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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5957422" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Issue 283: May 2001</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 2/7</p><p></p><p></p><p>Nodwick and dork tower get compilation books! Buy them now!</p><p></p><p></p><p>Countdown to the forgotten realms: One month to go. Oh my god, they changed the map! You Bastards! :shakes fists: Ok, so it's not as bad as they did in 4e, where they moved whole continents around, as they're merely shrinking some big areas where there's not much detail. I still don't think that's wise. Given how overcrowded the Realms can seem at times, we need those blank areas to work with. Plus given that the real world has places where there's hundreds of miles of desert or ocean with <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" />-all landmarks and minimal living activity, it definitely makes a game world more realistic to have a few of those breaking up the landscape. I disapprove of this particular teaser. This is short term thinking that makes the world less real, and more like a theme park with various areas for various types of adventures. Plus it's once again ignoring Kara-tur, Al-Qadim, Maztica, and all the other expanded stuff they introduced in the early 90's, and then lost interest in. Surely they could merit one book each updating the rules and showing how the setting has evolved in the last 20 years? </p><p></p><p></p><p>Up on a soapbox: Interestingly, while having a consistent story and setting is important to most players, actually staying within character and doing actual acting to better represent them to the other PC's and DM isn't so much. I suspect that if this wasn't aimed primarily at D&D players, that part would get higher marks. Despite a long time passing, D&D still has more wargaming in it's genes than amateur dramatics, and LARPers find themselves more attracted to White Wolf. And with the settings being shut down and the books concentrating on the return to the dungeon, that will be even more the case in a few years. As with the editorial, the writers for the magazine may actually be a little behind the company trends. It'd be funny if Gary started saying we need more roleplaying in RPG's in a few years time. So the results are all in, some are expected, some aren't, and we should get a good round-up next month. This all seems to have gone fairly smoothly, although the turnout could have been better. It's important to know who your audience are. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Dork tower reveals why the new character is the Last in a long line. That's what happens when you don't play them appropriately. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Do-it-yourself Deities: While they have reduced the overall amount of rehash a fair bit since the edition change, advice on building your pantheon is one topic that's very very overdone indeed. (Issues 29, 54, 77, 140 just on a cursory search.) And the fact that Ed did a pretty definitive one early on in the magazine's history that also went on to be historically significant leaves anyone else trying their hand with exceedingly daunting shoes to fill. Still, Stephen Kenson does manage to make his attempt more logically written and clearly edited, and the improvements in layout in the past couple of decades are also very apparent. But at the same time we aren't seeing the same kind of enthusiasm and DIY inventiveness that we used too. So you can make the same kind of comparisons that you could the 1e and 3e DMG's. One spills cool ideas onto the page as they occurred to the writer, while the other is cleaner and easier to use, but also more sterile and less memorable in itself. That's progress for you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5957422, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Issue 283: May 2001[/U][/B] part 2/7 Nodwick and dork tower get compilation books! Buy them now! Countdown to the forgotten realms: One month to go. Oh my god, they changed the map! You Bastards! :shakes fists: Ok, so it's not as bad as they did in 4e, where they moved whole continents around, as they're merely shrinking some big areas where there's not much detail. I still don't think that's wise. Given how overcrowded the Realms can seem at times, we need those blank areas to work with. Plus given that the real world has places where there's hundreds of miles of desert or ocean with :):):):)-all landmarks and minimal living activity, it definitely makes a game world more realistic to have a few of those breaking up the landscape. I disapprove of this particular teaser. This is short term thinking that makes the world less real, and more like a theme park with various areas for various types of adventures. Plus it's once again ignoring Kara-tur, Al-Qadim, Maztica, and all the other expanded stuff they introduced in the early 90's, and then lost interest in. Surely they could merit one book each updating the rules and showing how the setting has evolved in the last 20 years? Up on a soapbox: Interestingly, while having a consistent story and setting is important to most players, actually staying within character and doing actual acting to better represent them to the other PC's and DM isn't so much. I suspect that if this wasn't aimed primarily at D&D players, that part would get higher marks. Despite a long time passing, D&D still has more wargaming in it's genes than amateur dramatics, and LARPers find themselves more attracted to White Wolf. And with the settings being shut down and the books concentrating on the return to the dungeon, that will be even more the case in a few years. As with the editorial, the writers for the magazine may actually be a little behind the company trends. It'd be funny if Gary started saying we need more roleplaying in RPG's in a few years time. So the results are all in, some are expected, some aren't, and we should get a good round-up next month. This all seems to have gone fairly smoothly, although the turnout could have been better. It's important to know who your audience are. Dork tower reveals why the new character is the Last in a long line. That's what happens when you don't play them appropriately. Do-it-yourself Deities: While they have reduced the overall amount of rehash a fair bit since the edition change, advice on building your pantheon is one topic that's very very overdone indeed. (Issues 29, 54, 77, 140 just on a cursory search.) And the fact that Ed did a pretty definitive one early on in the magazine's history that also went on to be historically significant leaves anyone else trying their hand with exceedingly daunting shoes to fill. Still, Stephen Kenson does manage to make his attempt more logically written and clearly edited, and the improvements in layout in the past couple of decades are also very apparent. But at the same time we aren't seeing the same kind of enthusiasm and DIY inventiveness that we used too. So you can make the same kind of comparisons that you could the 1e and 3e DMG's. One spills cool ideas onto the page as they occurred to the writer, while the other is cleaner and easier to use, but also more sterile and less memorable in itself. That's progress for you. [/QUOTE]
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