Dungeon #111 contents
- Thread starter thalmin
- Start date
Painfully
First Post
No, I checked another thread where Erik, himself, made a list of things that were changing. On that list was the commitment to not do less than two adventures per issue. I don't recall him placing any conditions such as waiting for issue #114. I think I would have remembered a condition like that.
See this post by Erik Mona. It's dated August 2003.
Specifically:
*sigh*
It was a relief to hear this comment coming straight from Erik Mona, because IMO, the issue with one adventure was a serious low-point in the lifetime of Dungeon Magazine. My only feeling now is that Erik wants an encore.
Arnwyn, if you have a reference, please post it. I'll be happy to read up on anything I may have missed, but it doesn't overcome the fact that Erik stated explicitly what I said in my earlier post.
See this post by Erik Mona. It's dated August 2003.
Specifically:
WE'LL NEVER DO ANOTHER ISSUE WITH JUST ONE ADVENTURE!
*sigh*
It was a relief to hear this comment coming straight from Erik Mona, because IMO, the issue with one adventure was a serious low-point in the lifetime of Dungeon Magazine. My only feeling now is that Erik wants an encore.
Arnwyn, if you have a reference, please post it. I'll be happy to read up on anything I may have missed, but it doesn't overcome the fact that Erik stated explicitly what I said in my earlier post.
Alzrius
The EN World kitten
Painfully is correct; I made a note of this when I did my review of Dungeon #110 - this does fly in the face of what Erik said after the disappointment to the single adventure of #99.
For what it's worth though, I'm looking forward to #112, since this promises to be an adventure that's so large in scope that it'll take up most of that issue, and not just that so many other articles are squeezing the adventure count down. Besides, things are always darkest before the dawn, and this is happening on the heels of a greater adventure-count per issue.
For what it's worth though, I'm looking forward to #112, since this promises to be an adventure that's so large in scope that it'll take up most of that issue, and not just that so many other articles are squeezing the adventure count down. Besides, things are always darkest before the dawn, and this is happening on the heels of a greater adventure-count per issue.
To make a long story short, when I posted that message I hadn't yet realized that 2004 would be the 30th Anniversary of D&D. As many of you probably know, I have an unhealthy obsession with the first edition material and Greyhawk in particular, so when I realized the timing I wanted to make sure that Dungeon's 30th Anniversary issue was a special event that people would remember for a long time.
I hit upon the idea of "revisiting" a classic first edition adventure, something we'd been trying to figure out how to do for several months (witness one of my threads a while back asking people about their favorite "classic" adventures). James and I both had a soft spot for Maure Castle, the sprawling dungeon featured in "Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure" (WG5), so we started thinking about revisiting that adventure through the lens of 3.5. We figured that most people who already had the adventure would enjoy the nostalgia of the effort. We also figured that doing this gave us the opportunity to show newer D&D players the appeal of the first edition adventures without forcing them to do a lot of conversion work themselves (to say nothing of hunting down the old adventures on eBay).
An anniversary, especially one as significant as the 30th, is a time for reflection on and celebration of the past. I contacted Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax, the co-authors of the original piece, and both agreed to participate. I even convinced Rob to contribute an entirely new level to the adventure, ensuring that the issue would provide something completely new even to the grognards who have memorized every nook and cranny of the original adventure.
With all that said and done, the final version of the adventure ended up sprawling over the entire magazine. I even had to have 8 pages _added_ to the magazine to accommodate its mighty girth.
I'm very, very excited about this issue. It features some of the best work of the Gygax and Kuntz team with conversions and expanded material by me and Dungeon Associate Editor James Jacobs, who is really at the top of his game. Cartographer Rob Lazzaretti pulled out all the stops on four full-page maps of the dungeon complex, we've got a stunning cover from Wayne Reynolds, and artists James Ryman and Aaron St. Goddard turned in some of the most exciting images I've seen in a D&D magazine in years.
Maure Castle is huge. There's no Polyhedron in #112. No Prison Mail. There's no Critical Threat or Map of Mystery. We kept the cartoons (Downer and Mt. Zogon), but everything else is directly related to the adventure.
I only have one opportunity in my career to do a 30th Anniversary issue right. I could have just presented a single level of an old dungeon, or I could have done some sort of retrospective or something, but I wanted to do something more impactful. More fun.
"Quadrapartite," the sole adventure in Dungeon #99, was 28 pages long.
"Maure Castle," the sole adventure in Dungeon #112, is 97 pages long, and is without a doubt the longest single adventure Dungeon has ever published.
There's really no comparing the two.
After #112, I don't see us doing a single-adventure issue for a long, long time if ever. The anniversary was a special event, and everything fell into place for an issue I think people will remember for a long, long time. It's not going to happen again in the foreseeable future, but I'd have been foolish to let this opportunity slip by, and I honestly think the readers will, in the main, be richer for it.
I feel bad about going back on my word and running a single-adventure issue. I hope that people think Maure Castle is worth it. After working day and night on #112 for more than a month, I certainly do.
Sincerely,
Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dungeon Magazine
I hit upon the idea of "revisiting" a classic first edition adventure, something we'd been trying to figure out how to do for several months (witness one of my threads a while back asking people about their favorite "classic" adventures). James and I both had a soft spot for Maure Castle, the sprawling dungeon featured in "Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure" (WG5), so we started thinking about revisiting that adventure through the lens of 3.5. We figured that most people who already had the adventure would enjoy the nostalgia of the effort. We also figured that doing this gave us the opportunity to show newer D&D players the appeal of the first edition adventures without forcing them to do a lot of conversion work themselves (to say nothing of hunting down the old adventures on eBay).
An anniversary, especially one as significant as the 30th, is a time for reflection on and celebration of the past. I contacted Robert J. Kuntz and Gary Gygax, the co-authors of the original piece, and both agreed to participate. I even convinced Rob to contribute an entirely new level to the adventure, ensuring that the issue would provide something completely new even to the grognards who have memorized every nook and cranny of the original adventure.
With all that said and done, the final version of the adventure ended up sprawling over the entire magazine. I even had to have 8 pages _added_ to the magazine to accommodate its mighty girth.
I'm very, very excited about this issue. It features some of the best work of the Gygax and Kuntz team with conversions and expanded material by me and Dungeon Associate Editor James Jacobs, who is really at the top of his game. Cartographer Rob Lazzaretti pulled out all the stops on four full-page maps of the dungeon complex, we've got a stunning cover from Wayne Reynolds, and artists James Ryman and Aaron St. Goddard turned in some of the most exciting images I've seen in a D&D magazine in years.
Maure Castle is huge. There's no Polyhedron in #112. No Prison Mail. There's no Critical Threat or Map of Mystery. We kept the cartoons (Downer and Mt. Zogon), but everything else is directly related to the adventure.
I only have one opportunity in my career to do a 30th Anniversary issue right. I could have just presented a single level of an old dungeon, or I could have done some sort of retrospective or something, but I wanted to do something more impactful. More fun.
"Quadrapartite," the sole adventure in Dungeon #99, was 28 pages long.
"Maure Castle," the sole adventure in Dungeon #112, is 97 pages long, and is without a doubt the longest single adventure Dungeon has ever published.
There's really no comparing the two.
After #112, I don't see us doing a single-adventure issue for a long, long time if ever. The anniversary was a special event, and everything fell into place for an issue I think people will remember for a long, long time. It's not going to happen again in the foreseeable future, but I'd have been foolish to let this opportunity slip by, and I honestly think the readers will, in the main, be richer for it.
I feel bad about going back on my word and running a single-adventure issue. I hope that people think Maure Castle is worth it. After working day and night on #112 for more than a month, I certainly do.
Sincerely,
Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dungeon Magazine
Last edited:
Ranger REG
Explorer
Only if I can put a d20 Modern spin on it.Erik Mona said:
Olive,
The adventure starts at 12th level, but PCs might get as high as 17th by the end of it. The thing's a meatgrinder, but a fun one, for all of that.
Ranger: It'll be a little tricky to convert Maure Castle to d20 Modern, although I love the idea of a squad of special forces operatives running through a demon-infested dungeon with flashlights attached to the barrels of their rifles. You ought to be able to convert several of the monsters with little difficulty.
I tell you what. In 29 years we'll do something special for d20 Modern, provided it's still in print.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dungeon Magazine
The adventure starts at 12th level, but PCs might get as high as 17th by the end of it. The thing's a meatgrinder, but a fun one, for all of that.
Ranger: It'll be a little tricky to convert Maure Castle to d20 Modern, although I love the idea of a squad of special forces operatives running through a demon-infested dungeon with flashlights attached to the barrels of their rifles. You ought to be able to convert several of the monsters with little difficulty.
I tell you what. In 29 years we'll do something special for d20 Modern, provided it's still in print.
--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dungeon Magazine
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