Kobold Quarterly

[Asmo]

Is it a mix of 4 ed, pathfinder and 3.5? Is the focus more on 4 ed or previous incarnations of the game?
Is it worth it if you only play 3.-Pathfinder?

Asmo

 

[Jor-El]

Originally it was a mix of 4E and 3.5, but now I believe its 4E and Pathfinder. I play Pathfinder and there's plenty there for that ruleset, and even the 4E articles are good...they provide plenty of inspiration so its all good!

*also: there are plenty of system neutral articles too.

 

[DaveMage]

Is it a mix of 4 ed, pathfinder and 3.5? Is the focus more on 4 ed or previous incarnations of the game?
Is it worth it if you only play 3.-Pathfinder?

Asmo

I had a subscription for the first 16 issues (and they are on #17 now).

I let it lapse because half the articles are 4E and half Pathfinder.

Since I was essentially paying for half a magazine, it wasn't quite worth it for me (I have a lot of interest in Pathfinder, but no interest in 4E). Obviously Jor-El feels differently, so you now have both sides of the issue.

If you are OK with mining the 4E/neutral stuff for ideas/inspiration, then it would be worth it. If you get annoyed anytime you see 4e content in something you paid for, then maybe not so much.

The writing quality is certainly good.


Edit - I'd suggest going to the Paizo site and purchasing a pdf of an issue and judging for yourself. I don't think individual issues in PDF are that expense ($5 maybe?).

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

They periodically give away free issues for a limited time as well.

 

[Krensky]

Is it a mix of 4 ed, pathfinder and 3.5? Is the focus more on 4 ed or previous incarnations of the game?
Is it worth it if you only play 3.-Pathfinder?

Asmo

It's a mix of PF and 4e for the most part. Maybe fifty-fifty in the long run, but the balance isn't really fixed in any specific issue. Some quarters there's a little more for one or the other. This month also has an article for AGE and one that's for PF, 4e, and AGE and a few system-less articles.

Some of the 4e articles are easy to mine, some aren't so much. Since my current game of choice is actually Fantasy Craft I need to massage pretty much everything, but I still find it good value. The magazine is top notch, the content is often useful regardless of system, and it's just nice to read a magazine that reminds me a bit of the old Dragon. Well, not the old, old Dragon, it's too short and doesn't have enough stuff on all things Fantasy or Gaming the way the old Dragon did, but still a solid publication.

 

[samursus]

In the issues I have read, I have found it not worth it for me as I only play 4e. My remembered impressions are that 4e makes up only 1/3 or so of the issues.

I am the diametric opposite to DaveMage, getting annoyed at all the 3.5/Pathfinder stuff.

Interestingly, this justifies my DDI subscription. If a PDF is $5, my $6/month to WotC certainly gets me MUCH more than 1/2 (or less) of a KQ.

 

[Alzrius]

Has anyone else noticed that there seem to be more and more articles in it for the Dragon Age RPG as time goes by?

 

[Krensky]

Has anyone else noticed that there seem to be more and more articles in it for the Dragon Age RPG as time goes by?

Part of that probably is due to Midgard being a PF/AGE project.

 

[Gilladian]

I had a sub for about the first 6-8 issues. Since I stayed 3.5 (and now play e6), I let mine lapse.

I thought it had then (and may still have) a very steampunky overtone to just about everything. It was very "modern" in the approaches it took to creating things.

I run a campaign with a sort of medieval/dark ages (more Harn than Forgotten Realms) feel, and I didn't think most of the monsters or adventure concepts fit my world.

But the writing is top notch and the game design is great. So I'd definitely give it a look.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

Has anyone else noticed that there seem to be more and more articles in it for the Dragon Age RPG as time goes by?

Well it went from zero to one to two, so yes that is more. I'm not sure that it will ever dominate the magazine though.

Even though I don't currently play Pathfinder I still think the magazine is well worth the money. I prefer it over eDragon because KQ is consistently high quality while Dragon tends to be hit or miss. I also like the kind of articles that make you think about the game rather than those that just give you new magic items, monsters, powers etc. (Though magic items and monsters are fun too). Things like this month's "Feat of Stunning Brilliance," don't seem to have a place in Dragon. Also I can hold my KQ in my hands, which I still enjoy.

I do still keep my DDI subscription, but that is mainly for the compendium. For magazine reading I prefer Kobold Quarterly.

(In interest of full disclosure, I have written a number of articles for KQ).