Dragon+ Issue 11

The new issue of Dragon+ is here. "Join us for a holiday and crafting special as we roll up our sleeves for a D&DIY extravaganza, showcasing some of the best arts, crafts, and DIY projects inspired by Dungeons & Dragons. We also have an exclusive look at the new Aberrations and Undead deck expansion for Tyrants of the Underdark with Gale Force Nine’s John-Paul Brisigotti, and some special insights into the brand-new Rock Paper Wizard card game with WizKids’ Zev Shlasinger. Then mapmaker extraordinaire Mike Schley talks about the passion and the process that underlie the cartographer’s art. Our look at some of the best D&D-inspired homebrew projects also highlights plenty of resources to get you started on your own D&DIY. Doctor Robert J. Lang and The Paper Magician author Charlie N. Holmberg discuss origami and paper magic, and we look at Wizkids’ new line of Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures as we show you how to bring your own minis to life. And in a blast from the past of Dragon magazine, prepare to craft the ultimate D&D paper castle as we return to the glory and majesty of Great Stoney! All this, plus hints and tips on holiday-themed projects from Wizards’ very own Emi Tanji, the Best of the Dungeon Masters Guild with Jason Thompson’s Priestess, the art of Volo’s Guide to Monsters, and all our regulars like Unearthed Arcana, Maps of the Month, Video & Audio Highlights, and more!"

[h=3]ISSUE 11 FEATURE CONTENT[/h]

• D&DIY -- We take a look at some of the coolest D&D homebrewed crafts and projects D&D fans have created, with plenty of resources to get you started on your own crafting journey.
• Volo's Guide to Monsters Concepts -- Just how was the art for Volo's Guide created? The art team of Kate Irwin, Richard Whitters, and Shawn Wood are here with the answers.
• Dungeon Mapping -- Master cartographer Mike Schley discloses the art and science of great map making.
• Return to the Steading -- In our latest fiction piece—in this season of giants, we return to the home of the renowned hill giant chieftain.
• Dragon Magazine Throwback -- Prepare to craft the ultimate D&D paper castle, as we reveal the glory and majesty of Great Stoney!
• What's in Your Bag? -- We asked you what strange items might be found in a giant's bag? You've surprised and delighted us with your answers.
• Creating a Cartoon -- Wizards' very own Emi Tanji on how to create D&D holiday-themed arts and crafts.
• Expanding the Underdark -- Gale Force Nine's John-Paul Brisigotti gives us an exclusive look at the Tyrants of the Underdark expansion decks.
• Paint by Numbers -- Ever wanted to paint your own minis, but wondered how to get started? Well wonder no more, bring your miniatures to life with this Nolzur’s Marvelous Miniatures tutorial.

 

[Remathilis]

We were this close to having an official rakasta race again.

I mean, the tabaxi mechanics work for it, my old school BECMI heart would be loved the rakasta name again...

Sent from my Pixel using Tapatalk

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

The interview with Mike Schley includes several of his maps. One of them is for a town called Hochoch, with an inset map showing where it is in the Duchy of Geoff in Greyhawk. Does anyone know if this is a map from a 4th edition product or is this a sneak preview for a new product they slipped in?

 

[Jer]

We were this close to having an official rakasta race again.

I mean, the tabaxi mechanics work for it, my old school BECMI heart would be loved the rakasta name again...

As much as my Mystara-loving heart would like to see the rakasta again, I'm not sure that I could stand the level of vitriol that the hardcore Realms canon fans would hurl at Wizards or at the rakasta as a concept if Wizards had stuck them into the Realms. It's pretty obvious from the Dragon+ article that at least some of that was on the minds of the design team there as well.

That said - the tabaxi stats work well enough for rakasta. My assumption is that rakasta in the Realms started going by "tabaxi" because they got fed up with people in the Realms confusing them with rakshasa

 

[Jer]

The interview with Mike Schley includes several of his maps. One of them is for a town called Hochoch, with an inset map showing where it is in the Duchy of Geoff in Greyhawk. Does anyone know if this is a map from a 4th edition product or is this a sneak preview for a new product they slipped in?

Searching for "Map of Hochoch" brought me to here: http://greyhawkery.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-article-hochoch.html

You can see that the segment of the map appears to be the same. It looks like it's from an article from Dragon Magazine #418 - so an older map (like the rest of the ones in the article) and not anything new.

 

[Jester David]

The rakasta are okay, but I inshore it would cause nothing but confusion, with people mistaking them for rakshasas, and complaining about how it doesn't match...

 

[CapnZapp]

Mike Schley's maps are bloody brilliant. Truly the gold standard of fantasy maps.

Especially contrasted to some of the other artists used by WotC... They're... bland... *ahem* they're embellished with useless ornaments... very hard to reuse for any other purpose, unclear, muddled iconography and borders... as if the artist haven't truly understood the purpose of a map, as opposed to a vaguely instructive painting.

A map is first and foremost a tool, not a work of art.

Schley's maps are works of art, but only because they're functional tools first.

 

[CapnZapp]

Searching for "Map of Hochoch" brought me to here: http://greyhawkery.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-article-hochoch.html

I don't know about your search skills but searching for "Map of Hochoch" brought me to here:

http://imgur.com/gallery/zVnGe

View attachment 79210

Schley's own Imgur feed with the complete Dungeon #418 map in 1126 × 864 resolution. Just sayin'

 

[Bupp]

Is there any way to save a portion of these or copy and paste them? I want a copy of that "What's in the Giant's Bag" d100 table.

 

[Jer]

Is there any way to save a portion of these or copy and paste them? I want a copy of that "What's in the Giant's Bag" d100 table.

I was able to get Firefox to copy the text from the web link and then was able to paste it into a Word document as a table. I could not get Chrome to copy the text, so that functionality in Firefox may be a "bug".

Which is really stupid. Why can't we download these things as PDF documents for offline reading? Or at least have a decent "print" option to print off the gaming material like d100 tables and whatnot.