(un)reason
Legend
Sorry about missing yesterday. Drink was spilled on the computer, the keyboard went haywire, and so things have been a bit awkward.
Dragon Magazine Issue 177: January 1992
part 2/6
Secrets of the masters revealed: Now this is a bit better again. Examining other fields and seeing if they have any good ideas that can be adapted to yours is one thing I've promoted several times. And the techniques for successful fiction writing don't have perfect overlap with the ones for fun gaming, but it's closer than, say, archaeology. The stuff on worldbuilding in particular is very appropriate, as are the optimal work habits. Organising your ideas, always having a notepad available to jot down ideas that come at random times, researching stuff instead of just pulling it out of your ass, persistence persistence persistence and don't forget the editing. Actually, this also has quite a bit of crossover with the writers guidelines they put up every year or two, when people ask how they can get published in the magazine. So they're hardly big secrets to regular readers. Still, once again, this is good advice that you will profit from taking on board. I can't count the number of times I've struggled through writers block since starting this, to the point where it holds far less emotional sting than it used to. As with the last time, I encourage you to break your own procrastinating ways and get to work actualising your own ideas, for life is short, and if you put things off, before you know it, you'll be dead with nothing to show for it.
Defend yourself: Oooh. We finish off the themed section with a short but very cool article indeed. The idea that instead of using attack rolls to see if the monsters hit the players, you flip the math around, use flat values for the monsters and have the players roll to see if they manage to defend against the attack. It's a small change, but one that has a significant psychological effect. Not only does it make players feel more empowered because they're the ones rolling the dice, but it can also speed combat along, providing you trust the various players to handle all the attacks directed at their character simultaneously. This is one that we'll see again, as it also got used in the 3e Unearthed Arcana optional rules. Looks like they are once again serving as a good collecting and filtering ground for ideas. Major woo here.
The game wizards: No great surprise that they're going to give the D&D rules cyclopedia a load of promotion here. This is one of those articles which goes into detail about how harrowing the writing process was. It was such a sacrifice having to write to a predetermined size book when there was so many cool things from various supplements they wanted to put in it. Many compromises needed to be made. But even with the cuts, it's still vastly comprehensive, far more than any single book they've ever done before. Steven Schend makes sure to thank all the people who helped him make it as good as it is. Mwah, mwah, big hug everybody. (even the people who don't work here any more, who made valuable contributions to previous versions. ) Now rush out and buy it, make all our hard work worthwhile. But don't think we've made all those earlier supplements useless either. You can still buy them too if you like. Amazing how much work a project that has so little new material can be. Still, cynicism aside, compilation can be worth the price, and that is probably the case here. Here's to many fun years of gaming outside the supplement treadmill.
If I ruled the world: Once again with the causes for going Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! (see how my breath control has developed since the anti-paladin days) What makes a man a mad scientist? Is he born that way, is it forced upon him, or does he become one by studying for 3 years at the university of Insane, Minnesota. (other courses include megalomaniacal politician, whackjob cult leader, detached from reality diva, and utterly incomprehensible bureaucrat. ) What are his ambitions, how does he justify the more unpleasant aspects of his plans to himself, and how does he plan to get the resources to carry out said plan? (apologies to all the female megalomaniacs out there) So plenty more fun DM'ing advice here, helping you build villains which make sense in abilities, plans and resources. Suitable for all genres, and with decent examples and a bibliography, this is another pretty fun article, illustrating the slippery slope that leads to over-the-top villainy well. The illustrations are notably good Baxa ones, making this quite a nice package overall. Just the thing to blow up your campaign world more effectively with.
The role of books: User unfriendly by Vivian Vande Velde (no way is that her real name) is one of those books that uses computers as a magic box, able to do things impossible in reality in the names of the plot. This breaks the reviewer's suspension of disbelief, and the characters aren't too interesting either. When the minor characters have more interesting adventures offscreen than the main ones, you have a plotting problem.
Shadow by Anne Logston embraces the cheese that any adventure starring an elf going by that cliched name would struggle to avoid. He engages in cheerfully roguish schemes, and is maneuvered against in turn in this fun little swashbuckling romp. Looks like Drizzt is starting to spawn cash-ins like any success.
The Crafters, edited by Christopher Stasheff & Bill Fawcett is one of our shared world universes. This is another one that doesn't really work, largely due to an insufficiently broad setting bible and editing. If all your writers wind up producing the same kind of story, then you haven't given them enough material to work with.
Old nathan by David Drake is another negative review. It's all window dressing with no window, substituting silly voices for characterisation. Mr Bunnel does not seem to be in a good mood this month.
Being of two minds by Pamela F Service does rather better, putting an interesting twist on the bodyswapping/sharing trope. It's in the young adult section, but handles the situations and the way people react to them in a mature enough way for the reviewer to still recommend it.
The encyclopedias of monsters and ghosts by Daniel Cohen are nonfiction pieces drawing legends together and giving opinions on them. Ah yes. You really should have one of these in the house. They're full of ideas to steal for your game, as we've seen before.
Dragon Magazine Issue 177: January 1992
part 2/6
Secrets of the masters revealed: Now this is a bit better again. Examining other fields and seeing if they have any good ideas that can be adapted to yours is one thing I've promoted several times. And the techniques for successful fiction writing don't have perfect overlap with the ones for fun gaming, but it's closer than, say, archaeology. The stuff on worldbuilding in particular is very appropriate, as are the optimal work habits. Organising your ideas, always having a notepad available to jot down ideas that come at random times, researching stuff instead of just pulling it out of your ass, persistence persistence persistence and don't forget the editing. Actually, this also has quite a bit of crossover with the writers guidelines they put up every year or two, when people ask how they can get published in the magazine. So they're hardly big secrets to regular readers. Still, once again, this is good advice that you will profit from taking on board. I can't count the number of times I've struggled through writers block since starting this, to the point where it holds far less emotional sting than it used to. As with the last time, I encourage you to break your own procrastinating ways and get to work actualising your own ideas, for life is short, and if you put things off, before you know it, you'll be dead with nothing to show for it.
Defend yourself: Oooh. We finish off the themed section with a short but very cool article indeed. The idea that instead of using attack rolls to see if the monsters hit the players, you flip the math around, use flat values for the monsters and have the players roll to see if they manage to defend against the attack. It's a small change, but one that has a significant psychological effect. Not only does it make players feel more empowered because they're the ones rolling the dice, but it can also speed combat along, providing you trust the various players to handle all the attacks directed at their character simultaneously. This is one that we'll see again, as it also got used in the 3e Unearthed Arcana optional rules. Looks like they are once again serving as a good collecting and filtering ground for ideas. Major woo here.
The game wizards: No great surprise that they're going to give the D&D rules cyclopedia a load of promotion here. This is one of those articles which goes into detail about how harrowing the writing process was. It was such a sacrifice having to write to a predetermined size book when there was so many cool things from various supplements they wanted to put in it. Many compromises needed to be made. But even with the cuts, it's still vastly comprehensive, far more than any single book they've ever done before. Steven Schend makes sure to thank all the people who helped him make it as good as it is. Mwah, mwah, big hug everybody. (even the people who don't work here any more, who made valuable contributions to previous versions. ) Now rush out and buy it, make all our hard work worthwhile. But don't think we've made all those earlier supplements useless either. You can still buy them too if you like. Amazing how much work a project that has so little new material can be. Still, cynicism aside, compilation can be worth the price, and that is probably the case here. Here's to many fun years of gaming outside the supplement treadmill.
If I ruled the world: Once again with the causes for going Muahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!! (see how my breath control has developed since the anti-paladin days) What makes a man a mad scientist? Is he born that way, is it forced upon him, or does he become one by studying for 3 years at the university of Insane, Minnesota. (other courses include megalomaniacal politician, whackjob cult leader, detached from reality diva, and utterly incomprehensible bureaucrat. ) What are his ambitions, how does he justify the more unpleasant aspects of his plans to himself, and how does he plan to get the resources to carry out said plan? (apologies to all the female megalomaniacs out there) So plenty more fun DM'ing advice here, helping you build villains which make sense in abilities, plans and resources. Suitable for all genres, and with decent examples and a bibliography, this is another pretty fun article, illustrating the slippery slope that leads to over-the-top villainy well. The illustrations are notably good Baxa ones, making this quite a nice package overall. Just the thing to blow up your campaign world more effectively with.
The role of books: User unfriendly by Vivian Vande Velde (no way is that her real name) is one of those books that uses computers as a magic box, able to do things impossible in reality in the names of the plot. This breaks the reviewer's suspension of disbelief, and the characters aren't too interesting either. When the minor characters have more interesting adventures offscreen than the main ones, you have a plotting problem.
Shadow by Anne Logston embraces the cheese that any adventure starring an elf going by that cliched name would struggle to avoid. He engages in cheerfully roguish schemes, and is maneuvered against in turn in this fun little swashbuckling romp. Looks like Drizzt is starting to spawn cash-ins like any success.
The Crafters, edited by Christopher Stasheff & Bill Fawcett is one of our shared world universes. This is another one that doesn't really work, largely due to an insufficiently broad setting bible and editing. If all your writers wind up producing the same kind of story, then you haven't given them enough material to work with.
Old nathan by David Drake is another negative review. It's all window dressing with no window, substituting silly voices for characterisation. Mr Bunnel does not seem to be in a good mood this month.
Being of two minds by Pamela F Service does rather better, putting an interesting twist on the bodyswapping/sharing trope. It's in the young adult section, but handles the situations and the way people react to them in a mature enough way for the reviewer to still recommend it.
The encyclopedias of monsters and ghosts by Daniel Cohen are nonfiction pieces drawing legends together and giving opinions on them. Ah yes. You really should have one of these in the house. They're full of ideas to steal for your game, as we've seen before.
