Alzrius
The EN World kitten
Woot! As I'd hoped, Dragon #351 arrived in my mailbox today! Here's the breakdown:
It's worth a mention beforehand that this came with a free four-panel poster map of the Isle of Dread! This map is done in a "sketch" style with in-character notations from Larissa Vanderboren, and is a supplement to this issue's Ecology of the Isle of Dread.
Editorial: Alternate Primes, by Erik Mona - Erik recounts how the unifying multiverse of D&D was forged, and then lost, and why he personally misses that holistic multiverse, and how it is revisited a la the World Serpent Inn in this issue.
The World Serpent Inn, by Eric L. Boyd - This article serves as an introduction to the World Serpent Inn, discussing how it can be used in your campaign, its nature as a transitive plane, it's atmosphere, libations, background, the waitstaff (Mithifer and the serpent wenches), five NPC regulars (including another epic-level mage from Faerun), and the back rooms and corridors. Sidebars discuss the World Serpent Inn web enhancement for the Manual of the Planes, and the near-permanent access points to the Inn on Toril and Eberron.
Al-Qadim: Magic and Intrigue of the High Desert Tribes, by Wolfgang Baur - This article describes a point that the World Serpent Inn touches on Zakhara, dropping characters near a gathering of tribes in the desert. The article discusses the cities and deserts of Zakhara, the friendly nomads there, the seven great tribes of the High Desert, the two hostile tribes, two adventure ideas for the setting, a new spell (pillar of sand) and a new minor artifact (phoenix feather). A sidebar covers where to go on the internet to get more Al-Qadim info.
Dark Sun: Athas and the World Serpent Inn, by Chris Flipse - This article opens with where Doors from the World Serpent Inn usually open on Athas; at a small, nameless village near a tiny oasis close to Draj. It also goes over the elves that claim the oasis, a sample caravan, and four different desert encounters. A new psionic power, acceptance, is given, along with the new Defiler feat (that lets any arcane spellcaster use defiling to add power to their spells). A new weapon, the elven longblade, is also given. A sidebar discusses where to go on the internet to learn more about Dark Sun.
Dragonlance: Scavengers of Istar, by Cam Banks - The World Serpent Inn only opens to a single point on Krynn: Istar, three days before the Cataclysm (oddly, the article also notes that "normally no amount of magic allows travel to or from the world," which is a prohibition I don't recall before). The article covers Ferret Snitchwhistle, an afflicted kender (simply by leavng Krynn, apparently), who waits in the Inn outside the portal, asking those who journey through to retrieve the Icons of Symeon for him, neglecting to mention that if you don't get all five, you cannot return to the Inn from Istar! The article also covers notatble locations in Istar: the Arena of Games, the Great Temple, the Imperial Prison, Six Sword Square, and the Tower of High Sorcery. Sidebars cover Istar's city stats, Beyond the Age of Might, the Araifas (the thought-reading secret police), and the Icons of Symeon, which are minor artifacts.
Irongate: City of Stairs, by Gary Holian and Denis Tetreault - This article gives rather impressive coverage (for such few pages) of the Greyhawk city of Irongate, covering places such as the Deep Doors, Helkam's Pit, Bolvain Gottidor's Dead Forge, as well as power players and groups such as Cobb Darg (a former mayor), Tauren Leedstit (a geologist sage), and the Artificers Union of the city. Finally, it covers oerthblood weapons and armor. Sidebars cover the Terror in the Dark, and the mechanics of oerthblooded weapons and armor.
Kara-Tur: Cham Fau and the White Tiger Monastery, by Edward Bonny and Brian Cortijo - This article goes over the Shou City of Cham Fau, covering several of its locations, before going over the White Tiger Monastery (part of the Order of the Dragon, the largest monastic group in Shou Lung), which has a keyed map. Two new magic items, the chrysanthemum blade and the monkey head talisman, are given, along with two short adventure ideas. Sidebars cover Cham Fau's city stats, and note how Kara-Tur is a part of Toril as of Second Edition.
Planescape: The Gatetown of Ecstacy, by Todd Stewart - This short article covers Ecstacy, the town on the Outlands that contains the gate to Elysium. It goes over the city's plinths, the sunrise and moondark towers (where the two joint rulers of the city reside), the philosopher's court (where the city's third leader resides: Felthis ap Jerran, a Neutral Good ultroloth!), the revelhome (a quaint festhall), and the gate to Sigil. The article closes with monster stats for the sympathetic. Sidebars cover other issues and web resources for Planescape, Ecstacy's city stats, and rumors in Ecstacy.
Ravenloft: The Shadows of Sithicus, by James Lowder - The World Serpent Inn does open in Ravenloft, though always randomly, and only for a night (and even then, darklords can never enter). This article covers Sithicus in the wake of Lord Soth, covering the various locations in the domain, as well as the Guilt of Sithicus effect. Three adventure ideas are given, and are followed by full stats for the new darklord of the domain, Inza. Sidebars cover a random domain table to determine where the World Serpent Inn appears for a night (oddly, the Burning Peaks are listed here), the Blessed Knight (the idealized good Lord Soth who remains in Sithicus), and a lesser artifact: the memory mirror.
The Ecology of the Isle of Dread, by Jacob Frazier - This article is written entirely in the first person by Larissa Vanderboren, covering everything from the "loco weed" to the Isle's indigenous tribes of phanatons, and much more. A sidebar covers using this article and the related map (see above) in your Savage Tide Adventure Path campaign.
Savage Tidings: Dread on the Isle, by Jason Bulmahn, Steve Greer, and Gary Holian - This article covers more of the meta-game information on the Isle of Dread, noting the available animal companions, familiars, and mounts, as well as replacement PCs (for ones that die) among the local areneas, lizardfolk, the local olman humans, and the phanatons (with PC stats given for the phanatons). Sidebars cover that this is a Savage Tiding, and rumors on the Isle.
Volo's Guide: Lost Regalia of the North: The Toppled Thrones, by Eric L. Boyd, with special introduction by Ed Greenwood - Opening with an in-character by Volothamp Geddarm, this article kicks off a new regular series. Three magical thrones are covered in rich detail, with much information given before their powers: the bloodbone throne of uruth, the shining thrones of the splendarrmornn, and the soaring throne of the witch-queen.
Dragonmarks: Sorcerers in Eberron, by Keith Baker - Another new regular feature, this article talks specifically about dragonmarked sorcerers. The new Dragonmarked Sorcerer feat (given in a sidebar) grants new powers to sorcerers, with the article noting that the supposed "blood of dragons" that sorcerers have actually comes, not from "normal" dragons, but from the three dragon progenitors: Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber. Three bloodlines that still have this legacy are discussed, along with three sorcerer variant class features: one for each bloodline.
Sage Advice, by Andy Collins - The Sage answers questions regarding things from the PHB II.
Class Acts
Adventurer: Historical Ninjas, by Paul Leech - A discussing is given to what real ninjas actually did, along with notations of alterations to the ninja class from Complete Adventurer to make it more like the ninjas of history. Seven new feats (all of which require ki power from the ninja class) are then given: Intuitive Trapsmith, Karmic Healing, Ki Smite, One with Earth and Water, Skill Atunement, Wolf's Bite, and Zen Fortitude.
Arcane: Arcane Focus, by Mark A. Hart - This article discusses arcane spellcasters having an arcane focus; their counterpart to psionic characters having psionic focus. One feat is given, Arcane Focus, that grants this ability, and then there are six related feats: Arcane Watchfulness, Body Awareness, Defensive Magic, Focused Specialist, Magical Insight, and Potent Dweomercraft.
Divine: The Cleric Guide, by Amber E. Scott - This guide recaps the basics about clerics, giving handy notations regarding divine casting, turning and rebuking undead, curing and inflicting, and alignment. Sidebars cover the mechanics of turning, alignment aura power, and errata for feats and spells from various sources.
Warrior: The Clockwork Disciple, by Stephanie Vergmini - This article discusses how some monks who find advanced tech will incorporate it into their bodies, thinking they're divine relics. The Technomagical Implant feat is then given, along with fifteen technomagical implants (a table covers them, their power, their body slot, and their gp value). It also covers making new implants, and a variant class feature for monks who want to destroy mechanical creatures.
Comics - Nodwick, by Aaron Williams; Dork Tower, by John Kovalic; Zogonia, by Tony Moseley; and The Order of the Stick, by Rich Burlew.
It's worth a mention beforehand that this came with a free four-panel poster map of the Isle of Dread! This map is done in a "sketch" style with in-character notations from Larissa Vanderboren, and is a supplement to this issue's Ecology of the Isle of Dread.
Editorial: Alternate Primes, by Erik Mona - Erik recounts how the unifying multiverse of D&D was forged, and then lost, and why he personally misses that holistic multiverse, and how it is revisited a la the World Serpent Inn in this issue.
The World Serpent Inn, by Eric L. Boyd - This article serves as an introduction to the World Serpent Inn, discussing how it can be used in your campaign, its nature as a transitive plane, it's atmosphere, libations, background, the waitstaff (Mithifer and the serpent wenches), five NPC regulars (including another epic-level mage from Faerun), and the back rooms and corridors. Sidebars discuss the World Serpent Inn web enhancement for the Manual of the Planes, and the near-permanent access points to the Inn on Toril and Eberron.
Al-Qadim: Magic and Intrigue of the High Desert Tribes, by Wolfgang Baur - This article describes a point that the World Serpent Inn touches on Zakhara, dropping characters near a gathering of tribes in the desert. The article discusses the cities and deserts of Zakhara, the friendly nomads there, the seven great tribes of the High Desert, the two hostile tribes, two adventure ideas for the setting, a new spell (pillar of sand) and a new minor artifact (phoenix feather). A sidebar covers where to go on the internet to get more Al-Qadim info.
Dark Sun: Athas and the World Serpent Inn, by Chris Flipse - This article opens with where Doors from the World Serpent Inn usually open on Athas; at a small, nameless village near a tiny oasis close to Draj. It also goes over the elves that claim the oasis, a sample caravan, and four different desert encounters. A new psionic power, acceptance, is given, along with the new Defiler feat (that lets any arcane spellcaster use defiling to add power to their spells). A new weapon, the elven longblade, is also given. A sidebar discusses where to go on the internet to learn more about Dark Sun.
Dragonlance: Scavengers of Istar, by Cam Banks - The World Serpent Inn only opens to a single point on Krynn: Istar, three days before the Cataclysm (oddly, the article also notes that "normally no amount of magic allows travel to or from the world," which is a prohibition I don't recall before). The article covers Ferret Snitchwhistle, an afflicted kender (simply by leavng Krynn, apparently), who waits in the Inn outside the portal, asking those who journey through to retrieve the Icons of Symeon for him, neglecting to mention that if you don't get all five, you cannot return to the Inn from Istar! The article also covers notatble locations in Istar: the Arena of Games, the Great Temple, the Imperial Prison, Six Sword Square, and the Tower of High Sorcery. Sidebars cover Istar's city stats, Beyond the Age of Might, the Araifas (the thought-reading secret police), and the Icons of Symeon, which are minor artifacts.
Irongate: City of Stairs, by Gary Holian and Denis Tetreault - This article gives rather impressive coverage (for such few pages) of the Greyhawk city of Irongate, covering places such as the Deep Doors, Helkam's Pit, Bolvain Gottidor's Dead Forge, as well as power players and groups such as Cobb Darg (a former mayor), Tauren Leedstit (a geologist sage), and the Artificers Union of the city. Finally, it covers oerthblood weapons and armor. Sidebars cover the Terror in the Dark, and the mechanics of oerthblooded weapons and armor.
Kara-Tur: Cham Fau and the White Tiger Monastery, by Edward Bonny and Brian Cortijo - This article goes over the Shou City of Cham Fau, covering several of its locations, before going over the White Tiger Monastery (part of the Order of the Dragon, the largest monastic group in Shou Lung), which has a keyed map. Two new magic items, the chrysanthemum blade and the monkey head talisman, are given, along with two short adventure ideas. Sidebars cover Cham Fau's city stats, and note how Kara-Tur is a part of Toril as of Second Edition.
Planescape: The Gatetown of Ecstacy, by Todd Stewart - This short article covers Ecstacy, the town on the Outlands that contains the gate to Elysium. It goes over the city's plinths, the sunrise and moondark towers (where the two joint rulers of the city reside), the philosopher's court (where the city's third leader resides: Felthis ap Jerran, a Neutral Good ultroloth!), the revelhome (a quaint festhall), and the gate to Sigil. The article closes with monster stats for the sympathetic. Sidebars cover other issues and web resources for Planescape, Ecstacy's city stats, and rumors in Ecstacy.
Ravenloft: The Shadows of Sithicus, by James Lowder - The World Serpent Inn does open in Ravenloft, though always randomly, and only for a night (and even then, darklords can never enter). This article covers Sithicus in the wake of Lord Soth, covering the various locations in the domain, as well as the Guilt of Sithicus effect. Three adventure ideas are given, and are followed by full stats for the new darklord of the domain, Inza. Sidebars cover a random domain table to determine where the World Serpent Inn appears for a night (oddly, the Burning Peaks are listed here), the Blessed Knight (the idealized good Lord Soth who remains in Sithicus), and a lesser artifact: the memory mirror.
The Ecology of the Isle of Dread, by Jacob Frazier - This article is written entirely in the first person by Larissa Vanderboren, covering everything from the "loco weed" to the Isle's indigenous tribes of phanatons, and much more. A sidebar covers using this article and the related map (see above) in your Savage Tide Adventure Path campaign.
Savage Tidings: Dread on the Isle, by Jason Bulmahn, Steve Greer, and Gary Holian - This article covers more of the meta-game information on the Isle of Dread, noting the available animal companions, familiars, and mounts, as well as replacement PCs (for ones that die) among the local areneas, lizardfolk, the local olman humans, and the phanatons (with PC stats given for the phanatons). Sidebars cover that this is a Savage Tiding, and rumors on the Isle.
Volo's Guide: Lost Regalia of the North: The Toppled Thrones, by Eric L. Boyd, with special introduction by Ed Greenwood - Opening with an in-character by Volothamp Geddarm, this article kicks off a new regular series. Three magical thrones are covered in rich detail, with much information given before their powers: the bloodbone throne of uruth, the shining thrones of the splendarrmornn, and the soaring throne of the witch-queen.
Dragonmarks: Sorcerers in Eberron, by Keith Baker - Another new regular feature, this article talks specifically about dragonmarked sorcerers. The new Dragonmarked Sorcerer feat (given in a sidebar) grants new powers to sorcerers, with the article noting that the supposed "blood of dragons" that sorcerers have actually comes, not from "normal" dragons, but from the three dragon progenitors: Siberys, Eberron, and Khyber. Three bloodlines that still have this legacy are discussed, along with three sorcerer variant class features: one for each bloodline.
Sage Advice, by Andy Collins - The Sage answers questions regarding things from the PHB II.
Class Acts
Adventurer: Historical Ninjas, by Paul Leech - A discussing is given to what real ninjas actually did, along with notations of alterations to the ninja class from Complete Adventurer to make it more like the ninjas of history. Seven new feats (all of which require ki power from the ninja class) are then given: Intuitive Trapsmith, Karmic Healing, Ki Smite, One with Earth and Water, Skill Atunement, Wolf's Bite, and Zen Fortitude.
Arcane: Arcane Focus, by Mark A. Hart - This article discusses arcane spellcasters having an arcane focus; their counterpart to psionic characters having psionic focus. One feat is given, Arcane Focus, that grants this ability, and then there are six related feats: Arcane Watchfulness, Body Awareness, Defensive Magic, Focused Specialist, Magical Insight, and Potent Dweomercraft.
Divine: The Cleric Guide, by Amber E. Scott - This guide recaps the basics about clerics, giving handy notations regarding divine casting, turning and rebuking undead, curing and inflicting, and alignment. Sidebars cover the mechanics of turning, alignment aura power, and errata for feats and spells from various sources.
Warrior: The Clockwork Disciple, by Stephanie Vergmini - This article discusses how some monks who find advanced tech will incorporate it into their bodies, thinking they're divine relics. The Technomagical Implant feat is then given, along with fifteen technomagical implants (a table covers them, their power, their body slot, and their gp value). It also covers making new implants, and a variant class feature for monks who want to destroy mechanical creatures.
Comics - Nodwick, by Aaron Williams; Dork Tower, by John Kovalic; Zogonia, by Tony Moseley; and The Order of the Stick, by Rich Burlew.
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