Dragon #309

[GamerMan12]

Just got my issue of Dragon #309

This is the 1st issue that is D&D 3.5.

My initial impression is that this must rank as one of the most useless Dragons ever.

I also get Dungeon, so having over a third of the mag dedicated to the Githyanki invasion, the same as in Dungeon #100 means that is a waste.

The article on 3.5 character conversions, used a lot of words to say very little, there were give 3 or 4 concrete things but mostly it said, it may have changed, so look it up.

The Phil Foglio's comic strip is the worst one I have seen.

The theme of war is ok and ties in with the Githyanki invasion, but battlefield monsters, spells and tactics would be rarely used in a D&D campaign. Battlefield tactics and stragtegies are interesting but their usefulness to a D&D game is slight.

The article on 15 ways to speed up combat had some good if obvious advice.

The art of D&D article which purports to use Sun Tzu's Art of War strategies as they apply to D&D, really pushed the bounds of belief.
There would be a Sun Tzu quote followed by an interpretation of how that fitted into D&D, some of these made sense, others were just made up or had a very tenuous connection or even had an opposite meaning!. For example 'Tire them by flight' is the quote and then how that won't work with monks is the example!?

I did like the Ecology of a Hobgolin article, but then I like Hobgolbins. The new martial arts styles article was also good.

There was no Nodwick (unbelievable!), Dork's Tower, DM's Toolbox, Dungeoncraft, The play's the Thing or Sage Advice (not missed!) in this issue (will all be back next issue plus a DM screen!)

Overall save your shekels for the next issue, when you get a DM screen and the warrior classes are focused upon.

GamerMan12

 

[Moe Ronalds]

The whole deal with the Githyanki war really bored the hell out of me, as did all the tactics for war, but that is mostly because I don't want to rip my game world to shreds. The articles on Martial Arts and the ecology of the Hobgoblin I found to be very useful, and the ecology of the Hobgoblin was an interesting read as well. I was a tad horrified by the lack of comic strips as well, but on the bright side I DID get the Demo D&D DVD.

 

[Nightstorm]

Is this the issue wrapped in plastic? I DID NOT buy it. I dont buy things I cannot look over. Every issue they do like this will not be bought by me.

 

[WizarDru]

This troll's fu is weak.

 

[Silver Griffon]

Is this the issue wrapped in plastic? I DID NOT buy it. I dont buy things I cannot look over. Every issue they do like this will not be bought by me.

I find that annoying at times too, but in this case it was done to keep the Scourge of Worlds demo DVD from being swiped.

 

[thalmin]

Is this the issue wrapped in plastic? I DID NOT buy it. I dont buy things I cannot look over. Every issue they do like this will not be bought by me.

Next month's will probably also be bagged as it will contain the new 3.5 DM screen.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

I liked it.

I like themed issues and this one was a good one. War spell, war tactics, and a war. I think it's a great premise and there's nothing wrong with blowing a game world to shreds. If anything to get to try on a new game world out or beat up an old one ("OK guys, I know we usually play Midnight, but we're going to be doing the Forgotten Realms with a bit of a twist")

I thought the big Githyanki war article bogged down a bit in the middle and for the life of me I couldn't find the Lich-Queen's stats (am I going blind?) But it was good and long take on the idea.

 

[ColonelHardisson]

The theme of war is ok and ties in with the Githyanki invasion, but battlefield monsters, spells and tactics would be rarely used in a D&D campaign. Battlefield tactics and stragtegies are interesting but their usefulness to a D&D game is slight.

In your specific campaign, maybe, but not in those of others. I've been involved in many campaigns over the years that would've used them all the time.

 

[Grand_Director]

I loved this issue of Dragon. I found it very useful. A lot of my campaigns use war as a backdrop I can use a lot of this for flavor. The combat spells may be a quest item for the PC’s to help turn the tide.

The History of Warfare is very interesting to me. Made me want to load up a game of Civilization III.

Martial arts styles not so interesting to me, but I will file it away if I ever need a clan of exotic fighters.

The Incursion is the best part of the book. I find the idea simple awesome and I can’t wait to try it out in a future campaign. And while a lot of the advice I found myself saying “of course, I would have done it that way anyway.” I still gained a lot of good ides just reading the articles. I had never been to excited with the githyanki as villains, but I am now.

Oh…and Biggus, the stats for the lich-queen are located in issue 100 of Dungeon page 133.

 

[Tewligan]

I thought the big Githyanki war article bogged down a bit in the middle and for the life of me I couldn't find the Lich-Queen's stats (am I going blind?) But it was good and long take on the idea.

I think that her stats were in Dungeon instead of Dragon. I'm not positive since I really just kind of flipped through that article - I didn't find the githyanki war thingie too compelling. I'll read it eventually, I suppose.

I'm not much of a themed issue fan myself, but at least they aren't as theme-intensive as they used to be. With as many readers as they have, it's impossible to make everyone happy with every issue, but they come close enough for me that I'm happy with my subscription.