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: 5972892" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Issue 286: August 2001</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 1/7</p><p></p><p></p><p>114 (116) pages. :fingerclicks: Shananana na na na nara, shananana na na na nara. [/60's girl group] Oh yes, They're doing a themed issue on Terry Brooks' Shannara series. I wasn't expecting that. And I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. Is this born of genuine admiration, or cynical marketing synergy? Will the characters work well under D&D rules? Once again, it's looking like it'll probably be easier to model their idiosyncrasies under 3e than previous editions. And it'll certainly be different. After all, it's even more specific than Robin Hood, and the writer is still alive. Still, next thing you know, they'll be doing a whole themed section on a video game instead of just a single column. That idea doesn't appeal to me at all. So I open this issue with considerably more trepidation than usual. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Scan Quality: Moderate, unindexed. </p><p></p><p></p><p>In this issue:</p><p></p><p></p><p>Wyrms turn: Well, at least one of the staff is a huge Shannara fan. That makes me more optimistic that this issue was done for the right reasons. And interestingly enough the important thing he's taken from it is that the heroes are all ordinary people, or at least start off that way. They don't set out looking for adventure; like Tolkien's protagonists, it comes to them, and they have to deal with it. Which I have no problem with as a concept, but it does require that the DM put a lot of effort in to keep the players engaged, or players who are willing to metagame a little to make sure their characters do wind up on the adventure despite their supposed reluctance. What works well in a novel might not be so easy to accomplish in a game. So this already tells us more than a little about how we'll be approaching this topic. That good ol' zero to hero journey is going to play a big part. I don't think you'll be getting many players taking NPC levels as a result of this though. Maybe if you just give them one free one at the start for flavour. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Scale Mail: We start with a letter of praise for the idea of using National Geographic for inspiration. it's hardly some obscure publication that'll really surprise or baffle people if you pull it out. Now, if you were using Playboy for the articles, that might be a little more … unique. </p><p></p><p>A good ol' errata complaint. James Wyatt still isn't the greatest crunch writer on the team, and needs a firm editorial hand to make the most of his talents. </p><p></p><p>An equally familiar bit of historical quibbling. THIIIISSS IIIS ACCURRRACY!!!!!</p><p></p><p>And let's not even get into the morality of the greek gods. The only reason Zeus gets a Good on the alignment scale is because he's enough of a bawss to bully the arbiters. </p><p></p><p>A whole bunch of gods they missed out also get statted here. Your egyptian pantheon just wouldn't be complete without them. </p><p></p><p>And the Realms proves popular, but also controversial, with one negative letter, but four positive ones filling out the end of this section with people's opinions on the new columns. If that ratio is representative of the overall volume of letters, it's no wonder they're going to keep giving Ed regular columns for years to come. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Nodwick spreads the word of his mighty and heroic deeds. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Previews: They change the format again, with another gimmicky column setup. Things are all compressed onto one page, as befits their shrinking number of releases. Heart of Nightfang Spire is this month's generic adventure. A year has passed, and it seems quite likely that more than a few groups have made it to 10th level, given the way the new XP system works. So let's get a-caterin. </p><p></p><p>The Realms continues to provide splatbooks above and beyond the generic ones, such is it's popularity. Magic of Faerun is another big load of power-creepy crunch. Sheer goob factor? What are the writers on? Well, I know Ed Greenwood is on another cocktease kick in Elminster in Hell. We know he's not going to really kill him off. You can watch him squirm for a bit though. </p><p></p><p>Dragonlance gets Brother of the Dragon by Tonya C. Cook. Off we go to see history sweep by again. Not that technology overall will advance, but at least some things change.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5972892, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Issue 286: August 2001[/U][/B] part 1/7 114 (116) pages. :fingerclicks: Shananana na na na nara, shananana na na na nara. [/60's girl group] Oh yes, They're doing a themed issue on Terry Brooks' Shannara series. I wasn't expecting that. And I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. Is this born of genuine admiration, or cynical marketing synergy? Will the characters work well under D&D rules? Once again, it's looking like it'll probably be easier to model their idiosyncrasies under 3e than previous editions. And it'll certainly be different. After all, it's even more specific than Robin Hood, and the writer is still alive. Still, next thing you know, they'll be doing a whole themed section on a video game instead of just a single column. That idea doesn't appeal to me at all. So I open this issue with considerably more trepidation than usual. Scan Quality: Moderate, unindexed. In this issue: Wyrms turn: Well, at least one of the staff is a huge Shannara fan. That makes me more optimistic that this issue was done for the right reasons. And interestingly enough the important thing he's taken from it is that the heroes are all ordinary people, or at least start off that way. They don't set out looking for adventure; like Tolkien's protagonists, it comes to them, and they have to deal with it. Which I have no problem with as a concept, but it does require that the DM put a lot of effort in to keep the players engaged, or players who are willing to metagame a little to make sure their characters do wind up on the adventure despite their supposed reluctance. What works well in a novel might not be so easy to accomplish in a game. So this already tells us more than a little about how we'll be approaching this topic. That good ol' zero to hero journey is going to play a big part. I don't think you'll be getting many players taking NPC levels as a result of this though. Maybe if you just give them one free one at the start for flavour. Scale Mail: We start with a letter of praise for the idea of using National Geographic for inspiration. it's hardly some obscure publication that'll really surprise or baffle people if you pull it out. Now, if you were using Playboy for the articles, that might be a little more … unique. A good ol' errata complaint. James Wyatt still isn't the greatest crunch writer on the team, and needs a firm editorial hand to make the most of his talents. An equally familiar bit of historical quibbling. THIIIISSS IIIS ACCURRRACY!!!!! And let's not even get into the morality of the greek gods. The only reason Zeus gets a Good on the alignment scale is because he's enough of a bawss to bully the arbiters. A whole bunch of gods they missed out also get statted here. Your egyptian pantheon just wouldn't be complete without them. And the Realms proves popular, but also controversial, with one negative letter, but four positive ones filling out the end of this section with people's opinions on the new columns. If that ratio is representative of the overall volume of letters, it's no wonder they're going to keep giving Ed regular columns for years to come. Nodwick spreads the word of his mighty and heroic deeds. Previews: They change the format again, with another gimmicky column setup. Things are all compressed onto one page, as befits their shrinking number of releases. Heart of Nightfang Spire is this month's generic adventure. A year has passed, and it seems quite likely that more than a few groups have made it to 10th level, given the way the new XP system works. So let's get a-caterin. The Realms continues to provide splatbooks above and beyond the generic ones, such is it's popularity. Magic of Faerun is another big load of power-creepy crunch. Sheer goob factor? What are the writers on? Well, I know Ed Greenwood is on another cocktease kick in Elminster in Hell. We know he's not going to really kill him off. You can watch him squirm for a bit though. Dragonlance gets Brother of the Dragon by Tonya C. Cook. Off we go to see history sweep by again. Not that technology overall will advance, but at least some things change. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Let's read the entire run
Top