[Dragon] Discussion of Issues #1-306 Here
- Thread starter Emirikol
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Tsyr
Explorer
d20Dwarf said:Mine tore for the first time too.At first I thought I had just yanked it too hard, but it looks like I'm not alone.....BY GOD I'M NOT ALONE!!!!!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Mine didn't quite tear... it tore the ink off, though. I have this line down the poster-side of the insert (thankfully not the magazine) that's white/faded, because the ink stayed on the glue.
Holy Bovine
First Post
My map came out without any staining or tearing - looks like I was one of the lucky few!
The map is awesome - my jaw actually dropped when I saw how huge it was. I will get a lot of use out of this one.
As for the issue itself I have to say I quite liked it and it has convinced me to go back to buying Dragon again (I stopped after issue 300 not because of the 'vile' thing but because Dragon had been becoming less and less relevant to my games). I really want to get ahold of issue 305 for the map and 302 (one of my players showed me the new monster summoning tables in that one - finally!!). The 'Elemental demons' article and the Trapmaking article were both very good - some great ideas there. I especially like how the traps article was written from the trapmaker's perspective - made for interesting reading that grabbed my attention right away.
I was dissappointed in the comics. At first I was wondering why there were some many but it is an April issue after all (at least there weren't any 'joke' articles). It is too bad some little of those comics are actually funny. That Zongonia (sp?) was boring and about as bad a Bolt and Quiver from Dungeon (*brrr*). A single page Nodwick and the return of Dragonmirth (with more of those Mind Flayer puzzles!) would be a much better selection IMO.
The map is awesome - my jaw actually dropped when I saw how huge it was. I will get a lot of use out of this one.
As for the issue itself I have to say I quite liked it and it has convinced me to go back to buying Dragon again (I stopped after issue 300 not because of the 'vile' thing but because Dragon had been becoming less and less relevant to my games). I really want to get ahold of issue 305 for the map and 302 (one of my players showed me the new monster summoning tables in that one - finally!!). The 'Elemental demons' article and the Trapmaking article were both very good - some great ideas there. I especially like how the traps article was written from the trapmaker's perspective - made for interesting reading that grabbed my attention right away.
I was dissappointed in the comics. At first I was wondering why there were some many but it is an April issue after all (at least there weren't any 'joke' articles). It is too bad some little of those comics are actually funny. That Zongonia (sp?) was boring and about as bad a Bolt and Quiver from Dungeon (*brrr*). A single page Nodwick and the return of Dragonmirth (with more of those Mind Flayer puzzles!) would be a much better selection IMO.
Eridanis
Bard 7/Mod (ret) 10/Mgr 3
Overall: Thumbs Up (except that I can't read it in public; see below)
Specifically:
cover: Yuck. I already expressed my thoughts on that, along with everyone and his brother, in the other thread.
map: Yay! keep this kind of thing coming. Very useful.
comics: Yay! No fiction, and more comics. I know this was probably just for the April issue, but it was a nice change of pace. And I found Zoogonia to be very funny. I'm slowly becoming a fan of his.
articles: I didn't get a chance to read them in-depth (weather this weekend was too gorgeous for that), but my look-over gave me the impression of being crunchy and useful.
Specifically:
cover: Yuck. I already expressed my thoughts on that, along with everyone and his brother, in the other thread.
map: Yay! keep this kind of thing coming. Very useful.
comics: Yay! No fiction, and more comics. I know this was probably just for the April issue, but it was a nice change of pace. And I found Zoogonia to be very funny. I'm slowly becoming a fan of his.
articles: I didn't get a chance to read them in-depth (weather this weekend was too gorgeous for that), but my look-over gave me the impression of being crunchy and useful.
Painfully
First Post
I loved the map of Cauldron, and am already using it in my campaign. I only printed out the one page from the website last week, but they'll be in for a surprise when I bring the fold-out map this week!
My campaign is extremely flexible, in that I keep a logbook of ideas and have only three very strong long-term plots made out, and everything else get's planned week-by-week. So, putting in such a city was a very easy thing for me to do. I wasn't expecting the large map, but it will be a great set-up for the coming battle!
Now comes the street map from #306. Perfect for a street fight! Wouldn't it be neat if they constructed an entire city with maps like this? Now THAT is something worth subscribing to Dragon for another year or two!
I wish I could buy modules with maps already made out on posters like this one. Think of the time you could save from all that drawing on battlemats with messy markers. For me, large "battlemaps" like the one in Dragon, are absolutely what we need more of when buying modules and accessories. Finally, something that saves an ENOURMOUS amout of time for players and DMs alike!
For any publishers out there, I need some door counters! Barrels, beds, tables, chairs, a throne, piles of bones, bookshelves, you get the idea. Don't make me use my cheap index cards cut into little strips and squares!!! Many thanks in advance!
As for the glue, I always seem to be left with a stain on the page, but the glue itself has always come off easily by just rolling it with my fingers. I found nothing different about the glue this month.
My campaign is extremely flexible, in that I keep a logbook of ideas and have only three very strong long-term plots made out, and everything else get's planned week-by-week. So, putting in such a city was a very easy thing for me to do. I wasn't expecting the large map, but it will be a great set-up for the coming battle!
Now comes the street map from #306. Perfect for a street fight! Wouldn't it be neat if they constructed an entire city with maps like this? Now THAT is something worth subscribing to Dragon for another year or two!
I wish I could buy modules with maps already made out on posters like this one. Think of the time you could save from all that drawing on battlemats with messy markers. For me, large "battlemaps" like the one in Dragon, are absolutely what we need more of when buying modules and accessories. Finally, something that saves an ENOURMOUS amout of time for players and DMs alike!
For any publishers out there, I need some door counters! Barrels, beds, tables, chairs, a throne, piles of bones, bookshelves, you get the idea. Don't make me use my cheap index cards cut into little strips and squares!!! Many thanks in advance!
As for the glue, I always seem to be left with a stain on the page, but the glue itself has always come off easily by just rolling it with my fingers. I found nothing different about the glue this month.
Well, I got mine and have read through it while I was soaking my bad knee in the tub. Here are my impressions of the "meaty" bits.
Temptation & Redemption: A good once-over of a complicated topic, but there really should have been more of a discussion on the nature of evil rather than the "make check to see if you can avoid killing the rabit" system. All-in-all, a good addendum to d20 Evil, but NOT a stand-alone article.
By Evil Bound: eh, pfooey. Just a lame rehash of the "Infernal elementals" article they published about a year ago. Actually, that older article is STILL alot more useful than this. This came off feeling like page-filler.
Power Fantasy: I guess SOMEBODY will find this useful... Most groups I know try to not cross the line this article blows past.
Killing Cousins: It was interesting until I got to the new rules content. Then it became borring and a little nauseating. They REALLY should just go back to using an ECL modifer, gain racial abilities as you level, system (kinda like the half-celestial, but weaker). The new slaadi was interesting though.
Racial Variants: Useful more for world-building than anything else. I would SERIOUSLY avoid lettign players have anything REMOTELY like carte-blanche to use these things! The Level Adjustments need soem serous tweaking as well (Arctic dwarf barbarian is just plain SICK!).
Urban Traps: Most of these are variants on teh "Magical Spell" traps from the DMG, and the others are obvious rip-offs of Grimtooth's Traps. Still, I'll be using these just in any case, just because the article saves me time converting. Just becasue something is UNORIGINAL doesn't mean it's BAD (take Tome & Blood for example)!
Revision 3.5 Update: One page of (old) information spread over 3.5 pages.... Eh. This really should be relegated to a 1-page article like the "up on a soapbox". Really folks, we already KNOW 3.5 is coming out, no need to keep pushing it!
Icewind Dale 2: I like the idea, but there needs to be more "how to design" information included. The article leaves too much up to the indivudual running the game. While this means squat for experienced DMs like me, it is a big turn-off for those new to the sacred screen.
Comics: Yeah baby! I was getting heartilly SICK of the cosntant "first chapter of a book" fiction! This is a VERY welcome replacement, one I hope will continue.
Greyhawk: Moving to Dungeon? Thank the gods! unless you are playing a Greyhawk campaign, this feature is a TOTAL waste-of-space.
Wizard's Workshop: handy articles for easing new DMs into the art, and for old DMs to get some fresh ideas.
The Map o' Doom!!!!!: I had no problems gettig it out, it sems that steam partially deactivates the glue. I recomedn that everybody first flip throught the issue in a steaming hot bathtub
Temptation & Redemption: A good once-over of a complicated topic, but there really should have been more of a discussion on the nature of evil rather than the "make check to see if you can avoid killing the rabit" system. All-in-all, a good addendum to d20 Evil, but NOT a stand-alone article.
By Evil Bound: eh, pfooey. Just a lame rehash of the "Infernal elementals" article they published about a year ago. Actually, that older article is STILL alot more useful than this. This came off feeling like page-filler.
Power Fantasy: I guess SOMEBODY will find this useful... Most groups I know try to not cross the line this article blows past.
Killing Cousins: It was interesting until I got to the new rules content. Then it became borring and a little nauseating. They REALLY should just go back to using an ECL modifer, gain racial abilities as you level, system (kinda like the half-celestial, but weaker). The new slaadi was interesting though.
Racial Variants: Useful more for world-building than anything else. I would SERIOUSLY avoid lettign players have anything REMOTELY like carte-blanche to use these things! The Level Adjustments need soem serous tweaking as well (Arctic dwarf barbarian is just plain SICK!).
Urban Traps: Most of these are variants on teh "Magical Spell" traps from the DMG, and the others are obvious rip-offs of Grimtooth's Traps. Still, I'll be using these just in any case, just because the article saves me time converting. Just becasue something is UNORIGINAL doesn't mean it's BAD (take Tome & Blood for example)!
Revision 3.5 Update: One page of (old) information spread over 3.5 pages.... Eh. This really should be relegated to a 1-page article like the "up on a soapbox". Really folks, we already KNOW 3.5 is coming out, no need to keep pushing it!
Icewind Dale 2: I like the idea, but there needs to be more "how to design" information included. The article leaves too much up to the indivudual running the game. While this means squat for experienced DMs like me, it is a big turn-off for those new to the sacred screen.
Comics: Yeah baby! I was getting heartilly SICK of the cosntant "first chapter of a book" fiction! This is a VERY welcome replacement, one I hope will continue.
Greyhawk: Moving to Dungeon? Thank the gods! unless you are playing a Greyhawk campaign, this feature is a TOTAL waste-of-space.
Wizard's Workshop: handy articles for easing new DMs into the art, and for old DMs to get some fresh ideas.
The Map o' Doom!!!!!: I had no problems gettig it out, it sems that steam partially deactivates the glue. I recomedn that everybody first flip throught the issue in a steaming hot bathtub
d20Dwarf
Explorer
Strutinan said:
I actually intended them more as a world-building tool than a player option, although I think they work fine for that too!
There is actually a discussion about the...ahem...balance issues over in House Rules. Enjoy!
http://enworld.cyberstreet.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=44275
Well, the mailman finally decided to give me my copy and this time it looks less like it was used as a doormat than last wekk, so I am quite happy in that regard.
What did I think of the map? Pretty useless for me. I have a Battlemat I can write on with wet-erase markers so having a map with big ol' creases in it with an already laid out organization that may not be suited to my campaign map isn't worth much as a premium. I really liked the counters, spell templates, dungeon dressing tiles etc. that was coming out. Those I use or at least have out on my gaming table every session. I suppose there may be some non-competition agreement with WotC not to put out counters though if they are working hard on the new line of cheaper minis. The articles are okay. The cover isn't that bad. Sure, it's cheesecake-ish but it is a succubbus after all. I dislike the portrait style myself and miss the old covers that had a nice landscape or group picture. More articles by Wil Upchurch would be great, but I like Wil, so YMMV.
What did I think of the map? Pretty useless for me. I have a Battlemat I can write on with wet-erase markers so having a map with big ol' creases in it with an already laid out organization that may not be suited to my campaign map isn't worth much as a premium. I really liked the counters, spell templates, dungeon dressing tiles etc. that was coming out. Those I use or at least have out on my gaming table every session. I suppose there may be some non-competition agreement with WotC not to put out counters though if they are working hard on the new line of cheaper minis. The articles are okay. The cover isn't that bad. Sure, it's cheesecake-ish but it is a succubbus after all. I dislike the portrait style myself and miss the old covers that had a nice landscape or group picture. More articles by Wil Upchurch would be great, but I like Wil, so YMMV.
