Taking the Game Back to its Roots

[Cisticola]

Hi folks

Picked up a new magazine yesterday called 'Dragon Roots' and read it from cover to cover......not done that for awhile.....not since 'Dragon' vanished from my life in fact.

After reading I was quite excited.......this magazine has potential.....it also struck an emotional chord........I just had to write something, so I emailed this to the editor:

Taking the Game Back to its Roots.

Well I have given issue #0 a good read and......
a very big smile was on my face at the end. It reminded
me of the early Dragon magazines, when it was just gamers
discussing the game they loved.

Excellent bit on O-level characters and revisited some
old ground (Alignments and Social Classes) but the best
bit, well apart from the 'Letters to the Editor', was
the humour.....sometimes I wonder when did D&D became so
serious (the later Dragon mags spring to mind)?

Oh....and on the subject of should the magazine embrace
4e......well I am still playing the first addition AD&D.
For me its not the stats that concern me, its the ideas.
I like a magazine that you can take a few ideas away
and use in your game....and this magazine did not
disappoint me.

Defiantly a thumbs-up from me....are you sure you don't do
life-time subscriptions?

You can find the magazine 'Dragon Roots' here:

Dragon Roots

Give it a read......you will be very glad you did

[Raven Crowking]

Thank you for your kind words.

RC

aka Daniel J. Bishop (the guy who wrote the Alignment article)

[heirodule]

I was all set to be impressed, and then the half-naked woman on the cover, and the butt-shot on one of the banner ads was a turn off.

I'm a family man who hopes to play D&D with his kids. I don't need sex to sell me D&D.

Just sayin', if you want a broad audience....

[Cisticola]

Originally Posted by Raven Crowking

Thank you for your kind words.

RC

aka Daniel J. Bishop (the guy who wrote the Alignment article)

Your welcome RC......Hope to see more of your articles in the future

[Cisticola]

Sorry posted twice by mistake.....see post below

[Cisticola]

Originally Posted by heirodule

I was all set to be impressed, and then the half-naked woman on the cover, and the butt-shot on one of the banner ads was a turn off.

I'm a family man who hopes to play D&D with his kids. I don't need sex to sell me D&D.

Just sayin', if you want a broad audience....

I am actually sad that is how you saw the magazine........I am sure the editor would like
your feedback though.

email: dragonroots@comcast.net

[DM-Rocco]

Originally Posted by heirodule

I was all set to be impressed, and then the half-naked woman on the cover, and the butt-shot on one of the banner ads was a turn off.

I'm a family man who hopes to play D&D with his kids. I don't need sex to sell me D&D.

Just sayin', if you want a broad audience....

Hello, I am the creator of Dragon Roots and I am sorry to hear you say this.

The first thing you need to know is that Dragon Roots is first and foremost a magazine by gamers for gamers. Everyone who has done work on the magazine has done it for the love of the game and has done so for free, including the art. I am also only one man, not a large, or even small company, so it is not like I can call up Larry Elmore and tell him exactly what I need. I don't have the money to pay artists for their hard work. There are links to the artist website on my homepage and if you take a quick peek, you will find that this was the obvious choice as everything else was way to, well, nude.

The art was done by a friend of mine, we went to art school together, and he donated that cover and some of the art inside. Now, before you ask, if all I had was nude art, I would just shoot a picture of a character sheet and place that on the cover instead, so no, I won't just print anything.

I see nothing wrong with the cover, as I too am a family man, and yes, there will most likely be some simular art in the future. That said, I have already asked my friend to come up with more PG or PG-13 art in the future so I am ahead of you on this already.

Just like the old saying goes, "Don't judge a book by its cover."

The magazine has a lot of great content and that is our primary focus so I hope you will give it a shot. If the cover really bothers you, order a PDF version from my website and I will send you a special copy with just a white cover and the title of the magazine for no additional cost.

That is about the best I can do for you at this point, I think that is more than fair and I hope this changes your mind about giving the magazine a good read.

[Kepli Sire]

Originally Posted by Cisticola

Hi folks

Picked up a new magazine yesterday called 'Dragon Roots' and read it from cover to cover......not done that for awhile.....not since 'Dragon' vanished from my life in fact.

After reading I was quite excited.......this magazine has potential.....it also struck an emotional chord........I just had to write something, so I emailed this to the editor:

Taking the Game Back to its Roots.

Well I have given issue #0 a good read and......
a very big smile was on my face at the end. It reminded
me of the early Dragon magazines, when it was just gamers
discussing the game they loved.

Excellent bit on O-level characters and revisited some
old ground (Alignments and Social Classes) but the best
bit, well apart from the 'Letters to the Editor', was
the humour.....sometimes I wonder when did D&D became so
serious (the later Dragon mags spring to mind)?

Oh....and on the subject of should the magazine embrace
4e......well I am still playing the first addition AD&D.
For me its not the stats that concern me, its the ideas.
I like a magazine that you can take a few ideas away
and use in your game....and this magazine did not
disappoint me.

Defiantly a thumbs-up from me....are you sure you don't do
life-time subscriptions?

You can find the magazine 'Dragon Roots' here:

Dragon Roots

Give it a read......you will be very glad you did

If that isn't a ringing endorsement I don't know what is. I just received my own issue today and unfortunately my wife found it first Her laughter and smiling face makes the waiting all the harder LOL
Of course she is also proud to see my name in a magazine and I must admit, so am I

Mark Manders
Webmaster at Dundjinni.com and creator of the maps in the Dragon Roots magazine.

[DM-Rocco]

UPDATE = this seems like the most current thread, so here is an update on where you can buy Dragon Roots

Dragon Roots Magazine is now sold in the Minnesota branch of Misty Mountain Games & Diversions and after this coming weekend, it will be sold in their Madison Wisconsin branch.

Also at
The Source Comics and Games - Roseville MN
Dreamers - St. Lious Park MN
The Monster's Den - Minneapolis MN

Also, in pdf format at Paizo.com

or subscriptions at www.dragonroots.net

[Kepli Sire]

More reviews will probably be posted after more people receive their copy of Dragon Roots issue #0. I have spoken to some people who got the pdf version and they were really taken by it
A good start for a new magazine if you ask me

[thedungeondelver]

Originally Posted by DM-Rocco

UPDATE = this seems like the most current thread, so here is an update on where you can buy Dragon Roots

Dragon Roots Magazine is now sold in the Minnesota branch of Misty Mountain Games & Diversions and after this coming weekend, it will be sold in their Madison Wisconsin branch.

Also at
The Source Comics and Games - Roseville MN
Dreamers - St. Lious Park MN
The Monster's Den - Minneapolis MN

Also, in pdf format at Paizo.com

or subscriptions at www.dragonroots.net

I know someone with a magazine/book/game store very close to Lake Geneva I can put you in touch with, if you'd like.

[DM-Rocco]

Originally Posted by thedungeondelver

I know someone with a magazine/book/game store very close to Lake Geneva I can put you in touch with, if you'd like.

I was just in Lake Geneva for Gary's Funeral.

I looked for a store and didn't see one. I would love a chance to sell the magazine closer to the heart land of D&D

[Kepli Sire]

cdenham over at Dundjinni posted a very nice review on Dragon Roots issue #0. Since his account on here is giving him problems, he asked someone else to post it ... so here it is

cdenham
My additional 2 cents on the magazine -

Loved the layout! It looks to be very professionally done. I have to admit that I went in a bit skeptical and have to admit I very happily surprised.

Before I comment on the remainder I think I have to throw my one negative in because it will explain my thoughts on the rest of the magazine. From the name I thought it would be a bit of a throw back to D&D's roots as well. I see that it was your goal to go back to the old style of Dragon magazine. On that basis, you did a really great job. I believe this misunderstanding was entirely my fault.

Artwork - great! You might want to note it for more mature players.

Maps - great! Of course, with Kepli working on them what else would you expect.

What's Your Story? - A very handy article and is something I intend to tweak slightly for use with the older rules.

Be Thee for Law or Chaos - Another very good, handy article regardless of which version you use.

4th Edition Queries - My favorite article! It addresses my biggest disappointments with the d20 version of D&D and actually has me excited about version 4.0 coming out! Thanks! (PS - With this being said, I vote for making the swap to 4.0 once it is available but this is subject to change once I actually get to see it.)

Working Your Way Up To First Level - An excellent idea for issue #0. I also like the way that a lot of this first issue was geared toward lower level characters. Was this intentional? Are the initial issues going to follow this same trend of the articles advancing slightly in level with each issue?

A Day at the Fair - an interesting idea for a module and the whole Zero to Hero concept is the main reason I'm seriously considering a subscription. I love the way you use the module to teach the basics of the game as well. (And a new monster to boot!)

Overall, 4.5 out of 5!

[Kepli Sire]

Issue #01 is out folks ... it's only getting better

[gonesailing]

My wife and I both like the coverart on the premiere issue. I don't have the magazine, so can't speak for what might be inside, but I don't see anything that should be THAT offensive.

Keep it up