Dragon Magazine Issue 248: June 1998


part 5/8


Arcane Lore: Hmm. More dragon-exclusive spells. No great surprise there. What is interesting is that this time they're priestly spells, most of them specific to worshippers of specific deities. Since most dragon types have rather fewer priest spells than they do wizard ones, they also tend to be rather powerful for their level. After all, it's not as if players can use them.

Aura of Null makes their fear aura extra chilling and penalty inflicting. Since dragons get attacked by whole parties, this debuff'll really add up in terms of the awkwardness it makes you suffer.

Hydraform lets you go all Tiamaty, with a ton of extra bite attacks. Yeah, no way that kind of benefit could ever be allowed to a PC for a 1st level spell.

Hoard Attunement lets them do the stereotypical draconic thing of detecting the tiniest addition or subtraction from their hoard, and being able to track the stuff taken perfectly. Once again, it's scary powerful for it's level.

Purge of Garyx gives you radiant burnination. This one is actually less impressive than a standard fireball or breath weapon. Most useful for a dragon who doesn't already have fire based innate powers.

Faluzure's Curse raises anything they kill under it's effect as a zombie lord. A zombie LORD?! Jesus. That really is pretty obscene. Even if you kill the dragon, a regular user of this would have a truly scary number of nested minions that still need dealing with.

Kereska's Favor lets you put wizard spells in your priest slots, or vice versa. Don't see why this one should be so exclusive. PC's are rarely going to be able to benefit from it, and it'll still be an overall step down in power for increased versatility for those that can.

Aura of Kereska lets you consume a magic item to briefly have unlimited spellcasting. Another deeply brutal one that they think should be kept well away from PC's.


Dragon's bestiary: No surprises here either. It's a birthday issue, and that means draconic variants. As they've been running short on original ideas of late, they go back to the source legends, and manage to find some that haven't been used yet. Course, we still don't have D&D stats for Bonnacon, and with good reason, for they are more than a bit of an embarrassment. So we shall have to see if these have cool ideas as yet unmined, or are another example of the toilet humour of the ancients.

Amphitere are two-tongued, winged snakes. Yeah, that's typically mythically quirky. Since they have save or die poison, they're one that can mow through a party, and a long spear or missile weapons would help.

Lesser Cetus are rather goofily described sea monsters. They're another one that'll devastate your ship though, and with their interesting balance of nature trick, can make for a bigger plotline as well. not bad at all.

Dragonets are slightly stronger tan they were in issue 158, but pretty similar otherwise. Just couldn't avoid the rehash for long, could we. They do include some quite cool ecological ideas and uses for them, so it's not all recycled ideas though. The fun charlatans can get up too when everyone knows magic does exist.

Gargouille are another large reptilian sea creature that will enjoy sinking your boat and gobbling you up. Man, there sure were a lot of those around in old legends from all kinds of cultures. I guess it probably has something to do with ocean voyages being a big gamble in general back then. Now we're more concerned with subtle predators that stalk the streets than massive ones that lurk in the deeps.

Hai Riyo are partially draconic birds big enough to carry off gargantua as prey. When the shadow of one appears above you, it may be brown trousers time. But as ever, not as much as with real dragons. None of these really match up to a proper great wyrm really.

Peluda are another dragon turtle variant, only with spines instead of a shell. Since those spines are also save or die poison, (the old legends care nothing for your pitiful cries for fairness and game balance) they're quite a tricky one to fight. The usual missile bombardment won't work very well, and they're surprisingly good at hiding for a creature their size. Good luck.

Surrush are yet another creature that probably looks stranger due to bad word of mouth descriptions over the years. Relatively small pack hunters, almost cute-looking, they seem like the kind of thing a red dragon would domesticate. Since they're yet another instadeath poison deliverer, that would add to the danger of an encounter with one, even when the PC's are name level+. Looks like they've managed to justify the birthday issue covering the same basic topic again this year, just about.

Dragon Magazine Issue 248: June 1998


part 6/8


Dungeon Mastery: A fairly amusing bit of system free adventure advice here this month. Out of adventure ideas? Convert one from the newspaper or TV news. Just be careful you don't pick one that the players'll find unbelievable. Who'd be convinced for one about banks trying to extort and evict people who aren't even their customers? And you might have a little trouble trying to put together dungeon crawls using this method. (although you could google the layout of the daily mail's offices) There are some specific details here as well, with 4 examples showing the easy routes to get from modern day things to their medieval fantasy equivalents. You'll still have to do all the mechanical design yourself, so this won't work if you're completely devoid of inspiration, but hey, the magazine's given us enough random generation tables in the past that you can probably break that impasse as well. This is sufficiently different from most of their articles to hold my interest, and feels like another part of their attempts to return to the old school. And while that's not as good as genuinely breaking new ground, it's better than staying the way they were a few years ago.


Nodwick gets rescued too late. Ho hum. Another resurrection fee to pay.


The ecology of a spell Contest: Slightly misnamed article here, but in an amusing way. They talk about the judging process of their recent competitions. How do you get from hundreds or thousands of entries, to a few in the final, and then to a winner. For a starter, you get rid of any which break the rules of the competition, are incomprehensibly written, or grossly under or over powered. Then you look for more subtle flaws, such as forgetting little details like types of saving throws, disruption of niche protection, silly humour, and blatant anachronisms. And only then can you really be judged on actual merit. This is why you should always learn how to give people what they want. All the talent in the world counts for nothing if you can't learn to follow the rules, both written and unwritten. Bah. Be a rebel, live by your own rules. Still, we get 4 neat new wizard and priest spells here, plus a couple of Dragonlance Saga ones. As ever, this proves you don't want to think about the mulch that was used to grow the roses you're smelling, because the process is rarely pretty.

Dragonmirth gets away from the old ball and chain. Swordplay gets on the bandwagon. Which is still pulled by horses, I'm afraid.

Dragon Magazine Issue 248: June 1998


part 7/8


Roleplaying reviews: Kindred of the east sees them forget to put in a pip rating, but still give it a positive review. It doesn't do too terribly in terms of political correctness, and has pretty interesting setting conceits, putting a very different spin on the basic idea of playing a vampire. In retrospect, the system probably has a few too many twiddly bits, with three different kinds of chi to keep track of, and the very real possibility of your character losing control of themselves on a regular basis, but this is a White Wolf game about oriental vampires. Being screwed and having to deal with too much bureaucracy seems curiously appropriate, and an interesting counterbalance to the Asia is kewler bits. And the gameline managed to fill itself in with a decent number of supplements without becoming bloated and impossible to keep track of, so it's well worth revisiting.

Merchants of the jumpweb is for Fading Suns, detailing all the main merchants guilds, plus larger details on their history, and how they go to be so prominent in the Second Republic. A different writer takes each guild, which means they get covered in distinctively different and appropriate voices. The developer keeps them all on message, and it adds up to a quite substantial expansion to the setting.

Cracken's threat dossier is for the Star Wars RPG, and is essentially a detailing of characters and places from 7 of their recent novels. The fact that the contents of 7 books fit into 140 pages reflects poorly on those novels, but the sourcebook does it's best with the material it has to work with. The Force has become cheapened by growing increasingly common, and the tone of the books has strayed far from the original movies. It's a credit to the editors that they do still manage to get useful material from them.

The way of the dragon is a splatbook for Legend of the 5 Rings, covering the appropriate clan. Chris wonders about the wisdom of doing the most atypical clan first, but they attack it enthusiastically, filling in both setting details and new powers, plus a rather excessive 5 appendices. Just watch out that they aren't overpowered until the other clans get their turns.


KotDT features a truly intelligent dragon for a change.

Dragon Magazine Issue 248: June 1998


part 8/8


TSR Previews: Not much going on in August, but the things that are are pretty neat. The illithids get the second in their trilogy of adventures. Masters of Eternal Night has them sucking the power of the sun like a juicy elephant brain. The fate of the world is genuinely in your hands.

The Realms revisits an already covered area in more detail. Empires of the shining sea is a boxed set covering the far south and it's rather weird surrounding states. High magic in hot climates. Up north, the Harpers series finally ends with it's 16th book, Thornhold by Elaine Cunningham. Good luck collecting all that lot.

Planescape gets a little closer to filling in it's various bits and pieces, with a Guide to the Ethereal Plane. Explore insubstantial realms a lot closer to the prime material than their usual fare. Watch you don't get sucked into the demiplane of dread.

Speaking of the demiplane of dread, they once again reach out and grab characters from other worlds in Vecna Reborn. Guess who the newest darklord is. And he ain't happy at all. Can you keep the crossovers from getting out of hand?

And finally, Alternity sees it's first campaign setting get a third book, the StarDrive Arms and Equipment guide. Once again, the rather different approach to the Amazing Engine's fire and forget style is noted.


Profiles: For our birthday issue, we get the biggest gun of all. Gary Gygax got the first profile in the magazine, way back in issue 103. Quite understandable when you remember that he founded the game, the magazine, and the entire milieu. Unfortunately, it seems his glory days are behind him. Where last time the magazine was most interested in pointing out how ridiculously hard he was working, and the things he was planning to do next, this article is more interested in using him as a means to promote Return to the Tomb of Horrors, their latest bit of nostalgia exploiting expanded rehash. They barely mention the stuff he did after leaving TSR. They get the publication date of Unearthed Arcana wrong. It's all more than a little shoddy. Even the greatest of people can be turned into a sideshow. Not a very pleasingly written profile.


This issue starts slowly, but winds up pretty jam-packed with cool stuff, even if more of it is rehashed than I'd like. The articles are generally of high quality, and the reviews appear to be on an upswing again as well. So as usual, the battle for this era appears to be getting enough material that hasn't been done before better. And this time, I think they've succeeded again. But then they are generally spoiled for birthday and halloween issues. There are still plenty of others between those they may struggle to fill. I suspect there'll be plenty I struggle to think of something to say about before I finish this.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 1/8


124 pages. Raar. Birthright gets to be on the cover for what will probably be the last time. How long did they have this one planned in advance before they knew the setting was going? There don't seem to be any actual tie-in articles inside though, although there are both Greyhawk and Forgotten Realms ones. Birthright never really caught on amongst the freelancers, did it. So I wonder what mix of material we'll be getting this month. Good or bad, specific or general, freelance or staff commissioned, what will they choose?


In this issue:


The wyrms turn: Dave Gross reminds us of a small but important bit of worldbuilding. You don't have to plan every detail in advance, but when you do, you need to make sure it's internally consistent with what's come before. I suspect that this is part of how Ed Greenwood has so many notes on things that are pertinent to actual play. Keeping a regular gaming group going and writing up all the stuff that they encounter or ask questions about will get you more material for less effort than slaving away in a cubicle saying you don't have time for gaming. And the more built up material you have, the less work it takes to keep the campaign going if the players make an unexpected turn. So this is pretty good advice.


D-Mail: A rather lengthy complaint about Thulsa Doom. He wasn't in the original books! Judging Conan on his movie incarnation is wrong! The editors shrug and respond with a simple YMMV. Sometimes adaptions are better, sometimes they're worse, and sometimes you get canon immigrants like Harley Quinn coming back to the original from the adaptions. Usually, we can pick and choose the best bits and discard the rest for further development.

A letter from someone who can't tell the difference between Rakasta and Rakshasa. Methinks you may be a little dailysex. Fortunately, upping your nerd rating'll soon cure that.

A lengthy letter about possible rules changes in the new edition, and the status of various settings. Obviously, the magazine staff disagree on what their favourite settings are, and what should happen to the rules. It'd be an even more boring magazine if they were all in perfect lockstep.

And finally, someone who feels betrayed by them putting Alternity articles in his D&D magazine. If they don't stop immediately, I shall cancel my subscription! That's a bit melodramatic, isn't it? There's always someone who spoils it for everyone else, isn't there. Who are you supposed to try and please most?


Nodwick is alive again. For how long, however, it's difficult to say. These adventurers are not the greatest doctors in the world.


Forum wants to know what rules you ignore. If no-one uses them anyway, why include them at all? We don't want the new books to be really huge, that'll scare away the newbies.

Justin Bacon does believe there's plenty of things that need fixing about AD&D, starting with dropping the A. Streamlining is the most important. It needs to be accessable, but also expandable. That way, you can cater to EVERYONE!

Chris Perry tries to fix up the favored enemy rules. Not quite the final result, but at least they're bringing it to the attention of the writers.

Kevin McMahon talks about luck and fate, and how AD&D and the SAGA system focus more on each aspect. You should choose depending on what sort of game you want to play. The same can be said of any RPG.

Adam Donaldson things one of the most important things that needs fixing about weapons is the weights. You'd think the writers had never handled actual weapons.  Yah, I can buy that.


Night warriors and Bastard! (their exclamation mark, not mine) The anime adverts keep racking up. Not long before they become so common as to be unremarkable.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 2/8


Sage advice turns it's questions orange, and cuts down on the italics. This definitely makes it easier to tell what's what.

Can you catch an arrow with juggling (no. Mucho pain if you try it)

Does being forbidden to use magic armour also apply to shields (Oh yes. You also can't take restrictions that other ones render redundant. Min maxing is OK, but points for nothing is not.)

Which ship is the acting ship. (The one taking the action. Honestly, next thing they'll be asking how you determine who the attacker is in melee fights. I suppose it's better than being prosecuted for your face repeatedly hitting someone's fist, as the police sometimes do. )

What subabilities go with what proficiencies. (Oh, this is gonna be a tedious list. Skip ought to get an intern to handle crap like this. )

What subabiliites goven bonus spell points (knowledge and intuition)

If a wild mage casts sending, can the surge affect someone across the world (no. Such a shame. )

Does a wildshield protect you from nahal's reckless dweomer (By the RAW, yes. Skip recommends changing that to screw players who try and abuse this privilege.)

What special powers stack with shields (most of them. But there's always exceptions. The game would get silly without them. Well, even sillier. You know what Skip means. )

What happens if an immortal creature casts spells that age you. (System shock! Oh, the strain, the strain, woe is my poor little immortal body)
How do you recharge a ring of spell turning (recycled question. The answer has not changed.)

Can a specialist cast opposition spells from a ring of spell storing (sure)

High level campaigns says anti-magic shell blocks psionics. This contradicts the complete psionics handbook (We changed our minds. Pray we do not change them again. )

Does a prismatic sphere stop psionics (sure. It'd be churlish not to when it stops everything else. )

What happens to goblyns when their master dies ( they act all lost and lonesome until they find a new Masssssssster)

Where do the al-quadim deities live (look at their alignment, and put them on the appropriate plane. How hard is that?)

Can ogre mages spread out the duration of their daily flight power (no)

Can an illusory creature move freely through the spell's range (yes)

My characters always give their magnificent mansions the maximum number of floors (This power does not work the way you think it does. Skip is afraid Skip will have to burst your players bubble.)


Out of character: Peter gets back to giving us what we really want to see. Hints as to the next edition. Here, it's the basic correction of making high good, low bad for everything. It may seem small, but it just makes things a good deal simpler to learn for new people, (although many would say 3e took more effort to learn in other ways) and allows power levels to scale upwards infinitely without weird mathematical circumlocutions taking place. They are still addicted to acronyms though, possibly at the expense of accessibility. Still, it's the kind of house rule many people were independently doing, and it's one even many of the retro-clones used, so I think we can definitely say in hindsight this was one of the smart moves. So this was a brief but enjoyable read, that again shows the influence the new boss is having. How many more changes will be directly attributable to him before this is over?

 
Seeds of evil: Historical fantasy? It's a relatively bland sounding theme. But with interesting results, as what we have here is a double tie-in article combining the Masque of the Red Death campaign, and their old series of historical sourcebooks. Nice to see James Wyatt is expanding his range a little. This proves yet again that you can mix horror with nearly anything, and produce something worth playing. What we generally know about history is respected, although he has no qualms about saying X historical figure was a puppet of the Red Death or agent of the resistance in a way that makes the World of Darkness look subtle. Really, this just goes to demonstrate that the Red Death is gradually winning the war over centuries, by being unified and capable of long-term planning where the heroes aren't, and the deck is so slanted against us that winning seems impossible. So I think the question is are you going to go down fighting, or are you going to cheat, build a time machine and go back and plant all the seeds to it's downfall along the timeline just where they're needed, Bill & Ted style! :guitar riff: So yeah, this can spin off into cheese very easily, destroying the low-key mood that the corebook worked hard to create in favor of gonzo time-traveling antics where you see the world, meet historical figures, find out what kind of gribley they are, and kill them. I'm really not sure what to make of that. It took the world of darkness hundreds of supplements for that to happen, and you've done it in 2 and a few magazine articles. :claps: If he was going for that, this'd be awesome, but I think he actually expects us to take this seriously. :/ Well, it's a success as entertainment, anyway.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 3/8


Below the tomb of horrors: A second double tie-in, sort of, as we have material here that's useful for both the old and new tomb of horrors modules. Since the original Tomb was a mere 12 pages long, 2 of which was taken up by the pregens; plus the separate illustration book, this is actually a pretty substantial add-on, nearly doubling the amount of potential challenges they could face if they take a wrong turn. As this is the tomb of horrors, you can expect to be utterly screwed if you don't choose your actions very carefully, and won't even get a saving throw on many of the challenges, instead having to use your OOC ingenuity if you want to succeed. And even if you do get out, there are subtle traps in the magic items that'll cause you more problems along the line. So this is very much for the hardcore amongst you, and much of it feels like a conscious attempt to emulate Gary's sadisticness. And it did elicit a few diabolical chuckles from me, so it must be doing something right.


Sixguns and Sesheyans: It becomes apparent that their theme of Historical Fantasy this month is actually a pun with a double meaning, as they're referencing both real world history, and the history of gaming in their articles. Here, they're bringing Boot Hill to Alternity! Not that they really covered Boot Hill enough in the magazine for me to feel nostalgic about it the way I might if they bring back Marvel, Gamma World or Star Frontiers material. But making a left turn like this helps them establish Alternity as a universal system, not just a sci-fi one, until they can get a few more settings out. While this concentrates on the wild west, it also gives some details on the development of firearms throughout history, and the various ways you could introduce fantastical elements to the milieu, allowing you to take advantage of the already introduced crunch. Most of this falls into the competent but dry mold, with the exception of the final setting ideas, as there is a lot of info to be dumped upon us. So I didn't really enjoy reading this one, but can recognise it's usefulness. I think it needed another writer to really bring the Wahoo spirit.


Fiction: Wakes the Narrow forrest by J Gregory Keyes. Ah yes, Fool Wolf. I recall being told that he becomes another recurring character in the magazine, along with Orion and Ed's stable of bickering wizards. And as it turns out, he's a brooding loner hero who has some very good reasons for being the way he is. After all, when you have a powerful spirit bonded with you that has a nasty habit of killing everyone around you whenever it's let out, it kinda precludes the possibility of long-term healthy relationships. Becoming a hermit or an irresponsible drifter actually seems the safest course of action. There's some pretty substantial worldbuilding in this story, and it does lay the groundwork for further adventures without slowing itself down with exposition. My main complaint is of course with the complete failure of editing, putting the pages of the story in the wrong order, which took quite a bit of effort to unravel. Unlike little mathematical miscalculations, that's not the kind of thing you just shrug off. Someone's going to get reprimanded for this.


Wyrms of the north: Since Ed was the one who originally created Weredragons, I was wondering when he'd do one in this series. Wonder no more! As usual with Ed, we're dealing with an exceptional example of an already exceedingly rare subspecies. Her humanoid form is a Drow, and her Draconic form is a Shadow Dragon. But she does have the typical Weredragon trait of using sex to get what she wants, then eating paramours that become troublesome. And is also of dubious sanity, engaging in behaviour that makes it likely she'll be killed by some band of heroes eventually. So this is one of his more PC friendly articles, presenting a character that isn't so powerful and well prepared that they won't be able to pin her down and beat her if they play it smart, and that gives them good reasons to want to fight her in the first place. And the new spells are low enough level that people could use them, and useful enough that they would actually want to learn them. So as usual, there's plenty of merit in what he's writing, and you can easily steal bits for your own campaign if you like. He's building on what he did before to good effect as well. He just gets the best of both worlds, doesn't he.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 4/8


Bookwyrms changes reviewers again. Well, at least the editorial staff are delegating a bit more instead of piling this on their plate on top of everything else. Course, whether it'll be proper reviews again or just recommendations remains to be seen.

Giant bones by Peter S Beagle is a collection of short stories set in his established world. But it manages to hit that balance of being accessible to people who haven't read the previous stuff, while still providing useful supplemental material to those who have, and making it clear that there's solid worldbuilding behind them. Sounds like another good prospect for gaming in.

The gratitude of kings by Marion Zimmer Bradley is another follow-on book, this time giving a full book to someone who'd only appeared in short stories (and is ironically her last appearance before the author died). Her big secret is under threat, and of course she has to find a clever and unorthodox solution. Most plot threads are resolved, but a few are left open for a future that would never come. Oh well. That's the nature of life.

The gift by Patrick O'Leary involves the Arabian nights technique of telling a story within a story, which then turn out to be linked together and all add up to a coherent whole. Maybe it wraps things up a little too neatly actually, but it still examines the nature of storytelling while also telling a good story. You'll probably learn about craft more easily than reading a dry technical book on how to write.

The stars dispose by Michaela Roessner is a historical fantasy in the relatively low-key mold, keeping it's magic and villains subtle, it's characters non stereotyped, and it's history unbowdlerised. And it's cooking recipes included in an appendix at the back. Well, a little cheese to help the healthy brainfood go down rarely goes amiss.

Trader by Charles de Lint sees him do a take on the old body-swapping plotline. The people involved act with more common sense and personal agency than certain movies I could mention, and the ending is better than most of his books, but it's not completely without flaws. Still, this is another recommendation, so that makes it 5 for 5 again, which I'm not happy about. And indeed, quite a few other people must feel the same, because this is the last appearance of this column. So it looks like book reviews have gone out with a whimper, being watered down until they were of very little merit to the discerning reader. Which goes to show that taking the safe seeming path is not always the route to success, because if you don't stand out, you can just fade away and be forgotten, which is a failure in media terms.


Giants in the Earth returns! This is a turn up for the books. Lets hope the characters are a little less overpowered this time around.

And the answer is ... yes. In principle, this is no different from the modern Rogues Galleries, since it involves an author statting out his own characters, which recently appeared in the magazine. The only difference is that it isn't a D&D property. So here we get to find out out a little more about J. Gregory Keyes' world of the Waterborn. They have an animistic cosmology that's in trouble because one spirit is trying to kill all the others and establish a monotheistic world with it in charge, and creating scary spirit-blooded to serve as it's mortal agents. Meanwhile, most shamen don't have the magical power to deal with spirits from a position of strength, having to rely on cunning and making deals instead. It's an interesting setup, and one that has humanity at a bit of a disadvantage. Which leaves people like Fool Wolf working hard for their heroism.

Perkar Kar Barku is the upright young hero of the Waterborn book, trying to do right by his goddess, and ruin the life of the big bad river god. He has a magic sword that has another little god bonded to it, which of course means he always has someone to banter with. And his stats are considerably less bloated than the average Forgotten Realms NPC. I think I might like to read about his adventures.

Hezhi Yehd Chadune is a good example of the power of the Waterborn. Only 13, she's already an incredibly powerful shaman with a whole load of spirits bonded to her. Not that she has it all good, with a strength of 4, and imperfect control over her still growing powers. Having a few fighty sorts around would probably be good for her health.

Tsem is her Half-Giant bodyguard, and is a good deal smarter than he seems, but still hardly a genius. Still, you don't really want a bodyguard to be too smart, just loyal, and he has that in spades. Once again he has fairly balanced ability scores, and skills that are chosen for flavor rather than twinkitude. So I think I can safely say I like this collection.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 5/8


Bazaar of the Bizarre: The Bazaar continues to be much higher in both frequency and number of items per article than it was before the takeover. They really are playing it a lot safer than they used to, despite the revamped visuals. This time, the theme is items for travellers. Which is likely to be a lot more handy for adventurers than the last couple, but still means they can avoid excess focus on combat. Let's see how imaginative this bit of freelancing is.

Amulets of Warning save you the bother of casting alarm on your campsite every bloody night. You'll still need to pay attention, as it doesn't detect animals or undead. But still, it's another definite convenience that will make a whole group's life easier.

Traveler's Backpacks are near indestructible, protect the stuff inside, and float too. If you have bastard DM's who like to make all your items save after every fireball, you certainly won't regret this.

Bags of Cleanliness are yet another lifechanger, like real life washing machines, only portable and not requiring constant refuelling. Seems wizards are increasingly keen on creating conveniences that let them escape the medieval these days.

Hiking Boots let you tromp through any environment, and keep dry and comfortable. Course, if you only find one pair, expect the rest of the party to have trouble keeping up. I hope you're willing to share.

Marching Boots are even more likely to split the party. Moving half again as fast for half again as long? You'll leave them behind in no time. Put it on the heavily armoured fighter who's normally right down at speed 3 to avoid that.

Boots of Passage are more subtle. Like a druid, you can get through thick undergrowth easily without leaving a trace. If you have a druid and heavy party, this'll help your wizard keep up with them.

Boots of Trail Marking are a decidedly mixed benefit. Glowing footprints wherever you go? That could well become a liability. Still, it'll certainly make you notorious. Wear these around town and people'll be flocking to your door.

Bottles of Holding are another extradimensional item for your carrying convenience. You can never have too many of them. Just don't put it in your bag of holding, whatever you do.

Bows of Hunting are no better than normal in combat, but make you great at spotting and tracking down prey for your dinner. Since you may well be using that benefit daily in the wild, are you going to say no?

Canes of Evasion reduces your chance of random encounters by 3/4. This will of course also reduce your opportunities to gain XP. It may seem nice, but getting soft is a perpetual danger for adventurers.

Canes of Fire Starting let you avoid all that tedious business of rubbing sticks together for hours. Yet another convenience that you'll really miss when it runs out of charges.

Canes of Foraging let you find food in a rather less offensive way than the Bow of Hunting. Now you don't have to violate your vegetarian principles.

Capes of Comfort serve as both daywear and sleeping bag. Let''s hope the colour scheme is to your liking, because you'll be seeing a lot of it from now on.

Chalk of Trail Marking is another way of leaving hidden signs for yourself. Not nearly as fun as Merty's magical markers though.

Climbing Spikes are yet another tediously obvious item that does what it says on the tin.

Cloaks of Animal Kinship show that skinning creatures and wearing their fur can endear you to other members of their species. If only it worked that way for humans.

Camoflage Cloaks are like elven cloaks, only they only work in one specific terrain. Yawn again. Do we really need a whole bunch of weaker variants for existing stuff?

Good Weather Cloaks are another one that duplicate many previous items. Increased comfort? Everyone wants some of that, don't they.

Hammers of Climbing are to climbing spikes what magical bows are to magical arrows. Much much more reusable. Not really a big decision if you have the choice is it.

Helms of Infravision are yet another one we've seen a variant on before. Infravision granting stuff is hardly rare.

Helms of Excellent sight are another useful but familiar one. Still, bonuses on finding secret doors are still surprisingly rare. That's one power your players will love.

Machettes of Path Clearing are a far less subtle way of getting through undergrowth than the earlier boots. Another one that'll leave a very clear trail for anyone to follow. Watch out for pissed off druids.

Necklaces of Language let you understand a single extra language. Given item slot limitations, you may find yourself stuck with the wrong one in a pinch though. And for whatever reason, they aren't hot-swappable. Can't say I'm impressed with this design.

Pipes of aversion keep bugs away. Both Gandalf and Elminster probably approve of that comfort.  

Rods of Attraction are another way of attracting easy meat. Keep this up and food'll actually be decently catered for in terms of magical items.

Rods of Direction are a variant on the Dowsing principle. Course, they tend to take you by the most direct route, which may well not be convenient. They have other limitations as well, which keeps them from being game-breaking.

Silver's Sustaining Satchel triples your food supplies. Just how many variants on this do we need?

Skillet's of Frying need no fire, and stay perfectly cool on the outside, making your cooking experiences much easier in the wilderness. Who wants burns, after all? Plus, fires do tend to attract attention. You might want a bit more stealth.

Stakes of Concealment tell creatures This is not the tent you're looking for. Well, spellcasters do need their sleep. Wandering monsters during the day is all very well, but if you have to get up in the middle of the night, your memorisation is seriously thrown out.

Torches of limited Light are only visible to those close to them. Now that is a clever trick and a good substitute for infravision. This is even more useful than a standard continual light globe.

Whistles of Repulsion are yet another meh improvement on a perfectly normal real world device. Ahh, the joys of ultrasonics.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 6/8


Arcane Lore: Only one spellbook this month. It is however, given an extra detailed and interesting write-up, with lots of information not only on the new spells, but what it actually does. As those who've studied D&D history will know, Rary is one of those characters who's got quite an interesting treatment. Originally just a bad joke of Brian Blume, retiring as soon as he got to Medium level, he was later turned into the traitor of the Circle of 8, which is very ironic when you consider the position the Blumes held in the company before leaving. But anyway, here's one of his spellbooks. And an evilly appropriate little thing it is, stealing other people's ideas and magic items, and funnelling them back to it's master, before disappearing when it's dupes owners start to get suspicious. Lost spellbook my arse. You can't even copy the new spells contained in it, so you'll soon lose access to them as well. This'll definitely cause the players much misery if they encounter it. Muahahahaha. I actually rather approve.

Rary's Empathic Projection is basically a cutdown ESP only affecting emotions. This is primarily important for the uses the book itself puts it to.

Rary's Mind Scan is upgraded ESP, letting you do a detailed probe of memories. This lets the book figure out exactly what you have worth taking, and when there are gaps in your routine to be exploited.

Rarys Hesitation increases spell casting times. Only really useful if you actually bother to track segments.

Rary's Protection from Scrying is pretty self-explanatory. This is used on the items stolen after they're teleported away, to make getting them back much harder. It even helps you figure out who's asking, so you can turn the tables. The kind of thing every archmage worth their salt should develop a variant on, and it's no surprise they're all so closely guarded.

Rary's Urgent Utterance is essentially quicken spell metamagic, letting you prepare to unleash another spell with a single word. Choose carefully, for it's still a lot trickier to access than it will be next edition.

Rary's Vicious Missiles is a somewhat underpowered 8th level spell that's mainly notable for another bad joke being applied to it. Guess this is in the old skool spirit after all, even if that is somewhat eyeroll inducing. It wasn't all great back then either.


Giants in the earth celebrates their return with a contest for characters. Just the way to build up a new supply for publication. All rights are of course transferred to TSR in perpetuity, blahblahblah, no royalties, no money even, just a free subscription. Not everything has got better since the takeover.


Dungeon mastery: After an issue that's generally been pretty crunch heavy, a bit of system free setting advice based on real world principles comes as a bit of light relief. So here's a whole bunch of spelunking terminology, which allows dungeoneers to sound smart by being able to refer to specific features with a single word while underground, which saves time when who knows what gribbleys may be chasing you, and you don't want to take a wrong turn and be cut off and die. It spans three pages, and does introduce some terms that I'm not familiar with, so it seems they haven't covered all this stuff despite all the underdark specials they've done over the course of the magazine's life. Plus it's a reminder that purely natural processes produce some weird and beautiful landscapes all on their own. Why shouldn't fantasy ones be even more imaginative, and entirely explainable in their own way. By adding more contrast, you make the mundane bits more valued as well. I approve of this one.


Dragonmirth reminds us that the trappings are not neccecarily the class. Swordplay are a bunch of pervs this month. KotDT need reminding that high rolls are not always good in hackmaster.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 7/8


Roleplaying reviews undergoes another change of writer, this time someone called Ray Winninger. Not inspiring confidence here guys! They also fall prey to the wave of rehash that's sweeping the nation, with another Call of Cthulhu special. We had one just 4 issues ago. Have your horizons really become that limited? Maybe we'll even get the same ones reviewed again with a different perspective. :/ No, I can't really give this a positive spin.

The complete masks of nyarlathotep has indeed turned up before, not only getting reviewed in issue 240, but the previous edition getting reviewed in issue 158. It gets a long and gushingly positive review that really just cements it's place as a classic adventure. It's big, clearly written, has a decent amount of nonlinearity, and doesn't hammer it's story in your face. Something for everyone to love.

Delta Green also gets a 6 pip review, and is hailed as a new classic for the game. Four years in development, it's exceedingly polished and very complete in both character options and campaign material. You're certainly not as empowered as you will be in Cthulhutech, but you're not as helpless as in the average CoC campaign. The fact that this still gets talked about today means that it too has stood the test of time, and actually lived up to the hype. Individual companies may suffer, but the mythos does not die.

Realm of shadows is another Pagan Publishing Cthulhu campaign, this time set in the 1940's. It too is pretty interesting, using both old and new school elements to build up plenty of depth in the setting and advice in how to handle the set-pieces. Ray's main complaints are that the organisation isn't quite as perfect as the last two products, and it's quite a bit more visceral in it's horror than the old products. Plus you'll probably have to make new characters.

Nocturnum: Long Shades is from Fantasy Flight Games. This is another attempt at a modern day cthulhu adventure, that introduces a whole new set of bad guys, and is apparently the start of a series. It's interesting, but certainly not as polished as the previous reviews, and has some more reliance of stereotypes. Still, it's more competition that will hopefully drive improvement, not pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Dragon Magazine Issue 249: July 1998


part 8/8


Previews finally realizes that as they are no longer owned by TSR, they shouldn't have their logo. They also take this opportunity to start covering other games companies as well. I strongly approve. However, they do stop covering stuff 2 months ahead. Since I'm not sure how long this lasts, I'll do everything new mentioned here, and then incremental updates. This does mean I won't be mentioning any TSR stuff this month, as they're not mentioning anything new there.

Atlas games seems to be rehashing a bit, in the Festival of the Damned anniversary edition for Ars Magica. The town of Vezay is involved in dubious stuff again. Better get the inquisitors on the red courtesy phone and try not to be burned in the crossfire.

Biohazard games release Wetware for Blue Planet. Cybernetics, genetic engineering, and other cool toys for both players and GM's. A perennial good seller.  

Clockwork release Spookshow. Combining ghostly stuff with espionage. Now there's a pairing that go together pretty well, as Orpheus showed a bit later.

Critical mass Studios are pretty busy, with the Soothsayer game out this month. The players guide, the usual reference sheet and GM screen pack, and two adventures, Set in Stone and Avogrado's number.

Event Horizon seem to be trying to get into the magazine business. RolePaper issue 2 seems to have a whole bunch of articles on stuff useful for various systems. I don't remember this at all.

FASA releases an updated corebook and a new novel for Battletech. Their ongoing plotlines advance, and the rules advances from various supplements get collated into one place for usefulness. Woo.

Fractal Dimensions release SORD. The System of Role-Playing Development. A generic system that I've never heard of before. How long did this last?

Gold rush Games are producing Sengoku: Chanbara roleplaying in feudal japan. Samuraiariffic. Well, I guess D&D has lost interest in that stuff at this point, and it's still fairly popular. Other people will move in to satisfy a demand.

Heraldic Game Design release Steeltown for SOL. I don't remember this gameline at all either. Shrug. I guess I was mostly out of the loop at this point.

Holistic release War in the heavens: Lifeweb for Fading Suns. They're obviously big enough to support an adventure trilogy at this point too.

LUG seem to be the current users of the star trek license. Star trek: The next generation gets a corebook and a Narrator's Toolkit. Including an adventure involving Q? Oh boy. What was this incarnation of the game like?

Pinnacle are busy bunnies, with 4 things upcoming in the next 2 months. Tales O' Terror: 1877 does for deadlands what the poor wizard's almanacs did for Mystara. Another year passing in the game, with more alternate history weirdness. Next month, they unleash Deadlands: Hell on Earth. And you thought the weird west was rough as it is. With both the core and the radiation (ie, GM's) screen, you'll be having a hell of a time in no time. And if that's not enough, there's also Worms!, their 7th dime novel/adventure. They've certainly managed a lot more supplements than boot hill ever did. Probably due to the supernatural elements, in the same way Shadowrun massively outsold Cyberpunk and is still going.

Steve Jackson Games lets In Nomine's metaplot climax, with The Final Trumpet seeing the world in serious danger of ending. Go on, cancel it on a high note, you know you want too. They also release GURPS Traveller. Another big gameline gets a new form after quite a bit of inactivity. They really are the kings of system conversions.

White wolf easily outpace everyone but WotC, showing that in terms of size and production values, they're already comfortably number two. Methinks their output needs dividing up into it's various gamelines.

Dark ages gets Clanbook Baali! Read about the little boy raping and impregnating a priest! See the picture of a woman with maggots in her hoo-ha! Watch as we riff off cthulhu again! ZOMG we're so dark and edgy and mature. \m/ Not their finest hour.

W:tA gets Hengeyokai: Shapeshifters of the East. Goblin spiders, Kitsune, all sorts of strange virtue requirements for different species, and a good excuse for crossover games.

M:tSC gets Crusade Lore: The storytellers screen and book. A rather longwinded name for an ST's companion, but what's new, eh?

W:tO takes us deep down with Doomslayers: Into the Labyrinth. Grimdark at it's finest, with tons of stuff for fighting spectres with, and more than a little to help playing them too. You can never truly beat oblivion, but maybe you can hold it off for a day longer. Just make sure you get regularly castigated for your angst level.

They're even busier next month as well. V:tM gets War of Ages, a rehashed compilation of two old books. See the Anarchs and camarilla contrasted and trying to get the upper hand on each other like the sabbat is barely there. Silly vampires. Man, that seems dated as hell.

W:tWW gets the Wild West Companion. They seem to be on a historical kick as well at the moment. See how wild the frontier is when angry native spirits are added to the mix.

M:tA is also in a rehashy mood, with The Traditions Gathered. A compilation of the old Virtual Adepts, Sons of Ether and Order of Hermes splatbooks. See science get mangled as they try to persuade people to believe in it. I do not consent to this reality.

C:tD gets it's storytellers guide. Actually, this has considerably less cool stuff than the players guide, but it's hardly terrible, and the intro fiction in particular has stayed in my mind.

Trinity is right in the middle of it's big adventure arc. Darkness Revealed: Passage through shadow. They continue to singlehandedly provide colons with employment in this world and beyond. Course, from the perspective of the RPGPundit, they're providing colons with employment in a different sense, but I think the less said about that the better.


Profiles: Having covered Gary last month, Dave Arneson is the logical next choice. After all, he might sue them if they don't. However, the shoddy researching for these articles continues, with several of the dates wrong (as I can personally prove from references earlier on in the magazine's run.  ) This makes me skeptical about the facts I can't substantiate as well. I get the impression these may have been dashed off in a very short amount of time, by someone who was busy with dozens of other things as well. Anyway, from this profile (and I know there have been some far less complementary ones from other industry people) he seems to be a likable dilettante, having been set up for life financially by royalties from the basic sets, he's free to experiment with things in all kinds of fields, reviews, making a computer game, interviewing people, and of course, doing guest spots on the convention circuit. Not a bad way to live. You don't have to constantly try and produce the next big thing after having one big hit if you don't want too.


Another issue in which the articles are actually very good, overall. On the other hand, it's increasingly obvious that the reviews are on their last legs, and their editing and fact-checking is more than a little spotty. So at the moment, they're at their best when actually creating new stuff, not looking over other people's. Well, I guess giving the power back to the individual writers and line developers would have that effect. So once again it looks like this era is better to read in bits and pieces than to plough through in a linear fashion looking for the connections. Will that be enough to keep people reading? Not too far till the end of the year, where we can see the statistics again.

Dragon Magazine Issue 250: August 1998


part 1/8


124 pages. So here we are at the end of the issues covered by the Archive. If Dragon hadn't gone electronic, I might have still done this thread, but I would have stopped at this point, because I do like to set myself achievable goals rather than endlessly ongoing ones. We would also probably have reached this point somewhat sooner, as there would be less scope for reading ahead filling in bits and pieces, and the long middle parts wouldn't feel like such a grind. But we're here now, so let's see if they've done anything special for this issue. Format-wise, nothing's changed. And the theme is a familiar one. Underwater adventures again. But they have been doing good articles recently. Maybe they'll have solicited some future classics from their writers. Give us a multi-part epic special again. Pwetty pwease.


In this issue:


The wyrms turn: So it seems that the greater proportion of positive letters in the letters page has been indicative of the larger trends in their submissions. It's hard to figure out what you need to do better to improve the number of readers when the current ones are either content or not complaining because they're afraid of losing the magazine altogether after it's recent absence. But they're still looking for ways to improve. If anything, as Ryan Dancey's post-takeover writing indicated, they're all the more interested in listening to public opinion after it becoming clear TSR not listening was what led to their downfall. So here they apologise for some recent mistakes, and promise to try harder. Ironically, the apology for their mistakes contains a mistake in itself (how could Kim print a correction for a game in the issue before it appeared? ) So yeah, they admit their editing needs work, and manage to really prove it in the same breath. :facepalm: Really not inspiring confidence in me.


D-Mail: A letter complaining that one of their recent monsters was grossly overpowered for it's XP rating. More crosses for their editors to bear in public. They'd better be preparing for the next edition to fix this.

A letter with a ton of advice, much of which they heed. They're getting rid of Bookwyrms, and doing another Psionics themed issue in the near future as a result of this. You do have the power, as long as you ask for the right things.

A letter on their Robin of Sherwood editorial. That was awesome, and you are paragons of taste for remembering it! Why thank you. Good to hit your nostalgia buttons. Hmm. Maybe we ought to do that a bit more

And finally, a letter from the netherlands, mostly about existing settings, but also the idea of Magic:the Gathering getting a D&D conversion. Again, it's mostly positive. The magazine is a perfect place for little expansions on worlds that don't merit full books.


Nodwick gets no treasure. But at least he's not tricked as to it's value.


Forum: Craig Hilton thinks obscene ability scores as standard is bad for the game. Method I 4eva! The classes that require them are a big part of the problem too. Fix that and much of the need to be better than everyone else goes away.

Lloyd Brown III gives fairly detailed thoughts about exactly how to nerf poison. Many of them ought to be nonlethal, quite possibly paralytic or with effects other than death & hp damage. Once again I nod.

Charles Stucker tells us how hard it is to use an axe, and how nasty it is when you fumble them. Try it yourself, get up the scars to give yourself credibility.

Joe Piela fills us in some more on the history of polearms. Wrong again, M Kant! Polearms changed a lot over the years!

Lizzi Plant isn't particularly happy with either existing proficiency system. We need a few more, and more improvable.

Dragon Magazine Issue 250: August 1998


part 2/8


Sage advice is still having problems with stoneskin. It's the spell that keeps on taking up column space. Skip wishes Skip had a time machine so Skip could go back and rewrite that bloody spell.

Can you clarify the necklace of prayer beads (12th level, constant karma, nonstackable. )

Do 1/day powers recharge after exactly 24 hours or overnight ( you can choose from item to item as seems thematic, to the irritation of your players.)

Can a wall of force stop a sphere of annihilation (nope. It just goes right through. Fun.)

Are item saving throws neg or 1/2 (usually neg, as you don't usually track item HP)
Why can't thieves get basic picks all other classes can. (Good question. Skip doesn't have a problem with this, so skip will chastise the twitmongers who forgot this.)

Is called lightning magical (yes)

Can Keoghtom's ointment cure mummy rot (Sure. Rub it in, why don't you)

Can you cast nightmare on a disguised person you don't know (As long as you can clearly state somehow who you intend)

Do you get XP if your figurines of wondrous power kill something on their own. (No more than if your henchmen did. In other words, not unless this is mass combat)

Please clarify the exact way teleport handles your motion ( Skip thinks you're overthinking things. You can define the fluff for why teleport works the way it does as you please )

Do you lose a stoneskin charge from a giants boulder or being caught in a fireball. (Only if you're the one being aimed at, and yes. )

Can a dragon use clairaudience to spot a character under dust of disappearance (no trouble at all)

Can you heal damage from a sword of wounding by indirect healing powers (no. That's like saying you're a vegetarian when you're eating fish and birds )

Can a tarrasque heal damage from a sword of wounding (yes. It's the poster child for better than you exception based design.)

What does a ray of enfeeblement do to someone wearing a girdle of giant strength (subtract from their buffed score )

Can aid cure damage (no. The points are always temporary )

Can charm monster affect creatures with more than 8 HD. (Yes. It's like turning undead. You always get 1.)

Can I forbid metamorphose liquids from producing utterly broken compounds (Sure. Skip says never let real life logic wreck your game kids! Just say no! )

How do tentacles work (Scandalously! Just like the rest of your limbs, only without strength bonuses )


Out of character: Instead of gaming advice, Peter's column this month is pure personal viewpoint. Yes, Gaming can definitely be Art. It involves creating things that have no practical use, tells a story, involves substantial amount of technical expertise, and most importantly, can touch the hearts of those exposed to it. It may not have even the same kind of marketability as poetry or painting, but it's definitely a creative endeavour. The fact that it's an interactive one, just as Video games can be, makes things more blurry, and begs the question of who the real artists are, the writers or the players though. Still, you can't disqualify it on being improvised, or you'd have to disqualify jazz music. You can't disqualify it on being a derivative work, or you'd have to disqualify fanfiction.  (double , and yes, I'm fully aware that people have argued vehemently against both of those in the past. ) You couldn't call every RPG campaign art, but I'm going to have to support him and say that at their best, both RPG books and RPG campaigns can be works of art. Hell, you could really say this thread is a work of performance art in itself, as it involves vast amounts of mental effort and creativity for no practical gain for me. If you could qualify Dr Johnson's first dictionary, which took him 9 years to do, this would probably fit into the same category, as while it is technically a reviewing and cataloguing, it also involves considerable personal agency in the way I approach it and the sources I draw from. And I'd hate to see the people who'd argue that people like The Nostalgia Critic and Spoony aren't artists in their own right. Or maybe art is a purely subjective concept that has no actual solid provable boundaries, like emotions or religion, and I'm just rationalising my own insecurities about the value of what I do. Still, at least I know I'm in good company. And after 250 issues, I think my ego could do with a little primping.

Dragon Magazine Issue 250: August 1998


part 3/8


Heroes of the sea: Just as with the flying special 6 months ago, they decide to kick things off with a whole array of aquatic races given PC stats, so you can have an all-underwater campaign and still feel you have plenty of choice. And then quite possibly become dinner for the all-feline party using issue 247's rules. Looks like here there's more races given less detail than the flying ones, but not as many variants as the cat and dog articles. Kind of a middle ground, really. So let's see if the mechanics of the writeups hold together.

Crabmen fit into the strong but dumb niche, and their mental and physical quirks mean a lot of equipment that's built for humans won't work for them. Their natural armor and weapons mean they'll be ok at low levels, and then fall behind at higher ones. Still, given their short lifespan, they're not likely to make it that far anyway. No decades spanning epics with one of these in the party.

Koalinth are pretty similar to their land-dwelling cousins in terms of class options and culture, and able to survive out of water more than long enough to be viable PC's in a regular party. Like most goblinoids, they may tend towards evil, but they can still be excellent adventurers.

Locathah are of course very problematic in a normal campaign because they can barely move on land. But in an all-underwater campaign, they can be a staple character race. They do have the oddity of being able to be Bards, but not Thieves for some reason. Rules can be weird.

Malenti are of course perfect for becoming adventurers, with their angst-inducing backgrounds meaning at least some of them surely escape and wind up forming bonds with creatures less abusive than Sahuguin. They don't have the arcane skills of real elves, but do enjoy retractable claws and teeth that make them capable unarmed combatants, and can withstand depths that even most of the other underwater races would be crushed at. They could certainly support a Drizzt of their own.

Merfolk are another underwater-only suited race. Their class selections are surprisingly limited really, with Bards once again the only rogue choice. I'm rather curious why the author decided to do that. It's not as if there isn't plenty to possess down there, and the buoyancy means you can actually carry a lot more if you have the right kind of pack. I can't see any reason cultures wouldn't form that feature criminality.

Pahari are in sharp contrast to all the previous races, in that they can only be arcane spellcasters. Shapeshifting aquatic nymphs, they kinda fit the swanmay niche, in that they don't exactly fit in amongst all these primitives, are all female, and have magic resistance and substantial lifespans. But of course that makes them all the more valuable if you want a party with all the standard bases filled without putting a normal human into the mix. And it's good to see them expand on a more obscure race along with the standard monster manual ones.

Selkies are a decidedly weird one, with their timed week a month shapeshifting. (which they tell you to ignore here) They can't actually breathe underwater, but they move way faster than any of the others, and have decent class skills. Their main flaws are their pacifism, and their weakness for alcohol, which seem very likely to come into conflict with one-another while on land, especially when trying to play eco-cop. They'll have to get over one of them to truly satisfy the other.

Vodyanoi fill the niche of the really big tough guys, a la Minotaurs or Ogres for a land party. Although they're not as dumb as they seem, they aren't naturally social, and their size and bulk may be a real problem, especially out of water. Their limited class options force them into the role of bruiser, but at least you can be a tactical one like Beast instead of just a tool.

Liminals are half human, half merfolk, and the only race that can become thieves, although they lack priestly options. Like Half-Elves, they make good diplomats, but also have problems fitting in any one place. Still, this also means they bond very strongly indeed with the creatures that they do love, to the point they waste away if separated from them. Absolutely perfect for an adventuring party then.

So overall, this collection hews pretty closely to the formula established in the complete book of humanoids in terms of powers and balancing factors, with the exception of the weird aversion to thieves. Some of these may be powerful at starting level, but none have great level limits, and natural armor and weapons grow progressively less significant the longer you go on. And as they may well fall behind standard characters in terms of equipment as well, I very much doubt they'll be game breaking in the long run. Course, as with Council of Wyrms, running a long-term all underwater campaign is a real challenge for a DM, as they can't rely on published adventures at all, so you're not likely to hit those level limits. Still, given my love of pushing boundaries, it seems the kind of thing I'd like to try. Overall, this definitely adds stuff to the game that is of value and wasn't there before.