Dragon 397 - Table of Contents

[webrunner]

Did you see the comments on WOTC_Bart's schedule post? Not exactly quiet.

There are a couple posters in his comments there week after week, constantly criticizing the delays and lack of content. I'm glad there are people doing that - it's important for them to know what a crappy job they're doing with the magazine these days.

Mind you, even if things were peachy, they'd probably still complain. Then again, that's not necessarily a bad thing either. Growing complacent isn't good for anything.

But if you look at other big issues, a lot of them get at least mudbunny or wotc_trevor making a comment. This seems to be confined to a few people complaining on a comment page with no actual proof it's even being read.

 

[MrMyth]

But if you look at other big issues, a lot of them get at least mudbunny or wotc_trevor making a comment. This seems to be confined to a few people complaining on a comment page with no actual proof it's even being read.

I imagine DDXP was partly to blame for lack of official comment, in this case.

Either way, the article seems to be up: Racial Ability Bonuses

I am disappointed they don't provide any support in it, though, for Bladelings (from Manual of the Planes) or Gnolls (from Dragon magazine).

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

Well, for those who wanted an Int/Con race, there are now a couple that fit the bill... Genasi and Warforged.

 

[Primal]

You're talking about how much they RELEASED in Feb. Now I don't know if Feb was a big month for Paizo, an average month, or a slack month. I know it was a slack month for WotC. So what am I comparing to what? Are you suggesting that there are no months where WotC doesn't ever produce more material than Paizo? My guess is that would be inaccurate. It also isn't taking into account that the two companies produce a different mix of material. You can criticize WotC for not producing more adventure stuff INSTEAD OF whatever other things they put out, that's legitimate. OTOH I could criticize Paizo for putting out such a tiny trickle of crunch or other material that they don't focus on which WotC does more of. How many crunch books has Paizo put out for PF again?

I think it was a typical month for Paizo. As for crunch, Paizo has released APG and Bestiary 2 in the last couple of months, with Inner Sea World Guide, Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat scheduled before the end of August. Plus all the usual trappings, i.e. books for the companion, chronicles, AP, gamemastery etc. product lines. Counting all that, I'd hazard a guess that at the moment Paizo is putting out more RPG stuff than WoTC.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I'm not a casual gamer, and I've been using computers at my table for years, but this is how I'm beginning to feel about it. I like 4e, I've subscribed to DDI in the past, and would consider it in the future, but I really don't want to keep investing month after month to keep up with the rules churn.

Rules churn isn't such a great thing to keep up with, in the first place. A much better policy is what my DM has done. Just 'freeze' the rules when the campaign starts. Decide on any house rules, anything you want to exclude, and that's it. Something new comes out? More errata hits? Don't worry about it, just keep playing the game you started with.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I am now giving WotC the benefit of doubt. They told us that it gets worse before it is getting better. We are now at the "worse" time. But we can all see, there is quality coming. If i didn´t know better I would say, resurces are now focussed on something new. And i guess it is not 5e, but 4e.

 

[AntlerDruid]

I am now giving WotC the benefit of doubt. They told us that it gets worse before it is getting better. We are now at the "worse" time. But we can all see, there is quality coming. If i didn´t know better I would say, resurces are now focussed on something new. And i guess it is not 5e, but 4e.

I too was giving them the benefit of the doubt until....I asked for a 1 month extension or 1 month refund for Feb DDI since barely any articles came out. CS basically told me "no - tough !"

I canceled my DDI - they have now lost a loyal customer who has been playing D&D for over 20 years and who has supported anything 4E since it came out.

They have the worst customer service I have ever seen in a company!

 

[Kerrus]

Do note that they actually cannot give you an 'extension'. It's something to do with the company that handles the subscriptions for them - Digital River.

They'll give you a refund if you bug them enough, but they will 100% of the time say no to extensions. it's not that they're being jerks- it's that they literally can't do it.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I think it was a typical month for Paizo. As for crunch, Paizo has released APG and Bestiary 2 in the last couple of months, with Inner Sea World Guide, Ultimate Magic and Ultimate Combat scheduled before the end of August. Plus all the usual trappings, i.e. books for the companion, chronicles, AP, gamemastery etc. product lines. Counting all that, I'd hazard a guess that at the moment Paizo is putting out more RPG stuff than WoTC.

It certainly isn't radically disproportionate. Pick random months since the release of both systems though and tell me that Paizo is always outdoing WotC. I don't think that's true. I don't think it is even nearly true. I think WotC has generally buried Paizo to be honest. Now, assuming Paizo is putting out more stuff at the moment the question is still if that is a trend or not. I tend to think most publishers have their up and down periods. Only time holds the answer.

In any case quality is more important, but can only be evaluated subjectively. Not being a PF player I don't have a lot of perspective on that aspect of things anyway. The PF APs I've read through seemed nice to me, but in some respects WotC's adventures are better (they definitely have better encounter design). The Paizo ones are overall better written though for sure. OTOH at best I don't see Paizo being ahead in quality of 'crunch', but again subject, I don't really care for PF that much...

 

[AntlerDruid]

Do note that they actually cannot give you an 'extension'. It's something to do with the company that handles the subscriptions for them - Digital River.

They'll give you a refund if you bug them enough, but they will 100% of the time say no to extensions. it's not that they're being jerks- it's that they literally can't do it.

They outright refused to do a refund also - I asked 3 times and all 3 times I got same exact form letter stating "No".