Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Let's read the entire run
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5117582" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 175: November 1991</u></strong></p><p></p><p>part 2/6</p><p></p><p></p><p>The perils of prehistory: Back to dinosaur land again. Now there's a pretty well covered topic. Another area where they have to struggle to find new things to say. Still, once again, they manage it, eschewing the statistics, which are already well provided for if you own issues from a few years ago, instead talking about the problems integrating time-travel into fantasy campaigns. Here we run into a very interesting issue. The assumption that evolution works in a way remotely similar to reality, and the gods and planes are created by human belief, rather than the other way around is a rather large one to make, and opens up a lot of cosmological questions that you can have fun answering, which may well then open up more questions. So this is one that gives you tools to radically reshape your campaign via going back and changing things, and the different ways things could go if you try it. Your imagination may be the limit, but a few pointers are definitely helpful in an arena this big. So it looks like Greg Detwiler is once again proving his worth as one of our regular freelancers. This is one area where each action can have consequences, and you can just let the players drive the story, getting into more and more tangles until they don't know what to do. Fun business. I quite approve. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Creative campaigns, a new recipe: Last month they made it very clear how Dark Sun differs from normal fantasy campaigns. Now they encourage you to make similarly radical changes to your own D&D games. Be it adding unusual new elements, or removing common ones, both can be neat ideas. Change the magic system. Integrate magic into people's everyday lives. Invent wacky new pseudophysics explanations for magic. Wait, we've seen these before. As is often the case, the last article in their themed section is the least interesting and groundbreaking. Guess they needed some filler to make up the numbers. Business as usual then. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The marvel-phile: 3-D man? Oh dear god, someone actually created a character based on those crappy red and green glasses. Once again, the cheese factor is burning out my brain. Needs. more. grimdark. : pants: It's not your fault, I know, it's the material you have to work with. But it does make me wonder how much crap there is in the bottom of the barrel for them to dig out and cover here. Dear oh dear. </p><p></p><p>They also cover another colour themed character: Blue Shield. This is considerably less silly, with the interesting way he started off as a gadget based hero, and then became able to use his powers without it. Heroic osmosis does seem to to be quite common in comic book universes, particularly where martial artists are involved. But once again, this doesn't have much new to offer me. Filler filler filler. </p><p></p><p></p><p>TSR Previews: Greyhawk has always been a war torn world in it's backstory. Now, get ready for this to really intrude on the metaplot in the Greyhawk Wars boxed set. You get a complete board game to play this out yourself, but of course, there is an official outcome of this war, and all the future supplements will reflect these changes and timeline advancement. Will you follow along their railroad, or branch off into alternate history? </p><p></p><p>The forgotten realms gets a game book and a novel this month, as seems to be standard for them by now. FR13: Anauroch takes you to the great northern desert, and the many destroyed empires and other adventure opportunities that lie within. Make sure you bring a cleric with food creating powers if you want to tackle these adventures. The red wizards are also being pains in the ass in Red Magic by Jean Rabe, the final book in the harpers trilogy. Guess who has to foil their actions. Go on, you'll never get it. </p><p></p><p>Spelljammer sees SJS1: Goblins return. You failed to take them seriously? Oh boy. They're a lot scarier when they have tons of cobbled together spaceships with various deranged weaponry. Another war situation that's too big for a single group to solve, but you can still play your part, and be annoyed at any metaplot mucking around. </p><p></p><p>Ravenloft also mucks around with other people's creations, as Lord Soth gets drawn into there without his original writer's consent in Knight of the Black rose. Will James Lowder manage to remain faithful to his original voice and characterization? </p><p></p><p>D&D is still splitting it's time between reaffirming the basics, and exploring the hollow world. This time, DDA4: The Dymrak dread attempts to show newbies a little more of the known world. Blah. </p><p></p><p>Marvel superheroes gets a double helping this time round. MU7: the Gamers handbook gives us our third yearly update to the vast roster of characters we have to choose from. And MSL4: Stygian knight sees the cosmic control rod used in an attempt to, well, once again the name says it all. Foiling time! You know, if you'd just listened to Annihlus and given him his rod back, this whole mess would have been short circuited. How hard would it be to get off the railroad and do this one differently?</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5117582, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 175: November 1991[/U][/B] part 2/6 The perils of prehistory: Back to dinosaur land again. Now there's a pretty well covered topic. Another area where they have to struggle to find new things to say. Still, once again, they manage it, eschewing the statistics, which are already well provided for if you own issues from a few years ago, instead talking about the problems integrating time-travel into fantasy campaigns. Here we run into a very interesting issue. The assumption that evolution works in a way remotely similar to reality, and the gods and planes are created by human belief, rather than the other way around is a rather large one to make, and opens up a lot of cosmological questions that you can have fun answering, which may well then open up more questions. So this is one that gives you tools to radically reshape your campaign via going back and changing things, and the different ways things could go if you try it. Your imagination may be the limit, but a few pointers are definitely helpful in an arena this big. So it looks like Greg Detwiler is once again proving his worth as one of our regular freelancers. This is one area where each action can have consequences, and you can just let the players drive the story, getting into more and more tangles until they don't know what to do. Fun business. I quite approve. Creative campaigns, a new recipe: Last month they made it very clear how Dark Sun differs from normal fantasy campaigns. Now they encourage you to make similarly radical changes to your own D&D games. Be it adding unusual new elements, or removing common ones, both can be neat ideas. Change the magic system. Integrate magic into people's everyday lives. Invent wacky new pseudophysics explanations for magic. Wait, we've seen these before. As is often the case, the last article in their themed section is the least interesting and groundbreaking. Guess they needed some filler to make up the numbers. Business as usual then. The marvel-phile: 3-D man? Oh dear god, someone actually created a character based on those crappy red and green glasses. Once again, the cheese factor is burning out my brain. Needs. more. grimdark. : pants: It's not your fault, I know, it's the material you have to work with. But it does make me wonder how much crap there is in the bottom of the barrel for them to dig out and cover here. Dear oh dear. They also cover another colour themed character: Blue Shield. This is considerably less silly, with the interesting way he started off as a gadget based hero, and then became able to use his powers without it. Heroic osmosis does seem to to be quite common in comic book universes, particularly where martial artists are involved. But once again, this doesn't have much new to offer me. Filler filler filler. TSR Previews: Greyhawk has always been a war torn world in it's backstory. Now, get ready for this to really intrude on the metaplot in the Greyhawk Wars boxed set. You get a complete board game to play this out yourself, but of course, there is an official outcome of this war, and all the future supplements will reflect these changes and timeline advancement. Will you follow along their railroad, or branch off into alternate history? The forgotten realms gets a game book and a novel this month, as seems to be standard for them by now. FR13: Anauroch takes you to the great northern desert, and the many destroyed empires and other adventure opportunities that lie within. Make sure you bring a cleric with food creating powers if you want to tackle these adventures. The red wizards are also being pains in the ass in Red Magic by Jean Rabe, the final book in the harpers trilogy. Guess who has to foil their actions. Go on, you'll never get it. Spelljammer sees SJS1: Goblins return. You failed to take them seriously? Oh boy. They're a lot scarier when they have tons of cobbled together spaceships with various deranged weaponry. Another war situation that's too big for a single group to solve, but you can still play your part, and be annoyed at any metaplot mucking around. Ravenloft also mucks around with other people's creations, as Lord Soth gets drawn into there without his original writer's consent in Knight of the Black rose. Will James Lowder manage to remain faithful to his original voice and characterization? D&D is still splitting it's time between reaffirming the basics, and exploring the hollow world. This time, DDA4: The Dymrak dread attempts to show newbies a little more of the known world. Blah. Marvel superheroes gets a double helping this time round. MU7: the Gamers handbook gives us our third yearly update to the vast roster of characters we have to choose from. And MSL4: Stygian knight sees the cosmic control rod used in an attempt to, well, once again the name says it all. Foiling time! You know, if you'd just listened to Annihlus and given him his rod back, this whole mess would have been short circuited. How hard would it be to get off the railroad and do this one differently? [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Let's read the entire run
Top