Brent's page

The Sasserine Arena, literally buzzing with activity loomed large in Leah eyes. With a half smirk, she paid the fee for enterance and was treated to a site even her pragmatic life hadn't prepared her for. A stadium packed with well over 7,000 people cheering and talking created a cacophony of sound that thundered over her like the Ocean's Waves. She couldn't help but feel the excitement in the air. Over the sound of the throngs boomed a mans voice, clearly enhanced by magic..."people of Sasserine, guests, and noble competitiors Welcome to the 6th Annual Challenge of Champions!!!!" her ears tingling from the sheer power of the boom of applause that followed, Leah looked around at the other contestants. There really were people here from every walk of life. She saw a group of young lads that appeared as nothing more than farm hands. She witnessed a clutch of Dwarves flexing their muscle and playing to the crowd. Most unusual of all though, was a single human man who were no armor, yet had strapped to his back what appeared to be the most exquisite sword Leah had ever seen. Reflexively wiping her mouth at the drool that had formed in response to the value of such a weapon, she maneuvered her way closer to the man who was intent upon the stage. The man on the makeshift stage spoke again above the clamor "I am Zaskur Grankus, manager of the Sasserine Arena and host of this years games. The rest of the today will serve as an opportunity for all contestants to form their teams. Everyone must enter in a team of at least 4 members, and anyone that has not registered with a group by midnight tonight will automatically be disqualified from the competition. An open banquet hosted by the arena will be held in the arena grounds tonight for all contestants who have paid the entrance fee. Use the opportunity to mingle and form your teams."

To this point, Leah was far more intent on the man with the gorgeous sword than she was on what was being said by Grankus, but the next part caught her attention. "The competition will be held in 3 stages that will test your resourcefullness, your strength, and your courage. The first challenge, will be the challenge of puzzles. Each team will participate in life size challenges designed to test how well they work as a team and think under pressure, only the 6 teams with the highest scores in the challenge of puzzles will advance to day 2. So make your team choices wisely and let the Games Begin!!!!" The fireworks that followed were dazzling, but Leah was momentarily stunned in her tracks. She was resourceful enough, but a good mind cramping puzzle was not her strong suit. She would have to pick her team wisely. So taken aback was she, that she nearly forgot the swordsman, and more importantly his very valuable sword. She approached quietly hiding behind the legs of taller folk until she was in earshot. The man was talking to Grankus.

"My master the Nameless One told me to seek you out Lord Grankus" explained Joss. "He told me you could guide me down the next step of my training". "Ah yes, the Nameless one. That man was the finest swordsmen I have ever met, and I was sad when he chose to leave Zelkarune's Horns". "I'll tell you what young Joss. Enter the Champions games and show me the skills your master imparted to you. If you truely are a student of the Nameless, then there is definately a place for you in my band." Bowing at the waist, Joss turned and surveyed the crowd. I'll need to find a good team so that I make a strong impression, he reflected.

A short distance away, Plethora smiled to herself. Puzzles were her forte, but she knew that there was more to the champions games than this. Those who won on the first day would face gladiatoral combat on day 2. As confident as she was in what she knew, she had never so much as lifted a sword and the spells she posessed were better used to enhance an ally then to kill one. Surveying the crowd she noticed a man dressed in simple clothes with a Katana strapped to his back. Her eyes widening she wondered at the odds of encountering someone trained in the use of such an exotic weapon. Even at this distance she could tell that the weapon was of the finest quality, perhaps even a family heirloom. If the mans skill with the sword were anywhere near as good as the quality of his weapon, he was likely a cut above anyone else here in combat. Best of all he was alone and didn't appear to already have a team.

Approaching quickly, she introduced herself "greetings stranger, I'm Plethora". His eyebrows rising a bit, he bowed stiffly at the waist and replied "I am Joss", "it is a pleasure to meet you Plethora". A short distance away, Leah grinned from ear to ear. Not only did the man with the very valuable sword not have a team, he seemd to have attracted just the sort of person Leah was sure she would have trouble finding. This person practically smelled like a Library at 10 paces distance. If she can't solve a puzzle, I don't know who could she smiled to herself.

"If you haven't got a team, I wonder if you would like to join with me for the games", Plethora flirted tossing her hair a bit and arching an eyebrow at the swordsman. "I really came here to speak with master Grankus, but it would seem the best way I have to impress him would be to enter these games and make a good showing for myself." "So I would like to work with you." "We will need companions." "Yes, preferably someone who can pick a lock and knows a few things about devices. The puzzles can be difficult if you don't have someone handy that way about."

Leah saw her chance. "I would be happy to offer my services" she said spryly. "It so happens I am a bit of an expert in mechanical devices." Plethora and Joss both taken somewhat aback, looked at each other and nodded. "We would be thrilled to have your aid little one." Now we need a good 4th member.
With a bit of work, the group procured the services of dwarf named Balabar Schmenk (no relation) who claimed to dabble in arcane magic. Just short of the stroke of 12, the group entered their registration naming themselves Balabar's Merry Band. Plethora offered to let everyone sleep at her parent's house for the night so that they could stay together for the following days activities, and the group left the arena, each swimming with visions of the dreams that would become real for them as they claimed the Champions Trophy.

More to follow...

Hey! sorry it took me so long to reply- yesterday wasn't a very good day for me, but now I'm good and I'm ready to recount some awesome D&D action!

Long story short, I really like this campaign so far (even if it's just begun). I also like the idea of posting about it with the other members of the group- Kudos Jay! Anyway, I'm glad that we were just sorta thrown into starting the campaign rather than waiting until we were all done, mainly because, as has been the trend lately, we often make characters, and say we're gonna start something with them, but then spend too much time making them, and end up not actually doing anything. So now that we've actually started with these characters, we've got one heck of a lead over any of our other endeavors (four specialist wizards ring a bell?). Not only that, but as Jay said, I often have a lot of trouble feeling like my character before we start, so now that we've already played with them for a bit, I've been forced to flesh out my character's personality through roleplaying- thus giving me a better base to start with. I'm still toying with a few ideas of how my character looks, acts, and commands monkeys, but at least now I have something to go off of.

Anyway, for anyone who reads this (and if anyone besides myself, Jay, Jeff [Terras], or Steve reads this, I apologize in advance if nothing makes any sense), here was the run-down of our plan: We arrived at the ship at night, and saw all of the workers loading stuff onto the boat. Lu'kerrik first "stumbled" onto the ship, acting like a misguided nobody, to guage how the workers would react to someone walking in on their operation- and they threatened him, telling him to leave. So he left. Then, I (Quarion, the elf Conjurer) summoned Bombo, the Celestial Monkey, amidst all of their crates, and had him jump away down the dock, where the three of us had hidden ourselves behind a bunch of crates. Two of the guards, thinking one of their animals had gotten loose, followed Bombo, only to fall victim to our trap- Austin...

Sounds great guys. Just out of curiosity, how did your character exetend Summon Monster I at 1st level? I was just curious because that would be an awesome thing to be able to do at low levels for a conjurer, but it takes a slot one level higher to pull off. I was wondering if there was a feat or something that let you do that and if so where it was so I could take a look at it. Overall great plan to get on the boat. I am anxious to see what my group does once they get that far, and be sure to check out my Savage Tide Campaign Journal titled "A Campaign that is in a word, Savage..."

Thanks for sharing!!

This will serve as the Campaign Journal for the group I am DMing through the Savage Tide. Our adventure begins in the bustling port city of Sasserine.

Sun shown through the window as the half elf Plethora woke in her parents house in the Merchants district. The sound of her mother's voice calling from downstairs wafted through the floorboards "Plethora dear, you better get up and eat something so you will have your strength today!" roling her eyes, "I am so glad this is the last time I will have to endure this" she thought to herself as she dressed. At 35 winters, Plethora had lived at home for a good 20 winters longer than she would have preferred. Still, living at mom's and dad's allowed her the luxury of pursuing her studies without worrying about getting a "real" job or having to get involved in the day to day opperations of the family business. Today though, she intended to do something about her situation. Her studies into obscure lore had finally produced a tangible result. She had cast her first spell from her prayerbook a scant two days earlier, but she felt that her skills had finally shown a tangible result and it was time to put them to the test. The Challenge of Champions had been interesting entertainment in it's first year, but with it's increasing popularity the monetary rewards had grown each year to the point that people from all walks of life entered. This was her chance to show the world and especially her parents that all that time spent with musty books had paid off. This was her chance to shine. This was her chance to make a life for herself.

Across town, in the Shadowshore, Leah darted down an alley smiling to herself. This fool had no chance of tailing her. That was one of the fringe benefits of being someone so small in a city so big. On the whole, Leah never considered her halfling heritage to be of any especially great benefit. But after a few years living off the wealth of others in Sasserine, even she had to admit that being one of the short folk had it's advantages. After a few minutes with no sign of her latest mark, she confirmed what she knew from the moment the idiot had caught her taking his coin purse from his pocket, that she had indeed lost the buffoon and gotten the gold she needed to enter the Champions Games. From the moment she came to Sasserine two years ago, she had longed to enter the fabled Challenge of Champions to gain a chance to use her skills to get a sum of coins larger than anything she could get by pickpocketing the poor fools that wandered the Shadowshore. This year she would finally be able to enter. The fact that she was no ordinary thief would serve her all the better when competing with the simpletons that tended to enter the Challenge. She smiled to herself for the second time that day as she gathered her belongings and trotted towards the Champions District.

At roughly the same time, a lone man entered the cities gates intent on going to the Champions district for reasons of his own. Zasker Grankus the Nameless One had said. He should seek out Zasker Grankus. That would be the first step in continuing his training. Now several hundred miles later, Joss was finally here. The skills the Master Swordsman had imparted to him were only the faintest hint of all that he could learn. He patted the hilt of the Katana strapped to his back and nodded reassuringly to himself. Yes his families legacy would live on and grow through him. Zasker Grankus was the man who could make it happen. After so many years of training with the wandering swordsmaster known only as the Nameless One, Joss was confident in his skills, but even his training hadn't prepared him for the occular and olfactic tapestry that was Sasserine. Eyes darting back in forth in a reflexive appraisal of his surroundings, he lowered his head and walked on to the Champions District and the man who held the doorway to his fate.

More to follow...

Still nothing for me as of Wednesday. This is sheer torture. I don't know why it is taking so freaking long to get here. Maybe the holiday weekend had something to do with it, but I will keep my fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Brent wrote:

Well it's over. What an unmitigated disaster. The player's made it through the challenges fairly well, although my own descriptive abilities were greatly lacking. Fortunately the players are all coming back next time, but this was one of the 3 worst sessions I have ever DMed IMHO in terms of the level of job I did. It wasn't the players faults and I made mistake after mistake, almost culminating in a TPK. I got to leave the game design to the experts and stick to running with that.

Brent,

Sorry to hear you had such a crummy session. I've had a couple of those, and they're no fun, especially if you're like me, and tend to beat yourself up for days afterwards. The important thing to remember is...did the you and the players have any fun? If If so, which parts did you/they enjoy most? And, more importantly, how can you have more of it?
By the way, you mentioned earlier you were from Manhattan, KS. I spent a lot of years in Manhattan myself (most of them working for Kinko's) before moving out to NE Ohio. How are things back in the Little Apple?

Hey Saul, thanks for the kind words. Manhattan is going through a period of real growth right now. The Big Red 1 returned to Ft. Riley, so we have had a huge population explosion over the last year. Several big businesses (Best Buy for example) are setting up stores here, which is something since the student population at KSU is seasonal. My gaming group right now consists of a couple who is here because the wife is stationed at Ft. Riley, and then my wife. I am hoping to add another player or two before we get into the meat of the campaign, but it is suprisingly hard to find gamers here who want to join campaigns. I still don't have 139 as of today (Tuesday), but I did get my Savage Tide Player's guide. The postal service just left it on the sidewalk outside my townhouse. That ought to tell you the kind of USPS people we have out here in the little apple. In any event, thanks for the thoughts. I think the group had things they didn't like, but I tend to really beat myself up about things probably more than I should. Our final party composition was a Human Male Warblade, a Female Half-Elf Archivist, and a Female Halfling Spellthief. The one other player I have who might join this next week is undecided, but I am going to try to encourage them to play an arcane caster. Here's hoping the actual mag gets here in the next few days so I can get to work prepping for this Saturday.

Well it's over. What an unmitigated disaster. The player's made it through the challenges fairly well, although my own descriptive abilities were greatly lacking. So I had to explain too much I think, taking away from the spirit of the thing. I also tried to incorporate a couple of my own challenges to go along with 2 from the magazine to mix it up, and my own ideas sucked rocks. Then I got a near TPK in the very first encounter in the battles with the wolves and worgs because I grossly underestimated how effective the wolves would be. At most I should have let the battle be with a single worg, or a couple of wolves, but not both. I had to end the battles prematurely, and then have a player resurrected in order to salvage things. Now I have the players endebted to Vanderboren for raising the fallen Warblade, and I let them finish with a fight with the Ogre, set up as a test by Vanderboren to see if they were really capable of holding their own before asking for their assistance. I swear as I live and breath I will never run an adventure before I have the first issue in an adventure path again. I will just wait on the AP to come and start with it. Fortunately the players are all coming back next time, but this was one of the 3 worst sessions I have ever DMed IMHO in terms of the level of job I did. It wasn't the players faults and I made mistake after mistake, almost culminating in a TPK. I got to leave the game design to the experts and stick to running with that.

Hey, Brent, if you award very light xp for the CoC VI events up to the wolves/worg and fight with the ogre, I think you'll be all right with the rest of the actual adventure. Your players will probably be closer to their next level than the average group, but that should be fine.

When you say you're going to pit them against an ogre barbarian, you don't actually mean an ogre with levels in barbarian as in the CR 7 example in the Monster Manual do you? Or are you talking figuratively as in ogre "brute"? The base CR 3 ogre should be quite challenging all by himself. If you've already thought of this, I apolozige, but if you are using a normal ogre for the fight, you should consider reducing his hit points to make it a little more doable for a group of 1st-level newbies. You know... wounds from the previous suckers, er... opponents.

Yeah Steve, I just meant an Ogre "brute", not a true leveled Ogre. We're about to start, so here we go. I'll post after to let everyone know how it went. Wish me luck.

Going into Saturday I still don't have either the magazine or the player's guide. So it's time to ask for some things from my fellow gamers out there who have some of this stuff, so I can start my players this week and hopefully get to the "real" adventure next week. First off, who is in charge of the Arena? Are there any nefarious sorts associated with it? How large is it? In what district in Sasserine is it? My plan is to start off with the party being drawn to Sasserine for the 6th Annual Challenge of Champions. In my game, this is going to be a 3 day event that draws folks from all walks of life who want a shot at fame and gold. Anyone can enter, from farmers to true adventurers. The only stipulation is that contestants enter in teams of at least 3. The first day is designed to test their cunning, as they are put through a series of 6 puzzles (taken directly from Challenge of Champions VI in Dungeon 138). The 6 teams with the highest scores in the puzzle day, advance to day 2, which is a test of their teamwork. In this portion of the test, each team is pitted against either another team or animals and monsters brought to the arena for just this purpose. In this section, I intend to have the party fight a pack of wolves lead by a Worg. All groups that win in the second day, are then given a test of their courage on day 3. On this day, the party is given the choice to battle one of the arena's greatest champions. In this case, an Ogre Barbarian known for dismembering opponents that challenge him. I intend to have 4 teams "win" on day 2 and 2 of those will "back-out" without facing the arena champion, but the other team will square off against him, and I intend to vividly describe how the Ogre tears them to pieces in a matter of moments. Then they will face off against him. I trust my players will go through with the battle which I expect to seriously push them. By it's conclusion I expect them to level to 2nd. Then they will be declared winners and given an award of 300 gp each and medals as described in Dungeon 138. Afterward, a feast in the winners honor will be thrown in the arena that will be open to the public, and after the feast I intend to have the heros waylaid by a couple of local thugs looking to score some quick gold off the exhausted heros. After dispatching them and resting for the night, I intend to conclude with the party recieving the letter from the Vanderboren noble asking for their help because of their success in the champions games. At which point, I intend to end the session.

In any event, does anyone who has the stuff see any problems with this scenario? Anything that doesn't tie in very well with the first adventure? If so I could use the help, as I don't want to derail the first adventure completely before I even have a chance to get it and read it. Additionally, I wonder if I am letting the group get too much XP before the first adventure starts, thus making it too easy by comparison. I just want something to fill the evening with, but I want them to really enjoy the full flavor of the STAP once I can actually start it.

Any thoughts and answers to my questions would be most welcome.

I'm getting into this conversation a bit late, but generally speaking, the easiest way to make an encounter more difficult is to increase the number of targets the PC's have to deal with. I am doing this off the top of my head, but have Lashona, Balakard's Sister (can't remember her name but she was the advanced Kyuss Knight in this scenario), a couple of the Broodfiends etc., cluster around Kyuss as he emerges so that the PC's have to deal with all those threats in addition to Kyuss. I don't remember the attack bonuses posessed by all those creatures, but I think it is also fair to assume that these particular creatures have had plenty of time to learn about the PC's and their abilities, especially Lashonna since she sent them to fight Dragotha. So it isn't "cheating" to assume some protective spells in the like that deprive the PC's of their favorite tactics and force them to think outside the box. The mirror of opposition idea is also a brilliant one. Nothing gets in the head of a power gamer like having to fight themselves.

One final note, if the party is having too easy a time of it, don't be afraid to take the gloves off. Have Kyuss gate in a premaid advanced Balor (to maybe 50 HD or something), give him a higher divine rank etc. Part of the point as DM, is to make challenges that threaten your players. If they are really high powered, they are going to like it a lot better if Kyuss is advanced sufficiently to at least make them work for it than if they cake walk through him. Up until they fight him, he is still yours to taylor as you see fit. Add 5 divine ranks and a few extra levels in True Necromaner. Add some Deathdrinker bodyguards (with added levels in Cleric or Blackguard).

There are lots of tools in your DM "toolchest" that don't require you to just "nerf" your players magic etc. that they have acquired over the entire campaign. Also, for what it's worth, I treat Bracer's of armor and such the same way as far as touch attacks, so I don't think your interpretation was so bad. Just realize that your group is well organized and knows their stuff, so adjust the final challenge accordingly. If it pushes your players to their limits, then all the better. They will enjoy that far more than walking through a villain who has been built up the whole campaign in a round or two.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

I have a couple old friends of mine who are also long time gaming buddies that like to play Fantasy Football. This year we missed out on our regular league so I set one up for us but we need some more teams. I'd hate to lose out on tormenting them for another season...

So, since you are also fellow gamers...I'd like to invite you to join our league. I have room for nine more teams right now.

It is a Yahoo Fantasy League. Its called Dungeon Dwellers (ID #551158) and the password is lorisa (all lowercase). IT IS FREE. You don't have to pay anything for this.

First come first serve. As soon as the league fills, we'll do the draft and the trash talking can begin.

Thanks in advance for joining.

I would like to join, but when do you plan to hold the draft? My schedule is kinda funny, so I don't want to sign up if I know I can't make the draft.

My group is still in the early planning phases for their characters. I have thus far...

Male Human Warblade
Female Killoren Druid
Female Undecided

I am trying to add 1-2 more players and have a few possiblities but nothing concrete. If I don't have another player by Saturday, I will be including a DMPC whose class will depend greatly on what the undecided female plays. She is leaning towards a divine class like perhaps the Favored Soul or Cleric, and if she follows through on that I will likely add a human Sorcerer or Warlock to round out the party. We will see, only a few days left til the first session.

Brent wrote:

I have ordered the Players Guide, but haven't gotten it yet. In truth I am not sure it will even be here before the weekend either, as I didn't purchase it until yesterday. I had planned to buy it towards the end of last week, but then they sold out for awhile, and I didn't get my order in until they got some more. Those aren't bad ideas, and if I don't have the Player's Guide before Saturday, then I will likely wing it a...

Well, your Player's Guide shipped today and subscription issues generally show up to US addresses within two weeks, so it's pretty likely that you'll get one or the other (or, most likely, both) by this weekend.

Good luck and good gaming!
cos

Thanks Cosmo, I will be keeping an eye out for it. I live in Manhattan Kansas, so I am not exactly in a metropolitan hub, and I know that in general things take a little longer to get here via mail than to other places. If I don't have either by Saturday, I will likely run the Champions Games, followed up by a small tournament in the arena and finishing up with a brush with some thugs trying to steal some of the gold etc. that the party earned in the first two bits. That should buy me another week for the two publications to get here if they aren't already by the weekend. Thanks for looking into it though. I hope I didn't come across as complaining or anything. I have been thrilled with every issue of the mag I have and I wasn't really trying to complain about it not being here yet, I was just looking for suggestions on what to do with the group if they aren't. Thanks again!!

Brent wrote:

I am a subscriber and haven't recieved mine yet, but I don't know how long it takes for the magazine to arrive after it ships on average. My account says the issue shipped on August 22nd, and I am not in any particular hurry except that my gaming group wants to start the campaign this weekend and I am DMing. That means at best I have 5 more days it could come before the game starts at 5 on Saturday. So if any subscribers are out there listening, I was wondering how long it has taken for the Mags to arrive after they ship?

As a side note, if anyone does have it already, then I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for something I could run for my players before hand if the Magazine isn't here by Saturday to sort of fudge and buy myself an extra week.

Brent, do you have a copy of the Savage Tide Player's Guide? If so, there's plenty of material there for the PCs to have fun learning about the city. Here's some ideas:

1) Let them sign up for a match in the gladiatorial arena in Champion's District to earn a little gold and get their name out there. It makes them more clearly identifiable for when they receive their first adventure hook into "There Is No Honor".
2) Give them a little brush with the seedy element of the city like a pick pocket attempt, a run in with local thugs, a drinking contest that turns into a bar fight with them caught in the middle.
3) A tour of the city via gondola. Not a whole lot of action, but allows you to describe what's what in the city and get them more interested in their environment.

I have ordered the Players Guide, but haven't gotten it yet. In truth I am not sure it will even be here before the weekend either, as I didn't purchase it until yesterday. I had planned to buy it towards the end of last week, but then they sold out for awhile, and I didn't get my order in until they got some more. Those aren't bad ideas, and if I don't have the Player's Guide before Saturday, then I will likely wing it a bit but I really like the idea of having them sign up for a fight in the Arena. If I don't have my players guide by Friday or so, I might post again and ask for a bit of specifics on the arena so that I can run that followed up by a brush with some thugs trying to steal the gold they just won or something similar. Hopefully the magazine will come and I won't have to improvise too much, but I will just have to see.

Thanks for the ideas.

I am a subscriber and haven't recieved mine yet, but I don't know how long it takes for the magazine to arrive after it ships on average. My account says the issue shipped on August 22nd, and I am not in any particular hurry except that my gaming group wants to start the campaign this weekend and I am DMing. That means at best I have 5 more days it could come before the game starts at 5 on Saturday. So if any subscribers are out there listening, I was wondering how long it has taken for the Mags to arrive after they ship?

As a side note, if anyone does have it already, then I was wondering if anyone had some suggestions for something I could run for my players before hand if the Magazine isn't here by Saturday to sort of fudge and buy myself an extra week.

The truth of it is, that it is better to be honest and be yourself with whomever you are having a relationship with no matter what the subject is, including D&D. I am very fortunate in that my wife is also a gamer and we are about to start a weekly campaign with some friends for the Savage Tide. And yes, I agree with the guy who said that gamer chicks give some seriously nasty bumpin. I've been with my share of women, but the only gamer is my wife, and she is by far the best in bed I have ever had. That little side note out of the way, you will be much happier in the relationship if you don't feel like you have to hide things about yourself from your girlfriend/fiance/wife or whatever. If she is so bothered by the fact that you play D&D that she doesn't want to be with you, then she probably wasn't right for you in the first place. There are a lot of beautiful women in the world, and there are plenty of those that play D&D. If your current girlfriend can't be an adult about it, go find a woman who can.

For everyone who already is a subscriber, this post will probably seem a little silly. Despite that though, let me say I am positively giddy to finally have a subscription to both Dragon and Dungeon Magazine!!! I put it off for the longest time just picking the magazines up at my FLGS picking up whichever magazine caught my eye in any given month. Since the magazine changed to the new format though, I have had to get every single issue and decided that if the quality was going to be that high (and I haven't been disappointed in an issue yet), then it was high time I put my money where my mouth was and subscribed. The coolest part though, was the 35% off I saved for doing so. God this company rocks!! The thought of getting my magazines in the mail every month filled with awesome D&D goodness makes me bounce around like a rubber ball. If any of you out there are contemplating getting a subscription and haven't yet. Just do it!!! The content of these magazines is unparalleled, and how many companys can you come to the website and get the editors to answer your questions personally? I got James Jacobs to answer a question I had just last week about Fiendish Codex I. How much better can it get? Get the subscription. I'm telling you, you will feel just as euphoric as I do, and besides that you get the super cool "subscriber" designation by your name when you post. My first subscription issue will be #139 of Dungeon and #348 of Dragon. How sweet is that. Just in time to kick off the Savage Tide. Who's with me?

The original intent was indeed dominate monster. Looks like this error actually crept in at the turnover stage... too bad it wasn't caught in development or editing. :(

Thanks!!

I have a question about Demogorgon's writeup in Fiendish Codex I. In his spell like abilities, it lists Dominate Person 1/day, but then lists the save DC as 28. However, doing the math using Demo's Cha score and spell level etc, the save DC should only be 24. So my question is this. Is the save DC a mistake, or was the spell a mistake? Specifically, I am wondering if they meant for him to have Dominate Monster, which is a 9th level spell and would thus have a DC of 28 as opposed to Dominate Person which is a 5th level spell and thus has a DC of 24. Since James Jacobs frequents the boards here, I was hoping he could provide a clarification, or if anyone else here has the book and an opinion about what it should be it would be helpful. I am trying to advance Demo to CR 32 using the guidlines in the book, and was wondering what to do with the DC of that spell like ability, or possibly change it to the other spell if that was the original intention. Thanks!!

I have to say, my expectations for issue 136 were not very high following on the heals of the Age of Worms. Boy was I mistaken. Gates of Oblivion was one of the best adventures published in Dungeon in the 4 odd years I've been collecting them.

I have a few questions pertaining to the upcoming Savage Tide Adventure Path. After the gorgeous cover art for the opening Age of Worms issue, will we get a similar cover for the opening Savage Tide issue? I love's me some Demogorgon, and a sweet cover of the Prince of Demons would almost make my universe complete (the other thing needed for that to happen is for Dragon to give me a Demonomicon article on Demogorgon to go with all the Savage Tide goodness in the next year, do drop Erik Mona a line for me and let him now that he can complete the universe with just one article).

Other than that, let me say keep up the good work!!! I haven't ever had a subscription up until now, but I must say that the direction the magazine is headed really makes me think it is time to subscribe. Always before, I felt like I had to look at an issue first to make sure I wanted it, but since you changed to the new format I haven't missed a single issue. As near as I can tell, that can only mean one thing... You guys rock!!! Keep em coming. Without you guys, D&D wouldn't be half as fun as it is.