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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6164589" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 328: February 2005part 4/7The ecology of the will-o-wisp: We've already had this one, way back in issue 99. And you ma'am, are no Nigel Findley, may he rest in peace. In many ways, it's the opposite of that article, matter of fact where it was dramatic, vague on their origins and history where Nigel was very specific, parthenogenic where the original gave them three genders, pessimistic about their lack of manipulative organs where the original was transcendent, it's as if the writer was deliberately trying to make it different in as many respects as possible. About the only thing that remains is the memory sharing. A very curious decision. It's not actually that bad, but it does throw into even sharper relief just how formulaic these entries have become lately. Curious. And rather displeasing. No, I don't think I'm happy with this one. Winning Races: This column comes to the end of it's short run on a relative high, with a cool new racial variant for Eberron's Shifters. While they gain aspects of various mundane animals, Saurian Shifters gain dinosaur traits, which is inherently more awesome, but also makes them even more feared by common people. They can also purchase regular shifter feats, which means they'll be far more expandable than most races introduced in an article and then never seen again. Why should elves get all the fun when it comes to variants for every situation? They're obviously better suited to the fighty classes, since all their transformation buffs are physical ones, but since they're an ECL +0 race, their bonuses and penalties aren't too high to be crippling if you go against type. I think they deserve to be reprinted again in a proper book. Bazaar of the Bizarre: More elven magical items? No, Can't think of anything clever to say this time. Can't even muster sarcasm, I'm afraid. Elves and magic are just another day at the office by now. Armor of the Long Journey is full plate that doesn't encumber you when walking. Combat is still a pain, but that's only a tiny part of your day. One of those nice lifechangers for an adventurer used to discomfort. Boots of the Woodland not only help your stealth capabilities, but also protect you from the elements. Which means you can get another cloak which does something completely different. Maybe a robe of stars or something. In any case, this is pretty handy. The Cape of the <s>gerbil</s> General gives you a charisma bonus, and those around you a morale bonus. This is not as useful as it would have been last edition. The Hand of the Creator is just an elven-blessed dagger that gives you a permanent case of faerie fire when hit. This is actually rather irritating, and'll really put a crimp in your dungeon delving. Hit each enemy once for maximum effect. Quivers of Plenty are actually better than the previous edition's equivalents, as you don't need to keep one arrow in as a template, and they can produce all sorts of different materials. Since that'll help you penetrate annoying DR, this is pretty useful. Rods of Revealing get rid of illusions. As charged items, they won't last as long or be as unobtrusive as the similar glasses. Meh. Shields of Obstruction spread out into walls of thorns which'll break up the whole battlefield. Use it before they get near, then you can shoot arrows over it and bombard them while they fight through the thorns. Thespians Masks are another one-form transformation device. What they turn you into is fairly obvious when you look at them. Another attempt to give us stuff weaker than what we can manage with basic 1st level spells.</blockquote>

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