Dragon Issue 309: July 2003


part 9/9


Fighting the githyanki: We finish this issue off with a fairly standard, if also slightly extended Vs article, looking at githyanki tactics, and how players should deal with them. They may be smart, mobile, and magically capable, but they aren't without weaknesses. They have a lot of enemies, presuming you want to work with githzerai or mind flayers. They don't tend to fight in co-ordinated units in battle, they have a distinct lack of divine healing, and if you have the magic to lock them down so they can't teleport or planeshift away they'll lose their big edge and may panic. They can be beaten, but if you don't have a decent number of spellcasters or psionicists on your side, it'll be a lot harder. Still, if you take the specialist feats here, you might have a chance. One that gives you a +4 bonus to AC if they use power attack or makes it way easier to disarm dual-wielders? That is interesting, and shows once again that they're thinking about the actual tactics things use instead of just creating feats that give bonuses against types of creatures, which I find a very positive step. This doesn't have the wow factor of the previous material, but it serves as a pretty decent comedown to what has been a very special issue indeed. After something this big, you need that cooldown to make sure you won't be feeling strained later.


What's New is an issue late with the dragon magic thing. Kinda missing the new part then, aren't we.


Even more than the 3.0 changeover, this issue really goes to town on the special features, taking a theme and running with it throughout the entire issue, before culminating in an epic crossover that exceeds anything I've seen from them before. While sometimes I've been annoyed with them in the past for trying too hard to get us to buy everything via tie-ins, this definitely justifies it, with a scenario that's epic, well thought out, well written, and well supported. If this is what Paizo can pull off when it puts it's mind to it, I'm not surprised they wind up surpassing the in-house WotC people when it comes to settings and adventures. Now I just wish they weren't so formulaic in the regular issues. Let's see how quickly they slip back into the same old routine after this, and how soon the next big event or shakeup comes along.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 1/9


83 pages: (108) Special update series, 1 of 3? Barbarians · Fighters · Monks · Paladins · Rangers · Rogues? So basically they're hypercompressing the class specials and getting them out of the way right at the start of this edition? That is a positive development, presuming it's because they have lots of ideas and want to skip the rehash and get to the new stuff. On the other hand, it may well mean the next three issues are annoyingly shallow, not covering any one class in enough detail to satisfy.  Guess I'll have to see which way my ambivalence swings by the end of the articles.


Scan Quality: Indexed, ad-free scan, some misaligned pages.


In this issue:


Wyrms turn: This editorial isn't connected with the current theme, but instead revisits the idea of changing the rules to better reflect the setting. If you follow the D&D RAW literally, you end up with something that looks nothing like the medieval fantasy it's based upon, and there's so many interacting elements it's near impossible to use them all. This is why you don't put everything in the kitchen sink at once. Stuff gets broken. Better to select a smaller number of elements, and then you can keep track of how they combine, and tweak each of them to get the results you really want. In a way, it's an argument against endless supplement bloat, and it's certainly one for picking the themes of your game before you start. Once again, it seems they're recommending that you do things in your campaign they're not allowed too, because they have to pump out a certain amount of material every month and make sure it's generic enough to have wide appeal. Funny how that's working out.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 2/9


Scale Mail: We start off with a couple more letters about dice superstitions. Yawn. Just because everyone has their quirks, doesn't mean you have to broadcast them to the world.

Also unfortunately familiar is someone who's parents chucked out their dice and character sheets. Sad to see that still happens in the new millennium.

Two people praise the westeros special. They don't plan to follow that up, but they will continue to do themed issues on other books when they get the chance. Keep sending that material in, you never know what series might hit critical mass next.

And finally we have a clever suggestion of representing battles too large scale for minis with graph paper and coloured pins. Neat, even if you will use up materials faster than with regular minis and props. But then, they're cheaper too, so it'll work out fine unless you're doing tons of mass battles, at which point you might as well invest in a dedicated games room with an extra large table anyway.


Zogonia deals with conflicted sexuality. Oh, the angst. Nowick deals with the absence of monsters. Oh, the humanity!


The roles of rage: Back to basic multiclassing advice, are we? I thought we'd got past that a year or so ago. The changes to Barbarians haven't really been that great, apart from reducing the front-loading, so you have more incentive to stick with them. So once again it's time for 8 different basic class combos to be examined with their pros and cons over sticking with the single class for 20 levels. (apart from literacy, obviously) I'm not impressed. It looks like my worst fears about a theme spread this thinly might well be realised for this issue.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 3/9


Specialist fighters: Our fighter article does exactly what it says on the tin. 11 fighter specialist options in a similar vein to wizard ones. Bodyguard, Commander, Corsair, Exoticist, Fencer, Horseman, Kensai, Knight, Pugilist, Shield Bearer and Targetteer. Each of them has a different skill and bonus feat list, plus a few special abilities exclusive to them that they can get where they would normally get a fighter bonus feat. This makes them a step up from regular fighters, but not as big a step as specialist wizards are compared to generalists. Which means they're still pretty much on the bottom of the totem pole as PC classes go, but at least they're a bit more flexible, especially if you want a party full of martial classes, and you might be able to get to a prestige class you want without sacrificing BAB. Really, as with regular fighters, that's probably the best use for them.


Variant fist: Monks have more class features to exchange, so they have an easier time with variants. We already saw the option of selecting different fighting styles and getting a different set of bonus feats and skill boost as a result, and here's 9 more examples of that. In addition, they get a whole bunch of options like switching out class features for Rage, damage reduction, undead turning, etc etc. Many of these options would later appear in Unearthed Arcana and various splatbooks, showing that this one is fairly successful, and once again, you can really use this kind of customising to twink out your character and get into prestige classes with a minimum of multiclassing. But some of these options are so much better than the others that I'm surprised they don't spot them right away, and didn't fix them when they republished them. Andy Collins seriously needs to work on his balance eyeballing skills. Having put quite a bit of effort towards increasing balance in the revision, they're immediately messing it up again. It's really not good enough.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 4/9


Champions of the divine: While the other classes just offer new subclasses and variant abilities, Paladins get a full set of new classes for each alignment, as in issue 106. Curiously, not one of them shares the same name as in the old ones, although they do bring back companion set style Avengers as the chaotic good option. Given that, it's also not surprising that they don't share abilities with them either, and are far more standardised than the old set, all having the same key ability scores, and gaining the same number of powers and spells, full BAB, armor and weapon access, and a single good save. (plus divine grace boosting them all) So while the changes are slightly more drastic than fighters or monks, they're all very recognisably paladins, making this pretty dull when compared with the old collection, but a good deal more balanced and playable. I find it strange that they missed this opportunity to throw a nostalgia bomb at us. Still, at least this gives us other options than losing your powers entirely when you change alignment. At least, if they add retraining. I wonder if that'll be tested out in the magazine before appearing in Unearthed Arcana.


Roles of the wild: After three slightly more adventurous articles, we return to multiclassing advice for Rangers. Curiously, we only get 5 options, presented in more detail than the barbarian ones. Their biggest difference now is an extra couple of skill points per level, and not having to spend one on animal empathy, making them the best fighty class for getting into prestige classes without BAB-sacrificing multiclassing. Greater choice of combat styles helps with that too. And then of course there's urban rangers, which remain pretty popular despite their role being filled almost as well by rogues. This isn't hugely insightful either, as these even splits aren't the best way to optimise your character full stop. In a whistle-stop tour of the classes like this, there really really shouldn't be this much filler. Don't make me wish I'd snoozed through three issues in a row.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 5/9


Stealth and dagger: The rogue article also has a bit of multiclassing advice, but it's done more succinctly, and then they move onto a whole bunch of 5 level prestige classes. It also remembers to think about how race interacts with class, which was oddly lacking in the barbarian and ranger articles. The prestige classes are pretty decent too, so I think I'll examine those individually.

Branch Dancers are about the obvious wuxia stuff, but also get the ability to speak with trees, and use them as improvised weapons. They're really easy to get into as well, with it being an option from 2nd level if you've got the skills. Easy come, easy go, I suppose.

Moles aren't spies, but ranger/rogues who literally specialise in digging. Not that you can't use that for getting places stealthily and then striking lethally, and they get full sneak attack progression, so combined with assassin tactically you could break the 10d6 limit and build an extra special reputation for yourself.

Jobbers are for those who want to actually nick stuff with their roguish skills and fence them on the black market. So they're good at spotting marks, getting them to trust you, fading into the background, and making sure Mr Johnson doesn't screw them over at the end of the deal. I can definitely see that being valuable for a party who's sick of the DM's bullshit and wants to hit back.

Magic Filchers are like a trial run for Spellthieves. The theme probably works better in a 5 level format too, where you can also be genuinely skilled at other things while also nicking the magical stuff of others.

Stonefaces are for if you want to specialise in being a really really good poker player. Total emotional control, and eventually the ability to resist magical divinations of all kinds. In a D&D world, you really need that. In fact, since all of these prestige classes gain explicitly supernatural abilities, it seems they think that's the way to keep them competitive in this environment. Iiiiinteresting.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 6/9


Fiction: The knells of Tancras Moor by Michael A Stackpole. The fiction this month is a good old example of those stories where the protagonist turns a deal with the devil around, and via cleverness and willpower, manages to not only get the better end of it, but hold the supernatural creatures to their deal and actively screw them over. But that doesn't mean he gets a particularly happy ending, or indeed an ending at all for that matter, as he now has to wander the world, with considerable supernatural power, but no real friends, and the burden of great responsibility and temptation always with him. This is a fairly entertaining bit of franchise bait, in other words, setting up the backstory of the kind of protagonist that could get into all sorts of scrapes and misadventures. It's also more than a little derivative of the Fool Wolf stories, but I'm not going to hold that against it too much, as it does take the idea of spirit bonded people in an animistic universe in a different direction. I wouldn't object to seeing it again.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 7/9


DM's toolbox: Johnn covers the easily overlooked topic of guides this month. They can be avoided because it's easy to put them in the GMPC camp, or because players are dumb enough to think they can muddle it all out themselves. Nevertheless, in a realistic campaign, it can make a lot of sense to hire one when exploring a new region. The key is to leave them as just guides, not someone who has all the answers and can deal with any monsters in the area better than the PC's as well (although knowing how to not rile them up and avoid starting a fight in the first place makes a lot of sense. ) And the usual stuff about building a personality for them and playing them in an interesting way, just like any character. Anyone who's used to playing in a game full of hirelings (who often have shorter lifespans than the main character) shouldn't have a problem with this. It's just the ones used to 2e style play that might be the problem. Don't make them more important than they need to be, but at the same time, don't just make them tools in the hands of the players. Another variation on the general theme of character building, I think this manages to have enough useful specific bits in amongst the general advice to retain it's value.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 8/9


Dungeoncraft: Monte talks about the map-first method of dungeon building. Just as with plot first, you do need to have an idea behind what you're doing, as it makes things much more coherent than just adding rooms and figuring out what goes in them afterwards. Of course, you could say that it started out as one thing, and then got repurposed, but if you're coming up with stuff like that, I think you're well on the way to building an interesting story and environment anyway. What also helps is to imagine what it looks like and then draw it, rather than just sketching, and think of it in three dimensions, rather than entirely separate levels on different sheets of graph paper. The map is not the territory, and hopefully, your environment and description of it'll be good enough that the players think of it in that way as well. As with Johnn's advice, this is fairly familiar, and the difference is mainly in the flavour of the retelling. You use this kind of article as a checklist to make sure you aren't forgetting something obvious when you build your adventures, and to see how playstyles are evolving over the years. And as we already know, their official stance is back to the dungeon, but in practice we're still keeping most of the lessons we learned in 2e about building more elaborate characters and stories. That's about the tone of it here. Let's see where it takes us next.

Dragon Issue 310: August 2003


part 9/9


Sage advice is back from the month off, and has spent the time mastering the new rules. Now Skip is Official again! Skip, aahh, the eternal sage! All praise the eternal sage. None can rival Skip. None can defeat Skip. None can go on longer, none can be more definitive. Through decades of trials, Skip has triumphed over every puzzle, and Skip will continue to triumph long after you, and all Skip's former companions are gone. Now, back to work. Skip has a rep to maintain, and the big city waits for no-one.

What's the difference between EL, ECL and CR (EL is how tough an overall group of creatures is, ECL is class level plus however much extra power a monster gets from it's racial abilities. CR is how hard an individual monster is to beat in a fight. )

Why are ECL's and CR's so different. (Because some abilities have more impact when PC's have them, and use them all the time. PCs are different starts to rear it's ugly head again after nearly vanishing in 3.0 )

When does a monster go epic (When its total HD exceed 20. This may require them to be considerably higher than 21st level.)

What levels would an ECL 15 minotaur have (You are correct. 8 racial levels, plus 7 class ones.)

What class abilities are considered special attacks (Anything which hurts or hinders someone. Heh.)

What counts as multiple attacks for monsters ECL (More than one attack. If any of them do more than 1d8, you also get another +1 to ECL. Is that so hard.)

Do anthromorph felines lose the pounce power. (Yes. Their legs aren't suited to it.)

Can a gold dragon with levels in sorcerer also learn higher level cleric spells (yes, but complicatedly. )

Does a human with the reptilian template still get their normal powers (yes. Templates do not take stuff away unless they say they do. )

How do racial HD figure in multiclass XP penalties (Ignore them. Monsters have enough problems without that crippling their advancement as well. )

Why do ogre mages get regeneration listed twice (Because they get better at it)

Does manyattack apply to full attacks as well as standard attacks (no)

What good is improved manyshot. (At epic levels, it's very useful. Endless iteration is not to be sneezed at.)

Can precise shot and rapid shot be used with manyshot (Yes, no. Look at action types for compatibility.)

Can you add your strength bonus to manyshots with a composite bow( Yes. Just call Skip Odysseus.)


What's new looks into the future. Odds of success are vague. They really should get better prophets.


As I feared, this issue rushes through a whole load of topics in a shallow and unsatisfying way, which is a particularly sharp contrast with the incredible degree of focus in the last issue. Warrior types once again don't get particularly impressive amounts of customisation when compared to spellcasters. Speaking of which, let's head to the next issue to see if they get the same treatment, or if there's obvious favouritism going on here.

Dragon Issue 311: September 2003


part 1/9


106 (108) pages. Wizards · Sorcerers · Clerics · Druids · Bards. Yup, The spellcasting classes are already getting favoritism by being less thinly spread. My worst fears about this changeover are being realised. This issue'll probably still be pretty shallow compared to normal themes, and spellcasting classes'll get better stuff than fighty ones. I want out of here. As usual though, I have to go all the way through instead of skimming lightly off the top or teleporting all the way around. Let's get through the remaining 2 parts of this update so we can get to some new ideas again.


Scan Quality: Good, unindexed.


In this issue:


Wyrms turn: In an issue that's all about covering the old classes again, it's ironic that the editorial is about new directions. They do genuinely want to unearth new ideas for articles that make them feel the same kind of excitement they did when they were readers. But it's not that often a submission like that comes along, and it gets harder each time. Still, they certainly managed it with the Incursion material, so they're hopeful someone has an ace up the hole that they're willing to submit. And that they can spot the ideas that'll work if given a good polishing, not just consign them to the bin, which is always a worry. Yeah, I'm hoping that too. As usual, it seems like their heart is in the right place, it's just that the submissions aren't always what they need, so they have to fall back on formula. Now we just have to get through this month. Sigh.


Scale Mail: Our first letter, not too surprisingly, is from someone who was wowed by the githyanki incursion material. Indeed. :nods: We shall see if it sticks in people's memories 20 years later.

Second, we have a complaint that they often put the cover artwork on top of the magazine's name these days. They never used to do that, although that's probably because they couldn't before the days when the magazine was produced on computer, allowing them to manipulate everything in layers and create transparencies without physically cutting stuff up, which is a risky process with expensive cover plates. I don't have a problem with it the way I do spraying promotional stuff everywhere, but I can see why it would irritate others.

Equally amusing is someone trying to reassure them that all the bitching they see on internet message boards isn't something they need to worry about, and certainly not something they should dignify with a direct response. You do need to remember that you only see the loudest and most obsessive voices there. As long as the general public is cool, you're cool.

Not funny at all, on the other hand, is someone complaining in no uncertain terms about the many spell nerfs in 3.5. Yeah, this is one complaint that's got real legs, as plenty of people feel really strongly on both sides of the issue. And if they think 3.5 went too far in this, they'll definitely hate what 4e did. You really do need spells that stick around and are a bugger to get rid of if you want to emulate many literary sources.

And we finish off with yet more pop culture references. Ho hum. I think this topic has had it's day.

Dragon Issue 311: September 2003


part 2/9


Zogonia want to be an equal opportunities team. Yeah, they'll need to do some serious affirmative action for that to work. And then they get a second strip, where another joke is punctured. Purility sucks.


Up on a soapbox: Gary's been off for a good few months, but it's like he was never away, with another comfy old story about his adventures with his kids and friends. This time, it's Luke, aka Melf, that gets the spotlight. Being one of Gary's kids, this obviously meant he got to be one of the most frequent players, and attain some of the highest levels in the entire campaign. But he had his share of challenges and setbacks along the way, including the permanent loss of some of his best magical items. It's a reminder that a campaign shouldn't just be a constant accretion of new gear with higher and higher plusses. You should be using up scrolls and wands, spending money on hirelings and parties, and sometimes having stuff stolen and needing to deal with that. Yet again, the lesson here is not to spoil your players. Sure, they should usually win overall, but losses and casualties should be a very real threat that force them to keep their game sharp, lest they find themselves thrown back to the rookie leagues by a few spectres. And if that does happen, you shouldn't let it deter you. As long as you're alive, you can claw your way back up again. Even injuries and losses that are crippling in reality can be fixed with the right magic. Persist, and your victories will be all the sweeter.


Sneak Preview - D&D Miniatures: Chainmail ground to a halt about a year ago after only a couple of supplements. Now it looks like they're relaunching the D&D skirmish game without the setting, and with the rules even further simplified for larger scale action, plus a greater emphasis on the collectible side of things. While Chainmail might not have been a success, they obviously made enough money from selling the minis to give them another try, only with broader, more generic targeting. While they're trying to create a cool set of teasers here, there is that real elephant in the room that WotC hasn't been as good with settings as TSR, and is a lot more ruthless about dropping them when they fail to perform, even if their sales are on a level a smaller company would be absolutely ecstatic about. And since I did like what I saw of Chaimail's setting quite a lot, that's particularly disappointing here. Sure, you can probably still use the old minis with the new game and vice versa, but the romance is gone, and all that's left is the challenge of collecting 'em all, which no longer really does it for me.

Dragon Issue 311: September 2003


part 3/9


Sneak preview - Eberron: Ah, now this is something I can be more positive about. WotC's first (and for the moment, only) new D&D setting to get a full product line of support just like the good old days. Ok, so they didn't create it all themselves, instead selecting it from many many submissions in a competition, but that still means it had a lead creator with a degree of star power in a way the first 3 AD&D campaigns did, and the later ones didn't. And like Planescape, they certainly put a lot of effort into molding it's distinct visuals, even as they made sure everything D&D had at least a small place there. Those sketches make up most of this teaser article, making it pretty obvious that this is going to be a nice long buildup before the whole thing is released. They also make it obvious that the place is going to be higher tech than any previous D&D setting, yet still full of fantastical elements. Robots, railroads and dinosaur riders, oh my. I definitely want to see more of this in the last 4 years of the magazine. Hopefully it'll get it's fair share of articles after it's released as well as before.


Arcane ancestry: We start off with some stuff that will appear in future books. A whole bunch of bloodline feats for Sorcerers. Along with the expected Dragon, Fae and Fiend blood that they might have got their powers from, there's also 4 elemental bloodines, with some fairly predictable boosts if you want that kind of theme without selecting Gensai as your race. Each theme gets 2 feats, and there's a bunch of general ones like social bonuses with creatures of your bloodline or extra spells. It's all pretty formulaic. This is definitely a case where having fewer bloodline types with more feats each would work better, giving you a greater ability to build your character up and have them become increasingly inhuman as they level. I'm not really that impressed. They'll implement this better later, making this another work in progress article.

Dragon Issue 311: September 2003


part 4/9


Arcane alterations: Surprisingly, Wizards get the smallest article this month. Also surprisingly, it's an OGL one drawing upon a 3rd party product. Monte Cook's distinctive system of ceremonial feats and spell templates from Arcana Unearthed gets converted back to regular D&D. Triply surprisingly, it's not just a straight conversion, but also adds some more variant spell template ideas that you could easily use in both d20 variants, such as adding knockdown to your spells, or making them able to reliably affect incorporeal creatures. Useful stuff that probably doesn't merit adding a whole level onto your spells like normal metamagic feats. Most of them do have a gp cost though, so you won't be able to use them non-stop. So while you'll be able to get a decent amount of use out of them, this thankfully isn't power creep. It's just a shame that unlike the previous article, this one won't be appearing in official books. They might be doing a bit of borrowing, but WotC are still surprisingly loath to use the OGL to pillage the ideas of others for their own profit. Strange, really.


Faces of faith: Like Paladins last issue, Clerics get the most dramatic variants this issue, with a whole bunch of alternative/specialist classes. Ancestral Speakers get to draw on skills from their ancestors in the same way as WoD werewolves, and are really good at actually communicating with undead instead of driving them off, which seems a more productive solution. Arcane Disciples gain wizard bonus feats and spell selections, making them possibly even twinkier than druids. Aspirants try to become gods rather than serve them, and get fewer but more flexible spontaneous spell conversions. They make perfect Athar. Benevolents lose turning for even better healing and buffing powers. Crusaders get Fighter bonus feats and Paladin smiting, making both of them redundant really. Evangelists cast spells spontaneously, getting a fairly limited selection of spells known, but tons of domains. Most of these do look better, and certainly more flexible than the undead turning you sacrifice, (presuming you don't plan to take divine channeling feats) making this further power creep for people who think clerics still aren't cool or game-dominating enough. Like specialist wizards, taking them seems a very good idea indeed if optimisation is your thang.

Dragon Issue 311: September 2003


part 5/9


Changing nature's design: Druids also get a whole load of variant classes with their own names. However, since the main class feature they have to exchange or concentrate focus for in these is their wild-shaping ability, I think they probably come off a little worse from the exchange than Clerics. Wild Reapers concentrate on the deadly side of nature, only able to transform into carrion feeders, but resistant to disease and able to turn undead. Wind Walkers gain flying and the ability to talk to air creatures, but their only transformation powers are into air elementals. Metal Masters gain skills with mines akin to dwarves, and a fair bit of damage reduction, but lose out the worst of all on flexibility. And Winter Wardens get to walk on ice, ignore cold, and use extra cold-based spells at the expense of only turning into arctic creatures. Since these slightly power down druids, while the previous ones slightly power up clerics, I think they put them on approximately equal footing. It's balance .... of a sort. Hey, a party of different sorts of customised CoDzillas is an entirely valid choice for a team if that's the way you want to play.


Musical Masters: Like Rogues last issue, Bards get the selection of 5 level prestige classes, once again rubbing in how formulaic this set of updates is. They don't get the general advice though, making this more limited than that one. I suppose given their flexibility, they ironically need multiclassing less than most other classes to achieve concepts and get into prestige classes, so advice on that isn't so important.

Worldspeakers are all about the Bardic language talents, gaining first the obvious power to speak any language, then adding talking to animals, plants, the elements and the dead. Since those are normally split between the wizard, cleric and druid spell lists, this might actually be a more optimal way of getting all of those than multiclassing and then going for mystic theurge. You'll certainly get more interesting class features, at any rate.

Mourners sing undead back to the sleep of death. As is often the case, this is a definite improvement mechanically on the 2e kit with the same schtick. Spellcasters continue to get cooler stuff than nonspellcasters, even the secondary ones.

Memory Smiths are dwarven bards who enchant items with their keen craftsmanship and magic singing. That's definitely a literary niche that's served better with a prestige class than standard wizard or sorcerer. They also get full BAB and spell progression, so you won't be sacrificing in battle effectiveness if you go into them either. Will you provide the next Sting or Glamdring to your group?

Battle Howlers are the obvious Bard/Barbarian hybrid, getting full BAB, bardic music and Rage progression, plus the ability to use bardic music while raging, which means they can be inspiring while kicking ass on the front line. This synergy definitely works better than the Rage Mage.

Green Whisperers are easy to get into, and get full dual progression in Bard and Druid Spells. This makes them a good intermediate step if you want to build a really twinky Fochlucan Lyricist with near full progression in both spell lists all the way up. Not that it'll be easy to make those skill requirements even so, but every little helps. If only one of the variant druids earlier swapped something out for Evasion, so you didn't have to spend two levels on rogue that really hurt your magical might.