Dragon Magazine #378, Dragon
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ISSUE 378 | AUgUSt 2009
A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS
®
ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT
®
CONTENTS
F e at u r e s
5
Pl ay er’ s H a n dbo ok 3
Debu t: Githzer ai
By Robert J. Schwalb
Complete with staff commentary, this is the second in our
Player’s Handbook 3
debut series. This time, we’re
presenting one of the races from
PH3
: the githzerai.
12
12
Dom ains oF Dr e aD : monaDhan
By Daniel Marthaler
Arantor, condemned undead dragon, rules this realm of betrayal with a tyrant’s claw.
Learn about Monadhan, the domain filled with the most fearsome betrayers in existence
… including the legendary Kas!
25
25
Dom ains oF eber ron anD the ForGot ten r e al ms
By Logan Bonner
Divine Power
introduced the concept of domains. Now get all the information you need
for domains for deities of Eberron and the Realms.
39
FiGhter essential s
By Robert J. Schwalb
This first article in an ongoing series for all classes introduces some character creation
and tactical basics for character classes. Plus, this installment features new content for
the tempest and battle rager fighters, the new builds featured in
Martial Power
.
39
51
ba z a ar oF the biz ar r e: items oF Pr im al Power
By Kolja Raven Liquette
These new primal-themed magic items are suitable for many classes, but they’re
especially great for your barbarian, shaman, druid, or warden.
5
60
60
Channel Divinit y: baha mu t
By Robert J. Schwalb
A new series premieres with support for worshipers of
the Platinum Dragon. A player’s companion article to
“Deities & Demigods: Bahamut.”
Co l u m n s
70
Deities & DemiGoDs: baha mut
By Robert J. Schwalb
Everything DMs need to know about the worshipers
and advocates for Bahamut, ready and waiting to be
dropped into your campaign.
4
eDi tor i a l
96
De s iG n & De v eloPm en t: i t em s e t s
By Logan Bonner and Peter Schaefer
This month, we get a look at the creation of item
sets from
Adventurer’s Vault 2
.
99
Con Fe ss ion s oF a F u l l-t i m e w i z a r D
By Shelly Mazzanoble
D&D’s “Player-in-Chief ” shares more of her
wisdom and insight.
104
r P G a r ePort
By Chris Tulach
The Living FR campaign is in full swing. Learn
more about how to get involved!
107
a m Per sa n D
By Bill Slavicsek
Bill discusses more of the changes in store for
D&D
in 2009.
79
Pl ayinG Githzer ai
By Chris Sims
This in-depth article dives deep into this months’
Player’s Handbook 3
debut content, expanding on the
race with more information on githzerai culture, new
racial feats, and more!
70
88
e x Plor e air sPur , Part 2
By Brian Cortijo
Our exploration of Airspur continues as we explore
some of the major villains and antagonists your
characters might encounter in the city.
on t h e Cov er
Illustration by Matt Stawicki
79
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
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com/dnd
JUST THE
E D i T O R i A L
378
Dragon
A u g u s t 2 0 0 9
FACTS, MA’AM
Editor-in-Chief Chris Youngs
Senior Art Director Jon Schindehette
Web Specialist Chris Sims
i experienced what might be my favorite D&D moment of
all time a few weeks ago. Chris Perkins’ Wednesday night
game is a world of small islands and large oceans, and our
low-paragon group has just acquired our first ship. We rou-
tinely have sessions in which we don’t roll a single die, and
one such session a few weeks back involved us attempting
to hire a crew. Chris informed us, through an NPC ally, that
the secret to a happy crew was a good ship’s cook. When all
was said and done, we managed to successfully hire the best
cook in the city through a series of roleplaying encounters,
wrangling him away from the service of another captain. As
negotiations wrapped up, i happily leaned back in my chair
and announced my satisfaction at finally hiring my own
personal chef -- even if he was only around to make me mid-
night snacks in game. What a night!
your next 4th Edition session and show them firsthand the
roleplaying opportunities available in the game.
Web Production Bart Carroll, Steve Winter
Fourth edition doesn’t include some of the mundane
mechanical elements of character building that 3rd Edition
did. For example, certain skills (i’m looking at you Craft and
Profession) enabled a player to feel like his character had
some sort of grounding in the “real world” of the campaign.
Odds were good that you never made a Craft or Profession
check in your game, but having ranks in that skill made
you feel connected to your character’s background. in 4th
Edition, those skills are gone. Why? Because we feel like a
character’s statistics don’t represent the absolute truth of a
character’s story. That’s right -- the reason those skills (and
other such elements from other editions) are gone is that we
felt they
hindered
roleplaying.
Now if you want to say your character was a blacksmith’s
apprentice and knows how to make his own sword, just say
so. Don’t worry about feeling forced to ref lect that story
decision mechanically. Just write it on your character sheet.
Liberating, isn’t it?
Then you’ve got skill challenges. While they do include
mechanical elements, they provide a structure that DMs can
use to navigate complex non-combat situations. Most impor-
tantly, this is the first time the game has given DMs an easy
way to reward characters for their participation. in other
words, 4th Edition includes
incentives
to incorporate role-
playing (and other non-combat) situations into your game.
Graphic Design Keven Smith
Contributing Authors Logan Bonner, Brian Cortijo,
Kolja Raven Liquette, Daniel
Marthaler, Shelly Mazzanoble,
Peter Schaefer, Robert J. Schwalb,
Chris Sims, Bill Slavicsek,
Chris Tulach
Developers Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert,
Chris Sims, Rodney Thompson
So what’s the point here? Well, if you’re reading this,
odds are good that you’re a 4th Edition D&D player. if you
are, odds are also good that you know folks who play other
editions. And if you know folks who play other editions,
odds are especially good that you’ve heard the complaint i’m
about to address.
Before we go any further, let me say one thing: i don’t
mind if you’re playing 1st, 2nd, or 3rd Edition. if you’re
having a great time and your campaign is fun, keep doing
what you’re doing. We love it that you’re playing D&D -- any
D&D! Personally, i wouldn’t trade my 3rd Edition campaign
memories for anything. if you’re playing another edition
because you’re having fun, i’d say you’re doing so for the
right reason. Gaming should be about fun first and foremost,
after all! That said, as a true believer in the current edition,
i certainly hope all D&D players give 4th Edition a try at
some point.
Editors Jeremy Crawford, Miranda Horner
Cover Artist Matt Stawicki
Contributing Artists Steve Belledin, Leonardo Borazio,
Empty Room Studios, Chad King,
Michael Komarck, Jorge Lacera,
Warren Mahy, Kiriko Moth,
William O’Connor, Eric L. Williams
Cartographers Sean Macdonald
Beyond character background or skill challenges, this
complaint makes the least sense to me because in every RPG
i’ve played over the past twenty years and more, roleplaying
was ultimately a result of the narrative brought to the table
by the DM and players, not something provided by rules.
That’s the beauty of roleplaying, after all! D&D has always
been a game of heroic fantasy, and there’s nothing about
those two words that requires rules of any sort.
i honestly hope that most 4th Edition players don’t
encounter this level of antagonism often. i also hope none of
us stoop to taking potshots at the games other people play.
This hobby is supposed to be fun,
so even if you’re tempted
to rise to the bait of a hater
,
remember what
ear it at
. if we get some good ones,
we’ll share them with the rest of our readers. We want to
hear from you!
Web Development Mark A. Jindra
D&D Creative Manager Christopher Perkins
Executive Producer,
Anyway, if you’re like me, you’ve likely heard some
unfounded criticisms about 4E and been frustrated by them.
A lot of misconceptions still f loat around in cyberspace,
often spread by people who haven’t even played the game.
But i want to address one of the strangest here:
All roleplaying has been removed from D&D with 4th
Edition.
if you’re here on
D&D Insider,
i’ll bet you’ve heard
this before. The first time you heard it, you might have
responded the same way i did: with confusion.
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, Nina Hess, Peter Lee,
Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, Matthew Sernett,
Rodney Thompson, Rob Watkins, James Wyatt
The next time you hear this myth bantered around, feel
free to direct people here. Better yet, invite these folks to
GITHZERAI
Design by Robert J. Schwalb
This month’s
Player’s Handbook 3
debut content is the
githzerai, one of four races to be featured in that book.
In addition to the full race entry, this article
presents a brand-new githzerai paragon path—the
vengeance warrior known as the
rrathmal
—as well as
several racial feats for your githzerai character.
All of this content comes directly from the pages
of next year’s
Player’s Handbook 3
, and you get to see it
seven months before everyone else: just another of the
great benefits of being a D&D Insider!
Thanks for all your feedback on our first PH3
debut article, last month’s
. We’ve tweaked the
format a bit to make this month’s article more reader-
friendly, while retaining the R&D commentary that
makes this content more than just pages from a book.
Tune in next month for another exciting dose of
Player’s Handbook 3
!
Commentary by Mike Mearls, Stephen
Schubert, Robert J. Schwalb, Chris Sims,
and James Wyatt
illustrations by Michael Komarck
to visit the Compendium entry for the
githzerai.
Commentary
James Wyatt:
The inclusion of the githzerai was a no-
brainer for the
Player’s Handbook
that introduces the
psionic power source to the game. They’re one of the
most iconic psionic races. Not coincidentally, they’re also
iconic monks.
robert J. Schwalb:
Of all the psionic-themed races
appearing in 3rd Edition, the ‘zerai are the strongest in
terms of f lavor and party compatibility. As a human-like
race, they are not so alien that the average player can’t
have fun giving them a spin.
What’s more, the githzerai have an interesting his-
tory (descent from an enslaved race), they have classic
enemies (githyanki and mind f layers), and they work
especially well with the background developed for the
psionic power source.
TM & © 2009 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved.
A u g u s t 2 0 0 9
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D r a g o n 3 7 8
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