June 2000

Closing in on the release date, and we've got a bigger batch to go through today. In addition to the Countdown article, Dragon had its annual 'dragons' issue, including our first look at a 3rd edition monster writeup. But first...we have Ember, the Human Monk to look at.

They formatted this sheet differently from the prior ones. It's not spaced out very well, and everything is listed in a column format without abbreviations. It's the same information as the previous characters, but it just feels off. And the artwork makes it clear that Ember is not from the far East, but rather the Dark Continent.

Interestingly, the levels on this sheet are 1st, 3rd and 7th. I'm not sure why they did the switch, but there it is. For 1st level, Ember's top stats are Strength and Wisdom, and she's skilled in acrobatic-type skills. At 3rd, I noticed that her movement speed went up, and I don't see a magic item to explain that, so I'll assume it's a class feature that carried over from the original 1e monk. I also see that Ember has ditched her original weapons (quarterstaff and sling) and added a crossbow instead. I guess punching people is more effective than hitting them with a large stick at 3rd level.

At 7th level...dear God, that's a speed of 100 ft. That's more than three times faster what anyone else has had so far. I really hope that's due to the boots of striding and springing she's wearing, because if not, the monk is basically the Flash. The Still Mind ability that showed up at 3rd level is absent here, so I'm not sure if it was missed or if it shouldn't have been there, although in that case you would expect them to correct the problem at some point.

So, lots going on with the monk, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the Player's Handbook has to show us about this class. And now, on to the main event of the month...

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Dragon #272 (June 2000)

First up, there's the Countdown article which, as mentioned previously, will cover both barbarians and rangers.

Our introduction to the barbarian says that this class will show off what half-orcs do best. So I gather that there won't be too many half-orc bards or wizards running around. And the art reinforces that; this guy has a massive stone axe with a bone handle, and again the weapon is bigger than the character holding it. The skulls at his belt are a nice touch. Not to mention the spikes on his armor. And yeah, that's totally a half-orc.

Incidentally, these aren't going to be noble savages; they're just savage, with the ability to go berserk on cue. With a d12 for hit points, they're going to hold out in a fight. And they also have Fast Movement, so they can outrun you if you try to get away. However, as long as you can outrun your friends, you should be fine. Their Rage ability gives them a temporary +4 to both Strength and Constitution as well as a bonus to Will saves. There's also an armor class penalty, although that isn't defined in this article. When the rage wears off, they are penalized (except once they get to 20th level, they aren't anymore).

As they grow up, barbarians also become nearly immune to sneak attacks and gain the rogue's Uncanny Dodge ability as well. So they'll be hard to hurt, and even if you do get through their defenses, they've got hit points to spare. Oh, and they also get Damage Reduction at higher levels, which means they take even less damage than before. So, barbarians are basically your tank.

Next, we have the ranger. This one is wearing what appears to be studded leather armor and carries a bow and sword. Oh, and there's a bear beside her growling at the reader. Sure, why not?

Rangers no longer have alignment restrictions; they can be amoral bounty hunters if you want. I think this is a good change, since there are plenty of stories about bad guys tracking their prey like a ranger would.

Like 2nd edition, rangers choose a 'favored enemy', but it's a category of creatures much like 1st-edition's 'giant-class'. Except there are lots of classes to choose from: aberrations, animals, beasts, constructs, dragons, elementals, fey, giants, humanoid, magical beasts, oozes, outsiders, plants, shapechangers, undead, and vermin. So if you pick plants as your favored enemy (I don't know why you would either, so don't ask), it works on treants and dryads and shambling mounds. The favored enemy bonus also applies to certain skills, allowing you to better track and understand your favored enemy.

As your ranger advances in levels, you get more favored enemies, as well as additional bonuses to his previous ones. And their spellcasting starts at 4th level instead of 8th. Nice.

So, that's the Countdown article. However, being June and thus 'dragon month', we get a special treat on the next pages: 3rd edition writeups of Bahamut and Tiamat. And we are told that they are deity-class creatures (which makes sense, since they are in fact the two main dragon deities), and they are presented as a match for a party of 20th-level characters. That's a scary thought. We're also informed that these writeups are the official ones since they won't be reprinted for a while, if at all, in an official book.

The pair are described as opposites; Bahamut's presence is why Tiamat lurks in the shadows to plot instead of just razing the planet to ash. Meanwhile, Bahamut spends his time on the mortal plane as a wise old hermit.

Now, I'm going to compare the basic stats for the 1e version of these two behemoths to the new ones in this magazine. First, we have Bahamut. Here are his 1e stats:

AC: -3 (23 in ascending AC scale)
HP: 168
Speed: 9"/30" (90 ft./300 ft. flying)
Attacks: 3
THAC0: 7 (equal to a +13 base attack bonus)
Damage: 2-12/2-12/6-48
Size: 72' long
Special Abilities: Breath weapon, fear aura, spells

Here are the same stats from the 3e writeup:

AC: 54
HP: 1,086
Speed: 60 ft./300 ft. flight
Attacks: Bite, 2 claws, 2 wings, tail slap
Attack Bonuses: +66 bite, +61 everything else
Damage: 4d8+21 bite, 4d6+10 claw, 2d8+10 wing, 4d6+10 tail slap
Size: Colossal
Special Abilities: Breath weapons, frightful presence, spells, spell-like abilities, scent, spell resistance, damage reduction, immunities, see invisible, keen senses, water breathing.

Yikes. Oh, and he's also got a 53 Strength, and every other ability other than Dexterity is 35 or more. And he carries a bunch of magic items. Good Lord, this is one nasty dragon. I once worked out in 1st edition that it would take about five huge ancient red dragons to take down Bahamut. If that holds true in 3rd edition, then there's no point in ever trying to fight a dragon. Ever.

Alright, let's look at Tiamat. Again, 1e stats:

AC: 0 (20 in ascending AC scale)
HP: 128
Speed: 6"/18" (180' flight)
Attacks: 6 (5 bites and a tail sting)
THAC0: 7
Damage: 2-16/3-18/2-20/3-24/3-30/1-6
Size: 60' long
Special Abilities: Breath weapons, poison, spells

And the 3e version:

AC: 50
HP: 906
Speed: 40 ft./150 ft.
Attacks: 5 bites, 2 wings, sting
Attack Bonuses: +60 bites, +55 wings & sting
Damage: 4d6+19 per bite; wing 2d8+9, sting 4d6+9 and poison
Size: Colossal
Special Abilities: Breath weapons, frightful presence, sound imitation, spells, spell-like abilities, scent, spell resistance, damage reduction, immunities, see invisibility, keen senses, water breathing

So, commensurate with the upgrade on Bahamut; she's not his equal, but she's not far behind. And she also carried a crap-ton of magic items with her. And the typical list of items she carries is lengthy, and their effects are not included in the stat block (which means she's even more overpowered when she's fully geared).

So, this is our first hint at what monsters are going to be like in 3rd edition. And these monsters are NASTY. I really hope this isn't a trend-setting article, because if it is I don't see how any party can take on a dragon of any sort and hope to survive the encounter.

Alright, one month to go before we get to the big reveal.