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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8548912" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 91: January 1994part 4/5With Great Power: The marvel-phile finished a few months ago in Dragon, and now it's Polyhedron counterpart also comes to an end, although they don't seem to know it yet as they're still asking for more comments and column ideas, and I'm still I'm not sure who's fault it was the licence didn't get renewed, or how abrupt it's pulling was. The topic is ironically fitting, as it's a set of random tables to generate a plot when you've run out of ideas, as even the official writers have done many times after nearly 10 years of doing this. Roll a d20 for adventure starters, and d10's for complications, motives and which type of dramatic monologue the villain will use when you catch up to them. The kind of thing that seems pretty limited in itself, compared to other articles of the same era that have 50 or 100 in their roster to keep things from repeating too quickly. Are comic plots really that formulaic compared to horror ones? A bit of a damp squib of an ending, but I guess they had already published a whole load of supplements and adventures and were probably suffering diminishing returns on sales by then. You can't say it didn't have a good run. Necromagic: Time for a few more magical items aimed at necromancers and others attracted to the gothic atmosphere. Let's see if they're scary in a way that's good for storytelling, in a mechanically broken one, or quite possibly both. Gloom Candles shed shadows instead of light when burnt, and heal undead, but also make them easier to control. Just the thing for a necromancer who's expecting unwelcome guests and wants to set the right atmosphere. Can't have a dramatic confrontation if you're still watching the crystal ball in your underwear. Juju Wine turns the drinker into a living zombie for several days, harking back to the real world origins of the myth in drugging slaves to make them more pliable and pain-resistant. Do not expect the PC's to be merciful when they regain control if they were ordered to do gross or humiliating stuff.Ghast Salve gives you a lot of the powers of ghasts, but also their extremely unpleasant odour and vulnerability to holy water. Not sure why you'd want that, but it might come in handy for nonlethal combat or infiltrating the kingdom of the ghouls. Just don't eat the people you paralyse unless you want the mask to become the reality. Or maybe that's a bonus. Eh, I guess it's your funeral, even if it will probably mean losing your class levels in the pre-template era.Nether Scarabs not only protect you from energy drain, they store the negative energy and let you drain other people later. Fortunately for everyone else, they only have limited charges, and some will probably have already been used by the time you get hold of it. Tanking hits just to build up drains to use on future big bads is still probably not a good idea.Shadowblades are also pretty self-explanatory, looking suitably wispy but still dealing real damage and draining strength. Regular use will shift your alignment even if you only use it for a good cause, like far too many necromantic powers. This collection definitely seems more aimed at making more challenging NPC's than providing toys that PC's can actually keep after beating them.</blockquote>

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