Dragon Magazine #377 - July 2009.pdf - Dragon Magazine - Rat_Alcatraz

ISSUE 377 | JUly 2009

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT

CONTENTS

F e at u r e s

Player’s Handbook 3 Debu t: the Psion

By Bruce R. Cordell

Featuring commentary from the staff that worked on the new

psion class, this article supports the psion class debut in the D&D

Character Builder and D&D Compendium.

16 t u ’nar ath , Cit y oF De ath

By Robert J. Schwalb

The githyanki city has been profiled before, but visit it for the

first time in 4th Edition. This article supports the Scales of War

Adventure Path in Dungeon .

29 Fa miliar s oF eber ron

By Jennifer Clarke Wilkes

The arcanists of Eberron have their own unique take on familiars.

Explore new options for your artificer or other arcane character.

38 DisCiPles oF Venge anCe

By Robert J. Schwalb

The members of this organization seek justice in all things. This

article features new feats, magic items, and paragon paths for your

retribution specialist.

50 bes tiary: legenDary e Vil s

By Logan Bonner

It’s often difficult to find more ways to use those Huge

minis in your collection, but this Bestiary focuses on

providing more options for the biggest of foes.

Co l u m n s

4 eDi tor i a l

70 Cl a ss aC t s : t h e r a ng er

By Bruce R. Cordell

The ranger is one of the most popular strikers in

the game. Get some new options for your two-

weapon fighting ranger.

73 De s ig n & De V eloPm en t: P s ion iC s

By R&D Staff

Learn about the goals and design challenges

involved with 4th Edition’s newest power source.

77 De s ig n & De V eloPm en t: Eb Er ro n

By R&D Staff

The new Eberron Campaign Guide is here. Get the

inside scoop on 4th Edition Eberron here.

79 Con Fe ss ion s oF a F u l l-t i m e W i z a r D

By Shelly Mazzanoble

D&D’s “Player-in-Chief ” shares more of her

wisdom and insight.

83 r P g a r ePort

By Chris Tulach

The Living FR campaign is in full swing. Learn

more about how to get involved!

86 a m Per sa n D

By Bill Slavicsek

Bill discusses more of the changes in store for

D&D in 2009.

61 e x Plor e air sPur

By Matthew Sernett

Airspur, city of genasi, is one of the Forgotten Realms’

newest. Learn more about Airspur in the first of a

multi-part series on the city.

on t h e CoV er

Illustration by Cyril Van Der Haegan

Dungeons & Dragons, D&D, Forgotten Realms, Eberron, D ungeon , D ragon , d20, d20 System, Wizards of the Coast, all other Wizards of the Coast product names, and their

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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

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com/dnd

E D I T o R I A L

377

EXCLUSIVELY YOURS

It’s good to be loved

D r a g o n

J u l y 2 0 0 9

Editor-in-Chief Chris youngs

Senior Art Director Jon Schindehette

Web Specialist Chris Sims

It’s an exciting time for D&D Insider . Last month,

Bill revealed that we were releasing the revenant -- a

new PC race -- in June’s issue of Dragon . This was

our first, true D&D Insider exclusive. The thing is,

we didn’t really explain what “exclusive” means. In

terms of our content release plan, “exclusive” means

it won’t be appearing anywhere else.

But what does “anywhere else” mean exactly?

Sometimes, we get so excited about an announce-

ment that we just make the assumption you’re right

there with us. Allow me to clear up any confusion.

Question #1: Does “exclusive” mean the revenant

will not appear in a future print product?

Answer: Yes, that’s correct. The revenant will only

appear as part of D&D Insider . We’re not planning to

pick up the mechanical elements of the race for any

print product. The revenant article (and the compiled

issue containing that article ) will be the only places

you’ll find this content. However, that does not mean

a print adventure might not feature a revenant vil-

lain or that a novel won’t feature a revenant character

down the line, hypothetically speaking.

Question #2: Will content that appears as a D&D

Insider exclusive ever have additional support?

Answer: Yes, and support articles will likewise

be exclusive to D&D Insider . You won’t see revenant

feats or paragon paths, for example, appear down the

road in a print product. We already have plans in the

works for an article this fall that features new rev-

enant racial feats, and we’ll treat the revenant like any

other race in the game. As an article warrants, we’ll

provide revenants with new character options.

So we’ve covered our approach for support for the

revenant and, I hope, allayed fears about the plans

for exclusive content as a whole. But what about the

assassin? For starters, everything I said about the

revenant above is also true of new classes exclusive

to D&D Insider . Plus, we have an ambitious support

plan for the assassin. Since we know there won’t be

new assassin powers appearing in a power source

supplement or Player’s Handbook , we’re already plan-

ning to support September’s two complete builds

with more support just a few months after. Plus,

early next year, we plan to introduce a third assassin

build. once the assassin is out and about, we’ll also

be accepting new submissions for the class -- new

class-focused articles, new Class Acts, and so on.

Finally, we’ve noticed a number of conversations

about the necessity or value of the assassin class to

a game that already features a strong rogue option.

I’ve now seen the assassin first hand, and let me tell

you: this is no rogue. The assassin plays, looks, and

just fundamentally feels different from any other

class in the game. We try to avoid introducing a class

that steps on the toes of another or, worse, makes

a party experience untenable (assassins don’t need

to be evil). The shadow power source opens up new

play options for future design, and you’ll soon see for

yourself how the assassin taps into these concepts.

The class is inextricably linked to shadow magic. I’m

so stoked about the new class that I actually started

plotting my character’s demise, just so I could roll up

my next character: a revenant assassin.

Now that you know the shadow power source is

on its way, what other classes or races do you think

fit that concept? And what’s your vision of the per-

fect assassin?

Send your feedback to dndinsider@wizards.com !

Web Production Bart Carroll, Steve Winter

Graphic Design Keven Smith

Contributing Authors logan Bonner, Bruce R. Cordell,

Shelly Mazzanoble, Stephen

Schubert, Robert J. Schwalb,

Matthew Sernett, Bill Slavicsek,

Chris Tulach, Jennifer Clarke

Wilkes, James Wyatt

Developers Stephen Radney-MacFarland,

Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert,

Chris Sims, Rodney Thompson

Editors Jeremy Crawford, Miranda Horner

Cover Artist Cyril Van Der Haegen

Contributing Artists Zelda Devon & Kurt Huggins,

Empty Room Studios, Michael

Franchina, Mclean Kendree,

William Kormarck, William

O’Connor, Eric l. Williams,

Kieran yanner

Cartographers Robert lazaretti, Sean Macdonald

Web Development Mark A. Jindra

D&D Creative Manager Christopher Perkins

Executive Producer,

D&D Insider Ken Troop

Director of RPG R&D Bill Slavicsek

Special Thanks

Richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, logan Bonner, Michele Carter,

Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell, Torah Cottrill,

Jeremy Crawford, Mike Donais, Rob Heinsoo, Peter lee,

Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, Stephen Radney-MacFarland,

Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, Matthew Sernett,

Rodney Thompson, Rob Watkins, James Wyatt

THE PSION

Mechanical Design by Bruce R. Cordell

Commentary by Andy Collins,

Bruce R. Cordell, Mike Mearls,

and Stephen Schubert

illustrations by Cyril van der Haegan and

Christine MacTernan

Welcome to the first official debut article featuring

content drawn from Player’s Handbook ® 3.

Most of the world must wait until March 2010

to learn the secrets of the psion class. As an Insider,

however, you can start playing a psion today . . . eight

whole months before the book hits the shelves!

But we’re not stopping with a single class: over the

next several months, Insiders like you will see over

100 pages of debut content taken from Player’s Hand-

book 3 . Next month it’s the githzerai race (including a

racial paragon path and several racial feats), and then

we’re on to more class, race, and feat debuts until Feb-

ruary of 2010.

J u l y 2 0 0 9 | D r a g o n 3 7 7

Dragon Magazine #377 - July 2009.pdf

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