Dragon 382 - Ampersand: Looking Back

[Engilbrand]

I'm a big fan of Eberron, so the idea of Dwarves and Orcs living together doesn't really make me freak out. This idea actually seems pretty cool.

 

[JustKim]

You mean, it isn't Ghostwalk.

No, that isn't what I meant at all.
I think I could probably tie it into Ghostwalk, which is nice. I think it isn't really Hammerfast at all, which is disappointing. I am not disappointed that it isn't Ghostwalk, I had no idea that it would even resemble it before this article.

 

[ferratus]

I'd like to point out that it seems that the orcs and the dwarves still hate each other, and the product description in the catalogue does describe Hammerfast as "intrigue-laden".

So see my previous post upthread as to why Hammerfast would be a cool place to adventure. I was expecting another dwarf city of the usual mold myself, but I can see why they did it this way. You don't actually have much to do in dwarven cities because they are all so well-defended, lawful, honest and paranoid about guarding their treasure.

Most plothooks involving dwarf citadels have involved a massive invasion or a snake in the grass, so it is good to see something new while preserving that essential "dwarfishness'.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I am a subscriber so I already get it... it's just I'm always left wondering why this material specifically is 'pay' for in that there's stuff here that non-subscribers will probably be interested in when it hits the old print shelf. There are a lot of previews and to be hoenst, half the time that's what this column reads like. "Here's some stuff!" If it was some exclusive material, yeah, I can see the lure of making it subscriber based. As it's not... I don't.

Because it is something that the writer of the article felt like tossing out as part of his column. It didn't 'need' to be subscriber only - but it didn't need to be free, either. It didn't 'need' to be anything.

I remain similarly baffled by the idea that the writer of Ampersand should refrain from sharing previews because non-subscribers won't have access to them. Or that he should write a new article specifically for non-subscribers to share this preview, even though WotC already has a ridiculous amount of such free preview articles.

If you are genuinely bothered by not having access to it without being a subscriber, then clearly it has value and appeal to encourage subscription. If you aren't, then I don't see the issue. If you are bothered that they would 'charge' people for free preview content, I recommend being satisfied with all the other previews of upcoming material they release on a regularly basis, or the monthly column specifically devoted to sharing upcoming previews. If that isn't enough, I recommend waiting for the book and then just buying the content yourself...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I am a subscriber so I already get it... it's just I'm always left wondering why this material specifically is 'pay' for in that there's stuff here that non-subscribers will probably be interested in when it hits the old print shelf. There are a lot of previews and to be hoenst, half the time that's what this column reads like. "Here's some stuff!" If it was some exclusive material, yeah, I can see the lure of making it subscriber based. As it's not... I don't.

News Papers and Magazine sometimes also advertise with "exclusive previews" for movies or games, but in the end they will still be previewed or reviewed by others. Obviously, Digital Dungeon and Dragen are also part magazine, since they replace the good-old print Dungeon and Dragon.

It is a benefit of being an insider that you know stuff before non-insiders do. Wether you care about getting it or not. It is marketing.

 

[Nikosandros]

It is a benefit of being an insider that you know stuff before non-insiders do.

That kind of information gets posted on the Internet fractions of a second after it appears on WotC site as exclusive content...

 

[Keefe the Thief]

That kind of information gets posted on the Internet fractions of a second after it appears on WotC site as exclusive content...

... but not everybody is into piracy, so those who want to stay on the right side of the law get exclusive previews. Or were you just talking about threads like this?

 

[Rechan]

Or were you just talking about threads like this?

I think he meant this.

 

[Nikosandros]

... but not everybody is into piracy, so those who want to stay on the right side of the law get exclusive previews. Or were you just talking about threads like this?

I was talking exactly about threads like this...

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

That kind of information gets posted on the Internet fractions of a second after it appears on WotC site as exclusive content...

You get the basic information, but not every detail.