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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5983613" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Issue 288: October 2001</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 4/7</p><p></p><p></p><p>Class acts: From Lifebearer, to Lifedrinker. Or, how to make your vampire even more vampiric. Yeah, I very much doubt we'll be seeing many PC's take this one. This one would later appear in the book of vile darkness, and is incredibly easy to get into if you're a vampire. It's essentially a racial paragon class, giving them new uses for the blood they drain, and generally making them even more badass. Because it's powers are so dependent on the amount they've fed recently, it's one that is scary when facing properly prepared NPC's, but might be a problem for PC's going through multiple encounters in a day anyway. So I guess it's well designed for it's job then. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Cities of the ages: Baghdad? Now there's a city that's definitely seen better days. Time was, it was one of THE cultural centres of the world, a crossroads where east and west could exchange ideas and goods. Now? Decades of dictatorship and a poorly managed "liberation" have not been kind to it's economic position or it's ancient buildings. But of course, we're not looking at modern day baghdad, but the legendary one as shown in the 1,001 nights tales. Which is has to be said, was pretty interesting and full of room for adventures. So there's a lot of emphasis on the 8th century set of characters, their interrelations and things they got up too. Between the sultan, his vizier, his wives, guards, clerics, etc, there's a pretty headache inducing amount of politics, and since none of them have alignments listed, who exactly the good and bad guys are is up to you. The maps aren't as impressive as in previous instalments though, and I suspect accurate streetmaps that far back are pretty much nonexistent. So I guess this is one for people who prefer their roleplaying over dungeon crawling, and aren't afraid to go up against things way above their CR and win through trickery. Fairly interesting, really. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Elminsters guide to the realms: The rustic illustrations work particularly well this month, as we detail an interesting little inn full of ne'er do wells and the remnants of their contraband deals. There's a secret passage, a whole load of interesting items, and of course the magical precautions that keep PC's from just slaughtering the owner and running roughshod over the whole thing. After all, you really think a hive of scum and villainy wouldn't have had to deal with high level characters getting rowdy before? Not sure how effective a swarm of crawling claws would actually be in play, but it'd definitely make people think twice. I'm not entirely sold on the mechanical side of this, but the flavour is up to Ed's usual high standard. More mid-level characters to keep the players engaged but not overwhelmed is definitely a good thing here. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Bazaar of the Bizarre: Vampire Slayers Toolbox. A pretty promising title, and a theme we haven't had before. Blame Buffy for bringing the focus back on people who hunt the undead, rather than the sexy sexy vampires themselves. Strahd'll probably still survive no matter what you throw at him, but lesser vamps have been mookified quite a bit in the new edition. So let's see what we have to help us get our stake on. </p><p></p><p>The Deitus Daggers not only burnses vampires with their radiated light, but break a master's hold on their spawn when they hit. Occasionally, they'll even bring them back to life instead of killing them. Truly a panoply of mercies. I very much likey. </p><p></p><p>The Silver Collars of Adrentius prevent vampires from turning to gas and escaping when hurt too much. You get this on them and kill them, they stay dead. </p><p></p><p>The Coffin Clamps of Aziell Moonchild have a rather less pleasant history, since they're more deadly against creatures that still need to breathe. Vampires may be trapped in or out, but you'll still have to figure out how to kill them later. </p><p></p><p>Barthon's Delving Doves are awesome returning magical arrows that are designed to take out scuttling climbing things. This of course includes vampires using spider climb. The visuals are great too. </p><p></p><p>Heart Tracker is a crossbow that naturally stakes vampires. It can immobilise several in a round no trouble if the wielder is good. Buffy would once again be proud. No way you could do that in either world of darkness. </p><p></p><p>Holy Bone Shackles (batman) trap undead and kill them with reasonable rapidity. In the meantime, you can give them a good examination. Careful you don't turn into a monster yourself in the process. </p><p></p><p>The Breastplate of Righteous Endeavours is slightly less impressive, enabling you to cast a collection of your usual buffing and shielding spells. Still, it's hardly weak, just not as cool as the previous items. Your players should still welcome it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5983613, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Issue 288: October 2001[/U][/B] part 4/7 Class acts: From Lifebearer, to Lifedrinker. Or, how to make your vampire even more vampiric. Yeah, I very much doubt we'll be seeing many PC's take this one. This one would later appear in the book of vile darkness, and is incredibly easy to get into if you're a vampire. It's essentially a racial paragon class, giving them new uses for the blood they drain, and generally making them even more badass. Because it's powers are so dependent on the amount they've fed recently, it's one that is scary when facing properly prepared NPC's, but might be a problem for PC's going through multiple encounters in a day anyway. So I guess it's well designed for it's job then. Cities of the ages: Baghdad? Now there's a city that's definitely seen better days. Time was, it was one of THE cultural centres of the world, a crossroads where east and west could exchange ideas and goods. Now? Decades of dictatorship and a poorly managed "liberation" have not been kind to it's economic position or it's ancient buildings. But of course, we're not looking at modern day baghdad, but the legendary one as shown in the 1,001 nights tales. Which is has to be said, was pretty interesting and full of room for adventures. So there's a lot of emphasis on the 8th century set of characters, their interrelations and things they got up too. Between the sultan, his vizier, his wives, guards, clerics, etc, there's a pretty headache inducing amount of politics, and since none of them have alignments listed, who exactly the good and bad guys are is up to you. The maps aren't as impressive as in previous instalments though, and I suspect accurate streetmaps that far back are pretty much nonexistent. So I guess this is one for people who prefer their roleplaying over dungeon crawling, and aren't afraid to go up against things way above their CR and win through trickery. Fairly interesting, really. Elminsters guide to the realms: The rustic illustrations work particularly well this month, as we detail an interesting little inn full of ne'er do wells and the remnants of their contraband deals. There's a secret passage, a whole load of interesting items, and of course the magical precautions that keep PC's from just slaughtering the owner and running roughshod over the whole thing. After all, you really think a hive of scum and villainy wouldn't have had to deal with high level characters getting rowdy before? Not sure how effective a swarm of crawling claws would actually be in play, but it'd definitely make people think twice. I'm not entirely sold on the mechanical side of this, but the flavour is up to Ed's usual high standard. More mid-level characters to keep the players engaged but not overwhelmed is definitely a good thing here. Bazaar of the Bizarre: Vampire Slayers Toolbox. A pretty promising title, and a theme we haven't had before. Blame Buffy for bringing the focus back on people who hunt the undead, rather than the sexy sexy vampires themselves. Strahd'll probably still survive no matter what you throw at him, but lesser vamps have been mookified quite a bit in the new edition. So let's see what we have to help us get our stake on. The Deitus Daggers not only burnses vampires with their radiated light, but break a master's hold on their spawn when they hit. Occasionally, they'll even bring them back to life instead of killing them. Truly a panoply of mercies. I very much likey. The Silver Collars of Adrentius prevent vampires from turning to gas and escaping when hurt too much. You get this on them and kill them, they stay dead. The Coffin Clamps of Aziell Moonchild have a rather less pleasant history, since they're more deadly against creatures that still need to breathe. Vampires may be trapped in or out, but you'll still have to figure out how to kill them later. Barthon's Delving Doves are awesome returning magical arrows that are designed to take out scuttling climbing things. This of course includes vampires using spider climb. The visuals are great too. Heart Tracker is a crossbow that naturally stakes vampires. It can immobilise several in a round no trouble if the wielder is good. Buffy would once again be proud. No way you could do that in either world of darkness. Holy Bone Shackles (batman) trap undead and kill them with reasonable rapidity. In the meantime, you can give them a good examination. Careful you don't turn into a monster yourself in the process. The Breastplate of Righteous Endeavours is slightly less impressive, enabling you to cast a collection of your usual buffing and shielding spells. Still, it's hardly weak, just not as cool as the previous items. Your players should still welcome it. [/QUOTE]
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