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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6085478" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Issue 307: May 2003 </u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 8/9</p><p></p><p></p><p>A song of dice and fire: Unsurprisingly, we finish off with an interview of George R. R. Martin himself, getting some insights into his working methods. And it does have to be said that he doesn't seem to be the most efficient of writers, not keeping many notes, and sometimes having to backtrack and rewrite big chunks of story when they turn out not to fit the larger scale plot. It's a good thing he is now in a financial position where he can take more than 5 years between instalments to give attention to all the many many characters and subplots, and it would be a shame if the wheel of time got finished posthumously, but this series never does. But with the morbid stuff out of the way early, we get to find out all sorts of cool stuff about his own roleplaying experiences. His primary poison of choice is GURPS, and his main long-term campaign is a fairly realism heavy one set in ancient rome. Which isn't to say he hasn't done some pretty serious min-maxing and blowing stuff up in the past. But in general, he's a fan of keeping the wondrous elements sufficiently rare that they stay wondrous. Which does put him somewhat at odds with the current D&D writers. But then, if you're the type of person who likes to explore a single world for decades at a time, you don't want a system that causes you to level up to game-breaking degrees in less than 2 years and then start again. This is a pretty strong reminder there are a big crop of fantasy readers who aren't really catered for by what D&D does, and it'll be interesting to see how the D20 version of ASoI&F handled that. Can they strip the fantastical elements back just the right amount so they stay special when they do come up? In any case, this interview shows just how many fantasy writers are or were also gamers these days, and that that has had an influence, whether they're taking those ideas they saw in the games, or reacting against them. No escaping it these days, I'm afraid. </p><p></p><p></p><p>DM's toolbox: While they may be nerfing many spells next edition, they're still pretty big on the idea of letting you play any monster you like, especially now the ECL system causes you to probably be weaker than a regular PC unless your class complements your racial abilities. So here we go with a load of advice on how to integrate them into a campaign, and the challenges they're likely to face. In most campaigns, they will face suspicion from the public when they go into towns, and it's not impossible that they'll have problems getting into and sticking with the rest of the party. The more their body shape differs from humanity, the more frequently you'll find yourself making special allowances for them that can take over the game. While obviously shorter, I think this may actually be better than the similar advice in the complete book of humanoids, with plenty of ideas on how to make a game filled with exotic PC's work, rather than just obstacles to throw in their way make up for their racial powers. With the problems of 3e really coming out of the woodwork this issue, it's important that we take the time to remember the many things it does do better than previous editions, and this is one of them. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The play's the thing: Mike's contribution this month is a whole bunch of fun spell synergies that you can use to make the most of your powers. Never underestimate the utility of your basic flasks of oil and 10 foot poles. Also don't underestimate the power of illusion combined with a real threat. And especially don't underestimate how much dropping heavy stuff on people from a great height hurts. I find it very ironic that they're putting an article like this in the same issue which just nerfed a whole load of spells, and just shows how pointless a task it is. As long as wizards and clerics have access to hundreds of spells at higher level, there's always going to be ways you can combine them that are disproportionately effective. So individually, this article seems fun and inconsequential, but combined with the rest of the issue is a reminder of the multiple masters they're trying to serve. They actively tried to encourage charop at the beginning of 3e, and now they're starting to crack down on it again, closing up loopholes that players discovered, which means a chunk of the gaming population will once again be left behind trying to play the game the old way. It's very interesting indeed to see these shifts in the writer's attitudes, and who is first and last to change their minds.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 6085478, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Issue 307: May 2003 [/U][/B] part 8/9 A song of dice and fire: Unsurprisingly, we finish off with an interview of George R. R. Martin himself, getting some insights into his working methods. And it does have to be said that he doesn't seem to be the most efficient of writers, not keeping many notes, and sometimes having to backtrack and rewrite big chunks of story when they turn out not to fit the larger scale plot. It's a good thing he is now in a financial position where he can take more than 5 years between instalments to give attention to all the many many characters and subplots, and it would be a shame if the wheel of time got finished posthumously, but this series never does. But with the morbid stuff out of the way early, we get to find out all sorts of cool stuff about his own roleplaying experiences. His primary poison of choice is GURPS, and his main long-term campaign is a fairly realism heavy one set in ancient rome. Which isn't to say he hasn't done some pretty serious min-maxing and blowing stuff up in the past. But in general, he's a fan of keeping the wondrous elements sufficiently rare that they stay wondrous. Which does put him somewhat at odds with the current D&D writers. But then, if you're the type of person who likes to explore a single world for decades at a time, you don't want a system that causes you to level up to game-breaking degrees in less than 2 years and then start again. This is a pretty strong reminder there are a big crop of fantasy readers who aren't really catered for by what D&D does, and it'll be interesting to see how the D20 version of ASoI&F handled that. Can they strip the fantastical elements back just the right amount so they stay special when they do come up? In any case, this interview shows just how many fantasy writers are or were also gamers these days, and that that has had an influence, whether they're taking those ideas they saw in the games, or reacting against them. No escaping it these days, I'm afraid. DM's toolbox: While they may be nerfing many spells next edition, they're still pretty big on the idea of letting you play any monster you like, especially now the ECL system causes you to probably be weaker than a regular PC unless your class complements your racial abilities. So here we go with a load of advice on how to integrate them into a campaign, and the challenges they're likely to face. In most campaigns, they will face suspicion from the public when they go into towns, and it's not impossible that they'll have problems getting into and sticking with the rest of the party. The more their body shape differs from humanity, the more frequently you'll find yourself making special allowances for them that can take over the game. While obviously shorter, I think this may actually be better than the similar advice in the complete book of humanoids, with plenty of ideas on how to make a game filled with exotic PC's work, rather than just obstacles to throw in their way make up for their racial powers. With the problems of 3e really coming out of the woodwork this issue, it's important that we take the time to remember the many things it does do better than previous editions, and this is one of them. The play's the thing: Mike's contribution this month is a whole bunch of fun spell synergies that you can use to make the most of your powers. Never underestimate the utility of your basic flasks of oil and 10 foot poles. Also don't underestimate the power of illusion combined with a real threat. And especially don't underestimate how much dropping heavy stuff on people from a great height hurts. I find it very ironic that they're putting an article like this in the same issue which just nerfed a whole load of spells, and just shows how pointless a task it is. As long as wizards and clerics have access to hundreds of spells at higher level, there's always going to be ways you can combine them that are disproportionately effective. So individually, this article seems fun and inconsequential, but combined with the rest of the issue is a reminder of the multiple masters they're trying to serve. They actively tried to encourage charop at the beginning of 3e, and now they're starting to crack down on it again, closing up loopholes that players discovered, which means a chunk of the gaming population will once again be left behind trying to play the game the old way. It's very interesting indeed to see these shifts in the writer's attitudes, and who is first and last to change their minds. [/QUOTE]
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