Dragon #338

[A2Z]

DRAGON KINGS
by Chris Flipse and Jon Sederqvist
Defile the land and raise your own empire as one of DARK SUN's godlike dragon kings. The first in DRAGON's new Year of Dragons anniversary series.

WOOT!!

 

[Hussar]

Oh, I really do hate overseas mail. I'm still waiting for 337. ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!

Well, at least I got me some really good goodies to wait for.

 

[thundershot]

FINALLY!!!! I've been in a D&D slump lately (as in, I just don't seem to have the drive), but with the GIFF back officially, I can recreate PROMETHEUS and have him alongside my party. With Mystara mentioned, it looks like Rakasta will be back too. Now if only they'd slip KERCPA in somewhere, ALL of the races I used a lot in my 2E campaign will be back. (Sylph, Lupin, Rakasta, Giff, Kercpa)



Chris

 

[Zephyrus]

Any chance we could get a summery of the abilities for the Wormslayer? I'm still waiting for issue to arrive and I'm anxious to know a little more about the pclass.

 

[BOZ]

FINALLY!!!! I've been in a D&D slump lately (as in, I just don't seem to have the drive), but with the GIFF back officially, I can recreate PROMETHEUS and have him alongside my party. With Mystara mentioned, it looks like Rakasta will be back too. Now if only they'd slip KERCPA in somewhere, ALL of the races I used a lot in my 2E campaign will be back. (Sylph, Lupin, Rakasta, Giff, Kercpa)



Chris

with the exception of the lupin, i think we have all of those on the Creature Catalog, in the meantime...

 

[Alzrius]

Any chance we could get a summery of the abilities for the Wormslayer? I'm still waiting for issue to arrive and I'm anxious to know a little more about the pclass.

It's a 5-level PrC. It requires that you've lost at least 4 points of Intelligence from a Kyuss worm, read the Apostolic Scrolls, and two of five mechanical requirements also (e.g. BAB, spell level, etc.)

The class has relatively good BAB (3/4 hit dice, like a cleric), and good Fort and Will saves. It gives a d8 hit dice, and 2 + Intelligence bonus skill points per level, with a nice skill list. You get several features, such as the ability to detect minions of Kyuss, bonuses to damage rolls and overcoming SR, a +2 bonus to poison, immunity to disease, a taint that grants bonuses on skills used against undead (but unnerves the living). The most prevalent power is the Gift of the Worm, which the PrC grants three times. Each time you can choose from a bonus, but also leaves some form of madness.

 

[Three_Haligonians]

Rogue - Dwarf Rogues, by Joshua Cole - Racial Substitution levels are given for dwarf rogues, focusing on demolition.

Talk about serendipity! I'm starting a brand new campaign and one of my players is looking to play dwarven scout/espionage type.

Any chance I could get some detail please? The character will be built long before I manage to pick up the issue.

Thanks,

J from Three Haligonians

 

[MatthewJHanson]

The Class Acts were actually interesting; the feature is starting to grow on me, slightly, even if I wish they didn't feel they had to do every class, and I wish they'd throw in a few of the non-core 20-level classes every once in a while.

Rumor has it that they are going to be doing exactly that.

 

[zoroaster100]

I'm interested in using the article about staffs to replace familiars for wizards in my campaign. But unfortunately my players are making their characters this week and our first game is this weekend. Can anyone just share what ability the staff can give a first level wizard? I can take the progression from there after I get the magazine (which I've ordered but have not yet received).

 

[Alzrius]

Talk about serendipity! I'm starting a brand new campaign and one of my players is looking to play dwarven scout/espionage type.

Any chance I could get some detail please? The character will be built long before I manage to pick up the issue.

It's three substitution levels, at 1st, 3rd, and 5th level. The 1st level grants trapfinding, and demolitionist, which grants +1d6 damage against constructs and objects (does not ignore DR or hardness). The 3rd level grants trap sense +1, and expert demolitionist, which grants +2d6 against constructs and objects (does not ignore DR or hardness; this replaces, that is, doesn'st stack with, the +1d6 from 1st level), as well as gains a +2 competence bonus to Craft, Disable Device, or Knowledge (engineering) checks to demolish, tunnel through, or otherwise degrade the structure of an object or building, or plan to do so. The 5th level grants Rapid Demolitionist, which ups the bonus to +3d6 (same restrictions), and those same skills now take only half as much time to use when used for those purposes (the 5th level ability replaces the +3d6 sneak attack rogues gain that level).

I'm interested in using the article about staffs to replace familiars for wizards in my campaign. But unfortunately my players are making their characters this week and our first game is this weekend. Can anyone just share what ability the staff can give a first level wizard? I can take the progression from there after I get the magazine (which I've ordered but have not yet received).

First, the staff must be masterwork, but not magical (it can be enchanted later). The imbuing ritual costs 500 gp, and is usually focused on a gem set at the top of the staff. It takes 24 hours, and after that the staff is treated as a magic item (it then has hardness 5 and 15 hit points, and uses its creator's saves even when unattended; Im not sure, but I don't think it works for anyone else trying to use it). The 1st level abilities are that it can deliver touch spells (e.g. you can attack someone with the staff normally, and on a successful attack roll you also use the touch spell you cast), and it can use cantrips - thrice per day it can use light as a standard action (turning that off is a free action). It can also hold a single cantrip decided upon during imbuing, and can cast that once per day as a standard action (the DC is always 10). All of these are otherwise cast using the owner's caster level.