D&D 5E (2014) Dragon+ issue 35

Zaukrie · Dec 15, 2020

Paul Farquhar said:
I find D&D Beyond is better for the sort of actually useful articles we used to get from print magazines.

The advice columns are quite good really. Highly recommend them!

Helldritch · Dec 17, 2020

It was not worth my time. I have the impression to have read a sales' magazine/publicity advertising for D&D products. I can understand a bit, but that much is overkill.

jasper · Dec 17, 2020

Helldritch said:
It was not worth my time. I have the impression to have read a sales' magazine/publicity advertising for D&D products. I can understand a bit, but that much is overkill.

Ditto. And Thanks I kept on wondering why I did follow the Dragon+ as much. It is what 85% add copy, or supporting ads. Hey here this artist who got two pictures in the newest book. The Dragon magazine use to have articles to support your game. World building, New NPCs. Etc.

Helldritch · Dec 17, 2020

We are far from the old Dragon Magazine. More than 50% of the content is advertisement. I don't mind having an artist presented to me but at the same time, it should not be that long to read. I want D&D content. I don't want to read how they pat good job on each other's shoulders. The maps are just about the only thing I found interesting... I don't mind DM guild content but at the same time, I visit the site regularly...

Urriak Uruk · Dec 17, 2020

It's honestly worth it just for this;

Helldritch · Dec 17, 2020

It is an app... try to read it on your phone when you're an old man like me. (should've thought to get it on my computer) Thanks it's way better than on my phone.
But a whole mag for 1 page? No thanks. I want more content and less ads and self congratulations. The first ed of the Dragon+ had a lot of really good articles. The quality dropped down drastically IMHO.

Urriak Uruk · Dec 17, 2020

Helldritch said:
It is an app... try to read it on your phone when you're an old man like me. (should've thought to get it on my computer) Thanks it's way better than on my phone.
But a whole mag for 1 page? No thanks. I want more content and less ads and self congratulations. The first ed of the Dragon+ had a lot of really good articles. The quality dropped down drastically IMHO.

It's also, you know, free? Like I'm not surprised it's a sales catalog and not much more, when the whole goal is to promote material, not get paid subscriptions.

Helldritch · Dec 17, 2020

I would not mind if it had as much ads as it had content. But this is not the case. I would even be ready to pay for it. Being free does not mean it's ok to do mediocre stuff or so so articles. I see more good stuff on this forum than in the Dragon + mag. At some point, they show me ads. They must then have some revenues from it. If not? Why show the ads? So yep, it's free for us, but we are still targeted by ads. A really free magazine would (generally) have no ads (this is called a Fanzine, some are free, some you have to pay).

And using ads to sell us stuff must be relatively lucrative as they had more and more over time. So yep, in a sense, we are paying for it as we buy some of the products they advertise (I know I did buy some on more than one occasion, a lot more...) but having less and less content will just drive the general reader away and thus, lower their potential advertisement revenues. If I stop reading it because it still goes on with poor content, it might be just 5 or 6 items I will not buy. But if many stop reading it, then the advertisers will simply stop paying to have ads on their zine.

Azzy · Dec 17, 2020

Urriak Uruk said:
It's also, you know, free? Like I'm not surprised it's a sales catalog and not much more, when the whole goal is to promote material, not get paid subscriptions.

Unlike GW's White Dwarf magazine (which is almost entirely advertisement) which you have to pay for.

Zaukrie · Dec 17, 2020

Urriak Uruk said:
It's also, you know, free? Like I'm not surprised it's a sales catalog and not much more, when the whole goal is to promote material, not get paid subscriptions.

Free doesn't mean worth your time....it just means free. So, I'm not sure what your point is. If they want us to read it and (because we see ads) buy stuff, they need to make it worth even looking at. This wasn't. A ton of free stuff out in the world adds value to my life, I'm not sure how this is supposed to. Not in its current form