DragonMagazine389.pdf

ISSUE 389 | JUly 2010

A DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ® ROLEPLAYING GAME SUPPLEMENT

CONTENTS

Features

5 OriginstOries

By Steve Townshend

A compelling origin story can drive your character’s adventures through

an entire career.

32 Winningraces: MinOtaurs

By Matt Sernett

To minotaurs, clan is everything. Belonging to a clan, however, is as

much about thought as blood.

11 FictiOn: BlOOdOasis

By Kevin J. Anderson

An escaped gladiator and a heartsick preserver battle for life, and for

a better world.

35 charactercOncePts: cOrruPtiOn

By Matt Sernett

Every virtue has its opposite vice, and some characters embrace that

darker side, or have in the past.

25 PsiOnicracialtraditiOns, Part2

By Robert J. Schwalb

People from the unforgiving wilderness or fantastical realms beyond

the natural world can learn and wield psionic power through

unconventional means.

38 classacts: MOnk

By Peter Schaefer

The itinerant monk Fat Aloisus became legendary for his graceful Fallen

Needle style and his generosity.

cOluMns

41 classacts: seeker

By Robert J. Schwalb

To some seekers, their bows are more than simple tools. They become

extensions of the seeker’s spirit.

editOrial

By Steve Winter

Change is in the wind. It’s more like a

slight breeze, really.

46 classacts: druid

By Anthony Harrison with Jeff Morgenroth

Members of the Coven of the Garden maintain a unique relationship with

the primal spirits. The order has taken root in the heart of civilization.

54 aMPersand

By Bill Slavicsek

Bill looks ahead to August and Gen Con, but also

gives D&D Insiders their first detailed glimpses

inside the upcoming D&D Essentials products in a

series of five “Ampersand” columns.

49 classacts: rOgue

By Derek Guder

The Fraternal Order of the Vault is an organization of rogues who

emphasize the making and breaking of locks and traps along with other

mechanical skills.

76 cOuntdOWntOessentials

By Mike Mearls

Find out exactly what the Essentials products are

and why we’re going there.

79 cOnFessiOnsOFaFull-tiMeWizard

By Shelley Mazzanoble

D&D ’s “Player-in-Chief ” seizes the reins and

takes control of the game table from behind

the DM’s screen.

OnthecOver

Illustration by Jesper Ejsing

83 design&develOPMent:

deMOnOMicOn

By Mike Mearls

Mike shines a spotlight into the Abyss and

discusses its role in the pantheon of evil.

86 design&develOPMent: darksun

By Rich Baker and Rodney Thompson

The lead designer and developer of the upcoming

Dark Sun Campaign Setting take you on a tour of the

core concepts that guided their work.

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com/dnd

E D I T Or I A l

389

“MY GOD,

Dragon

Ju l y 2010

Editor-in-Chief

Steve Winter

IT’S FULL OF STARS . . .”

Senior Art Director

Jon Schindehette

Web Production

Bart Carroll

Contributing Authors

Richard Baker, Derek Guder,

Anthony Harrison, Shelly

Mazzanoble, Mike Mearls, Jeff

Morgenroth, Peter Schaefer,

Robert J. Schwalb, Matthew

Sernett, Bill Slavicsek, Rodney

Thompson, Steve Townshend

Here we go with my first-ever Dragon editorial. (In

case you haven’t been keeping up with current events,

you’ ll want to read last month’s Dragon and Dungeon

editorials.)

I expect that everyone would like to read about the

sweeping changes we’ ll be making to the magazines—

out with the old, corrupt regime and in with the new

voice of the people!

I’m here to state that no one is being backed against a

wall at dawn with a blindfold and a cigarette. Yes, there

will be changes, but no, there won’t be any sweeping,

f lushing, or dumping.

For the immediate future, things will go on about as

they have in the immediate past. Dragon Magazine has

established a strong format and reputation for providing

solid Dungeons & Dragons support colored with

interesting f lavor and story, along with entertaining and

illuminating columns and the occasional piece of short

fiction such as this month’s Dark Sun tale, “Blood Oasis”

by Kevin Anderson.

At the same time, the magazine follows the game’s

lead, and the Dungeons & Dragons game and worlds

are always in some degree of f lux. The big changes

looming on our horizon are the upcoming launch of

Dungeons & Dragons Essentials TM with the release

of the red Box in September. Bill Slavicsek and Mike

Mearls have a lot to say about that in their Ampersand

and Design & Development columns; you’ ll see more

than the usual number of words from those two in the

next few months.

Other than that, I can share my vision of what makes

a particular magazine article strong or weak vis-à-vis

our beloved game.

First, I’m all about story. As much as I love a

well-tuned power or feat, it’s the spin on the gears

that really makes things hum. We intend to put a

lot of emphasis on story elements that will f ire your

imagination and expand your D&D perspectives.

Even if a particular article is about a class or race

you seldom play, we’d like you to f ind it compelling

reading because of what it says about the astonishing

worlds where your characters operate.

Second, I’m all about the fantastical . I love that

word— fantastical . It’s so evocative. The merely

“fantastic” seems ordinary compared to the fantastical .

The word begs for italics. The great attraction and

power of Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying is that it

transports players not just to times and places that

never existed but to times and places that could not

exist outside the players’ imaginations. The more you

stretch the imagination, the closer you come to the

fantastical. That’s what we’re reaching for.

As always, we’d like to know what you think. There’s

never enough time in the day to comb the blogs as

thoroughly as we’d like or respond to all the forum posts

that provoke our thoughts, but you can send them here

directly at dndinsider@wizards.com.

Developers

Jeremy Crawford, Stephen

Schubert

Editor

Miranda Horner

Cover Artist

Jesper Ejsing

Contributing Artists

Empty Room Studios,

Eric Belisle, Devon Cady-lee,

West Clendinning, Guido Kuip,

Slawomir Maniak, Jason Rainville,

David Rapoza

Cartographers

Jason A. Engle, Sean Macdonald,

Mike Schley

Publishing Production

Specialists

Angelika lokotz, Erin Dorries,

Christopher Tardiff

Web Development

Mark A. Jindra

Executive Producer,

D&D Insider

Christopher Perkins

Director of RPG R&D

Bill Slavicsek

Special Thanks

Richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, Michele Carter, Jennifer Clarke

Wilkes, Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell, Jeremy Crawford, Peter

lee, Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, Peter Schaefer, Stephen

Schubert, Matthew Sernett, Rodney Thompson, James Wyatt

STORIES Origin stories prime new characters

Strong characters make strong entrances.

to step onto the campaign stage fully

drawn, with motivation, purpose, and

direction. At their most basic, origin

stories provide alternative backgrounds

for player characters. Played to their

fullest, they can drive a character’s story,

bestow themed rewards, and shape the

superstructure of the campaign.

Each origin below begins with a motivating con-

f lict for a player character and suggests a general

arc for how the character’s story might develop over

time. Characters who pursue the goals and conf licts

inherent in their origin stories reap the mechanical

rewards and story benefits for doing so.

By Steve Townshend

Illustration by Empty Room Studios, Guido Kuip

COOPERATIVE

STORYTELLING

When a player chooses an origin story—be it one of

the examples in this article or a written summary of

the character’s background—that choice can say a lot

about the kind of story the player envisions for the

character.

FOR PLAYERS

Outside the game, you should discuss your character’s

origin story with the DM. In game, you should react

to player characters, nonplayer characters, and events

in any adventure through the filter of your charac-

ter’s origin story. This can give you a running start to

defining your character as a living, breathing entity.

Although your character story might not always be

in the spotlight, playing your origin through every

scene of the story keeps that story active. This kind

of roleplaying 101 not only solidifies your character

in the group’s imagination, but it serves as a constant

reminder to the DM to further your origin story and

dole out its rewards.

Ju l y 2010 | Dragon 389 5

ORIGIN

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