Ecology of the Deathknight up

[Cam Banks]

In any event, that's where the confusion comes from.

90% of my job writing for MWP's Dragonlance product involved continuity cleanup and setting things in the right frame of reference. So, you know. This is why things like this kind of bug me.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[Imp]

They're keepin' those knowledge-based monster information checks? :/

(They're ok, I guess, but this use has always seemed to me to give them gamey utility at the expense of common sense, and imply things about the rarity of a given monster in a setting – that no monster is rarer than another, or that rarity scales with hit dice GRRR... so I always ignore them.)

 

[Sir Brennen]

They're keepin' those knowledge-based monster information checks? :/

(They're ok, I guess, but this use has always seemed to me to give them gamey utility at the expense of common sense, and imply things about the rarity of a given monster in a setting – that no monster is rarer than another, or that rarity scales with hit dice GRRR... so I always ignore them.)

But it's possible that the DC's are no longer Hit Die based. This might be one of the more "free form" aspects of monster design... rare monsters have higher DCs. Period.

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

"result of a Religion check"

They're keepin' those knowledge-based monster information checks? :/

I just noticed it said "result of a Religion check." Not Knowledge(Religion.)

I liked the idea of Knowledge checks for monster info in 3.5, since it actually made some of the skills useful. Implementation wasn't so good, since most of the results listed told the player exactly nothing useful.

Where "useful" knowledge is defined as "How can I kill it?" and "How can it kill me?"

 

[kerbarian]

Perhaps the miniature-dragon-head-on-a-chain is an orb. In any case, it looks like one of the wizardly implements they've been talking about, and it also looks like it's being used to cast a spell through the sword. Maybe casting through the sword is a special thing you can do only with that type of implement, or maybe it's just providing a boost to the spell.

If that is Mialee, I'd guess that she's still a straight wizard, which would mean that we're seeing a wizard wearing armor and wielding a sword. Even if it's some other character who's a fighter/wizard, it implies that casting in armor is a reasonable option without resorting to prestige classes.

 

[Henry]

Let's try to find a "4" somewhere on the spikey-ear-girl. Such symbols might very well be put somewhere...

The lightning bolt itself could be a VERY stylized "4" symbol hitting the "3", but it's a push.

As for the Elf woman being photoshopped in, I don't know, but I definitely think that the death knight himself was either lifted or heavily inspired by a previous Dragon Mag cover from the 3E period - I just can't remember which one.

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

How do we know that isn't an Eladrin?

While the glow around her makes it look shopped, the blue light from the sword is reflected on the death knight's armour.

 

[Mouseferatu]

The lightning bolt itself could be a VERY stylized "4" symbol hitting the "3", but it's a push.

Yeah, I'm going to have to call "power of suggestion" on that one, Henry.

 

[Dark Psion]

So the Death Knight has been downgraded into a Skeletal Warrior?

The one image of a Death Knight that stands out in my mind was in one of the Dragonlance Twins books.

Lord Soth pointed at a Dragon and said "Die!" and the dragon fell over dead.

That is a Death Knight, this is a Skeletal Warrior, moving the phylactery from a circlet to his weapon.

 

[Stalker0]

Overall I like the art, and I like how to use classic fantasy characters and make them death knights, well done.