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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5027143" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 160: August 1990</u></strong></p><p></p><p>part 3/6</p><p></p><p></p><p>Chill. Coming soon. Rather an odd choice of colour here, but it certainly catches the eye. Hopefully that'll translate into buyer interest. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Forum: Jason Caudill is annoyed TSR don't do more to prove they aren't satanic. Saying stuff in the magazine where only converts will see it anyway is no use at all.TV adverts are exceedingly expensive, you know, and we aren't that huge a company in the overall scheme of things. What do you want from us, blood sacrifices? Or is that exactly what you don't want. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /> </p><p></p><p>Paul Shuster is annoyed at Sally Jesse Raphael, and the way they slanted their debate on D&D's satanicness, with no-one to defend the game. Ok, the fact that you admit watching those shows loses you several cool points. But since we're all in the negative anyway, it matters little.</p><p></p><p>Pierre Savoie is also deeply pissed off at the utter stupidity of daytime talk shows, and the way they ignore the facts whenever it gets in the way of a good bit of ratings grabbing hysteria. He's rather more constructive than the last forumite, because he provides an address for you to write and complain too. Will fighting fire with fire work? </p><p></p><p>Dennis Gill points out that roleplaying does a whole bunch of things that educators are always trying to get kids to do. Math, creative thinking, constructive socialisation, reading. Those ignorant reactionaries really ought to research before they rail. </p><p></p><p>Rob McNamee also thinks that roleplaying has substantial educational benefits. Easy now, you'll scare everyone off. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite7" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue :p" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":p" /> </p><p></p><p>Norbert K Bendriss points out how much gaming has increased his vocabulary. Another good bit of evidence that gaming exercises your brain and provides sneaky education. Learning to adopt roles can do wonders for your social life. </p><p></p><p>Tim A Smith tries to protect D&D's image in a decidedly wonky fashion. Yeah, I don't think that's going to work. Highly specific denials are even more suspicious than admitting to stuff. </p><p> </p><p>Scott Miller finishes up our controversy special by reminding us that it's only a game, and people will go insane regardless of their cultural surroundings. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Up, away and beyond: AD&D has tackled space in it's own idiosyncratic way recently. Now Bruce Heard tries to do the same for regular D&D, in the process separating the two properties even further. While gravity and planet shaping still works differently from reality, it does so in a different way to spelljammer. Bruce gives plenty of freedom for you to create odd shaped worlds, while following a couple of odd rules that mean players won't have it too easy, and the whole thing won't be completely lacking in cohesion. A decidedly curious article, that again shows his skill at introducing ideas that could lead to years of play and many sourcebooks of expansion in a few short pages. He really has developed quite a bit as a writer and worldbuilder, and it looks like he's hitting his stride as the director of the D&D line now. Which is another very positive development from my point of view. Funny how being largely left alone to do your own thing by upper management often produces better results than constant executive meddling. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The voyage of the princess ark returns, having missed a month in the spelljammer special. This is ironic, because this would have fitted right in there. The ark finds a trick of going beyond the atmosphere, (see the previous article) and into space! There they discover Mystara has an invisible moon inhabited by cat-people. Oookay. That definitely falls into the category of ridiculously huge setting reveal. The overall plot thickens, as his suspicions about the nature of the skyship grow, they lose a captive and a travelling companion, and gain another one. Bruce certainly isn't afraid to shake up the roster of characters in this adventure. I guess this is another thing the system supports. Easy come, easy go. If you lose a PC, you can just whip up a new one in a few minutes. And given all the races he's detailing, it can almost be an advantage to do so, letting the players unlock new character options they didn't have at the start of the game, based on where they've travelled, and who they've befriended. Yes, it may be a bit computer gamey, but it really helps give your players an incentive to explore, see what's over the next horizon. </p><p></p><p>Also notable here is how Bruce avoids the monoculture problem demihuman races frequently suffer from. Even if they have multiple nations, those can seem all too similar. The Rakasta here are not only substantially different from the ones we've seen so far, but it's made clear that there are a whole bunch of nations up here, with different customs, with enough detail given to spark your imagination further. And once again this is all sorted out within a couple of pages. There really is no excuse for not doing this unless you actively want a monoculture in your race for whatever reason.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5027143, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 160: August 1990[/U][/B] part 3/6 Chill. Coming soon. Rather an odd choice of colour here, but it certainly catches the eye. Hopefully that'll translate into buyer interest. Forum: Jason Caudill is annoyed TSR don't do more to prove they aren't satanic. Saying stuff in the magazine where only converts will see it anyway is no use at all.TV adverts are exceedingly expensive, you know, and we aren't that huge a company in the overall scheme of things. What do you want from us, blood sacrifices? Or is that exactly what you don't want. :D Paul Shuster is annoyed at Sally Jesse Raphael, and the way they slanted their debate on D&D's satanicness, with no-one to defend the game. Ok, the fact that you admit watching those shows loses you several cool points. But since we're all in the negative anyway, it matters little. Pierre Savoie is also deeply pissed off at the utter stupidity of daytime talk shows, and the way they ignore the facts whenever it gets in the way of a good bit of ratings grabbing hysteria. He's rather more constructive than the last forumite, because he provides an address for you to write and complain too. Will fighting fire with fire work? Dennis Gill points out that roleplaying does a whole bunch of things that educators are always trying to get kids to do. Math, creative thinking, constructive socialisation, reading. Those ignorant reactionaries really ought to research before they rail. Rob McNamee also thinks that roleplaying has substantial educational benefits. Easy now, you'll scare everyone off. :p Norbert K Bendriss points out how much gaming has increased his vocabulary. Another good bit of evidence that gaming exercises your brain and provides sneaky education. Learning to adopt roles can do wonders for your social life. Tim A Smith tries to protect D&D's image in a decidedly wonky fashion. Yeah, I don't think that's going to work. Highly specific denials are even more suspicious than admitting to stuff. Scott Miller finishes up our controversy special by reminding us that it's only a game, and people will go insane regardless of their cultural surroundings. Up, away and beyond: AD&D has tackled space in it's own idiosyncratic way recently. Now Bruce Heard tries to do the same for regular D&D, in the process separating the two properties even further. While gravity and planet shaping still works differently from reality, it does so in a different way to spelljammer. Bruce gives plenty of freedom for you to create odd shaped worlds, while following a couple of odd rules that mean players won't have it too easy, and the whole thing won't be completely lacking in cohesion. A decidedly curious article, that again shows his skill at introducing ideas that could lead to years of play and many sourcebooks of expansion in a few short pages. He really has developed quite a bit as a writer and worldbuilder, and it looks like he's hitting his stride as the director of the D&D line now. Which is another very positive development from my point of view. Funny how being largely left alone to do your own thing by upper management often produces better results than constant executive meddling. The voyage of the princess ark returns, having missed a month in the spelljammer special. This is ironic, because this would have fitted right in there. The ark finds a trick of going beyond the atmosphere, (see the previous article) and into space! There they discover Mystara has an invisible moon inhabited by cat-people. Oookay. That definitely falls into the category of ridiculously huge setting reveal. The overall plot thickens, as his suspicions about the nature of the skyship grow, they lose a captive and a travelling companion, and gain another one. Bruce certainly isn't afraid to shake up the roster of characters in this adventure. I guess this is another thing the system supports. Easy come, easy go. If you lose a PC, you can just whip up a new one in a few minutes. And given all the races he's detailing, it can almost be an advantage to do so, letting the players unlock new character options they didn't have at the start of the game, based on where they've travelled, and who they've befriended. Yes, it may be a bit computer gamey, but it really helps give your players an incentive to explore, see what's over the next horizon. Also notable here is how Bruce avoids the monoculture problem demihuman races frequently suffer from. Even if they have multiple nations, those can seem all too similar. The Rakasta here are not only substantially different from the ones we've seen so far, but it's made clear that there are a whole bunch of nations up here, with different customs, with enough detail given to spark your imagination further. And once again this is all sorted out within a couple of pages. There really is no excuse for not doing this unless you actively want a monoculture in your race for whatever reason. [/QUOTE]
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