Dragon #303 Contents

[WizarDru]

Another issue I really enjoyed. Glad to hear LGJ is back next month. Scared me there for a minute.

Shouldn't this thread be [DRAGON] Issue #303 Contents, though?

 

[Darkness]

feat info

Now that sounds interesting... Thanks for the scoop, Aitch Eye!

 

[KnowTheToe]

is there anyway to explain quickly the info on social skills? I never know when to use diplomacy and when to use bluff...

I try to remember that bluff gets someone to believe you, not agree with you. A bluff may or may not change how they feel about you or the outcome of their action. Diplomacy is getting someone to agree with you therefore greatly increasing how they act toward you and what they are willing to do for you.

IMO they can often be used interchangably. I will sometimes tack on negative mods if a charater has to tell multiple bluffs to get past someone.

 

[Pielorinho]

Sounds cool. Can anyone tell me what next issue of Dragon is looking like?

I was very impressed with 301 and 302, enough so that I'm considering getting a subscription to the magazine at long last. If 304 looks like it's gonna be relevant to my campaign (303 doesn't sound like it is, even though it sounds cool), I'll go ahead and subscribe.

Thanks!
Daniel

 

[Felon]

Thanks for sharing details.

How good are the prestige classes? Are they too specialized to be viable for player characters (e.g. Sword & Fist's gladiator that has abilities that require an audience)?

 

[Aitch Eye]

is there anyway to explain quickly the info on social skills? I never know when to use diplomacy and when to use bluff...

Each of the skills does have a "When to use..." section. The Diplomacy skill doesn't really require that you say you're using it, since the character would be using any time they talked to someone, it's just that for game purposes it's only checked when the outcome is in doubt. Bluff is used specifically for when your character is lying, and it says you should describe just what the lie is.

A summary of the alternate rules:

Bluff: A non-standard synergy bonus for bluff/intimidate, and a method of intimidating by using bluff.

Diplomacy: Negotiating with summoned extraplanar beings, haggling.

Intimidation: Reprints the variant rules from Masters of the Wild.

Sense Motive: Table of optional results for checks, ways for the DM to use it to impart information about NPCs (such as political affiliation, class, level), and a table for using it on a population (their mood only).

 

[Aitch Eye]

How good are the prestige classes? Are they too specialized to be viable for player characters (e.g. Sword & Fist's gladiator that has abilities that require an audience)?

If you removed the flavor references to gladiators in the article, you'd have 3 specialized fighters that mechanically work just the same without an audience. I'm not sure you'd want to play someone who skills mostly related to grappling outside an arena, but the Occult Slayer works as well against arcane and divine spellcasters and creatures with spell-like abilities. I could see playing the Invisible Blade myself, it's just someone who's really good at fighting with only daggers, kukris, or punching daggers.

 

[Felon]

I'm not sure you'd want to play someone who skills mostly related to grappling outside an arena, but the Occult Slayer works as well against arcane and divine spellcasters and creatures with spell-like abilities. I could see playing the Invisible Blade myself, it's just someone who's really good at fighting with only daggers, kukris, or punching daggers.

OK, now I must have this.

Thanks!

 

[Felon]

A summary of the alternate rules:
Diplomacy: Negotiating with summoned extraplanar beings, haggling.

Haggling? Are there at least fairly detailed rules for negotiating on prices? I desperately want to see such rules.

 

[Aitch Eye]

Sounds cool. Can anyone tell me what next issue of Dragon is looking like?

I'd been meaning to get to that. Though they preview header is "Mercenaries," it seems to focus just as much on playing and running creatures. It's nice to see that it'll have articles by board members Ashy and Mearls.

The Nameless Legion by Mike Mearls. "What do a vampire rogue, a harpy sorcerer, and a goblin fighter have in common? They are mercenaries for the Nameless Legion. Wiped of their memory and tattooed as a demonstration of their subservience, these once-savage mercenaries can be hired for protection, reconnaissance, or more sinister reasons. learn how your PC can become a powerful and sought-after mercenary, take the feats, and use their unique weapons and magic items. Or, if you're a DM, drop the Legion into your campaign with ease."

Monstrous Magic, by James Wyatt. "Packed with over 30 new spells, this article will make your monstrous PC or NPC a lethal force to reckon with! Awaken an ooze, infect your enemies with a deadly disease using nothing more than your breath, regenerate lost limbs, force creatures to look upon your face and suffer from your gaze attack, deal extra damage to your foes by imbuing your weapon with poison, and much more."

Intelligent Mounts, by Rich Redman. "...exclusive rules for riding intelligent mounts. Learn how to flank and make attacks of opportunity while mounted, and take new feats to help you and your mount coordinate deadly attacks."

Prestige Races, by Greg Dent and Brannon Hollingsworth. "For the first time ever, your character can become a new race! With special training, your PC can learn how to evolve into a new race, slowly gaining new special abilities and traits. Evolve into an inferno creature and watch the ground blister with your every footstep, and blast your enemies with heat when they come within reach of your flame aura. Sacrifice your paladin to the cause of good and become a divine creature, gaining a bonus to Constitution and the ability to fly. This article tells you everything you need to know to evolve your character into a unique race, offering you interesting new roleplaying abilities."



>>>Oathbound has something called "prestige races" as well; and didn't Hollingsworth work on that? If he or someone from the magazine is reading this, perhaps they could tell us whether the article involves any OGC.



Bestiary: Born Fair and Foul. I believe this is the fey article that got pushed back from a few issues ago.

Bazaar of the Bizarre.