Winning Moves - Titantic Games - The Touch

This takes a look at the games on display in three publisher's booths at the 2007 American International Toy Fair, one firmly established and two relative newcomers. Winning Moves Games has a long record of publishing great family games. Their lineup for 2007 includes Clue Suspects, a one-player puzzle game, Getta Letter, a fast-paced word game, and Power Yahtzee, a new edition of the classic dice game. Titantic Games has just two games so far: the now-available Kill Doctor Lucky, and the upcoming "anthology board game" Stonehenge. And Anthony Innovations has just one game available: The Touch, a great party game for which two new expansions are now available.

This photo gallery takes a look at the games on display in three publisher's booths, one firmly established and two relative newcomers.

Winning Moves Games has a long record of publishing great family games. Their lineup for 2007 includes Clue Suspects, a one-player puzzle game, Getta Letter, a fast-paced word game, and Power Yahtzee, a new edition of the classic dice game. Titantic Games has just two games so far: the now-available Kill Doctor Lucky, and the upcoming "anthology board game" Stonehenge. And Anthony Innovations has just one game available: The Touch, a great party game for which two new expansions are now available.

http://boardgames.about.com/

Why Innovation Is as Critical For Established Firms as Start-ups

Every Friday at lunch, game designers, marketing managers and other employees at Hasbro's games division gather in the cafeteria to play board games. Some compete over Scrabble, Sorry, Clue or more than a dozen other famous games invented decades ago and still manufactured at a factory here. Others play games sold by competitors, or they enjoy their own childhood favorites no longer on store shelves.

One current obsession: a dice game called Can't Stop, manufactured in the 1980s by Parker Bros., now a unit of Hasbro. "We dug it out of our archives, and it's so much fun, we can't stop playing it," says senior game designer Rob Daviau.

These lunchtime games have a business purpose. They are part of Hasbro's efforts to find ways to update classics and create new games. Mr. Daviau is musing about reissuing Can't Stop or designing a similar game. "We have an unbelievable heritage with our brands, but we have to keep them relevant to customers" to compete against videogames and other pop culture, says Philip Jackson, who took charge of the games division as group executive last February and has been rolling out new products. Sales in Hasbro's games unit rose 11% last year.

In any business, innovation is at least as critical for old companies as for start-ups, and more complex. It requires two steps: "upgrading, leveraging and extending old and still-popular brands while also looking for new ideas," says Tom Kuczmarski, president of Kuczmarski Associates in Chicago, a product-development consultant. "The biggest roadblock is risk-aversion."

At Chicago-based USG, a 106-year-old maker of building materials, profit has increased in recent years under Chief Executive William Foote with new products such as dust-control Sheetrock and Durock Tile Membrane for flooring material, which keeps out water and prevents warping.

At Procter & Gamble, under Chief Executive A.G. Lafley, a cabinet of beauty and health-care products has been launched, including Crest teeth-whitening strips. "Instead of battling to sell $3 tubes of toothpaste, they're selling something that costs 10 times as much, and which customers want," Mr. Kuczmarski says.

To spur innovation, Hasbro managers keep in touch with a global network of game inventors, do online surveys of customers and observe thousands of children and adults playing games developed in a new lab called GameWorks at the division's headquarters. They also talk with prospective customers about their lives and how they want to spend leisure time. Hectic schedules and time pressures are prompting Hasbro to launch "express" versions of Monopoly, Sorry and Scrabble. Unlike the standard versions, which can take hours to play, the express games have their own rules and can be wrapped up in 20 minutes or less.

"People don't have time to play a game for three hours, so we're asking ourselves how we can leverage brands so they can be played in smaller time frames," says Jill Hambley, a vice president of marketing.

Another classic, The Game of Life, was revised to reflect consumers' wishes for more balanced lives. In the original game, success equaled money and the winner was the player who earned the most. In the new game, players move among four quadrants: to "live it" and have adventures, to "love it" and have family lives, to "learn it" and become educated, and also to "earn it."

New tastes also dictated the look for a new version of Monopoly. The original board, which is still available, features streets in Atlantic City, which was a glamorous tourist destination at the time the game was released, in 1935, amid the Great Depression. Last year, designers and marketers selected destinations in 22 U.S. cities and asked customers to cast online votes on which they preferred. In three weeks, Hasbro received three million votes, which were used to design a Monopoly Here and Now board. Times Square in New York received the largest number of votes, and so it replaced Boardwalk. Las Vegas Boulevard replaced Pacific Avenue.

Hasbro is also gunning for technology-savvy customers. Sales of videogames outpace board games by more than six to one, so Hasbro makes versions of its board games that can be played on laptops, cellphones or in video format. In the Game of Life, players use a debit card that holds information about them and points scored. Clue comes with a DVD with 10 murder plots to be solved, in addition to the original board-game mystery.

Mr. Daviau spent nine months developing the Clue DVD, working with a writer, production company, market researchers and others. In the latest version of the game, actors playing the butler and the inspector offer the clues, and there is background music and sound effects, such as buzzing insects for one crime that occurs in the summer.

"Games are math puzzles with a thousand details, but what you want customers to feel is that they're getting magic in a box," he says.

http://www.careerjournal.com/columnists/inthelead/20070227-inthelead.html?cjpos=home_whatsnew_major

Construct Feats and Items

This month in "Expanding Your Mind" we bring you five new specialized feats dealing with astral constructs. The first feat, Advanced Construction, allows you to extend the list of abilities that your astral constructs can use, and it introduces new, more powerful Menu D selections as well. The second feat, Ecto Manipulation, allows you to trade in abilities for selections from a higher menu and gives you access to the new Menu D. The third feat, Extended Construction, increases the duration of your astral constructs to minutes instead of rounds. The fourth feat, Enhanced Construction, increases the number of constructs that you create every time you manifest an astral construct power. The fifth and final feat, Infused Construction, allows you to increase your metapsionic cap for the purposes of manifesting astral construct powers. Finally, we bring you four new astral construct themed psionic items for your enjoyment.

Advanced Construction [Psionic]

You can choose special abilities for your construct from an extended list.

Prerequisite: Augment Construction.

Benefit: You can add new special abilities to the list of special abilities from which you can choose when manifesting astral constructs. When you take this feat, you can select from Table 1-1: Advanced Construction Special Abilities a number of Menu A special abilities that equal twice your manifester level. When you make a selection, that ability is permanently added to the selection from which you can choose when manifesting astral constructs. For each manifester level that you gain, you can select two additional special abilities from Menu A. You can trade in two selections from Menu A for one selection from Menu B. You can elect to postpone your selections until you gain another level. If you have postponed a selection from an earlier level, you can trade in four Menu A selections for one selection from the Menu C. If you have postponed selections so that you have eight Menu A selections available, you can trade them for a selection from the D menu.

Table 1-1: Advanced Construction Special Abilities

Menu A

Brawn (Ex): Construct does an additional +1 point of damage on a successful melee attack. (Multiple selections stack, and you cannot select this ability more than 8 times.)

Claws (Ex): The construct has razor sharp claws. Attacks are now considered claw attacks instead of slams. Damage from these claw attacks is 1d8 + Strength modifier. The claw attacks are considered slashing or piercing weapons. The type is chosen when the construct is manifested. (If the construct has the extra arms ability, this ability must be chosen twice to affect both sets of arms.)

Cleave (Ex): The cleave extraordinary ability works as the Cleave feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Str 13+, Power Attack), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Dodge (Ex): The dodge extraordinary ability works as the Dodge feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Dex 13+), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Improved Bull Rush (Ex): The improved bull rush extraordinary ability works as the Improved Bull Rush feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Str 13+, Power Attack), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Power Attack (Ex): The power attack extraordinary ability works as the Power Attack feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Str 13+), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Spiked Armor (Ex):The construct's body is covered in spikes. The spikes allow the construct to deal 1d6 points of piercing damage (x2 critical) with a successful trample, squeeze, bull rush, or grapple attack.

Menu B

Astral Repair (Ex): The astral construct heals 2 hit points each round so long as it has at least 1 hit point.

Carapace (Ex): The construct's surface forms hard, armorlike plates. The construct gains a damage reduction of 10/+1. This replaces any damage reduction the construct might already have.

Energy Touch (Ex): The construct's physical attacks do 1d4 points of energy damage (fire, cold, electricity, sonic, acid) in addition to their standard damage. The type of energy is chosen when the construct is manifested. (Multiple selections stack and may be of different energy types. You cannot select this ability more than 5 times.)

Extra Arms (Ex): The construct has an additional set of arms and can make an additional attack with an attack bonus equal to its highest attack bonus -2. (A construct with squeeze or rend can use that ability with these arms, as well.) This ability cannot be chosen more than once.)

Expertise (Ex): The expertise extraordinary ability works as the Expertise feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Int 13+), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Great Cleave(Ex): The great cleave extraordinary ability works as the Great Cleave feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Str +13, Power Attack, Cleave, base attack bonus +4 or higher), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Improved Critical (Ex): The improved critical extraordinary ability works as the Improved Critical feat, and though no prerequisites are required (proficient with weapon, base attack bonus +8 or higher), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Improved Fly (Ex): Construct has physical wings (12-foot wingspan) and a speed of 120 feet (average). (This is similar to the power in the Psionics Handbook, though slower.)

Improved Swim (Ex): Construct becomes streamlined and sharklike with a large (8-foot-wide) tail. Its speed is 120 feet.

Mobility(Ex): The mobility extraordinary ability works as the Mobility feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Dex 13+, Dodge), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Poison Touch (Ex): The construct is covered in a shimmering purple liquid. If the construct hits with a melee attack, the target must make an initial Fortitude save (DC 15) or take 1d2 points of temporary Wisdom damage. A minute later, the target must save again (Fortitude save DC 15) or lose 1d4 points of temporary Wisdom damage.

Reach(Ex): The construct's arms elongate, which increases its reach by 5 feet. (If the construct has the extra arms ability, this ability must be chosen twice to affect both sets of arms.)

Spike Volley (Ex):The construct can send forth a volley of 3 spikes as a standard action. This ranged attack has a range of 120 feet with no range increment. These spike attacks are treated as thrown weapons, so the construct's Strength bonus is applied to damage (see page 97 of the Player's Handbook for more on thrown weapons). Damage is 1d6 + Strength modifier per spike. The construct can use this attack up to three times. (The construct must have the spiked armor ability to use this attack.) This volley can be fired in any direction (including straight up) regardless of the direction the construct is facing.

Stunning Fist(Ex):The stunning fist extraordinary ability works as the Stunning Fist feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Dex 13+, Improved Unarmed Strike, Wis 13+, base attack bonus +8 or higher), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Tough (Ex): The construct receives 7 hit points per die, instead of 5.5 per die.

Menu C

Ectoplasmic Form (Sp): The construct manifests ectoplasmic form as a standard action.

Hardened Carapace (Ex): The construct's surface forms hard, armorlike plates. The construct gains a damage reduction of 15/+2. This replaces any damage reduction the construct might already have.

Power Resistance (Ex): The construct gains a power resistance of 5 + the construct's Hit Dice. This ability can be chosen multiple times and adds 5 to the power resistance of the construct. For example, choosing this ability three times for an astral construct IX would give a total power resistance of 34 (19 + 5 + 5 +5 = 34)

Rend (Ex): A construct that hits with its claw attack does an additional 2d6 + 1.5 times its Strength modifier points of damage. (It must also have the claws ability; see entry above. A construct cannot use squeeze and rend in the same round.)

Spike Flurry (Ex):The construct can send forth a hail of spikes as a standard action. The attack is a cone shape with a range of 60 feet. Anyone caught in the flurry is immediately struck by 2d4 spikes that deal 1d6 damage each. A successful Reflex save (DC 13) halves the damage. This attack can be used only once. (The construct must have the spiked armor ability to use this attack.)

Spring Attack(Ex): The spring attack extraordinary ability works as the Spring Attack feat, and though no prerequisites are required, constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Tail Slap (Ex): The construct has a tail and gains one additional slam attack with an attack bonus equal to its highest attack bonus -2, and it deals damage of 2d8 + 1.5 times its Strength modifier (A construct cannot have a tail if it has extra arms.)

Tougher (Ex): The construct receives 8.5 hit points per die, instead of 5.5 per die.

Whirlwind Attack(Ex): The whirlwind attack extraordinary ability works as the Whirlwind Attack feat, and though no prerequisites are required (Int 13+, Expertise, Dex 13+, Dodge, Mobility, base attack bonus +4 or higher, Spring Attack), constructs do not get the benefits from the prerequisites, either.

Menu D

Amplified Invisibility (Sp): The construct manifests amplified invisibility (self only) as a standard action.

Extra Hard Carapace (Ex): The construct's surface forms hard, armorlike plates. The construct gains a damage reduction of 20/+3. This replaces any damage reduction the construct might already have.

Mass Concussion (Sp): The construct manifests massconcussion as a free action 3 times per day.

Super Buff (Ex): The construct gains 17d10 temporary hit points. Multiple selections do not stack.

Toughest (Ex): The construct receives 10 hit points per die, instead of 5.5 per die.

Ultraheavy Armor (Ex): The construct gains a +10 deflection bonus to AC.

Whitefire Aura (Ex): The entire surface of the construct radiates with an intense white-hot flame. Creatures within 5 feet of the construct take 5d4 points of damage. The fire ignites combustibles as the whitefire power. Once activated, the aura burns for a number of rounds equal to half of the construct's Hit Dice. Multiple selections do not stack.

Ecto Manipulation [Psionic]

You can manifest a more powerful astral construct at the expense of flexibility.

Prerequisite: Manifester level 3rd+, Augment Construction.

Benefit: When you manifest an astral construct, you can trade in two abilities from the same menu for an ability from the next highest menu. For example when manifesting astral construct VI you can trade in two Menu B selections for a single Menu C selection.

Extended Construction [Psionic]

You gain an increased duration on your manifested astral constructs.

Prerequisite: Manifester level 3rd+, Augment Construction, Ecto Manipulation.

Benefit: Astral constructs that you manifest have a duration of 1 minute per manifester level instead of their normal duration. For example a 13th-level psion manifests astral construct VI, creating a single type VI construct with a duration of 13 minutes

Enhanced Construction [Psionic]

When you manifest constructs, you create additional constructs.

Prerequisite: Manifester level 6th+.

Benefit: When you manifest constructs, you create additional bonus constructs. You create 1d3 bonus constructs of at least two levels below the astral construct power you are manifesting. For example, when a 13th-level psion manifests astral construct VI, she not only gets to choose the construct that normally manifests with the spell, but she also receives 1d3 constructs of her choice of type from I to IV.

Infused Construction [Psionic]

You increase your metapsionic cap and can spend more power points manifesting astral constructs that are modified by metapsionic feats than would normally be possible.

Prerequisite: Manifester level 6th+.

Benefit: Your metapsionic cap is increased to a number of power points equal to your manifester level + 2 for purposes of manifesting astral constructs. For example, a 13th-level psion with a metapsionic cap of 12 would have that cap raised to 15 for purposes of manifesting astral constructs.

Special: You can take this feat multiple times. Each time you take this feat beyond the first, you can add 2 power points to the metapsionic cap for purposes of manifesting astral constructs. Your new cap cannot exceed double your base metapsionic cap. For example, a 13th-level psion who has taken this feat 3 times can spend her normal 12 power points plus an additional 7 power points for a total of 19 power points. This would allow her to manifest astral construct VI, with the metapsionic feat Maximize Power applied to it (11 + 6 = 17 power points) that she could not normally have manifested with the standard metapsionic cap of manifester level - 1 (13 - 1 = 12 power points).

Psionic Items

Amulet of Advanced Construction: When worn, the amulet of advanced construction grants the wearer additional special abilities from which he or she can select when manifesting astral constructs. These menu items must be from the table provided in the Advanced Construction feat. When crafted, the selections are set in the amulet and can consist of either 4 Menu A selections, 2 Menu B selections, or 1 Menu C selection.

Manifester Level: 14th; Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item, Advanced Construction, Astral Construct VII; Market Price: 10,000 gp; Weight: --.

Gloves of Ecto Manipulation:Gloves of ecto manipulation are thin leather gloves that are very flexible and are usually adorned with several small gemstones. When worn, they grant the wearer the ability to manipulate astral constructs as the Ecto Manipulation feat.

Manifester Level: 10th; Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item,Ecto Manipulation; Market Price: 10,000 gp; Weight: --.

Crystalline Construct: A crystalline construct is a small crystal figurine that resembles a tiny astral construct. When placed on the ground, and when a command word is spoken, the crystal animates into an astral construct as per the astral construct V power. The construct has the same menu choices each time it is summoned, and the figurine resembles the final construct form. It obeys the commands of the owner.

If the crystalline construct figurine is broken, the power within it is lost. If the construct is destroyed or dismissed while activated, it reverts back into the figurine. The construct can be brought forth once per day for 10 rounds. The figurine has an AC of 7, 6 hit points, hardness of 8, and a break DC of 20.

Manifester Level: 10th; Prerequisites: Craft Universal Item, astral construct V; Market Price: 40,000 gp; Weight: --.

Sling Bullets of the Construct: Sling bullets of the construct appear to be sling bullets made of crystal instead of lead. They do normal sling bullet damage and have a +1 enhancement bonus to hit. Upon striking a target, the sling bullet brings forth a single astral construct that immediately begins to attack the target. Typically, 2-5 bullets are found.

http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/pse/20020727c

All About Sneak Attacks (Part Three)

We'll end our look at "beyond the basics" situations and dive right into the damage a sneak attack does as well as go over the number of sneak attacks you can do.

Defender Flanked

Creatures become susceptible to sneak attacks when flanked because they must divide their attention between two or more opponents whose relative positions make it difficult to block or dodge their attacks. The situation is something like dealing with an unseen foe, but isn't quite as severe.

To flank an opponent, two allies must be on opposite sides of that opponent, and they both must threaten the opponent (Chapter 8 in the Player's Handbook has some handy diagrams that explain flanking). You threaten an opponent when you can make an armed melee attack against that opponent. You're "armed" when you use a manufactured weapon, natural weapon, the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, or the monk's unarmed strike ability. You don't actually have to have a weapon that can hurt an opponent to threaten that opponent. If you and your buddy have no silver weapons but find yourselves on opposites sides of a werewolf, you still flank the werewolf (but see the final section of this article series).

You can flank with any melee weapon, including a reach weapon, but you cannot flank with a ranged weapon.

You get a flanking bonus from any ally your foe can see (and who is in the correct position to flank). If your foe can't see you, you don't provide a flanking bonus to any ally. You literally cannot flank a blind creature; however, a blind creature loses its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class against your attacks (so you can sneak attack it), and you get a +2 to attack it to boot. Creatures with the blindsight ability effectively "see" within blindsight range and can be flanked.

The improved uncanny dodge class ability can prevent a creature from being flanked (see the next section).

Uncanny Dodge and Sneak Attacks

The uncanny dodge class ability is just about the nastiest sneak attack breaker in the game. Only immunity to critical hits offers more absolute protection against sneak attacks. So, uncanny dodge gets a section in the article all to itself.

The uncanny dodge ability allows a flat-footed creature to retain its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) and it foils sneak attacks when in does so.

The uncanny dodge ability also allows a creature to use its Dexterity bonus (if any) against unseen foes, so an unseen foe must find some other way to make sneak attacks against creatures with this ability.

Uncanny dodge does not allow a creature to keep its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) when it physically cannot move. If you're grappled, held, helpless, incapacitated, pinned, or stunned, you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class. If you're attacked while climbing, you also cannot use your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class. Uncanny dodge doesn't allow you to retain your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class in any of these cases.

The improved uncanny dodge class feature can keep a creature from being flanked, except by a rogue who is four or more levels higher than the target. An attacker with sufficient rogue levels can flank the defender simply by having an ally opposite the defender, if that ally cannot flank the defender himself, provided that the defender can see or perceive your ally (see the section on flanking). In such a case, the ally gets no benefit for being in a flanking position, but the rogue gets full benefits.

When determining who can flank whom, start by counting the target's levels, and count only those levels in classes that provide the uncanny dodge class feature. Then count up the attacker's levels, counting only levels in classes that provide the sneak attack class feature. For example, a 10th-level rogue could not flank a 5th-level barbarian/5th-level rogue but the same character could flank a 5th-level barbarian/5th-level bard. Likewise, a 7th-level rogue/7th-level assassin could flank a 5th-level barbarian/5th-level rogue.

Damage from Sneak Attacks

The bonus damage from a sneak attack is expressed as extra dice and it is not multiplied with a successful critical hit, or when an attack otherwise gets a damage multiplier. For example, a rogue charging with a mounted lance can make a sneak attack, but the damage multiplier for the mounted charge doesn't apply to the sneak attack.

A successful sneak attack increases the damage dealt. When you make a sneak attack against a foe with damage reduction, roll the sneak damage and add it to the damage from the hit before applying the effects of damage reduction.

Sneak attack damage is always the same type of damage as the weapon used to make the sneak attack. For example, if you make a sneak attack with a sword (a slashing weapon), all the damage from the sneak attack is slashing damage (also see the Spells as Sneak Attacks section in Part Four).

Number of Sneak Attacks

Provided it is possible for you to make a sneak attack at all, you can make multiple sneak attacks when you use the full attack action. For example, if you have a higher initiative result at the beginning of an encounter, your foe is flat-footed and every attack you make is a sneak attack. The same is true if you flank your foe.

Anything that allows you to make extra attacks during the full attack action gets you extra sneak attacks as well: fighting with two weapons, the haste spell, and the monk's flurry of blows are the most common ways of getting extra attacks.

Remember the earlier note about invisibility effects, however. If you're relying on invisibility to set up a sneak attack, you'll only have the effect for the first attack you make during your turn. You'll still get all your extra attacks, but only the first will be a sneak attack. You don't have this problem if you're using a greaterinvisibility effect.

http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040302a

Making Magic Items (Part Four)

Thus far, we've examined scroll, potion, wand, and staff creation. All these items are essentially spell storage devices, which makes figuring out their costs fairly straightforward. Many items, such as those we'll examine this week, have powers that spells don't duplicate (or don't duplicate very well), and creating those takes some extra effort on the parts of players and DMs because pricing them can prove more difficult to determine than prices for spell storage items.

Still, duplicating items that already are described in the rules isn't terribly daunting.

Creating Weapons, Armor, and Shields

Any of these items can prove fairly easy to create, particularly when an enhancement bonus is the only magical property the item has. Some items of this kind have a wide array of powers; fortunately, most of these extra powers merely increase the item's effective enhancement bonus, which makes them fairly easy to handle.

Prerequisites: To make a magic weapon, armor, or shield, you need the Craft Magic Arms and Armor item creation feat. (The feat itself has a caster level of 5th as a prerequisite.) The creator also must have a caster level at least three times the enhancement bonus of the weapon, armor, or shield. If the item has a special ability that is priced as an enhancement bonus increase (see the section on costs), that ability has its own caster level requirement (as shown in the description for the special ability), and the creator must meet the higher of the two caster level prerequisites. For example, to create a +2 longsword, a character must have a caster level of at least 6th. The keen weapon property has a caster level of 10th. To create a +2 keen longsword, a character must have a caster level of at least 10th, which is the higher of the two prerequisites. This item would be priced as a +3 magic weapon, but the caster level prerequisite is still 10th, not 9th (as it would be if the weapon's actual enhancement bonus was +3).

If any spells are listed among the item's prerequisites (or among the prerequisites for any special properties it has), you need to have those spells prepared each day you work on the item (or you must know the spells, in the case of a bard or sorcerer). Each day you work on the items, the prerequisite spells are used up, just as they are for a scroll.

Caster Level: A weapon, suit of armor, or a shield that has only an enhancement bonus has a caster level equal to three times the enhancement bonus. A special ability for a weapon, suit of armor, or a shield has a caster level given in its description. A weapon, suit of armor, or a shield with a special ability must have an enhancement bonus of at least +1 to have a special ability, and the item uses the highest caster level.

These caster levels are fixed -- the creator cannot adjust them as he can for a scroll, potion, wand or staff.

Equipment and Materials: To make a magic weapon, suit of armor, or shield, you need a set of tools suitable for working the material from which the item is made, such as metalworking tools for a magic longsword. You also need a masterwork item to receive the magic, a fire source, and a collection of oddments similar to materials used to create wands. The rules don't specify the kind of fire source, but a small brazier, campfire, fireplace, or furnace should suffice. The cost for the fire is subsumed in the basic cost for materials, as is the cost of the sundry other materials you need.

Cost: The base cost for the item's enhancement bonus is shown on Table 7-2 or 7-9 in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The base cost for any special abilities of the item is shown in the descriptions for those abilities. Some items have costs expressed in gold pieces, and such costs are added directly to the base cost for the item's enhancement. Most weapon, armor, or shield special abilities, however, are expressed as increases to the item's enhancement bonus (more about that in Part Seven). To determine the cost for such a special ability, apply the modifier to the item's actual enhancement bonus and use the cost for the increased bonus from Table 7-2 or 7-9 in the Dungeon Master's Guide. It's possible for one item to have both kinds of special abilities; in that case, add up the actual enhancement bonus and the modifiers to it and determine the base cost for the effective bonus, then add the costs for any special abilities that have costs expressed in gold pieces.

Creation Cost: The monetary cost to create a magic weapon, suit of armor, or shield is half the base price, plus the cost of the masterwork item.

The experience cost to create the item is 1/25th the base price.

If the item (or its special properties) has a prerequisite spell that has an extra monetary or XP cost, you generally do not have to pay those costs to make the item. That is because weapons, suits of armor, or shields usually do not produce spells, so you just need to understand a particular set of spells to create the magic that the item requires.

Market Price: The market price for a weapon, suit of armor, or shield is the base price, plus the cost of the masterwork item.

Example Weapon, Armor, and Shield Costs: A +2 keen longsword would have a base price of 18,000 gp and a market price of 18,315 gp calculated as follows:

The actual enhancement bonus is +2 and the keen property adds +1 to that for an effective bonus of +3. A +3 weapon has a base price of 18,000 gp according to Table 7-9 in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The cost to create this weapon is half the base price (9,000 gp) plus the cost of a masterwork longsword (315 gp). The experience cost to create the weapon is 1/25th the base price, or 720 XP. The market price is the base price plus the cost of the masterwork longsword (18,000 gp + 315 gp = 18,315 gp).

This weapon would have a caster level of 10th, which is the caster level for the keen property because that is higher than the caster level for the actual enhancement bonus, which is 6th (3 x 2).

A +1 chain shirt of silent moves would have a base price of 4,750 gp and a market price of 5,000 gp calculated as follows:

The enhancement bonus is +1 and the silent moves property adds 3,750 gp to the base price. The base price for +1 armor is 1,000 gp according to Table 7-2 in the Dungeon Master's Guide (1,000 gp + 3,750 gp = 4,750 gp). The experience cost to create the armor is 1/25th the base price, or 190 XP. The market price is the base price plus the cost of the masterwork chain shirt (4,750 gp + 250 gp = 5,000 gp).

The caster level for the silent moves property is 5th and the caster level for the actual +1 enhancement is 3rd, so the armor has a caster level of 5th.

A +3 heavy steel shield of bashing and undead controlling would have a base price of 65,000 gp and a market price of 65,170 gp calculated as follows:

The enhancement bonus is +3. The bashing property adds +1 to that for an effective bonus of +4. The undead controlling property adds 49,000 gp to the base price.

The base price for +4 armor is 16,000 gp according to Table 7-2 in the Dungeon Master's Guide (16,000 gp + 49,000 gp = 65,000 gp). The experience cost to create the shield is 1/25th the base price, or 2,600 XP. The market price is the base price plus the cost of the masterwork heavy steel shield (65,000 gp + 170 gp = 65,170 gp).

The caster level for the bashing property is 8th, the caster level for the undead controlling property is 13th, and the caster level for the actual +3 enhancement is 9th, so the shield has a caster level of 13th.

Weapon, Armor, and Shield Miscellany: No weapon, armor, or shield made with the Craft Magic Arms and Armor feat can have an actual enhancement bonus higher than +5 or an effective enhancement bonus (after adjustments for special abilities) higher than +10. The epic rules allow epic item creators to break these limits. When special properties have prices expressed in gold pieces, there is no limit to the number of those properties you can add, even if you're not playing an epic game. However, the limits on how much experience a character can spend at once (see Part One) set a practical limit on how powerful an item a non-epic character can make.

When a magic weapon, suit of armor, or shield is made from a special material, such as adamantine or mithral, the cost for the special material replaces the masterwork cost for the item because the costs for special materials generally include the cost for a masterwork item (check the special material's description to be sure). For example, a +2 adamantine keen longsword would have a base price of 18,000 gp and a market price of 21,015 gp calculated as follows:

The actual enhancement bonus is +2 and the keen property adds +1 to that for an effective bonus of +3. A +3 weapon has a base price of 18,000 gp according to Table 7-9 in the Dungeon Master's Guide. The cost to create this weapon is half the base price (9,000 gp) plus the cost of an adamantinelongsword (3,015 gp). The experience cost to create the weapon is 1/25th the base price, or 720 XP. The market price is the base price plus the cost of the adamantine longsword (18,000 gp + 3,015 gp = 21,015 gp).

Cold iron doubles the cost for an item (but not the cost to make it a masterwork item). In addition, cold iron naturally resists magic and is harder to enspell than other materials. Add 2,000 gp to the cost of an item's enhancement bonus and special abilities. According the D&D FAQ, however, you add the 2,000 gp only once if you're adding multiple abilities. For example, a +2 cold iron keen longsword would have a base price of 20,000 gp and a market price of 20,330 gp calculated as follows:

The actual enhancement bonus is +2 and the keen property adds +1 to that for an effective bonus of +3. A +3 weapon has a base price of 18,000 gp according to Table 7-9 in the Dungeon Master's Guide, plus 2,000 for working with a cold iron item. The cost to create this weapon is half the base price (9,000 gp) plus the cost of a cold iron longsword (330 gp). The experience cost to create the weapon is 1/25th the base price, or 800 XP. The market price is the base price plus the cost of the cold iron longsword (20,000 gp + 330 gp = 20,330 gp).

When creating a magic weapon, you have the option to have the weapon shed light when drawn. Doing so does not alter the cost to make or buy the weapon. Weapons that shed light do so continually and the light is as bright as a light spell (see page 221 in the Dungeon Master's Guide).

Creating a magic double weapon works just like creating two magic weapons, except that you add the cost of a masterwork weapon only once. For example, a dire flail that has +1 enhancement bonus at each end has a base price of 4,000 gp (2,000 gp for +1 enhancement x 2). The monetary cost to create the weapon is 2,000 gp plus 690 gp for a masterwork dire flail. The experience cost to create the weapon is 1/25th of the base cost (160 XP). The market price 4,690 gp (4,000 gp + 690 gp). A crafter can create a magic double weapon with only one magic end.

What's Next?

So, we've tackled weapons, armor, and shields. Next week, we'll look at what's involved in creating rings.

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Monstrous Conundrums (Part Three)

Once you've built a monster with a few class levels to challenge player characters, you still must rate the challenge. Unfortunately, that task is a little more complicated than it seems at first. Fortunately, the rules provide plenty of material to guide you through the task.

You can find guidelines for matching foes to player characters on pages 37-38 and 48-50 in the Dungeon Master's Guide and pages 293-294 in the Monster Manual.

Challenge Rating (CR)

As noted in Part One, a creature's Challenge Rating is a general measure of how much danger the creature poses during an encounter. A creature's CR indicates the average level that a party of four fresh characters would find moderately difficult to defeat; see page 7 in the Monster Manual for details.

From page 7 of the Monster Manual:

Challenge Rating

This shows the average level of a party of adventurers for which one creature would make an encounter of moderate difficulty. Assume a party of four fresh characters (full hit points, full spells, and equipment appropriate to their levels). Given reasonable luck, the party should be able to win the encounter with some damage but no casualties. For more information about Challenge Ratings, see pages 36 and 48 of the Dungeon Master's Guide.

It's important to remember that CR measures a creature's ability to challenge a party of four characters during a single encounter. A creature's Challenge Rating is no indication of how formidable it could prove as a player character. A monster that PCs meet during an adventure is present for one or two encounters at most. A player character, on the other hand, is present for just about every encounter in the campaign -- that is why the game includes level adjustments. A creature's CR and its character level or ECL can be wildly different, and that's a good thing because CR and character level or ECL measure different things.

CR Adjustments for Class Levels

Usually, it's pretty simple to calculate the CR for a creature with a few class levels -- just add the creature's class levels to its base CR (that is, the CR the creature has when it has no class levels at all). You need to be alert, however, for variations on the basic rule.

Creatures with NPC Class Levels: When a creature has levels in one of the NPC classes presented in Chapter 4 in the Dungeon Master's Guide, subtract one from the class level before adding it to the base CR. A creature's CR, however, always increases by at least +1 when it has an NPC class level.

From page 38 of the Dungeon Master's Guide:

Since NPC classes (see Chapter 5: Campaigns) are weaker than PC classes, levels in an NPC class contribute less to a creature's CR than levels in a PC class. For an NPC with an NPC class, determine her Challenge Rating as if she had a PC class with one less level. For a creature with monster levels in addition to NPC class levels, add the NPC levels -1 to the creature's base CR (always adding at least 1).

Humanoids with No CR or Racial Hit Dice: Humans and other standard races from the Player's Handbook have no Hit Dice or CR except for what they gain from their class levels. Such creatures have a CR equal to their class levels. If the creature has levels from an NPC class, subtract one from the number of NPC levels they have when calculating CR. If the creature has only one NPC class level, it has a CR of 1/2.

See pages 37-38 in the Dungeon Master's Guide for an extended example of this rule in action.

Creatures with Nonassociated Class Levels: Sometimes, adding class levels to a creature doesn't make it more dangerous to foes. When that happens, not all the level are added to the creature's basic CR.

Only levels equal to or less than the creature's racial Hit Dice can be nonassociated. Divide any nonassociated class levels in half before adding to the base CR to get the increased CR for the class levels.

The rules don't say so, but you should round down if the number of levels isn't an even number. If you're adding NPC class levels, subtract one before dividing (and you still round down).

Here's an example of a CR adjustment using nonassociated class levels: A troll has 6 racial Hit Dice and a CR of 5. If a troll has six levels in a nonassociated class from the Player's Handbook, the troll has a CR of 8 (1/2 of 6 is 3 + 5 = 8). If the same troll, however, adds one more level in the same class, the troll's CR is 9.

The rules don't provide much in the way of guidelines for deciding when a class should be nonassociated, so it's always a judgment call for the DM.

In general, a class should be nonassociated when its characteristics don't mesh well with the creature's own abilities. For example, a fire giant is basically a fighting creature. Adding a level in a class that doesn't do much to improve that fighting ability, such as sorcerer or wizard, probably won't make it much more formidable in battle. I say "probably" because it's possible to make just about any class mesh well with a creature's racial prowess.

Suppose a tribe of fire giants includes a sorcerer who knows a collection of workaday spells such as mending, alarm, and locate object. The fire giant sorcerer mostly helps the chief keep the others in line and performs small magical services for the rest of the tribe as needed. The example fire giant probably will rely on its fighting ability in combat and its sorcerer levels won't have much effect in a battle. This creature is a prime candidate for nonassociated class levels.

Now let's suppose we have a particularly clever fire giant sorcerer whose spell list has been carefully tuned for combat. This fire giant knows spells such as shield, true strike, blur, and haste. This fire giant could become a real juggernaut in combat, and all its sorcerer levels should increase its CR.

Encounter Level (EL)

Once you've found the correct CR for all the creatures with class levels in an encounter, you determine the encounter's EL in exactly the same way you'd determine the EL in any other encounter. Table 3-1 in the Dungeon Master's Guide is your primary tool for determining Encounter Levels.

Table 3-1 works well for groups of creatures with the same CR, but doesn't work so well for groups of creatures with varying CRs. Here are a few tips and reminders for dealing with such groups:

* When two creatures have the same CR, the EL for an encounter featuring them is two higher than the shared CR. For example, two CR 9 creatures make an EL 11 encounter. (But be sure to check Table 3-1: Encounter Numbers for those low-CR creatures.)

* When two creatures have CRs within two points of each other, the EL for an encounter featuring them is one higher than the highest CR. For example, a CR 9 and CR 8 creature make an EL 10 encounter. A CR 9 and CR 7 creature also make an EL 10 encounter.

* When two creatures have CRs that differ by three or more, use the higher CR to determine the encounter's EL. For example, a CR 9 and CR 6 creature make an EL 9 encounter.

* When you have a large number of creatures with different CRs, you can determine the EL for an encounter by arranging them into groups of similar CRs and then grouping the results. Here's an example: A group of creatures contains eight monsters of CR 3, three monsters of CR 7, and a leader with CR 10.

According to Table 3-1, eight CR 3 monsters have an EL of 9.

Two CR 7 monsters also have an EL of 9.

Combining the two ELs of 9 produces an EL of 11.

An EL 11 group combined with the CR 10 leader produces an EL of 12 for the whole encounter.

In Conclusion

That wraps up our discussion of various levels. Hopefully you're now more prepared to create monstrous player characters and monsters with class levels as foes for player characters.

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Spellwarp Sniper

This column aims to provide players with tips on creating effective and interesting characters of various types. Whether you're a beginning player creating your very first character or an experienced gamer looking to put some punch into an old standby, this column is for you.

Assets

Spellwarp snipers (Complete Scoundrel pg. 64) are excellent ranged combatants and masters of the surgical strike.

* Good Will Saves: A spellwarp sniper uses the best progression for Will saving throws (Table 3-1 in the Player's Handbook). Their arcane spellcasting levels boost this further, making them particularly good at resisting mind-affecting effects.
* Good Class Skills: Spellwarp snipers have many relevant class skills including Concentration, Hide, Move Silently, and Spellcraft. Additionally, they receive four skill points per level, which is a good, but not excellent, amount.
* Spells: Every level of spellwarp sniper provides the character with new spells per day as if the character had gained a level in a spellcasting class he belonged to before becoming a spellwarp sniper.
* Good Class Abilities: At every class level, spellwarp snipers gain a useful special ability. At 1st level, spellwarp allows them to transform spells with an instantaneous duration and a range greater than touch into rays. At 2nd level, sudden raystrike enables them to inflict an extra 1d6 points of damage with rays to foes denied their Dexterity bonus to AC. (At 4th level, this increases to 2d6 points of damage). At 3rd level, they gain Precise Shot as a bonus feat, or another feat which has Point Blank Shot as the prerequisite if they already have Precise Shot. Finally, at 5th level, they attain unparalleled control over their ray spells with ray mastery. Ray mastery doubles the range at which they can inflict extra damage with sudden raystrike, allows them to coup de grace with a ray, and gives them the ability to empower a single ray spell per day as though they had applied the Empower Spell feat to it.
* Easy Qualification: Spellwarp sniper is an easy prestige class for which to qualify. One level of rogue or ninja takes care of the sneak attack or sudden strike criteria. Any ranged combat specialist should consider Point Blank Shot, while by the time the character is 5th level in an arcane spellcasting class, he should have the requisite ranks in Concentration and Spellcraft.

Weaknesses

The spellwarp sniper's advantages come at a price. Here are a few things to consider when designing a spellwarp sniper character.

* Average BAB: Spellwarp snipers advance using the average base attack bonus progression. While their BAB is, therefore, far superior to a wizard's, they still lag behind fighters and other martial combatants. Their high Dexterity and reliance on ranged attacks requiring a ranged touch attack significantly offset this weakness, however.
* Poor Fortitude Saves: Spellwarp snipers have the worst progression for Fortitude saving throws in the game. It is likely that the classes taken to qualify for spellwarp sniper also have poor Fortitude saving throw bonuses, making this their primary weakness.
* Poor Reflex Saves: Spellwarp snipers have the worst progression for Reflex saving throws in the game. Because they have levels in rogue or ninja, however, they already have a good base Reflex save. They also are likely to have good Dexterity scores, further offsetting this disadvantage.
* Loss of Class Abilities: Although advancing as a spellwarp sniper grants additional spellcasting abilities in one arcane spellcasting class, the character does not get any other benefits from that class. Therefore, spellwarp snipers with levels of wizard do not gain bonus wizard feats or additional abilities for their familiars.

Playing a Spellwarp Sniper

People who play efficient spellwarp snipers should keep the following in mind.

Character Build

Spellwarp snipers excel with ray spells. Because of this, from the Player's Handbook, a spellwarp sniper should consider taking Empower Spell (see sidebar), Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, and Weapon Focus (ray). Other great choices for spellwarp snipers includes Ranged Spell Specialization (Complete Arcane pg. 82 -- ranged spells deal an extra 2 points of damage), Split Ray (Complete Arcane pg. 83 -- enables the user to fire an additional ray with specially prepared ray spells), and Ranged Recall (Complete Mage pg. 46 -- allows the reroll of missed attacks with ranged spells at a -5 penalty).

Finally, taking Great Fortitude offsets to some degree a spellwarp sniper's probably dismal Fortitude saving.

Combat

In battle, spellwarp snipers should stay out of melee, using their spells (particularly their rays and spells modified with their spellwarp ability) to kill or disable individual, powerful opponents. When they run out of spells, they should switch to using ranged weapons, using their sneak attack or sudden strike ability as often as possible. Otherwise, their potential damage output is quite low.

Recommended Spellwarp Sniper Spells

0 -- acid splash, disrupt undead, ray of frost
1st -- burning hands*, color spray*, ray of enfeeblement, true strike
2nd -- cat's grace, scorching ray
3rd -- fireball*, lightning bolt*, empowered ray of enfeeblement, ray of exhaustion
4th -- dimensional anchor, enervation, shout*
5th -- cone of cold*, empowered fireball*, empowered lightning bolt*, waves of fatigue*
6th -- disintegrate, globe of invulnerability, greater heroism
7th -- spell turning, greater teleport
8th -- polar ray, moment of prescience
9th -- energy drain

* Modified with the spellwarp class ability. (The spellwarp class ability enables a spellwarp sniper to alter spells with an instantaneous duration and a range greater than touch into ray spells. Spells that originally required a Reflex save, such as lightning bolt, do not allow such a save when converted to ray form).

Spellwarp snipers probably have low hit points. They should counter this by getting their armor class as high as possible (by buying multiple low-power and cheap magical items bestowing different bonus types). Wise spellwarp snipers also purchase an amulet of health or learn false life to boost their hit points. Gloves of dexterity are also an excellent buy for a spellwarp sniper. If he has Weapon Finesse, the gloves boost his initiative modifier, armor class, Reflex saves, melee and ranged attacks, and numerous important skills including Hide, Move Silently, and Tumble.

Finally, spellwarp snipers must consider what kind of attacks they will likely suffer. Because they mostly stay out of melee, they are likely to be targeted by missile fire and spells. (Taking Deflect Arrows and Snatch Arrows allows a spellwarp sniper some additional, potent options when dealing with enemy missile fire). Because they normally strike from range, spellwarp snipers should use all available cover and concealment to reduce the efficacy of their opponent's attacks.