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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5651417" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon magazine annual 1997part 5/8Hark, the herald!: Or Converting Bards to the 5th age system. Never mind that they might or might not have not had Bards in the first place, as some amusing Sage Advice questions showed, they're here now, and they have an iconic NPC to back them up. Where the last age had Astinus and his huge great library cataloguing the history of Krynn, now we have a mysterious wandering Herald showing up to tell stories of it's past, present and possible future. Which I suppose is symbolic of the same changes magic has gone through in general. No longer is it controlled by the gods, and regulated by a stuffy council which tests everyone seeking it, instead it's become more low-key and everyday, and goes to them instead of having to be sought out. So this fits nicely into their setting, and provides us with some new crunch for both the 5th age system and AD&D. My main issue with it is by tying an entire class to a single character, they risk making the world seem too small. But then, that's a mistake that's also very much in keeping with the setting's tone in general. Does that make it better or worse in the big picture? The magic of Myth Drannor: Ed only takes one article this special, although we know he probably could have done more if he wanted too. But then, wouldn't want to upstage the guy with top billing, would we? So it's time for another bunch of magical items and spells. Exactly the kind of thing that we're oversaturated on, so it's particularly hard to impress me with. Still, if anyone can manage it, it's Ed. And as usual, he's going for it with gusto, and making use of IC fiction. Mantles are magical gems that drain your hit points to power a quite extensive set of magical abilities. They need to be bathed in your tears to activate, and are generally unique in their precise abilities. They're really another excuse for elves to be better than you in all sorts of annoying little ways, and make it trickier for you to just kill them and take their stuff. Spell-Webs are a prettier and easier to trigger means of storing spells than scrolls. Unfortunately, they're very much a lost art. Anyone who figures them out could make a pretty penny selling the secret to modern mages, for they let you build up contingencies quite handily. And in Faerun, that's what really makes the difference once you have 9th level spells, not a few more hit points and spells per day. Araemyths are scary spells/devices capable of destroying magical items with ease, and converting the energy to unpredictable but powerful beams of destructive force. When a magical civilisation develops something like this, you know it's on the path to imploding sometime soon. After all, that's the standard cycle of development in the Realms. Get more magically badass until someone loses control of their massive magics, and then blows it all to pieces, creating lots of interesting dungeons for later generations to explore in the process. Body Switch isn't as cool as it could be, essentially just teleporting each person involved to the other's position. Still, it seems like the kind of magic Ed could find many inventive uses for in his fiction. Muahahaha. Gargajaws has impressive and quirky visuals, but is basically just a way to destroy inanimate objects and leave people unharmed. This will of course piss people off, especially if they have lots of magical items. Once again, it seems the Drannoreans have mastered destructiveness to a degree that makes you glad they're a lost civilisation. Lifequench lets you kill something with a touch, and use its energy to double the power or uses of another spell. Scary and efficient. Once again, you're glad this one got lost, for overuse can make a spellcaster positively obscene. Blood Dragon, on the other hand, kills it's caster, which makes it the kind of spell that only gets used when the caster has nothing to lose. It's not actually that scary for a 9th level spell though. A good meteor swarm would be preferable unless they're immune to fire. Avarphyn are another item with a whole array of powers, but quirky limitations upon their use that may result in you permanently ruining them through ignorance. Oh, if only identify were a little cheaper and faster. Then we wouldn't have to worry so much about DM screwage. Storm-Swords protect you from lightning and let you shoot lightning bolts and teleport. They seem positively mundane given the company they're keeping. Wyrmtongue Scepters, on the other hand finish us off with another lovingly described weird item that has plenty of utility, but expresses it in an unusual way. Well, that must have been the cultural norm back then. Look how fashions have changed in reality, after all. So once again it looks like his imagination is functioning on a whole different league to most of their writers, and our gaming experience is all the better for it.</blockquote>

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