Dragon #376 (4e).pdf

ISSUE 376 | JUnE 2009

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT

CONTENTS

Features

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.

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 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.

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!

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.

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

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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

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

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.

June 2009 | Dragon 376

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