Dragon Magazine #368, Dragon
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Contents
FEATURES
5
5
BACKDROP:GRAYWALL
By Keith Baker
Visit Graywall, a city of monsters from the EBERRON
®
campaign setting.
19
PLAYTEST: BARBARIAN
By Rob Heinsoo, Mike Mearls, Jesse Decker and Robert J. Schwalb
Our next playtest opportunity is here! Check out the barbarian
class from
Player’s Handbook 2
, which doesn’t release until 2009.
29
29
CAMPAIGN ITEMS
By Stephen Schubert
Most DMs fear adding artifacts or other high-powered items
to their campaigns, but 4th Edition makes doing so easier
than ever, without fear of wrecking your game.
34
ARTIFACTS
By David Noonan
Ready for your campaign, these brand-new artifacts span
a range of power and levels.
34
42
THE GLADIATOR
By Robert J. Schwalb
If you’ve ever wanted your character to jump into the arena
and fight for the ultimate prize—his life—then you’ll want this
article, which will enable any character to fight for greater glory.
FEATURES
56
56
THE PIT: RUNNING
GLADIATORIAL CAMPAIGNS
By Robert J. Schwalb
If you’re interested in running a gladiatorial
campaign or adventure, these rules will tell you how
your players can woo the crowd, as well as advice on
coming up with unique gladiatorial games.
COLUMNS
4
EDITORIAL
89
DESIGN & DEVELOPMENT:
70
DOMAINS OF DREAD:
SUNDERHEART, THE FUNERAL CITY
THE EVOLUTION OF MAGIC ITEMS
By Rob Heinsoo and James Wyatt
Rob and James discuss the evolution of the 4th Edition
death and dying rules.
By Matthew Sernett
Ruled by a twisted darklord split in half by her
terrible betrayal, this realm in the Shadowfell isn’t
that difficult to find, but almost impossible to escape.
70
92
CONFESSIONS OF A FULL-TIME WIZARD
By Shelly Mazzanoble
Shelly wonders what happens if she openly advertises her
fandom of D&D—and tells us all about what happens.
84
EXPEDITIONARY DISPATCHES:
STILLWATER STATION
97
RPGA REPORT
By Chris Tulach
The Living FR campaign is in full swing. Learn more
about how to get involved.
By Glenn McDonald
This small outpost on the edge of the Mournland
is filled with peril.
??
98
AMPERSAND
By Bill Slavicsek
Bill talks about a gamingweekend in Vegas,and offers
a
Manual of the Planes
preview.
??
ON THE COVER
Illustration by Steve Argyle
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D, FORGOTTEN REALMS, EBERRON,
D
UNGEON
,
D
RAGON
, d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their
respective logos are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in the U.S.A. and other countries.
This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork contained herein is
prohibited without the express written permission of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. This product is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual people, organizations, places, or events
is purely coincidental. Printed in the U.S.A. ©2008 Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
No portion of this work may be reproduced in any form without written permission. For more DUNGEONS & DRAGONS articles, adventures, and information, visit www.wizards.
com/dnd
COLUMNS
EDITORIAL
368
Birth of the Cool
DRAGON
October 2008
Editor-in-Chief Chris Youngs
Senior Art Director Stacy Longstreet
One of the best parts about working on
Dragon
is that each
month—heck, each day, is completely different. And each
month is more exciting, hectic, and invigorating than the
one before.
At this point, this is all you’ve got, and the anxiety of what
lies ahead. But just as your character at the dungeon door
shouldn’t worry about the encounter four rooms ahead,
don’t think about which feats you’ll take … yet. Class is the
toughest choice, but followed closely by your choice of race.
This is your first crossroads in the dungeon. If you go in
any direction, you’ll certainly end up somewhere. But one
way leads to the place where race and class intersect to give
you the most possible fun. The important thing to remem-
ber is that your best choice might not be the most optimal
from the perspective of the rules. Sometimes a choice the
power gamer dubs “suboptimal” will be the most fun. For
each player the requirements differ.
Web Specialist Chris Sims
Web Production Bart Carroll, Steve Winter
This month, we get to unveil the barbarian, probably one
of the classes people were most interested in seeing. As one
of my favorite 3rd Edition classes (especially for that sweet,
sweet one-level dip—ah, broken 3E min-max multiclass-
ing), I was especially excited to see what our design team
had cooked up. I have not been disappointed.
Graphic Design Bob Jordan, Breanne Miller
Contributing Authors Keith Baker, Jesse Decker,
Rob Heinsoo Shelly Mazzanoble,
Glenn McDonald, Mike Mearls,
David Noonan, Stephen Schubert,
I love the concepts behind the primal power source, for
one. I mean, check out this month’s cover. How bad-ass is
that dragon shape forming around the raging dragonborn
barbarian? If you didn’t see that and think, “That’s my next
character,” get your pulse checked!
Robert J. Schwalb, Matthew
Sernett, Bill Slavicsek,
From there, you’re mostly on safe ground, since respeccing
is possible with your characters, but not in the dungeon.
It’s too bad, too. I can think of several instances where an
“Undo!” button would have been handy on an adventure.
Chris Tulach, James Wyatt
Developers
Mike Mearls, Stephen Radney-
MacFarland, Peter Schaefer
Which brings up the real point this month: new characters.
I don’t think there’s a better new toy for a D&D player than
a new class. I don’t know about you, but a new class is just
an excuse to hit the books and start character building. It’s
one of my favorite away-from-the-table activities. You get
to come up with a new character concept, plan out your
first few levels (or if you’re a freak like me, all 30), think
about killer combos (both within your class, and within
your party), and make that all-important wish list of magic
items that would be oh-so-perfect for your new PC. If I
played a game for each character I’ve created, I honestly
don’t think I’d ever sleep again.
Stephen Schubert
The best part, to me at least, is the backstory. This is my
chance to potentially contribute in some unique, lasting
way to the campaign. I always sit down with my DM here,
and pick his brain for little campaign details that haven’t
come up in play yet—and you know DMs are itching to
unload some of this stuff. Find out about the organizations
you haven’t interacted with yet, or the uncharted corners
of the world your characters haven’t explored, and see if
there’s an angle there for your character. I like to tie my
new creation directly to the world—in effect, crossing
the streams of character creation with world exploration—
thereby giving my DM incentive to populate the campaign
with adventure hooks that will feel personal down the road.
Editor Miranda Horner
Cover Artist Dan Scott
Contributing Artists Rob Alexander, Steve Argyle,
Drew Baker, Ryan Barger,
Jaime Carrillo, Jason A. Engle,
Gonzalo Flores, Adam Gillespie,
David Griffith, William O’Connor,
Amir Salehi, Eric Williams
Cartographers
Robert Lee
In many ways, unwrapping your new class and building
that new character is a microcosm of what makes D&D so
much fun in the first place. I mean, this is, at its heart, a
game of discovery. You explore a new world, chock full of
unknown dangers, guided by a story set in motion by your
DM and carried to completion by you and all your fellow
players. But it all starts with creating your character, which
is a voyage of discovery all its own. Each time you build a
character, you’re unveiling uncharted regions of the game.
To me, it’s almost like a unique type of solo adventure.
Web Development
Mark A. Jindra
All right, enough talk. Enjoy the barbarian, and all the
other great content in this issue. Me? I’m off to reminisce
about Uncas, the last pure barbarian I played, then I’m
going to roll up my brand-new barbarian. Hmmm … dwarf
barbarian? Or maybe the warforged…
D&D Creative Manager
Christopher Perkins
Executive Producer,
D&D Insider
Ken Troop
Director of RPG R&D
Bill Slavicsek
Special Thanks
Richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, Logan Bonner, Michele Carter, Jennifer
Clarke Wilkes, Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell, Jeremy Crawford, Rob
Heinsoo, Peter Lee, Julia Martin, Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, David
Noonan, Stephen Radney-MacFarland, Peter Schaefer, Stephen
Schubert, Chris Sims, Rodney Thompson, Rob Watkins, James Wyatt
You start with your class—in my optimal case, one that’s
entirely new. You’ve never been there before, and that’s
just like your character standing at the entrance to an
unplumbed tomb, filled with danger and the unknown.
Graywall
by Keith Baker
endured for over a decade. Towns are rising in the
wastelands, built with the strength of giants and the
cunning stonework of the medusas. One such town
lies on the border of Droaam and Breland, carved
from the foothills of the mountains from which it
takes its name. This is Graywall, town of monsters
and gateway to Droaam.
to surplus weapons of war smuggled from Aundair
or Breland. Adventurers might have to pry a fugitive
out from the town of monsters, prevent an agent of
the Emerald Claw from making an deal for arcane
armaments, or find a shady fence to make their own
lucrative bargain.
Ruins of Dhakaan
: Droaam holds secrets
still untouched by human hands. Ruins have lain
empty since the Gatekeepers drove the daelkyr into
the depths . . . along with other dungeons held by
monstrous forces—natural, aberrant, and undead.
Graywall can make an excellent base of operations
for adventurers searching for the secrets of the Age
of Monsters.
Home, Unsavory Home
: In 4th edition, many
monstrous races make excellent player characters.
Minotaurs, gnolls, kobolds, goblinoids, and orcs are
all covered in the 4th edition Monster Manual, and
doppelgangers and tief lings have an easier time
in Droaam than they do in the civilized nations.
illustrations by Rob Alexander,
Jason A. Engle, and David Griffith
WHY COME TO GRAYWALL?
Khorvaire, is a land of monsters that serves as
a home to medusas and minotaurs. Gargoyles
and wyverns circle in the skies, and goblins and
werewolves lurk in the forests. For centuries it has been
an untamed frontier. Then the Daughters of Sora Kell
forged it into a nation. Few in the outer world expected
this monstrous alliance to survive a year, but it has
Though smaller than Sharn or Stormreach, Graywall
is a unique town with much to offer to adventurers.
A Free Town
: Not only is Droaam not one of
the Five Nations—it isn’t even bound by the Treaty
of Thronehold. As such, the laws of the east have no
weight here, making it a haven for bandits, desert-
ers, and all manner of war criminals. Free from the
Code of Galifar, it is also a source for dangerous goods
banned in the eastern lands, from mystical narcotics
TM & © 2008 Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All rights reserved.
5
October 2008
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DR AGON 368
Graywall
Backdrop
D
ROA A M, one of the strangest places on
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