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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5861952" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 270: April 2000part 5/7Bazaar of the Bizarre: Ooh. A whole bunch of nifty planescape artifacts. For a third time in quick succession, it's a collection of decidedly mixed benefits. But when the theme is suits of ultra badass magical armour made by abyssal lords (see, now that's a good highly specific theme they're unlikely to duplicate precisely again.) expecting them not to have drawbacks, especially if you try and do good with them, is a futile task. This seems like the perfect set of items to have for your sentai team of upper-ranking bad guys, given their sadism and variety. The Battlemonger makes you very popular with gnolls and undead, along with kickass offensive and defensive abilities. The only drawback is a little cannibalism craving that it inflicts. Well, you'll be slaughtering things anyway. Waste not, want not. The Black Prison removes your biological needs and makes you regenerative, but can't be removed. Of course, it does nothing for the mental strain of this new lifestyle, and eventually you'll go mad. Hey, you'll still be serving the cause of chaos and evil wherever you go, perhaps even moreso, so no skin off their nose. The Horned Casque is Baphomet's contribution. It gives you the expected minotaurish powers, plus the social benefits in dealing with them, plus gorgon breath, a terrifying bellow, and summoning powers. And all it asks in return is courage and mass slaughter of gnolls. Surely you can show a little confidence under the circumstances. The Immolator bursts into flame when worn, and wants you to burn stuff. Ahahahahaha! Another curse that'll hardly be a curse unless you're trying to be a good guy. The Infinite Panoply is as shifty and treacherous as it's maker, Fraz-Urb'luu. It'll disappear when you need it most, but until then it can disguise itself, shapeshift you, and reflect attacks back on the attacker. The Juggernaut is 12' tall and essentially makes you into a mini necromecha and commander of undead armies. It'll eventually drain your lifeforce and turn you into undead yourself, but there are worse ways to go. The Lady's Favor is zuggtmoy's fungal protection. As it instantly corrodes any weapons that touch it, it's a very effective one indeed. On the other hand, it's one of the more quickly lethal ones, as it infects you with fuzzy mold. Give to expendable minions. The Lavashu is basically the venom symbiote, only stickier and harder to remove from the host. It'll probably take control of you, so you really don't want to touch this after beating the previous occupant. The Pelagic Ageis is Dagon's method to offer power, and eventually turn you into his slave. Along with the expected water powers are tentacles and forcefields. Use with great caution. The Raptor Cuirass gradually hollows out your bones, as befits it's avian theme. In the meantime, you get flight, talons, whirlwind summoning and bird control. Another position the evil overlord will cycle through regularly in their lieutenants. The Rime Guard is freezing, both to you and those around. Fortunately, it'll turn you into a were-polar bear after a while, so problem solved. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /> The Spiderspawn is Lolth's one. Unlike the others, she's quite particular about who wears it. Boys need not apply. On the plus side, spider-powers. Which means you have to be rivals with The Lavashu's wearer. Abyssal politics is fun. The Wizard Ward is Demogorgon's contribution. It'll gradually transform you into a giant snake, but in the meantime has both magic resistant and reptilian themed powers. Once again, there are worse ways to go and you get to have lots of fun in the meantime. Dragon's bestiary: Some more official Greyhawk stuff here this month. Iuz may have been beaten back in recent supplements, but he's not defeated by a long way. He's already developing new monstrosities to replace his losses. Do you want to see what they are? Better prepared than not, you know. Blackroot marauders are corrupt tree creatures. They're poisonous and resistant to plenty of stuff, so they'll rampage happily across a battlefield or just wander and cause devastation as ordered. Dirtwraiths are an abyssal import. Like Abyss ants, they're doing worryingly well in the prime material plane, taking control of plants and turning areas into wastelands as they spread. If it was anyone other than Iuz, I'd wonder what he plans to do with lands wrecked like that, but we know he's not the most rational of planners.Hounds of kyuss, like his regular spawn, are horrible disease ridden things that will kill you nastily and use your body to generate more of them. And they make a horrible noise too. Even if you control one, you really really don't want to stroke it. Murdakus are bizzarely two-faced dragons created by Iuz's magics. They have a number of biological quirks, some useful, and some exploitable. They feel nicely like actual beta technology almost as much a problem as a boon for it's creators, bringing this cool little monster collection to a close. Looks like Iuz is in no danger of conquering the world any time soon if this is the best he can manage.</blockquote>

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