Dragon #344

[Yellow Sign]

Nah a huge mis-step would be allowing Robert Jordan, Terry Goodkind, or even Philip Pullman to write something about their respective stuff. We all know unless it's been around for at least 10 years, it's not that good. (No, not even WoT. )

Both Jordan and Goodkind's books have been around for more than 10 years.

 

[Cam Banks]

Was there a reason you couldn't use Dalamar this time around, Erik? I'm just curious since I did like Wizard's Three but without Dalamar, lacked the umph it usually had.

Dalamar hasn't been around in the Wizards Three articles for quite some time.

Krynn's also moved ahead of Greyhawk and Faerun in terms of equivalent timelines, which was one of the reasons I figured they brought in Rautheene. Truthfully, though, I would prefer they not emphasize the old "all settings are connected" thing with regard to Dragonlance. They need to add an Eberron wizard to the group.

Cheers,
Cam

 

[RangerWickett]

They need to add an Eberron wizard to the group.

Cheers,
Cam

Hmm. Good point. Do we have any notable Eberron personalities yet? The novels, no offense, have barely shown up on my radar (especially since I proposed a novel and got shot down, *grin*).

I am very interested in next issue, for personal reasons.

 

[Presto2112]

Strange. All of the feedback for the description of the new issue is very positive. Conversely, it sounds like it might be the first one in over 5 years I DON'T get...

Edit: Ok, ALMOST all....

 

[JoeGKushner]

Dalamar hasn't been around in the Wizards Three articles for quite some time.

Krynn's also moved ahead of Greyhawk and Faerun in terms of equivalent timelines, which was one of the reasons I figured they brought in Rautheene. Truthfully, though, I would prefer they not emphasize the old "all settings are connected" thing with regard to Dragonlance. They need to add an Eberron wizard to the group.

Cheers,
Cam

Eberron would be solid, but why not Mystarra or Spelljammer? Someone dropping in from the Rock of Bral would be an interesting piece.

 

[Shade]

Although I'm not a fan of fiction in Dragon, I do think it was appropriate for the anniversary issue, as all three of those series got their starts in Dragon, and two of them were recurring series.

The highlight of the issue for me, though, are Mike McArtor's latest planar dragons. I'm a big fan of planar dragons anyway, so it wasn't a hard sell, but Mike really took them into new, interesting directions. I especially like how far they stretch the typical draconic appearance, yet are still undeniably dragons. The artwork's great, too.

 

[RangerWickett]

The gloom dragon has inspired me to have some sort of graveyard stegosaurus in the future. And the astral dragon fits in concept something that's a myth from my setting, so I'll no doubt adopt it. The dragons were great.

I also plan to use Dreadhold as inspiration for a demon shogun's fortress in an upcoming game. The PCs are basically trying to pull off a prison break anyway, so it fits.

What really let the wind out of my sails, though, was that I did not see any mention of the ENnies in the Gen Con preview. I mean, Paizo did win an ENnie or two last year for Dungeon (and the Greyhawk Map, if I recall correctly).

 

[Glyfair]

Hmm. Good point. Do we have any notable Eberron personalities yet?

Not really. Given Eberron's paradigm of very few high level NPCs (and no real high level ally NPCs) there aren't any wizards really floating around the "wandering the multiverse" level.

The only one of appropriate level is Mordain the Fleshweaver, and he definitely doesn't seem to be the social sort.

 

[Brakkart]

I was disappointed with the Wizard's Three article too. I had hoped for it to be more like when the series begun (back when it was just El and Mordy before Dalamar joined them). When it started the wizards talked about all manner of things, the food and drink consumed was mentioned but didn't dominate the narrative. El would talk (and joke which was annoying) about the Zhents, Mord learned about the existence of the Alhoon and such. They traded spells, news, lore and more. Now they scoff food, swill back bottle after bottle of wine and tell poor jokes.

I'm no fan of Ed Greenwoods writing I'll admit (I avoid his novels like the plague), but this series was really good to read when it began. It is sad to see how it has degenerated into second rate farce.

As for a third wizard (to replace Rautheene) my suggestion would be Jaggar von Drachenfels (think that is his name anyway) from Mystara. A military minded mage who dresses in a suit (complete with medals), would make for an interesting addition I think. Eberron doesn't really have anyone iconic enough as yet. Alternatively (if he could be "borrowed" from the Princess Ark) Prince Haldemar of Haaken would be a fun character to add into the mix.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I wouldn't want to see an Eberron wizard in the article, or in any other mixed-setting situation. Eberron's had its own cosmology--one clearly incompatible with the Great Wheel--since day one. I'd prefer it always remain completely seperate; that is, not only its own world, but essentially its own multiverse.