BOZ said:
what other new and ineresting things did we learn?
Quite a few things, actually. Xinivrae, another contender for the title of Queen of the Succubi (along with Shami-Amourae and Lynkhab) was a succubus lord who "reveled in the seduction of women." She was cast into the Dreaming Gulf (layer 230).
Two new types of loumara demons are mentioned: "nature-corrupting manitous, and blade-haunting caligrostos." It also mentions that with the help of Elluvia Maure, Malcanthet has managed to
bind Sifkhu, a slumbering loumara lord (quite possibly the only one).
Also, three new places on her layer, Shendilavri. Istacian, the Rapine City, is an island where the incubi are kept, since that keeps them away from the rest of the realm, and lets them protect it from naval attacks. Miomanta is where the Radiant Sisters dwell when not doing Malcanthet's duty. And the Reckless Coast is the areas along the coast not directly part of a city of settlement, and a possible safe haven in the realm (or so you might think).
Greg K said:
Can you give an overview of the replacement abilities for spellthieves and clerics?
The replacement class abilities for spellthieves are cursed blow (on a successful sneak attack, you give up a spell slot to curse the target), hamper magic (on a successful sneak attack, you give up a damage die to reduce the target's caster levels), spelleater (when stealing a spell, you may consume it to heal damage instead of casting it), spellskill (when you steal a spell, you use its energy to improve your skill bonuses), and trickster (you gain less skill points per level, have less class skills, and have no trapfinding and do less sneak attack damage, but in return you can cast spells as a bard).
For clerics, giving up turning can get you one of the following class abilities: cultist (you are immune to atempts to see through your lies), evangelist (you can understand languages magically), fanatic (you are more intimidating and strike easier), healer (you can AC bonuses for healing creatures), justicar (you bring creatures back alive easier), mystic (you gain an extra spell slot), relic hunter (you avoid traps easier), sage (you gain Knowledge bonuses), scribe (you gain Scribe Scroll), shaman (you gain an animal companion), theologian (you resist divine spells easier), wanderer (you gain several skills as class skills), warrior priest (you can use a quickened spell on yourself or your gear), and weaponmaster (you don't need a free hand to cast spells with your deity's favored weapon).
Shade said:
Did Andrew Hou illustrate the good archomentals? He did a fantastic job on the evil princes, so I'm hoping they used him again.
Hou did indeed do the illustrations for the article. The main piece for the article shows some tentacled monster attacking Ben-hadar. It's a fairly impressive full-page piece, and Ben-hadar is nicely indistinctive, but still with a humanoid shape. He does have claws at the end of his arms.
Chan's art basically shows a rather pretty female face in a sparkling cloud.
The art for Sunnis depicts her as quite svelte for an earth elemental, being tall and thin. Her humanoid figure is noticeably feminine, having the basic hourglass shape, as well as small but distinct breasts, and has one hand on her hip. The back of her head is also shaped as if she had a short but full head of hair.
Zaaman Rul, by contrast, seems a bit stocky in his portrayal. Unlike Sunnis, he's clothed, though only in a leather kilt. He actually has hair, and his wielding a sword of fire over his shoulder in his right hand.