Dungeon Magazine: New Format, New Subscription Price

[KB9JMQ]

Well I liked everything about the issue.
Wil's column was great.
My only negative is Downer - I just can't follow it.

 

[WizarDru]

Got it Yesterday. IT ROCKED.

More specifically:

Cover Art: No static pose, here. Full on ACTION! Gorgeous.
Wil Save: Wil Wheaton is a great writer, and a true geek. I appreciated it as a father, and as a geek. BTW, I highly recommend Just a Geek. It's a fantastic, often very painfully honest book, both funny and touching. Anyone who doubts Wheaton's street cred to write in Dungeon should read it. He's one of us, folks. I mean, come on, it's published by O'Rielly, for pity's sake.
Modules: A commitment to publishing multiple modules, for different levels. Bless you.
Monte Cook: Dungeon becomes more of a DM book every issue. Kudos.
Campaign stuff: Critical threats, drop-in encounters and lairs? Very cool. I noticed how the NPC in Critical Threat had explanations of how he'd fight in Greyhawk, the Realms, Oriental Adventures and Eberron. Rocking? It's that thing you do.
ISLE OF DREAD: I had to keep myself from using Expletives, there. A fold-out map. Two articles. Pure gosh-darned gold. Go on with your bad selves.
Internal Artwork: The already good gets a little better. I LOVE the 'cover' picture to "Mad God's Key". It feels classic, somehow, if that makes any sense. It's an action shot right out of the module, and it's just swell. The Isle of Dread pics are equally good.
Downer: Yeah, I know some folks don't like him at all...but I enjoy the heck out of it, and was glad to see it still there.

So, in summary: COOL.

 

[buzz]

Downer: Yeah, I know some folks don't like him at all...but I enjoy the heck out of it, and was glad to see it still there.

I love the art in Downer, though I do have a little trouble following the storyline.

As for the new logo, I basically like it. It's bold and easily-readble from a distance.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

ISLE OF DREAD: I had to keep myself from using Expletives, there. A fold-out map. Two articles. Pure gosh-darned gold. Go on with your bad selves.

Excuse me folks, I have a magazine to buy.

 

[Stockdale]

Erik:

Dungeon arrived in the mailbox yesterday and, on the whole, I am satisfied with the revisions. (Although, I must admit that I'll miss Poly. So it goes.) I do have a comment or two regarding the new format.

(1) The three column format is a tough to read in so far as their are less than ten words to a line. I'd like to suggest that you go back to a two column format.

(2) Light color in for the text is also difficult to read. (You used it to indicate room descriptions in the advantures.) This is particularly true when the page was not printed well; In the issue I received, the light green text appeared to be doble-printed or offset. Again, just difficult to read.

(3) Monte Cook's column. On the whole, I find Mr. Cook's articles particularly good, but this column was a little basic - Where to play (dinning room, family room, bar) and who'll DM (choice or shortest straw). I expected something more from this column.

(4) I still don't like Downer.

All that said, I find Dungeon to an excellent magazine and look forward to it every month. The high quality of the adventures keeps me coming back. YOu can expect me to resubscribe.

Thanks for listening.

John Stockdale, Jr.

 

[bolie]

I'm looking forward to getting #114 in the mail. I've enjoyed Dungeon and Dragon both so far. I'm using stuff from both in my games.

But I would really, really, really like to see the web site spiffed up a bit. As was suggested elsewhere, a separate downloads section with all of the downloads organized by issue and/or type would be easier than digging through the archived news postings. Also, an online index of issues would really help me find articles I've read and want to use but can't remember which issue they are in. I generally read and file each magazine as it comes. Later, when I get an idea, I have to dig through all my old issues to find whatever it is that I wanted to use. Given my schedule, I don't always have time to do this, so I end up not using as much from Dungeon and Dragon as I'd like.

Bolie IV

 

[Wraith Form]

I guess my point is simply that without improvements to customer service, vast improvements in the magazine and even price drops aren't going to increase the subscriber base.

I'm just not in agreement with your comment. Granted, if the magazine continued going in it's current trend as well as having crappy customer service, I might begin "feelin' you". But I'll gladly pay $5 more a year (or whatever) to get a better quality product, despite customer service. I don't buy the mag to talk to a customer service rep, I buy it for the writing, editing, artwork and maps.

And how many times do you have to deal with cust serv? As you said, maybe once or twice a year--are you honestly saying that you're going to cancel your subscription over this? That's a bit silly....

(Oh, and Erik, I'll be calling customer service [/jab] to reinstate my subscrition when the wallet [ahem, and wife] allows, in the next few weeks. Thank you for the information!)

 

[Corinth]

I received my copy in the mail yesterday.

It's been at my retailer for over a week already. Something is seriously wrong when subscribers get their copies after retailers put the new issue on the shelves.

 

[Jason Bulmahn]

About the LG adventure: Will Dungeon be doing any more of these in the future? I think it would be a great way to broaden LG's appeal. I'd love to see more core LG modules in Dungeon.

I certainly hope so

As a small aside, the RPGA help guide for the adventure is already available for order, for homegames, under the code "CORs4-04 Mad God's Key" and the sequel is at GenCon.

Jason Bulmahn
Author of Mad God's Key
Living Greyhawk Senior Campaign Administrator

 

[woodelf]

The new issue of Dungeon magazine (#114) debuts an all-new format that takes the magazine back to its Dungeons & Dragons roots with a renewed emphasis on D&D adventures and a new focus on Dungeon Mastery. To learn more about the new format, please read our Open Letter (http://www.paizo.com/news/pressreleases/20040514_OpenLetter.shtml).

Well, you're done getting my money. I've been buying many of the minigame issues, but nothing else from Paizo. Did your surveys justify a stand-alone D20 System mag, in addition to Dragon and Dungeon? Perhaps bi-monthly?

That said, as a D&D-only magazine, those sound like smart moves--i know that even when i was playing D&D i didn't buy it because the odds of a useful adventure in any given issue seemed pretty slim. (And the FLGS didn't have it, so i couldn't go browse an issue and determine if the adventures looked useful.) Well, without conversion, but i can create my own scenarios, so the only advantage of a pre-written one is if it's ready-to-go.

Oh, and while it's not strictly on-topic for this thread, i gotta say: i wouldn't have thought it was possible to make Dragon any less useful for non-D&D players. Congratulations, i think, on managing that.