Aitch Eye
First Post
Yes, finally. Sorry for the delay. I won't proofread it next time[Edit: I see I didn't quite do it enough, though.].
"Nice job!" to Mearls and Ashy on their articles, and to the magazine staff as well. This is a very nice, fun, and useful issue.
Revision 3.5 Update, by Ed Stark. Examples of the upcoming revision of the D&D rules on the theme of "Character Generation," one from each of the core books. (See this thread .)
Mercenaries For Hire: The Nameless Legion, by Mike Mearls. The mysterious leaders of this organization recruit creatures from the worlds of the Material Plane and others, purging their memories and changing their alignment to neutral or good if necessary. The article is geared toward using them in a standard campaign world, and is written to be very portable. While it details the legion's organization and methods (particularly how they make it acceptable to local leaders), these aren't tied to any more than a very vague backstory. No NPCs are given, and the crunchy bits are confined to a couple of feats, three exotic weapons, three magic tattoos, and the magic masks the leaders wear.
Monstrous Magic: 46 Spells for Unusual Spellcasters, by James Wyatt. Most of these spells enhance the special abilities and natural attacks of various creatures (or non-monstrous characters with the right spells or items); a few simply happen to work very well with certain creatures (like making someone gasp for breath, or summoning a huge mount). Only a few of the spells are usable only by monstrous characters, and a number of spells wouldn't look out of place on a standard spellcaster's list. There's a useful selection of necromantic spells, and variations on awaken that work on beasts, magical beasts, and oozes. Five spells (one telepathic, four dealing with poison) have psionic versions.
Saddle Up: Mounted Combat Rules for Intelligent Characters, by Rich Redman. Covers training an intelligent creature to be a mount, the number of riders, placing mount and rider on a combat grid, initiative, attacks of opportunity, how special attacks are affected, how the Mounted Combat feat affects mount and rider, and summarizes the mounted combat rules from the PHB with necessary changes.
Prestige Races: Changing Your Character for the Better, by Greg Dent and Brannon Hollingsworth. This article takes its concept from the Oathbound campaign setting published by Bastion Press, and is written by two of the contributors. It's published under the Open Game License. By taking a feat, characters can expend XP and meditate for a number of days to progressively resculpt their bodies along six paths. The paths are themed around the four elements, clockwork technology, and purification of the soul. For creating NPCs, the alterations are treated as magic items, with a formula giving a cost that's deducted from the money going to their gear. Advice is given on creating your own alterations.
Locked Away: Chests for Serious Dungeon Residents, by Rick Moscatello. Chests of unusual construction, ranging from those particular to craftsmen of certain races, to those made of green slime and trollflesh. There are also six related magical and non magical items and alchemical substances.
Guardians of the Wild: Fey Born Fair and Foul, by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel. This collection of creatures includes a new PC race, the Changeling, as well as templates for Seelie Court Fey and Unseelie Fey [edit: I mistakenly had this as "Unseelie Court Fey"] (with a Seelie Dryad Druid and Unseelie Unicorn given as examples). There's also the Crystalline Cat, Force of Nature (which resembles something part dragon/part plant), Green Guardian (a plant, not a fey), and the Spark.
Haunted: A Tale of Sembia, by Dave Gross. Forgotten Realms fiction.
Up on a Soapbox "Remember the Mission!," by Gary Gygax. (Every summary I've tried gives away to much.)
Elminster's Guide to the Realms "Jongrath's Mill," by Ed Greenwood. A horse-powered mill whose owner is in a feud with local heralds. There's also a magic item: Shield of Senses.
Silicon Sorcery "Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings," by Clifford Horowitz. 16 combat feats based on character abilities from the computer game.
Dungeoncraft "Fantasy Cities, Part 1: Using Cities," by Monte Cook. The first of three articles, this is a general look not just at cities, but villages and towns as well. It addresses using them as one-shot settings, recurring settings, and bases of operation (using them as adventure sites will be addressed in Part 3), with advice on giving them flavor and fleshing them out.
DM's Toolbox "Roleplaying NPCs," by Johnn Four. Designing personal traits and running encounters.
Sage Advice, by Skip Williams. Focuses on the <i>Book of Vile Darkness</i>, as well as feats and special abilities.
Living Greyhawk Journal "Places of Mystery: Gateways to Adventure," by Gary Holian. The histories of the Dragonshead Barrows and The Hool Beacon.
Pullout Insert "Cone Area Templates." Straight and diagonally directed 30 ft. cones, with diagrams on the back indicating how to extend them across the combat grid.
"Nice job!" to Mearls and Ashy on their articles, and to the magazine staff as well. This is a very nice, fun, and useful issue.
Revision 3.5 Update, by Ed Stark. Examples of the upcoming revision of the D&D rules on the theme of "Character Generation," one from each of the core books. (See this thread .)
Mercenaries For Hire: The Nameless Legion, by Mike Mearls. The mysterious leaders of this organization recruit creatures from the worlds of the Material Plane and others, purging their memories and changing their alignment to neutral or good if necessary. The article is geared toward using them in a standard campaign world, and is written to be very portable. While it details the legion's organization and methods (particularly how they make it acceptable to local leaders), these aren't tied to any more than a very vague backstory. No NPCs are given, and the crunchy bits are confined to a couple of feats, three exotic weapons, three magic tattoos, and the magic masks the leaders wear.
Monstrous Magic: 46 Spells for Unusual Spellcasters, by James Wyatt. Most of these spells enhance the special abilities and natural attacks of various creatures (or non-monstrous characters with the right spells or items); a few simply happen to work very well with certain creatures (like making someone gasp for breath, or summoning a huge mount). Only a few of the spells are usable only by monstrous characters, and a number of spells wouldn't look out of place on a standard spellcaster's list. There's a useful selection of necromantic spells, and variations on awaken that work on beasts, magical beasts, and oozes. Five spells (one telepathic, four dealing with poison) have psionic versions.
Saddle Up: Mounted Combat Rules for Intelligent Characters, by Rich Redman. Covers training an intelligent creature to be a mount, the number of riders, placing mount and rider on a combat grid, initiative, attacks of opportunity, how special attacks are affected, how the Mounted Combat feat affects mount and rider, and summarizes the mounted combat rules from the PHB with necessary changes.
Prestige Races: Changing Your Character for the Better, by Greg Dent and Brannon Hollingsworth. This article takes its concept from the Oathbound campaign setting published by Bastion Press, and is written by two of the contributors. It's published under the Open Game License. By taking a feat, characters can expend XP and meditate for a number of days to progressively resculpt their bodies along six paths. The paths are themed around the four elements, clockwork technology, and purification of the soul. For creating NPCs, the alterations are treated as magic items, with a formula giving a cost that's deducted from the money going to their gear. Advice is given on creating your own alterations.
Locked Away: Chests for Serious Dungeon Residents, by Rick Moscatello. Chests of unusual construction, ranging from those particular to craftsmen of certain races, to those made of green slime and trollflesh. There are also six related magical and non magical items and alchemical substances.
Guardians of the Wild: Fey Born Fair and Foul, by Gwendolyn F.M. Kestrel. This collection of creatures includes a new PC race, the Changeling, as well as templates for Seelie Court Fey and Unseelie Fey [edit: I mistakenly had this as "Unseelie Court Fey"] (with a Seelie Dryad Druid and Unseelie Unicorn given as examples). There's also the Crystalline Cat, Force of Nature (which resembles something part dragon/part plant), Green Guardian (a plant, not a fey), and the Spark.
Haunted: A Tale of Sembia, by Dave Gross. Forgotten Realms fiction.
Up on a Soapbox "Remember the Mission!," by Gary Gygax. (Every summary I've tried gives away to much.)
Elminster's Guide to the Realms "Jongrath's Mill," by Ed Greenwood. A horse-powered mill whose owner is in a feud with local heralds. There's also a magic item: Shield of Senses.
Silicon Sorcery "Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings," by Clifford Horowitz. 16 combat feats based on character abilities from the computer game.
Dungeoncraft "Fantasy Cities, Part 1: Using Cities," by Monte Cook. The first of three articles, this is a general look not just at cities, but villages and towns as well. It addresses using them as one-shot settings, recurring settings, and bases of operation (using them as adventure sites will be addressed in Part 3), with advice on giving them flavor and fleshing them out.
DM's Toolbox "Roleplaying NPCs," by Johnn Four. Designing personal traits and running encounters.
Sage Advice, by Skip Williams. Focuses on the <i>Book of Vile Darkness</i>, as well as feats and special abilities.
Living Greyhawk Journal "Places of Mystery: Gateways to Adventure," by Gary Holian. The histories of the Dragonshead Barrows and The Hool Beacon.
Pullout Insert "Cone Area Templates." Straight and diagonally directed 30 ft. cones, with diagrams on the back indicating how to extend them across the combat grid.
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