Exclusive Races/Classes in Dragon: Why the Angst?

[Scribble]

They never offered the CB for the mac to begin with, and you can get the mags on either system... still not seeing a cost "shift."

 

[malraux]

They never offered the CB for the mac to begin with, and you can get the mags on either system... still not seeing a cost "shift."

Cost shifting is when you cut costs by having the customer pay more. For example, one reason why Fast Food is so cheap (among the many) is the customer is expected to do their own cleanup (move your trash to the bin, or its in your own vehicle anyway). Its not that the meal cost less, its that the consumer is expected to pay some involved labor cost. See also Ikea.

In the case in question, the cost shifting is WotC lowering the price by making the program less flexible by using more affordable tools. Consumers are having to pay more indirectly by having to buy stuff in addition to the program.

 

[Particle_Man]

One difference from the old days. Usually in 3rd ed. books (and I think always in 1st/2nd ed books) whatever extra content was in Dragon magazine was never mentioned in the official hardcover books. If the Sentinel class was mentioned in Dragon magazine, then the Unearthed Arcana did not give some special extra options for Sentinels, for example.

With 4th edition, I buy Arcane Power and it is talking about Swordmages. But it doesn't give me enough info to use it unless I already have the Swordmage (I don't know where Swordmages are, but I am guessing DDI?). So that is effectively some pages in my book that could have been used for cartoons or something vaguely useful to me.

 

[Inyssius]

But it doesn't give me enough info to use it unless I already have the Swordmage (I don't know where Swordmages are, but I am guessing DDI?).

... no. It's in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, which, um, completely ruins your point:

One difference from the old days. Usually in 3rd ed. books (and I think always in 1st/2nd ed books) whatever extra content was in Dragon magazine was never mentioned in the official hardcover books.

Because, you know, nothing in Dragon magazine has been mentioned in the official hardcover books.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

When Dragon was in print form, its entire content was 100% platform neutral.

When they moved online, part of what you paid for wasn't. I'm not paying the same cost for Dragon as a PC user when I'm actually getting less.

I don't know, if your platforms didn't come with eyesight, you were pretty much screwed.

 

[Particle_Man]

... no. It's in the Forgotten Realms Player's Guide, which, um, completely ruins your point:

Then let me make a new point: 4e puts classes and features in a setting called Forgotten Realms. These are exclusive to that setting and if you don't buy that setting you don't get access to the features. So far so good. I actually don't mind that.

What I do mind is that it mentions these classes (like Swordmage) and features (like Drow pact Warlock) in their non-setting books (like Arcane Power) which I personally find a waste of space. I would be personally happier if either a) those pages were devoted to cartoons (or something vaguely useful to me), or b) enough info was given on the Drow pact and the Swordmage in Arcane Power so that I could actually use them in play without needing to buy the Forgotten Realms setting.

Fair enough?

Anyhow, so long as nothing from Dragon e-magazine is mentioned in the hardcovers in such a way that I need to have Dragon e-magazine to be able to use the stuff mentioned in the hardcovers, it doesn't bother me that there are unique things in the Dragon e-magazine. Apparently, that is the case so far.

 

[CelticMutt]

Except that the Swordmage, as well as the Drow and Genasi, are not exclusive to Forgotten Realms. They are exclusive to the FRPG, but only in the same manner that the Druid or Bard or Gnome is exclusive to the Player's Handbook 2. All material in the FRPG, as well as the EPG, are made to be useable in any setting. They simply have a stronger tie to one particular setting. That does not make them exclusive. The settings Players Guides are designed to have a minimum of fluff, so that you don't have to buy the setting if you don't want to use the setting.

 

[Krensky]

Personally, I'm in the 250lb range, at 5' 7." However, several people in my life (friends and relatives) are about your size, and I do shop for them.

I rarely pay more for something for them unless its a 5X, a size 14 shoe or bigger- IMHO, you're being taken otherwise.

I can typically only find clothes worth wearing and suitable for work in specialty shops, which sometimes have comparable tag prices, but almost never have the sales that their 'normal' size stores have. The major problem isn't my waist, but my waist and height combined. Normal stores around here stock as though all men with large waists have short lets. 52-26 or 52-28 are common, 52-34 is not. I face similar problems with shirts, coats, and most of the time there is a premium on wide shoes versus regular shoes.

 

[JoeGKushner]

I can typically only find clothes worth wearing and suitable for work in specialty shops, which sometimes have comparable tag prices, but almost never have the sales that their 'normal' size stores have. The major problem isn't my waist, but my waist and height combined. Normal stores around here stock as though all men with large waists have short lets. 52-6 or 52-28 are common, 52-34 is not. I face similar problems with shirts, coats, and most of the time there is a premium on wide shoes versus regular shoes.

And that's true even of the big and tall man shops. I see some of those listings like 60 30 and think... man, where's the 50-34 eh?

 

[Particle_Man]

The settings Players Guides are designed to have a minimum of fluff, so that you don't have to buy the setting if you don't want to use the setting.

Then my incredible point-shifting shifts to an advertising problem with Wotc, since this is the first I have heard of that.

It would have been good if, within Arcane Power itself, they had used either the back cover, or part of the advertising last page, or even in the description of the Swordmage (early on, so readers without the relevant FR book wouldn't simply skip it when they skipped the Swordmage as a whole) something to the effect of what CelticMutt says above.

In fact, it puts me in mind of what did happen with Moldvay/Cook/Marsh Basic/Expert D&D and with 1st ed AD&D. They listed their other products in the back of the book or on the back cover, with little descriptions of what they were about.

So I guess that is a difference between (much) earlier editions and 4th ed., with respect to new classes/races. So I am not totally off the OP's point.