Previews - Sandstorm, Deathknell, d20 Past

[MerricB]

Mat Smith's latest Previews article is up:
http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20050203a

Of note...
Two new rare Deathknell figures (we've already seen the Griffon), the Spectre and the Greenleaf Druid:

Sandstorm excerpts:
* The Waste
* Supernatural Waste Hazards
* Flaywind
* Feats: Light of Aurifar, Sand Dancer, Searing Spell

d20 Past excerpt:
* Approaches to Campaigns

Cheers!

 

[Turanil]

I am looking forward to d20 Past (although I have Grim Tales which would supersede the need to buying this book).

 

[Jdvn1]

He used to give a lot more information on each book. What's with the, "Oh, you guys have enough until the book comes out" deal?"

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

He used to give a lot more information on each book. What's with the, "Oh, you guys have enough until the book comes out" deal?"

Well, I think that both Races of the Wild and Lost Empire's of Faerun are releasing in the next week or so.

 

[Jdvn1]

Well, I think that both Races of the Wild and Lost Empire's of Faerun are releasing in the next week or so.

I understand, but that's not the first month he's done that. Even if he shows us two new spells or two new feats or something, that's better than nothing. Those previews are supposed to be teasers.

Plus, he didn't show us anything from Lords of Madness. I think that book is going to be very sought-after. Tease us a bit!

EDIT: Sorry, he showed us the back cover of LoM. He's been doing back covers a lot too, I don't get that.

 

[DaveMage]

Spectre (rare) = good.
Druid (rare) = bad. very bad.

Griffon (rare) = Seen it! (but good)

 

[MerricB]

Part of it is that Mat writes these articles quite a bit in advance of when they're published, and doesn't always have access to the final galleys.

Then too, they've started publishing Excerpts from books in a different place, not just in the "In the Works" articles.

Cheers!

 

[Jdvn1]

Then too, they've started publishing Excerpts from books in a different place, not just in the "In the Works" articles.

That's true, but that takes away a lot from the Preview articles. I used to really look forward to them, and now it seems like a disappointment. They were better, I think, when he could throw in neat little tidbits. It doesn't have to be a huge excerpt, but just something for me to read.

It doesn't even have to be an excerpt. He could talk about how there's a cool new mechanic to do something or a talk about a new material or something. Let me know what to look forward to.

 

[MerricB]

Spectre (rare) = good.
Druid (rare) = bad. very bad.

Griffon (rare) = Seen it! (but good)

Why is the Druid bad?

Cheers!

 

[Gez]

Druid (rare) = bad. very bad.

Very bad, a bitter hand. Badissimo. Badder than something that's badly bad.

In other words, I agree. I bet that druid doesn't even have Beastmaster... (I want a Beastmaster 6 for my basilisk.)

Merric: The druid is bad because he's rare. (At least, that's the reason he's bad for me.) Every single class has had at least one common miniature, even exotic stuff like psion (see Blue), except for druids who are always rare. Both in the game term, and overall (Vadania, Orc Druid, and now this one, that's barely three in nearly 400 miniature models!)

I found this rather funny:

Interestingly, his armor is somewhat reminiscent of the style of protective wear that you would have seen long, long ago (say, 1st or 2nd edition), which is a really nice touch that makes this Spectre feel ancient (or at least exotic.)​

I guess the crowd that rants about "spiky goth leather outfits" in D&D will feel this really touching.

And for the griffon, it's another one on the list of minis I want. (Which includes all true dragons and the wyvern.)