Dragon Magazine: Monster Ecologies to be released!

[Ghendar]

If they collected all the old Greenwood ecology articles, I'd buy that in a heartbeat.

 

[JoeGKushner]

This is the kind of thing I'd buy even though I have all the issues, but what's with the magazine format? $20 for a 128 page magazine is not a good deal.

Let's see.... Warhammer books of the 96 page type are $24.95 in hardcover and in b&w. The 128 page ones are in full color hardcover and cost $29.95.

A 32 page adventure is $10.95.

Nope. Not seeing a price rip off. Unless it's like a single issue or dragon which even at $8.00 is much cheaper than this.

 

[DaveMage]

I'm not too big on the ecology stuff either.

And $20 for a magazine, well....I think I'd like a $20 purchase to hold up better than a magazine would.

Doubt we'll ever see it, but what I really want is a Demonomicon hardback...

 

[Land Outcast]

It'd be far cooler if creatures like these spawned by doing something, you know, EVIL. Like stealing human young and corrupting them, or ritual sacrifice,

Or corrupting their personal mortal servants further than they already are, sucking them dry and putting the essence of a deceased Rakshasa into the shell...

 

[Ghendar]

This is the kind of thing I'd buy even though I have all the issues, but what's with the magazine format? $20 for a 128 page magazine is not a good deal.

Because a hardcover would be $29.99.

 

[Sir Brennen]

I'm luke-warm on the Ecology articles. One of the reasons... the art. The 2-page mural-style picture that normally accompanies these just always looks like a rush job to me.

New art for the special issue might be a plus.

 

[Sir Brennen]

It'd be far cooler if creatures like these spawned by doing something, you know, EVIL. Like stealing human young and corrupting them, or ritual sacrifice, or anything besides, you know, dating.

Rakshasa have always been a favorite of mine since the Dave Trampier in the 1E Monster Manual. I too think that making them more flesh and blood with mundane reprodutive cycles is taking them too far from the evil spirits of Indian folklore they started out as. In my own campaign, tiger-folk already have natural tendencies toward sorcery, and many seek to become Rakshasa the same way some magic-users of other races attempt to become liches.

 

[Garnfellow]

But am I alone in not really caring much for the "Ecology..." articles? I mean, they aren't badly written or anything, but sometimes the "scientificness" puts me off.

You are most certainly not alone. For that matter, I'm not a big fan of the new monster format having such lengthy ecology and sociology sections -- unless it's in a world-specific monster book or a really exceptional critter. Otherwise, I'd rather just have the mechanics, enough flavor text to get a sense of the monster, and maybe a plot hook or two.

 

[Nefrast]

But, hey, if you like the "Ecology..." series, this a cool product. I agree with JustKim about the format and price, though.

Yes, I would have prefered an indexed ebook with all existing ecology articles.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I sure hope this is more physically robust than a magazine, because my Best of the Dragon anthologies from back in the day are a good lesson in why magazines are a bad long-term format.

That said, this looks like a good product, and I'm glad Paizo's able to do SOME sort of compilation.