derangel's page

Sanity tracking is always a fun option. Maybe some spell/item/feat effects that play off of sanity levels? Maybe being more insane has additional benefits and drawbacks in the Dreamlands?

Similar concept: corruption. I think I recall something like that in the 3.5 sourcebook, "Heroes of Horror".

I always like to read the recommended lists of character classes and other options. Anything that can help add to the flavor and overall feel of a campaign. For Strange Aeons, I would expect that to be either stuff that makes you a better investigator and hunter of eldritch horrors, or stuff that can help you to better embrace the horrific. I've always wanted to play a corrupt synthesist summoner who has an eldritch abomination infecting his soul, and manifests through transforming into a clawed, tentacled monstrosity. So, yeah, anything that can help with that would be great. :D

Ancient Thassilon Gazetteer

I know there's already been a bunch of stuff about Thassilon. But I'm looking for something more like Mike McArtor's treatment of Korvosa in its respective guide; namely, something that's more "fluff". I'd like to see more info about things like culture, social structure, trade, etc. Something with lots of flavorful, thought-provoking artwork and, above all, a map of pre-Earthfall Thassilon. And hey, I'm sure we could find a bored linguistics student somewhere who'd have a heyday with actually setting forth a Thassilonian language primer (yeah, I can dream). Essentially, I'd like to see a source that can lend some rich and interesting flavor to any campaign set in Varisia in which the subject of local archaeology might come up. What kind of artifacts would be found, aside from wands, rune carvings, and enormous statues? What would a deserted Thassilonian city look like, if you dug it up out of 10,000 years-worth of dirt and ash?

I'm a bit of a nerd for the humanities, I'll admit. But everyone knows all of the movers and shakers--i.e., the Runelords. I want to know more about the inner workings of the society, the common folk, the day-to-day stuff. A collection of short stories would be even more fun, as long as I'm dreaming (case studies!). But since I'm not greedy, I'll settle for a Gazetteer. :-)

I think that in this case, worshipping a mythic being is kind've a loophole, similar to how a fiend can end up with its summoner's soul upon the expected betrayal, but the nice version. I'd say that the mythic being gets to make a claim on the soul of someone who worships him, and if the worshipper is actually devout, I think Pharasma would honor it. Even if the mythic being himself worships a deity, and himself ends up in Sarenrae's backyard upon death, the dude that worships HIM can say, "I'm bunking with him."

I never really considered this issue before. I certainly never wondered what would happen to a dude's soul if the mythic he worshipped owned his own demiplane. Food for thought.

Fighters are not historically known for their awesome Will saves, so a higher Ego probably would not be optimal. If the magus who smithed the thing recognized exactly how evil the thing was, and its propensity for cursing wielders as well as allies, he'd probably do everything he could to limit the thing's influence and prevent innocent people from being its victims, if he was unable to simply destroy it outright and start over.

That said, it seems like the personality of this blade is particularly sneaky, if it's not actually interested in direct Ego control. That idea is supported by its tactics: it prefers to curse and weaken opponents rather than overcome them outright. Very drow mentality. So perhaps it takes a more subtle approach? You can give it 10 ranks in Bluff (+2 Ego) to give it another way to manipulate a wielder (perhaps also supported by a higher Charisma score (+1-5 Ego). You could give it the ability to cast Modify Memory 3/day (+1 Ego) as an even sneakier and more sinister tool of manipulating a wielder.

You've said that the sword is obsessed with acquiring power, which in its case probably means either in a direct combat sense (regaining its original, stronger abilities?) or in further subtle means of manipulating the people around it (more spell-like abilities?). My guess is it would try to get its wielder to spend money on upgrading its enhancement bonus and abilities (further increasing its Ego score). Maybe it has a specific ability that makes it an essential weapon, one that is sure to be used (True Strike 3/day?).

To break it down further:

Base item value: guessing 1,000-5,000 or so (Ego +1)
Ability scores: guessing avg of 14 each (Ego +6)
Telepathy: (Ego +1)
3rd-level spell 3/day (Bestow Curse, or maybe Pugwampi's Grace): (Ego +2)

With that, you're looking at an Ego score of about 10. If the sword is wary of over-using it, that shouldn't be too problematic. Reducing the ability scores would weaken it, as would taking away Telepathy. You know better than I do what you want this sword to do. Hopefully this will help you get a general idea.

From your description, the impression I get of this sword's personality is that it's primary foil is that it's not as smart as it thinks it is. It takes chances in battle on a whim, but doesn't take a chance on dominating its wielder unless it can be sure of doing so indefinitely. It knows where the power lies, and plays the long game, but is a bit of a coward. It's gotta be kinda traumatizing when your own creator hates you and tries to disfigure you.

"Crap, where's the K9 unit?!"

For the real-world reasons that karossii stated above, and for the purposes of game balance, I would say no to the sneak attack. If I, as the GM, were caught off guard by such a tactic, I might be generous and say that defending opponents would get a -2 to AC, or something like that. But now that I think of it, the one official case of an invisible sword that I know of only gives the wielder a +5 bonus on Bluff checks to feint.

Always thought Hugo Weaving would make a bad-ass Karzoug, and the pictures of Karzoug do tend to look a lot like him. He does tend to be typecast as villains a lot though, despite being Elrond in Lord of the Rings.

Overall, the artwork is fantastic. I would, however, like to see a version of Alaznist's portrait without the rage face.

Pros: Been waiting for this for a long, long time. Finally, the celestials get some face time! Just by way of thanks, I may finally get around to getting myself a subscription to the campaign setting, just so I don't miss it.

Cons: Seriously? The fiends get three books and the celestials get one? I'm still grateful, certainly, and I know nothing about sales expectations from one class of outsider to another, but I can't help but see this, on some level, as a missed opportunity to really flesh out the celestial realms and races, and make them as real, relevant, and exciting as the fiendish side of things.

Whatever may be, I'll be looking forward to this one.

Would folks LIKE a Numeria book?

Yes! Do it. Please. Those who don't want to use it won't buy it, but those of us that do will be ridiculously happy. Even if I'll never use most of the options given, I'll be happy at least knowing that they are there. I'd like Numeria to be less of a blind spot, both on the map and conceptually. We've been good. Give us some nice golem-mechs. :)

Motorola Droid X

If I have a daughter, I hope to name her Raziel. Partly from Willow, partly from Soul Reaver, and partly from the actual origins. I figure, if you're going to pick a name for your kid based on Hebrew mythology, you may as well make it something interesting. This is just me, personally, but I'm kinda sick of knowing so many people with the same damn name. I my family alone no less than 30% of my living relatives (no small amount) have either John or Michael for a name, or some variation thereof (such as Jane or Michelle). My Dad's name is Michael, my middle name is Michael, my brother-in-law's name was Michael, our most recent roommate and regular gaming buddy is a Michael...enough is enough. There comes a point where tradition becomes silly, and is little more than a thin mask over laziness and unoriginality.

I think that came out a bit more pompous than I really intended, but the point stands. It does get a little bit annoying. And I'm not even one of those poor souls who were in classes in elementary school with 5 other people of the same name.

The question I'm the most curious is that, given that APG and the other non-core books are all open content and will be on our own PRD as well as on numerous fan sites...

...how would folks feel if we did put things from the APG and Bestiary 2 and other rulebooks we've published into our adventures without reprinting all the relevant rules? The thing is that, with space at a premium, we're far LESS likely to use material from APG and other books if the perception is that we need to reprint everything.

With Carrion Crown, we'll be presenting short stat blocks for the Bestiary 2 monsters we use, and while we'll print full stat blocks for non-core base classes (because we ALWAYS do full stat blocks for classed NPCs, core or not), we're not going to give full reprints for feats, spells, magic items, and the like that show up in an adventure.

I'm eager to see how folks respond to that. If the rules weren't open content, we'd never do this, but with them being open content and effectively free to access on the internet... does that make it okay to not do full reprints of things like bunyips and witch hexes and sylph inquisitors?

And while it's great to get feedback from folks before the fact... not everyone who reads, say, Carrion Crown will see this (or similar) posts... so it'll probably be until we get into that AP's publication before we start hearing all the feedback. Here's hoping folks are mostly cool with the tradeoff of less reprinted material and more non-core support in adventures!

I'm for it. Until just now I had no idea that the B2 and APG stuff was going to be open content. I guess I just don't follow things that closely. IMO it's not terribly difficult for people to get the relevant info online, even if they personally have no internet access at home. There are so many alternatives that it's practically a non-issue, so long as they know it's available and where to find it.

I'm mostly in favor because constantly reprinting statblocks is somewhat redundant, and more importantly the space could be used for extra new content. Unless there was some compelling thematic reason for the monster or class's inclusion, I imagine that a resourceful GM could, in a pinch, substitute a similar monster/class without much difficulty.

Anyway, that's my 2cp.

Power Word Unzip wrote:

Matthew Morris wrote:

I just have to add one word.

** spoiler omitted **

That is all.

I'm a little late here on this bump, but I'd like to add an additional pet peeve I'd rather never see again: by the unholy poop of Orcus, folks, don't mix up rogue and rouge. One is a picker of pockets and a master of daring do, and the other is a powdered pigment compound used to color the cheeks.

And which one is which? ;)

Hard to tell, they're usually both found all over women. ;)

Extenuating circumstances, perhaps? Just two points:

1) Ovinrbaane is an artifact, not merely a typical enchanted weapon, and

2) Ovinrbaane is the receptacle of a human soul, not merely a magically awakened sword.

Your math may very well be right, but given the awesome story-based nature of these weapons I wouldn't be surprised if their abilities were slightly beyond the pale by design. Not everything is by the book.

Yes, I have noticed that they are leaning on that Evil is Sexy trope pretty hard. ;D

Evil can usually afford it. Especially when Evil is in a position to summon fiends. Seriously, if you're gonna sell your soul for stuff, who wouldn't put "drop dead sexy" on the list? Of course, you wouldn't want to word it like that...

Could anyone explain this to me?

It doesn't make any sense to me... What does personality have to do with using magic devices? Wouldn't intelligence or maybe wisdom be the obvious choice?

For anyone who's seen the movie Armageddon, using Charisma for Use Magic Device is the RPG equivalent of "This is how we fix things on Russian space station!" *SMASH*

You have no earthly idea how the magical gizmo works, so you have to do what is essentially an intimidate check against an inanimate object to get it to work properly.

At least, that's how I've always done it, and most of my characters are still alive.

If anyone knows, what, if anything, is the winged, four-armed, tauric creature pictured on page 4? I read through the adventure but haven't seen anything resembling that, unless I'm missing something somewhere.

Ok, so this has been bugging me for a while, and I'd like to request some clarification from anybody wiser than myself.

So, a ninja's Ghost Step ability allows the expediture of a ki-power use to become invisible for one round. Question is, is that a flat full-round, period, or does attacking cause the ninja to become visible again? It doesn't say "functions as the invisibility spell" and sets no conditions along those lines. So going by the RAW, it seems to suggest that a ninja can go invisible, attack, and still remain invisible until the beginning of his/her next round. I'm wondering if that's actually the case, and meant to be this way, or if this was a design oversight. Errata makes no mention of it.

Thoughts?

I personally like the idea. Everyone can agree that the very mention of "time-travel" by a player raises large, red warning flags almost before the words leave his mouth, but for Golarion the possibilities are interesting, given a little direction. Particularly, if Paizo went along with an idea like that, that would be a fantastic way to experience ancient Thassilon first-hand, granting the opportunity to work out some of the mysteries behind the civilization and why it fell. Hell, they did it already, to a certain extent, back in Age of Worms. It would be tricky, but if handled well would be very interesting.

Man oh man... I just can't bring myself to play an evil character. My usual character types are Paladins and Angels. Am I just too much of a goody goody? I like being the good guy... being the hero. Vanquishing evil... the whole nine yards.

Yet I had no problem playing Sabbat in Vampire. Odd. In D&D though, a neutral alignment's the worst I'm willing to do.

Quick way to cure that: start up a game in Neverwinter Nights; play as a paladin; butcher everyone in town square.

I was somewhat surprised by how conflicted I was when I did that the first time. After all, they're just little bits of non-sentient computer code. But there it is...I actually feel remorse. I suppose that means I'm still human.

Personally, I have little difficulty roleplaying evil characters. Fundamentally, at a base psychological level, evil characters and good characters all want the same (or similar) things. They want their basic survival needs met, they want some measure of physical and emotional comfort (though tastes differ), they usually want some recognition or standing in society or among their peers and they want a sense of their own agency. Where characters differ significantly is in the methods and strategies for attaining such things; what they're willing to do and what they're all too willing to ignore.

What it comes down to, ultimately, is trying to realize that evil people are people too, and trying to figure out how their thought processes work and how they would go about getting what they want.

For myself, I had a rather lonely childhood growing up on a farm. So when my mind was set afire by The Legend of Zelda and I wanted to act it out...well, I had to play the role of the hero, the princess, and the villain myself. Even when I was seven years old there was an undeniable thrill to assuming the role of the bad guy, and somehow I think it gave me a peculiar insight into how bad guys work.

That said, I have very little experience playing evil characters in tabletop games, though with any luck, the Rise of the Runelords game my friends and I have been planning will get under way and I'll be able to try my hand at a lawful evil enchanter. I like lawful evil. It's a sophisticated, calculating evil, and if you play it right, it's indistinguishable from a good or neutral alignment. Lawful evil characters are usually smart enough to recognize that the goodwill of a town that you just rescued from a horde of annoying goblins can be useful.

It's entirely possible to play through an entire campaign as the sole evil character in a party of do-gooders, simply because it makes sense to travel and fight with a group of capable adventurers through situations where you're likely to become fabulously wealthy, get lots of magic items and lots of influence, all of which can serve a would-be tyrant-in-the-making quite well before he strikes off on his own. You don't betray the party until it's obvious that you no longer need them, and more importantly, you have catalogued their tactics and abilities and have planned counter-measures. Random killings and betrayals just out of spite and without any long-term planning are senseless and counter-productive. Even in D&D, it's difficult to unkill someone, and you never know when you're going to need someone later on.

So, I notice that wizard opposition schools in Pathfinder are not quite as stringent as they were in 3.5, in that a wizard is now capable of learning and casting spells of his opposition schools, albeit with the impediment of requiring two spell slots of that spells level in order to cast it.

My question is this: how are spells of opposition schools treated in regard to the use of spell-trigger and spell-completion items, such as wands and scrolls? Can it be done? Are there limitations? I can imagine some restrictions, such as having to cast from scrolls as a full-round action and using double the number of charges for wands, but I'm curious as to whether there is an actual ruling on this somewhere, as I can't find it addressed anywhere.

"Tieflings of Golarion" in Pathfinder #25 was probably my favorite article in a good long time, counting even stuff published in Dragon and Dungeon magazines. Not much surprise there, as I am fascinated by tieflings as much as the next person.

But I also really like aasimars. Which brings me to my question, if anyone in the know can answer: Is there a "Aasimars of Golarion" article in the works for the near future? Conventional wisdom holds that tieflings are much more popular than aasimars, and tieflings do fit conveniently into the current AP, but I'm sure I'm not alone in my desire to see aasimars get the same treatment. Using "Tieflings" as a base, I'm sure people have already attempted their own versions of the various heritages and variant ability tables, and I could probably do the same if I chose, but somehow I'd be happier to see the official take.

I mean, come on, the first villain of the first issue of Pathfinder was an aasimar!

So, any input?

I realize that in the grand scheme of things, the pricing mechanics of a minor magical item in an edition of D&D that most people won't even be playing in five years is not of dire import. I also realize that as a DM I can change the numbers as I see fit. I generally try to keep close to the rules-as-written, just in the off-chance that the game designers happen to know more than I do about how to keep the game balanced. Mostly I'm just curious.

As for the arrow itself, this is my best guess:

First(or last, depending on where you start), there's 7gp for the masterwork arrow itself, which knocks that seemingly arbitrary 132gp down to an ever-so-slightly more sensical 125gp.

Second, we flip to DMG p.285, Table 7-33: "Estimating Magic Item Gold Piece Values." [yes, I do note the word "estimating"]

Third...huh. Well, I would have considered magic ammunition that releases a spell on impact as a "use-activated" item, as opposed to "spell completion" items (of which I know only of scrolls). The CL listed in the "Sleep Arrow" entry is CL5. Calculating that with the formula for "use-activated" gets a price of 250gp per arrow, which is not worth it. However, I mention "spell completion" because, mysteriously enough, spell level 1 x CL5 x 25gp = 125gp. My guess: arbitrary decision on the part of whoever designed the bloody thing to drop its price by half and make it more likely that some schmuck would actually buy it. Better, perhaps, for treasure placement.

In the item's entry it is referred to as a +1 arrow. I don't see it. Generally speaking, you don't buy or craft individual +1 arrows. Arrows, as well as other ammunition such as crossbow bolts and sling bullets, are enhanced to +1 or higher in lots of 50 (because who would pay 2300gp for a +1 arrow?). It's hard to factor a sleep effect into that. First, I'd guess it would dilute the magic of the spell, and second, I can't find any way of working that out that comes anywhere near 132gp. I guess a "sleep arrow" is a +1 arrow by virtue of the fact that it is magical, in that it has a spell attached to it. "Sleep" is a spell effect, not a weapon property. Otherwise, every wand would first have to be a +1 Stick before getting spells shoved into it.

Anyway, I know I'm overthinking this. This whole line of thought came up because I came across the "Bolt of Healing" in Dragon #342, noticed that was exactly like the sleep arrow both in that it casts a first-level spell at CL5 and that it costs exactly 132gp per bolt. Coincidence? I just figured there was some kind of underlying logic. But then again, it's thinking like that that made people want to explore the Far Realm.

Perhaps my next absurd and ultimately useless question should be, "If I were to wield another character as an improvised weapon, would my opponent get an attack of opportunity against that character as it were being hit with him?" Or the follow-up: "How much damage would that do, anyway?"

This is going to sound ridiculous...ok, it already sounds ridiculous, but I've been wracking my brain for quite some time now and I'm not too proud to ask for help. Going by the magic item crafting rules in the DMG I cannot recreate a sleep arrow. I get the general principle, but I can't figure out why sleep arrows have a cost of 132gp. Would someone be kind enough to explain this process to me, breaking it down step-by-step?

My gaming experiences have generally all been good, and I can't complain about the group I have now...except perhaps that there are only three of us. We all have our quirks, of course. I have a habit of overcomplicating everything, our roommate can't seem to get into the character of anything but a weak-willed paladin, and my wife thinks undead are icky and wants to take most of the demons out of Savage Tide.

I was once the type to get angry and frustrated when I got into negative hit points, but I mostly blame bad dice karma. The dice are intelligent, I say! One night I was rolling badly, so I looked at the dice and casually pointed out that, as rocks go, quartz isn't all that hard. Didn't roll below 16 the rest of the night.

But seriously, the way we all got over our loathing of losing was to start taking shots (rum) every time we failed a saving throw (even the DM). After THAT particular experience we couldn't remember why we ever got so mad in the first place. I realize this novel solution won't work for everyone (particularly the underage) but I just thought I'd share. Enough of us are mature enough to matter.

Curious Observations of Other-worldly Politics
by Ranmikel Sevenoaks, Mage’s Guild Undersecretary (2nd class), part-time sage and full-time quill-monkey

Despite having this tiresome assignment thrust upon me by my superiors, in researching this esoteric topic I have developed a morbid fascination with its inner workings. What follows is a brief account of current political events on an obscure alternate Material Plane world called “Earth” (apparently a perversion of “Oerth” and not to be confused with the elemental plane of the same name). In particular, the political machinations of a major nation called “America” are the object of intense scrutiny and a flurry of activity. It must be noted here that many of the details in this report were hard-won and almost certainly inaccurate to some degree, owing to the fact that this “Earth” suffers from a curious scarcity of magic, resulting in divinations that are imperfect at best.

Now, the people of this nation, America, are peculiar in a number of ways, not least of which is their system of government. They have the odd practice of allowing the common people to choose their ruler by popular election every four years, resulting in a great deal of chaos for a supposedly lawful establishment. This does, however, have the benefit of being somewhat fluid, and escaping certain dangers such as the inbred stupidity often noted in traditional monarchies. We cannot be certain, but we believe they call this electoral system of government “Dichromatic,” possibly reflecting the fact that the government is divided into two main political parties whose representative colors are red and blue (some have suggested that the word is, in fact, “Democratic,” but let’s be serious here). At this time, the nation is in the middle of a convoluted candidate nomination process that will ultimately result in just two candidates for the people to choose between.

Now I shall briefly mention the candidates in the “blue party.” The first is known as the “Inevitable” candidate, apparently a kolaryut inevitable named Hilareh Kulintun (serial number unavailable) who, though working lawful good ends has shown slight lawful evil tendencies in a history of political maneuvering that is unbecoming of a product of Mechanus. Hilareh is believed to be an improvement upon an earlier model called Beel Kulintun, a former ruler who was nearly retired early due to an unfortunate breakdown in his programming. The second candidate is a fellow called Bara Ko’Bama, whose roots lie in places with fanciful names like “Kenya” and “Indoneesha” while his homeland is necessarily America, suggesting that he is, in fact, a Native Outsider (good subtype). His rivals claim that his relatively young age and inexperience are potential liabilities (the Wisdom bonuses of advanced age have not yet set in, it seems).

On to the “red party.” The first candidate is a man named Mikayne, a grizzled war veteran whose Wisdom bonuses run deep (if you get my drift). His campaign appears to be centered on the virtues of having leaders who are accomplished warriors. The second candidate is Romni, from a tribe of religious people called Mormons, who constitute an offshoot of America’s monotheistic faith. Perhaps unfairly, Mormons are often maligned, mistrusted and decried as heretics, despite the fact that few people actually know anything about them. Our sources say that Romni recently gave up on his bid for ruler ship. The third candidate is a man named Hakabi, a former cleric of America’s primary deity Yaweh (speculated to be a unified aspect of Heironeus, St. Cuthbert and Pelor). For many people, Hakabi seems to represent a push for a greater role for Yaweh’s ideology in the ruling of the nation (divine servitors of Yaweh could not be reached for comment).

The concerns of America’s common people weight heavily on the decision to elect one candidate over another. One such concern is America’s “war on terror,” which is almost universally recognized as a war against a particularly violent offshoot of Yaweh’s faith often referred to as “jihadism.” Proponents of jihadism ostensibly worship Yaweh (generally considered a peaceful deity) and claim that he has commanded them to destroy America, though sources seem to indicate that their clerics receive their spells from Erythnul or possibly Hextor.

A second concern is a nation called Iran, which denies American accusations that it is trying to develop epic-level spells.

A third concern is the American economy, which is related to the nation’s dependence on oil. America’s peculiar fascination with such large quantities of this combustible substance is all the more puzzling when you consider that our researchers have yet to find a single oil lamp in use in the entire nation (they apparently power their light sources by channeling electrical energy through “light bulbs,” though how they do this without any discernible magic is a paradox that has caused more than one researcher to tear out his hair in frustration).

A fourth concern is the state of Earth’s natural environment. It seems that decades of large-scale alchemical projects have had a deleterious effect upon the natural world that has seriously miffed the elemental forces. Currently, air elementals in the form of tornadoes rage across the plains in record numbers, water elementals have drained reservoirs and raised sea levels, fire elementals are responsible for costly wildfires, earth elementals have caused one disastrous tsunami in recent times and ice para-elementals are increasing in number. Tragically, most of this world’s druidic cultures have by this point either been converted to the worship of Yaweh or exterminated. Countless people have appeared through the years claiming druidic or arcane power, or even to be able to intercede in various circumstances on Yaweh’s behalf (miraculous healings and the like) but thus far these people have only shown a remarkable ability to peddle self-written books of questionable quality.

One last point of interest in this election is the long-awaited ousting of the current elected ruler, known by the moniker “Dobelyu.” His rule, aided by his cohort Chayni (a suspected blackguard), is popularly characterized by warmongering, a casual dismissal of the elemental crisis, a confrontational attitude toward other nations, a liberal use of detect thoughts on the citizenry and a tendency to advance the interests of wealthy aristocrats (of which he is one). All divination attempts upon his office have failed utterly, one of our researchers sent to investigate personally was found riddled with holes and small pieces of metal and a second colleague who attempted an inconclusive detect evil was detained by several dangerous-looking men in black suits of armor who told him never to do so again.

In conclusion, I emphatically suggest that all further research into this backwater be immediately discontinued, and I encourage planes-walkers to choose less dangerous vacation spots (I hear Gehenna is nice this time of year). For much of the information in this report I owe my sincere thanks to a well-informed denizen of America, a respectable beholder known as Sien’en, whose excellent information network is renowned for its unfailing accuracy and strict neutrality. Soon I will finally be able to wash my hands of this beastly civilization, just after I add the finishing touches to my report on how they manage to trap the souls of bards in those little “eye-pod” devices. In my opinion, anyone who is entertained by convincing people to drink those acidic “cola” things deserves what they get. As I have not yet blown my word limit, I would like to state for the record that I am not being paid for this. Dear reader, never become a scribe. Stick to the simple disciplines, like summoning fiends.

End of report

Huge, actually (I looked it up). That mini is quite a piece of work. Stabbity, you should be proud. That, plus the other pics in those albums of Blackwall Keep and Dragotha's lair will undoubtedly send my creative and sometimes OCD wife into hysterics and inspire her to new artistic heights. That was really clever to prop the different floors of the keep up on sticks, by the way. I'll have to remember that one. :)

In Dragon #311 there was an article about bloodline feats for sorcerers. The idea was that you didn't have to accept the general notion that all sorcerers have magic because they're descended from dragons, and instead your sorcerer could be descended from demons or angels or various elemental types. So this bloodline feat (which you could take only one of) gave you a new spell at every spell level, in much the same way that cleric domains do. Since there's already a precedent of a feat granting spells in this way, I don't see why you couldn't let a character use a feat to gain one of his or her deity's domains and the accompanying spells and granted abilities. I believe the information regarding those sorcerer bloodline feats was also printed in the Dragon Compendium.