Issue #12
Winter 2010

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16 March 2010

"What a roleplaying magazine should be."
Ed Greenwood

Bait & Switch: Trap or Monster?

by Jonathan Palmer

sword rackAt first glance, it looks to be nothing more than a sword rack, masterfully carved from a single piece of dark wood, holding weapons in stylized arms. However, approaching the sword rack, it comes to life as its arms unfold to wield the sharp payload. It bounces menacingly towards you, flourishing the blades with an uncanny skill.

The master swordsrack is an example of a creature made through magical accident. The original was a simple animated piece of furniture made to protect a noble’s treasured magical weapon collection from thieves…

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Monday Monster: Razor Treant

by Uri Kurlianchik

treantInstead of leaves, the gnarled black tree grew sharp, metallic slivers, ringing out like a thousand tiny bells in a constant trickle of wind. Stronger gusts often cause a razor or two to disconnect, falling lazily and slicing blades of grass in its descent. The accumulation of dismembered birds that lay by the tree in shapeless stacks of red ruin are a testament to their deadliness.

“An end to our financial woes!” Jorgard the wizard exclaimed joyfully, “this tree will fetch thousands!”

“Tens of thousands!” Vargania corrected him, appraising the tree with the trained eye of a thief. She knocked on the dark wood and added, “And the timber’s not bad either!”

The tree heard them and groaned with motion…

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Friday Funny: Krenshar-Pei

by Mike Welham

sharpeiThe shopkeeper looked at the leopard-spotted dog sitting outside his shop, and he found himself oddly compelled to leave his shop so he could pet the sad-looking animal. The dog sat there while he consoled it and asked it where its owner was. Suddenly, a sharp whistle sounded to his left, and the dog trotted off toward the sound. The shopkeeper watched the animal wistfully before returning to his shop, where he discovered his most expensive wares had been stolen.

Krenshar-Pei (CR 1)

XP 400
N Medium magical beast
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft., low-light vision, scent; Perception +6…

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Ancient Weapons: The Trebuchet

by Alan Leddon

trebuchetTrebuchets are the dominant siege engine in parts of the world. They have advantages over many other weapons, including longer range, the ability to throw a variety of objects, easy maintenance, and variable power.

Trebuchets include a frame from which a long, unbalanced arm (virga) swings. The virga is attached to the frame by means of an axle or pivot point. The longer section of the virga ends in a sling, the shorter in a counterweight. The long end is 3 to 4 times the length of the short end. The whole rests upon a base; the guide chute is attached to the base. For game purposes, the whole weapon can be assumed to weigh 5 times its maximum counterweight load and cost 1 gp/lb.

The counterweight mounts on a swinging connection (a hinge, chains, etc), to the virga. It is often a heavy net or box, strong enough to contain metal spheres, boulders, or other heavy objects…

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Humpday Hazard: Ghoul Vomit

by Scott A. Murray

ghoul“The door was thick—made of stone, I think—but I could still hear it. Damn my soul, I could still bloody hear it.”

The priest sat in silence, casting a long frown over the ninth bowl of oatmeal the warrior had ignored this week.

“When it first touched my ears, it sounded like a barrel of rancid meat was being dumped on a cellar floor all at once. I could hear chunks of wet skin sliding on the ground, settling in cracks between the masonry.” He stopped, licked his teeth, and loosed a hoarse cough. The priest offered a bowl of water to the man, but he refused…

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