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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5731918" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Magazine Issue 254: December 1998</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 5/8</p><p></p><p></p><p>Are you Proficient?: I've expressed my dissatisfaction with both proficiency bloat and putting combat-related stuff in the nonweapon proficiency slots, thus encouraging you to create characters with no life skills but being a combat machine or fall behind other players. Well, this is one that does both of these, with dark sense and dirty fighting to make your character more hyperspecialised in kicking ass, and some seriously specific noncombat stuff like learning how to keep your food from spoiling as well. (which might come up more than you expect for adventurers, but still, who's going to take that?) Neither extremes seem particularly likely to improve your game. They try to fix this a little, by introducing broader skills as well, but since those cost 3 slots, you're unlikely to have more than one. I know I'm repeating myself, but this just gets more frustrating each time I'm confronted with it. Less than two years to go. Please don't let it go too slowly. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Life is the pits: After a bit of new stuff we return to a topic we've seen before, only done longer and with better illustrations. Pit traps! And since the last article on those was in issue 34, this definitely deserves revisiting. Comparing them, this once again shows that while a lot more verbose these days, they're actually less sadistic than they used to be, and more slanted towards catering to the new player. While that expected you were already familiar with the basics, and jumped straight to the really elaborate and sadistic stuff, this begins with the basics, and gradually ramps up the complexity, while never quite hitting the level of impossible to avoid doublethinking sadism the true old skool material managed. This makes me a little depressed, and wish I was reading the magazine backwards, so I got to see all those scrappy bits of esoterica last and could appreciate them differently. Maybe in another field, whatever I choose to take on once I finish this. So this isn't bad, and showcases very well how the magazine has improved in some ways, but got worse in others, and overall, is more competent than it used to be, but also duller. At least the degree of overlap is pretty minimal this time, so both sets of traps are useful in actual play. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Fiction: Arthur's final <s>nom</s> morn by J Robert King. For a second month in a row, we have someone following where Ben Bova has recently gone. And for a second time, we have an attempt to combine two different tones in a way that doesn't quite work, as we start off with tragedy, and then take an abrupt twist into whimsy. Mood whiplash, anyone? Normally it's the other way round, as things start simple and comedic, and then acquire attachments and pain as your life goes on before having everything ripped away from you. (just as in reality. ) So this sees rehash intrude into an area of the magazine that had previously been mercifully light of it. That's kinda annoying. Don't ruin another regular feature for me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5731918, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Magazine Issue 254: December 1998[/U][/B] part 5/8 Are you Proficient?: I've expressed my dissatisfaction with both proficiency bloat and putting combat-related stuff in the nonweapon proficiency slots, thus encouraging you to create characters with no life skills but being a combat machine or fall behind other players. Well, this is one that does both of these, with dark sense and dirty fighting to make your character more hyperspecialised in kicking ass, and some seriously specific noncombat stuff like learning how to keep your food from spoiling as well. (which might come up more than you expect for adventurers, but still, who's going to take that?) Neither extremes seem particularly likely to improve your game. They try to fix this a little, by introducing broader skills as well, but since those cost 3 slots, you're unlikely to have more than one. I know I'm repeating myself, but this just gets more frustrating each time I'm confronted with it. Less than two years to go. Please don't let it go too slowly. Life is the pits: After a bit of new stuff we return to a topic we've seen before, only done longer and with better illustrations. Pit traps! And since the last article on those was in issue 34, this definitely deserves revisiting. Comparing them, this once again shows that while a lot more verbose these days, they're actually less sadistic than they used to be, and more slanted towards catering to the new player. While that expected you were already familiar with the basics, and jumped straight to the really elaborate and sadistic stuff, this begins with the basics, and gradually ramps up the complexity, while never quite hitting the level of impossible to avoid doublethinking sadism the true old skool material managed. This makes me a little depressed, and wish I was reading the magazine backwards, so I got to see all those scrappy bits of esoterica last and could appreciate them differently. Maybe in another field, whatever I choose to take on once I finish this. So this isn't bad, and showcases very well how the magazine has improved in some ways, but got worse in others, and overall, is more competent than it used to be, but also duller. At least the degree of overlap is pretty minimal this time, so both sets of traps are useful in actual play. Fiction: Arthur's final <s>nom</s> morn by J Robert King. For a second month in a row, we have someone following where Ben Bova has recently gone. And for a second time, we have an attempt to combine two different tones in a way that doesn't quite work, as we start off with tragedy, and then take an abrupt twist into whimsy. Mood whiplash, anyone? Normally it's the other way round, as things start simple and comedic, and then acquire attachments and pain as your life goes on before having everything ripped away from you. (just as in reality. ) So this sees rehash intrude into an area of the magazine that had previously been mercifully light of it. That's kinda annoying. Don't ruin another regular feature for me. [/QUOTE]
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