TEXT: A Dungeons & Dragons® Roleplaying Game Supplement
  ISSUE 387  |  May 2010
  
  Features
  Contents
  	 5	
  shaman	Basics
  By Robert J. Schwalb
  Get the rundown on this primal leader class, with emphasis on your first 
  shaman character, as well as some new shaman options for all players.
  	 15	
  Playing	shardminds
  By Bruce R. Cordell
  One of the new—and most intriguing—races from Player’s Handbook 3 is 
  explored in greater detail here.
  	 20	
  the	call	oF	the	Wild:	WayFaring	Bards
  By Logan Bonner
  Bards can discover power in many places, but the Feywild offers unique 
  opportunities for those who seek power from the many diverse cultures 
  found on that plane.
  	 27	
  Bazaar	oF	the	Bizarre:	ritual	magic	items
  By Peter Schaefer
  Introducing new magic items designed especially for use in conjunction with 
  rituals.
  	 31	
  class	acts:	artiFicer
  By Robert J. Schwalb
  Different races each approach the artificer’s art in unique ways.
  ®
  	 36	
  class	acts:	avenger
  By Jeff Morgenroth
  The Unbroken Circle traces its origins back to ancient Nerath, and still seeks 
  to prevent corruption from tainting the mortal realm.
  	 39	
  class	acts:	invoker
  By Robert J. Schwalb
  These new feats will enable any invoker to find the perfect level of 
  customization.
  	 44	
  class	acts:	ranger
  By Jared Glenn
  The Scions of Onat hail from a town still in touch with its primal roots.
  	 47	
  Winning	races:	shiFter
  By Keith Baker
  Some shifters have embraced civilization, finding ways to blend into urban 
  environments seamlessly.
  	 50	
  Winning	races:	revenant
  By Matthew Sernett
  Revenants are often drawn to the path of the assassin, and these new options 
  give them more reasons to embrace the call of the Raven Queen.
  
  	 54	
  Winning	races:	tieFling
  By Peter Schaefer
  The Blightseers, one of many tiefling bloodlines, brings ruin to any and all 
  they deem as their foes.
  	 57	
  channel	divinity:	Pelor
  By Andrew Schneider
  The Students of Aurtus, once a great priest of Pelor, seek to apply the mistakes 
  of history to the present day.
  	 60	
  channel	divinity:	erathis
  By Elliott Hoffman
  Erathis draws many worshipers, but adventurers often find common ground 
  with her teachings. 
  	 63	
  guilds	&	grouPs:	shades	oF	darkness
  By Robert J. Schwalb 
  The lich Mourne founded this Shadowfell-oriented group long ago. Now its 
  members seek to protect the Shadowfell from those who would exploit its power. 
  	 68	
  knoW	your	role:	deFender
  By James Auwaerter
  Nearly all adventurers lose a comrade at some point in their careers, but some 
  defenders turn the burden of that loss into new arenas of power.
  columns
  on	the	cover
  Illustration by Zoltan Boros & Gabor Szikszai
  	 72	
  amPersand	
  By Bill Slavicsek
  Bill looks ahead at what’s in store for April and 
  beyond.
  	 78	
  conFessions	oF	a	Full-time	Wizard
  By Shelley Mazzanoble
  D&D’s “Player-in-Chief” shares more of her wisdom 
  and insight.
  	 82	
  d&d	alumni
  By Bart Carroll and Steve Winter
  A look back at DUNGEONS & DRAGONS rules 
  through past editions.
  	 88	
  d&d	Play	rePort
  By Chris Tulach
  Join Chris Tulach as he talks about what’s going 
  on with official D&D play, the community, and 
  upcoming events!
  	 90	
  design	&	develoPment:	rules
  	
  	 	
  uPdate	Process
  By Greg Bilsland & Andy Collins
  Learn about the errata and update process for D&D 
  rules.
  	 93	
  design	&	develoPment:	neW		monster
  	
  	 	
  stat	Blocks
  By Greg Bilsland
  Monster Manual 3 is out this month. Discover how 
  R&D came up with the new, easier-to-use stat block.
  Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, Dungeon, Dragon, 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. ©2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC.
  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
  
  E D I T O R I A L
  387
  Dr agon
  Februar y 2010
  Love the Fight 
  You’re in
  I’m like any other player when a fight starts. I wait to 
  hear what the DM describes, hinging on the moment 
  when the encounter’s foe is fully revealed. Sometimes, 
  my group goes into battle forewarned. We know who or 
  what we’ll be facing. Sometimes it’s a surprise. And for 
  the most part, I’m not looking forward to facing a par-
  ticular enemy. I mean, they’re monsters. They’re trying 
  to kill your character. They’re all to be dreaded and 
  despised rather than anticipated.
   
  But there are exceptions. Some enemies bring a cer-
  tain something to the table. These are the baddies we 
  love to face, the ones that send a little chill down our 
  backs when the mini hits the mat. And not necessarily a 
  chill of fear (although that could certainly be part of it), 
  but of anticipation.
   
  What follows is my list of the top monsters I love to 
  fight. These are the ones that get me to sit forward a 
  little when I see them hit the table. They’re presented 
  in no particular order. Also, since I actually thought of 
  several more that I love to fight, I expanded the list in 
  the version of the editorial we’re posting on the D&D 
  Insider community page.
   
  owlbears: Let’s get this one out of the way right now. 
  I hate owlbears. I think they’re dumb, and I’ve gone on 
  record with that opinion before. So why do I like to fight 
  ‘em? Because each time an owlbear dies, I like to think 
  I’ve somehow eliminated one from the world, leaving 
  one less owlbear someone else will have to deal with. I 
  know it’s stupid, but I can’t help myself. 
   
  Purple Worms: Really, this could be any monster 
  that burrows around and erupts from the earth to try 
  and swallow you whole. Granted, many monsters are 
  trying to eat your character. But there’s a certain fear 
  factor in the idea that this monster actually has mechan-
  ics that enable it to do so. Plus, purple worms have 
  the distinction of being one of the few monsters in the 
  game that are almost exclusively reserved for surprise 
  encounters. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never played 
  in a game or campaign where we knew we’d be facing a 
  purple worm. Any time one showed, it was a shock. That 
  sucks a whole new kind of awesome.
   
  Emperor Palpatine: What’s that? A Star Wars 
  villain in D&D? No, not really. It’s the kind of villain 
  Emperor Palpatine represents that I love to fight. This 
  is the villain who, when you first meet him (or her), you 
  get the feeling he’s probably a bad guy. He’s not super 
  evil. He doesn’t seem to be up to no good. He just rubs 
  you the wrong way. He’s probably in a position of power. 
  He might seem to be allied with the forces of good. 
  But through one misguided or duplicitous effort after 
  another, it becomes more and more clear that he’s a vil-
  lain who is thwarting you at every turn. The worst part 
  is that, for some reason, he’s untouchable. Then it comes, 
  the moment you’ve been waiting for. The smokescreen 
  clears, and you finally get to fight this villain mano y 
  mano. Few fights are more satisfying than this one.
   
  Beholders: One of the deadliest foes in the game, 
  the beholder embodies, to me, the unpredictable vil-
  lain. The thing about the beholder is that it encourages a 
  sort of masochistic approach in the players at the table. 
  You find yourself hoping—hoping!—that the beholder is 
  “only” going to hit you with the searing ray or the teleki-
  nesis ray rather than the dreaded death or disintegrate 
  rays. That’s right, when you fight a beholder, you hope 
  that all it does is deal a massive amount of damage or 
  drop you off a cliff. What a world! But that same unpre-
  dictability means that every round is different. To me, 
  no monster brings so much tension to the table, and that 
  makes it a favorite.
   
  Mobs of Minions: This is another category, rather 
  than a specific monster. It includes any large group of 
  popcorn-like monsters. You can’t just stop with one, and 
  why should you? Is there anything more viscerally satis-
  fying than dropping a burst 2 area attack on a cluster of 
  minions? I say no.
   
  There’s my list. Honorable mention goes to the pit fiend, 
  any dragon, the succubus, and the marilith. I know you’ve 
  all got your own lists. What are they? What monsters do 
  you just love to fight, and why? Post your lists to the D&D 
  Insider community page or email them to us at dndin-
  sider@wizards.com. We’d love to hear from you!
  Editor-in-Chief
  Senior Creative Art Director
  Web Specialist
  Web Production
  Contributing Authors
  Developers
  Editors
  Cover Artist
  Contributing Artists
  Publishing Production Specialists
  Web Development
  D&D Creative Manager
  Executive Producer, D&D Insider
  Director of RPG R&D
  chris	youngs
  Jon	schindehette	
  steve	Winter
  Bart	carroll
  James	auwaerter,	keith	Baker,	
  logan	Bonner,	craig	campbell,	
  Bruce	r.	cordell,	Jared	glenn,	
  elliott	hoffman,	Jeff	morgenroth,	
  Peter	schaefer,	robert	J.	schwalb,	
  matthew	sernett
  Peter	schaefer,	stephen	schubert,	
  rodney	thompson
  michele	carter,	Jeremy	crawford,	
  miranda	horner
  zoltan	Boros	and	gabor	szikszai
  Wayne	england,	Jeff	himmelman,	
  tyler	Jacobson,	Jason	Juta,	mclean	
  kendree,	William	o’connor,	craig	
  J.	spearing,	sarah	stone,		
  Ben	Wootten
  angelika	lokotz,	erin	dorries,	
  christopher	tardiff
  mark	a.	Jindra
  christopher	Perkins
  chris	champagne
  Bill	slavicsek
  Special Thanks
  richard	Baker,	greg	Bilsland,	michele	carter,	Jennifer	clarke	Wilkes,		
  andy	collins,	Bruce	r.	cordell,	Jeremy	crawford,	Peter	lee,	mike	mearls,	
  kim	mohan,	cal	moore,	Peter	schaefer,	stephen	schubert,	matthew	sernett,	
  rodney	thompson,		James	Wyatt
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  5
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Robert J. Schwalb 
  Illustration by Sarah Stone
  Shaman Basics:
   
  Envoys to the
   
    Spirit World
  Chanted words suffused the campsite. The quiet, rhythmic 
  murmur drew casual glances from Corben’s companions as 
  they cleaned their swords, patched their wounds, and rifled 
  through their packs looking for hardtack. Corben shut out 
  their movements and whispered conversation, focusing his 
  thoughts on his present predicament. They had scoured the 
  swamps for the bullywug encampment, searching with little 
  luck for the villagers abducted for some dark purpose. Their 
  prowling through the swamps had brought them in touch 
  with other predators and vermin, but the hideous croakers 
  remained elusive.
   
  The party had called a halt after fighting back the 
  greenscale lizardfolk that had dogged their steps for days 
  and settled down to regroup and figure out what they had 
  missed. The carcasses stank from their twisted heap a 
  few dozen yards away. Corben pitied them, knowing the 
  conflict could have been avoided had the barbarian been a 
  bit more discerning with that axe of hers. No matter. The 
  damage was done, and Corben had to maintain his focus if 
  he wanted to complete his evocation.
   
  He intensified his chanting until his voice rose above the 
  campsite, silencing his companions’ chatter. He gestured to 
  shift his senses into the spirit world, using the primal ener-
  gies flowing around him to open his eyes to the creeping, 
  twitching, flitting, snarling, and giggling essences drawn 
  by his magic. With his awakened senses, he left behind life’s 
  fog to perceive the world’s true form, noting the sharpness 
  in the trees, the light dappling on the waters’ surface, and 
  the wind’s sigh as it played through the tupelo trees. He 
  noticed a swamp cat watching him from the underbrush, 
  curious but unwilling to approach. A snake slithered 
  through the waters, and a bright green frog clung to a leaf. 
  Yet all these revelations could not distract him, because 
  lives depended on the information he would coax from the 
  oft-difficult spirits.
   
  And then, gathered all around, the spirits assembled, 
  their forms running from beautiful to hideous, with some 
  as multicolored motes drifting like dandelion seeds carried 
  on the wind, and others made from mud and twigs, green 
  eyes shining. From such a congress, Corben knew he would 
  learn the villagers’ fate and, if they still lived, where he 
  would find them.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Shaman Basics
  6
  The spirit world is not a place. Instead it is a state 
  of mind—an awareness achieved through training, 
  natural talent, and practice. Reaching the spirit 
  world varies by tradition, with some experiencing its 
  power by whipping themselves up into a frenzy or 
  transforming into a bestial form. Of all those who can 
  commune with the primal spirits, the shaman finds 
  harnessing its power the easiest because he or she 
  needs no tricks to access the spirits. Spirits remain 
  with them or near them, lending advice, fighting on 
  their behalf, and answering their call whenever and 
  wherever the shaman travels.
  The Basics
  “You have it backward: The spirits do not serve me, but 
  rather I serve the spirits.”
  Shamans draw primal energy from the spirit world 
  to commune with the spirits and gain assistance in 
  overcoming the perils and enemies arrayed against 
  them. Standing at the crossroads of two worlds, the 
  shaman acts as a doorway through which the primal 
  spirits emerge to affect change in the world. A sha-
  man’s evocations bring forth mighty protectors, shield 
  allies and innocents alike against the enemy, and 
  create deadly hunters whose fearsome aspect and 
  razor-sharp claws seed terror in all who behold them. 
  Shamans use their magic to support their allies, 
  giving them new strength, speeding their recovery, 
  and changing their circumstances to find swift vic-
  tory. Yet a shaman is more than a healing reservoir; 
  shamans can step into other roles, from controller to 
  striker, as needed.
  Race
  When you decide on the shaman class, you should 
  pick a race to play. Look to ability adjustments to help 
  pare down the list. Put races boosting Wisdom at the 
  top followed by races offering boosts to Dexterity, 
  Intelligence, or Constitution. If you’re interested in 
  dealing higher damage, consider Wisdom and Intel-
  ligence. If you’d like to let your allies attack on your 
  behalf and make hard-to-reach enemies vulnerable, 
  think about Wisdom and Dexterity. Wisdom and 
  Constitution are important abilities for shamans who 
  focus on healing and defending or those with a con-
  troller bent. Of course, you should never ignore racial 
  traits since they can compensate for partial ability 
  score matches or mismatches.
  Abilities
  Wisdom, given its key function in your attack powers, 
  is your most important ability. As an implement-
  wielder, you should consider having an 18 here, even 
  if it means robbing points from your secondary abili-
  ties or preventing you from investing in a tertiary 
  ability. Your secondary ability helps realize your build 
  features. Secondary defenders and controllers need 
  Constitution, and strikers need Intelligence or Dex-
  terity. Place at least a 14 in either of these (which is all 
  you can afford with an average or challenging race).
   
  Your tertiary ability isn’t all that important, but 
  you’re best off investing your points in an ability that 
  can build up a low defense and that is also an ability 
  favored by the shaman class. So if Wisdom is primary, 
  Constitution is secondary, then go with Dexterity for 
  your tertiary (choose Dexterity over Intelligence for 
  the boost to your initiative).
  advantaged Race Combination: 17, 14, 14, 10, 10, 8
  Good Race Combination: 16, 16, 13, 11, 10, 8
  average Race Combination: 18, 13, 13, 10, 10, 8
  Challenging Race Combination: 18, 14, 11, 10, 10, 8
  race	and	Build
  race	
  suggested	Build
  advantaged Combinations
  	
  deva	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  dwarf	
  Bear	shaman
  	
  elf	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  githzerai	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  razorclaw	shifter	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  shardmind	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  Wilden	
  World	spirit	shaman
  Good Combinations
  	
  human	
  any	build
  	
  kalashtar	
  World	spirit	shaman
  	
  longtooth	shifter	
  Bear	shaman
  average Combinations
  	
  changeling	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  drow	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  eladrin	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  genasi	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  gnome	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  goliath	
  Bear	shaman
  	
  half-elf	
  Bear	shaman
  	
  half-orc	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  halfling	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  minotaur	
  Bear	shaman
  	
  revenant	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  shadar-kai	
  Watcher	shaman
  	
  tiefling	
  Panther	shaman
  	
  Warforged	
  Bear	shaman
  Challenging Combinations
  	
  dragonborn	
  Bear	shaman
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Shaman Basics
  7
  companion spiriT
  Your most important and distinctive class feature is 
  your Companion Spirit. With it, you can call forth a 
  spirit through which you can make attacks and aid 
  your friends. Because of the power it brings to your 
  role, mastering its use should be your priority.
  Companion Spirit Fundamentals
  The Companion Spirit is a deceptively simple fea-
  ture. For a minor action, you can drop the spirit 
  companion in any unoccupied square inside a close 
  burst 10 using the call spirit companion power. Since 
  it’s a burst, you don’t need to worry about seeing the 
  square, but you do need to have line of effect to that 
  square. Essentially, your spirit companion shows up 
  pretty much wherever you want on most battlefields. 
  Your spirit companion is a conjuration (see Player’s 
  Handbook 2, page 220), and as such it follows the con-
  juration rules with a few exceptions as shown below.
   
  occupies 1 Square: Your spirit companion occu-
  pies a single square. Your allies can move through its 
  space, but your enemies cannot. Allies entering its 
  space must end their moves in unoccupied squares.
   
  Unaffected by the Environment: The spirit 
  companion ignores terrain and environmental 
  phenomena. It also does not need to be supported 
  by a solid surface. This means when it moves, it 
  ignores difficult terrain and can move vertically and 
   horizontally.
   
  attacking your Spirit Companion: Your spirit 
  companion can be attacked by melee and ranged 
  attacks, and it uses your defenses. It ignores close 
  and area attacks as well as damaging melee and 
  ranged attacks that do not deal at least 10 + one-half 
  your level damage. Should the conjuration take this 
  damage, it vanishes, and you take 5 + one-half level 
  damage. The damage you take from losing your spirit 
  companion is rather small compared to the triggering 
  damage, so don’t be skittish about putting your spirit 
  companion in harm’s way.
   
  attacking with your Spirit Companion: The 
  call spirit companion power does not have any built-
  in attack powers. Instead, your spirit companion 
  attacks when you use shaman powers with the spirit 
  keyword. You determine line of sight and line of 
  effect from your spirit companion’s space, which is 
  also the spirit power’s origin square. Your spirit com-
  panion has no special vision traits and relies on your 
  vision traits to see. So, if you are in a totally obscured 
  square and your spirit companion is not, you can 
  make an attack using a spirit attack power at no pen-
  alty. If you are blinded from an attack, however, then 
  you take the penalty whether or not you use a spirit 
  attack.
   
  Moving your Spirit Companion: Whenever you 
  take a move action, you can move your spirit com-
  panion a number of squares equal to your speed. So 
  if you run 8 squares, and your speed is 6, your spirit 
  companion moves 6 squares. Any move action you 
  spend allows the spirit companion to move, even if 
  you spend a move action to walk 0 squares.
   
  Sometimes 6 or so squares isn’t enough to get your 
  spirit companion into position. You can always dis-
  miss the spirit companion as a minor action, and then 
  drop your move action to gain another minor action 
  and use it to conjure the spirit companion again. This 
  should be your standard procedure whenever you 
  need to move your spirit companion more squares 
  than your speed.
   
  Beware of standard actions that allow movement, 
  such as charge attack. These are not move actions, 
  so your spirit companion stays put. If it’s vital to put 
  your spirit companion into position, spend your move 
  action first or just dismiss and conjure it again.
   
  Although exceptions exist, the spirit companion is 
  still bound by the normal conjuration rules. You can’t 
  move it through a solid obstacle (blocking terrain). 
  If you end your turn with the spirit companion more 
  than 20 squares away from you, it goes away.
   
  Ending the Conjuration: Your conjuration ends 
  if you die, if you spend a minor action to dismiss it, 
  if you end your turn with the spirit companion out 
  of range, or if your conjuration takes damage greater 
  than 10 + one-half level from a single attack (in which 
  case you take damage).
  Choosing a Spirit
  Companion Spirits come in different varieties, each 
  reflecting a different aspect of the spirit world. You 
  choose one Companion Spirit from the options pro-
  vided: the Protector Spirit and Stalker Spirit from 
  Player’s Handbook 2, and the Watcher Spirit and 
  World Speaker Spirit from Primal Power. Each spirit 
  type reinforces a secondary role through mechani-
  cal features. Each option provides a spirit boon and a 
  spirit opportunity attack power, and each sets one of 
  your two at-will attack powers.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Shaman Basics
  8
  Protector Spirit and  
  the Bear Shaman
  “The spirits guard those who champion their interests.”
  The protector spirit shields your allies from harm by 
  speeding recovery from injuries sustained in battle. 
  Your spirit companion allows them to regain extra 
  hit points when they use second wind while adjacent 
  to your companion. The powers associated with the 
  protector spirit continue the theme by letting adjacent 
  allies regain hit points or by bestowing temporary 
  hit points on your friends. Your protector spirit is at 
  its best when assigned to a defender or melee striker, 
  especially paladins, battleminds, swordmages, 
  and rogues. Keep the spirit companion positioned 
  between these allies to cast the widest net when you 
  use spirit shield and protecting strike.
   
  Secondary role: Defender
   
  Key abilities: Wisdom, Constitution
  Stalker Spirit and  
  the Panther Shaman
  “The spirits are angry, friend; too bad there’s nowhere you 
  can run where they won’t find you.”
  The great cat form worn by the stalker spirit sym-
  bolizes its savage cunning and terrible fury, which 
  are traits you can use to destroy your enemies. The 
  stalker spirit is all aggression, all the time. It fights 
  against your will, struggling to break free and slake 
  its thirst on your enemies’ blood. Your spirit compan-
  ion urges your allies to bring down the foes quickly, 
  lending strength to their attacks against bloodied 
  opponents, while keeping its claws at the ready so 
  it can strike quickly should it get an opening. The 
  stalker spirit companion thrives in the thick of things, 
  attacking anything it can reach, but it is best when 
  used to put down bloodied opponents quickly, thus 
  freeing up your allies to move on to the next foes. 
  Stalker spirits are great companions for defenders 
  and melee strikers, especially with those who can 
  take care of their own healing, such as battlerager 
  fighters, most paladins, and barbarians. Use this 
  spirit companion to dart in and finish off enemies or 
  to lead the attack against more powerful foes.
   
  Secondary role: Striker
   
  Key abilities: Wisdom, Intelligence
  Watcher Spirit and  
  the Eagle Shaman
  “The spirits see all—your fears and your weakness made 
  manifest in your corruption.”
  The watcher spirit emerges from the spirit world 
  wearing the form of a predatory bird, usually an 
  eagle, and seeks out enemies hiding behind the front 
  ranks. The watcher spirit slips through the enemies 
  and takes position next to an enemy leader, control-
  ler, or artillery, denying them cover from their allies 
  and exposing them to your and your allies’ attacks. 
  Enemies adjacent to your spirit companion also count 
  as the nearest enemy for your allies, thus setting up 
  rangers, warlocks, and many other ranged charac-
  ters. Many powers associated with the watcher spirit 
  allow allies to attack on your behalf, making this an 
  excellent build option if you are lagging behind in 
  Wisdom.
   
  Secondary role: Striker
   
  Key abilities: Wisdom, Dexterity
  World Speaker Spirit and  
  the World Speaker Shaman
  “This world is illusion, and as such, I can shape it in what-
  ever way I wish.”
  As a world speaker shaman, your spirit companion is 
  the world itself, emerging from your environment as a 
  form shaped from earth, stone, moss, wood, flickering 
  flames, or a screaming wind. The world speaker spirit 
  is hard to ignore, because it can ensnare enemies 
  when they try to move away while also helping allies 
  move into position where they can be most effec-
  tive. The world speaker build provides defender and 
  controller elements, giving you a great deal more ver-
  satility than is available to other shamans. You pair 
  well with any character class, but this option is best 
  for shamans in groups already benefitting from other 
  leader classes.
  [INSERT ILLO 2; SHAMAN 1; 1/4]
  Healing Spirit
  Shamans have healing spirit to help allies spend heal-
  ing surges beyond their second wind. Healing spirit 
  is similar to the “word” powers possessed by other 
  leaders, but it is a bit trickier to use effectively. Rather 
  than boosting the hit points your target regains for 
  spending a healing surge, you instead let an ally 
  adjacent to your spirit companion regain hit points, 
  thus letting you attend to two allies at once. Where 
  this can become difficult is when only one ally needs 
  the healing or when your spirit companion is too far 
  away to give the right character the needed hit points. 
  Since your spirit companion is integral to making this 
  power work for you, positioning is everything. Keep 
  your spirit companion near the front line where it can 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Shaman Basics
  9
  flood a defender or melee striker with hit points. If 
  your spirit companion is destroyed, don’t sweat it. You 
  can always use healing spirit to let yourself regain hit 
  points and heal an ally adjacent to your spirit at the 
  same time. If the monsters aren’t taking the bait, you 
  will need to stay within 5 squares of your front rank 
  allies, because healing spirit’s area never increases.
  Speak with Spirits
  The last power shamans receive is the story-rich speak 
  with spirits. With this power, you get a considerable 
  boost to one skill check. This makes the power partic-
  ularly handy during skill challenges, especially when 
  you would make a check using a skill in which you do 
  not have training.
  choosing powers
  Because your Companion Spirit feature assigns one 
  power, you choose only three powers at character cre-
  ation (aside from half-elves and humans, of course). 
  Each level, you need to make a choice between a 
  power your spirit companion will use and a power 
  you can use directly. Rely too much on spirit powers 
  and you’ll leave yourself exposed when an enemy 
  strikes from an unexpected direction, catching you 
  without a defender for protection. Starve your spirit 
  and your sexy class feature becomes nothing more 
  than a complicated way to fulfill your role  obligations.
   
  A balanced approach might be the answer, since 
  it means a diversified arsenal, but don’t be seduced 
  by the easy way out. Other factors might suggest an 
  extreme approach. If you are ranged-attack heavy, 
  you want spirit powers to buy time for your allies to 
  destroy the enemies from afar. On the other hand, a 
  spirit companion can get in your allies’ way if they are 
  mostly melee types, so you might want to have ranged 
  power on hand to support them from behind. Finally, 
  if you’re a second leader, consider devoting more 
  attention to your secondary role and pick powers in 
  support of it.
  Bear Shamans
  As a bear shaman, look for powers that heal or miti-
  gate your enemies’ attacks. Finding these powers is 
  pretty easy, since they usually involve Constitution in 
  some way.
   
  You receive protecting strike (Player’s Handbook 2, 
  page 121) from your Companion Spirit. The free 
  temporary hit points it hands out to your allies should 
  make it a staple in your arsenal. Player’s Handbook 
  2 recommends defending strike (same page) for your 
  second power, and it’s not a bad choice. It grants a 
  boost to your allies’ AC as long as they stay next to 
  your spirit companion. However, look at voice of battle 
  (Primal Power, page 66). Instead of granting a defense 
  boost, it allows a nearby ally to maneuver into posi-
  tion or escape a threatening enemy. Furthermore, the 
  power targets Will, a typically low defense. If you don’t 
  mind the lower damage, this is worth considering.
   
  For your encounter power, several powers stand 
  out. Thunder bear’s warding (Player’s Handbook 2, page 
  122) hands out resistance to all damage and bestows 
  temporary hit points to you or a nearby ally. Both call 
  to the ancestral warrior and call to the ancient defender 
  (same page for each) give defense boosts, the former 
  to all defenses but with low damage, the latter to all 
  defenses against opportunity attacks and with pretty 
  good damage. Although all three are serviceable, 
  certain threat (Primal Power, page 66) might be a better 
  option, especially to fill in as a secondary defender. 
  The power deals solid damage and the penalty to 
  attack rolls from the mark it bestows should be –3 or 
  worse (assuming a 14 Con), effectively translating 
  into a +3 bonus to all allies’ defenses against the tar-
  get’s attacks without requiring your allies to stay next 
  to your spirit companion.
  Eagle Shamans
  Eagle shamans receive claws of the eagle (Primal Power, 
  page 66), and it’s a good one, too. What makes this 
  power sing is that it allows another character to make 
  an attack on your behalf and, on a hit, gives combat 
  advantage to all your allies. Primal Power suggests 
  watcher’s strike (Player’s Handbook 2, page 121) for your 
  second power. That, too, is good advice. It marries 
  well thematically, deals solid damage, and grants an 
  untyped +1 bonus to attack rolls to you and all allies 
  adjacent to your spirit companion. Plus, the boost to 
  Perception checks isn’t bad, either.
  Your Third power
  If you’re playing a human, you receive a third 
  at-will power. Consider the following recom-
  mended powers to fill this slot.
  	
  Bear	shaman: defending strike or voice of battle
   
  eagle	shaman: defending strike or wrath of 
  winter
   
  Panther	shaman: claws of the eagle or voice of 
  battle
   
  World	speaker	shaman: spirit of the tempest 
  or	wrath of winter
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Shaman Basics
  10
   
  Any eagle shaman with a good Dexterity score 
  should take stormhawk’s fury (Primal Power, page 67). 
  Not only does it maneuver your spirit companion 
  to where it can be most effective, it also deals extra 
  lightning damage each time the target is hit by an 
  ally’s attack. The damage output is potentially huge, 
  but you'd better make sure your friends focus fire. If 
  your Dexterity is low or if you have a controller with 
  a penchant for area attacks, spirits of mountain mist 
  (Primal Power, page 67) might be a better choice. It 
  deals awesome damage for its level and also provides 
  a much-needed accuracy boost for implement wield-
  ers who use area and close attacks.
  Panther Shamans
  As a panther shaman, you receive stalker’s strike 
  (Player’s Handbook 2, page 121). It should be your 
  go-to power throughout the heroic tier. It deals the 
  highest damage of any at-will attack power and also 
  allows allies to flank with your spirit companion. 
  As attractive as the option is, the ally flanking with 
  your spirit companion isn’t going to benefit from your 
  spirit boon, so keep this in mind. For your second at-
  will, look at wrath of winter. It delivers an impressive 
  d10 damage and teleports your spirit companion into 
  a space adjacent to the target. The appeal is somewhat 
  dampened by the fact that you can dismiss and recon-
  jure your companion for two minor actions, but for 
  a quick battlefield adjustment or when you’re dazed, 
  you can’t go wrong here.
   
  Twin panthers (Player’s Handbook 2, page 122) is rec-
  ommended for your encounter power, and you could 
  do far worse. It has a modest range and it relies on 
  two attack rolls to deal expected damage, but if you 
  hold this power back until late in the encounter when 
  you have more bloodied enemies, it's rarely wasted.  
  Ironbreaker claws (Primal Power, page 66) is a good 
  alternative since it allows a potentially high-damage 
  ally to fill in for your second attack. It also is flexible, 
  since it’s tied to your spirit companion. The ally’s 
  attack requires that you hit with the initial attack, 
  putting the burden squarely on your shoulders. This 
  power is a good choice.
  World Speaker Shamans
  Control and defense are the world speaker shaman’s 
  hallmarks. You receive voice of battle (Primal Power, 
  page 66) from your Companion Spirit, and it’s a good 
  standby. It allows allies to maneuver into position to 
  flank, to escape soldiers, and to move out from enemy 
  control zones. Primal Power suggests protecting strike 
  for your second power, and this is a good match too, 
  since your Constitution should be in good shape. You 
  might also consider spirit of the tempest to help insulate 
  your allies against devastating conditions or wrath of 
  winter to put your spirit companion where you need it.
   
  Primal Power recommends bramble ally (page 66) 
  for the world spirit shaman. It’s a good choice for a 
  control attack. The power allows you to hit a nearby 
  enemy and in doing so transform your spirit com-
  panion into a control zone. It’s pretty good for most 
  shamans, but as a world speaker shaman you can 
  immobilize distant enemies for a round. Better still, 
  the rider doesn’t depend on a secondary ability.
  Daily Evocations
  You have a great deal more freedom when it comes to 
  choosing your daily power, since these powers aren’t 
  overtly tied to your secondary role and none depend 
  on secondary abilities.
   
  Blessing of the Seven Winds (Player’s Handbook 
  2, page 122): Solid damage output combined with 
  a control zone on the target’s space makes blessing of 
  the seven winds a strong choice for any shaman. The 
  zone is self-sustaining and moves around when you 
  spend a move action. This power works best against 
  Large and larger creature since the zone grows with 
  the target’s size. Use this power early; its benefits last 
  throughout the encounter.
   
  Cleansing Wind of the North (Player’s Handbook 
  2, page 122): The main attraction to this power is 
  its ability to remove conditions and ongoing damage 
  by allowing a saving throw with a huge bonus. If you 
  choose this power, don’t use it for damage (that's a 
  perk). Save it for the second or third round when the 
  enemies have blown through their encounter powers.
   
  Great Watcher Spirit (Primal Power, page 67): 
  Range and versatility make this power an attractive 
  option, but it’s worth remembering that though this 
  can allow two allies to make basic attacks, thus let-
  ting a sorcerer unleash hell on an enemy, it also has 
  no effect on a miss. The power denies enemies from 
  gaining combat advantage against allies adjacent to 
  your spirit companion, and that helps somewhat, but 
  this power can work for you only if your allies have 
  high-damage basic attacks. If you choose this power, 
  use it early and when you’re facing enemies who spike 
  their damage with combat advantage.
   
  Spirit Cascade (Primal Power, page 67): Spirit 
  cascade does acceptable damage, but it’s all or nothing. 
  The effect line is extremely powerful, granting sig-
  nificant damage spikes to allies adjacent to your spirit 
  companion. Be careful using this power: It’s strong 
  against solos, but it loses efficacy when enemies 
  swarm you.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Shaman Basics
  11
   
  Spirit of Grief’s Shadow (Primal Power, page 
  67): It might not deal damage on a hit, but when com-
  bined with the immobilized condition, it can provide 
  a frustrating end to just about any enemy. Keep your 
  spirit companion adjacent to the enemy for as long as 
  possible to keep the penalty to saving throws running; 
  the best way is to pair this with a tough fighter.
   
  Spirit of the Healing Flood (Player’s Handbook 2, 
  page 122): If you are the only leader in your group, 
  give this power a look. Not only do you hand out 
  regeneration to bloodied allies, but you’re also giving 
  your allies a free potion of healing. Use this power early 
  so you can catch all your allies in the burst and so 
  that the regeneration kicks on when it’s needed.
   
  Spray of Quills (Primal Power, page 67): A dan-
  gerous power for only the most aggressive shamans, 
  spray of quills covers an incredible area and deals 
  impressive damage, but it comes at the expense of 
  allies in the burst and no effect on a miss. If you 
  choose this power, you will have few opportunities to 
  use it without catching your allies in the blast.
   
  Stone Root Spirit (Primal Power, page 67):
  Great for shamans looking for control. The power 
  does not deal damage, but it removes enemies while 
  also giving your allies protection. Reserve this power 
  for when enemies swarm you, especially when these 
  enemies have artillery support.
   
  Wrath of the Spirit World (Player’s Handbook 2, 
  page 122): With great damage and great coverage 
  (it hits enemies in a burst 2 and enemies adjacent to 
  your spirit companion), wrath of the spirit world might 
  be one of the best control and striker powers available 
  to shamans. This power is a great option in groups 
  where the shaman acts as the second leader.
  skills and FeaTs
  Picking skills and feats might be easy compared to 
  power selection, but they do warrant some consider-
  ation. For skills, you get Nature and your pick of three 
  others. Skill selection should reflect your character’s 
  personality, racial and background bonuses, and 
  party composition. Talk with your fellow players to 
  figure out which skills aren’t covered in the group 
  and give them the closest consideration. Having 
  them will give you a chance to contribute outside of 
  combat.
   
  For feats, Implement Expertise is the obvious 
  choice. Implement wielders lag two to three points 
  behind weapon-users in attack modifiers, though 
  non-AC defenses are two to three points lower than 
  AC. But an extra +1 bonus to attacks is pretty awe-
  some. This said, the feat doesn’t start becoming 
  important until about 4th level, so you can wait on it 
  if you’d rather develop other areas first. Shaman feats 
  are a great place to start looking, especially when they 
  improve your healing spirit power. Shared Healing 
  Spirit (Player’s Handbook 2) loosens the restrictions on 
  who benefits from the additional hit points and Reju-
  venating Spirit (Primal Power) grants a saving throw 
  with the same power. Sudden Call (Primal Power) is a 
  crucial feat since it lets you use call spirit companion as 
  a free action.
  new shaman 
  evocaTions
  The new evocations presented here provide new 
  choices to complement shaman class features and the 
  leader role as you advance in level.
  spirit’s	sacrifice	
  Shaman Utility 2
  Seeing an ally in need, you sacrifice your spirit companion to 
  give your ally a needed boost.
  encounter	F	Primal,	spirit
  minor	action	
  	
  close	burst spirit 5
  target: you or one ally in burst.
  effect: you dismiss the spirit companion and the target makes 
  a saving throw or gains temporary hit points equal to your 
  Wisdom modifier.
  Winter’s	thaw	
  Shaman attack 3
  Fire blossoms in your spirit companion and sends flaming 
  cinders into the air to relax winter’s bitter grasp.
  encounter	F	Fire,	implement,	Primal,	spirit,	zone
  standard	action	
  melee spirit 1
  target: One creature
  attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
  hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier fire damage.
  effect: Center a burst 2 on your spirit companion. The burst 
  becomes a zone that lasts until the end of your next turn. 
  any ally that starts its turn in the zone and is slowed, 
  immobilized, or taking ongoing cold damage makes a 
  saving throw. On a success, one of those conditions ends.
  remembrance	of	hate	
  Shaman attack 5
  The spirits recall the ancient offenses done to the world and 
  vent their hatred through claw and fang.
  daily	F	implement,	Primal,	spirit,	zone
  standard	action	
  close burst spirit 1
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
  hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier damage, and ongoing 5 damage 
  (save ends).
  miss: Half damage, and you push the target 1 square from your 
  spirit companion.
  effect: The burst becomes a zone that lasts until the end of 
  the encounter or until your spirit companion is no longer 
  present in the encounter. any creature starting its turn in 
  the zone takes 3 damage and you push the target 1 square 
  from your spirit companion.
  
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  Shaman Basics
  12
  Primal	investiture	
  Shaman Utility 6
  You merge your spirit companion with an ally to grow his or 
  her strength.
  daily	F	Primal,	spirit
  minor	action	
  area burst 5 centered on spirit companion
  target: you or one ally.
  effect: you dismiss the spirit companion and you cannot use 
  call spirit companion until the end of your next turn. The 
  target can spend a healing surge and gains a +1 power 
  bonus to attack rolls and a +2 power bonus to all defenses 
  until the end of the encounter.
  emerald	lure	
  Shaman attack 7
  Bright emerald motes fill the air around your spirit compan-
  ion and lure your enemies to the companion.
  encounter	F	implement,	Primal,	spirit
  standard	action	
  close burst spirit 2
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Wisdom vs. Will
  hit: 1d8 + Wisdom modifier damage, and you pull the target 
  1 square toward your spirit companion. you dismiss your 
  spirit companion.
  enraged	spirit	
  Shaman attack 9
  Your spirit companion warps and writhes until it becomes 
  something monstrous—a vision of vengeance.
  daily	F	Primal,	spirit
  minor	action	
  	
  ranged 20
  Primary	target: your spirit companion
  effect: your spirit companion transforms into the spirit of ven-
  geance until the end of the encounter or until your spirit 
  companion is no longer present in the encounter. While in 
  this form, your spirit companion gains resist 5 to all dam-
  age, and you can make the following at-will implement 
  attack against a secondary target.
  	
  standard	action	
  melee spirit 1
  	
  secondary	target: One creature
  	 	 attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
  	 	 hit: 1d12 + Wisdom modifier damage, and if the 
  secondary target deals any damage before the end of  
  your next turn, it takes 1d12 extra damage.
  call	Forth	the	spirit	World	 Shaman Utility 10
  Your enemies cannot bear the spirit world’s wonder, but your 
  allies find themselves reinvigorated.
  encounter	F	Fear,	healing,	Primal,	spirit,	zone
  minor	action	
  	
  close burst spirit 3
  effect: The burst becomes a zone until the end of your next 
  turn or until your spirit companion is destroyed. The zone 
  moves with the spirit companion, remaining centered on its 
  space. Enemies within the zone take a –2 penalty to attack 
  rolls. any bloodied ally that starts its turn within the zone 
  regains 5 hit points.
  sustain	minor: The effect persists.
  harvest	reaping	
  Shaman attack 13
  Vengeful spirits hold your enemy fast to steal its strength for 
  your allies to use.
  encounter	F	implement,	Primal,	spirit
  standard	action	
  ranged	5
  target: One creature
  attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
  hit: 2d8 + Wisdom modifier damage, and you knock the tar-
  get prone.
  effect: Whenever you use healing spirit before the end of your 
  next turn, each ally adjacent to your spirit companion gains 
  a +2 power bonus to melee damage rolls until the end of 
  his or her next turn.
  spiritual	congress	
  Shaman Utility 16
  Calling forth the spirits to gain their wisdom, you bind them 
  to you so their aid continues for a time.
  daily	F	Primal,	spirit
  minor	action	
  	
  Personal
  effect: Until the end of the encounter, after using speak with 
  spirits you regain the use of speak with spirits at the end of 
  your next turn.
  Winter’s	end	
  Shaman attack 17
  Winter flees the fires wreathing your spirit companion, bring-
  ing new hope and zeal to the allies bathed in its glow.
  encounter	F	Fire,	implement,	Primal,	spirit,	zone
  standard	action	
  close burst spirit 2
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
  hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier fire damage.
  effect: The burst becomes a zone that lasts until the end of 
  your next turn. any ally that starts its turn in the zone and 
  is slowed, immobilized, or taking ongoing cold damage 
  makes a saving throw for each such condition. On a 
  success, that condition ends.
  spirit	of	endings	Begun	
  Shaman attack 19
  Darkness swirls out from your spirit companion, eroding your 
  enemies’ defenses and stealing their life.
  daily	F	implement,	Primal,	spirit,	zone
  standard	action	
  close burst spirit 2
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
  hit: 2d8 + Wisdom modifier damage. The target takes ongoing 
  5 damage and a –2 penalty to all defenses (save ends both).
  miss: Half damage, and you push the target 1 square from your 
  spirit companion.
  effect: The burst becomes a zone that lasts until the end of 
  the encounter or until your spirit companion is no longer 
  present in the encounter. any creature that starts its turn in 
  the zone takes 5 damage and you push the target 1 square 
  from your spirit companion.
  Beguiling	call	
  Shaman attack 23
  Drawn by your spirit companion’s inviting aspect, your foes 
  soon learn their error when it strikes.
  encounter	F	implement,	Primal,	Psychic,	spirit
  standard	action	
  close burst spirit 2
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Wisdom vs. Will
  hit: 2d6 + Wisdom modifier psychic damage. you pull the 
  target 1 square toward your spirit companion, and the 
  target is dazed until the end of your next turn. you dismiss 
  your spirit companion.
  
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  Shaman Basics
  13
  spirit	of	destruction	
  Shaman attack 25
  The ground trembles as your spirit companion gathers power 
  to complete its transformation into destruction incarnate. 
  Where it goes, ruin follows.
  daily	F	implement,	Primal,	spirit
  minor	action	
  ranged 20
  target: your spirit companion
  effect: your spirit companion transforms into the spirit of de-
  struction until the end of the encounter, until you dismiss 
  it, or until it is destroyed. While in this form, your spirit 
  companion gains resist 10 to all damage, and you can make 
  the following at-will implement attack against a secondary 
  target.
  	
  standard	action	
  melee spirit 3
  	
  secondary	target: One creature
  	 	 attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex
  	 	 hit: 2d12 + Wisdom modifier damage. you push the 
  secondary target 2 squares away from your spirit  
  companion, and you knock the target prone.
  deep	roots	
  Shaman attack 27
  Green shoots sprout up from the earth and bind your foes in 
  place. Where they hold your enemy, they drain away strength 
  and bestow it onto your allies.
  encounter	F	healing,	implement,	Primal
  standard	action	
  close blast 3
  target: Each enemy in blast
  attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude
  hit: The target is immobilized and weakened until the end of 
  your next turn.
  effect: Whenever you use healing spirit before the end of your 
  next turn, each ally adjacent to your spirit companion gains 
  a +5 power bonus to melee damage rolls until the end of 
  his or her next turn.
  shaman FeaTs
  The following feats expand on those presented in 
  Player’s Handbook 2 and Primal Power.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  Feats in this section are available to characters of any 
  level who meet the prerequisites.
  Aggressive Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman
   
  Benefit: Whenever you reduce an enemy to 0 hit 
  points with a spirit attack power, you can teleport 
  your spirit companion 10 squares to a square adjacent 
  to an enemy as a free action.
  Ancient Wisdom
   
  Prerequisite: Wilden, shaman, voyage of the 
  ancients power
   
  Benefit: When you use voyage of the ancients, the 
  enemy you choose also grants combat advantage to 
  each ally adjacent to your spirit companion until the 
  end of your next turn.
  Bloodthirsty Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman, Watcher Spirit class fea-
  ture
   
  Benefit: Each ally making a ranged basic attack 
  triggered by your spirit’s prey power gains a +2 power 
  bonus to the damage roll.
  Inciting Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Razorclaw shifter, razorclaw shifting 
  racial power, shaman, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: When you use razorclaw shifting, until 
  the end of the encounter any ally that starts its turn 
  in a square adjacent to your spirit companion gains 
  a +1 power bonus to speed until the start of the ally’s 
  next turn.
  Intolerable Command
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman, World Speaker Spirit class 
  feature
   
  Benefit: Creatures hit by your world speaker’s com-
  mand power are also deafened and slowed until the 
  end of your next turn.
  Linked Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, shard swarm racial 
  power, shaman, telepathy, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: You can use telepathy to communicate 
  wordlessly with any creature within 5 squares of you 
  or 5 squares of your spirit companion that has a lan-
  guage.
   
  In addition, when you use your shard swarm power, 
  you can teleport to exchange positions with your 
  spirit companion instead of the teleport the power 
  normally grants.
  Mobile Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman
   
  Benefit: When you take a move action, you can 
  also move your spirit companion a number of squares 
  equal to your speed + 4.
  
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  Shaman Basics
  14
  Otherworldly Accuracy
   
  Prerequisite: Elf, elven accuracy racial power, 
  shaman, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: When you use elven accuracy to reroll an 
  attack roll for a shaman spirit attack and that attack 
  hits, each ally adjacent to your spirit companion gains 
  a +2 power bonus to attack rolls against the target 
  until the start of your next turn.
  Spirit’s Bulwark
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman, Protector Spirit class fea-
  ture, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: Whenever an attack against your spirit 
  companion causes the spirit to disappear, one ally 
  adjacent to it gains a +2 bonus to all defenses until the 
  end of the encounter or until you next use call spirit 
  companion.
  Spirit’s Guidance
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman, Watcher Spirit class fea-
  ture, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: Whenever an attack against your spirit 
  companion causes the spirit to disappear, one ally 
  adjacent to it gains combat advantage against the 
  creature who made the attack until the end of the 
  encounter or until you next use call spirit companion.
  Spirit’s Rebuke
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman, World Speaker Spirit class 
  feature, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: Whenever an attack against your spirit 
  companion causes the spirit to disappear, the crea-
  ture who made the attack becomes slowed until the 
  end of the encounter or until you next use call spirit 
  companion.
  Spirit’s Revenge
   
  Prerequisite: Shaman, Stalker Spirit class feature, 
  call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: Whenever an attack against your spirit 
  companion causes the spirit to disappear, one ally 
  adjacent to it gains a +2 bonus to damage rolls against 
  the creature who made the attack until the end of the 
  encounter or until you next use call spirit companion.
  Stubborn Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Dwarf, shaman, call spirit companion 
  power
   
  Benefit: When an ally adjacent to your spirit 
  companion is subjected to forced movement, you can 
  dismiss your spirit companion as a free action. This 
  lets you reduce the number of squares the ally would 
  be forcibly moved by a number equal to your Consti-
  tution modifier.
  Paragon Tier Feats
  A character must be at least 11th level to select either 
  of the feats in this section.
  Revelation of the Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, shaman, Watcher Spirit 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: Enemies hit by your shaman spirit 
  attacks cannot benefit from cover or concealment 
  (though they still benefit from superior cover or total 
  concealment) until the start of your next turn.
  Wholesome Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Deva, Astral Resistance racial fea-
  ture, shaman, call spirit companion power
   
  Benefit: Your spirit companion gains necrotic and 
  radiant resistance equal to that granted by your Astral 
  Resistance racial feature.
  About the Author
  robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer who 
  has contributed design to or developed over one hundred 
  roleplaying game titles for Dungeons & Dragons®, Warham-
  mer Fantasy Roleplay, A Song of Ice and Fire RPG, Star Wars 
  RPG, and the d20 system. Some of his more recent work for 
  Wizards of the Coast can be found in Player’s Handbook 3, 
  Martial Power 2, and Draconomicon 2: Metallic Dragons and 
  in the pages of both Dragon and Dungeon Magazines. Robert 
  lives in Tennessee.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  15
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Bruce R. Cordell 
  Illustrations by Wayne England
  Crystalline fragments in constant, silent 
  motion create a body in which a psionic 
  consciousness nestles.
  The Living Gate once stood at the pinnacle of the 
  intricate lattice of the Astral Sea. Sealed beyond 
  it lay the alien Far Realm. The gate’s destruction 
  during the Dawn War allowed the influence of 
  that terrifying realm to seep into the worlds, and 
  it ultimately resulted in the rise of the mind flayer 
  empire. From the fragments of that shattered gate 
  rose self-assembled shardminds.
   
  Shardminds, constructs of crystallized psionic 
  consciousness, are individual beings. Despite their 
  common origin in the Living Gate’s destruction, each 
  shardmind has its own set of aspirations, its own per-
  sonality, and its own goals. Some are curious, others 
  aloof, and a few have gone “bad.”
   
  For the most part, shardminds are decent people, 
  despite the race’s reputation for being dispassionate 
  and emotionally distant.
   
  However, no matter an individual shardmind’s 
  personality, nearly all believe they are formed from 
  the scattered fragments of the original Living Gate. 
  This knowledge has put an onus on many shardminds 
  who believe that, one way or another, they should 
  take up again their ancient task and seal away once 
  and for all the malign presence of the alien abomina-
  tions of the Far Realm.
   
  To be a shardmind is to always be apart and differ-
  ent from other creatures, except for other shardminds.
  Playing 
  Shardminds
  shardminds in  
  plaYer’s handBook 3
  This article draws and expands upon the shard-
  mind introduction in Player’s Handbook 3. Refer 
  to that source to discover a shardmind’s basic 
  racial abilities (such as telepathy, crystalline 
  mind, shard swarm, and so on), as well as basic 
  information on a shardmind’s physical qualities, 
  common names, initial backgrounds, and shard-
  mind-specific feats. This article also provides a 
  few more directions and opportunities for your 
  shardmind character.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Playing Shardminds
  16
  shardmind 
  personaliTY
  Your first conscious thoughts were of gathering and 
  of coalescence; your mind came together as your 
  body formed into a construction of fragments. You 
  had enough consciousness to recognize yourself as 
  an individual, but it was a years-long slog for you to 
  reach your current level of knowledge and under-
  standing of your nature.
   
  As a construct of self-assembled crystal shards, 
  your grasp on the subtleties of a regular living crea-
  ture’s basic drives and motivations is academic at 
  best. You’ve seen them yearn after each other, make 
  irrational decisions apparently based on unrealistic 
  expectations, frequently having to do with entice-
  ments of love, attraction, and a version of courtship.
   
  It seems like a lot distracting bother to you. Of 
  course you feel the bonds of friendship, the pull of 
  duty, and the importance of your sworn word; you feel. 
  But thank the Once and Future Gate that you are not 
  burdened with the underlying emotions that surge 
  through even the most noble and well-intentioned 
  human. The mental battle between reason and emo-
  tion is one in which you need not engage.
   
  However, because you’ve never experienced 
  being rejected by the “object of your affection,” you 
  can’t help but react with a bemused stare when your 
  companions accidentally confide in you after having 
  one too many drinks of fermented plant matter. 
  What they talk about is a little bit beyond you. On 
  a related note, you lack the ability to become hap-
  pily impaired by substances that can throw hardy 
  dwarves for a loop.
   
  So you compensate by living a life that makes 
  sense to you. You assemble principles and live by 
  them. Your philosophy is well-developed, since so few 
  things distract you from deep thought. And once you 
  have your principles in order, you strive to keep your 
  existence in accord with them.
   
  Then you were probably amazed when, upon 
  finding your principles compromised by others, the 
  storm of . . . emotion? Yes, emotion. What other word 
  could contain the blaze of your thoughts, the nearly 
  unthinking speed of your reactions, when your prin-
  ciples were challenged? Something touched you, as 
  it does with any breathing organism. The revelation 
  impacted you greatly, and it gave you more insight 
  into the minds of the creatures with which you share 
  the world. And satisfaction, too; just like your living 
  companions, you are also capable of passion.
  shardmind 
  philosophY
  No one told you that you were once part of a far 
  grander entity called the Living Gate. The knowl-
  edge slowly revealed itself to you over the years since 
  your awakening. What started as an odd feeling and 
  strange glimpses of a shining expanse of crystal even-
  tually became an incontrovertible fact.
   
  How you react to that knowledge can say a lot 
  about you. You’ve sensed the presence of other shard-
  minds, and all of them apparently share the goal of 
  rebuilding the Gate. But it seems no two shardminds 
  agree on exactly how to accomplish that goal. Some 
  would rather see a completely new gate built, others 
  believe that the Living Gate remains, just in a distrib-
  uted state composed of various shardminds, while 
  others believe it is their duty at the end of their exis-
  tence to give up their crystal fragments so that the 
  Gate can live once more.
   
  Where do you come down on the question of the 
  Living Gate? Is it something you think about every 
  day, or is it a facet of your life that you acknowledge 
  without thinking about it, just like you give little 
  thought to the fact that the sky is blue?
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Playing Shardminds
  17
  shardmind FeaTs
  Shardminds have a number of feats specific to their 
  unique forms, as well as access to those tied to their 
  fundamental psionic nature and immortal origin.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  The following feats are suitable for any character who 
  meets the prerequisites.
  Crystalline Auger
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, psionic class
   
  Benefit: Your attacks ignore the first 5 points of 
  psychic resistance. This increases to 10 points at 11th 
  level, and to 15 points at 21st level.
  Daunting Swarm
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, shard swarm racial 
  power
   
  Benefit: You can choose to mark any creature you 
  affect with the shard swarm power until the end of 
  your next turn.
  Distant Swarm
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, shard swarm racial 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use your shard swarm, you can 
  choose to make the range of the power into an area 
  burst 1 within 5 squares instead of a close burst 1. If 
  you do so, the square you teleport into as a part of this 
  power must be within the area of the burst.
  Mineral Resilience
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, shard swarm racial 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use shard swarm, you gain 5 
  temporary hit points. This increases to 15 temporary 
  hit points at 21st level.
  Myriad Crystal Eyes
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, shard swarm racial 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use shard swarm, until the end 
  of your next turn no creature can benefit from con-
  cealment from you.
  We Were Once One
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind
   
  Benefit: When you spend a healing surge, each 
  ally within your telepathy range can make a saving 
  throw as a free action.
  Paragon Tier Feats
  Feats in this section are available to any characters of 
  11th level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Buffeting Shard Swarm
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, shardmind, shard swarm 
  racial power
   
  Benefit: When you use shard swarm, you can also 
  slide each enemy in the burst 1 square.
  Perfect Fracture
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, shardmind, shard swarm 
  racial power
   
  Benefit: You can use your shard swarm racial 
  power as an immediate reaction when you become 
  bloodied.
  Shard Construct
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, shardmind
   
  Benefit: You gain resist poison equal to 5 + one-
  half your level.
  Epic Tier Feats
  Feats in this section are available to any characters of 
  21st level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Expanded Shard Swarm
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, shardmind, shard swarm 
  racial power
   
  Benefit: The size of the burst of your shard swarm 
  racial power is 2 squares instead of 1 square.
  Razor Shard Swarm
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, shardmind, shard swarm 
  racial power
   
  Benefit: When you use shard swarm, each enemy 
  in the burst takes damage equal to your Intelligence 
  modifier, your Wisdom modifier, or your Charisma 
  modifier.
  Telepathic Bulwark
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, shardmind, telepathy 
  racial trait
   
  Benefit: Each ally within your telepathy range 
  gains resist 5 psychic.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Playing Shardminds
  18
  gaTekeeper
  Though the Living Gate from which you descend is 
  destroyed, you retain a knack for guarding thresholds.
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind
  The Living Gate, the first best defense against the 
  horror of the Far Realm, is gone, dissolved into thou-
  sands of disparate crystal shards. A disaster, certainly, 
  but you are keenly aware of the upside; some of those 
  shards make up your body and some quanta of the 
  original animating consciousness of the Living Gate 
  makes up your mind.
   
  Aside from the obvious benefit of your own exis-
  tence, it should also be clear that you are composed of 
  the physical manifestation of a straightforward con-
  cept, which fundamentally is about controlling access 
  through a threshold.
   
  Whether others call a feature a gate, a door, or an 
  entry doesn’t matter; all that matters is that you can 
  conceive of a particular area as a threshold. Once 
  you’ve got that fixed in your mind, your body viscer-
  ally responds, granting you ever greater abilities to 
  open or close a way, to monitor a passage, to ward off 
  foes, and to keep your allies safe.
  Gatekeeper Path Features
   
  Dangerous Threshold (11th level): Whenever 
  an enemy leaves a square adjacent to you and enters 
  a square that is not adjacent to you, that enemy grants 
  combat advantage until the end of your next turn.
   
  gatekeeper’s action (11th level): When you 
  spend an action point to gain an extra action, until 
  the end of your next turn enemies treat the squares 
  adjacent to you as difficult terrain.
   
  gate Ward (16th level): When you are first 
  bloodied in an encounter, you regain the use of your 
  chosen threshold utility power. Additionally, any enemy 
  within or adjacent to the wall created by your chosen 
  threshold power grants combat advantage.
  Gatekeeper Powers
  you	shall	not	Pass	
  Gatekeeper attack 11
  An enemy trying to pass by you or an ally suddenly lights up 
  in an agony of psionic backlash.
  encounter	F	Psionic,	Psychic
  immediate	reaction	
  close burst 10
  trigger: an enemy leaves a square that is adjacent to you or 
  one of your allies
  target: The triggering enemy
  attack: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma + 6 vs. Fortitude
  	
  Level 21: +9.
  hit: 2d12 + Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier psy-
  chic damage, and you pull the target 3 squares and it is 
  immobilized (save ends).
  chosen	threshold	
  Gatekeeper Utility 12
  You declare a threshold of your choice off-limits to interlopers, 
  and you can defend it even when drawn far away.
  encounter	F	teleportation
  minor	action	
  area wall 4 within 10 squares
  effect: The area of the wall becomes your chosen threshold 
  that lasts until the end of your next turn. any enemy that 
  enters the area of the wall is immobilized (save ends). 
  Once before the end of your next turn, as a move ac-
  tion you can teleport to any square of the wall, or any 
  square adjacent to the wall, even if you do not have line 
  of sight or line of effect to the square to which you are 
  teleporting.
  gate	to	nowhere	
  Gatekeeper attack 20
  An enemy successfully passes through the area you or your 
  allies guard, but it doesn’t end up where it expected; it is gone.
  daily	F	Psionic,	Psychic
  immediate	reaction	
  close burst 10
  trigger: an enemy leaves a square that is adjacent to you or 
  one of your allies
  target: The triggering enemy
  attack: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma + 6 vs. Fortitude
  	
  Level 21: +9.
  hit: 3d12 + Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier psy-
  chic damage.
  miss: Half damage.
  effect: The target is removed from play (save ends). When the 
  target saves against this effect, you can choose to have it 
  return to play in any unoccupied square on the ground 
  within 10 squares of you.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Playing Shardminds
  19
  crYsTalmind
  You are one small part of an entity whose pieces are dis-
  tributed across all the planes of existence. It’s time to take 
  advantage of that essential once-upon-a-time unity.
   
  Prerequisite: Shardmind, shard swarm racial 
  power
  Your body is an arrangement of inert matter infested 
  with your consciousness. But the spark of your soul is 
  just one part of a much vaster being. Yes, that entity is 
  destroyed and its mind is splintered . . . but if you 
  focus on the shards that make up your form, you can 
  begin to hear the susurrus of a thousand, or perhaps 
  even a thousand thousand other shardmind con-
  sciousnesses somewhere “out there.”
   
  With a little more concentration, you can tap 
  into this fantastic network of your fellows and use it 
  to hypercharge your own cognition. You can gain a 
  limited ability to predict the immediate future. You 
  can channel the output of all those minds to enhance 
  your attacks. Sometimes you have the ability to 
  borrow the abilities from other shardminds.
   
  When you manage a particularly clear connection, 
  at times you can predict the future so well that you 
  exploit a foe’s momentary weakness.
   
  All this extra mind power comes at a price; you 
  can get caught up experiencing shadow glimpses 
  from the lives of countless other shardminds. But 
  occasional fugue states do not concern you; they are 
  the price you must pay as you tap the detritus of a 
  mind that might have once equaled a god’s cognition.
  Crystalmind Path Features
   
  Psychic network (11th level): Choose two skills: 
  Arcana, Dungeoneering, History, Nature, or Religion. 
  You become trained in those skills.
   
  Shard Swarm reflex (11th level): When you 
  spend an action point to take an extra action, you can 
  use your shard swarm power as a free action, even if 
  you have already expended it in this encounter.
   
  Psychic Channel (16th level): When you use 
  one of your 1st-level at-will attack powers unaug-
  mented, you can choose to have that power deal 
  psychic damage instead of the normal damage types 
  dealt by that attack.
  Crystalmind Powers
  saw	it	coming	
  Crystalmind attack 11
  You know your foe is moving to flank you even before it moves, 
  and it walks right into your waiting attack.
  encounter	F	Psionic
  immediate	reaction	
  Personal
  trigger: an enemy moves to a square where it flanks you
  effect: you shift 1 square and make a basic attack against the 
  triggering enemy. If the attack hits, it deals 1d10 extra 
  damage and knocks the target prone.
  crystal	duplicate	
  Crystalmind Utility 12
  A fragment of yourself remains behind when you teleport 
  away, providing a convincing simulacra while you move into a 
  new position.
  encounter	F	conjuration
  Free	action	
  close burst 10
  trigger: you teleport out of a square
  target: The square you just teleported out of in the burst
  effect: you become invisible until you attack or until the end of 
  your next turn. you also conjure a crystal duplicate of your-
  self on the ground in the target square, and it lasts until 
  the end of your next turn. The crystal duplicate occupies 
  the square, can be attacked, has 1 hit point, and is never 
  damaged by an attack that misses. you move the target up 
  to your speed as part of a minor action and can have the 
  conjuration pick up or manipulate an object as part of a 
  minor action.
  Perfect	knowledge	
  Crystalmind attack 20
  You perceive a momentary weakness in your foe and call out 
  to your allies exactly how to exploit it.
  daily	F	Psionic,	Psychic
  standard	action	
  ranged 10
  target: One creature
  attack: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma + 6 vs. Will
  	
  Level 21: +9.
  hit: 3d10 + Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier psy-
  chic damage, and the target gains vulnerable 10 to all dam-
  age until the end of your next turn.
  miss: Half damage, and the target gains vulnerable 5 to all 
  damage until the end of your next turn.
  About the Author
  Bruce r. Cordell is an Origins and ENnie award-winning 
  game designer whose long list of professional credits 
  includes the new Forgotten Realms® Campaign Guide, Keep 
  on the Shadowfell™, Draconomicon™: Chromatic Dragons, and 
  Open Grave™: Secrets of the Undead. Bruce is also an author of 
  Forgotten Realms novels, including Plague of Spells, first book in 
  the Abolethic Sovereignty series.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  20
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Logan Bonner 
  Illustration by William O'Connor
  Now heed my words, for I best know
  Of peril telling tales may sow
  When small, my mind saw wondrous things
  Conjured up through honeyed words
  Coupled with the purr of strings
  My callow mind misled me then
  To search for folk in faerie glen
  And O, did I step bright beyond
  Mortal peace and places known
  Home and friends and young man’s bond
  My opened eyes saw green so bold
  To make my forests pale and cold
  My mem’ry dear of flowered field
  Died as sweeter savors came
  Beauty true I saw revealed
  —Opening Stanzas of Sigarune’s Tale,  
  Continued Throughout
  Wayfaring Bards
  The Call
   
   Feywild: 
  of 
   the
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Wayfaring Bards
  21
  The crumbled libraries and expert scholars scattered 
  around the world carry history’s songs and tales into 
  the present, but nothing in the realms of humanity 
  can match the deep traditions of art and lore that 
  endure among the folk of the Feywild. Any bard wise 
  enough to see the value of fey knowledge and brave 
  enough to face the dangers of the Feywild seeks out 
  ways to travel to the plane. By visiting the eladrin 
  cities, carefully seeking out gnome warrens, or con-
  fronting the natural dangers of the elves’ woods, a 
  wayfarer can hear chronicles never told by any deni-
  zen of the natural world.
  reaching The 
  FeYwild
  While sylvan creatures voices roused
  And light fell hazy through the boughs
  My eyes grew weighty—full of dream
  Weary now, my body lazed
  Slumbered nigh to tree and stream
  The natural world is rife with cautionary tales of hap-
  less folk who wandered through fey crossings and 
  overambitious iconoclasts who traveled through fool-
  ishly, compelled by their wanderlust (such as with 
  “Sigarune’s Tale,” retold here). A clever bard who can 
  separate out the red herrings can find the approxi-
  mate locations of fey crossings buried within heaps 
  of legend and local alterations. Failing that, any high 
  concentration of fey monsters in the world hints that 
  a fey crossing might be nearby. After getting close, a 
  bard bent on crossing the planes can use arcane skills 
  (and knowledge of the typical signs that mark fey 
  crossings) to find their exact locations.
   
  To cross over, one must use the Fey Passage ritual 
  (see page 150 of Manual of the Planes) or plan to arrive 
  at one of the few times the crossing opens naturally. 
  This schedule might be based on lunar cycles, weather 
  events, or even fey holidays. Consequently, bards visit 
  the Feywild at the same time every year. And they 
  make sure they get back before the crossing closes 
  again, trapping them away from their home plane.
   
  Worldfalls—events that move expanses of land 
  from one plane to another—attract visitors to fey 
  realms. Rather than visiting the Feywild, a bard 
  can wait for a worldfall that brings an eladrin city 
  (for example) into the natural world. Places that 
  frequently fall across planes take on an esoteric char-
  acter to become exotic bazaars, tourist destinations 
  (for those few tough or privileged enough to travel 
  in relative safety), or meeting places between fey 
  families with members dwelling on both planes. Of 
  course, they’re like this only during worldfall, and a 
  wise bard knows how to tell when a city that appears 
  inviting would be dangerous if encountered outside 
  an interval of worldfall.
  Socializing with the Fey
  On waking ill from arcane spell
  I saw my bed was now a cell
  In court of elven finery
  “Pet!” they cried, and bade me sing
  Mortal ballads happily
  Prominent eladrin make an ideal audience for ballad-
  eers and frequently act as patrons for the arts. Their 
  esteemed artists share fables, poems, and drinks in 
  the dining halls and library towers within the eladrin 
  cities. Becoming part of this inner circle is no easy 
  act, though. Only impressive artistic skill, offbeat 
  presentation, a striking appearance, and no small 
  amount of flattery gains patronage for a newcomer. 
  Wayfaring bards can use their rareness to advantage; 
  an eladrin patron might not resist the novelty of spon-
  soring a skilled performer from the natural world.
   
  Parties and summits bring fey from many regions 
  (and many races) together. Although some can be 
  an exercise in tedium, most provide a bard with an 
  always-welcome opportunity to impress the crowd 
  and meet new people with other tales to tell. More 
  connections in different societies mean a bard has 
  more places to research stories—or gather allies in 
  times of danger.
  The naTive Tongue
  any visitor who expects to travel to the Fey-
  wild and communicate should know the Elven 
  language. If your character’s race doesn’t allow 
  you to choose Elven as a language, you can take 
  one of these options (and more are available at 
  a higher level).
  F a background related to the Feywild or Elven-
  speaking creatures
  F The Linguist or Mark of Scribing feat
  F a polyglot gem (Adventurer’s Vault), a level 6 
  wondrous item
  F The Comprehend Language ritual (if you’re 
  desperate)
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Wayfaring Bards
  22
  Lore of the Fey Cultures
  On oaken lute shone silver strings
  A tool to please the faerie Kings
  For Queen most high, for noble elf
  Bade this bondman reminisce
  Private tunes held dear to self
  As summer after summer went
  White winter powder branches bent
  And autumns blazed in red unmatched
  Verse and ode made weak appeal
  Cold and mute, my cage stood latched
  Creatures and cultures of the Feywild focus their 
  stories and art on different aspects of the past—each 
  race has its own tales to tell. A bard might seek out 
  different groups depending on what sort of legends 
  he or she prefers. Each group detailed below has an 
  entry that lists the types of art forms in which the 
  group specializes.
   
  Eladrin: Blessed with long lives, eladrin scribes 
  and poets use their centuries of life to unearth every 
  obscure detail of the historic events that fascinate 
  them. Their detailed depictions, crafted with both 
  words and visual arts, describe the wars of old. They 
  spent perhaps more care cataloging the political 
  maneuvering and familial connections that bound 
  and reshaped the eladrin houses and cities. Though 
  thorough and meticulously written and rewritten, 
  these accounts can be too dry and rambling for any 
  human to endure. Furthermore, eladrin artists owe 
  tremendous loyalty to their patrons (typically high-
  ranking members of eladrin houses, and occasionally 
  archfey), causing their odes and chronicles to con-
  form to whatever version of history the patron wishes 
  to present.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Architecture, romantic balladry, 
  historical epic poetry (slightly fictionalized), painting, 
  silverwork
   
  gnomes: Any chat with a gnome sage can provide 
  the visitor with an interesting story. But that’s the only 
  guarantee. To the gnomes—including their poets—an 
  exciting tale well told beats a boring truth any day, 
  and tall tales outnumber true accounts by a wide 
  margin within their culture. Though many bards feel 
  the same way, placing artistry above veracity, others 
  feel the need to sift a gnome’s story to collect the nug-
  gets of truth hidden within it. Most gnomes know the 
  truth, or have guessed at it. A wayfarer who wants the 
  full truth must learn the gnome’s price. Typically, the 
  inquiring party needs to best the gnome in a game of 
  skill (such as a riddle contest or board game) or per-
  form a truly riveting tale of the natural world.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Satire, illusion crafting, debate, 
  improvisational theatre/expository oration
   
  Elves: Though their numbers are smaller than in 
  the natural world, the elves of the Feywild are just as 
  proud. The race’s greatest hunters call the Feywild 
  home, as do storytellers whose tales reach back to 
  before any elf left for the natural world. To study with 
  the elves means living a hard life, but it pays off in 
  battle skills and stories of elven heroism. Tribes in 
  the Feywild rarely call one forest home as their coun-
  terparts in the natural world do; they must follow a 
  nomadic lifestyle to keep up with the changing land-
  scapes and migrating creatures of their plane.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Storytelling, weaponmaking 
  (especially bows and arrows), woodcarving, leather-
  working
   
  Fomorians: A bard possessed of true daring 
  might seek the rarest stories: the ancient records sup-
  pressed by the paranoid, possessive fomorian rulers. 
  whY should an 
  advenTurer care?
  The descriptions of travels to the Feywild in 
  this article might seem like background info, or 
  actions the adventurer takes during downtime 
  at best. So how can you incorporate travels to 
  the Feywild into adventures?
   
  First off, provide some details about your 
  previous travels so your Dungeon Master has 
  the option to use them if your party travels to 
  the Feywild or meets nonplayer characters from 
  there. Second, pepper your roleplaying with 
  details of your time abroad. Toss in an occasional 
  mention of “the time I spent in Tor’uliel’s court” 
  or “the bloodthirsty equinox hunt with the Tribe 
  of the Southern Wind, where I made my first 
  kill.” your character might carry trinkets or pres-
  ents from fey patrons or allies. Third, your time 
  in the Feywild could influence your mechanical 
  choices. Pick powers or backgrounds from this 
  article, multiclass in primal or arcane classes 
  tied to the societies you visited, and take magic 
  items with a fey theme (such as feystep lacings 
  from Adventurer’s Vault or the fey-blessed circlet 
  from Adventurer’s Vault 2).
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Wayfaring Bards
  23
  These cruel tyrants demand their cyclops scribes take 
  good care to keep libraries current, and each one fre-
  quently sends a cyclops digging through the histories 
  for any small bit of guidance that might help with the 
  fomorian’s current focus of worry. Any bard trying to 
  access a fomorian library needs stealth and trickery 
  to make it inside the place, but he or she can find 
  rare tales that exist nowhere else. In fact, some of the 
  lost histories of eladrin houses rest within fomorian 
  libraries, which were stolen in ages past. With their 
  keen interest in magic, fomorians also keep stores of 
  rituals and arcane texts. The fomorians have little 
  interest or skill in the arts, but their cyclops servants 
  create beautiful works for their masters.
   
  Exceptional (Cyclops) Arts: Magical crafting, black-
  smithing, stonecarving, gemcutting
   
  Satyrs: As far removed from the formal records of 
  the eladrin houses as you can get, satyr songs reveal 
  the scandalous side of life in the Feywild. Full of 
  drunken boasts, bawdy tales, and fey secrets (espe-
  cially risqué ones), satyrs keep the hidden history 
  the other fey would prefer to bury forever. If a bard 
  has an enemy in the Feywild, chances are a satyr can 
  reveal some skeletons in that enemy’s closet.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Drinking songs, bawdy limericks, 
  wine-making, pipe music, dance
   
  Treants: Most treant stories can bore any non-
  treant to tears. Season-by-season recountings of the 
  growth of specific trees, or an ode to the ninety-three 
  types of rain, don’t matter much to an adventurer. 
  However, patience can be rewarding. The treants also 
  know tales—which they share only with those they 
  trust—of the forest primordials in the days before the 
  Dawn War.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Wilderness histories, parables 
  about nature
   
  Firbolgs: Blood and battle fill the sagas told by 
  the firbolg skalds. Arrogant, gory depictions describe 
  spear thrusts, sprays of blood, and cracking bones. 
  Beyond just the bards, each warrior or hunter knows 
  the full tale of at least one Wild Hunt from the past.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Saga oration, weaponmaking, tat-
  tooing, ritual dancing
   
  Centaurs: Like firbolgs, centaurs focus on war sto-
  ries. However, they know more about other cultures 
  since they work closely with them. Centaur family 
  lines strongly influence the tales they remember: A 
  centaur storyteller has a duty to describe the actions 
  of ancient ancestors and to pass on these tales to his 
  or her descendants.
   
  Exceptional Arts: Storytelling, genealogy
  Bardic Fellowships
  And as my corpse grew gray and frail
  My masters ceased my long travail
  In faerie hall I’d earned a place
  Hated lock now gone, I thrilled
  Walking free by fortune’s grace
  As lorekeepers and artists meet amid eladrin 
  houses or other congregations of fey, they form 
  bonds that become fellowships. These organizations 
  consist of wayfarers and Feywild natives, and they 
  command respect from the fey. This section refers 
  to the Court of Stars described on pages 36–39 of 
  Manual of the Planes.
   
  The Badgers: A peculiar federation, the Badgers 
  thrive on secret rituals and bewildering rules. Essen-
  tially, they’re in the organization to do all the things 
  you do in an organization. As its silly name indicates, 
  the Badgers is practically a parody of other bardic fel-
  lowships. Those who appreciate that sort of thing seek 
  out gnomes, reveling in the trials and trickery of their 
  artists.
   
  The Blue Balladeers: It might be difficult for 
  minstrels to visit the followers of the Sea Lords, so 
  they gather at riverbanks and the shores of the bril-
  liant blue sea to share songs and stories.
   
  The nightingales: This small fellowship follows 
  the Gloaming Fey. They use dusk, stars, and surreal 
  imagery to create their dreamlike songs and poems. 
  The Nightingales also attract followers to the Prince 
  of Hearts. Their odes to unrequited love and smol-
  dering passion are among the few fey creations that 
  make their way into the repertoires of bards in the 
  natural world.
   
  The reclaimers: Dedicated to restoring the 
  annals of eladrin history, the Reclaimers sneak into 
  fomorian libraries. They especially rely on their 
  fellows, since their work carries so much danger. 
  Reclaimers might provide a distraction so one of 
  their number can sneak into a fomorian stronghold. 
  They’re rewarded with part of the haul.
   
  The Sunsingers: Formed within the court of the 
  Summer Fey and spreading to the courts of all its 
  affiliated houses, the Sunsingers create odes to the 
  beauty of clear skies, sun, and the Summer Queen. 
  Due to Tiandra’s fondness for mortals, this fellowship 
  is especially easy for wayfaring bards to join. Rumors 
  indicate she might be seeking a skilled mortal to 
  serve as her court minstrel. As is to be expected, the 
  fellowships tied to the different courts within the 
  Court of Stars don’t allow overlap. A member of the 
  Sunsingers shouldn’t expect any courtesy or trouba-
  dour camaraderie from the Voices of Winter.
   
  Voice and Spear: To the fellows of Voice and 
  Spear, heroic sagas mean nothing if you don’t create 
  a tale of your own in their mold. Running among the 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Wayfaring Bards
  24
  elves and firbolgs, they’re as much hunters as they are 
  poets. Scattered far apart between vast wildernesses, 
  groups of Voice and Spear gather to inspire their 
  tribemates before large hunts.
   
  The Voices of Winter: Writing poetry as bleak as 
  their namesake, the Voices seek to please the Prince 
  of Frost and the other Winter Fey. Some artists con-
  sider their works depressing and joyless, but others 
  admire the way their words evoke the biting chill of 
  a winter wind and the listless sensation of enduring 
  winter’s long nights.
  Builds For waYFarers
  If captors thought this brave reward
  Should make my heart accept their lord
  My mortal song untrue did ring
  Freedom led my path to seek
  Mist-enshrouded faerie ring
  My spirit clasped in cold embrace
  I walked amid a well-known place
  My world again became my world
  Seeing hearth and hill of old
  Scrolls my shaking hands unfurled
  Bards who travel to the Feywild do so for varied 
   reasons, and interact with varied groups. Your build 
  and the reasons you cross the planes might influence 
  one another.
   
  Cunning Bard: Many types of fey appreciate 
  trickery and the deft use of words. Eladrin houses 
  could welcome you for your talent, or because you 
  tricked them into becoming patrons years ago. You 
  might know a secret song to bring gnome allies out 
  from their hidden warrens. Your Feywild allies col-
  lect stories and rumors about your exploits and look 
  forward to listening to you tell the truth about these 
  events—or perhaps an even more exciting fabrication.
   
  Prescient Bard: Because you follow the traditions 
  of the bow and possess deep wisdom, you find kin-
  ship with the elves of the Feywild. Your excursions 
  might take you back to dense treetop canopies where 
  you trained with master elven archers, or bring you 
  back in time for ritualistic seasonal hunts.
   
  Valorous Bard: The fey have less respect for valor 
  than you find in the mortal world. Eladrin and other 
  powerful forces value courage only when it’s conve-
  nient. They might call on you as a mercenary, relying 
  on your battle prowess and caring less for your poems 
  or songs. Despite this indifference toward valor, the 
  Feywild’s history swells with tales of brave heroes; 
  studying the stories of the fey gives you new sources 
  of inspiration.
  waYFaring Bard 
  Backgrounds
  From stolen rag, from parchment scrap
  Came shards of verse, a poet’s map
  The finest words, my jailors missed
  Secret sagas mourned for home
  Phrases born from muse’s kiss
  ’Cross time abroad ’neath foreign stars
  This home once white fell gray and marred
  No eager public opened their ears
  Lonely stones and witless beasts
  Heard my song and glimpsed my tears
  By choosing one of these backgrounds, you can 
   represent the time your bard spent in the Feywild. 
  Most nonfey choose to speak Elven as their back-
  ground benefit.
   
  Friend of an Eladrin House: In your wanderings 
  far from the mortal world, you met illustrious mem-
  bers of an eladrin house. They found you  charming 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Wayfaring Bards
  25
  and became your patrons. Did they teach you magic 
  and song, or were they impressed by the gifts you 
  already possessed? Do they have other allies in the 
  world? Are you a mere friend, or were you born a 
  member of the house?
   
  Associated Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy
   
  Associated Language: Elven
   
  Trapped in the Feywild: A reluctant traveler, 
  you became imprisoned or lost in the Feywild against 
  your will. While there, you had your first brush with 
  arcane magic and the odd fey creatures that inhabit 
  the realm. Did you wander into the Feywild by mis-
  take and lose your way home? Were you captured 
  and placed in bondage by fomorians or other cruel 
  fey? How did you escape from the Feywild? Do you 
  want to go back and clean up some loose ends, or do 
  you want to avoid the plane for good?
   
  Associated Skills: Arcana, Endurance
   
  Associated Language: Elven
  FeaTs
  Though broken echo rasps for you
  My aged throat then sang like new
  On final verse, my torch alight
  Set afire ev’ry scrap
  Man once more illumined night
  After visiting the Feywild numerous times, you learn 
  to step quickly to the plane in a manner similar to an 
  eladrin using fey step.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  The following feats are suitable for any character who 
  meets the prerequisite.
  Bardic Wayfarer
   
  Prerequisite: Bard, majestic word class feature
   
  Benefit: Once per turn when you teleport an ally 
  with a power, you can also teleport 1 square as a free 
  action.
   
  In addition, when you use majestic word you can 
  teleport the target 1 square instead of sliding the 
  target.
  Envoy to the Fey
   
  Prerequisite: Bard
   
  Benefit: You can speak, read, and write Elven. 
  When you make a Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, or 
  Streetwise check against a fey creature, you can roll 
  twice and use the higher result.
  Paragon Tier Feat
  The feat in this section is available to any characters 
  of 11th level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Walk Among the Fey
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, bard
   
  Benefit: Whenever you use a power that slides 
  a creature, you can teleport that creature an equal 
  number of squares instead. Where you teleport the 
  creature remains subject to any restrictions on the 
  original slide.
  powers
  The home once had I never found
  For monstrous beast and hate abound
  My art now dead, my land now dark
  Longing sends these brittle bones
  Seeking inspiration’s spark
  As a master of traveling to the Feywild, you can 
  quickly create portals to that plane. They don’t last 
  long, but your spells take advantage of the ability well.
  Level 1 Encounter Spell
  victim	of	the	Feywild	
  Bard attack 1
  You send your allies stepping across planes, recreating one 
  of the innumerable tales that describe fey warriors springing 
  from nowhere to attack wanderers in their realm.
  encounter	F	arcane,	Force,	implement,	teleportation
  standard	action	
  ranged 5
  target: One creature
  attack: Charisma vs. Will
  hit: 1d8 + Charisma modifier force damage, and you can tele-
  port one or two allies within 5 squares of the target each to 
  different squares adjacent to the target.
  Level 2 Utility Spell
  Beguiling	Ballad	
  Bard Utility 2
  Just as your foe thinks victory is assured, you weave a curtain 
  of fey magic that makes it think its enemy was never there.
  daily	F	arcane,	illusion,	teleportation
  immediate	reaction	
  close burst 10
  trigger: an enemy in the burst hits an ally
  target: The triggering enemy
  effect: The target cannot see the triggering ally (save ends). The 
  triggering ally can teleport 5 squares as a free action.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Wayfaring Bards
  26
  Level 3 Encounter Spell
  unicorn’s	charge	
  Bard attack 3
  Your song describes the nobility and magic of a Feywild uni-
  corn, inspiring your ally to come to the rescue.
  encounter	F	arcane,	healing,	teleportation
  standard	action	
  ranged 10
  target: One creature
  effect: One ally within range can charge the target as a free 
  action. If the ally hits, each ally adjacent to the target can 
  regain hit points equal to your Charisma modifier or, as a 
  free action, teleport 1 square.
  Level 5 Daily Spell
  timeless	trek	in	mithrendain	
  Bard attack 5
  You tear your foe away from the world and send it on a jour-
  ney like that of Dourlion, who spent untold days in the time-
  less Autumn City of the eladrin.
  daily	F	arcane,	implement,	Psychic,	teleportation
  standard	action	
  ranged 5
  target: One creature
  attack: Charisma vs. Will
  hit: 2d8 + Charisma modifier psychic damage.
  effect: The target is banished to the Feywild (save ends). While 
  banished, it is removed from play. When the effect ends, 
  the target reappears in the space it last occupied or in the 
  nearest unoccupied space of its choice.
  Level 6 Utility Spell
  echoing	steps	
  Bard Utility 6
  Your incantation pulls its subject into the Feywild long  
  enough to move freely. Arcane reverberations enable shorter 
  return trips.
  daily	F	arcane,	teleportation
  minor	action	
  ranged 10
  target: you or one ally
  effect: The target can teleport 6 squares as a free action. Until 
  the end of the encounter, the target can teleport 1 square 
  as a minor action.
  Level 7 Encounter Spell
  drums	of	the	Wild	hunt	
  Bard attack 7
  You mimic the pounding beat that drives the fury of the Wild 
  Hunt, imparting its savagery to your allies.
  encounter	F	arcane,	implement,	teleportation,	thunder
  standard	action	
  close burst 1
  target: One, two, or three creatures in burst
  attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude
  hit: 1d10 + Charisma modifier thunder damage. you can tele-
  port an ally within 10 squares of you to a square adjacent 
  to the target. If you do, that ally gains a +3 power bonus to 
  its next attack roll against the target before the end of your 
  next turn.
  Level 15 Daily Spell
  Whispers	of	the	dream	king	 Bard attack 15
  Your friend takes on the role of the archfey Dream King as you 
  retell a folktale in which a mortal protected the king and was 
  repaid in kind.
  daily	F	arcane,	charm,	implement,	sleep,	teleportation
  standard	action	
  ranged 5
  target: One creature
  attack: Charisma vs. Fortitude
  hit: The target becomes unconscious (save ends). When the 
  target takes damage, it can make a saving throw against 
  this effect.
  	 aftereffect: Each ally within 3 squares of the target can tele-
  port to a square adjacent to the target as a free action.
  miss: The target becomes dazed (save ends).
  	
  aftereffect: Each ally within 3 squares of the target can 
  teleport to a square adjacent to the target as a free action.
  Level 22 Utility Spell
  Queen’s	clemency	
  Bard Utility 22
  Your tune calls across the planes, imploring an archfey ally to 
  pardon your ally and provide an escape.
  at-Will	F	arcane,	teleportation
  minor	action	
  melee 1
  target: One ally
  effect: you teleport the target 1 square.
  About the Author
  Logan Bonner designed and edited 4th Edition products at 
  Wizards of the Coast until 2009. He now lives in the Seattle 
  area and works as a freelance game designer, writer, and 
  editor.
  oTher ThemaTic powers
  These powers appear in other sources, but repre-
  sent the types of illusion and teleportation magic 
  that typify the bardic wayfarer’s spell repertoire.
  F	level	9: Hymn of the daring rescue
   (Player’s Handbook 2)
  F	level	10: Illusory erasure (Player’s Handbook 2), 
  veil (Player’s Handbook 2)
  F	level	16: Blink zone (Player’s Handbook 2)
  F	level	17: Song of summons 
   (Player’s Handbook 2)
  F	level	19: Spring to action (Arcane Power)
  F	level	22: Invisible troupe (Player’s Handbook 2), 
  mirrored entourage (Player’s Handbook 2), song 
  of transition (Player’s Handbook 2)
  F	level	25: Vision distortion
   (Player’s Handbook 2)
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  27
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Peter Schaefer 
  Illustration by McLean Kendree
  Bazaar of the Bizarre: 
  Ritual Enhancements
  Rituals are one of the world’s keys to great power. 
  Only one who has mastered difficult rituals can cross 
  continents in a moment, spy on rivals from afar, and 
  learn information from supernatural entities. Those 
  invested in the art of ritual casting have created a 
  spread of magic items designed to aid and improve 
  their ritual magic. In the rare contests of ritual skill, 
  using one of these items is analogous to dueling 
  with a poisoned blade—considered unsporting, but 
   appropriate or expected in certain cultures.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Bazaar of the Bizarre
  28
  Arcane Key
  The arcane key is a humble tool for use with a 
  common ritual, but it has grand roots. The wizard 
  Mordenkainen first crafted it to make his wards 
  more accessible to allies he might make later, but 
  he also wanted the wards to be more secure than a 
  simple visible symbol or secret sign. Making his abil-
  ity to access others’ secrets is a hidden bonus. Legend 
  claims the great wizard spread a dozen chests warded 
  with the most powerful Arcane Locks throughout the 
  world, only to be opened by the unique arcane keys 
  that he used in their enchantment. 
  arcane	key	
  Level 6
  Using this silver key when performing Arcane Lock allows  
  you to seal the door from afar.
  Wondrous	item 1,800 gp
  Property: you can use this item as an optional focus for the 
  arcane Lock ritual. When you do, you can seal or unseal 
  the object sealed by the ritual using the at-will power of 
  this item.
  Property: you can use this item as an optional focus for the 
  Knock ritual. When you do, for up to 5 minutes after 
  completing the ritual, you can relock or reseal the object 
  affected by the Knock ritual as though you had never 
  opened it, even to the point of automatically replacing an 
  arcane Lock at its original strength. Doing so requires a 
  minor action.
  Power	(at-Will): Minor action. you deactivate or reactivate an 
  arcane Lock bound to this item, no matter how far you are 
  from it, even if you are on another plane.
  Glass Eye
  Some people feel like they must know everything. The 
  elf sorcerer Ydri was one such person, and he felt cer-
  tain that his servants and allies were scheming with 
  each other. He was not so paranoid that he believed 
  they plotted his ruin—he had confidence in his diplo-
  matic skills—but he wanted to be aware of their plans 
  and hated every secret they kept from him. Long ago 
  he created the glass eyes and began placing them all 
  over the world, and with a sorcerer’s life span, he 
  might still be looking through the ones he can.
  glass	eye	
  Level 16
  Conceal this glass replica of a bloodshot eye so you can scry  
  the location later.
  Wondrous	item 45,000 gp
  Power	(at-Will): Minor action. you prime the glass eye and 
  place it somewhere. Until another creature touches the eye 
  or until you end this effect as a free action, you can choose 
  to create your scrying sensor in the glass eye’s square with 
  the Wizard’s Sight ritual even when the eye is as far away as 
  100 squares. you can also scry the eye’s location using View 
  Location even if the eye’s location is not a location you have 
  visited before or it is not fixed in place.
  Monocle of Comprehension
  Indrixus was an efficient soul, and a diplomatic one. 
  He mastered every language so he could better com-
  municate and avoid unnecessary bloodshed, but the 
  need to translate to and for his less linguistic com-
  panions grated on him. He demanded his companion 
  wizard learn how to magically comprehend other 
  tongues and create this item so they could more ably 
  achieve their goals in foreign lands. His allies were as 
  gifted at diplomacy as they were inclined to pick up 
  new languages, so Indrixus’s success left many of his 
  negotiations in smoldering ruins. Today, Indrixus is 
  on his own in the City of Brass, where he acts as an 
  independent negotiator of trade agreements and trea-
  ties with a lofty reputation.
  monocle	of	comprehension	
  Level 5
  Sharing this monocle with your friends helps them understand 
  the efreets with whom you’re dealing. You didn’t tell them that 
  wearing it was unnecessary. 
  Wondrous	item 1,000 gp
  Property: you can use this item as an optional focus for the 
  Comprehend Language ritual. When you do, it splits into 
  up to 8 duplicate monocles for the duration of the ritual. 
  any creature holding one of the monocles gains the same 
  comprehension granted you by the ritual until it is no 
  longer holding the monocle or the ritual’s duration expires.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Bazaar of the Bizarre
  29
  Phantom Bridle
  Sick of mounts falling from beneath her in battle, 
  sword maiden Shelai submitted to studying at the 
  feet of the sages until she had mastered the ritual 
  that would conjure for her a steed crafted of purest 
  magic. Her surprise at its fragility was total. In a fit 
  of fury-inspired genius, she crafted a magic bridle for 
  the magic steed to protect it from harm. A battle with 
  a storm giant has since proven her steed remains too 
  brittle. Shelai is selling the phantom bridle and prom-
  ises great rewards for anyone who can deliver her the 
  perfect mount.
  Phantom	Bridle	
  Level 10
  Placing this bridle on your phantom steed makes it nearly 
  impervious to damage.
  Wondrous	item 5,000 gp
  Property: after performing the Phantom Steed ritual, you 
  can place this bridle on one of the steeds created. That 
  phantom steed gains resist 20 to all damage until the ritual 
  ends or you remove the bridle.
  Portal Rod
  Genasi artificer Alkahm of Mirrorsky, which is a 
  small trading outpost in the Elemental Chaos, devel-
  oped the portal rod as a means of evacuating the 
  outpost’s inhabitants efficiently. It continues to keep 
  them a half step ahead of the storm archons who 
  inexplicably pursue them.
  Portal	rod	
  Level 10
  By holding this rune-carved rod on both sides of the portal, 
  you stabilize the link between the two places.
  Wondrous	item 5,000 gp
  Power	(daily): Minor action. Until the end of your next turn, 
  one adjacent portal opened with the Linked Portal, Planar 
  Portal, Reverse Portal, or True Portal ritual remains open, 
  even if it would normally close before then. Sustain Minor: 
  The effect persists until the end of your next turn. after 10 
  rounds of sustaining this effect, you can no longer sustain 
  it and the portal closes. The portal begins to waver after 5 
  rounds, warning you of its impending closure.
  Sending Fork
  A little magical talent can sometimes be worse than 
  none. This is what the halfling Oleander found when 
  he stumbled into ritual casting: He could access a 
  spread of useful powers, but his ignorance of the 
  arcane prevented him from using them to their full-
  est. So he used the talents he had—that of making 
  friends and allies—and had a wizard research the 
  sending fork to make up some of the difference.
  sending	Fork	
  Level 6
  Speaking your voice into this tuning fork casts it farther across 
  the world when used with magic.
  Wondrous	item 1,800 gp
  Property: you can use this item as an optional focus for the 
  Sending ritual. When you do, multiply the maximum range 
  of the ritual by 10.
  Power	(at-Will): Minor action. Choose an unoccupied square 
  within 10 squares of you and speak a short phrase (no 
  more than twenty-five words) into the fork. Creatures can 
  hear you as though you are in the chosen square. you do 
  not need line of sight or line of effect to the square.
  Shielding Focus
  Erigar discovered the shielding focus on the corpse of a 
  swordmage who had preceded her into the Unyield-
  ing Temple-Maze of Vecna. Exploring a magical 
  labyrinth with thousands of miles of ground to tread 
  and untold numbers of monsters takes time, and rest-
  ing there requires security. Finding the shielding focus 
  helped her clear a campsite in the mist-filled tunnels, 
  but it was not help enough.
  shielding	Focus	
  Level 10
  This small silver shield increases the strength of your  
  protective circles.
  Wondrous	item 5,000 gp
  Property: you can use this item as an optional focus for the 
  Magic Circle ritual by placing it at the center of the circle 
  when you complete the ritual. While it remains there, a 
  creature of the affected origin passing the boundary takes 
  double the damage the ritual would normally deal, and 
  the circle does not break until the end of that creature’s 
  next turn.
  Tenser’s Circular Shield
  Tired of having his loot damaged by the fights neces-
  sary to liberate it from its monstrous captors, Tenser 
  created this simple device to improve his famous 
  floating disk. He enjoyed the additional benefit of 
  protecting his rewards from those of his companions 
  less able to restrain themselves from picking through 
  it for choice items. Ironically, his earliest prototype 
  malfunctioned, preventing even Tenser from access-
  ing the disk’s contents and prolonging the ritual’s 
  duration indefinitely. When Tenser could not deacti-
  vate the device, he left the floating disk in a dungeon 
  and forgot about it.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Bazaar of the Bizarre
  30
  tenser’s	circular	shield	
  Level 4
  This iron miniature of a circular shield protects your goods as 
  they follow along behind you.
  Wondrous	item 840 gp
  Property: you can use this item as an optional focus for the 
  Tenser’s Floating Disk ritual. When you do, a force bubble 
  over the disk prevents creatures other than you from 
  moving anything on the disk without your express mental 
  permission, and objects gain resist 20 to all damage while 
  on the disk.
  Unseen Servant’s Hand
  The first unseen servant’s hand was crafted by Brannok 
  Thunderforge, a dwarf invoker with a penchant for 
  summoning celestial servants. When taken to task for 
  needlessly calling on the forces of his god, he moved 
  on to arcane servants. His search for the perfect ser-
  vants has led him to adjust the unseen servant: His 
  conjured aides have drastically extended durations 
  and ranges, and he sends them all over the world on 
  errands. Alas, not all the secrets of these improve-
  ments are known.
  unseen	servant’s	hand	
  Level 4
  This barely visible glass hand improves your magical, invisible 
  work force.
  Wondrous	item 840 gp
  Property: you can use this item as a focus for the Unseen 
  Servant ritual in place of the standard focus. When you do, 
  the ritual conjures two unseen servants with each casting, 
  and each servant conjured by the ritual can lift up to 300 
  pounds.
  About the Author
  Peter Schaefer is a petty evil. He terrifies small children 
  with lies about their parents. He notes adults’ insecurities and 
  mocks them. He laughs at the unclaimed cats and dogs at the 
  SPCA. Just about the only worthwhile thing he does is work 
  as RPG developer on such books as Adventurer’s Vault™ 2, the 
  Plane Below™, and Player’s Handbook® 3, in addition to  numerous 
  D&D Insider articles. Still, that doesn’t make up for the way he 
  cuts neighbors’ lawns too short, keys cars, or plays loud country 
  music while driving slowly through residential neighborhoods 
  at three in the morning.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  31
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Robert J. Schwalb 
  Illustration by Craig J. Spearing
  Class Acts: Artificer
  Artificers are as much artists as they are technicians. 
  They see through gifted eyes, perceiving loosed magi-
  cal energies flowing around them, and with practiced 
  skill they pluck the loosed bits of metamagic to form 
  it into useful objects and enhancements, layering 
  eldritch power onto their allies’ weapons, armor, and 
  other gear to augment their natural talents. By using 
  the same techniques, artificers can cobble together 
  useful devices by imbuing arcane magic into the bits 
  and pieces they carry with them, sometimes to create 
  simple devices to destroy their enemies, and at other 
  times to create traps and obstacles for their foes. They 
  could also craft useful and obedient servants.
   
  The spells one artificer learns might be similar 
  to those mastered by another, but the differences in 
  technique vary based on culture and heritage. How 
  an artificer learned his or her craft often influences 
  the essential characteristics common to artificers. 
  As a result, the following new feats showcase how 
  cultural knowledge and tradition might modify how 
  an artificer approaches the magical techniques he or 
  she masters. Since these feats are all designed for the 
  heroic tier, any artificer that meets the prerequisites 
  can take these feats.
  Astral Elixir
   
  Prerequisite: Deva, artificer, shielding elixir power
   
  Benefit: When you use shielding elixir, the target 
  gains radiant resistance in addition to the resistance 
  the power normally grants. The radiant resistance 
  is equal to the resistance ordinarily granted by the 
  power and has the same duration.
   
  When making a saving throw, the target can end 
  the shielding elixir effect as a free action to add 1d6 to 
  the saving throw result instead of gaining the normal 
  benefit for ending the effect.
  Bolstering Admixture
   
  Prerequisite: Warforged, artificer, curative admix-
  ture power
   
  Benefit: When you use curative admixture, the 
  target can make a saving throw to end one ongoing 
  effect that a save can end.
  Bow Caster
   
  Prerequisite: Elf, artificer
   
  Benefit: You can use a bow as an implement for 
  your artificer powers and artificer paragon path 
  powers.
  
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  Class Acts: Artificer
  32
  heroic	tier	Feats
  Feat	
  Prerequisite	
  Benefit
  astral	elixir	
  deva,	artificer,	shielding infusion	
  Shielding infusion grants	resist	5	radiant	and	target	can	end	to	gain	1d6	bonus	to	saving	throw
  Bolstering	admixture	
  Warforged,	artificer,	curative admixture	
  Curative admixture target	can	make	saving	throw	to	end	ongoing	damage
  Bow	caster	
  elf,	artificer	
  use	bow	as	an	implement
  charging	admixture	
  minotaur,	artificer,	curative admixture	
  Curative admixture target	gains	+2	damage	on	charge	attacks
  clarifying	infusion	
  kalashtar,	artificer,	healing	infusion	
  healing	infusion	target	makes	saving	throw	against	dazed	or	dominated
  cunning	artifice	
  changeling,	changeling trick,	artificer	
  substitute	arcana	for	Bluff	with	changeling trick;	hit	enemy	with	combat	advantage	to	extend	combat
  	
  	
  advantage	to	all	attackers
  draconic	augmentation	
  dragonborn,	dragon breath, artificer,		
  ally	deals	dragon breath	damage	to	adjacent	enemy	after	hit	with	attack	benefiting	from	augment	energy
  	
  augment	energy	
  dwarven	rejuvenation	
  dwarf,	artificer,	arcane	rejuvenation	
  grant	+2	defenses	with	arcane	rejuvenation
  echoing	rejuvenation	
  goliath,	stone’s endurance	artificer,		
  gain	resist	when	ally	gains	temporary	hit	points	from	arcane	rejuvenation
  	
  arcane	rejuvenation
  elemental	infusion	
  genasi,	artificer,	healing	infusion	
  healing	infusion	grants	benefit	determined	by	elemental	manifestation
  Furious	concoction	
  half-orc,	artificer,	healing	infusion	
  ally	ends	healing	infusion	to	deal	1d8	extra	damage	on	melee	attack
  gloaming	infusion	
  shadar-kai,	shadow jaunt, artificer,		
  healing	infusion	target	can	end	effect	to	gain	insubstantial
  	
  healing	infusion
  human	innovation	
  human,	artificer,	impart	energy	
  spend	action	point	and	recharge	ally’s	magic	item
  inciting	energy	
  githzerai,	artificer,	augment	energy	
  augment	energy	also	grants	+2	initiative
  iron	Formula	
  githzerai,	artificer,	iron mind,	
  Resistive formula grants	+1	to	all	defenses	while	iron mind is	unexpended
  	
  resistive formula
  lucky	draft	
  halfling,	artificer,	healing	infusion	
  ally	ends	healing	infusion	to	force	attacker	to	reroll	attack
  nature’s	rejuvenation	
  Wilden,	artificer,	arcane	rejuvenation	
  ally	can	shift	with	temporary	hit	points	from	arcane	rejuvenation
  nessian	rejuvenation	
  tiefling,	artificer,	arcane	rejuvenation	
  ally	deals	extra	fire	damage	with	arcane	rejuvenation
  Phantasmal	elixir	
  gnome,	fade away, artificer,		
  Fade away also	triggers	when	shielding infusion target	takes	damage
  	
  shielding elixir
  reaping	infusion	
  revenant,	dark reaping,	artificer,		
  healing	infusion	targets	deals	1d6	extra	necrotic	damage
  	
  healing	infusion
  redistribute	minions	
  eladrin,	artificer,	fey step	
  teleport	summoned	creatures	with	teleport
  shifter’s	energy	
  shifter,	longtooth shifting or	razorclaw	
  shifter	racial	power	extends	to	ally	with	augment	energy	weapon	or	implement
  	
  shifting,	artificer,	augment	energy
  spare	infusion	
  half-elf,	dilettante,	artificer,		
  1/day,	expend	dilettante	power	for	extra	use	of	healing	infusion	
  	
  healing	infusion
  toxic	energy	
  drow,	artificer,	augment	energy	
  augment	energy	also	deals	1d6	extra	poison	damage
  vanishing	concoction	
  eladrin,	artificer,	healing	infusion	
  teleport	summoned	creatures	with	teleport	and	allies	end	healing	infusion	effects	to	teleport
  
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  Class Acts: Artificer
  33
  Charging Admixture
   
  Prerequisite: Minotaur, artificer, curative admix-
  ture power
   
  Benefit: When you use curative admixture, the 
  target gains a +2 bonus to damage rolls on charge 
  attacks until the end of your next turn. At 11th level, 
  the bonus improves to +3. At 21st level, the bonus 
  improves to +4.
  Clarifying Infusion
   
  Prerequisite: Kalashtar, artificer, Healing Infu-
  sion class feature
   
  Benefit: When you use a Healing Infusion power, 
  the target can make a saving throw to end a dazed or 
  dominated condition that a save can end.
  Cunning Artifice
   
  Prerequisite: Changeling, changeling trick racial 
  power, artificer
   
  Benefit: You can substitute an Arcana check for a 
  Bluff check made as part of using your changeling trick 
  racial power.
   
  Also, while using an artificer melee attack power, 
  when you hit an enemy that grants combat advan-
  tage to you, the target grants combat advantage to all 
  attackers until the start of your next turn.
  Draconic Augmentation
   
  Prerequisite: Dragonborn, dragon breath racial 
  power, artificer, Augment Energy class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally hits with an attack ben-
  efiting from your Augment Energy class feature, one 
  enemy adjacent to that ally takes damage equal to 
  your Constitution modifier of a damage type match-
  ing the type you chose for your dragon breath power.
  Dwarven Rejuvenation
   
  Prerequisite: Dwarf, artificer, Arcane Rejuvena-
  tion class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally gains temporary hit 
  points from Arcane Rejuvenation, that ally also 
  gains a +2 bonus to all defenses until the start of his 
  or her next turn.
  Echoing Rejuvenation
   
  Prerequisite: Goliath, stone’s endurance racial 
  power, artificer, Arcane Rejuvenation class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally gains temporary hit points 
  from Arcane Rejuvenation, you gain resist 2 to all 
  damage until the end of your next turn.
  Elemental Infusion
   
  Prerequisite: Genasi, artificer, Healing Infusion 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: When you use resistive formula or shield-
  ing elixir, the target gains a benefit in addition to the 
  power’s normal effects, depending on your elemental 
  manifestation. The benefit lasts until the effect from 
  the resistive formula or shielding elixir ends.
   
  Causticsoul: The target gains resist 5 acid. At 11th 
  level, the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, the 
  resistance improves to 15.
   
  Cindersoul: The target gains resist 5 fire. At 11th 
  level, the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, the 
  resistance improves to 15.
   
  Earthsoul: The target gains a +1 bonus to saving 
  throws.
   
  Firesoul: The target gains resist 5 fire. At 11th level, 
  the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, the resis-
  tance improves to 15.
   
  Plaguesoul: The target gains resist 5 poison. At 11th 
  level, the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, the 
  resistance improves to 15.
   
  Stormsoul: The target gains resist 5 lightning. At 
  11th level, the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, 
  the resistance improves to 15.
   
  Voidsoul: The target gains resist 5 psychic. At 11th 
  level, the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, the 
  resistance improves to 15.
   
  Watersoul: The target gains a +2 bonus to saving 
  throws against ongoing damage.
   
  Windsoul: The target gains resist 5 cold. At 11th 
  level, the resistance improves to 10. At 21st level, the 
  resistance improves to 15.
  
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  Class Acts: Artificer
  34
  Furious Concoction
   
  Prerequisite: Half-orc, artificer, Healing Infusion 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally hits with a melee attack 
  and is benefiting from your resistive formula or shield-
  ing elixir, the ally can end the effect as a free action to 
  deal 1d8 extra damage instead of gaining the normal 
  benefit for ending the effect.
  Gloaming Infusion
   
  Prerequisite: Shadar-kai, shadow jaunt racial 
  power, artificer, Healing Infusion class feature
   
  Benefit: If you have not yet used your shadow jaunt 
  power during the encounter, an ally benefiting from 
  your resistive formula or your shielding elixir can end 
  the effect as a free action to gain insubstantial until 
  the start of his or her next turn. This benefit replaces 
  the power’s normal effect.
  Human Innovation
   
  Prerequisite: Human, artificer, Impart Energy 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: When you spend an action point, you 
  also allow an adjacent ally to regain the use of a magic 
  item’s daily power. This counts as a use of Impart 
  Energy for the purpose of determining the number of 
  times per day an item can be recharged.
  Inciting Energy
   
  Prerequisite: Githzerai, artificer, Augment 
  Energy class feature
   
  Benefit: A creature wielding an implement or 
  weapon benefiting from Augment Energy gains a +2 
  power bonus to initiative checks.
  Iron Formula
   
  Prerequisite: Githzerai, artificer, iron mind racial 
  power, resistive formula power
   
  Benefit: If you have not yet expended your iron 
  mind power when you use resistive formula, the target 
  of that power gains a +1 power bonus to all defenses 
  in place of the +1 power bonus to AC.
  Lucky Draft
   
  Prerequisite: Halfling, artificer, Healing Infusion 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: Instead of gaining the normal benefit for 
  ending the effect of your resistive formula or shielding 
  elixir, an ally benefiting from either of these powers 
  can end the effect as a free action when hit by a melee 
  attack to force the target to reroll the attack roll.
  Nature’s Rejuvenation
   
  Prerequisite: Wilden, artificer, Arcane Rejuvena-
  tion class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally gains temporary hit points 
  from your Arcane Rejuvenation, he or she can also 
  shift 1 square as a free action.
  Nessian Rejuvenation
   
  Prerequisite: Tiefling, artificer, Arcane Rejuvena-
  tion class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally gains temporary hit points 
  from your Arcane Rejuvenation class feature, he or 
  she adds extra fire damage equal to your Charisma 
  modifier to damage rolls until the end of his or her 
  next turn.
  Phantasmal Elixir
   
  Prerequisite: Gnome, fade away racial power, arti-
  ficer, shielding elixir power
   
  Benefit: You can use your fade away power when 
  you or an ally affected by your shielding elixir power 
  takes damage. If the ally triggered the power, both 
  you and the ally become invisible until you attack or 
  until the end of your next turn. 
  
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  Class Acts: Artificer
  35
  Reaping Infusion
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping racial power, 
  artificer, Healing Infusion class feature
   
  Benefit: When you use your dark reaping racial 
  power, one ally benefiting from your resistive formula 
  or shielding elixir deals 1d6 extra necrotic damage on 
  its next attack before the end of your next turn.
  Redistribute Minions
   
  Prerequisite: Eladrin, artificer, fey step racial 
  power
   
  Benefit: Whenever you use fey step to teleport, you 
  can teleport each creature summoned by your artifi-
  cer summoning powers an equal number of squares.
  Shifter’s Energy
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter, longtooth shifting or razorclaw 
  shifting racial power, artificer, Augment Energy class 
  feature
   
  Benefit: When you use your shifter racial power, 
  the power’s benefits extend to one ally wielding a 
  weapon or implement affected by your Augment 
  Energy. The effect ends when the ally uses the +2 
  bonus to the attack roll.
  Spare Infusion
   
  Prerequisite: Half-elf, Dilettante racial trait, arti-
  ficer, Healing Infusion class feature
   
  Benefit: Once per day, you can expend your half-
  elf Dilettante power as a free action to use a Healing 
  Infusion power one extra time during the encounter.
  Toxic Energy
   
  Prerequisite: Drow, artificer, Augment Energy 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: When an ally hits with an attack benefit-
  ing from the bonus granted by your Augment Energy 
  class feature, the attack deals 1d6 extra poison 
  damage. At 11th level, the extra damage increases to 
  2d6. At 21st level, the extra damage increases to 3d6.
  Vanishing Concoction
   
  Prerequisite: Eladrin, artificer, Healing Infusion 
  class feature
   
  Benefit: Instead of gaining the normal benefit for 
  ending the effect of your resistive formula or shielding 
  elixir, an ally can end the effect as a free action to tele-
  port a number of squares equal to 2 + your Dexterity 
  modifier.
  About the Author
  robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer 
  whose work can be found in numerous roleplaying source-
  books and accessories. His most recent work can be found in 
  the forthcoming Dark Sun® Campaign Setting and Dark Sun® 
  Creature Catalog, Monster Manual 3, and the Player’s Handbook 
  3. Robert lives in Tennessee.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  36
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Jeff Morgenroth 
  Illustration by Craig J. Spearing
  Class Acts: Avenger 
  The Unbroken 
  Circle
  Erathium’s golden domes are tarnished. Haggard 
  citadels now glower over the pride of this once splen-
  did city of Nerath. Citizens cast refuse into streets 
  where processions of regal kings once marched. Most 
  care nothing for the shattered glory of their heritage, 
  scorning temples and scrawling petty graffiti across 
  friezes of a better time. The citizens of Erathium live 
  in the specter of their ancestors, their hearts open 
  to corruption—but even amid this urban squalor are 
  those sworn to remember.
   
  They are the Unbroken Circle, an invisible knife 
  against the growing darkness of the world. This unity 
  of avengers is one of dauntless faith and ruthless 
  fervor, selflessly protecting the descendants and lost 
  customs of Nerath. However, they need your help.
  hisTorY oF The circle
  “Study well the folly and victories of our order; such knowl-
  edge will guide your hand as surely as the goddess’s blessing.”
  —Irion
  Hundreds of years ago, before the Circle’s founda-
  tion, the city of Erathium was the prosperous jewel of 
  “Be ever vigilant, for the 
  brightest civilization casts 
  the deepest shadows.”
  —Irion
  culture and trade in the empire of Nerath. The cov-
  enant between the temple of Erathis and the imperial 
  rulers was strong, with just King Pedrawd—kinsman 
  to Elidyr—governing with divine edict. Pedrawd 
  relied on the temple to secure stability within the 
  growing metropolis, and it acted as his swift hand 
  to dispatch threats. These Erathi priests became the 
  first avengers of their faith, penitently hunting down 
  villains threatening the king’s peace. Their triumphs 
  numbered many, but these triumphs did not last long, 
  because King Pedrawd used their oaths of enmity 
  toward selfish ends.
  Corruption of a Kingdom
  Soon these avengers bloodied their swords with the 
  king’s rivals—upstart nobles or illegitimate sons claim-
  ing lordship. The avengers became a weapon of fear 
  in the king’s hand, lethal in craft and guiltless in their 
  faith; civil oppression spread with the roll of decades. 
  Eventually, the Erathi avengers suspected that King 
  Pedrawd’s despotism was not his own. An avenger 
  named Irion discovered the malevolence of the Nine 
  Hells festering like a cancer within the king’s soul. 
  Marabron, high-priest of Erathis, was unmoved upon 
  
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  Class Acts: Avenger
  37
  hearing of this from Irion and professed inaction due 
  to oaths of loyalty to the crown. Irion was branded a 
  heretic, yet he saw truth behind the greedy eyes of the 
  priesthood: the prideful dominion of Asmodeus had 
  corrupted Marabron as well, blinding him to Erathis’s 
  truth. Irion acted, for faith and duty to his lost King, 
  and assassinated Pedrawd.
   
  Upon Pedrawd’s death, strife, terror, and corrup-
  tion eclipsed Erathium.
  A Goddess Is Marred,  
  and the Circle Forms
  Irion, with a handful of followers, escaped retribution 
  within the pandemonium of the city. The false clergy 
  of Erathis seized power, led by the once righteous 
  Marabron, who created stability at the cost of absolut-
  ism. A shadow-war ravaged the already hemorrhaging 
  city, with Irion’s avengers hunting down any under 
  Marabron’s influence. Revenge blinded Irion to the 
  damage his actions caused the people of Erathium; 
  it would take Erathis to end the conflict. Her exarch 
  appeared during a clash of the two groups, pro-
  claiming that their feud must cease for peace and 
  lawfulness to return to the city.
   
  Irion begged forgiveness, but Marabron refused. 
  He struck the exarch’s outstretched hand, severing it 
  with fiendish rage. The goddess’s ire waxed full, and 
  before her exarch perished, she finished what Irion 
  started. The servants of Asmodeus were consumed 
  with astral fire springing from pools of the exarch’s 
  blood—except for Marabron. Erathis stripped him 
  of his power and forced him into exile, a shattered 
  wretch doomed to live a thousand lifetimes branded 
  as a traitor and blasphemer.
   
  Faithful Irion was gifted a sacred ring, still shining 
  around the exarch’s bloody finger. Graced as he was, 
  Irion took this token as a relic, yet all around him the 
  glory of Nerath toppled. He swore then—upon that 
  divine ring—to uphold the just sanctity of peaceful 
  rule from any that would subvert it and to protect the 
  memory of glorious Nerath until the line of kings is 
  restored. Yet, he could not do it alone.
  Within the Circle
  “Be resolved and unbending as a guardian lion among 
  wolves that ravage the flock.”
  —Irion
  As a member of the Unbroken Circle, you must oper-
  ate in secret because Irion’s actions are still assumed 
  to have started the dark years of oppression follow-
  ing the empire’s collapse. Even the Erathian temple 
  views you as a self-righteous heretic and vigilante. 
  When you appear, death follows, and your “lawless-
  ness” is cursed in the name of the same god you and 
  the Circle serve. People don’t realize that you’re their 
  most dedicated protector, hunting only those unseen 
  and insidious forces that corrupt others.
   
  Though the Circle is based in decaying Erathium, 
  you might be a member of a cell in another large city. 
  You meet regularly with other Circle members to 
  perform divine rites to Erathis and plan your actions. 
  You might work in small teams of avengers or with 
  your adventuring companions to infiltrate and dis-
  patch corrupting forces.
   
  Chief among your sworn foes are the servants 
  of Asmodeus, as well as deathless Marabron, who 
  forever wanders in vengeful exile. The secretive cult 
  of Vecna is another which, like devils, exploits the 
  moral frailty common in any center of civilization. 
  Newly arrived, and most ominous, are the mysteri-
  ous star spawn, whose alien motives have yet to be 
  uncovered. Corruption takes mundane form as well, 
  with cruel nobles and racketeers often provoking 
  your blade.
   
  As a Circle agent, you revere most the relic of the 
  goddess’s ring—still resting on the exarch’s severed 
  though unblemished hand. Second only to the ring 
  is the Words of Irion, a manuscript penned by Irion 
  that details the Unbroken Circle’s history, creed, 
  and techniques.
  Entering the Circle
  “Seek neither renown nor reward, for such is the province of 
  they that crawl from the Fire, or are doomed to reside there.”
  —Irion
  The reputation of the Unbroken Circle as a band of 
  heretics and assassins makes them risky and difficult 
  to pursue. Even if you discover one of their cells, the 
  agents view you with a suspicion coming from their 
  long years of eliminating hidden evil.
   
  If you are a skilled avenger entering a city, the 
  Circle might be watching you already. If you are a 
  promising candidate, they might secretly manipulate 
  you into situations that test your faith and dedication 
  to their creed. If you show that you can make difficult 
  decisions and end corruption, they grant you the offer 
  of fellowship.
   
  Although nearly all inductees worship Erathis, the 
  Circle accepts help from any avenger who is commit-
  ted to the group’s goals. Some Circle agents are not 
  recruited, but made, since leadership of the Unbroken 
  Circle actively grooms hopefuls to don the vestments 
  of their avengers.
   
  You can take the following background when 
  creating your avenger.
  
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  Class Acts: Avenger
  38
   
  Protégé of the Circle: A citizen of a large city, 
  you were secretly selected by avengers of the Unbro-
  ken Circle to join their ranks. From a young age you 
  were steeped in ancient history and practiced the 
  avenger’s deadly skills. Which of your traits attracted 
  the Circle’s attention? Was it your faith in Erathis or 
  dedication to the customs of Nerath? Did you resist a 
  perilous corruption, demonstrating an innate resil-
  iency to the enemies of the Circle?
   
  Associated Skills: History, Insight
  agenT oF The 
  unBroken circle
  “I am the knife that bleeds this city of its corruption.”
   
  Prerequisite: Avenger, oath of enmity power
  Walking unseen among a thankless populace are 
  agents of the Unbroken Circle—a unity of avengers in 
  service to the goddess Erathis. Each agent is sworn to 
  root out and destroy forces that foul the goodness of 
  mortal hearts. They wage a constant war against grow-
  ing evil, defending civilization and the honor of Nerath 
  from the closing jaws of tyranny and corruption.
   
  As an agent of the Unbroken Circle, you take 
  on corruption wherever you find it—and since you 
  actively look for it, you find a great deal of it. Whether 
  you’re based in a population center and spend most 
  of your time there or travel far afield in search of 
  those who have fallen morally and ethically, you rely 
  on your skills as an avenger and the ones you gain 
  as an agent to handle combat situations and provide 
  support to those with whom you travel. Due to your 
  constant vigilance for signs of corruption, you have 
  found few you can trust, and you always formulate an 
  escape plan in every situation, just in case the ones 
  you rely upon fail you.
  Agent of the Unbroken Circle  
  Path Features
   
  Incorruptible (11th level): You become trained 
  in the Insight and Streetwise skills.
   
  Unity Unbroken (11th level): When you spend 
  an action point to take an extra action, until the 
  end of your next turn your allies gain a +5 bonus to 
  damage rolls against your oath of enmity target while 
  they are flanking that target.
   
  Exorcise Corruption (16th level): Whenever 
  you score a critical hit against your oath of enmity 
  target, each ally within 10 squares of your target that 
  can see the target can make a saving throw, with a 
  bonus to the saving throw equal to your Wisdom 
  modifier.
  Agent of the Unbroken Circle 
  Prayers
  carve	out	
  agent of the Unbroken Circle
  						corruption	
  attack	11
  You strike to the malignant core of your sworn enemy, momen-
  tarily stopping its corrupting influence.
  encounter	F	divine,	radiant,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee	weapon
  target: One creature
  attack: Wisdom vs. aC
  hit: 3[W] + Wisdom modifier radiant damage, and the target 
  takes a –5 penalty to attack rolls on attacks that target Will 
  until the end of your next turn.
  sanctity	of	
  agent of the Unbroken Circle
  	 the	ring	
  Utility 12
  A radiant halo encircles you and nearby allies, blessing them 
  with your divine unity.
  daily	F	divine,	stance
  minor	action	
  Personal
  effect:	you enter the sanctity of the ring stance. Until the 
  stance ends, you and your allies gain a +2 bonus to saving 
  throws while adjacent to your oath of enmity target. If you 
  and at least 2 other allies are adjacent to your oath of en-
  mity target, the bonus increases to +4.
  Judgment	of	the	
  agent of the Unbroken Circle 
  	 true	king		
  attack 20
  You advance in concert with your allies, taking strength from 
  their bravery and beseeching the freed spirit of King Pedrawd 
  to imbue your weapon with its divine wrath.
  daily	F	divine,	radiant,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee weapon
  effect: Before the attack, you and each ally within 5 squares of 
  you can shift 3 squares as a free action.
  target: One creature
  attack:	Wisdom vs. aC
  hit: 4[W] + Wisdom modifier radiant damage, or 6[W] + Wis-
  dom modifier radiant damage if at least two of your allies 
  are adjacent to the target.
  miss: Half damage.
  About the Author
  Lurking in the outskirts of Seattle, Jeff Morgenroth has 
  mastered fires of endless academia and the soulless drudg-
  ery of the skittering rat-race, at last making his pact with the 
  baleful entities at Wizards of the Coast. He edited a portion 
  of Monster Manual™ 2, and it is prophesied that his name will 
  defile the pages of more books soon.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  39
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Robert J. Schwalb 
  Illustration by Craig J. Spearing
  Class Acts: Invoker
  The covenants invokers enter into with their gods 
  define the relationship they enjoy, the means by 
  which they apprehend the divine, and the methods 
  by which they annihilate their enemies. Yet the three 
  covenants described in the Player’s Handbook 2 and 
  Divine Power are not the only ways invokers individu-
  ate themselves. Invokers can devote further study 
  into the methods and ideals upheld by their gods 
  to expand their options when they channel divine 
  energy, just as invokers can distinguish themselves 
  through the prayers they master. Furthermore, racial 
  talents and customs can also influence how the 
  invoker advances his or her god’s aims in the world 
  and beyond it.
   
  The “Invoker Essentials” article goes into extensive 
  detail about the invoker class, its place in the world, 
  and new avenues for character development. In addi-
  tion to the options discussed there, this short article 
  makes available further choices for customization 
  with a selection of new heroic tier, paragon tier, and 
  epic tier feats. Using both articles together, you are 
  certain to have all the mechanical support you need 
  to create a distinctive and compelling invoker.
  heroic Tier FeaTs
  Any feat in this section is available to a character of 
  any level who meets the prerequisites.
  Angelic Harrier
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker
   
  Benefit: When you hit only one target with an 
  invoker ranged encounter attack or an invoker ranged 
  daily attack, you can slide the target 1 square after 
  the power’s effect is resolved.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Class Acts: Invoker
  40
  Bitter Rebuke
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker, Divine Covenant class fea-
  ture, rebuke undead power
   
  Benefit: Modify rebuke undead based on your 
  Divine Covenant.
   
  Covenant of Malediction: When you hit a creature 
  with rebuke undead, it takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls 
  until the end of your next turn.
   
  Covenant of Preservation: When you hit a creature 
  with rebuke undead, it is slowed until the end of your 
  next turn.
   
  Covenant of Wrath: When you hit a creature with 
  rebuke undead, you can push it a number of squares 
  up to 2 + your Constitution modifier instead of only 2 
  squares.
  Breath of the Gods
   
  Prerequisite: Dragonborn, invoker, Divine Cov-
  enant class feature
   
  Benefit: Your dragon breath counts as a divine 
  encounter attack power for the purpose of your cov-
  enant manifestation.
   
  In addition, you gain a +2 feat bonus to Diplomacy 
  checks.
  Carceri’s Manacles
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker
   
  Benefit: Any enemy that ends its turn adjacent 
  to a creature you have summoned is slowed until the 
  end of its next turn.
  Crushing Doom
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker, maledictor’s doom power
   
  Benefit: When you target an enemy with maledic-
  tor’s doom, the enemy takes a penalty to damage rolls 
  equal to your Wisdom modifier until the end of your 
  next turn.
  heroic	tier	Feats
  Feat	
  Prerequisite	
  Benefit
  angelic	harrier	
  invoker	
  slide	ranged	attack	target	1	square
  Bitter	rebuke	
  invoker,	divine	covenant		
  divine	covenant	augments	rebuke undead
   
  class	feature, 
  rebuke undead
  Breath	of	the	gods	
  dragonborn,	invoker,		
  Dragon breath triggers	covenant	manifestation,
  	
  divine	covenant	
  +2	diplomacy
  carceri’s	manacles	
  invoker	
  enemies	adjacent	to	summoned	creatures	are	slowed
  crushing	doom	
  invoker,	maledictor’s doom	
  Maledictor’s doom applies	penalty	to	damage	rolls
  dark	invitation	
  revenant,	invoker,		
  Dark reaping pulls	target
  	
  dark reaping
  dubious	
  drow,	cloud of darkness, 	
  grant	ally	concealment	with	covenant	manifestation
  manifestation	
  invoker,	divine	covenant
  enduring	Fury	
  half-orc,	half-orc	resilience,		
  combat	advantage	with	close	invoker	attacks	when		
  	
  invoker	
  first	bloodied
  Flexible	covenant	
  changeling,	invoker,		
  swap	covenant	manifestation	after	extended	rest	
  	
  divine	covenant
  hand	of	Fury	
  invoker,	hand of radiance	
  use	hand of radiance as	minor	action	with	missed
  	
  	
  daily	prayer
  heaven’s	arrow	
  invoker	
  +2	attacks	with	ranged	powers	against	isolated	targets
  longtooth	doom	
  longtooth	shifter,	 	
  +2	damage	with	invoker	attacks	after	longtooth shifting
   
  longtooth shifting, invoker,
  	
  covenant	of	malediction
  mobile	covenant	
  razorclaw	shifter,		
  shift	with	encounter	or	daily	attack	
  	
  razorclaw shifting, invoker
  nature’s	doom	
  Wilden,	invoker,		
  modify	wilden	racial	powers	
  	
  covenant	of	malediction
  Preserving	shadows	
  shadar-kai,	invoker,		
  make	ally	hit	before	preserver’s rebuke	insubstantial
  	
  preserver’s rebuke
  Preserver’s	summons	
  invoker,	preserver’s rebuke power	
  slide	ally	and	end	mark	with	preserver’s rebuke
  relentless	crusade	
  Warforged,	invoker,		
  +1	on	next	attack	after	using	warforged resolve racial	power
   
  warforged resolve
  righteous	summons	
  invoker,	divine	covenant	
  summoned	creature	gains	benefit	determined		
  	
  	
  by	divine	covenant
  unsettling	omen	
  invoker	
  combat	advantage	against	adjacent	targets	with		
  	
  	
  close	blast	attacks
  vanguard’s	eye	
  invoker	
  grant	+2	defenses	against	opportunity	attacks	to	allies		
  	
  	
  	
  adjacent	to	your	ranged	attack	target
  Wild	Wrath	
  elf,	invoker,	elven accuracy, 	
  deal	extra	damage	with	covenant	manifestation	and 
   
  covenant	of	Wrath		
  elven accuracy
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Class Acts: Invoker
  41
  Dark Invitation
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, invoker, dark reaping 
  power
   
  Benefit: Once per turn when you apply damage 
  from dark reaping to a creature, you can pull that 
  creature a number of squares up to the higher of your 
  Constitution or Intelligence modifiers.
  Dubious Manifestation
   
  Prerequisite: Drow, cloud of darkness racial power, 
  invoker, Divine Covenant class feature
   
  Benefit: When you trigger your covenant mani-
  festation while you are within the area of your cloud 
  of darkness, one ally within 10 squares of you gains 
  concealment until the end of your next turn.
  Enduring Fury
   
  Prerequisite: Half-orc, Half-Orc Resilience racial 
  trait, invoker
   
  Benefit: The first time you are bloodied in an 
  encounter, you gain combat advantage with invoker 
  close burst or close blast attack powers until the end 
  of your next turn.
  Flexible Covenant
   
  Prerequisite: Changeling, invoker, Divine Cov-
  enant class feature
   
  Benefit: After each extended rest, replace your 
  covenant manifestation with the covenant manifesta-
  tion from any Divine Covenant of your choice. You 
  gain this covenant manifestation until the end of your 
  next extended rest.
  Hand of Fury
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker, hand of radiance power
   
  Benefit: When you miss all targets with a daily 
  invoker power, you can use hand of radiance as a minor 
  action once before the end of your turn.
  Heaven’s Arrow
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker
   
  Benefit: You gain a +2 feat bonus to attack rolls 
  with ranged invoker attack powers against targets 
  that are not adjacent to any creature. Increase this 
  bonus to +3 at 15th level and +4 at 25th level.
  Longtooth Doom
   
  Prerequisite: Longtooth shifter, longtooth shifting 
  racial power, invoker, Covenant of Malediction class 
  feature
   
  Benefit: When you use longtooth shifting, you 
  gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls with invoker attack 
  powers until the end of your next turn.
  Mobile Covenant
   
  Prerequisite: Razorclaw shifter, razorclaw shifting 
  racial power, invoker
   
  Benefit: When you use razorclaw shifting, until the 
  end of the encounter when you hit with an encounter 
  or daily invoker attack power, you can shift a number 
  of squares equal to your Wisdom modifier instead 
  benefiting from your covenant manifestation.
  Nature’s Doom
   
  Prerequisite: Wilden, invoker, Covenant of Male-
  diction class feature
   
  Benefit: You gain the following benefits with your 
  wilden racial powers.
   
  Voyage of the Ancients: The triggering enemy takes 
  a -1 penalty to attack rolls and saving throws until the 
  start of your next turn.
   
  Wrath of the Destroyer: You can substitute a ranged 
  basic attack for the melee basic attack or charge 
  attack granted by this power.
   
  Pursuit of the Hunter: The extra damage you deal 
  from this power is radiant. This power also gains the 
  radiant keyword.
  Preserving Shadows
   
  Prerequisite: Shadar-kai, invoker, preserver’s 
  rebuke power
   
  Benefit: When you use preserver’s rebuke, the trig-
  gering ally becomes insubstantial until the start of 
  your next turn.
  Preserver’s Summons
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker, preserver’s rebuke power
   
  Benefit: When you use preserver’s rebuke, you can 
  slide the triggering ally 1 square and, if it is marked, 
  you can end that condition.
  Relentless Crusade
   
  Prerequisite: Warforged, warforged resolve racial 
  power, invoker
   
  Benefit: Whenever you use warforged resolve, 
  you gain a +1 bonus to the next attack roll you make 
  before the end of your next turn.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Class Acts: Invoker
  42
  Righteous Summons
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker, Divine Covenant class 
  feature
   
  Benefit: Creatures created by your divine sum-
  moning powers gain a benefit based on your Divine 
  Covenant.
   
  Covenant of Malediction: Enemies take a -1 penalty 
  to attack rolls while adjacent to your summoned  
  creature.
   
  Covenant of Preservation: Any ally that starts its 
  turn adjacent to your summoned creature can shift 1 
  square as a minor action until the end of its turn.
   
  Covenant of Wrath: Your summoned creatures gain 
  a feat bonus to damage rolls equal to your Constitu-
  tion modifier.
  Unsettling Omen
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker
   
  Benefit: You gain combat advantage for close blast 
  invoker powers against adjacent enemies.
  Vanguard’s Eye
   
  Prerequisite: Invoker
   
  Benefit: When you hit a target using a ranged 
  invoker attack, each ally adjacent to the target gains a 
  +2 bonus to all defenses against opportunity attacks 
  until the start of your next turn.
  Wild Wrath
   
  Prerequisite: Elf, elven accuracy power, invoker, 
  Covenant of Wrath class feature
   
  Benefit: When you use elven accuracy to reroll an 
  encounter or daily invoker attack power, any target 
  you hit with the reroll takes 4 extra damage.
  paragon Tier FeaTs
  Any feat in this section is available to a character of 
  11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.
  Accursed Isolation
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, invoker, maledictor’s doom 
  power
   
  Benefit: If you target only one creature with male-
  dictor’s doom, the penalty to attack rolls increases to 
  –3, and it is a –5 penalty to opportunity attack rolls.
  Pillar of Heaven
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, invoker
   
  Benefit: When you miss each target with an 
  invoker encounter attack power while using a staff, 
  you gain a +2 bonus to all defenses until the start of 
  your next turn.
  Preserver’s Fury
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, preserver’s rebuke power
   
  Benefit: When you use preserver’s rebuke and your 
  next attack roll against the triggering enemy hits, that 
  enemy gains vulnerability to all damage equal to your 
  Intelligence modifier until the end of your next turn.
  Staff of Channeled Invocations
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, invoker
   
  Benefit: When you use any ranged invoker attack 
  power through a staff, you can use the power as a 
  melee attack with a range of 1.
  Wrathful Outburst
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, invoker, armor of wrath 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use armor of wrath, you can 
  target any one additional enemy in the burst.
  Wrathful Panoply
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, invoker, armor of wrath 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use armor of wrath, you gain 
  a +1 bonus to all defenses until the end of your next 
  turn. At 21st level, the bonus increases to +2.
  Paragon	tier	Feats
  Feat	
  Prerequisite	
  Benefit
  accursed	isolation	
  11th	level,	invoker,		
  increase	maledictor’s doom penalty	against
  	
  maledictor’s doom	
  one	target
  Pillar	of	heaven	
  11th	level,	invoker	
  gain	bonus	to	defenses	with	missed		
  	
  	
  encounter	attack
  Preserver’s	Fury	
  11th	level,	preserver’s rebuke	
  enemy	hit	by	attack	benefiting	from	preserver’s
   
   
  rebuke gains	vulnerability	to	all	damage
  staff	of	
  11th	level,	invoker	
  use	staff	to	make	ranged	attacks	as	melee	attacks	
  channeled	invocations
  Wrathful	outburst	
  11th	level,	invoker,	armor of wrath	
  target	additional	enemy	with	armor of wrath
  Wrathful	Panoply	
  11th	level,	invoker,	armor of wrath	
  +1	all	defenses	with	armor of wrath
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Class Acts: Invoker
  43
  epic Tier FeaTs
  Any feat in this section is available to a character of 
  21st level or higher who meets the prerequisites.
  Binding Wrath
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker, armor of wrath 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use armor of wrath, you can 
  immobilize the target until the end of your next turn 
  instead of dealing damage to it.
  Cascading Doom
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker, maledictor’s doom 
  power
   
  Benefit: Each enemy affected by your maledictor’s 
  doom power gains vulnerability to all damage equal to 
  the number of targets affected by the power until the 
  start of your next turn.
  Dreadful Invocation
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker, trained in Intim-
  idate
   
  Benefit: Whenever you score a critical hit with an 
  invoker encounter or daily attack power, that enemy 
  moves its speed away from you by the safest means 
  available and takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls (save 
  ends). Creatures immune to fear do not move and do 
  not take this penalty.
  Inexorable Tide
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker, maledictor’s doom 
  power
   
  Benefit: Whenever a target subject to a penalty to 
  attack rolls from your maledictor’s doom power takes 
  damage from any attack, you can push the target 1 
  square as a free action.
  Invoker Implement Expertise
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker
   
  Benefit: When you wield an invoker implement 
  while using a divine power, you can score a critical 
  hit on a roll of 19 or 20.
  Preserver’s Command
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker, preserver’s rebuke 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you use preserver’s rebuke, you can 
  forgo the bonus to your next attack roll to instead 
  allow the ally hit by the triggering enemy to make a 
  basic attack.
  Reaching Invocation
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, invoker
   
  Benefit: When you use a close burst or blast 
  invoker power, you can target one additional enemy 
  adjacent to the close burst or blast.
  About the Author
  robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer who 
  has contributed design to or developed over one hundred role-
  playing game titles for Dungeons & Dragons®, Warhammer 
  Fantasy Roleplay, A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying Game, Star 
  Wars Roleplaying Game, and the d20 System. Some of his more 
  recent work for Wizards of the Coast is in Player’s Handbook® 3, 
  Martial Power™ 2, and Draconomicon™ 2: Metallic Dragons, and 
  in the pages of Dragon™ and Dungeon™ magazines. Robert 
  lives in Tennessee.
  ePic	tier	Feats
  Feat	
  Prerequisite	
  Benefit
  Binding	Wrath	
  21st	level,	invoker,		
  immobilize	with	armor of wrath in	place	of	damage
  	
  armor of wrath 
  cascading	doom	
  21st	level,	invoker,	
  Maledictor’s doom target	gains	vulnerability	to	all	damage
  	
  maledictor’s doom
   dreadful	invocation	
  21st	level,	invoker,		
  critical	causes	enemy	to	run	away
  	
  trained	in	intimidate	
  inexorable	tide	
  21st	level,	invoker,	
  Push	maledictor’s doom target	when	it	takes	any	damage
  	
  maledictor’s doom 
  invoker	implement	
  21st	level,	invoker	
  score	critical	hit	on	19	or	20	
  expertise	
  Preserver’s	command	
  21st	level,	invoker,		
  grant	basic	attack	with	preserver’s rebuke
   
  preserver’s rebuke 
  reaching	invocation	
  21st	level,	invoker	
  target	additional	enemy	adjacent	to	close	burst	or	blast
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  44
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Jared Glenn 
  Illustration by Craig J. Spearing
  Class Acts: Ranger
  Scions of Onat
  “This land is sacred to the primal spirits, 
  and though metal and stone now stand 
  where tree and field once did, those spirits 
  remain. They stand by us, as echoes of 
  our own souls. Together we guard Onat.”
  —Weltec Fjeron, 
  High Mediator of the Scions of Onat
  Those travelers who see the city of Onat from a dis-
  tance find it hard to differentiate it from other points 
  of light in the world. However, travelers who approach 
  the gate feel an inhuman gaze settle on their weary 
  backs, and many of them describe this feeling as that 
  which makes Onat so unusual.
   
  In the ancient past, primal spirits permeated the 
  region that now holds Onat, and a tribe of people con-
  tentedly lived in harmony with them. Over time, the 
  site grew to a village, and the village grew to a town; 
  the spirits changed, and so did the town’s people. 
  Although most of the old religion has fallen by the 
  wayside, the oldest and noblest families of Onat have 
  maintained tradition by founding an order known 
  as the Scions of Onat. This elite guard stands senti-
  nel over Onat vigilantly, but a single member never 
  watches alone. In fact, each Scion of Onat is not one, 
  but two watchers—a beast companion also stands 
  guard with each Scion.
   
  Entry into this order must occur before a youth 
  reaches adulthood. The noble blood of Onat are given 
  this opportunity, but any youth who stands guard 
  over the community for five years can also take tests. 
  In the final rite of passage, this youth is placed in a 
  room with a powerful beast. If he or she can gain its 
  respect before being torn to shreds, a lifelong bond 
  forms between the pair, tying each to the fate of the 
  other.
   
  Once the initial bond forms, the two participate in 
  a ritual that calls upon the primal spirits of Onat to 
  strengthen the bond. Some claim that a primal spirit 
  remains within each of the participants of the ritual, 
  but this claim has not been verified. However, those 
  visitors to the urban jungle admit to seeing a spark 
  of intelligence in the eyes of Onat’s bestial guard-
  ians—possibly an aftereffect of powerful and secret 
  magic. If a traveler gains the trust of the people of 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Class Acts: Ranger
  45
  Onat, though, he or she hears the claim that the Scion 
  of Onat and his or her beast are not two creatures at 
  all, but a single soul born to two bodies. The rite and 
  ritual reconnects the soul with the help of a primal 
  spirit, causing the two, which were once separated, 
  to merge back into one whole. The communication 
  between the two borders on telepathy, to the point 
  that the ranger might as well be in two places at once.
   
  These rangers and their companions become 
  protectors of the twisting streets and vaulted roof-
  tops of the ancient site. Fearless of the shadows and 
  protected by the light, each protector watches the 
  community with not one, but two, pairs of eyes.
  ranger FeaTs
  The following feats emphasize the connection 
  between rangers and their companions, and grant 
  additional mastery and teamwork.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  The following feats are suitable for any character who 
  meets the prerequisite.
  Critical Teamwork
   
  Prerequisite: Ranger, Beast Mastery class feature
   
  Benefit: When your beast companion scores a 
  critical hit, it deals extra damage equal to 1d6 per 
  plus of the weapon you are wielding.
  Flanking Beast Master
   
  Prerequisite: Scion of Onat feat
   
  Benefit: While you are flanking a creature with 
  your beast companion, you and your beast compan-
  ion gain a +3 bonus from combat advantage against 
  that creature instead of the normal +2 bonus.
  Knowing Eyes
   
  Prerequisite: Scion of Onat feat
   
  Benefit: Whenever you are adjacent to your beast 
  companion and make an Insight check, you can roll 
  twice and keep the better result.
  Scion of Onat
   
  Prerequisite: Ranger, Beast Mastery class feature
   
  Benefit: You gain training in Streetwise.
   
  In addition, whenever you spend a healing surge 
  while your beast companion is adjacent to you, it 
  regains hit points equal to one-half your healing surge 
  value, in addition to the normal benefit of spending a 
  healing surge. 
  Terrifying Duo
   
  Prerequisite: Scion of Onat feat
   
  Benefit: While you are adjacent to your beast 
  companion, you gain a +5 feat bonus to Intimidate 
  checks.
  ranger powers
  The powers below present new options for making 
  your ranger and beast companion into a fierce and 
  seamless team.
  Level 1 Encounter Exploit
  Ferocious	insight	
  Ranger attack 1
  Your companion exudes an air of ferocity as it attacks,  
  which lends agility and allows you both to react to your  
  foe’s movements.
  encounter	F	Beast,	martial
  standard	action	
  melee beast 1
  target: One creature
  attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. aC
  hit: 2[B] + your beast’s Strength modifier damage. If you and 
  your beast companion are flanking the target, the first time 
  the target moves or shifts before the end of your next turn, 
  you and your beast companion can shift 3 squares as an 
  immediate reaction.
  Level 1 Daily Exploit
  seismic	strike	
  Ranger attack 1
  You strike at your foe and your companion aids you in keeping 
  the fools who oppose you within arm’s reach.
  daily	F	martial,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee weapon
  target: One creature
  attack: Strength vs. aC
  hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage.
  miss: Half damage.
  effect: Until the end of the encounter, you can give your beast 
  companion the following command:
  	 minor	action	(1/turn)	
  melee	beast 1
  	 target: One creature
  	 attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. aC
  	 hit: The target falls prone.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Class Acts: Ranger
  46
  Level 5 Daily Exploit
  Beastly	Protector	
  Ranger attack 5
  Your situation looks bleak, but your companion comes quickly 
  to your rescue.
  daily	F	Beast,	martial
  standard	action	
  melee beast 1
  requirement:	you must be bloodied.
  target: One or two creatures
  attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. aC
  hit:	2[B] + beast’s Strength modifier damage, and you gain 10 
  temporary hit points.
  miss: Half damage.
  effect: Until the end of the encounter, each time an enemy 
  adjacent to your beast companion makes a melee attack 
  against you, your beast companion deals damage equal to 
  its Strength modifier to the attacker as a free action.
  Level 9 Daily Exploit
  shepherding	slice	
  Ranger attack 9
  In a flurry of movement, you send your enemies careening 
  toward your beast companion, which is unlikely to let  
  them escape.
  daily	F	Beast,	martial,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee weapon
  effect: you shift 4 squares.
  target: One, two, or three creatures adjacent to you at any 
  point during the shift
  attack: Strength vs. aC
  hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and slide the target 
  5 squares to a square adjacent to your beast companion. 
  If you targeted only one creature with this power, it deals 
  1[W] extra damage.
  miss: Half damage, and slide the target 3 squares to a square 
  adjacent to your beast companion. 
  effect: Until the end of the encounter, you can command your 
  beast companion to make an opportunity attack as an op-
  portunity action instead of an immediate interrupt.
  In addition, you can give your beast companion the following 
  command until the end of the encounter:
  minor	action	(1/turn)	
  melee beast 1
  target:	One creature
  attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. aC
  hit: Slide the target 1 square.
  Level 15 Daily Exploit
  aligned	strike	
  Ranger attack 15
  You and your companion coordinate your strikes to land on 
  two different foes.
  daily	F	Beast,	martial,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee weapon
  Primary	target: One creature
  Primary	attack: Strength vs. aC
  hit: 3[W] + Strength modifier damage.
  miss: Half damage.
  effect: Make a secondary attack.
  	 melee beast 1
  	 secondary	target: One creature other than the 
  primary target
  	
  secondary	attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. aC
  	
  hit: 3[B] + beast’s Strength modifier damage.
  	
  miss:	Half damage.
  Level 17 Encounter 
  Exploit
  lights	out	
  Ranger attack 17
  In a sudden move, you and your companion attack the eyes of 
  your foes, making them easy prey.
  encounter	F	Beast,	martial,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee weapon
  Primary	target: One creature
  Primary	attack: Strength vs. aC
  hit: 1[W] + Strength modifier damage, and the target is blind-
  ed until the end of your next turn.
  effect: Make a secondary attack.
  	
  melee beast 1
  	
  secondary	target: One creature other than the primary 
  target
  	
  secondary	attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. aC
  	
  hit: 1[B] + beast’s Strength modifier damage, and the 
  target is blinded until the end of your next turn.
  Level 25 Daily Exploit
  Fearsome	roar	
  Ranger attack 25
  Your beast companion bursts into thunderous roars of anger, 
  shocking your foes and preventing their escape.
  daily	F	Beast,	martial
  standard	action	
  close burst 3 (beast)
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. Will
  hit: 3[B] + beast’s Strength modifier damage, and the target is 
  dazed (save ends).
  miss: Half damage, and the target is slowed until the end of 
  your next turn.
  effect: Until the end of the encounter, you can give your beast 
  companion the following command:
  	
  standard	action	
  close blast 3
  	
  target: Each enemy in blast
  	
  attack: Beast’s attack bonus vs. Will
  	
  hit: 1[B] + beast’s Strength modifier damage, and the 
  target is slowed until the end of your next turn.
  About the Author
  Jared glenn is a connoisseur of Dungeons & Dragons® in 
  general, and 4th Edition in particular. A determined free-
  lance writer, he has written and published two classes, The 
  Explorer and The Jester, with Alluria Publishing.  He also 
  manages and produces a weekly D&D podcast, The Power 
  Source, on the d20 Radio Network. Jared lives in Utah with 
  his wonderful family, where he writes by night and works in 
  the Special Education Program by day.
  
  By Keith Baker 
  Illustration by Tyler Jacobson
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  47
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  Winning Races: Shifter
  Shifters of the Cities
  From the moment of birth, shifters can feel the pull 
  within their souls as the moon waxes and wanes. For 
  all the distance between shifters and lycanthropes, 
  shifters still hear the call of the moon within them. 
  As children, shifters learn to control their transfor-
  mations and to restrain the instincts of the beast. 
  However, shifters can still hear the wolf’s howl or the 
  tiger’s snarl in their thoughts, and when they close 
  their eyes they dream of stalking their prey and tear-
  ing with tooth and claw. Some embrace these feelings 
  fully; the rage of a shifter barbarian is that primal 
  hunger unleashed, and a shifter druid transforms his 
  or her body to reflect his or her inner beast. Others 
  find more subtle ways to channel these natural 
  instincts, but the spirit of the beast is always there. 
  Whatever path a shifter chooses to follow, he or she 
  has the soul of a predator . . . and each shifter can 
  hear the moon calling.
   
  Some shifters are loners, preferring to wander the 
  world without bonds. Yet most crave the bond of the 
  pack. For all that they wander, they are deeply loyal 
  to their kin and those with whom they travel. Shifters 
  who choose the path of adventure likely have good 
  reasons for leaving their families to face danger with 
  a group of strangers. These shifters might have been 
  driven from their packs for a crime never mentioned 
  to new friends; perhaps the shifter succumbed to the 
  moon frenzy and killed a sibling. He or she might 
  have lost a lover to a rival and left to escape that pain. 
  It could be that the entire pack was killed, and that 
  the shifter now seeks to hone skills and find allies 
  who take vengeance when the time is right . . . or 
  that he or she is seeking a new family to replace the 
  lost one. Or it could be that the shifter adventures for 
  the good of his or her pack—that this shifter hopes to 
  defeat an enemy that threatens them all, or to acquire 
  a treasure his or her family needs.
   
  In playing a shifter, consider how these factors 
  affect your life. What has drawn you to the surrogate 
  pack of the adventuring company? How strong are 
  your primal instincts? Do you grow tense and angry 
  when the moon is full, or do you have full control of 
  your wild blood? Most of all, remember that you are 
  a predator—that whether you follow the path of the 
  wizard or the rogue, a hunter within you searches for 
  prey.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Shifter
  48
  urBan shiFTers
  In ages past both razorclaw and longtooth roamed 
  across plains and woodlands, their only true home 
  in the hearts of their family and friends. With the 
  fall of Nerath, the wilds have become home to forces 
  fearsome enough to strike terror into the heart of 
  even the mightiest longtooth warrior. As the dark-
  ness rises, many shifters have been driven out of the 
  woods and into the cities. Just as the rat has adjusted 
  to urban life, these shifters are adapting to a world 
  within city walls. Some adopt the customs of the 
  dominant culture, forgetting their old ways and sto-
  ries. Most take a different path, approaching the city 
  like any other wilderness. Some live as scavengers, 
  finding what they need in the refuse others have left 
  behind them. Others are predators. The best of these 
  shifters hunt criminals and those who endanger their 
  cities; the worst prey on the weak and unfortunate.
   
  Shifters that live in the sewers are called rats. 
  Those who prefer the surface are known as crows; 
  they make their homes in rooftops and high towers, 
  which are areas those on the streets below never see. 
  Though they are removed from nature, the animal 
  spirit within both rat and crow still burns bright, and 
  the primal classes are common among them. For all 
  that he or she dwells in a sewer, the rat warden still 
  feels the flow of the power of nature; the moon still 
  shines above the city, fueling the barbarian’s rage and 
  the warden’s endurance.
   
  Urban packs are small, and they split when 
  they grow too large. Shifters like to remain mobile, 
  moving from bolthole to bolthole, and with too many 
  packmates, it can be difficult to scrounge enough to 
  survive. Although some packs split on racial lines, it’s 
  common for razorclaws and longtooth shifters to live 
  together in city packs, each using unique gifts to help 
  the band survive.
   
  Rat or crow, these shifters are viewed with suspi-
  cion or fear by the people who share their city. They 
  treat the city watch like any predator in the wild—
  learning its patterns and determining how best to 
  avoid the watch while still getting what they need 
  to survive. They have close ties to the black market, 
  and they might sell information or work as couriers 
  for those who trust them. Few know the secret ways 
  of a city as well as the rats, and the crow can move 
  from place to place more swiftly than a man walking 
  the streets.
   
  As an urban shifter, think about your childhood 
  and the events that shaped your life. Did you live 
  in the underworld, growing up among thieves and 
  grifters and running from the watch? Or did you 
  live in a wilderness of rooftops and towers, rarely 
  descending to the streets below? Do you love the 
  bustle of city streets, or do you prefer to look down 
  on people from above?
  Backgrounds
  The following backgrounds can help you flesh out 
  your character’s backstory.
   
  Magpie: Living in the shadows of the city, your 
  pack learned to find treasures where others see only 
  trash. Your skill at scavenging and your expert knowl-
  edge of the city helped your people survive. You know 
  the markets and midden heaps alike, and your keen 
  eyes spot things others overlook. As you adventure, 
  look for the value in things other people ignore; are 
  you just going to throw that potion bottle away after 
  drinking from it?
   
  Associated Skills: Perception, Streetwise. 
   
  Stone runner: You were born on the ledge of 
  a tower, and you took your first steps on the edge 
  of a roof. The city is your playground, and you love 
  climbing its walls and leaping between its bridges; 
  you feel most alive when you are in motion. Before 
  adventuring, you might have found work as a mes-
  senger or courier. Now you use your gifts in battle, 
  outmaneuvering your enemies with your dazzling 
  speed and agility.
   
  Associated Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics
   
  Urban Shaman: The city is alive. You barter 
  with the spirits of stone and steel, speaking with the 
  ancient foundations of the city and the dominant 
  force that drives it. Is it a fortress driven by war? A 
  market with a dozen spirits of commerce all clamor-
  ing for attention? Is the heart of the city the great 
  academy? You know, because you hear its voice. You 
  barter with the spirits for the good of your people, 
  and you use these same skills to keep peace between 
  packs. You learned the ways of the wild from your 
  ancestors, but in the city you feel most at home. If you 
  are a shaman, consider how your spirit companions 
  reflect your urban bond; a protector spirit could be 
  the embodiment of strong city walls, and your stalker 
  spirit is a glittering assemblage of steel blades.
   
  Associated Skills: Diplomacy, Streetwise. 
   
  Background Benefit: While in an urban environ-
  ment, you can substitute Streetwise for Nature when 
  using a ritual that requires a Nature check.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Shifter
  49
  FeaTs
  The following feats provide your character with some 
  options for his or her role in the world. Although they 
  are useful for urban shifters, you don’t have to have 
  an urban background to take these feats.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  Feats in this section are available to characters of any 
  level who meet the prerequisites.
  Crow’s Flight
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter
   
  Benefit: You ignore difficult terrain when you 
  run. You gain a +2 feat bonus to Athletics and Acro-
  batics checks.
  Unchained Beast
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter, longtooth shifting or razorclaw 
  shifting racial power
   
  Benefit: When you use longtooth shifting or razor-
  claw shifting, you end one effect you have that dazes or 
  weakens you.
  Urban Predator
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter
   
  Benefit: When you roll an Athletics or Streetwise 
  check, you can treat a d20 roll of 2–7 as if you had 
  rolled an 8. A natural 1 is still treated as a 1.
  Paragon Tier Feats
  A character must be at least 11th level to select any of 
  the feats in this section.
  Draw Out the Beast
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter
   
  Benefit: Whenever you spend a healing surge to 
  regain hit points, you can choose to treat yourself as 
  being bloodied until the end of your next turn.
  Predatory Spirit
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter, longtooth shifting or razorclaw 
  shifting racial power, any primal class
   
  Benefit: When you use longtooth shifting or razor-
  claw shifting, once before the end of your next turn you 
  can reroll one attack roll with a primal attack power 
  that misses and take either result.
  Epic Tier Feat
  A character must be at least 21st level to select any of 
  the feats in this section.
  Primal Instincts
   
  Prerequisite: Shifter
   
  Benefit: When you use longtooth shifting or razor-
  claw shifting, until you are no longer bloodied your 
  1st-level at-will primal attack powers deal damage 
  equal to your Strength modifier or your Wisdom 
  modifier on a miss if they normally do not have an 
  effect on a miss.
  About the Author
  Keith Baker has been an avid fan of the Dungeons & 
   Dragons® game since grade school. His life took a dramatic 
  turn in 2002 when he submitted the world of Eberron to the 
  Wizards of the Coast Fantasy Setting Search. In addition to 
  developing the EbErron® Campaign Setting and Shadows of the 
  Last War, he has worked for Atlas Games, Goodman Games, 
  and Green Ronin.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  50
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Matthew Sernett 
  Illustration by Tyler Jacobson
  Winning Races: Revenant
  Your Revenant Assassin
  A revenant exists as a singularity. No guild of 
   assassins or band of murderers counts a host of rev-
  enants among their number. No army of soldiers with 
  dark intent marches down the shadowed path of the 
  revenant. Even in the company of others, a revenant 
  walks alone.
   
  As a revenant, great powers returned your spirit 
  to the world in a new body for a unique purpose. As a 
  revenant assassin, great powers have forced your soul 
  to be reborn for a dark cause. Whether given your 
  new existence by the Raven Queen or some other 
  entity, you exist to kill someone—or perhaps it is your 
  destiny to kill hundreds.
   
  Revenants make a great choice for assassin char-
  acters. The revenant ability score bonuses synch 
  with two key ability scores for assassins, making 
  revenants excellent choices for bleak disciple assas-
  sins. Revenants have access to a number of racial 
  feats useful to an assassin, and picking one of the soul 
  feats related to various races offers more choices for 
  power and story customization. Multiclassing feats 
  provide another opportunity to build a truly unique 
   character.
   
  Beyond these mechanical benefits, revenants 
  make great assassins because it makes sense in the 
  story of the world. Not only has the Raven Queen or 
  some other deity given your character a new body 
  and a mission, that being has also equipped your 
  character with the power to achieve those ends.
   
  Your revenant character is only half alive, and as 
  an assassin, he or she possesses only a portion of his 
  or her soul. The death you carry with you as part of 
  your being has replaced a portion of your soul kept in 
  the Shadowfell as assurance that you will complete 
  your god-given tasks. Perhaps when you’ve done 
  what’s demanded of you, you will regain the lost 
  shard of your soul and you will be allowed to pass 
  on in peace. Maybe you hope for a return to life as 
  well as spiritual wholeness with success in your task. 
  Regardless, you know what is required of you, and it 
  involves the spilling of a great deal of blood.
   
  This article presents new game elements to rein-
  force the story connection between the revenant race 
  and assassin class, and to provide them with unique 
  mechanical benefits that assure that the revenant 
  makes for one of the best choices when playing a 
  character of the assassin class. If you play a revenant 
  of another class, you might consider only one or two 
  elements of this article useful, but you might also 
  think about multiclassing as an assassin to see what 
  new opportunities this article provides.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Revenant
  51
  revenanT assassin 
  FeaTs
  All of the feats below require a character to be both a 
  revenant and an assassin. Such a character can choose 
  most of these feats at any time, though a few are of 
  paragon or epic level and have level prerequisites. Two 
  excellent feats for revenant assassins appear in “The 
  Assassin: Heroic Tier” in Dragon #379.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  The following feats are suitable for any character who 
  meets the prerequisite.
  Close to Death
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, assassin, shadow step 
  power
   
  Benefit: If you are bloodied, you do not need to 
  meet the requirement for shadow step to gain the ben-
  efit of the effect of shadow step.
  Concealing Shades
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping racial power, 
  assassin
   
  Benefit: When you use dark reaping, you and each 
  ally within 5 squares of you gains concealment until 
  the end of your next turn.
  Death Walk
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping racial power, 
  assassin, shadow step power
   
  Benefit: When you use dark reaping, you can use 
  shadow step as a free action. The creature triggering 
  dark reaping counts as a creature for the purposes of 
  this shadow step.
  Death Wastes Nothing
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping, assassin, 
  assassin’s shroud power
   
  Benefit: When you use dark reaping, you can move 
  any shrouds upon the triggering creature to one 
  enemy within 10 squares of the triggering creature.
  Quick and Dead
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping, assassin, 
  shadow step power
   
  Benefit: When you use dark reaping, increase 
  the distance you can teleport with shadow step by 1 
  square until the end of the encounter.
  Raven Queen’s Disciple
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, assassin, Bleak Disciple 
  Guild Training
   
  Benefit: When you gain temporary hit points 
  from your Guild Training, increase the temporary hit 
  points you gain by 1. If the unbloodied target you hit 
  is undead or a shadow creature, increase the tempo-
  rary hit points you gain by 2 instead.
  Raven Queen’s Sanction
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, assassin, assassin’s shroud 
  power
   
  Benefit: When you invoke your shrouds on an 
  undead or shadow creature and the attack misses, 
  you do not subtract one shroud before determining 
  damage.
  Reaping Ki
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping, assassin
   
  Benefit: When you use dark reaping, the next time 
  you miss with a ki focus before the end of your next 
  whaT is Your purpose 
  in deaTh?
  as a revenant—particularly one gifted with 
  shadow powers—your character should have a 
  strong story connection to the Shadowfell and 
  a good reason for being brought back. Con-
  sider the history of your revenant assassin and 
  talk with your DM about the possibilities. you 
  might remember more about your past life and 
  the reason for your return to the world than is 
  normal for a revenant character.
   
  What	 does	 the	 power	 that	 brought	 you	
  back	want	you	to	accomplish	with	your	deadly	
  skills? Perhaps you have a specific person from 
  your past that you served or failed to kill that you 
  are supposed to murder. Maybe a great leader or 
  powerful being escaped death, and you are the 
  instrument by which the Raven Queen brings 
  that power to heel. Maybe some who loved you 
  begged the Raven Queen for revenge for their 
  deaths, and now you must kill all who had a hand 
  in their deaths.
   
  Who	were	you,	and	what	do	you	want	now? 
  are you righting your past wrongs with the 
  sword? are you fighting to return to the world 
  of the living to rejoin someone you love? Perhaps 
  you meet people in your adventures that you 
  recognize, but you don’t want them to know 
  you as you are now. Do you seek the peace of 
  death but owe souls to the Raven Queen due to 
  some ill-made oath? Do you hope to earn your 
  way into a better place in the afterlife by turning 
  your powers upon children or friends you taught 
  to be unholy terrors?
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Revenant
  52
  turn, the target takes necrotic damage equal to twice 
  the implement’s enhancement bonus.
  Swallowed by Shadow
   
  Prerequisite: Revenant, dark reaping, assassin
   
  Benefit: When you use the dark reaping racial 
  power, you can become invisible until the end of your 
  next turn.
  Paragon Tier Feats
  Feats in this section are available to any characters of 
  11th level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Death Shroud
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, revenant, assassin, shade 
  form power
   
  Benefit: When you use shade form you become 
  invisible to undead and shadow creatures for as long 
  as your shade form lasts.
  Specter of Death
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, revenant, assassin, shade 
  form power
   
  Benefit: While you are unconscious, you are 
  insubstantial.
  Epic Tier Feat
  The feat in this section is available to any characters 
  of 11th level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Vanish into Shadow
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, revenant, assassin, 
  shadow step power
   
  Benefit: When you use shadow step, you gain con-
  cealment until the start of your next turn.
  ki Focuses
  Below you’ll find a few ki focuses useful for revenant 
  assassins. Characters of other classes or races can use 
  some of these items depending on the class and race 
  combination involved, but only the ghost mask ki focus 
  avoids reliance on features of the revenant race and 
  assassin class.
  certainty	of	death	ki	Focus	
  Level 3+
  You gaze at the statuette with a hole where its heart should 
  be and look into yourself, focusing your ki on the void of life 
  within it.
  Lvl 3 
  +1 
  680 gp 
  Lvl 18 
  +4 
  85,000 gp
  Lvl 8 
  +2 
  3,400 gp 
  Lvl 23 
  +5 
  425,000 gp
  Lvl 13 
  +3 
  17,000 gp 
  Lvl 28 
  +6 
  2,125,000 gp
  implement	(ki	Focus)
  enhancement: attack rolls and damage rolls
  critical: +1d6 necrotic damage per plus
  Power	(encounter): Free action. Trigger: you use dark reaping. 
  Effect: One creature adjacent to the creature that triggered 
  dark reaping grants combat advantage until the end of your 
  next turn.
  cup	of	death	ki	Focus	
  Level 3+
  You lift the black cup to your lips and drink deep of the noth-
  ingness inside it. The emptiness that opens behind your eyes 
  fills you with a sense of how much you can take from your foes.
  Lvl 3 
  +1 
  680 gp 
  Lvl 18 
  +4 
  85,000 gp
  Lvl 8 
  +2 
  3,400 gp 
  Lvl 23 
  +5 
  425,000 gp
  Lvl 13 
  +3 
  17,000 gp 
  Lvl 28 
  +6 
  2,125,000 gp
  implement	(ki	Focus)
  enhancement: attack rolls and damage rolls
  critical: +1d6 damage per plus
  Property: add 1 to the number of temporary hit points you 
  gain for hitting an unbloodied foe due to Bleak Disciple 
  Guild Training.
   
  Level 13 or 18:	Increase this bonus to 2.
   
  Level 23 or 28:	Increase this bonus to 3.
  Power	(encounter): Free action. Trigger: you hit an unbloodied 
  enemy. Effect: you can shift a number of squares equal to 
  your Constitution modifier.
  death	shroud	ki	Focus	
  Level 4+
  These winding sheets for the dead appear to be woven with 
  veins of blood. As you study their shining trails, you focus on 
  your ability to ready foes for the grave.
  Lvl 4 
  +1 
  840 gp 
  Lvl 19 
  +4 
  105,000 gp
  Lvl 9 
  +2 
  4,200 gp 
  Lvl 24 
  +5 
  525,000 gp
  Lvl 14 
  +3 
  21,000 gp 
  Lvl 29 
  +6 
  2,625,000 gp
  implement	(ki	Focus)
  enhancement: attack rolls and damage rolls
  critical: +1d6 damage per plus, plus 1d6 damage for each of 
  your shrouds on the target or each shroud you invoked on 
  the target of this attack roll.
  Power	(encounter): Free action. Trigger: you hit a target. 
  Effect: you use assassin’s shroud on the target. This use does 
  not count against the limit of using assassin’s shroud once 
  per turn.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Revenant
  53
  ghost	mask	ki	Focus	
  Level 4+
  You focus your ki and can grasp the immaterial terror mask. 
  When you hold the transparent and horrific visage to your 
  own face, it vanishes within you, ready to emerge at your call.
  Lvl 4 
  +1 
  840 gp 
  Lvl 19 
  +4 
  105,000 gp
  Lvl 9 
  +2 
  4,200 gp 
  Lvl 24 
  +5 
  525,000 gp
  Lvl 14 
  +3 
  21,000 gp 
  Lvl 29 
  +6 
  2,625,000 gp
  implement	(ki	Focus)
  enhancement: attack rolls and damage rolls
  critical: +1d8 psychic damage per plus
  Power	(encounter	F	Psychic): Free action. Trigger: you make 
  an attack that targets aC. Effect: The attack targets Will 
  instead. all damage from the attack is psychic damage.
  scavenger	Bird	ki	Focus	
  Level 2+
  This onyx statue of a raven with outspread wings brings your 
  mind to the Raven Queen and the task she set before you. She 
  would not wish you to waste killing strokes upon the dying.
  Lvl 2 
  +1 
  520 gp 
  Lvl 17 
  +4 
  65,000 gp
  Lvl 7 
  +2 
  2,600 gp 
  Lvl 22 
  +5 
  325,000 gp
  Lvl 12 
  +3 
  13,000 gp 
  Lvl 27 
  +6 
  1,625,000 gp
  implement	(ki	Focus)
  enhancement: attack rolls and damage rolls
  critical: +1d6 damage per plus, and any shrouds you chose to 
  invoke before the attack deal 2 extra damage.
  Power	(at-Will): Free action. Trigger: you hit an enemy. 
  Effect: you move all your shrouds on the enemy you hit 
  to another enemy within 10 squares of you (up to the 
   maximum number of shrouds allowed).
  About the Author
  Matthew Sernett is a writer and game designer for  Wizards 
  of the Coast who splits his time between Dungeons & 
  Dragons and Magic: The Gatheringâ. Recent credits include 
  Player’s Handbook Racesä: Tieflings, The Plane Aboveä: Secrets 
  of the Astral Sea, and Magic the Gathering: Zendikar. When he’s 
  not making monsters or building worlds, he’s watching bad 
  fantasy movies you don’t realize exist and shouldn’t bother to 
  learn about.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  54
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Peter Schaefer 
  Illustration by Tyler Jacobson
  The diaspora that followed the fall of Bael Turath is 
  a wound on the face of history. Dozens of conflict-
  ing reports on the nation’s final days, who ruled, and 
  which factions held power remain in the scrolls to 
  confound historians and others who are interested 
  in truth. One account boasts that Bael Turath’s long-
  sighted plan included bewildering its enemies before 
  the enemies returned to power. The only certainty is 
  that the children of Bael Turath, the tieflings, bear a 
  certain inherited appearance and power from their 
  association with the dark powers.
   
  Besides a tangle in the weave of history, the 
  empire also left behind multiple bloodlines. Most 
  today know tieflings as creatures with a penchant 
  and a power for vengeance. A smaller bloodline 
  called blightseers, whose progenitors were bound to 
  Baalzebul, survived and had the ability to see how 
  something will appear once it has fallen into ruin. 
  That potential is always part of what a scion of this 
  legacy sees. When they choose, they can cause what 
  they look upon to decay into what they see. Where 
  their eyes fall, things suffer the worst effects of time’s 
  passage. Milk sours, wood rots, iron rusts, mirrors 
  tarnish and crack, and so on. With their gaze of ruin, 
  they efficiently destroy their enemies by creating 
  weak points where they can then strike.
   
  Tieflings endowed with the gaze of ruin are mas-
  ters of petty retribution. The ability to glare at a rude 
  traveler and cause his bootlaces to snap, or to glance 
  sidelong at a brusque bartender’s wooden mugs so 
  the bottoms rot and fall out, is satisfying for the puni-
  tive minded. This lineage of tiefling tends to produce 
  thinkers—people who prefer taking a single effective 
  shot rather than swinging multiple times to produce 
  the desired result.
   
  Some tieflings of the most populous lineage are 
  poorly suited to wield infernal wrath. These occa-
  sionally find a means to replace their inherited 
  nature with that of a lesser Turathi lineage, instead 
  donning the mantle of misfortune or taking up the 
  gaze of ruin.
   
  Winning Races: 
  Tiefling
  Bloodlines of Bael Turath: The Blightseers
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Tieflings
  55
  TieFling advenTurers
  Three sample tiefling adventurers are described below.
   
  Arturus is a tiefling wizard with an enduring 
  interest in the Astral Sea and astral dominions. His 
  parents couldn’t discern why he was such a morose 
  child until he learned to speak and it became clear 
  that his sight was tainted with visions of decay and 
  ruin. Arturus came to hate what his blood forced him 
  to see. Only eternal things could ignore the passage 
  of time, and when he first laid eyes on an enchanted 
  bag, he stared in wonder. If magic could make things 
  immune to rot, he would make magic. His career as 
  a wizard has focused on a search to grant the world 
  an eternal nature similar to the domains of the gods. 
  In conjunction with several allies, he has built many 
  everlasting objects, but he still seeks a way to transfer 
  that non decaying nature to the world in one great act 
  of magic.
   
  Find the proudest bard in the city, and it is Indiara. 
  She practices hours every day at each skill she prizes: 
  song, instruments, swordplay, storytelling, magic, 
  historical recitations, and more. Indiara strives to be 
  the best in part because she sees the ruin that comes 
  to all things, and she seeks to become a legend that 
  will endure—a story that will be shared with wonder 
  between the last two people in the world before 
  everything ends. And if she needs to glare and cause a 
  competitor’s lute string snap to remain the best, so be it.
   
  Tearin is a psion who learned her mental powers 
  when she compartmentalized the two things she 
  saw when she opened her eyes—the whole and the 
  ruined—so she could use each as was necessary. 
  When she achieved this, she found that separating 
  the two integral parts of her released a form of energy 
  that she could wield as psionic magic. As she masters 
  her powers, she travels with a group that includes 
  two warforged. She finds the living constructs, which 
  are objects that appear identical to both her forms of 
  vision, fascinating.
  new FeaTs
  The following feats are available to tiefling characters.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  The following feats are suitable for any character who 
  meets the prerequisites.
  Benefit of Foresight
   
  Prerequisite: Tiefling, Gaze of Ruin feat
   
  Benefit: When you make an Intimidate check 
  against a creature you can see, you can roll twice and 
  take either result.
  Gaze of Ruin [Tiefling Bloodline]
   
  Prerequisite: Tiefling
   
  Benefit: You gain gaze of ruin as an encounter 
  power. In addition, you gain a +2 bonus to Insight and 
  Perception checks made against other tieflings.
  gaze	of	ruin	
  Feat Power
  Your gaze causes foodstuffs to become inedible, a wood door to 
  rot, armor to grow brittle, or a weapon to rust.
  encounter
  minor	action	
  ranged	10
  target: One object
  effect: The target gains vulnerability to all damage equal to 
  one-half your level + your Intelligence modifier until the 
  end of your next turn. If the target is a weapon, attacks with 
  it take a penalty to damage rolls equal your Intelligence 
  modifier (minimum 1) until the end of your next turn. If the 
  target is armor, a creature wearing it takes a –2 penalty to 
  aC until the end of your next turn.
  Lasting Decay
   
  Prerequisite: Tiefling, Gaze of Ruin feat
   
  Benefit: When you use gaze of ruin, the target’s 
  vulnerability to all damage lasts until the end of the 
  encounter or until you can no longer see the target.
  Paragon Tier Feat
  The feat in this section is available to any characters 
  of 11th level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Ruin of Flesh
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, tiefling, Gaze of Ruin 
  feat
   
  Benefit: When you use gaze of ruin on an object 
  being worn or wielded by a creature, that creature 
  gains vulnerable to all damage equal to your Intelli-
  gence modifier until the end of your next turn.
  Epic Tier Feat
  The feat in this section is available to any characters 
  of 21st level and above who meet the prerequisites.
  Sweeping Gaze
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, tiefling, Gaze of Ruin 
  feat
   
  Benefit: When you use gaze of ruin, you can target 
  one or two objects instead of just one.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Winning Races: Tieflings
  56
  paragon paTh:  
  seer oF endings
  “In my eyes, you’re already dead.”
   
  Prerequisite: Tiefling, gaze of ruin racial power 
  A small faction of tieflings views the world through 
  a veil of decay that shrouds the ugly and the beauti-
  ful alike with the appearance of death and rot. Some 
  seek ways to minimize the influence of these visions 
  on their lives. Other blightseers embrace the knowl-
  edge that the gaze of ruin grants them. They study 
  the appearance of a thing as it is now and as it is in its 
  ruined state, and over time they learn to read their 
  visions for meanings about the present. The destruc-
  tion they see serves as a constant source of omens 
  about creatures’ fates and instructions on how to 
  bring about those fates.
   
  Through ardent research, you have developed a 
  catalogue of what your visions mean. How you act on 
  this knowledge depends on your goals. The informa-
  tion is yours to use as a superlative assassin or as a 
  way to avert terrible fates.
  Seer of Endings Path Features
   
  Death-Seer’s action (11th level): When you 
  spend an action point, one creature you can see gains 
  vulnerable to your attacks equal to your Intelligence 
  modifier until the end of your next turn.
   
  Weakness of the Hale (11th level): You always 
  have combat advantage against any nonminion crea-
  ture you can see that is not bloodied.
   
  Puissant gaze (16th level): Increase the 
  vulnerability your gaze of ruin causes by your Intel-
  ligence modifier, increase the penalty to damage 
  rolls it causes by 2, and increase the penalty to AC it 
  causes by 1.
  Seer of Endings Powers
  deathly	glare	
  Seer of Endings attack 11
  Your vision of your foe’s corpse forces itself on reality, wither-
  ing your victim rapidly.
  encounter
  standard	action	
  Personal
  effect:	Make an attack with one of your 1st-level at-will attack 
  powers that targets only one creature. If that attack hits its 
  target, choose one of the following effects:
    F	The attack deals 2d10 extra damage.
    F	The target is weakened until the end of your next turn.
  Foretold	death	
  Seer of Endings Utility 12
  Having seen your enemy’s death, you react swiftly when it 
  comes.
  encounter
  immediate	reaction	
  Personal
  trigger:	an enemy within 5 squares of you drops to 0 hit 
  points.
  effect: you move your speed, shift 1 square, or stand up from 
  being prone.
  visions	of	death	
  Seer of Endings attack 20
  You show your foe its own death, while forcing new vulnerabili-
  ties upon it.
  daily	F	Psychic
  standard	action	
  Personal
  effect:	Make an attack with one of your 1st-level at-will attack 
  powers that targets only one creature. That attack deals 
  3d10 extra psychic damage. If your attack misses, the target 
  takes half damage. Regardless of whether the attack hits, 
  the target gains vulnerable 10 to all damage (save ends).
  About the Author
  Peter Schaefer is a paragon of trust. He never doubts the 
  veracity of any statement, which is perhaps the reason why 
  he belongs to all religions, has helped retrieve money for four 
  members of the Nigerian government, has eight separate fast-
  track investments that are soon to return 550% returns, and 
  has a full complement of those really absorbent little towels. 
  It also means that he’s still trying to figure out how to use the 
  real magic from the books he works on as an RPG developer, 
  such as Adventurer’s Vault 2, Divine Power, and many D&D 
  Insider articles. Nothing anyone has told him yet has worked, 
  including that thing with the chicken and the stapler, but he’s 
  certain he’s just doing it wrong.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  57
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Craig Campbell 
  Illustration by Sarah Stone
   Channel Divinity: Pelor
   
       The Students of Aurtus
  “I shall stand against the darkness 
  armed with the weapons history provides 
  me. I shall teach those in need so that 
  they might learn from the past and be 
   prepared for what the future holds.  
  Together, we shall persevere in the divine 
  light of Pelor’s guidance.”
  —Credo of the Students of Aurtus
  Pelor’s radiance shines across all creation, bringing 
  light to the darkest places of the world. Clerics of the 
  sun god ease suffering and stand watch against the 
  evils that permeate every fiber of the cosmos. To a 
  one, they worship the sun as the giver of life, revel-
  ing in summer as a time of joy and the harvest as the 
  stepping stone to a new, better tomorrow.
   
  However, Pelor is also the keeper of time. Some 
  of his faithful focus their efforts on this oft-forgotten 
  domain. One group of those who do are known as the 
  Students of Aurtus.
  origin oF The 
  sTudenTs oF aurTus
  Roughly 130 years ago, during his teenage years, a 
  boy named Aurtus hired himself out as a messen-
  ger, delivering messages and packages in the city of 
  Fallcrest. When he could afford a horse, he began 
  delivering messages throughout the Nentir Vale, 
  sometimes riding with trade caravans and sometimes 
  braving the dangers of the wilderness alone. In time, 
  he gained an excellent reputation as a timely and dis-
  creet messenger, earning the nickname “Goodspeed.”
   
  During his travels, he visited many towns and set-
  tlements, and, in the process, saw the problems that 
  people faced. It struck him that people didn’t learn 
  from their mistakes or from the mistakes of others.
   
  At age 27, Aurtus heard the call of Pelor and began 
  studying at the House of the Sun in Fallcrest. Rising 
  quickly through the ranks, Aurtus became one of the 
  most trusted and respected priests of Pelor in the city.
   
  Ninety years ago, when Fallcrest fell to the Blood-
  spears, Aurtus was one of the few survivors. He saw 
  the fall of his home as a calling to serve Pelor in a new 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Channel Divinity: Pelor
  58
  way. As the people of Fallcrest struggled to rebuild 
  their home, the forty-year-old Aurtus refocused his 
  efforts in service to Pelor.
   
  Aurtus found strength in studying and, more 
  importantly, understanding the mistakes of the past. 
  He began collecting histories of all the nearby lands 
  and compiling them into a great book he called The 
  Living Tome of Pelor. Eventually, he began dissecting 
  these histories in an attempt to understand where 
  people went wrong. He hoped that the followers 
  of Pelor could use this knowledge to enlighten the 
  people of the Nentir Vale, teach them to avoid the 
  hazards of history, and in so doing, bring a brighter 
  tomorrow to all.
   
  As Fallcrest grew anew, several followers of Pelor 
  found merit in Aurtus’s work. These priests and aco-
  lytes began working with Aurtus to teach the people 
  of Fallcrest and others about the follies of the past, 
  so that events such as the fall of Fallcrest could be 
  avoided in the future.
   
  They came to call themselves the Students of 
  Aurtus.
  Living in the Now
  The Students of Aurtus are a loose affiliation of cler-
  ics, acolytes, and other worshipers of Pelor who seek 
  to harness knowledge of the past as a means to make 
  a better future for all.
   
  As members of Pelor’s faithful, they seek to bring 
  light to the world, providing compassion and aid to 
  those in need. However, they also see Pelor’s influ-
  ence as an opportunity to teach the people of the 
  world how they might avoid the mistakes of the past.
   
  Members of the order refer to themselves as stu-
  dents, though they might better be called teachers. 
  Little organizational hierarchy exists in the order 
  since all members are encouraged to take on chal-
  lenges as equals.
   
  The only title within the order is that of Keeper of 
  the Living Tome. One member of the order, typically 
  the eldest, is charged with administrating The Living 
  Tome of Pelor (now a collection of seven thick books) 
  wherein are written the histories of nearby lands. Stu-
  dents can access The Living Tome of Pelor at any time 
  by speaking with the Keeper at the House of the Sun 
  in Fallcrest.
   
  Members of the order don’t work only with other 
  followers of Pelor. Students seek to develop personal 
  relationships with clerics of Avandra, since her 
  portfolio includes change for the better and travel. 
  Students seek out those of her followers who might 
  provide stories and histories that the Students of 
  Aurtus can use to augment their own understand-
  ing of history. Additionally, Students of Aurtus 
  seek to work with followers of Ioun, so as to further 
  strengthen their knowledge of the past and prophe-
  cies that might guide them in their endeavors.
  One Eye on the Past
  Students of Aurtus view the whole of time as a living, 
  constantly evolving tapestry of events that influence 
  each other in myriad ways. They refer to time and 
  history as “The Tapestry.”
   
  Although the study of history is, to most, an exer-
  cise in learning names and dates, Students of Aurtus 
  view their studies as a means to an end. They don’t 
  just study the names and dates. They seek to discover 
  how past events influenced later events, as well 
  as how and why people make the same mistakes. 
  They work to find the defining moments where bad 
  decisions were made so that they might avoid these 
  mistakes in the future.
   
  All members of the order spend significant 
  periods of time poring over The Living Tome of Pelor, 
  seeking insight into the past and preparing them to 
  teach others in the future. The most dedicated spend 
  days in study and meditation whenever the opportu-
  nity arises. Whenever two or more Students of Aurtus 
  gather, their time together devolves into heated dis-
  cussions of history.
  One Eye on the Future
  Students of Aurtus use their understanding of past 
  events as a stepping stone to their primary role as 
  teachers. All members of the order are charged with 
  bringing enlightenment by instructing people in 
  their future endeavors. They cite specific instances in 
  history as a way to exemplify their beliefs and better 
  influence those around them. To this end, Students 
  of Aurtus are viewed as a bit haughty with regard to 
  their knowledge of history, though members view 
  themselves as leaders whose words should be heeded.
   
  Additionally, Students of Aurtus actively seek out 
  those with specific experience in recent tragedies 
  to add their experiences to the pages of The Living 
  Tome of Pelor. Rare is the Student of Aurtus who is not 
  trained in History and Diplomacy, since these skills 
  are paramount in their role as teachers.
   
  In the past decade or so, the most devout followers 
  of Pelor have recognized the Students of Aurtus as 
  being instrumental in their future endeavors. Stu-
  dents meet with the high priest of Pelor in Fallcrest to 
  advise him in their particular areas of expertise. The 
  order sees this as a great victory—the culmination of 
  Aurtus’s intentions, established so long ago.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Channel Divinity: Pelor
  59
  Students of Aurtus Feats
  The Students of Aurtus have developed several meth-
  ods by which they can learn from recent personal 
  experiences to benefit them in future endeavors. The 
  following feats are favored by members of the order.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  Any feat in this section is available to a character of 
  any level who meets the prerequisites.
  See It Coming
   
  Prerequisite: Dex 13, Wis 13
   
  Benefit: When a creature flanking you hits you, 
  being flanked does not cause you to grant combat 
  advantage until the end of your next turn.
  Memory of Strikes Past
   
  Prerequisite: 6th level or higher utility power
   
  Benefit: The memory is a weapon feat power 
  replaces one of your 6th-level or higher utility powers.
  memory	is	a	Weapon	
  Feat Utility Power
  When you miss an enemy with an attack, you remember your 
  error and call upon this memory to strike true.
  encounter
  Free	action	
  Personal
  trigger: you miss with a melee or ranged attack roll.
  effect: you gain a +3 power bonus to attack rolls against the 
  triggering attack roll’s target until the end of your next turn.
  Paragon Tier Feat
  Any feat in this section is available to a character of 
  11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.
  Critical Targeting
   
  Benefit: When you score a critical hit with a 
  melee or ranged attack, the attack deals 2 extra 
  damage and you gain a +2 bonus to damage rolls 
  against the creature you hit until the end of the 
  encounter.
  Magic that Learns
  Late in his life, Aurtus crafted a mace that learned 
  while he fought with it, and he passed the knowledge 
  of creating such a weapon on to his students. Mem-
  bers of the order craft such weapons for their own or 
  their comrades’ use.
  learning	Weapon	
  Level 5+
  This weapon learns as you fight a specific foe, helping you to 
  hit and strike vital spots repeatedly.
  Lvl 5 
  +1 
  1,000 gp 
  Lvl 20 
  +4 
  125,000 gp
  Lvl 10 
  +2 
  5,000 gp 
  Lvl 25 
  +5 
  625,000 gp
  Lvl 15 
  +3 
  25,000 gp 
  Lvl 30 
  +6 
  3,125,000 gp
  Weapon: any
  enhancement: attack rolls and damage rolls
  critical: +1d6 damage per plus
  Property: Each time you miss a target with this weapon, you 
  gain a cumulative +1 power bonus (up to the weapon’s 
  enhancement bonus) to your next attack roll with this 
  weapon against the same target before the end of the 
  encounter. This bonus ends when you attack a different 
  target or when you hit.
  Property: Each time you hit a target with this weapon, you 
  gain a +2 power bonus to the first damage roll on your next 
  attack with this weapon against the same target before the 
  end of your next turn.
   
  Level 15 or 20: +4 power bonus to the damage roll.
   
  Level 25 or 30: +6 power bonus to the damage roll.
  About the Author
  Craig Campbell was suckered into playing D&D in 1990 
  when some of his college friends told him he needed to get 
  out less. In the time since, he’s devoured many sourcebooks, 
  transforming himself into a zombielike creature that con-
  stantly seeks to tell amazing stories and eat the brains of his 
  players. Hailing from northeastern Wisconsin (go Packers!), 
  he currently lives in Marietta, Georgia with his all-consum-
  ing love of bad movies.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  60
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Elliott Hoffman 
  Illustration by Ben Wootten
  Channel Divinity: 
  Erathis
  The world is a scattered mess of wilds and ruins. The 
  fragments of civilization and order that persist today 
  are quiet echoes of the nations that flourished in ages 
  past. From her throne in Celestia, the goddess Erathis 
  commands her devoted to piece together these frag-
  ments and forge anew powerful mortal kingdoms.
   
  Erathis is worshiped in small ways all across the 
  world. People commonly utter a brief prayer to the 
  goddess when they enter a new city for the first time, 
  and her temples frequently double as courthouses 
  and meeting halls. For this reason, perhaps, the typi-
  cal stereotype of an Erathis worshiper is that of a 
  fussy, office-coddled old magistrate tutting at untidy 
  desks and filing paperwork into the late hours. This 
  stereotype is egregiously false. The champions of 
  Erathis have been many—leaders, generals, and 
  battle-scarred kings, each a bastion of civilized might. 
  Under her banner, armies have devastated their ene-
  mies in stunning displays of orderly, efficient warfare.
   
  This article should help a player who wants to 
  explore his or her character’s devotion more fully. 
  It contains new backgrounds, feats, and a paragon 
  path that can set a character apart from others who 
  revere Erathis, as well as general information about 
  the goddess.
  advenTuring  
  For eraThis
  In a world of roads to travel and injustices to answer, 
  anyone might be swayed by Erathis’s teachings. An 
  adventurer who worships Erathis might be a city 
  dweller from birth who seeks to uphold the law and 
  spread civilization’s bounty to the darkest stretches of 
  the world. He or she might also be a refugee from a 
  more savage land, turning to Erathis for the comfort 
  and protection of city walls.
   
  Anyone who values community, innovation, and 
  law might take up her cause. Martial and arcane 
  characters such as fighters, warlords, and wizards—
  characters who value organization and order—are 
  common examples. Divine characters who do not spe-
  cifically worship Erathis might nonetheless respect 
  some of her teachings—worshipers of Bahamut and 
  Moradin especially. Because of her emphasis on the 
  importance of civilization, Erathis clashes somewhat 
  with the predilections of some primal characters. 
  Exceptions exist, of course; a primal character who 
  worships Erathis might see the value of civilization 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Channel Divinity: Erathis
  61
  and seek to balance it with nature’s providence. 
  Others who revere the primal spirits see civilization 
  as a natural outgrowth of cultures that have found 
  ways to harness their own energy in a productive 
  fashion. Those Erathis worshipers who respect the 
  natural world, don’t exploit its resources unneces-
  sarily, or don’t seek fell allies not of the mortal realm 
  find they have little at odds with such primal indi-
  viduals.
  Backgrounds
  Before your character adventured, he or she gained 
  faith and skill in some manner. The following back-
  grounds are only a few of the possibilities; each of 
  them is especially appropriate for Erathis’s devoted.
   
  Lawmaker: You served as a politician or judge. 
  The law was literally in your hands as warrants and 
  statutes passed under your pen. You spent your days 
  surrounded by both sides of the legal world—your 
  colleagues who worked with the law, and the crimi-
  nals who railed against it. You might have toiled to 
  maintain the status quo, but you might also have 
  been instrumental in making radical changes to the 
  government. Regardless, you probably made at least 
  a few enemies of the criminals you locked up or the 
  opponents you outvoted. Do these grudges persist?
   
  Either way, that career is over, and you have 
  turned to adventuring. Why? Did scandal rock your 
  office? Did you become disillusioned with how little 
  you could accomplish from behind a desk? The mem-
  ories of those days will remain with you, but what 
  they mean to you is a matter of circumstance. Do 
  you adventure to preserve the legal system you once 
  upheld, or to revolutionize it from without?
   
  associated Skills: Diplomacy, History
   
  Ward of the State: Orphaned or abandoned at 
  a young age, you spent your childhood in the care 
  of a magistrate or some other public official. You 
  might have been used as a living and breathing 
  symbol of legislative compassion—whether real or 
  phony. Do those memories still sting? Although your 
  guardian treated you kindly enough, he or she was 
  frequently preoccupied by matters of state. Did you 
  feel neglected during his or her absence, or did you 
  find it freeing? Did your guardian’s world of political 
  machinations appeal to you, or did you find it rigid 
  and boring?
   
  You might adventure in your guardian’s name, 
  fighting to keep the peace for a nation you grew to 
  love. Conversely, you might adventure as a way of 
  shaking off the monotonous memories of a stale 
  childhood. Does your guardian approve of the life 
  you lead? Is he or she aware of it?
   
  associated Skills: Insight, Streetwise
   
  Founder: You helped found a community. Where 
  was it? Why was it created? You might have helped 
  to plan the settlement, or you might have spent some 
  time laying bricks with your own two hands. Was the 
  process part of a simpler life, or was it a prelude to 
  your adventuring career? Did you learn to do battle 
  while patrolling its half-constructed walls? A town 
  with your own personal stamp on it might serve as 
  a worthy base of operations, and its people might 
  clamor for your protection.
   
  When was the last time you were there? What was 
  once a small but promising settlement might now be 
  a thriving city—or a ghost town.
   
  associated Skills: Athletics, History
  characTer opTions
  Regardless of how he or she came to follow Erathis, 
  the adventurer who worships her is a ruthless war-
  rior whose cunning tactics are built upon the stories 
  of history’s mightiest empires. In combat, he or she 
  keeps close to allies and aids them when possible. The 
  following feats and paragon path are available for the 
  most devoted worshipers of Erathis.
  Heroic Tier Feats
  The following feats are suitable for any character who 
  meets the prerequisite.
  Shield of Hestavar
   
  Prerequisite: Defender role, must worship 
  Erathis
   
  Benefit: While adjacent to you, an ally gains resist 
  2 to attacks from enemies marked by you. This resis-
  tance increases to 4 at 11th level and 6 at 21st level.
  Speaker of Hestavar
   
  Prerequisite: Controller role, must worship 
  Erathis
   
  Benefit: Whenever you subject an enemy to 
  forced movement and you end that movement in a 
  square adjacent to an ally, that enemy grants combat 
  advantage to the ally until the end of your next turn.
  Spirit of Hestavar
   
  Prerequisite: Leader role, must worship Erathis
   
  Benefit: While adjacent to you, an ally gains a +2 
  feat bonus to his or her healing surge value. This bonus 
  increases to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Channel Divinity: Erathis
  62
  Sword of Hestavar
   
  Prerequisite: Striker role, must worship Erathis
   
  Benefit: While an enemy grants combat advan-
  tage to you, each ally adjacent to you gains a +2 
  bonus to damage rolls against that enemy. This bonus 
  increases to +4 at 11th level and +6 at 21st level.
  Gatekeeper of  
  the Golden Palace
  “Stand with me—and by the fires of Hestavar, we’ll drop 
  them one by one!”
   
  Prerequisite: 11th level, must worship Erathis
  You exemplify the virtues of Erathis. In life, you abide 
  by and enforce the laws of your people. You have 
  defended your home against myriad creeping evils 
  and brought light to the dark places in the world. In 
  battle, you know you are only as powerful as the war-
  riors who fight beside you, and you strive to guide 
  them to victory just as fervently as you take up a 
  weapon. Erathis has taken special notice of your devo-
  tion and your prowess, and she has blessed you with a 
  powerful touch of her golden light.
   
  To be a gatekeeper of the golden palace, as you are, 
  one does not need a specific power source or skill 
  set. One needs only to value the lives of their allies 
  as strongly as their own, and to know that it is more 
  important for an arrow to strike its target than it is 
  to be the one who fires the arrow. With your allies 
  at your side and Erathis in your heart, you intend to 
  litter the battlefield with fallen enemies—even if you 
  never lift a sword.
  Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace 
  Path Features
   
  Communal action (11th level): You can spend 
  an action point to give an ally adjacent to you an 
  action point.
   
  Strength in numbers (11th level): You and any 
  ally adjacent to you gain a bonus to saving throws 
  equal to the number of allies adjacent to you.
   
  one for all (16th level): When you end your 
  turn, each ally adjacent to you can make a saving 
  throw.
  Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace 
  Prayers
  ignite	
  Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace
  the	Forge	
  attack 11
  Divine flames course ahead of your attack and leap to  
  your friends’ weapons and implements, wreathing them in 
  shining flame.
  encounter	F	divine,	Fire,	radiant;	implement	or Weapon
  standard	action	
  Personal
  effect:	you use an at-will attack power. If you hit, the damage 
  is fire and radiant damage. Each ally adjacent to you gains a 
  +5 power bonus to damage rolls until the end of your next 
  turn and the damage they deal is fire and radiant damage.
  hestavar’s	
  Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace
  Blessing	
  Utility 12
  You sway an ally’s fortune with a simple blessing from the 
  Bright City.
  encounter	F	divine
  minor	action	
  	
  melee 1
  target:	One ally
  effect: The target can make a saving throw or spend a healing 
  surge. In addition, the target can shift 3 squares to a square 
  adjacent to at least one of his or her allies as a free action.
  citizen’s	
  Gatekeeper of the Golden Palace
  arrest	
  attack 20
  You are wreathed in crackling bolts of Erathis’s might, empow-
  ering your normal spells or attacks. As you spend the power, it 
  leaves a spark in each of your allies.
  daily	F	divine,	radiant;	implement or Weapon
  standard	action	
  Personal
  effect: you use an at-will attack power. Choose one target of 
  the attack. If you hit that target, it is stunned (save ends). 
  If you miss that target, it is dazed (save ends). If you hit or 
  miss that target, until the end of the encounter when an 
  ally adjacent to you hits the target, that ally can push the 
  target 2 squares or slow the target until the end of its  
  next turn.
  About the Author
  Elliott Hoffman is thrilled to be adding to the D&D® 
  canon for the first time. He lives in Coralville, Iowa, where 
  he drinks too much coffee and doesn’t roll enough dice. He 
  thanks Q and Van for all the brainstorming that eventually 
  led to this article.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  63
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By Robert J. Schwalb 
  Illustration by Jason Juta
  “Now friend, don’t get all weepy on me. 
  Yes, you don’t want to die. I’m sure  
  you didn’t mean to create all those  
  undead and kill all those people.  
  Honestly, I don’t care about the undead. 
  And I really don’t care about those people. 
  What I care about is your master. Now 
  don’t be coy with me. The Hooded One. 
  Vecna. That’s who I’m talking about. 
  Don’t deny it now. See, you have his tattoo 
  on your neck. Oh, you reject Vecna?  
  I see. You know that’s a shame, really. 
  Without your god, who’re you  
  gonna pray to now?”
  Oppressive gloom, pervasive melancholy, creeping 
  things lurking in the shadows, and horrors screaming 
  and wailing on reality’s fringes combine to give the 
  Shadowfell its sinister reputation. The Shadowfell, 
  however, is indifferent to morality. It might be gloomy, 
  and it might foment grief, but it is no more and no 
  less evil than the Feywild. However, something 
  about this plane draws some of the worst people into 
  its chilling embrace. Souls are here, to be sure, and 
  souls contain great power, but something else is here 
  as well. It is as if all the darkness and death invites 
  those with unspeakable desires to walk its shadowed 
  roads. The Shadowfell acts as a haven for those who 
  have nowhere else to turn due to the repercussions of 
  crimes they have committed or evils they inherited. 
  Thus few honest folk venture into its misty expanse 
  without good cause.
   
  Wickedness might thrive in the Shadowfell, but 
  not all welcome its presence. Some recoil at the grow-
  ing corruption and are appalled at its free reign. 
  Several of these good people take the fight to the 
  darkness in the Shadowfell just as others do in the 
  world beyond, and a few organized efforts against the 
  interlopers have gained strength. Among them, none 
  instill more fear than the Shades of Darkness.
  History
  The goals the Shades of Darkness organization seeks 
  to achieve predate the organization’s existence, and 
  these goals find their roots in the hearts and minds 
  of those born into this plane. Shadowfell denizens 
  Guilds & Groups:
  Shades of Darkness
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Guilds & Groups
  64
  have little love for outsiders, having seen the horrors 
  perpetrated by intruders in the decaying cities and 
  scars left by the death giants. They know firsthand 
  the ghouls scouring the landscape for warm flesh 
  and the vile priests performing rituals in the plane’s 
  darkest corners. Much of the malice one finds in the 
  Shadowfell stems from the abiding hatred for these 
  interlopers, but until the Shades of Darkness group 
  came to power, no successful organized effort to drive 
  out the enemies had been made.
   
  The Shades of Darkness group was formed long 
  ago by a mysterious figure named Mourne. Few 
  believe the lich exists today, though rumors claim 
  that he hides in undead-infested tunnels below 
  Gloomwrought in the Shadowfell. A refugee from 
  the natural world, he retreated to the Shadowfell’s 
  darkest corners, losing himself among Moil’s icy 
  towers where he could study the dark arts with-
  out interference. Legend holds Mourne was of two 
  worlds—one light and the other dark—a child from 
  an unhappy union of drow and eladrin. In his 
  cursed blood, he found the penchant for wickedness 
  his magic demanded, but in the light he felt shame 
  and guilt for the evils he worked. Yet in Moil, his 
  light faltered, since Acererak taught him much of 
  necromancy in exchange for the tortured soul resid-
  ing in the broken necromancer.
   
  Armed with necromantic secrets, Mourne per-
  formed dreadful hexes and raised up legions of dead 
  from the abundant corpses littering the city. He 
  indulged in vices that cannot be conceived, all to 
  sate his curiosity even as his wickedness consumed 
  his mind. Yet for all his crimes, the lingering doubts 
  remained and, as his evil mounted, so too did his 
  revulsion at what he had become.
   
  Rather than accept the blame for the horror he 
  created, he looked to Acererak and others like Acer-
  erak as the cause of evil and his current situation. 
  He saw in himself a pawn, moved about as the dark 
  powers willed with little regard for how he was used. 
  He knew his master would discard him as he had 
  countless others, so he fled the City that Waits to find 
  a new haven where he could start anew.
   
  He washed up on Gloomwrought’s shores, then 
  he slipped into the changing city and hid in its build-
  ings or in the shifting sewers. He knew it was too late 
  to repent, because his soul was lost and death’s cor-
  ruption infused his body. He lamented his accursed 
  existence, but always plotted revenge for wrongs 
  done not only to him but the entire plane he called 
  his home. Through the years of his wretchedness, he 
  found followers who shared his visions and his anger, 
  and together they found the will to combat their 
  corruptors. In time, these followers gathered allies 
  of their own and thus the Shades of Darkness group 
  was born.
  Organization
  “Oh, I’m a member alright. Been so for some twenty years. 
  The Conclave doesn’t expect much, from my experience. 
  I’ve had only one mission: Watch this merchant named 
  Hyrum. The Conclave claimed he was a secret cultist of 
  Vecna. He died five years ago. Since I’ve never gotten new 
  orders, I’ve kept old Hyrum in the closet over there. Want to 
  see him?”
  The Shades of Darkness is a moderate-sized organiza-
  tion spread across the Shadowfell, natural world, and 
  elsewhere. Spread as widely as they are, most agents 
  work alone, hiding within other groups, adventuring 
  parties, temples, and secular institutions. Isolation 
  means agents can go years without contact with the 
  larger organization, and many go their entire lives 
  awaiting orders that never come. Others, however, 
  find their lives shaped by the Shades’ goals, undertak-
  ing mission after mission, often with little explanation 
  for their purpose or consequences.
   
  All members receive orders from the Conclave, 
  a grim assembly made up of shadowborn humans, 
  shadar-kai, revenants, and at least one dhampyr. The 
  Conclave does not often deal directly with its mem-
  bership, instead relying on intermediaries to recruit 
  new agents, distribute orders, and correct errors in 
  those Shades who lose sight of the organization’s 
  purpose. Among the few cells where agents work in 
  teams, some whisper that Mourne lingers still and 
  commands the entire organization through his per-
  sonal agents who make up the Conclave.
  Philosophy
  “Shadow is neither good nor evil. It just is. Those who per-
  vert the darkness for evil ends are as much our foes as are 
  those who cleanse it to serve a greater good.”
  To the Shades, the Shadowfell is neither good nor 
  evil. It is a place and nothing more. Yet it is vulner-
  able. Those with strong personalities can change the 
  Shadowfell, as is evident in the dark lords’ domains 
  or in the dark lands, where necromantic energies 
  run unchecked. Perhaps the greatest danger is in the 
  great powers who seek to exploit the plane, because 
  their influence only worsens the Shadowfell’s bleak 
  atmosphere when they loose ghouls, abominations, 
  and other horrors to terrorize and reform the plane in 
  their own image.
   
  Thus, those in the Shades of Darkness devote 
  themselves to shielding the Shadowfell from the 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Guilds & Groups
  65
  forces capable of altering the plane for good or ill. 
  Foremost of their enemies is Vecna, since the sub-
  versive god infects the plane like a cancer, but they 
  also challenge Orcus, Doresain, and Zehir too. The 
  members of the Shades have no love for the Raven 
  Queen and do not count themselves as her subjects, 
  though their aims might overlap from time to time. 
  She, like their enemies, is not of the Shadowfell, but 
  her staunch neutrality keeps the Shades focused 
  elsewhere. The Raven Queen does not interfere 
  with the organization, and some believe she even 
  instructs her sorrowsworn to avoid them since each 
  success won by the Shades of Darkness helps keep 
  her throne secure.
  Headquarters
  “Gloomwrought turns away no one, but do not mistake its 
  open gates as welcome. The city is alive, friend, and those 
  who anger it have a tendency to disappear.”
  Gloomwrought (Manual of the Planes, page 58) is a 
  sprawling metropolis contained behind black walls 
  studded with leprous green lanterns. This city of high 
  towers has narrow streets, deep shadows, and strange 
  people. Nothing stays the same for long in Gloom-
  wrought, because the streets move, changing course 
  overnight. Buildings might vanish, swallowing up 
  their inhabitants, and an entirely different structure 
  appears in its place overnight. It is all these things 
  and more, but members of the Shades of Darkness 
  call it home.
   
  The Shades of Darkness organization commands 
  an old opera house not far from the inky black 
  waters fronting the disused piers. The building is 
  one of the few fixed sites in the city, not having been 
  transformed or altered in any significant way in over 
  a century. The opera house, called the Theater of 
  Sighs, contains a training facility for new recruits, 
  residences for active members, a library, an armory, 
  and access to the tunnels below. The stage is set 
  aside for interrogation, and members learn the finer 
  points of torture from comfortable chairs in the 
  large theater.
  Enemies and Rivals
  Those in the Shades of Darkness have few allies in the 
  Shadowfell and fewer in the world beyond it. They 
  hunt Vecna cultists, rooting out the secretive cabals 
  and putting all to the sword. The members wage war 
  against Doresain’s ghouls, doing their part to thwart 
  Orcus’s efforts to claim the Raven Queen’s mantle. 
  They even fight Zehir serpents and assassins, watch-
  ful for the vile signs of their passing, though they have 
  little luck in cornering these elusive killers.
   
  Honest folk want nothing to do with the Shades’ 
  crusades against powerful enemies, because mem-
  bers of the Shades have proven time and again that 
  they care nothing for the innocents who get in their 
  way. Even those who have compassion are still dis-
  trusted because the organization keeps company with 
  dark forces. But if being friendless and feared bothers 
  members of the Shades, they would never have joined 
  the organization in the first place.
  Joining The shades 
  oF darkness
  “After everything you’ve told me, why in the Nine Hells 
  would I want to join?”
  Members of the Shades of Darkness are the first to 
  admit their organization is not for everyone. They 
  have no room for virtue and morality, just as they 
  despise corruption and wickedness. They want only 
  those who can think for themselves and those who 
  don’t let codes of conduct blind them to what needs 
  to be done. This said, good and evil don’t matter 
  much and the very best souls and the worst are 
  among the Shades.
   
  Those in the Shades of Darkness watch for candi-
  dates with talents for assassination, subterfuge, and 
  secrecy. Assassins, rogues, and rangers are welcome, 
  as are some warlocks (especially those of the Dark 
  Pact), psions, and monks. The Shades do not often 
  affiliate with primal characters (they are too reckless 
  and unsubtle) or divine characters (dogma tends to 
  interfere with the organization’s murky missions).
  Backgrounds
  The following backgrounds are suitable for any who 
  seek to have the Shades of Darkness as part of a char-
  acter’s backstory.
   
  Domain refugee: You were born in a domain 
  of dread, a region shaped and controlled by a dark 
  power whose corruption and evil is often bound-
  less. Who was this dark master and what was his or 
  her crime? Since few escape these domains, what 
  was your story? How did you escape? Did you leave 
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Guilds & Groups
  66
  anyone behind you? Once you were free, where did 
  you go?
   
  Associated Skills: Bluff, Stealth
   
  reformed Villain: Although you have repented 
  for your wickedness, your crimes and vile acts haunt 
  you still. What did you do to qualify as a villain? 
  What was your objective? Why did you want it? What 
  did you do to achieve it? Did you achieve it? For you 
  to be reformed, there had to be contrition. What 
  changed for you? How do you now make amends?
   
  Associated Languages: Giant, Goblin, Primordial
   
  Wrongs to be righted: Dark forces in the 
  Shadow fell wronged you in some way. You survived 
  the experience, but you are left with bitter hatred 
  for your persecutors. Who was wronged and in what 
  way? How did you survive? Do you get back at the 
  people that wronged you or are they still out there?
   
  Associated Skills: Endurance, Intimidate
  reQuirements
  	skills:	Training in Intimidate, Stealth, or Streetwise
  	minor	Quest:	you must successfully interrogate 
  a prisoner, infiltrate an evil cult, or uncover an evil 
  organization before the Shades of Darkness organi-
  zation accepts you.
  Shades of Darkness 
  Benefits
  Anyone affiliated with the Shades of Darkness is 
  given accommodations in the Theater of Sighs when 
  in Gloomwrought and access to its training facilities 
  and library. The organization also keeps ritual casters 
  on hand to perform Disenchant Magic Item, Phantom 
  Seed, Planar Portal, Raise Dead, and other rituals at 
  the DM’s discretion.
   
  Heroic Tier: You can requisition one potion of aptitude 
  (level 5) each level.
   
  Paragon Tier: You can requisition one scroll of the 
  Shadow Walk ritual each level.
   
  Epic Tier: If you die while on a mission and your 
  body is returned to the Theater of Sighs, members 
  of the Shades of Darkness perform the Raise Dead 
  ritual at no cost to you.
  Playing a Shade
  Those running the Shades of Darkness have few 
  demands on their servants. Most missions involve 
  matters concerning the Shadowfell, and the 
  Conclave expects and receives obedience from 
  its members. When not on official business, the 
  organization does not interfere with their agents’ 
  free time.
  Missions
  Preserving the Shadowfell from exploitation by for-
  eign powers is the foremost concern for the Shades of 
  Darkness, and most missions involve combating those 
  forces threatening to disrupt the plane’s balance. 
  Typical missions might involve information gathering, 
  infiltration, and assassination. When the Conclave 
  dispatches orders to an agent, it sends the message by 
  way of shadows. A semitransparent humanoid form 
  made from solid darkness reveals the mission param-
  eters, answers relevant questions, and then melts 
  away until nothing remains.
  Advancement
  The Shades of Darkness has a simple hierarchy, with 
  agents at the bottom, intermediaries in the middle, 
  and the Conclave at the top. Most members remain 
  agents, regardless of actual level, because to become 
  an intermediary requires extensive sacrifice on the 
  organization’s behalf as well as favor from the Con-
  clave. For those seeking a post in the Conclave, they 
  must somehow prove their worth to Mourne himself 
  (if he exists still) or be invited by the Conclave. What 
  criteria they use for selection is unknown by even the 
  intermediaries.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Guilds & Groups
  67
  Haunting Shade
  “I am the knife in the darkness, the doom in your shadow, 
  and the death at your vision’s edge.”
  Those agents who impress the Conclave early are 
  invited back to the Theater of Sighs for advanced 
  training. Those who agree earn a face to face meeting 
  with the Conclave and, after extensive interviews, 
  are invited to forge a more permanent pact with their 
  master, Mourne. The process is arduous and frighten-
  ing since it sees the individual surrender that which 
  is most precious for deeper insights into shadow 
  magic—his or her soul. Survival is not guaranteed, 
  but the ones who live emerge changed, their features 
  drawn and pale, eyes dark, and their forms stalked by 
  flickering, ominous shadows.
  Haunting Shade
  [Multiclass]
   
  Prerequisite: Trained in Stealth
   
  Benefit: Your origin changes to shadow if it isn’t 
  already, so you are considered a shadow creature for 
  all effects related to creature origin.
   
  You gain a +2 feat bonus to Stealth checks and 
  darkvision out to 5 squares.
  Haunting Shade Novice
   
  Prerequisite: 4th level, Haunting Shade feat
   
  Benefit: You can swap one 3rd-level or higher 
  encounter attack power you know for the black blade of 
  despair power.
  Black	Blade	
  Haunting Shade attack 3
  	 of	despair	
  Your weapon blurs, becoming a thing of smoke and darkness. 
  Where it falls, death surely follows.
  encounter	F	cold,	necrotic,	shadow,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  melee weapon
  requirement:	you must be wielding a heavy blade or light 
  blade.
  target: One creature
  attack: Dexterity or Charisma vs. Reflex
  hit: 1[W] + Dexterity or Charisma modifier damage plus 1d6 
  cold and necrotic damage, and you become insubstantial 
  until the end of your next turn.
  	 	 Level 13 Swap: 3d6 cold and necrotic damage.
    Level 23 Swap: 5d6 cold and necrotic damage.
  Haunting Shade Expert
   
  Prerequisite: 8th level, Haunting Shade feat
   
  Benefit: You can swap one 6th-level or higher util-
  ity power you know for the shade stride power.
  shade	stride	
  Haunting Shade attack 6
  You melt into the gloom and reappear some distance away 
  from where you were.
  encounter	F	shadow,	teleportation
  minor	action	
  Personal
  effect: you teleport 10 squares to any square containing dim 
  light or darkness.
  Haunting Shade Specialist
   
  Prerequisite: 10th level, Haunting Shade feat
   
  Benefit: You can swap one 9th-level or higher 
  daily attack power you know for the gathering of shad-
  ows power.
  gathering	of	
  Haunting Shade attack 9
  shadows
  Darkness crawls across the ground, piercing your foes with 
  shadow duplicates of your weapon and leaving them reeling in 
  pain before the darkness wraps around you.
  daily	F	cold,	necrotic,	shadow,	Weapon
  standard	action	
  close burst 2
  target: Each enemy in burst
  attack: Dexterity or Charisma vs. Fortitude
  hit: 1[W] + Dexterity or Charisma modifier cold and necrotic 
  damage, and the target is dazed (save ends).
  effect: you become invisible until the end of your next turn 
  and can shift 1 square. Until the end of the encounter, 
  dim light grants you total concealment instead of normal 
  concealment.
  	
  Level 19 Swap: 2[W] + Dexterity or Charisma modifier cold 
  and necrotic damage.
  	
  Level 29 Swap: 3[W] + Dexterity or Charisma modifier cold 
  and necrotic damage.
  About the Author
  robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer. 
  You’ll find his most recent work in the Dark Sun® Campaign 
  Setting, Dark Sun Creature Catalog, Monster Manual® 3, and 
  the Player’s Handbook® 3. Rob dedicates this article to Bobby 
  Turman, who lost Mourne to kobolds in Dragon Mountain 
  many years ago.
  reading a power: 
  level swap
  This entry tells you how a power changes if you 
  swap a power of the indicated level or higher for 
  it. you cannot have a power of the same name 
  at two different levels.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  68
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  Know Your Role: Defender
  The sun shone brightly over the plains, a sharp contrast to  
  Jaem’s dark mood as he strode forward. The halflings of the tribe 
  knew enough to stay out of his way while he looked through the 
  markers. They weren’t grave markers—the halflings cremated  
  their dead to avoid having them raised as undead to feed their 
  enemies’ armies—but several cenotaphs lay outside the main camp, 
  honoring those who died well.
  “No such thing,” Jaem growled to himself as he bent down to read 
  one that was the right age. Most of the words were foreign, but 
  the name was the one he sought. Kithri had died because he had 
  failed to protect her. True, he held off one of the foulspawn that was 
  trying to attack her, but another had slipped by him. That no one 
  blamed him for it made things worse, not better. He fell down to 
  his knees, and he couldn’t hold back his tears.
  “It should have been me.”
  By James Auwaerter 
  Illustration by Jeff Himmelman
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Know Your Role: Defender
  69
  By and large, adventurers do not dwell on the pos-
  sibility of failure. In most professions, failure can be a 
  small thing, and the worst consequences are not typi-
  cally immediately life-threatening. A farmer might 
  face a harsh winter, or a merchant might lose all his 
  or her coin, but they still have a chance to rebuild 
  their fortunes. Adventurers seek out situations where 
  they put their lives directly on the line, with odds that 
  weigh heavily against them. If they consider failure 
  too long, they could lose their nerve.
   
  Even if they don’t think about it much, adventur-
  ers do fail, and success can come at a cost. One of the 
  party might fall, as might a mentor, friend, or family 
  member. The latter can strike more powerfully for 
  adventurers who have seemingly become inured to 
  death. Although the souls of most adventurers are 
  willing to return to life through a Raise Dead ritual, 
  the same is not true for many others. Most souls resist 
  the strident call of life, and most common folk remain 
  in the Raven Queen’s domain after they die.
   
  Anyone who is reminded of the cost of adventur-
  ing can grow despondent, but defenders are more 
  likely than those of other roles to suffer from sur-
  vivor’s guilt. Although leaders also can feel a share 
  of responsibility in such circumstances, leaders are 
  frequently a step removed from the front line. A 
  defender is in the thick of the fight and can see any 
  enemies that make their way past. Their strength 
  in battle is the ability to draw enemy attacks upon 
  themselves, and they can take it personally when 
  the enemies overwhelm others before the defenders 
  themselves are overwhelmed.
   
  Some defenders who outlive their charges become 
  poorer at protecting others. They give up and try to 
  take on another role entirely, one which doesn’t risk 
  emotional involvement when they don’t do their best. 
  It takes another tragedy (or if the defender is lucky, a 
  close call) to lead them to return to their original role.
   
  Also, defenders can become so obsessed with not 
  losing another party member that they expose them-
  selves to unnecessary risks to protect others from the 
  least bit of damage. This counterproductive behavior 
  exposes the party to more danger indirectly, since 
  the defenders burn through their healing surges 
  quickly and can be nearly dead while the rest of the 
  party remains relatively uninjured. Those defenders 
  eventually realize that a dead defender can’t defend 
  anyone, unless they are killed first.
   
  Religion is an answer for some defenders’ guilt. 
  They try to bargain with the gods, seeking assur-
  ances that the future will not bring more deaths to 
  their friends, and that they’re in a better place now. 
  Paradoxically, if the defender already had been reli-
  gious, this justification is less satisfying. They already 
  had a good relationship with a god. They can’t make 
  bargains that they’ll act better and then expect to see 
  their blessings increase.
   
  Others, especially those who had a party leader 
  die, take on a little more of the leader role. Although 
  they still act as defenders, they try to find more ways 
  to make the rest of the party stronger. Multiclassing 
  into a leader class typically provides these defenders 
  with some emergency healing. This behavior is seen 
  more commonly with defenders whose defenses are 
  so high that their enemies still find it easier to attack 
  their allies than face the defender head-on.
   
  Well-adjusted defenders learn from their sorrow. 
  They know that they’re not invincible or untouchable, 
  and they take actions to become better guardians. 
  That can take many forms, from developing better 
  tactics to protect vulnerable members of the party 
  to using magic equipment that makes it harder for 
  enemies to disengage from the defender. Some accept 
  that they can’t protect everyone, but the best defend-
  ers don’t give up reaching toward that ideal.
  Paladin Prayer
  gift	of	resistance	
  Paladin Utility 22
  You project an aura around yourself that shields your allies 
  from damage just as it shields you.
  daily	F	divine,	stance
  minor	action	
  Personal
  effect:	you enter the gift of resistance stance. Until the stance 
  ends, each ally within 5 squares of you has resistance 20 
  to any of the same damage types to which you have resis-
  tance. However, your enemies’ attacks ignore all your resis-
  tances while you are in this stance.
  epic Tier FeaTs
  The following feats are available to a character of 21st 
  level or higher who meets the prerequisites.
  Inspirational Survival
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, warden
   
  Benefit: When you succeed on a saving throw to 
  end an effect, each ally within 5 squares of you gains 
  a +2 feat bonus to saving throws until the start of your 
  next turn.
  Prescient Retaliation
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, battlemind, mind spike 
  power
   
  Benefit: You can use mind spike as an immediate 
  interrupt instead of an immediate reaction.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Know Your Role: Defender
  70
  Rapid Aegis Reaction
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, swordmage, aegis of 
  assault or aegis of ensnarement or aegis of shielding 
  power
   
  Benefit: The first time you use the immediate 
  action granted by your Swordmage Aegis each round, 
  it does not count toward the normal limit on the 
  number of immediate actions you can take in one 
  round. You still cannot use this immediate action 
  more than once per triggering event.
  Rapid Combat Challenge
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, fighter, Combat Chal-
  lenge class feature
   
  Benefit: The first time you use the immediate 
  interrupt granted by your Combat Challenge feature 
  each round, it does not count toward the normal limit 
  on the number of immediate actions you can take in 
  one round. You still cannot use this immediate action 
  more than once per triggering event.
  Rapid Mind Spike
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, battlemind, mind spike 
  power
   
  Benefit: The first time you use the mind spike 
  power each round, it does not count toward the 
  normal limit on the number of immediate actions 
  you can take in one round. You still cannot use this 
  immediate action more than once per triggering 
  event.
  Rapid Wild Defense
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, warden, warden’s fury or 
  warden’s grasp power
   
  Benefit: The first time you use either warden’s fury 
  or warden’s grasp each round, it does not count toward 
  the normal limit on the number of immediate actions 
  you can take in one round. You still cannot use this 
  immediate action more than once per triggering 
  event.
  Surprise Mark
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, any defender class
   
  Benefit: When you roll initiative and are not sur-
  prised, you can mark one enemy you can see within 
  10 squares of you. This mark lasts until you make an 
  attack or until the end of your next turn.
  Strength Through Challenge
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, any defender class
   
  Benefit: You gain resist 5 all while you have two 
  or more enemies marked.
  Swordmage Implement Expertise
   
  Prerequisite: 21st level, Int 21; Str 17 or Con 17; 
  Swordmage
   
  Benefit: When attacking with a swordmage 
  implement, you score a critical hit on a roll of 19–20 
  with melee basic attacks, swordmage attack powers, 
  and  swordmage paragon path attack powers.
  epic desTinY: 
  ceaseless guardian
  Triumph can turn to tragedy in an instant. You aren’t going 
  to let that instant come to pass.
   
  Prerequisite: Any defender class
  You failed to protect someone in your care. It might 
  have been a friend, a family member, or a former 
  member of your adventuring party, but you feel 
  responsible for that loss. In return, you’ve rededicated 
  yourself to the ideal of the defender—a protector of 
  friends and a fierce obstacle to foes—but with a spe-
  cific focus. All enemies will learn that the only way 
  to defeat your allies is by going through you first, 
  and your abilities lend you an alacrity many cannot 
  match.
   
  To succeed at being the first line of defense, you 
  have trained to take advantage of every opening that 
  your enemies leave you as quickly as possible. To 
  those around you, you move twice as fast as any other 
  defender to blunt your foes’ attacks. You see it as a 
  natural progression that anyone of enough skill could 
  attain, though your desire to not see anyone else lost 
  drives you beyond the point of mere humans.
   
  As you grow in skill, your ability to react to 
  enemies quickly continues to grow. An attempted 
  ambush turns into a disaster for your foes as you 
  move in before they are ready. When you reach the 
  apex of your power, your oath to never allow an ally to 
  fall before you can finally be fulfilled. You can chan-
  nel your strength into those whom you have sworn 
  to protect, keeping them standing long after your 
  enemies would otherwise have overwhelmed them.
  
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Know Your Role: Defender
  71
  Immortality
  You stopped fearing your own death a long time ago. 
  In doing so, you have denied death’s power over you. 
  Although you can die, it seems that you are raised 
  again by a member of your adventuring party, some-
  one seeking the ideal bodyguard, or a god. You might 
  be recruited to fight alongside a Legendary General 
  in one of the wars that span the planes. You might 
  join with a World Tree Guardian who understands 
  your devotion to your allies, or with an Undying War-
  rior whom you can trust to remain safe on his or her 
  own. Very rarely, you find a small place of the world 
  to which to retire for a time, but the call to protect 
  others eventually leads you back into battle again.
  Ceaseless Guardian Features
   
  guardian Mindfulness (21st level): You gain 
  +2 to an ability score of your choice, and your speed 
  increases by 1.
   
  Irrepressible Defense (24th level): You can 
  take immediate actions and opportunity actions even 
  when you are dazed or stunned.
   
  never again (30th level): You gain the never 
  again at-will power.
  never	again	
  Ceaseless Guardian Feature
  You refuse to let any of your allies fall under your watch.
  at-Will	F	healing
  no	action	
  	
  close	burst 5
  requirement:	you must have at least one healing surge.
  trigger:	you or an ally in the burst dies
  target: The triggering creature
  effect: you spend one or two healing surges but do not regain 
  hit points for spending these healing surges. The target 
  does not die, and the target regains hit points equal to his 
  or her surge value for each healing surge you spent as a 
  part of this power.
  Ceaseless Guardian Powers
  always	ready	
  Ceaseless Guardian Utility 26
  When an enemy tries to ambush your party, you show it the 
  depth of its folly.
  daily
  no	action	F	Personal
  trigger:	you roll initiative
  effect: your initiative score is equal to one greater than the 
  highest initiative check among all your allies within 10 
  squares of you. you are not surprised, and if a surprise 
  round occurs, you can take a standard action, move action, 
  and minor action during the surprise round.
  About the Author
  Jim auwaerter hails from a small village off the coast of the 
  Lugotak Sea, far to the north of the Moonsea. Please feel free 
  to give feedback to him on the Wizards Community forums 
  or at www.loremaster.org. Follow Jim online at www.twitter.
  com/heridfel.
  
  A M P E R S A N D
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  by Bill Slavicsek
  72
  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  Just like the White Rabbit ...
   
  ... Who is Sometimes Very, Very Late
  I’m late! I’m late! Sorry about that. Things 
  have been hectic and extremely busy 
  around here, so it took me a little bit longer 
  to get around to writing this month’s 
  column. Instead of teasing you with the 
  various things I’ve been busy with these 
  past few weeks that I can’t really talk about 
  yet, let’s get right to the stuff I can fill you in 
  on. This month, in addition to regaling you 
  with our newest product releases, I want 
  to tell you about the Castle Ravenloft board 
  game that I just got my hands on, and 
  then I want to give you a sneak peek at the 
  upcoming Dark Sun Creature Catalog in case 
  you want to throw a new monster or two 
  into your next game session. I’m sure I’ll let 
  something else interesting slip through as 
  the column unfolds. Let’s get to it! 
  New Releases For May
  For the Dungeons & Dragons players out there 
  (I’m sure there’s more than a few of you), we have 
  a trio of new roleplaying game products hitting 
  the stores this month. Dungeon Masters in search 
  of a new adventure or two need to check out The 
  Slaying Stone, an adventure designed for 1st-level 
  characters. It concerns deadly relics from ancient 
  wars and the evil forces searching for them. For 
  even more variety, the Dungeon Magazine Annual 
  features five adventures chosen from the best that 
  D&D Insider has to offer. For players, the Player’s 
  Strategy Guide provides tips and tricks for optimiz-
  ing your character. This book is a great read, and it 
  uses a distinctive art style throughout that makes 
  you want to check every page before you dive in 
  and start reading the essays and sidebars. 
   Also, check out the novels tab to see what’s new 
  in D&D fiction this month, including the new 
  Monster Slayers D&D book for young readers. 
   Oh, and here’s a friendly reminder. Our Huge 
  Orcus figure comes out in June. You’re going to 
  want to reserve one of these magnificent speci-
  mens early, because quantities will be extremely 
  limited. 
  Creature Competition
  In case you haven’t been following our creature 
  competition, take a look at it here. We’re getting 
  down to the final four, but it’s not too late to vote 
  for your favorite monster! One of the top four mon-
  sters in the competition will make an appearance 
  in the D&D Encounters program later this year. 
  If you don’t know what D&D Encounters is, then 
  you haven’t been paying attention to my previous 
  columns. Go check it out right now!
  
  A M P E R S A N D
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  Castle Ravenloft 
  Board Game
  Mike Mearls, Peter Lee, and I are the proud game 
  designers of the upcoming Adventure System line 
  of D&D board games, and we just got an advanced 
  copy here in the office. Castle Ravenloft, a cooperative-
  style dungeon crawling game for one to five players, 
  hits the shelves in August. Check out the picture to 
  see all the cool stuff we were able to fit into the box. 
  Each time you play, the game is different, and a single 
  adventure can be played in about an hour. A second 
  game, Wrath of Ashardalon, debuts in November. That 
  one features adventures built around a Huge Red 
  Dragon. Even better, the two games can be combined 
  for extended play. Sigh. I need to give the advanced 
  copy back to the production people now. But in just a 
  few short months, we can all have our own copies of 
  the game. 
  
  A M P E R S A N D
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  74
  Things That Go Bump 
  in the Desert
  Dark Sun. This campaign setting has been near and 
  dear to my heart since I first checked out the origi-
  nal boxed set and started writing for the line back 
  in 1991. This summer, we’re bringing the setting 
  back with a new Campaign Guide, Creature Catalog, 
  and adventure. For those of you who haven’t heard 
  about it, Dark Sun is set on the desert world of Athas, 
  a fantastic world that has been ravaged by magic and 
  turned into a desolate and deadly wasteland. This 
  month, I’m showing off a few monsters from the Crea-
  ture Catalog. Next month, we’ll examine something 
  out of the Campaign Guide.
  anakore
  Sweltering desert travelers who curse the blazing 
  sun overhead might breathe a sigh of relief when 
  the crimson orb sets, but their solace proves short-
  lived as the shapes sliding beneath the dunes reveal 
  themselves. When the sun dies away, the primitive, 
  simple-minded anakores burst from the sands, eager 
  to seize the prey they have stealthily tracked during 
  the daylight hours.
  Lore 
  Dungeoneering DC 19: Anakores live beneath 
  loose dunes of dust or sand. They can sense vibra-
  tions of prey passing on the surface, and some 
  anakores can smell blood spilled on the earth above. 
  Only ravenous anakores attack prey during the day. 
  Instead, they lurk beneath the sands and track prom-
  ising game until sunset.
   
  These nomadic creatures follow prey from place 
  to place, seldom lairing in one location for long. They 
  travel and hunt in small packs, and the most successful 
  stalker among them is their leader. Anakores usually 
  bring down as many kills as they can before retreat-
  ing to feast. Each member of the pack has a role in 
  the attack. Dune kings burst from the sand with great 
  force, leading the attack and unsettling the terrain 
  to provide the anakores with an advantage. Renders 
  tear into the quarry savagely, weakening them before 
  the kill. Hunters separate individual victims from the 
  group, dragging them below the sand one by one.
   
  While on the move, anakores subsist on roots, 
  including poisonous specimens that aid in the produc-
  tion of the anakore paralytic. A telltale sign of recent 
  anakore movement is an area filled with fallen, root-
  less plants. Occasionally, a particularly cunning dune 
  king disposes of the foliage so as not to give away the 
  pack’s presence, but this level of craftiness is rare.
   
  Little is known about the origins of the anakores. 
  According to an ancient tale, terrors from beyond the 
  sky touched the humanoids that were forebears of the 
  creatures. Afterward, these ancestors recoiled from 
  the burning sun and burrowed below the wastes to 
  find cool, embracing darkness. Beneath the sands, the 
  creatures dreamed dark reveries and became night-
  mares of the desert.
   
  No discernible characteristics distinguish ana-
  kores as male or female. It is whispered that the 
  creatures produce no young, instead dragging 
  selected victims to weird hollows under the sands. 
  Inside these wombs, the captives become new ana-
  kores rather than meals. How and why the anakores 
  choose particular individuals as their new kin is 
  unknown.
  Encounters 
  Anakores avoid battle on terrain in which they cannot 
  burrow. They appear with others of their kind or with 
  other burrowing creatures, such as bulettes, hejkins, 
  galeb duhrs, and kruthiks. Wasteland raiders con-
  vince groups of anakores to work for them by paying 
  the creatures with food and shiny baubles. Dreams 
  and visions also entice anakores to explore ancient 
  ruins where other aberrant creatures dwell, some of 
  which are stronger and more clever than even the 
  dune kings. In such places, anakores serve these crea-
  tures and join in their incomprehensible rites.
  
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  Anakore Hunter
  The shuddering dunes might herald more than wind. 
  Anakore hunters burrow beneath the loose earth, 
  alert to prey that they can surprise and drag under the 
  surface. The hunters leave their pray there to suffocate 
  while they focus on dragging down other quarry.
  Anakore Hunter 
  Level 5 Lurker 
  Medium aberrant humanoid  
  XP 200 
   hP 48; Bloodied 24 
  initiative +9
   ac 19, Fortitude 18, reflex 17, Will 16 
  Perception +9
   speed 5 (earth walk),  
  Low-light vision
  burrow 6 (loose earth only) 
  tremorsense 5
  Traits
  dune	driver	
  The hunter can charge while burrowing.
  sensitive	to	light	
  When the hunter is exposed to direct sunlight or takes radi-
  ant damage, it takes a –2 penalty to attack rolls until the end 
  of its next turn.
  Standard actions 
   m claw  F at-Will 
  Attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +10 vs. aC
  Hit: 2d8 + 4 damage, and the hunter grabs the target. 
   M Bite (poison)  F at-Will
  Attack: Melee 1 (one creature grabbed by the hunter); +10 
  vs. aC
  Hit: 2d6 + 6 damage, and the target is slowed (save ends). If 
  the target is already slowed, it is instead immobilized (save 
  ends). 
   M drag	under  F at-Will 
  Attack: Melee 1 (one immobilized creature or creature 
  grabbed by the hunter); +8 vs. Fortitude
  Hit: 2d8 + 6 damage, and the target takes ongoing 5 damage 
  and is removed from play (save ends both). When this effect 
  ends, the target reappears in the space it last occupied or in 
  the nearest unoccupied space of its choice.
  Aftereffect: The target is immobilized (save ends). 
  skills Stealth +10
  str 18 (+6) 
  dex 17 (+5) 
  Wis 15 (+4)
  con 12 (+3) 
  int 6 (+0) 
  cha 6 (+0)
  alignment evil; languages Deep Speech 
  Anakore Render
  Sliding from the sand with a grace that belies its bulk, 
  an anakore render sets upon wounded and weak 
  prey. The bloodthirsty predator serves as the center of 
  a coordinated ambush by a pack of anakores, making 
  foes more vulnerable to attacks from its allies.
  Anakore Render  
  Level 7 Brute 
  Medium aberrant humanoid  
  XP 300 
   hP 96; Bloodied 48 
  initiative +6
   ac 19, Fortitude 20, reflex 18, Will 19 
  Perception +12
   Speed 7 (earth walk),  
  Low-light vision 
  burrow 6 (loose earth only) 
  tremorsense 5
  Traits
  dune	diver	
  The render can charge while burrowing.
  sensitive	to	light	
  When the render is exposed to direct sunlight or takes radi-
  ant damage, it takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end 
  of its next turn.
  Standard actions 
   m claw  F at-Will 
  attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +12 vs. aC 
  Hit: 3d8 + 6 damage, and the render pushes the target 2 
  squares and knocks it prone. 
   M Blood	Frenzy  F recharge  5  6 
  Effect: The render uses claw twice against a bloodied or 
  prone creature. 
  Move actions 
  Blood	hunger  F at-Will 
  Effect: The hunter shifts 3 squares to a square that must be 
  closer to a bloodied creature.
  Minor actions 
   M rending	Bite (poison)  F at-Will
  attack: Melee 1 (one bloodied or prone creature); +12 vs. aC
  Hit: 1d4 +5 damage, and the target is slowed until the end 
  of the render’s next turn. If the target is already slowed, it is 
  instead immobilized (save ends). 
  skills Stealth +11
  str 20 (+8) 
  dex 16 (+6) 
  Wis 18 (+7)
  con 16 (+6) 
  int 7 (+1) 
  cha 7 (+1)
  alignment evil; languages Deep Speech 
  niBenaY
  For twenty centuries, the Shadow King trusted the 
  temple bureaucracy to see to his kingdom’s affairs 
  as he luxuriated in his arcane studies. But the death 
  of King Kalak in Tyr has dislodged Nibenay from 
  his comfortably oblivious state, and the nobles and 
  templars of the city-state are scrambling to cover 
  a plethora of sins and slights from his renewed 
  attention.
  
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  Lore 
  History DC 33: For ages, Nibenay spent his days 
  in isolation, researching and performing rituals to 
  increase his knowledge and power. Recently, how-
  ever, the slaying of King Kalak of Tyr has reawakened 
  the ruler in him. In the past several weeks, he has 
  called several councils, deposed dozens of templar-
  wives, and begun to monitor his armed forces and 
  noble houses. His scrutiny has sent terror through 
  the ranks of Nibenese power wielders, none of whom 
  abstained from dark dealings to gain their positions.
   
  Nibenay has not completely abandoned his studies, 
  though. He is rumored to be exploring Athas’s distant 
  past. Speculators believe he might be looking for a 
  way to bring about a new age.
  Encounters 
  High consorts are Nibenay’s surest allies, as are the 
  Shadow King’s personal arcane assistants. They alone 
  know that Nibenay is not the handsome, regal human 
  the rest of the world sees. Rather, he has taken on 
  a draconic aspect, which he adopts for important 
  meetings. Nibenay’s inner circle also includes his 
  half-monster son, Dhojakt, as well as an elite band of 
  goliath warriors.
  Nibenay
  Nibenay prefers to sequester himself in the Nagga-
  ramakam, the royal compound where he studies the 
  mysteries of the worlds. He emerges only to lead his 
  army to war or to crush internal rebellions.
  Nibenay in Combat 
  Exceptionally cranky when forced to put aside his 
  studies, Nibenay radiates his displeasure. An enemy 
  that draws too near the Shadow King suffers a bar-
  rage of defiling power. Meanwhile, Nibenay verbally 
  shreds an interloper too fearful to approach, psychi-
  cally lashing it for its meek manner in battle. Then, he 
  teleports to its side and stabs it. A little blood on the 
  hands is good for the soul.
  Nibenay, Sorcerer-King  
  Level 29 Elite Controller 
  Large natural humanoid  
  XP 30,000 
   hP 532; Bloodied 266 
  initiative +19
   ac 43, Fortitude 40, reflex 38, Will 42 
  Perception +25
   speed 6, teleport 6 
  Darkvision
   saving	throws +2; actions	Points 1 
  Traits
  sorcerer-king’s	guile	
  Nibenay doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks for making 
  ranged or area attacks.
  Standard actions 
  m dragon’s	talon F at-Will 
  Attack: Melee 2 (one creature); +34 vs. aC 
  Hit: 6d10 +4 damage, and the target is restrained (save ends). 
   r ego	Whip (psychic)  F at-Will
  Attack: Ranged 10 (one creature); +33 vs. Will
  Hit: 4d12 + 11 psychic damage, and the target is dazed (save 
  ends). 
   R ego	storm  F at-Will 
  Effect: Nibenay uses ego whip twice.
   A defiling	Burst (necrotic)  F recharge 5  6 
  Effect: Each enemy adjacent to Nibenay takes 15 necrotic 
  damage.
  Attack: area burst 2 within 10 (enemies in burst); +31 vs. 
  Fortitude. Nibenay gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls for each 
  enemy damaged by this power’s effect.
  Hit: 4d10 + 15 necrotic damage. 
  Minor actions 
  zone	of	shadows	(zone)  F recharge when this power’s zone 
  ends 
  Effect: Nibenay creates a zone in a close burst 1 that lasts 
  until the end of Nibenay’s next turn. The zone blocks line of 
  sight for all creatures except Nibenay. Enemies are blinded 
  while within the zone.
  Triggered actions 
  arcane	defiling (necrotic)  F at-Will
  Trigger: Nibenay hits and deals damage to an enemy with 
  dragon’s talon or ego whip.
  Effect (Free Action): Each enemy within 2 squares of Nibenay 
  takes 10 necrotic damage, and the triggering enemy is 
  weakened until the end of Nibenay’s next turn. 
  nibenay’s	demand (necrotic)  F at-Will
  Trigger: Nibenay is subject to an effect that a save can end.
  Effect (Immediate Reaction): One enemy within 5 squares of 
  Nibenay takes 10 necrotic damage, and Nibenay makes a 
  saving throw against the triggerint effect. 
  skills arcana +28, Insight +25, Intimidate +29
  str 18 (+18) 
  dex 20 (+19) 
  Wis 23 (+20)
  con 26 (+22) 
  int 28 (+23) 
  cha 30 (+24)
  alignment evil; languages Common
  
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  shadow Bride
  Nobles and powerful templars snub Nibenay’s lowest-
  ranking templar-wives, calling them “shadow brides” 
  and mocking their barren beds and trivial stations in 
  the kingdom’s governance. Shadow brides frequently 
  become pawns in the city-state’s vast and intricate 
  political dance. Newly initiated brides can be suscep-
  tible to bribery, and the craftier templar-wives work 
  multiple sides of a conflict to scheme their way into 
  the city-state’s higher echelons.
  Shadow Brides in Combat 
  A shadow bride is a scrappy fighter and doesn’t mind 
  getting her hands dirty. In fact, she prefers it. She 
  unleashes her built-up rage for those noble snakes 
  who condescend to her on any who dare assault her. 
  She reserves her psychic punishments for beautifully 
  dressed or well-spoken adversaries.
  In Case You Don’t Know Him 
  Bill Slavicsek’s gaming life was forever changed when he 
  discovered Dungeons & Dragons in 1976. He became a 
  gaming professional in 1986 when he was hired by West End 
  Games as an editor. He quickly added developer, designer, 
  and creative manager to his resume, and his work helped 
  shape the Paranoia, Ghostbusters, Star Wars, and Torg roleplay-
  ing games. He even found some time during that period to do 
  freelance work for D&D 1st Edition. In 1993, Bill joined the 
  staff of TSR, Inc. as a designer/editor. He worked on a bunch 
  of 2nd Edition material, including products for Core D&D, 
  Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and Planescape. In 1997, he was part of 
  the TSR crowd that moved to Seattle to join Wizards of the 
  Coast, and in that year he was promoted to R&D Director for 
  D&D. In that position, Bill oversaw the creation of both the 
  3rd Edition and 4th Edition of the D&D Roleplaying Game. 
  He was one of the driving forces behind the D&D Insider proj-
  ect, and he continues to oversee and lead the creative strategy 
  and effort for Dungeons & Dragons.
   Bill’s enormous list of credits includes Alternity, d20 
  Modern, d20 Star Wars, Pokemon Jr., Eberron Campaign Setting, 
  the D&D For Dummies books, and his monthly Ampersand (&) 
  column for Dragon Magazine.
   
  Until next time, 
   
  Keep On Playing!  
  Shadow Bride  
  Level 13 Soldier 
  Medium natural humanoid  
  XP 800 
   hP	130; Bloodied 65 
  initiative +14
   ac 29, Fortitude 23, reflex 27, Will 25 
  Perception +15
   speed 6 
  Standard actions 
   m obsidian short	sword (weapon)  F at-Will
  attack: Melee 1 (one creature); +18 vs. aC 
  Hit: 4d6 +7 damage. 
   r shadow	Bolt (cold, implement, necrotic)  F at-Will
  attack: Ranged 5 (one creature); +16 vs. Reflex
  Hit: 2d8 + 9 cold and necrotic damage. 
   C demand	Penitence (implement, psychic) F recharge 5  6 
  Attack: Close burst 5 (one or two creatures in burst marked 
  by the shadow bride); +16 vs. Will Hit: 4d6 + 7 psychic 
  damage, and the bride pulls the target 4 squares and 
  knocks the target prone.
  Minor actions 
  curse	of	the	shadow	king  F at-Will 
  Effect: a creature adjacent to the bride is marked. The 
  marked creature grants combat advantage until the end of 
  the bride’s next turn. 
  Triggered actions 
   M nibenay’s	retribution (fire, necrotic, teleportation, weapon)  
  F at-Will
  Trigger: an enemy mrked by the bride and within 6 squares 
  of her makes an attack that does not include the bride as a 
  target.
  Effect: The bride teleports to a square adjacent to the trigger-
  ing enemy.
  Attack (Immediate Interrupt): Melee 1 (triggering enemy); +18 
  vs. Fortitude
  Hit: 3d10 +3 fire and necrotic damage. 
  skills arcana +13
  str 14 (+8) 
  dex 23 (+12) 
  Wis 19 (+10)
  con 18 (+10) 
  int 14 (+8) 
  cha 16 (+9)
  alignment evil; languages Common
  equipment obsidian short sword, rod, robes 
  
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  C O N F E S S I O N S  O F  A  F U L L -T I M E  W I Z A R D
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  By	shelly	mazzanoBle
  illustrations by William O’Conner and Patrick Thomas Parnell
  I can take a hint. Receiving a copy of The Player’s 
  Strategy Guide with a post-it note inscription that said, 
  “Read this or no one will play D&D with you ever 
  again” is pretty obvious, right? But then I found a copy 
  of Player’s Handbook Races: Tieflings on my desk and 
  now I’m getting paranoid.
   
  “Real funny, people!” I shouted over the cube 
  walls. “What’s next? How to Host a Dinner Party? 
  How to min-max your DVR? How to Stand Up to 
  Your Cat?” Actually, I could probably benefit from 
  that last one.
   
  “It’s like how you were that one time in Bloom-
  ingdale’s,” my mom said later that night when I 
  explained why I was studying the Player’s Strategy 
  Guide instead of watching the latest episode of The 
  Real Housewives of New York. (Don’t judge. We all 
  have skeletons in our DVRs.)
   
  “I have no idea what you mean, Mom, but I’m 
  pretty sure that’s the first time anyone has compared 
  playing D&D with shopping at Bloomingdale’s.”
   
  “Don’t you remember?” she went on. “We took you 
  and your brother to Florida for spring break when 
  you guys were in high school and Dad put a $100 gift 
  card in your Easter Basket. You were so overwhelmed 
  by what to buy you never spent it.”
   
  Ah yes, one of my greatest regrets. I’ve clearly lev-
  eled up my shopping skills since then. We didn’t have 
  a Bloomingdale’s in Upstate New York where I lived, 
  so it was literally a “use it or lose it” experience. I 
  caved under the pressure.
   
  “That’s really cool of you to bring this up days 
  before my first game as a born- again D&D player.”
   
  “If memory serves, I found you breathing into a 
  little brown bag in a dressing room in the maternity 
  section,” Mom said. “Why were you in the maternity 
  section, anyway?
   
  “Those pants were ridiculously comfortable.”
   
  “But once again Mommy saved the day,” she 
  sighed. “You begged me to buy that card from you so 
  you wouldn’t go home with nothing. And I did.”
   
  “Right,” I said. “For $.75 on the dollar.”
   
  “I was teaching you an important lesson.”
   
  I’m not sure what lesson I should have learned 
  by my mom ripping me off, but she’s right about the 
  comparison. The $100 gift card is burning hands and 
  Bloomingdale’s is The Chaos Scar. I’ll never reach 
  adventuring excellence by overthinking things. 
  There’s only one thing to do.
  An Overwhelmed 
  Duckling, Part 2
  
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  “Mommy, help me again,” I said, looking for a little 
  brown bag to breath into. “I need a recipe for the best 
  cake you’ve ever had.”
   
  I get a chance to practice what the Player’s Strategy 
  Guide preached during my Wednesday D&D Encoun-
  ters game. Granted my Encounters character, Herteus 
  Maximus, tiefling psion, was just starting out his 
  adventuring career, but like learning a foreign lan-
  guage, you need to start them out when they’re young.
   
  The Wednesday group is small and comprised of 
  casual D&D’ers who probably wouldn’t notice if Her-
  teus performed a History check instead of an Arcana 
  check and certainly wouldn’t hold it against him if 
  they did. It’s the perfect training ground for fledgling 
  tieflings.
   
  Not that I want to put poor Herteus at risk, but I 
  fear he suffers from the same fate many of us “second, 
  third, and beyond” children endured. Aren’t parents 
  just a bit more lax after the first one? A sniffle doesn’t 
  require a trip to the ER. A tumble off a tricycle 
  doesn’t require traction. And a first word, first tooth, 
  or first crit doesn’t warrant a scrapbook, apparently 
  (ahem, Mom). I didn’t even bring cookies from the 
  vending machine to this game.
   
  As the encounter begins, we’re hot on the heels of 
  Xeres who has kidnapped our benefactor, Fayne—our 
  supposed patron who is starting to remind me an 
  awful lot of my old nemesis Lady Elaydrn. We were 
  standing at the threshold of a dimly lit room where 
  we suspected they were headed. Chris, our DM, 
  asked us what we wanted to do.
   
  “An Arcana check!” I shouted. Oh yeah! Check out 
  the big, magically gifted brain on Herteus.
   
  “He needs to be in the room if he wants to do that,” 
  Chris reminded me.
   
  “Fine,” I said, moving my mini. “He’s going in!”
   
  “Stop right there!” Chris commanded.
   
  Uh, oh. It’s never a good thing when your DM 
  interrupts your move.
   
  “When Herteus gets to here,” Chris said, pointing 
  to the square I just passed through, “a large green 
  blob falls from the ceiling and tries to attack.”
   
  Hmm, didn’t I just approve some banner ads 
  that mentioned something about wearing protective 
  headgear?
   
  The blob missed Herteus but it, along with several 
  mushroomlike creatures, are clearly disturbed by us 
  disrupting their mojo.
   
  “The myconid gas spores move to here and here,” 
  Chris said. Coincidentally here and here were on 
  either side of Herteus.
   
  “Help!” I yelled. “I’m flanked by fungi!” This is 
  what thinking strategically gets you?
   
  “15 damage for Herteus.”
   
  Chris is always calm and soft-spoken, which would 
  come in handy if you were trapped in an elevator or 
  needed help inflating your airline-issued flotation 
  device. But when he bloodies your 1st-level character 
  with one attack? That calls for a little bit of inflection.
   
  “Aren’t all your powers ranged?” our cleric asked.
   
  “So?”
   
  “So why’d you charge into the room? Let the monk 
  burst into the room next time.”
   
  “Thanks for the advice,” I said, wondering if across 
  the table counted as ranged.
   
  Admittedly this wasn’t starting off as my finest 
  hour. Herteus was dangerously close to getting 
  pinned in the corner by the spores.
   
  “You could risk an attack of opportunity from 
  these guys and run,” Chris offered. DM’s always sug-
  gest things like that.
  
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  Calling upon my knowledge of the PSG, I real-
  ized it was the best option. Fat lot of good Herteus 
  would do in the corner. And could I really show my 
  face here again if he was brought down by a couple of 
  mushrooms?
   
  He made it unscathed, even managed to bring the 
  hurt to one of the myconid guards with mind thrust. 
  Oddly enough, the guard didn’t take that well and 
  attacked Herteus as retribution.
   
  “That’s 16 damage,” Chris said in his “in case of 
  emergency” voice.
   
  “He’s down!” I said in my annoying, frantic voice.
   
  And he failed his first two death saves.
   
  “Oh, no,” I croaked over the lump in my throat. 
  “He hasn’t even had his first haircut yet!”
   
  “Don’t worry,” Laura said. “You’ll find love again.” 
  She pointed to the stack of pre-gens on the table.
   
  Thanks to a little help from our pulverized cleric, 
  that wouldn’t be necessary. Herteus regained con-
  sciousness, and I wasn’t going to take this second 
  wind for granted.
   
  “Alright, let’s think about this,” I said, channeling 
  the PSG. The monk was engulfed in slime, the cleric 
  was way more than bloodied, and the sorcerer still 
  hadn’t made it into the room thanks to the tag team 
  bouncers Shroom 1 and Shroom 2. We couldn’t go 
  after the gas spores because hitting them unleashed 
  a poison we were all susceptible to. Damaging the 
  slime would also cause our monk damage and seeing 
  as though she was already bloodied, no one wanted to 
  take that chance. Herteus set his sights on the guard 
  closest to him and used his power points to augment 
  memory hole.
   
  “14 against will?” I asked.
   
  “That’ll just miss,” Chris said. “Sorry.”
   
  Figures. But then I remembered something.
   
  “Wait! This is the same guy who hit me. I can use 
  infernal wrath. That’s 15.”
   
  “That hits,” Chris said.
   
  With the +3 infernal wrath grants, it’s enough to at 
  least bloody the guard, and thanks to the augmented 
  memory hole, Herteus was now invisible to the guard.
   
  Figuring the guard couldn’t see him, Herteus 
  didn’t need to move on his next turn and instead used 
  his minor action to cast distract on the green slime.
   
  “He’s riffing off some ‘your mama’ jokes, which 
  really pisses off green slime,” I said. Everyone knows 
  green slimes are mama’s boys.
   
  Whatever distraction Herteus caused was enough 
  to grant combat advantage to our monk, who was still 
  battling inside the belly of the beast. She did a little 
  drunken monkey action and managed to save out of 
  the engulfment.
   
  “Yeah!” we all cheered.
   
  With her back in the fight and the sorcerer finally 
  joining the fray, it was almost a fair fight, and we 
  survived. (I later found out Chris never activated the 
  myconid rotpriests because “it would have been like 
  watching crickets taking on a pack of alligators.”) We 
  left the encounter much worse for wear, with two new 
  healing potions and an overall feeling of satisfaction. 
  To anyone who didn’t know better, they might think I 
  knew what I was doing. Almost.
   
  Buoyed by the successful outcome of Fungi Fest 
  2010, I was ready for the Wyld Stallyns. I arrived at 
  our conference room so early there was a meeting 
  still in progress. Fortunately, it was just R&D and 
  they’re used to me barging in on their meetings.
   
  “Don’t mind me!” I shouted, setting up my dice, 
  character sheet, Player’s Handbook 1, 2, and 3, 
  and—most importantly—gooey butter cake. (Thanks, 
  Paula Deen.)
   
  By the time New DM arrived with his props, I 
  knew Tabby’s spells and powers like the back of her 
  robe. I even took Tabby shopping for things like heal-
  ing potions and an adventurer’s kit.
   
  Marty was the next to arrive, and he gave me a 
  confused half smirk as he took his seat next to me. He 
  rammed his chair into mine while lunging for the cake 
  and sent my Jenga-inspired dice tower crashing down.
   
  “I could use wizard’s escape right now and teleport 
  5 squares to a space not adjacent to an enemy,” I said. 
  “Did you know I could do that?”
   
  “I knew Tabitha could do that,” Marty said.
   
  Whatever. The only thing that differentiates Marty 
  from a D&D Compendium is an expensive haircut and 
  an argyle sweater.
   
  “What’s with the cake?” Hilary asked as she took 
  her seat.
   
  “It’s Tabby’s birthday. Sort of.”
   
  We began the day’s adventure by stumbling 
  through a trap door that led to a rectory complete 
  with a battered bearskin rug, upended tables and 
  chairs, and the stench of century-old corpses.
   
  “I think I rented this place for my friend’s bach-
  elorette party,” I said.
   
  “It smells like death,” New DM continued, “which 
  is no surprise as you notice heaps of half-devoured 
  bodies covered in dried gore,”
   
  “I hope you got your security deposit back,” Marty 
  said.
   
  “Oh yeah,” New DM continued, “there’s another 
  corpse by the altar whose robes bear the dire skull 
  symbol of Orcus. Around his neck hangs a large, 
  black gem that begins to glow with a purple light.”
   
  Purple light. Glowing orb. This has Arcana check 
  all over it.
  
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  “Tabby knows what that is!” I shouted. I rolled a 2. 
  “15?”
   
  “Tabitha thinks this stone might be amethyst,” 
  New DM says. “Maybe rose quartz. Real good for pre-
  venting intoxication and looks nice with jewel tones 
  and Bermuda shorts.”
   
  “What? Tabby would never say that,” I argued. Not 
  only did I fail my Arcana check, but Tabitha failed her 
  fashion check. Bermuda shorts?
   
  Fortunately the rest of the group appeared to be 
  experts on glowing orbs. They deduced that the neck-
  lace had the power to animate all of the corpses in the 
  rectory, it’s stronger at night, and was mostly likely 
  heightened by the lingering energy in the temple. 
  Tabitha basically has a master’s in glowing orbs and 
  couldn’t figure that out?
   
  I didn’t have much time to dwell, because the 
  corpses animated and immediately attacked Anwar 
  and Holden, who were standing closest to them.
   
  Unfortunately, Tabitha was standing closest to the 
  altar, so the amethyst-wearing deathlock wight set 
  his sights on her. He fired off a grave bolt that missed 
  Tabby by mere inches.
   
  Unwilling to test her luck twice, Tabby moved to 
  what appeared to be a safe zone, but clearly I can’t tell 
  the difference between a column and a staircase.
   
  “Is that where Tabby is going to stand?” New DM 
  asked.
   
  Usually when New DM asks you if that’s what you 
  really want to do, it’s either because you foiled his 
  plan or you’re about to do something really stupid.
   
  “Yes,” I answered, refusing to be intimidated.
   
  “Then Tabby just fell down the stairs,” New DM 
  declared.
   
  “Don’t mind us, Tabby,” Marty said. “You just head 
  on down to the community center. I’m sure they have 
  foosball and vending machines.”
   
  “Bring me back an Orange Crush,” Kierin said.
   
  Tabby wasn’t the only one in a downward spiral. 
  I could sense my confidence was following her. New 
  DM sensed it too, so he made an offer.
   
  “Do an Acrobatics check to see if she managed to 
  hold onto the railing.”
   
  I rolled a 1.
   
  “So basically she yelled ‘Geronimo!’ and slid down 
  the banister,” Bart said.
   
  “And now she’s knocked prone at the base of the 
  stairs,” New DM smiled. “Sorry. I tried.”
   
  That’s great. Truly awesome. A spectacular exhibit 
  of tactical genius. My character fell down a spiral 
  staircase and now had to spend the next two rounds 
  trying to climb back up again. I missed an episode of 
  The Real Housewives for this?
   
  “Can I use my shield?” I asked.
   
  When Tabitha finally rejoined the action, there 
  were only two zombies left and both were bloodied. 
  She stayed in the background, away from staircases, 
  open windows, potholes, trick wire, bear traps, 
  exploding cigars, snake nut cans, and anything else 
  that could come between her and a magic missile. I 
  even wasted shock sphere on only one target because 
  I was determined not to leave this fight with any 
  encounter powers intact. She’d burn down a book-
  shelf with her flaming hands if she had to.
   
  When the game was over, I gathered up the cake 
  pan, rulebooks, and crumpled character sheet. 
  Having the athletic ability of a hedgehog, I never 
  played sports growing up, but I’m pretty sure this is 
  what I’d feel like if I did. Shouldn’t someone offer me 
  a Lifesaver?
   
  “It was great,” I told my mom later that night when 
  she called to see how it went. (We were talking about 
  the cake.)
   
  “But I kind of played like crap,” I went on. “Like, 
  worse than usual. Do you know how hard I studied 
  for this?”
   
  “No one can expect you to know every rule,” she 
  said. “Aren’t there millions of them?”
   
  “But I should know the difference between a spiral 
  staircase and a column.”
   
  “It’s a game,” she said. “Who do you think you are? 
  Jack Bauer?”
   
  “I wish.”
   
  “Besides, aren’t you the one who is always mouth-
  ing off about how D&D is cooperative and you like it 
  so much because you don’t compete with each other?”
   
  “I guess so.”
   
  “So instead of hyperventilating in a dressing room, 
  ask questions. If they’re really your friends, they’ll 
  help you.”
   
  I think The Player’s Strategy Guide offers some good 
  advice, but maybe my mom could add a tip or two: 
  Ask for help when needed. Give help when asked. 
  Don’t judge.
   
  And if all else fails, bring cake.
  About the Author 
  Shelly Mazzanoble was never a baby. At least not in the 
  literal sense. And at least not according to photographic evi-
  dence. The earliest documented photo of her is when she was 
  3 years old after accidentally walking into the background of 
  her brother’s photo shoot.
  
  D
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  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  by Bart Carroll
  4th Edition’s Monster Manual 3 releases next month, 
  introducing a wealth of new creatures into the game 
  (e.g., catastrophic dragons, apocalypse spells, new 
  types of slaad, umber hulks, beholders) . . . but this is 
  D&D Alumni, and we’re much more concerned with 
  those monsters of past editions finally making their 
  return to the game!
   
  And so, we give you our (admittedly subjective) 
  Top 10 monsters returning from the 1st Edition 
  Monster Manual. We wanted to look back at the ori-
  gins of these creatures—with their details pulled and 
  paraphrased from 1st and 2nd Edition Monster Manu-
  als—to help explain why we’re so thrilled to see their 
  reappearance (even if that means we’ll soon be fight-
  ing them at the table).
   
  Next time, we’ll continue our look back by pre-
  senting the Top 10 monsters returning from the 1st 
  Edition Monster Manual 2and Fiend Folio. Until then, 
  enjoy!
  #10. Ghast
  Let’s be honest. Back in the day, it simply paid to be 
  an elf (racial level limits notwithstanding): infravi-
  sion, weapon bonuses, a laundry list of languages, 
  resistance to sleep and charm . . . and immunity to a 
  ghoul’s paralyzing touch.
   
  With the rest of the party immobilized, it was left 
  to the elf to save their collective bacon. So then, how 
  do you panic an elf (aside from simply overwhelming 
  them with ghouls)? Embed a ghast in the encounter, 
  “so like ghouls as to be completely indistinguishable 
  from them, and they are usually found only with a 
  pack of ghouls. When the pack attacks it will quickly 
  become evident that ghosts are present, however, for 
  they exude a carrion stench in a 10’ radius which 
  causes retching and nausea unless a saving throw 
  versus poison is made.” Worse than their stench, how-
  ever, a ghast’s paralyzing touch could overcome even 
  an elf’s inherent immunity.
   
  Ghasts were meaner, tougher, and harder to turn. 
  You couldn’t even keep them at bay with a protec-
  tion from evil spell without adding powdered iron to 
  the mix. Now returning in the 4EMonster Manual 3, 
  Alumni: Monster Manual
  
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  “When ghouls go too long without humanoid flesh, 
  they rot away from the inside out. The insatiable 
  hunger that accompanies this transformation grants 
  ghasts a desperate strength and ferocity.” Stench of 
  death? Check. Immobilizing bite? Check. Fearless-
  ness of elves? Absolutely—even ghouls can now affect 
  the elven race. So good luck exploring that crypt.
  #9. Jackalwere
  Why was it called a jackalwere, and not a werejackel? 
  The 1E Monster Manual provided a rich array of lycan-
  thropes (werewolf being just one variety): humans 
  with the ability to transform into animal or hybrid 
  animal form, thanks to the curse of lycanthropy. 
  Whereas a jackalwere undertook the opposite trans-
  formation: “a jackal able to assume the form of a man. 
  In this guise they roam about seeking to waylay and 
  murder humans. They then steal their riches and eat 
  the slain victims.”
   
  Just as ghasts surrounded themselves with ghouls, 
  so jackalweres sometimes ran with jackels. Add in 
  their sleep-inducing gaze, and they made for a true 
  trickster of an adversary, a “malign foe of human-
  kind”. What might have sold them most, however, 
  was their illustration—a hybrid jackelwere laying into 
  its fallen victim.
   
  Lycanthropes are a steadfast component of the 
  fantasy genre (including, we grudgingly suppose, the 
  Twilight Saga), and trickster jackals have long been 
  part of world folklore. As far as jackalweres’ origins in 
  the D&D universe, the MM3 provides the following 
  backstory:
   
  “All lands were ravaged when the war between 
  the gods and the primordials shook the world. Primal 
  humanoid tribes were hard-pressed to survive, 
  fighting fiercely with the predators for control of 
  the scattered herds. In one fierce series of battles, a 
  tribe of ancient humans fought and destroyed a great 
  nation of primal jackals—cunning creatures that had 
  intelligence exceeding that of normal beasts. Alone 
  and destitute, the few surviving jackals howled their 
  fear and fury to the heavens, never suspecting that 
  the primal spirit called Dark Sister would hear their 
  cries. She gave the jackals her gifts, and they became 
  jackalweres.”
  #8. Rot Grub
  Why would anyone root around heaps of offal or 
  dung in the first place—habitat of the rot grub—risk-
  ing infection by D&D’s version of hookworm or the 
  candiru fish? Possibly to search for hidden treasure 
  (more than a few creatures seemed to carry gems 
  around in their gizzards), or perhaps for clues and 
  keys placed there by cruel DMs. Whatever the 
  motivation for doing so, reach into a steaming pile 
  of catoblepas dung and “these small creatures will 
  viciously burrow into any living flesh which touches 
  them, for they greatly enjoy such fare to dine upon.”
   
  Absent a cure disease spell, the only remedy was to 
  apply fire to the wound (1-6 hit points damage per 
  application, as the Monster Manual so helpfully stated). 
  Otherwise, the rot grubs would quickly burrow to the 
  heart and kill their host.
   
  The MM3 presents the further (and completely 
  horrible) information that gnolls capture rot grubs 
  and use them to torment captives in bizarre rites to 
  Yeenoghu. Bugbears keep pits filled with rot grubs to 
  dispose of corpses and make their traps more deadly. 
  And kobolds brave and stupid enough to hunt these 
  creatures sometimes keep them in small, ceramic 
  containers they hurl at intruders (note: even worse 
  than getting hit with a pee-filled balloon). While rot 
  grub swarms are bad enough, just wait for the rot 
  grub zombie, a corpse reanimated into a dark parody 
  of life… and acts as a carrier for the swarm of rot 
  grubs it carries around inside it.
  
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  #7. Su Monster
  What could be tougher than a monster named Sue? 
  (“It’s the name that helped to make your strong.”) One 
  of the Monster Manual’s psionic critters, known for 
  its terrifying appearance—dirty gray fur, black face, 
  blood-red paws—as well as using its prehensile tails 
  to hang upside down in order to freak out and attack 
  with all four claws and its bite at once. “Su-monsters 
  are at home upright or hanging upside down—the 
  latter being one of their favorite methods of lurking 
  for prey.” Surprise!
   
  2nd Edition added the legend that su monsters 
  were magical hybrids of humans and apes, created 
  by an evil wizard in order to guard his forest against 
  psionic intruders. 4E slightly alters this legend. Su 
  monsters now come from “the Isle of Dread, a jungle 
  island based in the Feywild. A wizard named Hal-
  kith created the creatures to guard his tower from 
  the island’s other inhabitants, including yuan-ti and 
   hostile humanoid tribes. To create su monsters, Hal-
  kith combined the intellect and cunning of primates 
  with the strength and stealth of fey panthers.”
  #6. Nymph
  “These beautiful, ever-young appearing women 
  inhabit the loveliest of wilderness places, grottos 
  in the sea, clear lakes and streams, and crystalline 
  caverns. They dislike any form of intrusion, and they 
  have means to prevent it.” Boy, do they ever. Truth be 
  told, this is probably my earliest memory of the game, 
  listening to older kids in the neighborhood—clearly 
  enthralled with the Monster Manual’s slightly risqué 
  entries and artwork—breathlessly discussing that, 
  “looking at [a nymph] will cause permanent blindness 
  unless the onlookers save versus magic. If the nymph 
  is nude or disrobes, an onlooker will die unless a 
  saving throw versus magic is successful.”
   
  Approached carefully, nymphs might have been 
  friendly, especially toward human males with 18 
  Charismas. Originating from the woodland spirits of 
  myth and legend, nymphs have been expanded upon 
  in MM3:
   
  “The children of the four seasons and four wind 
  brothers were the nymphs, fey beings who embody 
  both their mothers’ ties to the seasons and their fathers’ 
  fickle and tempestuous nature. The nymphs played 
  with mortals, especially mortal men, toying with their 
  minds and hearts, and they were pleased by such 
  diverting toys. If the toys sometimes broke, what of it?”
   
  Why settle for one lovely spirit? There are now 
  spring, summer, autumn, and winter, as well as wood 
  nymphs—each with their own unique powers. Con-
  sider the autumn nymph’s wonderfully capricious 
  power, whisper game:
  
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  R Whisper	game	(psychic) F recharge	if the power misses
  Attack: Ranged 10 (one creature); +11 vs. Will
  Hit: 1d8 + 4 psychic damage, and ongoing 5 psychic 
  damage (save ends). Until the end of the encounter or  
  until the nymph drops to 0 hit points, whenever any crea-
  ture saves against this ongoing damage, the nearest ally 
  within 10 squares of it gains the ongoing damage. When 
  the nymph drops to 0 hit points, the effect ends and the 
  creature currently affected by the ongoing damage takes  
  15 psychic damage.
  #5. Shadow
  Between ghouls 
  and ghasts in terms 
  of undead tough-
  ness, shadows were 
  creepy, nigh-invisi-
  ble assassins found 
  amidst ancient 
  ruins, deep beneath 
  the ground, or—pre-
  sumably—anyplace 
  dark enough to 
  hide them. Shad-
  ows were shadowy 
  in part because 
  they existed on the 
  Negative Energy 
  plane, described 
  (pleasantly enough) 
  as “the place of 
  anti-matter and 
  negative force, the 
  source of power for 
  undead, the energy 
  area from which 
  evil grows.”
   
  This connection to the Negative Energy plane 
  provided shadows their life-draining ability (imagine 
  Blackrazor as an animate creature). They attacked 
  living things in order to gain their life force, draining 
  an opponent’s Strength merely by touching them; if 
  an opponent ever fell to 0 Strength, he’d become a 
  new shadow . . . just like those slain by ghouls became 
  new ghouls, further spreading undeath like some 
  kind of disease or a game of all-in-tag.
   
  In 2E, we further learned, “According to most 
  knowledgeable sages, shadows appear to have been 
  magically created, perhaps as part of some ancient 
  curse laid upon some long-dead enemy. The curse 
  affects only humans and demihumans, so it would 
  seem that it affects the soul or the spirit. When 
  victims can no longer resist, either through loss 
  of consciousness (hit points) or physical prowess 
  (Strength points), the curse is activated and the 
  majority of the character’s essence is shifted to the 
  Negative Energy plane. Only a shadow of their former 
  self remains on the Prime Material plane, and the 
  transformation always renders the victim both terri-
  bly insane and undeniably evil.”
   
  In the MM3, shadows have moved from the Nega-
  tive Energy plane to (where else?) the Shadowfell. 
  They also now prey—not on one’s life force—but on the 
  shadows of living creatures, devouring them for suste-
  nance. However, it cannot feast upon a shadow while 
  the shadow’s owner lives . . . .
  #4. Intellect Devourer
  Here’s a bold claim for the 1st Edition Monster 
  Manual to make: that these little walking brains were 
  one of the most feared of monsters. But claim it they 
  did, and here’s why.
   
  If you ever dared use psionics, the intellect 
  devourer would quietly stalk after you, wait until you 
  were alone—and then leap out and claw you to pieces. 
  But the horror doesn’t end there. Oh no. Far from it—
  the intellect devourer would then enter the victim’s 
  body, reading its thoughts as it feasted on its brain in 
  order to reanimate the corpse and assume its identity. 
  Why? In order to hunt and devour more victims, of 
  course. These things were creepy enough for mind 
  flayers to use them as watchdogs.
  
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  Beyond their nightmarish hunting methods, 
  killing them was also no easy task. Fireballs were 
  nothing more than bright light to them (but which 
  did drive them away), and even lightning bolts caused 
  little damage: 1 point per die. Back when certain 
  creatures ignored mundane weapons, intellect 
  devourers could only be hit by +3 weapons or better—
  and even then, they only caused 1 point of damage 
  per hit!
   
  In the MM3, several versions of the intellect 
  devourer, including its ustilagor larval form, return. 
  And while the intellect glutton can still animate 
  dead, the intellect predator has the power to assume a 
  living target:
  M Body	thief	(charm, psychic) F at-Will
  Attack: Melee 1 (one stunned creature); +17 vs. Will
  Hit: 2d6 + 6 psychic damage, and the target is dominated 
  (save ends; the target takes a –2 penalty to the saving 
  throw). While the target is dominated by the predator, the 
  predator occupies the target’s space and cannot be targeted 
  or take damage. The predator cannot use claw while the 
  target is dominated. When the target saves, the predator 
  appears in the unoccupied space nearest to the target.
  Aftereffect: The target is dazed (save ends).
  #3. Catoblepas
  Pliny the Elder described the catoblepas as holding 
  its head ever downward lest it raise its eyes and kill 
  those it looked upon, and with poisonous breath from 
  its diet of toxic plants. Which is all far more creative 
  than the common wildebeest actually being reported.
   
  Several creatures from ancient and medieval 
  bestiaries made their way into the Monster Manual, 
  the catoblepas included. It may hold the distinction 
  of being the ugliest creature in the book, “loathsome 
  beyond description with no redeeming features. Its 
  body resembles that of a huge, bloated buffalo and 
  gives off an offensive odor. The catoblepas’ neck is 
  long and thin, and perched atop it is a big head uglier 
  than that of a warthog. Its legs are thick and stumpy, 
  much like a hippopotamus. The creature’s tail is 
  strong and snaky, however, and moves with amazing 
  swiftness to strike enemies.”
   
  Forget about the tail, the catoblepas’ real danger 
  came from its gaze. Stumble on one by accident, and 
  there was a 2 in 6 chance someone in the party would 
  accidentally catch a peek—and die right there on the 
  spot without a saving throw. Even running away with 
  your eyes averted didn’t help—its gaze could still kill 
  you, although there was just a 25% chance the cato-
  blepas could only muster enough strength to lift its 
  anvil-heavy head and look your way . . . 10% if sham-
  bling after you.
   
  Some misguided wizard may have been respon-
  sible for the su monster, the owl bear, and the 
  peryton—but D&D’s catoblepas was blamed on no less 
  the ghastly tinkering with life by a demented godling. 
  In the MM3, the catoblepas—still ugly enough to kill 
  with its gaze—has been given a slightly more respect-
  able place in the world. Instead of shuffling after 
  fleeing adventurers trying to get them to look at it 
  (an undignified situation for everyone involved), the 
  catoblepas now serves as herald for the Raven Queen, 
  plodding between worlds, surfacing unexpectedly.
  #2. Quasit
  Who’d want to adopt some lame cat, crow or screech 
  owl for a familiar, when you could have one of these 
  little demons instead? Granted, you had to be chaotic-
  evil or neutral-chaotic to be eligible (better than 
  being a lawful-good and ending up with a brownie), 
  as quasits made for the quintessential devil-on-your-
  shoulder… with the powers and drawbacks to match.
   
  A quasit began life as a larva (the most selfishly 
  evil of souls) transformed into this minor demon. In 
  this form, it existed to serve the wicked master who 
  summoned it—yet if its master died, and the quasit 
  
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  succeeded in rushing his soul back to the Abyss, 
  it would be rewarded accordingly. How so? If the 
  master had been actively evil prior to death (at the 
  quasit’s relentless urging, no doubt), it would be trans-
  formed into a Type I or II demon; otherwise, it might 
  go back to being a larva or another quasit.
   
  To help aid their master, a quasit could even call 
  upon the thinking power of a demon lord, with its 
  ability to contact a lower plane once per week in 
  order to decide some course of action (“Sorry to 
  bother you Orcus, but which door should I open?”). 
  They also possessed a diverse array of powers 
  (polymorphing, invisibility, magic resistance, regener-
  ation…) some of which their master even shared with 
  the quasit around—including gaining 1 level. That’s 
  quite a bit better than a toad familiar’s wide angle 
  vision. Of course a toad isn’t slavering after your soul, 
  and if it dies you won’t lose 4 levels.
   
  While their stats appear in the MM3, quasits 
  are still described as commonly serving as advisors 
  to other beings. In this role, they target those who 
  dabble in the occult, luring them to evil through the 
  powers that lurk in forbidden texts, dark rituals, and 
  cursed items. These tiny demons crave the destruc-
  tion and chaos that spellcasters can unleash.
  #1. Mimic
  We’ve written extensively about the mimic, even 
  dedicating a past D&D Alumni to these masters of 
  the “gotcha” whether appearing as a treasure chest, 
  gazebo, or any other object through the years. The 
  mimic’s been covered by Jared von Hindman’s 
  famous article (Celebrating 30 Years of Very Stupid 
  Monsters)… twice actually, with the greater mimic 
  appearing in Part 2. It’s appeared in Topless Robot 
  (slightly NSFW language). It earned a B- at The Book 
  of Ratings. It’s been the monster of the week at the 
  Dice of Doom blog. You can find it discussed on 
  Critical-Hits….
   
  Well, like we’ve said, there’s a lot that’s been writ-
  ten about the mimic, so we’ll pretty leave it at this:
  It’s back, folks. The mimic is back.
  
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  D  &  D  P L A Y  S P O T L I G H T
  illustration by Eric L. Williams
  By	chris	tulach
  W
  TM & © 2010 Wizards of the Coast LLC. all rights reserved.
  Summer’s almost here, and as usual, we have a lot 
  of D&D fun ahead! Yes, you should get outside and 
  enjoy the weather, but when you need your D&D 
  game fix, we have it in spades. There’s so much to talk 
  about, but let’s just start with what’s coming up in 
  June for now . . . .
  June 9: D&D Encounters: 
  Dark Sun Begins!
  If you haven’t heard the news, our D&D Encounters 
  in-store play experience is taking off, and a new 
  season begins on June 9. We started off with Under-
  mountain, which is nearing its season finale in the 
  next few weeks. Response to our new Wednesday 
  D&D program has been overwhelming. Players 
  from around the world are participating in a weekly 
  in-store campaign that plays out in one-encounter ses-
  sions, taking one to two hours each. It’s a great way to 
  play in a regular D&D game without straining your 
  schedule. 
   
  For those who haven’t yet experienced D&D 
  Encounters, love Dark Sun, or are veteran players 
  wanting to continue their in-store play, you’ll want to 
  mark June 9th as the day to head to your local store. 
  That’s when we launch an exciting preview cam-
  paign of the Dark Sun campaign world! Return to the 
  fan-favorite world of Athas, explore the savage envi-
  ronment and terrible dangers of a blasted land, and 
  do it all months before the books are available. 
  Dark Sun Summer!
  
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  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  R P G A  R E P O R T
   
  This upcoming season, you’ll receive pregenerated 
  characters to play for the duration of the 15-week 
  campaign, which ends on September 15. Every five 
  sessions of play equals one chapter in the story; you 
  can take a short rest between sessions but can take 
  an extended rest only after the chapter concludes. 
  You’ll want to show up every week, because we have a 
  compelling adventure in Fury of the Wastewalker. This 
  adventure will take you all around the Tyr Region, 
  giving you a classic Dark Sun feel of gritty survival and 
  bold action. Here’s a little bit more on the adventure 
  to whet your appetite:
  Fury of the Wastewalker
  On a trade road to the city-state of Tyr, a caravan is 
  assaulted by a deadly obsidian shardstorm. The sur-
  vivors are forced to band together and navigate the 
  wastes to safety. But the force of nature that destroyed 
  the caravan is under the malevolent control of the 
  being known as the Wastewalker, who will stop at 
  nothing to see the end of those that escaped his initial 
  wrath. Can the heroes reach the Ringing Mountains 
  before it’s too late? 
   
  Characters will be provided for this season, and 
  will include all sorts of great previews of new races 
  and other cool rules options that will appear in the 
  Dark Sun Campaign Setting. The thri-kreen and mul 
  are back—and they’re playable characters in this 
  season! Every character also has one of the new 
  theme options (like gladiator or wasteland nomad), 
  which better define a character’s role in the set-
  ting. Since you’ll be playing these characters for the 
  duration of the season, we’ve also given them great 
  backgrounds and roleplaying hooks that help to inte-
  grate them into the story of the adventure. 
   
  Want to DM? D&D Encounters is the best way 
  to jump into it. With only one encounter a week 
  to prepare and the materials you need to run it 
  (adventure, maps, and tokens) all provided, DMing 
  couldn’t be easier. In addition, DMs get cool and 
  useful rewards to help them run their games just for 
  providing players a good time! In D&D Encounters: 
  Undermountain, we gave DMs a pack of cards with 
  all the conditions in the D&D game on them, and 
  the demand has been so overwhelming for more that 
  we’ve included this reward again in this season’s kit!
   
  Our kits for the first season of D&D Encounters 
  ran out, so make sure to remind your local store to 
  ensure they’ve signed up for this season—it will be hot! 
   
  If you need more information on the D&D 
  Encounters program, you can check out the D&D 
  Encounters website or head to the D&D Community 
  Group page for basic program information. Make 
  sure that a store near you is participating!
  June 19: Free RPG Day
  If you want even more Dark Sun goodness before 
  the books hit in August, head back into your local 
  participating game store for the Free RPG Day give-
  away! Free RPG Day is a hobby game industry event 
  that allows you to pick up a cool game adventure 
  from some of your favorite publishers. Wizards has 
  participated in this event since 2008. This year, each 
  store participating in Free RPG Day will receive a 
  new Dark Sun adventure folio called Bloodsand Arena, 
  which includes two mini-adventures, character cards, 
  and a double-sided poster map featuring a gladiato-
  rial arena! 
   
  That’s all for this month. Next month, we’ll talk 
  about our upcoming big summer conventions and 
  how we’re supporting smaller ones with our new 
  convention support! Stay cool while you’re exploring 
  Athas!
  About the Author
  Originally thought to have been raised from a humble 
  Midwestern family, Chris Tulach actually fell to Earth in a 
  meteorite-shaped capsule flung from a planet far outside our 
  galaxy. While under the yellow rays of Sol, Chris’s nerdity 
  far surpasses that of any normal human. Using this precious 
  gift only for good, he has become the D&D Organized Play 
  Content Developer, responsible for the development and 
  deployment of Dungeons & Dragons organized play pro-
  grams, including D&D Encounters. He is also the co-author 
  of E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls.
  
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  By	andy	collins	and	greg	Bilsland	
  Rule Updates
  Whether you call them patches or errata or some 
  word we can’t print on our family-friendly site, 
  updates to existing game rules or game elements 
  are an inevitable part of any game that has a lot of 
  moving parts interacting in a complex way. Updates 
  for the D&D roleplaying game date back to the 
  earliest rulebooks. For example, errata for the 1st 
  Edition Player’s Handbook, Dungeon Master’s Guide, 
  and Monster Manual appeared in issue #35 of Dragon 
  Magazine (cover date March 1980). 
   
  In this installment of Design and Development, 
  editor Greg Bilsland and 4th Edition co-designer (and 
  current manager of RPG development and editing) 
  Andy Collins discuss the topic of D&D rules updates.
   
  aC: Why does R&D issue updates? To some 
  gamers, the very concept of an update conjures up 
  a storm of negative emotions. “I can’t believe you’re 
  changing the way my character works! Why couldn’t 
  you have gotten it right in the first place?” 
   
  gB: Exactly—and believe me, if there was no 
  need to update the material, that would make 
  everyone’s life easier. With the amount of content 
  that goes through design, development, and editing 
  every month, though, some things are bound to slip 
  through. The update process is our failsafe. It lets us 
  make tweaks and adjustments based on combinations 
  we didn’t anticipate. In the case of the earlier books—
  Adventurer’s Vault, Martial Power, Player’s Handbook, 
  etc.—even we professionals were still learning to work 
  with the new rules, so some problematic design ele-
  ments crept in.
   
  aC: In some cases, an update fixes a typographical 
  or grammatical error or fills in missing informa-
  tion that renders a part of the game unclear or even 
  unplayable. How many squares does that power let 
  me move? What defense does this power attack? 
  What kind of damage does this power deal? 
   
  gB: Those are the easiest errors to fix. I remem-
  ber when Divine Power came out, people looked at 
  solar wrath and wondered how long the effect lasted. 
  Although we (R&D) might take for granted that an 
  encounter power’s effect almost always lasts until the 
  end of the user’s next turn, many players have no way 
  of knowing that, so until we issue an update, people 
  have to guess at how long it lasts.
   
  aC: These updates are crucial to the reader’s 
  understanding of how the game functions—with-
  out the update, the reader can only guess at what’s 
  intended. These are the most annoying issues to deal 
  with, because they remind us of our own human 
  flaws. No matter how many hours one spends with 
  a manuscript, sometimes the brain tricks us by fill-
  ing in a word or number that isn’t really on the page. 
  Even playtesting doesn’t catch all of these errors, 
  since the tyranny of the publication schedule means 
  that playtesters rarely work from finished documents.
  Update or Clarification?
   
  gB: Of course, not all updates are so cut-and-
  dried. The update review group, consisting of myself, 
  Jeremy Crawford, and a Customer Service represen-
  tative, evaluates which issues merit update and which 
  issues should go into the FAQ or simply be noted for 
  correction in the next printing (such as a misspelled 
  word). For example, we addressed an issue with the 
  Undaunted paragon path feature (“You gain a +2 
  bonus to saving throws and to all defenses against 
  fear effects”) on the FAQ, because although a rea-
  sonable reader could incorrectly assume the saving 
  throw bonus as only applying to fear effects, a simple 
  clarification sufficed. This distinction can be a fine 
  line, but we prefer to only update the items that are 
  critical for clarity and rules balance.
   
  aC: Unreasonable readers are another issue 
  entirely; while we endeavor to make the game as, um, 
  “idiot-proof” as we can, there’s a limit to the linguis-
  tic knots we’ll weave to make the rules 100 percent 
  immune to willful misreading. At a certain point, 
  one simply has to accept that some folks will see what 
  they want to see and focus our attention on more 
  important issues.
   
  gB: Speaking of prioritization . . . we try to avoid 
  issuing updates based entirely on “theorycraft:” that 
  is, a player picking the right set of 15 feats, getting 
  the right epic destiny, paragon path, set of items, and 
  powers all to generate a “nova” combination. 
   
  aC: That said, within those builds—or within the 
  willful misreading of rules I mentioned earlier—there 
  often lies a nugget of truth, some legitimate problem 
  that merits review. 
   
  gB: For example, some item properties are 
  written ambiguously, making it unclear when you 
  gain their benefits. We updated the staff of ruin for 
  clarification, because even a reasonable player could 
  misread it to work with the Dual-Implement Spell-
  
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  caster feat. People tend to want general rules that 
  they can apply across the game, but that’s dangerous, 
  because it can have a cascading effect. Instead, we err 
  toward more surgical updates. When we alter a gen-
  eral rule, it is part of a much larger and longer process 
  that usually involves the release of a core book.
   
  aC: Even though nobody likes the need for such 
  clarifications, folks generally approve of the intent 
  behind them. After all, most gamers would rather be 
  able to play the game than argue about a rule’s intent.
  Pulling Out the Nerf Bat
   
  aC: The next category of updates, however, 
  touches on a tender topic: the deliberate reduction in 
  potency of overpowered options, known colloquially 
  as “nerfing.”
  [NERF is a registered trademark of Hasbro, Inc., 
  which just happens to be Wizards of the Coast’s 
  parent corporation. Isn’t synergy wonderful?]
   
  gB: Even though the Dungeons & Dragons role-
  playing game has a strong mechanical framework 
  behind its powers, monsters, and other elements, 
  game balance remains as much art as science. Inevi-
  tably, the end results you see on the page represent a 
  “best guess” based on logical argument, experience 
  playing the game, comparison with similar options, 
  playtester feedback, and sheer intuition. From time 
  to time, those guesses land a little too far on the “too 
  powerful” side of the equation.
   
  aC: Not every good choice is “too powerful.” An 
  option only becomes problematic—or “broken,” as 
  the kids like to say—when it begins to crowd out the 
  other choices available in the same category. If every 
  wizard takes the same 1st-level encounter attack 
  spell, that decision point ceases to be an interesting 
  choice, which means we need to take a hard look at 
  that spell. After all, what’s the point of asking a player 
  to make a choice if there’s only one right answer?
   
  gB: That’s part of the reason we do more nerfing 
  than we do . . . wait, what would be the opposite of 
  “nerfing?”
   
  aC: Improving? Buffing? Anti-nerfing?
   
  gB: Or whatever. We do more nerfing than anti-
  nerfing because, frankly, underpowered options 
  rarely have an impact on the game. Having one 
  choice that isn’t as good as five others on the same list 
  doesn’t make the other five broken, it just means that 
  players ignore that underpowered choice except in 
  occasional corner cases. 
   
  aC: Sometimes, the individual game element 
  itself isn’t the problem. It’s how that element interacts 
  with other elements that creates the issue. Our game 
  has an endless list of exceptions to the otherwise 
  relatively basic rules of play. Every feat, power, magic 
  item, class feature, ritual, monster, trap, and terrain 
  feature changes the way the game works in a small 
  way. When you start combining those elements, 
  you can’t help but find an unintended interaction. 
  Some of those are harmless side effects, but others 
  are “hacks” that not only subvert the intent of the 
  designer but also actively work against a fun experi-
  ence at the table. 
   
  gB: We use the update process to clear up these 
  problem combos—preferably with the simplest solu-
  tion possible—in order to restore a balance of fun at 
  the table.
  Recent Updates
   
  aC: Many readers have noticed that we’ve taken 
  a more aggressive approach to update publication 
  in the last half-year or so. That’s intentional, as we 
  increased the priority of this aspect of our work in 
  2009. 
   
  gB: In other words, Andy told me it was 
  important.
   
  aC: I’ve always felt that our update procedure was 
  a crucial part of the publishing process. Back when 
  I worked in the trenches of the development team, it 
  was part of my domain . . . and I never got to spend as 
  much time on it as I wanted. Once I had the authority 
  to re-prioritize such things, I found the right folks to 
  take charge of rebuilding the entire process from the 
  ground up. That started with casting a wider net for 
  input and eventually resulted in a more assertive pub-
  lication schedule. 
   
  gB: In 2010, we’re aiming to increase our sched-
  ule from about three updates per year to six. Happily, 
  the number of updates required for recent releases 
  has gone down as we’ve improved our ability to catch 
  problems before they reach the page. Furthermore, as 
  we tie up loose ends in the older books, we anticipate 
  the overall quantity to slow down. 
   
  aC: That said, we continue to adjust the update 
  process based on community response, the product 
  array, and the realities of our own schedules. Updates 
  can’t ever take a higher priority than publishing the 
  next book, so sometimes I have to tell Greg or Jeremy 
  to hold off on a particular fix in order to finish a cur-
  rent assignment.
  
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  gB: We’re also tweaking format and presentation. 
  With the May update release, we’ve adjusted the pre-
  sentation to make it easier for players to sort out new 
  updates or access updates for the book they need.
   
  aC: We greatly appreciate the feedback that 
  you’ve sent us on the update process, both positive 
  and negative. 
   
  gB: In fact, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by 
  the positive reception our recent, more aggressive 
  updates have gotten among the D&D community. 
  Sometimes this can feel like a game of whack-a-mole, 
  but when you remind us that our work leads to a more 
  balanced, more fun play experience, it helps us keep 
  going. 
   
  aC: Dungeons & Dragons is, at its heart, a 
  living game. It evolves in fits and starts from month 
  to month, year to year, edition to edition. A robust 
  update process is part of this evolution, and it 
  reminds everyone to not sit quietly and endure prob-
  lematic issues but rather to speak up and lobby for 
  improvement. 
   
  gB: Thanks to digital tools such as the Character 
  Builder, we can seamlessly integrate these updates 
  in a way never before available to the tabletop RPG 
  player.
   
  aC: No matter how talented our designers, devel-
  opers, and editors become, until someone invents a 
  method of assigning an infinite amount of time to 
  every project, we’ll never escape the need for updates. 
  Therefore, we’ll keep improving the update process to 
  ensure that everyone gets to have fun at the table.
  Look for more news and insights on our update pro-
  cess in upcoming Design & Development columns, 
  and don’t forget to send your update-related queries to 
  Customer Service.
  About the Authors
  andy Collins co-designed the 4th Edition Dungeons & 
  Dragons game, and works for Wizards of the Coast as the 
  Manager of Development and Editing for RPG R&D. His 
  credits stretch back a decade and include Magic Item Com-
  pendium, Draconomicon, Unearthed Arcana, and the Epic Level 
  Handbook.
   
  greg Bilsland is a game editor at Wizards of the Coast. 
  His design credits include the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide, 
  Monster Manual 2, Divine Power, and Primal Power. His recent 
  editing credits include Player’s Handbook 2, Monster Manual 2, 
  and the Eberron Player’s Guide. He welcomes anyone to keep 
  up with his work at twitter.com/gregbilsland.
  
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  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
  By	andy	collins	and	greg	Bilsland
  Revising the  
  Monster Stat Block
  By now, many of you have gotten a glimpse of the new 
  stat block design that’s debuting officially in Monster 
  Manual 3. This new presentation first appeared in 
  Bill Slavicsek’s March Ampersand column and is 
  previewed in the new D&D adventure HS1: The Slay-
  ing Stone. In this column, Andy Collins and Greg 
  Bilsland give you a peek behind the curtain at the 
  process that brought changes to the familiar 4th Edi-
  tion monster stat block format.
   
  aC: As many projects do, the revision of the D&D 
  monster stat block began small. I asked Monster 
  Manual 3 lead editor Greg Bilsland to find a way to 
  incorporate rules-intensive keywords and terms (such 
  as “swarm” and “variable resistance”) into the body 
  of a stat block. I was tired of trying to remember the 
  timing for variable resistance, and who else forgets 
  that swarms can’t be pulled, pushed, or slid by melee 
  or ranged attacks? 
   
  gB: As I incorporated a few glossary terms into 
  the stat blocks, I immediately became concerned 
  about the length of the stat blocks. They often have 
  limited space, especially when four or five monsters 
  need to fit on a spread, and some of the keyword defi-
  nitions were five or six lines long. 
   
  aC: Greg’s concern about the effect this change 
  would have on the size of stat blocks was a reasonable 
  point. Despite our increasing forays into online dis-
  tribution of content, we’re still largely beholden to the 
  size of the page. Sometimes, good ideas are shelved 
  simply because they don’t fit well in a book.
   
  That, however, wasn’t an acceptable reason to 
  avoid this change. A stat block with too much hidden 
  information—such as a keyword that makes you 
  consult a glossary to understand—is simply unfair 
  to the average Dungeon Master. Adventures reprint 
  stat blocks, but they don’t reprint glossaries. Who 
  wants to stop the game to look up whether an ooze 
  can move at full speed when squeezing? If some stat 
  blocks got larger because of this change, we’d just 
  have to take that into account when designing and 
  developing monsters (and editing books). If a monster 
  had so many of these glossary keywords and terms 
  that it became too complex to print (or to run in 
  combat), that was no different than giving it too many 
  powers.
   
  gB: Once we agreed on the direction, my first step 
  was to go through the glossary of Monster Manual 2 
  and build a list of terms that we might want to define. 
  Some of the choices were obvious: ooze, swarm, 
  aquatic, all-around vision. All these keywords had 
  effects in combat that were easy to miss. I know that 
  more than once I’ve forgotten that a creature with all-
  around vision can’t be flanked. 
   
  aC: As it turns out, when you’re the Manager 
  of D&D Development and Editing, you don’t have 
  to accept those frustrations with your RPG experi-
  ences—you get to tell people to find a new solution.
   
  gB: During this search, we discussed where to 
  draw the line on defining terms in a stat block. Would 
  we define special movement modes, such as climb or 
  burrow? What about threatening reach? Resist and 
  vulnerable? Earth walk? Hover?
   
  aC: We ended up compromising on several points. 
  Certain terms, such as resist, were deemed so com-
  monplace (and already intuitively presented) that 
  they didn’t require any further definition in the stat 
  block. Any term that didn’t have combat implica-
  tions—such as origin or type keywords—could reside 
  solely in the glossary. And so on.
   
  gB: As I thought about how to present keywords 
  in the stat block, it kicked off a larger discussion of 
  overall stat block improvement. 
   
  aC: To be honest, I expected a larger discussion to 
  arise from my small challenge. Nonetheless, I wanted 
  to start small rather than proposing a wholesale revi-
  sion to the stat block. Change makes most people 
  uncomfortable, and sometimes you need to ease your 
  way into a project involving change so folks don’t get 
  defensive.
   
  gB: Admittedly, I’d wondered for a long time 
  how we could parse information better in monster 
  stat blocks. Monsters had abilities akin to PC racial 
  traits, but in monster stat blocks, nothing called atten-
  tion to them. We didn’t even know exactly what to 
  call them. They typically got exiled to the bottom of 
  the stat block along with utility powers, where they 
  were likely to go unnoticed, despite being relevant to 
  combat.
   
  aC: The monster stat block is the most frequently 
  referenced user interface that a DM uses in the game. 
  We’ve become much more cognizant of the impor-
  tance of UI design over the past few years: a result not 
  only of our increased reliance on digital tools but also 
  from our experiences with well-designed (and, yes, 
  poorly designed) game UI from all media.
  
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  May 2010  |  Dr agon 387
   
  gB: The 4th Edition monster stat block already 
  represented a significant evolutionary step in pre-
  senting combat information. Andy challenged me to 
  make it even better.
   
  aC: Greg’s first forays into stat block revision were 
  positive but cautious. I pushed him to experiment 
  with layout, typography, symbols, and anything else 
  he could think of to help communicate key informa-
  tion to the DM. My philosophy in developmental 
  changes—whether with character powers or, as here, 
  with UI—is that you can’t know if you’ve gone far 
  enough until you’ve gone too far. Then you can bring 
  it back a notch or two to the right solution.
   
  gB: The idea to call out traits in the monster stat 
  block inspired the discussion to subdivide the stat 
  block in some new way. Initially, I brought forward 
  the idea of more formally dividing the stat block by 
  usage (at-will, recharge, encounter) than it already 
  was. 
   
  aC: However, we soon realized that what the stat 
  block really needed was to help the DM build each 
  monster’s set of actions for its turn. The best way to do 
  that was to group monster powers by the action type 
  required to use them—Standard, Move, and Minor. 
  The DM could easily see all the monster’s options for 
  each of its three available actions, and thereby build 
  the monster’s turn more easily. 
   
  gB: Dividing those three actions was pretty easy. 
  The tricky part was how to group (or split up) the 
  various other actions: reactions, interrupts, opportu-
  nity actions, and free actions. Sometimes a creature 
  had many different types of these miscellaneous 
  actions, and we balked at adding a header for each 
  of these categories. We eventually realized that the 
  organization most useful to a DM was a grouping of 
  all triggered actions together under a header called 
  exactly that: Triggered Actions.
   
  aC: Though it seems obvious in retrospect, this 
  was a big breakthrough. Suddenly, what was once 
  a seemingly random list of powers and abilities 
  became a set of categorized lists of traits, standard 
  actions, move actions, minor actions, and triggered 
  actions (the ones that we DMs so often forget when 
  they’re simply another entry in a long list of powers). 
  Most monsters wouldn’t have entries in all these 
  categories—plenty of simple critters have only one or 
  two standard actions and nothing else—but the vast 
  majority of monsters suddenly became significantly 
  easier to understand. 
   
  This organization also meant it would be easier 
  for developers to see at a glance what the monster 
  was supposed to do on its turn. If a creature had 
  five options for its standard action and none for its 
  other actions, we could rapidly identify that it prob-
  ably had too many eggs in that basket. Could one 
  or two of those standard actions become minor or 
  triggered instead, thereby making each round more 
  interesting?
   
  gB: But we were still far from a finished stat 
  block. Andy also challenged me to reexamine the 
  organization of data in each power. Were we provid-
  ing information—range, targets, keywords, effects, 
  etc.—in the right order? Were we making too many 
  assumptions (such as “everybody knows that a melee 
  attack targets a single creature”)?
   
  aC: This became perhaps the most contentious 
  issue in the entire process. We couldn’t afford the 
  space that character powers used, so some sacrifices 
  to clarity were necessary. Ultimately, this would 
  become the part of the process that tested Greg’s 
  patience and enthusiasm the most. For a couple 
  weeks, each day brought a new method of organizing 
  the information in a monster’s power entry, and each 
  time I provided feedback that pushed it in a slightly 
  different direction.
   
  gB: I broke information into separate lines, like 
  character powers, but that took up too much space. 
  I put more information into parenthetical entries, 
  but that looked cluttered and confusing. I used right-
  justification of some information to help call it out, 
  but we decided it required too much back-and-forth 
  scanning of the page. Ironically, early in the process, 
  I proposed an “Attack” line much like the one we 
  adopted for the final format, but it was rejected at that 
  time because it meant an “Attack” line for a monster 
  would contain different information than it would for 
  an adventurer (which some folks preferred to avoid). 
   
  aC: At this point, the project had to expand to 
  include more sets of eyes than just mine and Greg’s: 
  we were too close to the trees to see the whole forest 
  any more. In addition to soliciting feedback from 
  other editors and Dungeon Masters in the depart-
  ment, we even conscripted outside playtesters whose 
  sole responsibility was to run encounters using vari-
  ous new stat block formats. 
   
  gB: Overall, reactions to the new stat block were 
  positive. Users liked the grouping of Traits above the 
  power listings; one version had Traits at the bottom, 
  but down there they were too easily overlooked.
   
  aC: Pulling text out of the top section of the stat 
  block (the area where hit points and defenses reside) 
  also improved clarity and playability. Auras, in 
  particular, had a tendency to bloat that top section. 
  Reserving it primarily for combat numbers and start-
  of-encounter info (such as initiative and Perception) 
  helped a lot.
  
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  gB: Playtesters widely approved of our new orga-
  nization of monster powers by action type. Their 
  feedback also helped tweak some of the presentation 
  issues that we’d been debating.
   
  aC: Playtesting also identified some changes that 
  weren’t helping enough to merit their inclusion. For 
  example, we had experimented with adding a few 
  more symbols to the game to help identify common 
  triggers or powers. While the aura icon stuck around, 
  our symbols for “triggered when a monster first 
  becomes bloodied” and “triggered when a monster 
  drops to 0 hp” ended up being more distracting than 
  helpful. 
   
  gB: We also tried using passive Perception at the 
  top of the stat block (rather than the monster’s skill 
  modifier). Reviewers were split on this change, so we 
  rejected it.
   
  aC: Other “extreme” changes that we nixed 
  included using a fixed initiative score for each crea-
  ture (rather than an initiative modifier) and removing 
  ability scores (and leaving just the total modifiers). 
  In every case, for every person who really liked the 
  change, two or three (or ten) people found it jarring. 
  In the end, I decided that we should stick with the 
  changes that we felt were most important and useful 
  rather than cluttering the issue with less crucial 
  alterations. 
   
  gB: After many weeks of discussions, experi-
  ments, and playtesting, we had our new stat block 
  format. Of course, the editors still had plenty of work 
  in front of them converting the development turnover 
  into the new format. Some powers and traits needed 
  help before they could fit into the format. Unexpected 
  questions popped up, sometimes requiring us to re-
  evaluate decisions we’d made earlier. 
   
  aC: Despite what readers may be thinking, I 
  didn’t get every change I wanted. In some places, 
  folks talked me out of ideas that I’d proposed. In a lot 
  of other places, people came up with answers that I 
  hadn’t even considered when I first challenged Greg. 
  That’s part of our team-based, consensus approach 
  to project development—we get a lot of smart people 
  thinking and talking about a problem, propose a lot 
  of solutions, and hammer on them until we find the 
  right one.
   
  gB: It was a lot of work—more than I’d expected 
  when I accepted the lead editor assignment for Mon-
  ster Manual 3. But in the end, we had a book that we 
  felt would be friendlier to DMs and easier to use 
  in play than any collection of monsters we’d ever 
  published.
   
  aC: That makes all the long hours and the many 
  iterations of stat blocks worthwhile, right Greg?
  About the Authors
  andy Collins co-designed the 4th Edition Dungeons 
  & Dragons game. His credits stretch back a decade and 
  include Magic Item Compendium, Draconomicon, Unearthed 
  Arcana, and the Epic Level Handbook.
  greg Bilsland is a game editor at Wizards of the Coast. His 
  design credits include the Forgotten Realms Player’s Guide, 
  Monster Manual 2, Divine Power, Primal Power. His recent edit-
  ing credits include Player’s Handbook 2, Monster Manual 2, and 
  the Eberron Player’s Guide. He welcomes anyone to keep up 
  with his work at twitter.com/gregbilsland.
  Thanks plaYTesTers!
  as exciting as it may sound to get an early look 
  at a project, playtesting isn’t necessarily a glam-
  orous endeavor. you’re basically giving up the 
  freedom of doing whatever you want in your 
  D&D game so that you can test a new class, 
  a new adventure, or in this case, a specific set 
  of monsters using the new format. Then you 
  have to answer a bunch of questions about your 
  experiences.
   
  Despite these requirements, we were fortu-
  nate to have a couple groups agree to playtest 
  the new monster format on short notice, run-
  ning newly created characters through a set of 
  encounters drawn from Dungeon Delve and using 
  a version of the new stat block format. Here’s a 
  list of the helpful folks (divided by gaming group) 
  who pitched in to ensure that MM3 would have 
  a great new format:
   
  Konrad Brandemuhl, Travis Wolcott, Keith 
  Symcox, Paul alexander, Tyler Burroughs, Sean 
  Herring
   
  Christian Chaney, Joanna Chaney, Daniel 
  Gordon, Jodi Gordon, Christopher Wright, 
  Danny Joe Jarman Jr.
   
  Sean Molley, Heidi Pritchett, Brian Schoner, 
  Paige Leitman, Bryan Leclair, Dee Leclair
   
  Renout van Rijn, Mark Knobbe, John-alan 
  Pascoe, yourik Voogd, Eva Orta, yannick Braat, 
  Pieter Sleijpen
  
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