Dungeon Magazine: New Format, New Subscription Price

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Erik -- just got #114 in the mail yesterday. I love the new Dungeon format and focus exclusively on D&D. Great adventures in this issue, and I like the fact you've not only planned some Greyhawk emphasis, but made sure there's a range of adventure levels in each issue. Wil Wheaton's column was even moderately amusing.

My only gripe: get rid of Downer. I can't stand the art, and even after reading the plot synopsis that was posted here, I can't follow the story. I'd rather see those three pages devoted to a new critical threat, or something.

Any chance we'll see more revisits of classic adventures in the future (like the the current Isle of Dread)? And any chance of publishing the Shackled City in one volume as a campaign publication?

I just recently renewed my subscription -- and I'm very glad I did (now if I only had time to actually play ...)

Edit: A couple other thoughts:

- Paizo's customer service has been great to me. One issue of Dragon got lost in the mail, and they sent me a replacement, no questions asked.

- I'm using some clear plastic boxes I found at the Container Store to store my mags -- I like them better than traditional magazine holders because they fully protect the magazine, even though it's more work to get them in and out.

-- Mad God's Key was fun, and the Isle of Dread visit was just flippin' fantastic.

-- I sound like such a fanboy that I must be frothing at the mouth.

 

[Silver Moon]

To make it easier for you to show your support, we’ve just today introduced a new subscription price—1 year of the official Dungeon Master’s monthly resource for $39.95 (that’s about $5.00 cheaper than it was four hours ago). Rates for international and multi-year subscriptions are available on our website

Personally, I'm another one in the crowd who just re-subscribed a few weeks ago for a three-year subscription at a higher price than you now offer. I realize that you've already responded to this, but it always annoys me when a company offers someone new off the street a better deal than the loyal customers who have been subscribing for over a decade. Sure, I think the magazine is a great value (and have said so in just about every Dungeon thread on ENWorld for the last two years) but this is still a raw deal for those who just renewed.

 

[Treebore]

Especially since my three year sub was renewing an expiring three year sub.

 

[Vocenoctum]

DOWNER
------
It'll come as no surprise that I'm a fan of the cartoon. We realize it's a complex story (not unlike "Wormy" before it, which is probably the closest--but imperfect--analogue we've got), and will be presenting a "The Story So Far" article in an upcoming issue, probably #116. It's something we expected to run as early as #114, but we've not yet been able to fit it in.

I agree with your reasons as stated in the last thread, but I just don't like Downer. The setting, the characters, the art, the plot, none of it.
It's not stopping me from buying it, but still.
The new comic (mag not handy, had a dragon in it) was just bad. I liked Bow & Quiver, but perhaps I was the only one. Mt Zogon is superb.
While Order of the Stick has quickly gone bland for me, there are quite a few strips out there on the web, finding one that is funny once a month would be work though.

Issue #115 experiments with a slighly smaller body font, which will lead to more words per line, which ought to make things a little easier. It's a trade-off, though, since there's only so far we can push things before the text becomes totally unreadable. I'm going to wait to see how it looks in print and make a final decision from there.

My only REAL complaint was the changing typefaces on some of the articles. Again, I don't have the issue in front of me, but the one's in the back seemed to get really big typeface, but Dungeoncraft was smaller maybe? A lot of white space too, which was distracting.

The core of the issue was excellent, I didn't read the shackled city one yet, but the other two were superb. I have not liked Dungeoncraft since Monte Cook took over, so no longer really read them, but glancing through this one really made it seem a bit useless. That's because of my circumstances of course but he didn't mention;
When it's time to reboot a campaign, and start fresh with a new one.
Online play, which is my total gaming experience now.

I may have missed it, ofc.

So, excellent work, I hope each issue is better than the one before it.

 

[Morrus]

Ah, Erik... I've given my address in person to you twice, and to other members of Paizo by email.

It seem I'm destined never to see Dragon or Dungeon. I haven't seen either in about two years, and my local game store doesn't stock it.

 

[Bavix]

Dungeon is saved!

Hey Erik,

I absolutely LOVE the new Dungeon. I'm a long-time Greyhawk fan, I never really followed Polyhedron anyway, and I'm a die-hard D&D player so all the changes work perfectly for me. IMO, this is the best the magazine has been in years.

The ONLY issue I have with the new Dungeon is the 3-column layout. It breaks the stat blocks up too much and makes them run over into other columns or the next page far too ofter. Please go back to the 2-column text layout. It's easier to read and to reference as a DM.

 

[Erik Mona]

Well, folks, I'm back from sunny Los Angeles and decided to take a little time to reply to some of the questions that have popped up here since last Thursday.

Erik, will there still be Living Greyhawk rules and fluff "type" articles or JUST the Cities of Adventure series?

There will be articles other than just the Cities of Adventure, but I prefer articles that offer something of use even to people who don't play Living Greyhawk.

DOWNER
---------
We're sticking with it, folks. The "Story So Far" article will help bring you up to speed, but we like it and it isn't going anywhere for now.

SHACKLED CITY COMPILATION
-----------------------------
I'm very, very keen to do this, but it involves negotiation with Wizards of the Coast. All I can say is that I'm working on making it happen.

That's it for now. Glad people seem to be digging the new issue.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dungeon

 

[Menexenus]

Style

Hi Erik. I am a subscriber to Dragon and an occasional buyer of Dungeon. After reading all the praise that the new format has received, I had to check it out. So I picked up a copy. I have only had time to page through it. So all of these opinions are based purely on the style of the mag, not the content.

Although I liked the occasional attention paid to the Star Wars RPG in Polyhedron, overall the demise of Polyhedron is probably a good thing. So, for me, this aspect of the change is a plus.

I'm a big Wayne Reynolds fan, so I definitely liked the uncluttered cover (words at the bottom). However, I must say that I find the font you used for the title somewhat bland. I think I prefer the old one. But a lot of other people seem to like it. (I keep hearing the word "nostalgic". Guess I haven't been around long enough to appreciate the nostalgia.) Still, I prefer the edgier type-face to the new, cleaner one.

But here's what I really felt the need to write to you about: I really think the *style* of the interior has suffered tremendously. In the old format, I liked the way you gave the modules the same margins found in the Player's Handbook. Not only was it familiar and stylish, but it also gave that extra "official" feel to the magazine. It also seems to me that there was a lot more *art* in the old format than there is in the new format. I paged through this issue and an older issue (#105) looking at the art contained within the adventures, and the difference was noticeable! Obviously, having something to show players can be very valuable when running an adventure. Art also helps set the mood for the DM. So I was disappointed when I saw that the Thirteen Cages adventure contained only 2 pieces of very mediocre art which was cut up and re-used over and over again. (I'm not counting cartography as art.) I also miss the big icons you used to put at the front of every adventure that proclaimed in a hard-to-miss way the type of dungeon, the level of the dungeon, and the campaign setting. I found that icon to be quite valuable as I was thumbing through the magazine looking for just the right thing to throw at my players.

Now I know I'm going to get flamed by people insisting that I should judge the new format by its content, not its style. And I agree that content is the most important thing in a magazine like Dungeon. But still, the style of a magazine adds that little extra umph of excitement. I'm concerned that the interior of the new format of Dungeon suffers from a lack of style. Or at least, the style of the old format was superior to the style of the new format.

Erik, please do what you can to revive the *style* of the old Dungeon format, while maintaining the *content* of the new format. If you can do this, you'll have me (and others) hooked for a long time to come!

Respectfully yours,

-Menexenus

 

[Lazybones]

I got my issue right as I was heading out for a long weekend out of town. I read it cover to cover, which I haven't done with a Dungeon since way, way back (1st ed days). I love the new content although I agree that the 3 column format is rather weak.

My primary interest was in the Adventure Path module; while the bad guys are all unique, I did have a problem with

Spoiler

their tactics. Basically, they all just sit there and wait to be slaughtered. A few have "psychological" reasons given for why they just sit in their room even while the adventurers are slicing through the dungeon (even though the initial door notifies everyone in the complex that there's an invasion). I didn't buy it, especially given the near-genius Int scores some of them are sporting. I'll use the module, but only after a thorough rewrite of the pacing and enemy tactics.

I'm a big Isle of Dread fan and thought the new content was great. Overall, I'm very pleased I resubscribed and look forward to getting the final installments in the Adventure Path over the next few months.

 

[Staffan]

I wonder... perhaps it would be cheaper to centralize European subscriptions? Instead of sending the issues from Paizo HQ (or more likely, the printer) directly to each subscriber, send a whole bunch of them to somewhere in Europe and then have them sent individually from there. Perhaps one location in each country.

I don't know if it would be cheaper, but I think it's worth looking into.

Bumping my own question about the Euro subscriptions, hoping for an official answer