Just got Dragon 315 - Campaign Classics

[Pramas]

So far, Chris Pramas is mum about Dragon Fist. On the Green Ronin's messageboards, a lot of people are expressing that it should be MnM compatible, and there are some of us that prefer it to be d20 (with or without the label).

It's not going to use the M&M system. Point-build character creation is quite far from the original DF, so while M&M may see a martial arts supplement of some kind, DF won't be it. Dragon Fist will either be a straight up d20 campaign setting or a stand-alone OGL game. Design should get going in earnest in the new year and then I'll decide which way to take things.

 

[Orius]

I have never been a fan of phlogiston and crystal shells. Never. All I care about is flying ships through space and spelljamming helm. Period. And that's the fact, ma'am.

I thought they were called crystal spheres.

But I'd have to agree. I don't care about bouncing between Toril, Oerth, and Krynn though SJ. I'd prefer to see some basic rules that would allow me to use the spelljammers IMC if I want too.

The same thing goes for some of these articles. I'd like to see enough cruncy bits on shai'irs, defilers, bloodlines and maybe the Red Curse to be able to dump stuff like that IMC.

 

[Rifter]

I would like to see more info about the sha'ir. I am also really looking forward to Bloodlines, and Red Steel.

 

[Henry]

Thalmin, or any others - could you give us a run-down of the "Countdown to Eberron" article?

Does it say any more than what the little blue preview booklet did?

 

[thalmin]

Thalmin, or any others - could you give us a run-down of the "Countdown to Eberron" article?

Does it say any more than what the little blue preview booklet did?

The setting offers a traditional fantasy world filled with pulp noir-style action and adventure delivered with cinematic flair. Keith (Baker) described it in his original one-pagepropasal as being like "Lord of the Rings meets Raiders of the Lost Ark and Maltese Falcon." If you can imagine what your favorite Dungeons & Dragons adventure would be like if it were turned into a hollywood action-adventure block-buster, you've got an idea of teh kind of experience your characters will have in Eberron.
To help merge the Dungeon Master's screen and silver screen, the Eberron Campaign Setting introduces action points into the D&D game. Originally created for the high-octane d20 Modern Campaign Setting, action points have taken on an expanded and more prominant role in Eberron. Not only can you use an action point to add 1d6 to the result of a single d20 role, but certain feats and prestige classes will allow you to spend your precious allocation of action points in other ways.

The article then goes on to explain some ways to use action points, like to stabalize, recall a cast spell, reuse a once-a-day class feature. There is more about the setting, I'll psot more after work. BTW, this is the first of the Countdown to Eberron articles.

 

[Shazman]

I would be very grateful if you could post some details about the Kara-Tur martial arts styles.

 

[Aaron L]

The article then goes on to explain some ways to use action points, like to stabalize, recall a cast spell, reuse a once-a-day class feature. There is more about the setting, I'll psot more after work. BTW, this is the first of the Countdown to Eberron articles.

If they're going to use action points, then I hope they make a new mechaninc for it and not use the horrid one from D20 Modern, where you spend them and they're gone. It's like permanently reducing your hit points to use a class ability. Ugh!!

 

[Urbannen]

OMG! Return to the Lost City! The first campaign setting I ever played in!

 

[Razz]

Wow

Ok, here are my thoughts on everything that has been said:

#1
I believe what attracted me about Spelljammer was not the fact they were magical spaceships flying through space, but the fact that I got interested in Spelljammer when I learned they traveled through the phlogiston to enter crystal spheres (a.k.a. other Material Plane universes). I saw Spelljammer as an ADD-ON to my Planescape campaign where my characters not only traveled through the planes via portals, but also travel worlds via spelljammers.

Unfortunately I never owned anything seplljammer related so that is as much as I know. But had Spelljammer been a campaign set in its own setting without there being any connection to the other worlds, I'd ignore it completely.

Besides, I LOVE Kingdom Hearts for Playstation 2 and that game reminds me of Spelljammer and vice versa.

#2
I never knew so many fans loved Dark Sun. I hardly heard about it elsewhere except for online. I never met any fan of Dark Sun personally. They all liked Planescape, Forgotten Realms, or Ravenloft.

The only thing that interested me about Dark Sun was the fact that PSIONICS were the norm and MAGIC was the awe and fear of the world's residents. I love psionics and I turned to Dark Sun only for new powers in my previous 2E campaigns.

#3
I have mainly the MOST interest in the KARA-TUR article. I am glad to see they didn't ignore that wonderful OA campaign (Rokugan sucks, I can't fit it into my Forgotten Realms game, and it is and never will be as UNIQUE and DIVERSE as Kara-Tur) and I would love to know the new styles they have presented in there.

 

[thalmin]

If they're going to use action points, then I hope they make a new mechaninc for it and not use the horrid one from D20 Modern, where you spend them and they're gone. It's like permanently reducing your hit points to use a class ability. Ugh!!

Once used they are gone, according to the article, but you get more when you gain level. If losing an action point to use an ability keeps you alive, how is that worse than losing CON when you are resurrected?