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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8874069" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 129: April 1998part 2/5Table Talk UK: All the stuff promoted in the main Table Talk column was very USA centric so it's a relief to see them still doing some coverage of the wider world. This time we're off to Warpcon in Cork. (which in the RoI so it isn't technically part of the UK, but do we really expect them to know the difference) As should be expected from the name there's a whole load of Star Trek stuff both RPG and otherwise, including episode screenings where audience participation (ie, shouting abuse at Wesley Crusher and telling Riker & Troi to just get it on already) is encouraged.  They also had a vidi-veg room where you could just hang out and watch videos all day if you didn't feel like gaming, LARPs, Warhammer, CCG's and a surprising number of tournaments for rare or out of print RPG's. The RPGA may only support Living campaigns for a few big systems, but there's a whole load of people who welcome a one-off of some odd system and a big convention is the best place to find them. Just try and stay sober enough to focus on what you want to do, because they really lived down to their irish stereotype on that front. So a mostly positive experience, but also a pretty raucous one that might stress out nerds of a more delicate disposition. Having esoteric interests doesn't preclude obnoxious drunken behaviour. Elminster's Everwinking Eye: Beware the Jundarwood, my dear, when the moon is fat. And most other times, for that matter, as this thick bosky landscape is filled with hazards both mundane and supernatural. A hot wet mass of vegetation that grows over a mountain, there's plenty of opportunities to twist your ankle on a root or lose your shoes in an unexpected little stream even when there's no monsters around. Since it's absolutely packed with them, courtesy of a powerful wizard/priest who deliberately turned the place into a wildlife preserve and supercharged it's fertility, your odds of getting through without getting lost and having many random encounters along the way are low. You definitely want a ranger or druid in your party if you're thinking of venturing in here. No cosy little towns this time, just pure adventure possibilities for players bold enough to seize them, all presented with Ed's usual lashings of flavour and attention to detail, dropping hints as to the history of the place and how it sustains itself that you could expand upon. Will you go in ready to kill whatever you encounter to grind for XP, will you be hunting for something specific that's useful for creating magic items, or will you be trying to unravel the mystery of how the place is kept so unnaturally fecund, maybe even remove it so the place could be settled? That's a way to get into the domain management system without sucking up to other nobles or having to violently replace them. City Stories: The featured temple this month is that of Lliira. This is particularly interesting because up until the Time of Troubles it was the temple of Waukeen. But of course she disappeared mysteriously and her clerics lost their powers, with Lliira offering to fill the gap. It took a few more years, but at this point nearly everyone has switched and the temple has officially been renamed & repurposed to fit the new portfolio of spreading joy. This means the layout of the building is also particularly interesting as parts were originally designed for one purpose and have now been hastily renovated to perform another. Like most successful churches regardless of alignment, they do a lot of community work, as looking after orphans, providing free food for the poor, educating kids and creating spaces for fun activities like a gymnasium, dancehall & swimming pool definitely increases the average amount of joy in the world on top of attracting worshippers. That gives PC's a decent number of reasons to engage with them beyond paying for healing in an emergency. Of course, we know in hindsight that Waukeen isn't dead after all, but will be returning in just a few months time, which raises the question of if they'll cover how that affects the church after they've spent so much time renovating the place. Let's hope they can keep on top of the metaplot events happening in the wider realms and successfully incorporate them into Living play. Knights of the Hawk: They detailed a whole bunch of knightly orders in the Trumpeter last month, but the new order of sneaky knights are the only ones that appear in the newszine itself, showing that they're probably more significant than the rest. The details are mostly identical apart from one small revision - they no longer gain as many fame points as regular knightly orders, as they're supposed to act in the shadows, move in silence, (thankfully extraterrestrial violence is not currently on the list of big future metaplot events) so becoming too well known would compromise their ability to adopt new identities as needed. I guess someone figured that out and sent in a complaint in the intervening month. Good to see them making small sensible incremental improvements to the rules.</blockquote>

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