4th & Dragon : Dungeons and Dragons...and stuff

4 out of 5 stars

• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Author: Rodney Thompson
• Released: March 02, 2010

Well, the overview map has fallen significantly behind again, with The Lost Library being the last site to appear on it.  That however, doesn’t stop WotC from continuing to release new material for the Chaos Scar (nor should it, it’s disappointing given how easy it should be to keep that map up to date).

This article isn’t really an adventure though, but more of a location.  Sure, there are three encounters detailed in the article, but they don’t come together to form any kind of story, but are more there to provide the DM something to work with as the PCs explore the location and interact (perhaps hostilely) with its inhabitants.  Along similar lines, there’s a skill challenge for those who are more peacefully inclined.

My biggest problem with the adventure is the use of the same map for all three encounters despite the fact that they occur in different locations.  Sure, the locations are adjacent to each other, but by not sectioning out the map into different maps for each encounter the scale of the maps is very small, making them hard to read and use.

Articles remaining in the backlog:

• Beyond Essentials ...
• Elemental Motes
• Ritually Speaking
• The Kalashtar

4 out of 5 stars

• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Author: Jeff Morgenroth
• Released: March 11, 2010

Tapping the Elemental Chaos for power brings with it substantial risks and even bigger rewards, or so a Chaos Sorcerer would have you believe.  With the power of the elements to back them up, such sorcerers are known to unleash wildly devastating spells.  However, the Elemental Chaos doesn’t just embody the elements, but also Chaos.  In this article, you’ll find elements which capitalize on that fact to emphasize the chaotic nature of a Chaos Sorcerer and the way they “cheat” realities normal rules.

There is very little fluff in this article, making it a bit subpar in my mind.  However, the idea takes very little fluff to convey and the nature of a chaos manipulator can be so varied, that I don’t necessarily mind the lack of fluff as much as I normally would.  Really, even two characters who make use of every mechanical element in this article should play very differently at the table.  That’s the nature of chaos, afterall.

For mechanical elements there are 5 heroic feats, 3 paragon feats, 6 utility powers, 1 paragon path, and 4 superior implements (something apparently introduced in PH3, though I haven’t had a chance to see them yet).  As with all Chaos Sorcerer elements, odds/evens, highs/lows, and the like play a significant role in determining how each of these elements plays out when used.  The article also contains a sidebar which suggests replacing such calls with coin flips, card draws, or other games of chance with identical odds to add some flavor to your character, something that could be accomplished with the regular Chaos Sorcerer features as well.

The beveling of power names makes a reappearance again, detracting from their readability, but other than that I noticed no major editorial problems.

4 out of 5 stars

• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Author: Steve Townshend
• Released: March 01, 2010

So, I lost what I had originally written for this review and am being forced to recreate it as best I can.  As a result, it’s going to seem a bit abrupt.

While minotaurs were given a full racial write-up fairly early on in the life of 4e, the culture that they were given made them a race that was almost exclusively geared towards the player who likes racial outsiders.  While characters like Dr’zzt bear testament to the popularity of that kind of character, I’m still willing to bet that such characters are in the minority.  Most characters have a reasonably well defined place in society that they can call home.  This article aims to change that by providing the description of a clan of minotaurs who are far friendlier to your typical adventurer background.

To help with differentiate these minotaurs from the normal minotaur culture there are some mechanical elements: 2 backgrounds, 4 heroic feats, and 1 paragon path.  However, the bulk of the article is aimed at describing the culture and sole community of this minotaur clan.

Articles remaining in the backlog:

• The Crossroads
• Beyond Essentials ...
• Elemental Motes
• Ritually Speaking
• The Kalashtar

4.5 out of 5 stars

• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Author: Daniel Marthaler
• Released: March 10, 2010

Unique among the classes which summon other creatures to their aid, the creatures that a wizard summons are not necessarily willing or friendly.  However, up to now, there hasn’t been any real acknowledgment of that fact except in the flavor for why the summons didn’t do anything when not commanded (a property that all summons, except the druid’s, share).  Presumably this meant that the creatures that wizards were summoning with these powers were so much weaker than the wizard, that he didn’t have to worry about them getting out of control.

That changes with this article. In it you’ll find 14 daily summoning powers (2 at each daily power level) which summon creatures who have an “Intrinsic
Nature.” This functions identiacally to the Instinctive Nature of a druid’s summons, specifying actions that the creature will take if you don’t give it an order on your turn.  However, unlike the Instinctive Nature of a druid’s summons, the Intrinsic Nature of one of these summons won’t necessarily be beneficial.  Indeed, it always includes a backlash effect that specifically targets the summoning wizard and when not commanded, these creatures don’t differentiate between allies and enemies.  This makes them much more dangerous to employ.

So what do you get for this trade-off?  Well, the attacks that the summoned creatures have are slightly more powerful, and we’re talking a reasonable increase: 2d6 (at up to two creatures) or 1d10 (in close burst 1) damage for the two first level summons vs. 1d8 (at one creature) for the old level 1 summons.  In addition there is a power increase comes in the Symbiosis ability of each summons.  So long as the summoned creature remains around, the wizard gets a special benefit which ranges from extra damage, to defense bonuses, to effects which are more traditionally controller in nature.

Sounds like a no-brainah, doesn’t it?  However, these summons also give up the Opportunity Action attack that summoned creatures normally get.  As a result, I think that these summons are pretty well balanced.  Sure, they have a substantial extra kick to them, but the wizard takes a substantial risk in using them.  I like this flavor shift and hope to see the wizard summons continue to develop along this line to really set them apart from the summons that other classes have.

Now if we could just get some differentiation beyond flavor for the Artificier and/or Invoker summons (the other two classes with a significant number of summoning powers).

The only thing that prevents me from giving this article a perfect rating are two editorial mistakes.  First, one of the powers is listed as a Standard Action instead of the normal Minor Action for summoning powers (a mistake, I think).  Second, the Symbiosis ability for each power are needlessly repetitious.

5 out of 5 stars

• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Author: John Shirley
• Released: February 26, 2010

This is the first of my make up reviews for my week long vacation and actually is of an article that supposedly was published before I left (though I didn’t see it then).  A piece of short fiction, the article is an entertaining read and a decent half-an-hour to an hour’s diversion.  Who knows, it might even inspire an encounter or adventure idea.

Articles remaining in the backlog:

• The Minotaurs of Mistwatch
• The Crossroads
• Beyond Essentials ...
• Elemental Motes
• Ritually Speaking
• The Kalashtar

4 out of 5 stars

• Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
• Author: Craig Bishell
• Released: March 09, 2010

The Valenar of Eberron are renown horsemen, fighting with speed and agility both with their traditional mounts and without.  However, prior to this article very little has been published in support of this distinctive trait.  Really, other than the Valenar background and the Reborn Champion epic destiny, there’s nothing specific to the Valenar.  This article changes that, providing 7 heroic feats, 2 paragon feats, a weapon style feat set for fighters and rangers (3 feats total), and a paragon path.  None require the Valenar background, a deliberate choice explained in a sidebar to make the more easily portable to non-Eberron settings, but all help an elf character exemplify the mastery of blade, beast, and bow that characterizes the Valenar.

I’m on vacation all this week (March 1-5) and thus won’t be able to write reviews for the articles that come out this week.  Look for me to attempt to get caught up the following week (and probably laugh at the results).