Why _DON'T_ You Buy Dragon Magazine?

[Nellisir]

I'll echo comments that today's Dragon is too dry. This is a hobby, meant to be fun. Dragon doesn't seem to reflect that very well anymore -- either in its editorial mix or in its writing style. Lighten up! This is a problem plaguing D&D in general.

I would love, absolutely love, to see a return to a really funny April issue. Probably half of my "Top 10 Most Thought About Articles" were April's Fools articles, like "1/2 Level Spells" (Detect Traps - Material Component: Fighter of Int 6 or less), "Not Quite the Monstrous Compendium" (Blink Mammoth, and the, ah, duck that changed into a person, but kept the same Intelligence score), and "Bard on the Run".

And those letters. Those letters were awesome.

I'd also like Dragonmirth back on the back page.

Cheers
Nell.

 

[RFisher]

Dungeon should be the DM's magazine, Dragon needs to be the d20 magazine

I repeated that mantra many times during the mutant Dungeon/Polyhedral days. I was told that the readership didn't want non-D&D content at all & would take up torches & pitchforks if it appeared. ))

I wonder, though, if this impression was based on sales or on the feedback of a vocal minority.

 

[RFisher]

As others indicated, Dragon has more competition these days, particularly from websites and forums like EnWorld. The "fix" I used to get from Dragon, I get online these days. Likewise, the web offers up endless reams of free material that rivals or bests what Dragon offers.

This is a really good point. I've said before that Dragon & Dungeon both need to take some risks & break more out of the just-a-paper-magazine mold if they want to survive.

For instance, allowing subscribers to read the magazine online, read back-issues online, & have a really good search engine for finding articles. Look at SJGames Pyramid as a starting point for how to do this. (Although, they've gone completely electronic now.)

 

[Narfellus]

I don't get Dungeon or Dragon anymore. I got Dragon in the 90's when TSR was around, and picked up the occasional Dungeon. With 3rd edition, Dragon seemed to be nothing but advertisements and prestige classes and monsters and feats and...and...well, stuff i've seen before and elsewhere. Plus, a lot of the stuff was unbalanced. Lastly, i didn't like the Humor anymore. Dragonmirth was a HUGE selling point for me liking the old Dragon, and i also liked the book reviews and the expanded slant on genres and games and companies other than DnD.

Now Dungeon i like, i only wish Polyhedron was still bundled with it. Some of those d20 games were brilliant one-shots. Dungeon is top-notch qualilty, and the maps and art are really truly great, i just don't need that many adventures. I usually write my own, and having 6 new ones a month that wouldn't get used is sort of a waste. If i really want one i'll pick up a single issue after browsing through it.

 

[Narfellus]

This is a really good point. I've said before that Dragon & Dungeon both need to take some risks & break more out of the just-a-paper-magazine mold if they want to survive.

For instance, allowing subscribers to read the magazine online, read back-issues online, & have a really good search engine for finding articles. Look at SJGames Pyramid as a starting point for how to do this. (Although, they've gone completely electronic now.)

I agree. Enworld is competition, and is indeed a "fix" of gaming that is not dependent on arriving in your mailbox. I recall many times in the past where i got a "lame" issue of Dragon, browsed through it in 5 minutes and had to wait a month for a hopefully better issue.

I bought the Dragon Archives CD set and really liked it, despite some scanning issues. It was fully searchable and indexed, which was great. I REALLY think that would be a great function to have online, given the capabilities of the internet now. Paizo would have a gazillion hits a day if they offered back issues to browse, even if just selected parts.

 

[JoeGKushner]

For instance, allowing subscribers to read the magazine online, read back-issues online, & have a really good search engine for finding articles. Look at SJGames Pyramid as a starting point for how to do this. (Although, they've gone completely electronic now.)

Yeah, but don't forget that SJG did d20 Weekly too and that tanked. The d20 market is a different animal. Pyramid maintains it's base by being the semi-house organ for GURPS and draws a wide crowd due to the quality of many of it's writers.

 

[jester47]

We waits me precious, we waits!

A.

 

[velm]

I'm sure Erik knows that we are not a representative sample. It does seem however that we are not always completely off base. All the old threads about Dungeon did result in changes for the better. I'm fairly confident that if sales had been going well for Dungeon we wouldn't have seen any changes made. While a true marketing survey would be better, they are expensive and we are cheap. Erik also posted on the WotC boards so he is not entirely relying on us.

I would have to say ENWORLD has a sizable community. It would seem that the level of experience ranges from Publishers to people who have been playing for 20+ years to someone who started two weeks ago. I am sure people scan some of these posts without joining or providing their two cents.
Even though I am not in a game now, have a nice selection of 2nd ed stuff, lots of FR stuff, Core 3E, I come here to see what is going on. I have gone to WOTC site on a few occasions, but I would rather go here. Why would I rather go here? I really like DND, it is a fun game. The streamlining of 3E was just a stroke of genius. Turning all the saving throws into 3 categories, CR for the monsters are the two biggest things. They also got rid of alot of little things like, different dam vs creature size, and other annoying things. Now, time for why I do not go to WOTC all that often. I was a little upset with 3.5 coming out so soon. It might be greatest thing since sliced bread, but that soon? That just irked me. WOTC just seems so 'corporate.' Just a little hard to explain.
But, in the end, I think here and at the 'offical' forums, you could probably get the best responses from people.
I put my .2 in earlier over here. I have not seen a Dragon in years, other than when I look through my Dragon CD archive (great thing btw). But one thing I hear alot about are how there is the obligatory: new skills/feats/prestige classes in each and every supplement now. It sounds like it is happening to Dragon as well. Now, I love the Bizaar of the Bizare (did i spell that right?) and the ecologies. Eric made a post about ioun stones. I remember that article or a smiliar one when i was doing some research on them. I find those articles to be great. I am not sure if I am in the minority or majority of people who like the ecologies and where certain certain magic item legacies, ala ioun stones. Take the Deck of Many things, it would be nice to read an article about the history of that as well. I like the ecologies because it can give flavor to something that has been reduced to numbers in the MM. Maybe not all DMs care to know that Bugbears like to roast their captives vice eat them raw, but it can be interesting to provide a mental picture to the players. Still realizing, that Dragon is mostly for the players, but still had some great stuff in it for everybody.
(I guess you could call this my .4)

 

[WCrawford]

Since all the fiction we will be printing in the foreseeable future is tied to the Forgotten Realms or Eberron, the standards shown in those stories will match those of the books published under the same brands--which I'm going to assume means no potty mouth.

You know this is the biggest reason I don't read Dragon, the 'flavor of the month/quarter/year/whatever' campaign focus.

I don't mind the fiction as much as some of the others, but if there is going to be fiction, something general and not campaign focused is in order. If I want to read FR fiction, and I do, I'll purchase a novel. I have zero intrest in Eberron.

The next issue I have with Dragon stems from my RPGA activities. About the only D&D I get to play in my busy schedule is the Living Greyhawk campaign (with occasional Living Arcanis supplements). There is absolutely nothing in Dragon that I can use with the Living Greyhawk campaign.

I will leaf throug a mag if I see one and occasionally pick one up if I get intrigued, but I tend to buy less than 1 issue a year.

 

[Kalothagh]

To be honest, I don't know why I don't. I guess it's never really interested me that much. Also, there isn't a lot of roleplay shops where I live and the ones there are are quite limited in their choice.
Having said that, a new shop has opened recently, which might stock the mag, but that would mean looking for it.
I'd rather spend the energy on looking at REAL books on roleplaying, ie. the roleplaying books themselves.