Dragon #323 came in today.

[Connorsrpg]

wehaay!!!

It IS in there. Sorry guys, but I have to brag. I have finally got off my bum and sent in a submission and it got through. I know it is only a little article (in fact one quarter the size of original manuscript) but its in there

I was wondering if any pics accompany the Give your character culture article...ohh and is it any good?

Urrgggghhhh.... how long is it before this issue arrives in Ballarat?

Yeah, I am nearby. I too wonder how long before it reaches us down here.

BTW MerricB, I played dnd in Ballarat for ~8 years. Most of the group have spread over the country now, but a friend still lives in the house we gamed in and I get there occaisionally. How do you see dnd's popularity there? It is great to actually have a store that sells it. Do you go to the games cove? Sorry to move off thread, it is just cool to see someone so close to home on here. (I have posted in threads you were in and seen your name, but it has Waubra on there - a long way off ). BTW: cool minis site, I often check it out

Now back to dragon...

Appart from the 3 columns, is the new format good? I loved the idea of a player's and DM's mags. Does it stand up as a decent buy for a player?

Connors

 

[Sketchpad]

Personally, I didn't find all that much useful in the latest Dragon ... and I really disliked the design ... I said more about here:
http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=97340&page=3

 

[Shazman]

Gotta say that this issue seemeda bit lackluster to me. Some interesting things, but nothing that really stood out. The previous issue was much better.
The best part was probably the preview of demon stone and the buyer's guide.

 

[jester47]

Uh-Oh, you caught us...Yes, we all got together and voted to go to the three column text format just to upset the mother country.

Isn't that why we refuse to convert to metric?

A.

 

[FireLance]

I admit to being rather disappointed with this issue.

1. The Samurai vs Knight article seemed identical to one that I had previously read on the internet.

2. The "class acts" articles ranged from the vaguely interesting to stuff that seemed put in simply as filler. The paladin page stands out as the worst offender in this regard - nothing more than a list of paragraph-long descriptions of paladins that do not fit the stereotypical mold of a knight in shining armor. Even an article providing game statistics for atypical paladin NPCs, e.g. a "peasant hero" type paladin with no ranks in Diplomacy and Sense Motive, but maxed out Handle Animal and Profession (Farmer), would have been preferable.

3. The articles on the children's book and the Demon Stone computer game/movie did not interest me, either.

However, the choker article was good, and the chocobo article was okay if a little corny.

 

[Olive]

Well I gotta disagree.

I've been feeling like a move away from DnD lately. I'm going to start playing i a d20 Modern game next week, and I'm pretty sure I'll run a d20 Future game myself soon. As a result, I wasn't sure if I'd keep buying Dragon. But I got this issue, and despite not being interested in some of the stuff in there, over all the new format is looking like making it a very interesting magazine!

I enjoyed stuff I wouldn't usually enjoy, the alternatives to detect evil are fantastic, the class acts were mixed but I liked them over all (even getting players to consider a diferent model of paladin is a challenge for me) and generally it's all well done. Liked the new design too.

So well done Paizo!

 

[FireLance]

even getting players to consider a diferent model of paladin is a challenge for me

Don't get me wrong here - I have no objection to looking at paladins in a different way. It's just that I don't think a series of one-paragraph descriptions is very useful. Take the description of the paladin in a loincloth, for example. Certainly it breaks the mold of an armor-clad paladin, but is it a viable concept? What role can he play in a party? What can we do within the existing rules to help him survive without armor? It would have been a much better article if it had addressed these points.

 

[zoroaster100]

I've got a player of a druid character, and she is going to LOVE the article in Class Acts describing new tricks to teach her animal companion.

 

[Arawyn]

Samurai Vs Knight

What, this article

http://www.thearma.org/essays/knightvs.htm

If so, I am not greatly impressed.

Are we going to see, Rapier vs Katana next???

http://www.thearma.org/essays/katanavs.htm

While I appreciate Western Martial Artists getting exposure a roleplaying publication, I would prefer articles that are not rehashed articles off a website.

regards,
Arawyn

 

[Olive]

I would prefer articles that are not rehashed articles off a website.

Ohhhh snapped! I agree, it's kinda lame to not solicit original material...