Dragon #407, MAGAZINES, Dragon Magazine
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Romancing the Stone Giant
By Christopher Perkins
Love rocks.
13
of Cormyr
By Dan Anderson
What does it take to defend the greatest
kingdom in Faerûn? Become a Purple Dragon
Knight or War Wizard to ind out.
28
Blades of Cormyr
By Brian Cortijo
Fall in love with a collection of swords that
symbolize the honor and legacy of Cormyr.
19
Cormyrean Ranks and Titles
By Brian Cortijo
Before you can rub shoulders with the nobles
and military oficers of Cormyr, you need to
know how to properly address them.
32
Marshal
By Jeff LaSala
By ancient decree, the Sentinel Marshals
of House Deneith bring law and order to
every nation of Khorvaire. And that’s no
simple task.
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By Jeff LaSala
The time’s come to add a little romance to
your game. Before you do, learn a few lessons
from literature.
36
Hanaksaman
By Rodney Thompson
He fancies himself a king, but
this hermit is missing some
sand in his hourglass.
39
and Cardaen
By Keith Baker
They were lovers and warriors,
and they made the Valenar elves
what they are today.
42
Surprising Vintage
By Ed Greenwood
Uncork a bottle of treasure.
46
Wizard
By Shelly Mazzanoble
R&D’s “Player-in-Chief” lets loose
her inner geek.
Editorial:
Romancing the Stone Giant
By Christopher Perkins
A couple Gen Cons ago, Ed Greenwood asked me
whether we (by which I mean the royal “we”) had
plans to do anything with Cormyr, the kingdom in
the heart of Faerûn. He then pitched an idea for a
series of Forgotten Realms
®
articles based on a
Cormyr treatment that freelance writer Brian Cortijo
had worked up in his spare time.
Last year around this time, it dawned on me that
I’d put Ed’s summertime proposal completely out of
my mind. On a rainy December day in Seattle, I was
brainstorming themes for the magazines, and two of
the words that appeared on my list were “romance”
and “royalty.” Neither of these ideas sounded strong
enough to carry a whole month, but they sure
sounded great together.
Once I warmed to the idea of doing a “romance &
royalty” theme, Ed’s Cormyr proposal popped back
into my mind. I contacted Brian Cortijo and asked
if he could write an article called “Cormyr Royale,”
detailing the Cormyrean court. To do it justice, we
needed to present not only the current court circa
1479 DR but also the court circa 1379 DR, before the
Spellplague. That way, FR fans who’d fallen in love
with one court or the other wouldn’t feel left out, and
we could get a sense of the changes between the pop-
ular reign of the Steel Regent, Alusair Obarskyr, and
the current reign of King Foril Obarskyr.
Cormyr is the romantic ideal of a medieval fantasy
campaign, a realm of chivalrous knights and legendary
wizards, beautiful castles and idyllic landscapes, with
tyranny and monsters lurking just beyond its moun-
tains and within the darkest depths of its forests.
When he submitted his initial outline for
“Cormyr Royale,” Brian also pitched a couple but-
tressing articles—one describing the military ranks
and noble titles of Cormyr, and another detailing the
royal swords of Cormyr. These short pieces coupled
with a Backdrop article on the Cormyrean capital
of Suzail (by Eric Menge) and a character themes
article detailing the Purple Dragon Knights and War
Wizards of Cormyr (by Dan Anderson) is what Ed
Greenwood and other Cormyr aficionados might call
“a good start.”
The “romance” part of this month’s theme is some-
what underplayed, but I hope you find the “D&D Love
Stories” article (by Jeff LaSala) rich with ideas.
But what, you might ask, does all this have to do
with stone giants? Well . . .
Not everything we publish is tied to an overarch-
ing theme, but “Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane”
(written by yours truly) is actually the offspring of a
romance and thus thematically relevant after all.
Years ago, I had fallen in love with a collection
of three adventurers written by Gary Gygax called
Against the Giants
. Perhaps you’ve heard of it. I’ve
always had a soft spot for stone giants, but they don’t
get much love in Gary’s adventure. In the original
Monster Manual
, they were neutral; in 4E, they’re
unaligned. In other words, they’re not “easy villains”
like their more brutal and wicked cousins, the hill
giants, frost giants, and fire giants.
Based on their alignment, one might imagine
stone giants as reclusive, industrious cave dwellers
who prefer to be left alone. Finding a way to make
them a threat was a challenge I’d carved out for
myself when I set out to adapt
Against the Giants
for
4th Edition. Ultimately I decided to give my stone
giants all the faults and foibles of human beings, and
let the evil rise naturally from that.
As I mentioned in a recent
, “Warrens of the Stone Giant Thane” fills the
level rift between the hill giant adventure in
Dungeon
197 and the frost giant adventure in
Dungeon
199. But
more importantly, it afforded me the chance to indulge
my love of Gygaxian adventure design and lose myself
in a sprawling, monster-infested dungeon for a couple
weeks . . . what stone giants might call a “f ling.”
It’s so easy to fall in love with D&D. Forget about
the warts, the extra heads, the facelifts; she’s always
been a great beauty, all charm and elegance. My
romance with the game has lasted for thirty-four
years, and it’s through the magazines that I express
that love, even though they’re a royal pain in the ass
sometimes. But then, you can’t have love without
pain, can you?
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TM & © 2012 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved.
Janu ar y 2012
|
DR AGON 407
D&D
Love
Stories
By Jeff LaSala
Illustration by Beth Trott
The vampire’s inal shriek echoed through
the dark space. Condign tried to savor
the sound, to relish the anguish his foe
had sufered in the inal moments of its
unlife. When the scream faded, he ixed
his golden eyes on the single beam of pale
sunlight that pierced the stony ceiling and
barely lit the cavern. The tieling and his
allies had cleverly maneuvered the day-
fearing undead into its burning embrace.
The shaft of light also reminded him of
the world that awaited them outside. He
tried to smile, but felt nothing.
“Condign?”
The warrior stood motionless as his
companions rushed around him, eager to
loot the vampire’s remains or sort through
the bones and other debris that littered
TM & © 2012 Wizards of the Coast LLC. All rights reserved.
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Janu ar y 2012
|
DR AGON 407
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