BOZ's page

I have been running the "Maure Castle" adventure from Dungeon #112. Last night, one of the characters was able to ask a question of the Purple Stone, and his question was "What thing in this dungeon would make me the most powerful?" It was towards the end of the session, so I told him I would get back to him next week. If you are familiar with this adventure, what would you suggest as a possible response?

Or maybe they really really were planning 5E at the same time as 4E, and this was all a plot to make more money, and the OP found out about it and decided to post it as a "joke" thinking that no one would belive him... that's not a crazy conspiracy theory, is it? ;)

It was my idea to put it on the front page. ;) No, really, it was!

What, no comments? :)

It is the Main Page article for Wikipedia for December 12! :)

I hear ya, and thanks. :)

Thanks! It's been a tough road, but I think we are really beginning to have something to be proud of.

Check it out! :)

Oh by the way, since I'm here, and since mentioning Planescape made me think of it; I'll plug Planescape: Torment which was just made a "Featured Article" at Wikipedia after a ton of hard work! We've been working hard to improve the D&D coverage over there, and (especially with our favorite stalker mostly silent for the last 6 months) we've been able to do a lot of good, I think. :)

Re: Volisupula.

I remember, maybe a couple of years ago, asking Wolfgang Baur about this one. I believe he created it as a throwaway reference for Planescape's "Planes of Chaos" if I remember correctly. He said, at the time, that he had just moved and all of his old notes were packed away. You might want to see if he's found any of these old notes, and what if anything they might say. :)

James Jacobs wrote:

I see no need to carry on the Demonomicon of Iggwilv as an in-game object (or, honestly, as a series of articles) if it doesn't continue to build upon the rich history it's already drawing from over the last 30 years of D&D. If there's a need for some sort of iconic Big Book of Evil in 4th edition that DOES speak to the new world order of the reorganized multiverse, it should be something equally new. Retconning something like the Demonomicon of Iggwilv so that it functions in the new setup and is treated as if it were always that way would be, in my opinion, foolish and disrespectful of Gygax's original vision for the book.

Is this to say that you will not be penning any "Demonomicon of Iggwilv" entries once the switch is made to 4e?

It *sounds* like JJ is saying that if he can't build off the flavor he's been working on for the last few years, he'd rather not work on the Demonomicon series.

I can definitely see where he's coming from on that; I definitely wouldn't have wanted to write the Archomentals articles based on the 4E cosmology. These guys are best when fighting for control of whole planes, not their favorite parts of one big plane. ;)

Of course, digressing, it seems like the theme of this thread is about the *artifact* called the Demonomicon of Iggwilv (which, in 2E, *was* called the Fiendomicon - yuck!), rather than the *article series* called the Demonomicon of Iggwilv.

Chicago?

here, i'll save you and everybody else some scrolling. ;)

Gruaghlothor
Gruaghlothor is the supreme ruler of the ferrous dragons. His power was once equal to that of Bahamut and Tiamat, before they achieved godhood. According to ferrous dragon legends, Gruaghlothor was the first of the ferrous dragons, and was responsible for creating the hierarchy that all ferrous dragons strictly follow. Several powerful red dragons banded together and destroyed Gruaghlothor, but he swore a dying curse to return for vengeance and not rest until all red dragons are destroyed. As a result of this curse, Gruaghlothor was indeed reborn, but not as the same creature. Should the current Gruaghlothor perish, the great wyrm iron dragons meet to choose one from among their ranks to become the new Gruaghlothor. Through a secret ritual that lasts exactly one year, the new Gruaghlothor emerges to lead the ferrous dragons and plot the extermination of red dragons.

Gruaghlothor possesses a constant telepathic link with all ferrous dragons, and thus even the most evil of the species will not defy his will, for he will know instantly.

Here are a few other sidebars that were trimmed:

Other Ferrous Dragons
Ancient lore tells that twelve or more species of ferrous dragon existed before the great wars that nearly destroyed them. Two species were definitely driven to extinction, though none know the fate or current whereabouts of the other five species, not even the other ferrous dragons. The nature of the seven unknown species remains a mystery, but at least one is probably the magnetite (lodestone) dragon.

The Iron Wars
Several millennia past, civil war erupted between the good and evil ferrous dragons. The impetus for this war, now known as the first Iron War, has been lost to history, but rumors suggest that it began with the discovery of a particularly large deposit of iron ore. Regardless of the cause, many losses were suffered by the ferrous dragons, and their empire began its decline.

The second Iron War was initiated by a group of chaotic dragons known collectively as the rock dragons. Rivalry had long existed between the two groups, but open conflict rarely occurred. Sensing the weakened position of the ferrous dragons, the rock dragons moved in for the kill. The second Iron War ended in the near-extinction of both draconic empires. Tiamat sent her chromatic dragons to crush the last remnants of both.

As a result of the centuries-long Iron Wars, Gruaghlothor has very little tolerance for in-fighting between the ferrous dragons. Instead, he prefers that their enmity be channeled towards the chromatic dragons, particularly the reds.

Here are a few other cut bits:

Treasure
Like other true dragons, ferrous dragons hoard treasure. All varieties have triple standard treasure for their Challenge Rating. Ferrous dragons are particularly fond of coins and metallic items, hoarding them over gems and other non-metallic treasures.

Lore
Characters with ranks in Knowledge (arcana) can learn more about ferrous dragons. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs.

DC Result
15 This is a ferrous dragon. This result reveals all dragon traits.
20 Ferrous dragons can sense ordinary metals, making it hard to sneak up on one if using metal armor or weapons.
25 The lawful ferrous dragons have a strict hierarchy, with the higher dragons dictating the laws to the lower ones. The hierarchy, from highest to lowest, is iron, chromium, cobalt, tungsten, and nickel.
30 Gruaghlothor, the supreme ruler of all ferrous dragons, maintains a constant telepathic link with all his subjects; should any of them defy his will, he will know instantly.

I think the syllable is broken up like such, actually:

TEEF - ling

that's how i've always said it.

It's a highly creative cosmology that has lots of potential...

...BUT IT SHOULD NOT BE CORE

agreed, totally.

it worked just fine in EBERRON, (where it belongs), but in general D&D... :(

it's like losing an old friend, but on the bright side making peace with it hasn't been that difficult.

naturally, if i should ever feel inclined to run 4E i will not be using the cosmology.

not as much, though!

i'm concerned about the Slaadi and other non-fiend planar beings; are they getting tossed out as well?

actually, 4E is more like a sex change done with a brillo pad.

"see, we got rid of that old stuff that you were still using, and gave you something totally new and different that we think you'll like better!"

I swear to god, Brittany Spears is doing a better job managing her career and fanbase than WotC.

LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE! ;)

Rest assured, Tome of Horrors for 4E is coming. Erik and I were talking about it yesterday. Look for it real early in 4E.

And oh yeah, all the stuff WotC screws up, look for us to fix. What? Succubii and Erinyes are now the same monster? Ok, WotC, whatever...

Dont worry, we got your back and will do it right.

Clark

that might actually make 4E worth playing. :)

At a 2+ year or so pace to run a 1-20, that gives me 14+ years of games that I can run. Puts me at 74+ years old, and if I make it that far, I may try DnD V6 at that point, or just retire!!

hey, that reminds me of something i was thinking about while at my grandmother's retirement home... i wonder how rampant RPGs will be at retirement homes in the next 10-20 years or so as the oldest generation of gamers reaches that point. :) it would be kind of how they spread through the army and prisons; you know, a bunch of guys with plenty of time on their hands, no family and such to keep them occupied. :)

you know, i submitted material for the original ToH, and i submmited a number of converted monsters to Dragon... hmm, hint hint. ;)

seriously though, a 4E ToH might actually get me to think more positively about converting. personally, i'd like it to not be beholden to the original set of monsters - you know, it could be maybe 75-90% the same creatures, shuffling it around to take out some of the more redundant or less interesting creatures from the original and adding some other "skipped" monsters from the AD&D days.

Given what you know so far, are you planning to:

A) Convert! I am ready for a new D&D.

B) 3.5 or Bust! I'm sticking with the man what brought me.

C) We'll see. Need more information.

D) Other.

Please pick one. Feel free to elaborate, but please stick to one reply each for this thread. I'm not interested in fights or refutations of incorrect points or baiting or whatever.

I want to know how you, at this moment in time, feel about the idea of converting to a new edition of the game.

I expect that people's answers will change over time. This is not the last time I will ask this question, so we'll have a chance to gauge the issue as we go along.

So, given what you know so far, you plan to: _______________.

currently? i'm with B as a player, and it sounds like everyone in my group is as well. we've all spent plenty on books in the last 5 years that we've been playing together, and are not looking forward to having to scrap them all in a few months.

i'm still holding out hope for C, but things don't look so good for me so far. the cosmology changes bug me, and i haven't heard enough good things yet to make up for that. as a past and potential future freelance author, i'd be forced to accept 4E if i want to do mroe work for WotC, so i'd have to accept the system enough to be able to work with it i suppose.

:shrug:

Yes indeed, thanks for asking. :)

IIRC, the elemental princes of evil were in #347.

i think all of those PrCs involve some level of deformation.

i still remember, i think it was Ultima VI or VII, you could bust onto a farm and just slaughter the livestock and steal the meat. that's not as fun as exploding a cow i'm sure, but still pretty naughty. :)

if you really want to follow the Dark Sun world, you might want to consider picking up PDFs of the original setting from the 1990s. :)

yep :)

oy, how annoying - it's not like we didn't have a dozen or so waiting in the wings. :D

A throwback illustration of a dragon seems perfectly in keeping with that philosophy. Heck, I wouldn't mind seeing a Jeff Dee illustration somewhere.

works for me! :) or Erol Otus.

Ah, so it's finally going to come out that the Lady of Pain is actually those three ratatosks wearing a robe and a mask with a ring of levitation? ;)

i thought you of all people would know that she's a baernaloth? ;)

BOZ,

Dungeon 149 should have arrived for US subscribers by this time, so I will get a replacement sent out to you.

Thanks,
cos

got it today - thanks! :)

well, the Xvart *is* a hottie. ;)

in that case, i think i'll be the first to claim Mr. Maedar. ;)

here's something i'm wondering: do we get to keep these nifty avatars after the WotC license is fully gone?

yeah, i got manual replies yesterday for anything i had sent in previously.

wonderful, thanks! :)

nope.

yeah, same here... i was hoping that going away for the weekend would give it time to arrive, but alas no.

OK!

in #5, we've got one article and one wandering monster. we've got several in the other categories!

i think it must be a local problem for me - i'm in chicago, and i asked around the gaming table last night if anyone had seen the current Dungeon, and two fellows remarked that they haven't received their copy either. so until i hear otherwise, i guess i can sit tight!

just got mine yesterday as well!

ahh... my last article for Dragon, in my hands. bittersweet! :(

haven't gotten mine yet either - and i just got Dragon #358 yesterday! :o

still waiting in chicago...

i don't think i can really say just yet... but i think subscribers should have the mag very soon, so someone else can fill in the blanks. :)

there's some new art to go with the new article; we got to see only the unfinished pieces, but they look pretty similar to the old covers.

We're beginning work on an update to Gruaghlothor, and will probably stat him in a similar range for consistency.

we are? neato. :)

yep, same feeling for me. i have a pending article that i'm hoping against hope for #359... but with so much other stuff needing to get in there, the odds are slim.

got linkage? ;)

Question for you guys,

We were playing a game in which the party rogue happened upon a resting dragon (the dragon was awake in his den and just laying there...bored or daydreaming or whatever). The rogue made an insanely high stealth check and the dragon didn't know he was there.

Our party has a means of telepathically communicating so the rogue relayed to us what he'd found and the party fighter suggested doing a coup de grace on the dragon. The GM said "You can't coup de grace him, he's not helpless". I argued that the rogue could because the dragon was flat-footed and given the circumstance he was helpless (he had no idea the assailant was there and effectively was laying there with his neck on a chopping block).

So the question is, could the coup de grace happen or not? I picture this as a similar scenario in which someone sneaks up behind a guard and slits his throat while the guard is not at alarm.