Dungeon Adventure: Heathen

[Vanuslux]

This is just a weird thing to throw out there considering the many times Erik posted that they were doing great.

I mean really weird.

Yeah, exactly. I remember how that had played out back when WotC started snatching all licenses away from everyone and it certainly didn't cast WotC in a very nice light at all.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

This is just a weird thing to throw out there considering the many times Erik posted that they were doing great.

I mean really weird.

He also told subscribers that no major changes were in the pipeline for Dungeon Magazine while sitting in the Paizo booth at GenCon. Then shortly thereafter Polyhedron was thrust upon recently renewed subscribers.

The Paizo staff has done a great PR job of looking like "just a bunch of gamers" when in reality they are businessmen trying to make money like anybody else. I'm not saying that's bad, people need to earn a living. But if Erik started posting that it was increasingly difficult to find ad revenue for a print magazine while the magazine was still in production and cast any doubt about the future of the magazine, what do you think would have happened to subscription sales?

My google-fu is very weak this morning, but I seem to remember Erik discussing that the new non-magazine format would relieve some of his headaches like trying harder and harder to find that ever-shrinking ad revenue and allow him to focus on writing good adventures. This was after the cancellation of the magazines had been announced of course.

 

[Mercule]

I haven't looked at "Heathen", yet. I will say that I really liked the layout for KotS, though, and didn't particularly care for the flip-flip of some of the 3.5 delve modules. The delve format doesn't completely suck for dead-tree adventures where I can use bookmarks of one sort or another. But, any sort of flipping in an on-line/digital work makes it a royal pain to use -- this is true of both adventures and PDF versions of books.

If WotC is serious about having Dragon and Dungeon on-line (and I support that idea), they need to be making maximum use of hyper-linking. Not doing so is like having a Tesla Roadster with a crank start.

 

[Emirikol]

I know there's a guy running a few sessions online if anyone wants to try it out: http://forums.rptools.net/viewforum.php?f=11

jh

 

[Mouseferatu]

This is just a weird thing to throw out there considering the many times Erik posted that they were doing great.

I mean really weird.

I don't know what Erik did or didn't post. I'm responding purely to the notion that because we didn't know of trouble, or weren't told of trouble, it means trouble didn't exist.

It's one of the many oddities of the RPG fan community; we tend to assume that, because it's a small community, we automatically know everything that's going behind the scenes.

 

[Mouseferatu]

And also, just in case there's any doubt or question...

There are very few people in this industry whom I respect--or like personally--more than Erik Mona. I thought I made it clear in my initial post that I wasn't meaning to imply anything about Paizo, just saying that we have no way of knowing what's going on behind the scenes. Apparently I didn't use a large enough font.

 

[JoeGKushner]

If WotC is serious about having Dragon and Dungeon on-line (and I support that idea), they need to be making maximum use of hyper-linking. Not doing so is like having a Tesla Roadster with a crank start.

Hyper linking?

What is this strange advanced technology you speak of?

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Hyper linking?

What is this strange advanced technology you speak of?

Ever seen Star Wars? It's like the Hyperdrive technology, but instead of flying from A to B, you go from A to B in text. It's just a logical evolution of the hyperdrive technology, actually. But far more useful in practice. That's why no one flies space ships with faster then light engines any more, and everyone is busy with the cyberspace these days..

 

[Random Axe]

What is really annoying me about their adventures is that they can't be bothered telling you what level the adventure is aimed at on the download page. In order to find out what level the adventure is for you have to download it first.

Ditto to Olaf. Very annoying.

Going back to the Delve/KotS format issue: I am astounded that this KotS format is actually an innovation! I write most of my adventures that I run for our group. OF COURSE I put stats for all the monsters in the room-areas where they are encountered! Of course I don't add in an "appendix chapter" where all the monster stat blocks are held. OF COURSE it's more intuitive to put all the info for the monsters in the same place where I am going to be reading the rest of the descriptions and notes for the room or encounter area. Where did this "delve" thing come from (Other than the ancient OD&D module B1 In Search of the Unknown?) in the first place?

 

[Hawke]

But at least third parties can use a better format. What's that you say? The GSL was released and now no third party wants to bother to make adventures?

Bummer. Delve it is!