July 2000

Alright, this is the last month of the countdown before we get to the release of the Player's Handbook. Our online character spotlight is Imsh, the Half-Orc Barbarian. And this is a very interesting character, because while we have 1st, 3rd and 7th-level versions of this character, he is our first example of how multi-classing works in 3rd edition.

So, he's really strong (17 at 1st level), and really ugly (Charisma of 6) and dumb (Intelligence of 8). He's fast, has lots of hit points, and likes to use a really big axe. What is it with axes in this edition? I've hardly seen any swords in the artwork so far. Half-orcs get darkvision like dwarves do; the other special abilities seem to be barbarian-related (rage and fast movement).

At 3rd level, we now have a multiclassed Barbarian 2/Rogue 1 character, so he still has his barbarian abilities but also the abilities of a 1st-level rogue, including his skills. He's added three skills (Move Silently, Spot, and Search), and his Search skill actually has a negative modifier (-1), which is the first time I've seen that so far.

At 7th level, Imsk is a 4th-level barbarian and 3rd-level rogue. He's got improved Strength (20 with his gauntlets) and Constitution (15 with his bracers of health). I will note that we have now had two characters with gauntlets of ogre power show up (Tordek the fighter and Imsk). How common are these magic items going to be in this game? In four levels, he hasn't bothered to improve his search skill, although his stealth and physical abilities are improving, and he's really good at noticing things (Spot) rather than actively looking for them. His rage is now twice a day, as well.

So, I'm not sure how effective this character would be in comparison with a straight 7th-level barbarian; the additional thief abilities are certainly useful, but I can't help but wonder if they are as useful as having the additional barbarian abilities instead. On the other hand, I haven't seen the full list of the barbarian's abilities, so I'll have to wait to pass judgment. Still, the new multiclassing is definitely interesting.

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Dragon #273 (July 2000)

Okay, here we go with the last Countdown article before the release. This one is about sorcerers and bards. Sorcerers are different than wizards; they have more spells per level per day, don't use a spellbook, rely on Charisma instead of intelligence, and don't have to prepare their spells ahead of time but rather use whatever they need in the moment. Alright, then.

The sorcerer description here focuses on how sorcerers have an inborn magic rather than having to study for years to master magic. This gives them access to all their spells all the time. At 1st level, sorcerers can cast five cantrips and three 1st-level spells per day, not counting bonus spells. That's definitely more than a wizard can cast (3 and 1 before bonuses). It takes sorcerers longer to get higher level spells (one level more per spell level), but imagine you finally get access to 3rd-level spells and get fireball. You're going to be lobbing nukes on the battlefield almost at will. Very nice.

The disadvantage is that they don't get nearly as many spells; unlike wizards, who can just copy spells from other books and scrolls into their own spell books, sorcerers know all the spells they can have in advance. So, if you want to have more options, play a wizard. If you just feel like blasting, play a sorcerer.

Bards are closely related to sorcerers in that they cast and learn their spells the same way sorcerer's do and use Charisma as their key ability. No surprise there. They get a different list of spells from sorcerers and wizards, they don't cast as many and they are limited to 6th-level spells. That's what 2nd edition bards had to cope with as well, so no big deal. However, they get lots of skills.

They also get the old bardic music and bardic knowledge abilities. Music includes several different effects depending on the bard's skill level. They can also countersong, which is basically the same as counter-spelling but it only works on sound-based magical attacks. Bardic knowledge is just a roll to see if the bard knows some obscure facts.

Alright, that's it for the Countdown articles. But before we jump into the Player's Handbook, let's look at the sample character for August: Biran Dragonscourge, Human sorcerer/ranger. Well, that's an interesting combination.

At 1st level, Biran is a straight sorcerer. He's got four cantrips and 2 1st-level spells (once again, magic missile and sleep). He also uses a shortspear and a light crossbow. His Intelligence is average, and he's a bit of a wimp (8 Strength).

The second writeup is for a 5th-level character, but he's a 4th-level sorcerer and 1st-level ranger. So he gets more hit points, better weapons and armor (although he isn't casting spells with armor on), gets some new skills, and has an improved Dex thanks to some gloves. And he's got a single 2nd-level spell now to boost his Constitution. Sweet. As for his ranger abilities, he's taken dragons as his favored enemy, and he gets Improved Two-Weapon Fighting when in Light armor or less. Nice.

At 7th level, he's boosting his ranger up to 3rd level; his sorcerer level is unchanged. So aside from a few more hit points (only seven in 2 levels? Harsh rolls) and more magical equipment, he's not much different than the previous version.

So, a bit of a disappointing note to go on, but at least we're finally ready for the first part of the Player's Handbook. I'm looking forward to exploring this.

But then, I spotted the other article in the magazine: The Sembia Seven. This is a Forgotten Realms article, detailing seven NPCs from the realm of Sembia. And the thing is, they're written up as 3e characters. I was not expecting this. These seven NPCs are a family, and they have widely-different levels. So this will be an interesting peek at how characters are built in the game. I'm not going to go into a lot of detail on these people, since I'm more focused on how the mechanics work at this time.

So, the family patriarch is Thamalon Uskevren, a 12th-level fighter. His stats are pretty sweet; nothing below a 13 (ironically, that's his Strength score), and everything else is 15-17. So he's got plenty of bonuses. He's got a lot of skills, 13 of them to be precise, and a lot of feats: 13 as well. Fighters really do get tons of those, don't they? He's got 88 hit points, which is a healthy number. He's very good with both the dagger and the longsword, having Weapon Focus and Weapon Specialization in each. He's also a mounted combatant and able to fight in the dark. He's also ambidextrous, which is a handy thing to have if you're wielding two weapons. Personality wise, he's an upright, honest businessman who lives up to his reputation. He's also got a thing for wine, making his own instead of collecting other vintages.

Next, we have Shamur Uskevren, who is both 40 years old and 97 at the same time. Magical time travel. What a thing. Anyway, she was an adventuring rogue (13th level) who snuck away from her family. Through complexity and coincidence, she's now married to Thamalon, although she isn't thrilled about it (arranged marriages suck). Like her husband, she's loaded in the stats department (from 13 to 18), and she's got a whopping 80 hit points. I don't recall any thief ever having that many in earlier editions unless the DM was very generous with hit point rolls. She's got 16 skills, and some of them are really high (Diplomacy +19, Disable Device +20, Hide +17, Move Silently +20). She also has six feats, and a special ability called 'Slippery Mind' that I haven't seen yet. She hides her skills, but she really doesn't enjoy the life she's stuck in.

Up next is Thamalon II (aka Tamlin), the eldest son of Thamalon and Shamur. He's only a 2nd-level fighter...with a 6 Strength. Say what, now? You couldn't even BE a fighter with a Strength score that low back in the 1e days. His other abilities aren't very impressive, his best being a 15 in Charisma. His skills and feats are limited (5 and 4 respectively), and he is definitely not a combat monster. He's...well, he's a stereotypical noble brat who lives for the party and the ladies. His primary campaign purpose appears to be kidnapping victim in order to get his family's money. He's got a secretary (Ftr 3/Rog 1) and a bodyguard (Bbn 6) that keep him out of extreme trouble.

Then there's Thazienne "Tazi" Uskevren, the middle child and only daughter of the family. She, like her mother, is a rogue, albeit only 7th level. Which is impressive for a 21-year-old, I must say. And her roguery (if that's the word now) is a secret from her family. Her stats are still pretty good, with a 10 Strength and an 18 Charisma. She's got 40 hit points, which is very good for that level. She's got lots of skills like her mother, and she likes using a rapier. She's the 'wild child' in the family, although they aren't really aware of it.

The youngest child of the family is Talbot, who unlike his brother is actually a fighter, and a pretty good one (7th level). He gets lots of practice, apparently, and has spent more than a few nights in the city jail as a result. He's impulsive (Wisdom of 9), but built like an ox (Strength 17, Constitution 16). He's got 58 hit points, but he's not particularly skilled with any weapon. He does fight well unarmed, however. He loves his older sister (even though he doesn't know how she spends her nights), and avoids his brother and his brutish bodyguard. He's a friendly, outgoing type who is awkward around authority figures, including his parents.

Erevis Cale is the family butler. It seems I've heard that name before, but I can't place it. Anyway, he's an 8th-level rogue/3rd-level fighter with sweet ability scores and quite a lot of combat ability. And skills. Lots and lots of skills. He's got a complicated background, having been part of a couple of different thieves' guilds and being quite good at the job. He did forgeries as well as typical rogue stuff, but when he was sent to infiltrate the Uskevren family to gain blackmail material, he ended up actually  liking Thamalon and was soon truly the butler he was pretending to be. He serves the family with unshakable loyalty, and is trying to figure out how to not be part of the guild anymore.

The last person here is Larajin, a half-elf servant of the family who is a 1st-level cleric. She believes she is the daughter of a couple in the employ of the Uskevrens, but in fact she's the product of an unfaithful episode in Thamalon's past when he got busy with a wild elf woman. Again, she's got sweet stats (other than a 10 Strength, nothing under 14), and she's got more hit points than she should be allowed to have (12, when her maximum should be 10). She recently found out that she is in fact a half-elf (not sure how she didn't realize that for over twenty years, but it's fantasy), and is trying to find out more.

So, that's the Sembian Seven. Taking a look in the 'coming attractions' section, I see that there was a novel coming out called 'The Halls of Stormweather', which happens to be the title of this article (The Heroes of Stormweather). So, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that these characters appear in that book. I've never read it, of course, but it seems to be a reasonable guess on my part.

Alright, now we're on to the Player's Handbook.