Fenix (No. 5, 2017 - English only)

From publisher blurb:

The Dragon Issue

When is a Dragon not a Dragon?
It sounds like a childhood riddle, but it is a question well worth asking before you place a dragon in your campaign. In most fantasy and games, a dragon is a “boss” monster: the most powerful opponent in an adventure or campaign, placed at the end so that the heroes can defeat it in a climactic battle.

In their native myths and folklores, however, dragons can serve many different purposes, and an enterprising GM can exploit many of these tropes to make a dragon far, far more than just a collection of ridiculously high game stats with an equally high experience point reward.

Text: Graeme Davis, Art: Anders Larsson

An Age of Wonders - Poikila Hellenistika
This is the syncretic, utopian, sensual world of the Hellenistic Age, the three centuries after the death of Alexander the Great, where his generals and successors fought wars and married each others’ daughters all while patronizing elephant tamers, librarians, inventors, and engineers. This is the age when the Seven Wonders – both thaumata, or ”magics,” and themata, ”marvels” – of the World are completed and compiled. All seven Wonders only co-exist for about 50 years, from the completion of the Lighthouse at Pharos, in 282 BCE, to the destruction of the Colossus of Rhodes in the earthquake of 226 BCE. That’s plenty of time for fighting giant apes on top of the Pyramids or a demi-lich in the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus; this writeup assumes a date of around 273 BCE.

This article is an Introduction to Kenneth Hite’s 13th age Setting.

Text: Kenneth Hite, Art: Lukas Thelin

The Wyrms of Ulthar – The Second in a 3-part Mini Campaign to Mythras
Second of the three part mini-campaign set in the example Sword & Sandals world provided in the Mythras core rules. The heroes have escaped the fall of Meeros, but now must find a way to undo the doom they have unwittingly caused. Their path will lead them to the mist writhed horrors of the Zo Swamps and the legendary Wyrms of Ulthar!

Text: Pete Nash, Art: Hanna Bergström & Stephanie Macalea

Patinas Tell Stories – The Provenance System
What’s provenance? An object’s provenance is its recorded journey through history, its links in the chain of ownership and context. Museums strive to track and escort art through history, keeping a tight record of artistic provenance. Everyday objects might have spottier histories, appearing only occasionally in the historic record when they surface in newspapers or sales receipts. A car’s odometer says how far the car has gone, but not where.

This system for sparking fictional provenance for objects is interested in history beyond records alone. It wants to provoke and describe the backstory of your campaign’s treasures. Because scars and stains, decorations and repairs can suggest history — however imprecise — that gives an object character. The car that comes out of the mountains with red clay on its tires and sand in its engine provides clues beyond the odometer alone

Text: Will Hindmarch, Art: Anders Larsson