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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6068189" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 303: January 2003part 5/9Guild secrets: An academy of necromancers? The players are going to slaughter their way through this like a hot knife through butter, especially if they have divine spellcasters in the party. This month's guild is presented pretty unambiguously as villains who need a good asskicking before they expand to a size where they can seriously consider taking over the world. Because they don't look that threatening yet. Hell, their guildmaster doesn't even have access to 9th level spells, which means Elminster'd just pat her on the head and be lecherously patronising before teleporting away and leaving a bunch of cryptic hints that direct adventuring parties to their door. This is a pretty short article, with not quite enough info on the organisation, because it feels like they were more interested finding another place to fit in some more new feats and equipment. (which feel like they missed the bus for the book of vile darkness, and are just happy to get into the magazine at all.) Once again, they're really not bringing their A game here. Fiction: Prying eyes by Johnny L Wilson. The gig is pretty much up for T. H. Lain as a pseudonym, as the magazine's boss can't resist claiming the credit for this particular excerpt from their new novel line. What's going on in terms of behind the scenes manoeuvring there? I'm guessing the writers aren't particularly happy about working uncredited. As an excerpt, this is one of those annoying instances where they set up the plot, but then leave it unresolved, so you have to buy the book if you want to know what happens in the end. The story seems to tread quite a bit of the same ground as Salvadore's cleric quintet, with the action scenes mixed with debate about the nature of religion, the question of if might makes right, and the value of worshipping gods when a lot of the time they don't respond to your requests, or act in mysterious and subtle ways. The kind of trope that never ceases to feel incongruous in a D&D universe where there's lots of gods, many of them highly active in the world, and most clerics should be very aware that they're servants of the gods, not masters. So really, this just serves to highlight that many of the writers in the company would like to put more philosophy, setting detail and interesting touches in their books, but they have to deal with a company that wants them to churn out populist pablum and then not even credit them properly for it on the cover, and a system that strongly encourages some media tropes while not working with others at all. It's tough being inside the big machine, and right now I don't envy the official writers one bit.</blockquote>

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