Dragon Magazine Issue 227: March 1996
part 1/8
124 pages. A prime example of the put everything right up front and clutter everywhere image style. I disapprove. Things can only look genuinely big if you give them enough context to establish scale. Otherwise the brain just defaults to seeing them as normal. Just as to make music loud, you have to get people to want to turn it up, not simply record it louder. It took me quite a few looks to realise how big this thing was supposed to be. Needs moar contrast. The topic is another return to familiar territory. The Underdark! Where monsters this big wouldn't really fit realistically! Are there some new caverns down there that delvers still haven't found. Hopefully. And hopefully they'll be full of interesting challenges and treasures too.
In this issue:
The wyrm's turn: Ahh yes, a reminder that we can be constrained by our cultural touchstones a little too easily, and ought to draw upon other real world cultures if we want to create a varied and interesting world. Like Roger didn't say that in his tenure. (issue 176) The solution? The Encyclopedia Brittanica! I'm sorry, that's just unintentionally hilarious. To expand your knowledge of other cultures, you go straight for looking through the filter of posh white guys. The irony is staggering. I mean, sure, you need a translator unless you're willing to spend years learning the language and cultural references from the inside out, but that choice? It hurtses my brain. This is another example of them repeating a topic, only shorter, and not as well handled as the previous article. Gimme a break.
D-Mail: There's a whole bunch of letters commenting on their new look this month, mostly positive. First up, is a certain Iquander, who is particularly pleased at Greyhawk getting better treatment in the magazine than it used to. Do it more! I smell foreshadowing.
Secondly, we have a suggestion that they should compile all the spells ever developed in the same way they did magic items. This is one case they're waaaay ahead of you. Still, this stuff takes time. Especially here, where they have to dig through the archives and assemble everything in alphabetical order. Lot's of hard work for their editing staff.
Another rather shorter bit of praise for the greyhawk article. You know, it was hardly as impressive as the ones in issue 204-8. Much of this is absence making the heart grow fonder.
In contrast, they do have a letter saying they should be careful with the campaign world specific articles. Too many, and the magazine ceases to be useful to the general public. It'll still probably cater to more of their readership than articles on other game systems, and they did those for ages without it hurting them. It's merely a matter of not doing too many in a single issue.
Two letters commenting that the switch to perfect bound has made it hard to read the beginning of each line. You know what the fix is? Increasing the margins! That means they can fill the magazine up with a good % or two less actual content.
How's that for making savings as well.
And finally a letter from someone who seems to want to adhere too closely to canon, by wanting them to tell him exactly where the named magical swords in the Forgotten Realms are. Oh dear. I think that counts as not quite getting it.
The secrets of successful dungeon building: Swordplay artist Matthew Guss tries his hand at article writing (as well as illustrating said article, thus providing them two products for the price of one, and ensuring they're better integrated than usual. ) The result is surprisingly serious given his comic output. It's also very very 2nd edition, with a lot of the emphasis on building a dungeon by thinking about the people who made it, the resources they had, the reasons they had to make it in the first place, and how they would realistically keep and utilise their treasure. No gonzo corridors of death here. I find that rather curious. I guess he's just following the crowd, after all, that's what they've been saying for years now. This does feel rather like another of their returns to basics that we're seeing far too much of lately. So the illustrations are easily the most new and entertaining parts of this article. I am forced to conclude that he probably ought to stick to them.
The scabbard of cowardice I thought ws a nice little item becuase it has the usual cursed problems, but it's not instantly lethal or massively character crippling, which the sort of cursed item I prefer to use.
