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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6155097" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 325: November 2004 part 5/8Spellcraft: This month's spell selection is for the roguish sorts, with most of these available to Assassins and Bards. There is the usual attempt at setting detail, but it feels rather perfunctory these days. Ominous looming thieves guild, yadda yadda yadda. Let's get to the spells, shall we. Appraising Touch boosts your appraise skill substantially. Well, it's less of a toe stepper than the old spells which just worked. Dead End is essentially an urban variant of pass without trace. Yawn. Marked Man lets you track things via sympathetic link. Seen you before too. Serene Visage boosts your Bluff score equally substantially. This is one that ought to be a general formula. Shock and Awe causes substantial initiative penalties for the enemy if cast just before combat. This'll hopefully let you get off two full rounds of sneak attacking before the enemy ceases to be flat-footed, which'll put a serious dent in their HP. Quite nice, really. Spontaneous Search lets you instantly take 10 without spending the whole turn actually rooting around. Once again with the very specific, integrated mechanics. This change really is becoming standard making everything seem very pinned down and codified, not like the old days. Magic Shop goes egyptian. We've had several articles on their gods before, but not one on their magical items. Given how long they lasted, I'm sure there's something worth plundering in those pyramids if you avoid the cursed bits. The Belt of the Camel lets you survive without water and resist the desert heat. You might still starve to death, but pulling a 40 days and 40 nights jobbie seems quite possible if you have a high con score. Canopic Jars of the Guardians let you turn a dead priest into an undying guardian and servant. The reward for a lifetime of loyal service? You get to carry on doing it FOREVER. Carrion Gauntlets let you drain lifeforce by touch at will. Prey on the weak and dying and you can go a long way with all those temporary hit points. Just watch you don't drain your friends by accident. Cartouches of Imhotep let you imitate their namesake by buffing your Craft skills. Fair enough. A Cloak of the Desert lets you blend into sandy environments easily. Combine with the camel belt and you can really hide out from everyone for an extended period. The Eye of Horus lets you both hunt down and hide from evil creatures. Horus is obviously smart enough not to sacrifice his followers in futile battles, which is nice to see. The Keepers Guide helps you spot and disarm traps. whether this is put to legitimate uses by priests adding to tombs, or not so legitimate ones by grave robbers is all up to you. River Sandals let you walk on water, and leave no tracks on land. Jesus might have turned this trick to good, but it has plenty of sneaky applications too, and you can bet followers of Set will use it to full advantage. Robes of the Burning Serpent let bad guys turn into giant snakes, and kill horribly any good person who puts them on. You may kill Amon-Thoth, but taking his stuff remains a problem. Sand of Set turns into snakes when sprinkled on the ground. Should put a scare into most low level adventurers. Scarab Charms turn into a swarm of beetles that'll strip the flesh from your bones. Better make sure you have a good throwing arm to make sure it takes out an enemy and not you or your friends. Scorpion Bracers help you resist poisons. Somehow, that doesn't seem as impressive as it did last edition. Tiaras of Bast let you speak with cats, and maybe even get them to like you enough to herd them. Even the most arrogant feline is susceptible to bribes and flattery. Vestments of Judgement let you bring people back from the dead … if you're worthy, and in very limited amounts. You can't save everyone, so exercise your mercy carefully where it'll be most effective.</blockquote>

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