Dragon Magazine #376, Dragon
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ISSUE 376 | JUnE 2009
A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
®
ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT
®
CONTENTS
Features
11
5
Creature InCarnatIons: Fell taInts
By Eric Heath
Monster Manual 2
introduced these new aberrant monstrosities,
and we’re presenting even more of these hideous nightmares in the
most recent Creature Incarnations.
23
11
DemonomICon: turaglas
By Ari Marmell
The Ebon Maw was born from the Abyss after the first demon lords
rose to power, but it has since grown to rival many of its peers.
23
eCology oF the rust monster
By Shawn Merwin
This classic D&D monster was reborn in
Monster Manual 2
. Get an
inside look at the life of a rust monster here
34
34
PlayIng revenants
By Matthew Sernett
A new race exclusive to
D&D Insider
! Revenants are created by the
Raven Queen—souls that have a purpose still to fulfill. Learn all
about this exciting new race in the latest Playing article.
5
45
45
aDventurers oF the realms
By Chris Tulach
This article touches on the nature of adventurers from
some of Faerûn’s newest locations.
Columns
51
Playtest: monster manual 3
By Greg Bilsland
This month’s playtest explores some of
Monster Manual
3
. Sharpen your swords—you’ll need ‘em!
Dragonmarks
By James Wyatt
Learn about the challenges in designing dragonmarks for
D&D 4th Edition.
the artIFICer
By Stephen Schubert
We premiered the artificer last summer on
D&D Insider
, and
the class changed thanks to your playtest feedback. Learn
about how fans shaped the final version of the class here.
4
eDItorIal
54
Class aCts: BarD
By Robert J. Schwalb
New paragon paths for the bard focused on multiclassing.
59
realmslore: sarIFal
By Brian R. James
This region of the Moonshaes is steeped in lore and myth. Learn
more about it here!
51
72
ConFessIons oF a Full-tIme WIzarD
By Shelly Mazzanoble
D&D’s “Player-in-Chief ” shares more of her wisdom and
insight.
76
D&D alumnI
By Steve Winter
A look back at D&D through past editions.
on the Cover
Illustration by Ralph Horsley
80
rPga rePort
By Chris Tulach
The Living FR campaign is in full swing. Learn more
about how to get involved!
84
amPersanD
By Bill Slavicsek
Bill discusses more of the changes in store for D&D in
2009.
59
Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Eberron,
D
u n g e o n
,
D
r a g o n
, 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
66
De s Ig n & De v eloPm en t:
69
De s Ig n & De v eloPm en t:
EDIToRIAL
376
THERE IS NO “I” IN VECNA
Dr agon
June 2009
Editor-in-Chief Chris Youngs
Senior Art Director Jon Schindehette
When I first joined my Thursday Night campaign, I rolled
up Staab the warforged ranger—a straightforward, polite,
cooperative member of his new party. After all, as a new
player, it made sense to f ly under the radar.
one of the vaults, complete with an alluring lock on its
waist just waiting to be picked. Garret managed to pick the
lock, but activated the golem at the same time. Without the
command words, he had to teleport out of there in a hurry.
But near the end of the fight, he used another power (
will of
the Feywild
) to teleport the final enemy
into
the force field—
and beneath the smashing fists of the golem.
Web Specialist Chris Sims
Web Production Bart Carroll, Steve Winter
Graphic Design Emi Tanji
Contributing Authors Greg Bilsland, Eric Heath,
Staab bored me to tears.
Brian R. James, Ari Marmell,
Shelly Mazzanoble, Shawn
By the time we started playtesting 4th Edition, it was the
perfect time to roll up Garret Farwhere, half ling warlock.
Garret’s personality better matched my preferred gaming
style: the instigator.
Merwin, Stephen Schubert,
other times, marching to your own beat occasionally does
mean pursuing goals that may or may not correspond with
your party’s. Take the
Eye of Vecna
for example. In our cam-
paign, we were running through
Thunderspire Labyrinth,
and the Eye made an appearance. The rest of Garret’s party
wanted to destroy it … but Garret desperately wanted keep
for himself. He even tried to pick a fellow PC’s pocket to
get at it. He even made the attempt, in a stroke of metagam-
ing genius, by using an action point to make the Thievery
attempt mid-combat, so as to not look inactive for a round.
Robert J. Schwalb, Matthew
Sernett, Bill Slavicsek, Chris
Tulach, Steve Winter, James Wyatt
Developers
Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
In my mind, instigator is a nuanced role. It combines
elements of a trickster, jester, intrepid explorer, and—at
times—damsel in distress. Essentially, you’re trying to maxi-
mize your own fun at the table without diminishing the fun
of the other players. However, you have to walk a fine line
between keeping things interesting for yourself without
annoying, antagonizing, or outright jeopardizing the rest of
the party. The guy who opens random doors in the middle
of a fight just to see what’s behind them, inevitably draw-
ing more monsters into combat, is all three of these things.
That type of behavior doesn’t qualify you as an instigator—
in my book, that makes you a jerk (or a Cylon).
Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert,
Chris Sims, Rodney Thompson
Editors Jeremy Crawford, Miranda Horner
Cover Artist Tom Baxa
Contributing Artists Rob Alexander, Concept Art
Garret never did get that eye (nor, for that matter, did he
get his mitts on Moran’s Eye from
King of the Trollhaunt War-
rens
). But really, that was never the point. The point is that
as the instigator, Garret helped move things along, without
completely moving counter to the goals of his fellow party
members. It’s a challenging role in a cooperative group
dynamic, but if it fits your style as well, I’d fully encourage
you to
not
take the most strategic action every round, but
think about exploring the most interesting one. I firmly
believe that most DMs love it when you do. In the end, their
monsters are meant to be defeated and their villains’ plots
unraveled. If you can help do so in a way the whole table
remembers—that makes the adventure all the richer.
House, Steve Ellis, Jason A. Engle,
Adam Gillespie, William O’Connor,
Hector Ortiz, Lee Moyer,
Richard Whitters, Eric L. Williams
Cartographers Jason A. Engle, Robert Lazaretti,
Sean Macdonald
That said, an instigator who takes the occasional random
approach to a fight can sometimes elicit better results than
the rest of the party might expect (think of Wicket luring
off those Stormtroopers outside the shield generator). In
his most famous success to date, Garret, along with his bold
companions, fought within a treasure vault, the treasures
stored behind a series of force fields. As the rest of the party
battled the guards, Garret teleported behind the fields to
see what he could take (thinking to help out the party, of
course). Knowing the type of character Garret was, the DM
had prepared a surprise: a “sleeping” chain golem within
Web Development Mark A. Jindra
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, Torah Cottrill,
Jeremy Crawford, Mike Donais, Rob Heinsoo, Peter Lee,
Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, Matthew Sernett,
Rodney Thompson, Rob Watkins, James Wyatt
M
CREATURE INCARNATIONS:
FELL TAINTS
Mysterious and deadly, fell taints can add
a new dimension to any adventure, and
they make a great change of pace from the
standard low-level fare of kobolds, skele-
tons, and giant rats. Yet in middle levels of
the heroic tier they can still provide serious
challenges for even seasoned adventurers.
by N. Eric Heath
Illustrations by Hector Ortiz
DESCRIPTION
Fell taints are beautiful, translucent orbs of wispy
tendrils that f low and writhe as if in winds that aren’t
there. They have a subtle iridescent glossy sheen
and are about 2–3 feet in diameter. Adding to their
strangeness is the fact that they don’t make any noise.
Frequently their victims scream in agony or whimper
in despair, but the fell taints themselves are com-
pletely silent no matter what they are doing at any
given moment. A fell taint’s victim can feel a hit from
the fell taint, but the fell taint’s tendrils continue to
twist and f low undisturbed.
These creatures do not have mouths and do not
ingest solid matter. These bizarre creatures don’t even
need to breathe. When fell taints feed on a victim,
they do no physical damage. They consume the psy-
chic energy of their victim. The body of a creature
slain by fell taints is physically undamaged.
TM & © 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved.
June 2009
|
Dragon 376
5
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