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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6184817" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 335: September 2005part 4/7Fiction: Game of Change by Elaine Cunningham. The third biggest name in Realms books (after Ed & R.A. Salvadore) shows up a second time this month, giving us another story with some familiar characters. It starts off in lighthearted fashion, with a little cheating at gambling, which then progresses into a far more serious plot dealing with the nature of magic in the Realms, with a serious helping of elven racism on the side. The whole thing is surprisingly morally ambiguous, with a fair amount of cold-blooded murder committed by the protagonist and no comeuppance at the end. This reminds me that since they got rid of the TSR code of conduct, the writers are free to tell darker stories, even if they usually don't. And having recurring antiheroes and bad guys does help the Realms from seeming quite so cheery and safe. So this story does manage to hold my interest and avoid being cheesy or cliched, which I haven't always been able to say about her work. It's good to be able to look in on characters at various points in their life when they're not doing the typical hero's journey stuff. The ecology of the lizardfolk: Another monster I'm vaguely surprised hasn't got an ecology sooner. Like kobolds, which it's quite likely they're related too, lizard men (damn you political correctness! ) are one of THE go to monsters for a certain level of adventurers, appearing in absolutely tons of modules and sourcebooks. However, unlike kobolds, which may be of average intelligence, but are portrayed as cunning, inventive, and punching above their weight by use of those characteristics, lizardfolk are generally played dumber than their statistical intelligence, preferring to rely on instinct whenever they can get away with it. As is often the case in D&D, it's largely the fault of deific intervention. Their default god is a lazy bugger only concerned with eating and mating. Curiously, although he's a well established part of D&D continuity, this ecology chooses to completely ignore the other god they commonly worship, his lizard king creations, the way they interact with normal lizardfolk, and attempts to corrupt the race. This is a very glaring omission indeed, and seems even more odd when you consider the number of supplements they do reference in this one, including some crunch which you need to have got recent books to understand. These two very black marks against it mean that I'll have to give this one a well below average mark, despite having a few cool feats and lifecycle notes. I do not approve of whitewashing. Wormfood: Hirelings and cohorts! They really are kicking it old skool in this series! A step up from the dull worldbuilding of the previous installments as they take the time to show us their characters as they were at 4th level, and talk about how you can use them in your game. Gar Blitzhame is a local dwarf fighter/mage. He has a bunch of personal connections to the rest of the setting, giving you an easy in to certain plot events if you meet him. We also get details on his fighting tactics, which is particularly useful for a multiclass character. Daejin Moon is a taciturn and snide elven ranger. If you can't match up to her in skill and tactics, you'll be getting more than a few barbed comments over the course of your adventuring. Just the thing for sarcastic DM's to have fun playing out. Tassilo Vinese is a cleric of Heironious, who tries hard to be a team player, serving as both healer and fighter as a cleric of war should. You can rely on him to give his all in a pinch to save the rest of you. Glad to have him on board. This lot should come in handy, even if you aren't playing the adventure path.</blockquote>

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