve. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Rogues gallery finally moves to another setting, giving Ravenloft a turn. They've had another fairly interesting time lately, with Lord Soth losing his hold on his domain, and eventually losing it altogether to his lieutenant. And most of this is covered in another novel by James Lowder. So let's take a look at the characters that drove this nasty conflict. </p><p></p><p>Azrael Dak is the foul-tempered werebadger dwarf that'll wind up in charge when the dust settles. With him at the reins, the elves of Sithicus are going to find their lives even more unpleasant than before. And as he has an item that lets him hear anywhere in the domain, it's not easy to conspire against him. As usual in Ravenloft, you're probably screwed, and it's the style with which you face your fate that'll determine if you live, die, or become a cursed abomination for the rest of eternity. </p><p></p><p>Inza Magdova Kulchevich is a decidedly tricksy Vistani wizard/thief who's spoiled rotten by her mum, and has no hesitation in manipulating and stealing from anyone she encounters. It's people like her that give the gypsies a bad name. She's also bad with animals, which is a real red light to anyone with any common sense. I'd definitely steer well clear of those kind of wiles. </p><p></p><p>The Bloody Cobbler slices the soles off bad people's feet, and then uses them to make shoes for those who need a little help getting back on the moral path. So he's essentially one of those mysterious supernatural beings of dubious morality responsible for Ravenloft being a place of ironic punishment for your misdeeds. This also means he isn't screwed like the Darklords are. Interesting. This adds new shades of grey to their decidedly dark worldbuilding. </p><p></p><p>The Whispering Beast is another ironic hunter, targeting liars and oathbreakers for extended psychological torture before finally taking them away. This of course helps to spread his legend in a way a quick response wouldn't. Both seem pretty true to the kinds of legends they're trying to emulate, and very suitable for use in actual play. After all, PC's are bound to screw up at some point, and if not, there's always the NPC's they're connected too. Their power levels seem about right to make them scary but not unbeatable as well.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5758495, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 258: April 1999[/U][/B] part 5/7 Wyrms of the north: Ed draws on a less common trope this month, that of identical twins who pretend to be a single person, which allows them to seem smarter, more prepared, and more omnipresent than any one creature, however active. This becomes particular scary for dragons, when combined with invisibility, trap-setting and long range communication. So this month's dragon(s) aren't the scariest Ed's ever detailed, but they are a real Gotcha! moment if played right, with each having different sets of prepared spells and magical items, and more than enough intelligence to use them tactically. In addition, plenty of effort is put into showing how their personalities contrast, but still have plenty of similarities, and how they'll likely interact with PC's. Twice the fun, hopefully more than twice the number of encounters, which also means more efficient use of page count. The ecology of the flail snail: Last april, the monster hunters association failed to get the better of flumphs. They still haven't lived that down, or properly replenished their coffers either. This year, it's the flail snail, another oft-mocked monster, that is their target. Far more than last time, this is played for laughs, with the humour becoming increasingly broad and character based, and the monster being almost an afterthought. Even the footnotes have jokes in them. It's still just about usable, but this is a bit too far towards straight-out zaniness for my tastes. Really, if they carry on like this, their organisation'll break down completely in a few episodes. I don't approve. Rogues gallery finally moves to another setting, giving Ravenloft a turn. They've had another fairly interesting time lately, with Lord Soth losing his hold on his domain, and eventually losing it altogether to his lieutenant. And most of this is covered in another novel by James Lowder. So let's take a look at the characters that drove this nasty conflict. Azrael Dak is the foul-tempered werebadger dwarf that'll wind up in charge when the dust settles. With him at the reins, the elves of Sithicus are going to find their lives even more unpleasant than before. And as he has an item that lets him hear anywhere in the domain, it's not easy to conspire against him. As usual in Ravenloft, you're probably screwed, and it's the style with which you face your fate that'll determine if you live, die, or become a cursed abomination for the rest of eternity. Inza Magdova Kulchevich is a decidedly tricksy Vistani wizard/thief who's spoiled rotten by her mum, and has no hesitation in manipulating and stealing from anyone she encounters. It's people like her that give the gypsies a bad name. She's also bad with animals, which is a real red light to anyone with any common sense. I'd definitely steer well clear of those kind of wiles. The Bloody Cobbler slices the soles off bad people's feet, and then uses them to make shoes for those who need a little help getting back on the moral path. So he's essentially one of those mysterious supernatural beings of dubious morality responsible for Ravenloft being a place of ironic punishment for your misdeeds. This also means he isn't screwed like the Darklords are. Interesting. This adds new shades of grey to their decidedly dark worldbuilding. The Whispering Beast is another ironic hunter, targeting liars and oathbreakers for extended psychological torture before finally taking them away. This of course helps to spread his legend in a way a quick response wouldn't. Both seem pretty true to the kinds of legends they're trying to emulate, and very suitable for use in actual play. After all, PC's are bound to screw up at some point, and if not, there's always the NPC's they're connected too. Their power levels seem about right to make them scary but not unbeatable as well. [/QUOTE]
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