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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5495628" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 226: February 1996part 2/8Off-the-cuff NPC's: Such as these ones. Here's a whole bunch of quirks you could give your impromptu NPC's. They incline quite a bit towards the broad and humorous, and some are very silly indeed. Still, it should ensure that they're memorable and easy to integrate, and with 208 of them, you probably won't use then up too quickly. I know random tables are often labeled as old skool, but these ones really do have a level of whimsy we don't see anymore, except in april issues.  As such, I have to make my usual warning to use them with caution if you're trying to run a dramatic campaign, for unless it's set in Krynn, this may spoil the tone. Another nameless comic is scattered through the magazine. What's with that? I guess it is appropriate to the articles coming up. Improve with improv: The DM'ing advice continues. Looks like that's definitely the theme this time. You know, you could have delineated that more clearly. Are they ever going to do that as well as Roger did again? Whatever. Not that advice on improving your improvisation skills is a bad thing. In fact, it's pretty much essential, for the nature of an RPG means the players will inevitably try something outside the proscribed options (and it would actually be more boring if they didn't, to be honest) In fact, you're more likely to produce a fun game without any preparation than any  improvisation. But there are still tricks you can learn that make success more likely. Chief among them, as it's mentioned first and last, is getting your players to work with you. Pay attention to them, figure out what they want to do, and if you can't guess, just ask them outright. Second is having stuff prepared that works in a large variety of situations, so if you're stuck, you have a whole bunch of tricks to fall back upon. A lot of the time, improvisation is merely a matter of being exposed to situations often enough that you have a pretty good idea what will happen if you do X, Y or Z. Indeed, you can compare it to improvising as a band. In theory, it should result in chaos, but as long as the players can pay attention to each other, stay in the same key, and keep a groove going, some really cool stuff can happen almost by accident. Just don't get stuck relying on cliches all the time, for that will become as dull as sticking entirely to prepared material. So this ironically points out just how much preparation goes into being able to confidently improvise. Everything is a matter of balance really. \:/ Dot to dot: Hmm. We've been given advice on quickly building NPC's, now we have an analogous one for building a community. This themed section may not have too many new ideas, but it is collecting a lot of them and putting them together into a quite cohesive package. I ought to give it more credit, as it would be very handy for newer players. Obviously, if you want to build a community fast, you do not create a map, as that's hours of work even if you're good at this stuff. Far better to get a feel for a place, which you can then build out logically from and create things that make sense in context as and when they're needed. And maybe a few key locations and people. After all, what would new york be without the empire state building, or paris without the eiffel tower? Oh yeah, and remember to figure out what the law is like, and how harshly it's enforced, because chances are, you're gonna need to know that at some point. This article again inclines towards the whimsical in it's presentation, using a lot of IC examples to demonstrate it's points. It does make it more amusing, especially with the rather silly names. Overall, I think it manages to justify itself even to longterm readers through entertainment value as well as informativeness. Arcane Lore: We continue to redress the cultural balance with a bit more indian stuff, following directly on from last month, and fully integrated with the new kits introduced there. So get ready for a long list of stuff stolen from mythology and religion. Seen those before, and probably will do so again. Still, at least these generally produce more diverse results than the latest collection of variant blasty spells. Cloud Messenger is the ancient indian method of sending remote messages. Cloud come down, you talk to it, and it takes said message to the desired person. Perfectly logical when you don't have more powerful technology. Waking light of Dawn wakes things up. Since it's only a 1st level spell, it's ability to remove magical slumber is limited. You're probably better off with a little strategically applied violence than wasting a spell slot. Distract is worse than tv tropes for keeping everyone around from getting any productive work done. It's one that seems directly drawn from an old TV show in execution. Play that funky flute, guru boy. Don't ask where the wah wah guitar accompaniment is coming from. Skin of the fire Tiger makes you red hot! And then very chilly when it wears off. Still, in the meantime you get to do the burning grapple trick. There are more powerful spells to do that around, I'm afraid. Serpent Garland is a fun one. Turn a necklace into a snake. Make it permanent and give it as a present and you have a great assassination tool to keep in reserve for someone. Mourning Stone lets you transfer your angst to a rock. Then the cleric can take that pain, and use it to make beautiful sculptures or architecture. Really don't want to live in something made of that though. Third Eye is not a divination, but a really nasty gaze attack that also takes it's toll on you. Curious decision there. Have fun with your beholder like death and disintegration ray. Life Illusion lets you trap someone in an illusory world, possibly for weeks or months if they keep failing their save. It's nice enough that you don't starve to death while in there though, unlike some other versions of this effect. Monsoon is the third application of the coastal storm based mass devastation principle in the last few years. They really ought to put something like this in the corebook if it's so popular. Om is your basic meditative prana. You sit crosslegged and chant and become able to heal faster and resist mind<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />ing. Course, anyone can walk up to you and backstab you to death, so guards might be wise. Sanctify Ghi creates an indian variant on holy water. Holy butter? Actually, that's probably pretty tasty, if a bit fattening. Gotta bulk up a bit before going on those month long fasts. Karma Sight draws from Legends and Lore, letting you manipulate the optional rules there better. You'll know if you're in danger of coming back as a slug or achieving nirvana and can hopefully change your ways accordingly. Steep Soma Juice is another, more powerful magical fluid making spell to buff it's drinker. As this is long lasting and can affect quite a few people at higher level, it's used to show favour to people in the community. Enjoy your subtle social engineering. That art Thou is a particularly neat bit of divination, allowing you to share the senses of everyone and everything around. This'll probably be a bit of an overload, but very handy for avoiding nasty surprises. What does a trap or secret door feel anyway? Man, you could have tons of fun describing this one. See all faces is another way you can get to know someones basic character without all that hassle of actually socially interacting with them. That's a trick applicable to most cultures. Pool of Deeds lets you find out what cool stuff a person has done and is going to do. It does not let you change the future though, however hard you try. Have fun with your new knowledge of predestination. Conceal Lifeforce is one of your basic divination deflectors. It can even hide your soul from the agents of reincarnation. Feel free to do bad <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> in the meantime without your alignment changing or being turned into a cockroach. But if you get caught, oh things will get unpleasantly interesting. Watch out for Maruts. Reincarnation sight lets you track down the new life of someone, even if it's in the outer planes, and restore their memories of the old one. If they've been dead longer than your ability to raise them, this is a nicely flavourful alternative. Just don't take a baby away from their family and expect them to jump straight back into the adventuring life. Penetrate Cosmic Ignorance lets you see the deific manipulations and bigger ramifications behind everyday events. This can be bad for the sanity, for mortal mind was not made to contain that much intertwining information. It may also be hard work for the DM, but that's to be expected when you have high level spells. Call Avatar is one of those plot device spells that like Gate, may save your life, or result in smitings for disturbing said deity. No matter how powerful your cleric is, they always have to respect their boss, especially in a culture like this where letting go of your ego is considered crucial to enlightenment.</blockquote>

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