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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AngryMojo" data-source="post: 5317277" data-attributes="member: 83096">When WotC first released Dragon for 4e, I was very happy.  The first issue was great, imho.  Here's a breakdown of what we had.Issue 364Demonomicon featuring Yeenoghu.  11 page article with five monsters.Vor Kragal.  10 page article with two normal magic items, an artifact and three monsters.Playing Warforged.  9 page article with Warforged writeup, including six feats, two paragon paths and five items.The Ashen Covenenant.  12 page article with four monsters, seven items and a template.Wolves of Maldeen.  7 page article with five items, one feat and a paragon path.Creature Incarnations: Kobolds.  5 page article with eight monsters.Role vs. Role: Alchemical Imbalance.  6 page article with two skill challenges and two altered monster powers.Hazards of Dark Sun.  2 page article with three hazards.Class Acts: Wizard.  2 page article with 9 wizard powers.Expeditionary Dispatches: The Forest of Flesh.  5 page article with two monsters and one disease.Under the Hood of the DMG.  5 page article with no mechanics.Confessions.  3 page article with no mechanics.RPGA Report.  2 page article with no mechanics.Ampersand.  1 page, no mechanics.So, we have 85 pages total including cover and ToC.  Mechanically we have:22 Monsters19 Magic Items1 Artifact1 Race7 Feats3 Paragon Paths1 Template2 Skill Challenges2 Altered monster powers9 Powers1 Disease3 Hazards11 pages of non-gameplay content.Now examine the newest issueIssue 390Templars of the Sorcerer Kings.  11 page article with 14 feats.Sweating under Dark Sun, Slaves of Athas.  6 page article with 1 theme, 7 powers, 1 paragon path and 3 feats.Bardic Items: Closing the Magic Item Gap.  2 page article with 9 items.Class Acts: Sorcerer.  4 page article with 8 feats and 6 powers.Class Acts: Warlords.  5 page article with 4 paragon paths.Winning Races: Eladrin.  4 page article with 7 feats and 2 familiars.Winning Races: Gnomes.  4 page article with 7 powers.Winning Races: Drow.  3 page article with 3 magic items.Power Play: Divine, Dead Gods.  7 page article with 3 feats and 1 epic destiny.Groups and Guilds: The Circle of Smoke and Whispers.  4 page article with 1 paragon path.Lord of the Darkways.  23 pages of fiction excerpt.Ampersand.  10 page article with 1 class writeup, 3 powers and 2 monsters, all previews.Powers, Implements, Feats.  6 page article of previews.Design and Development: Psionics, Magic and Metal.  3 page article with 2 powers, both from Dark Sun.Confessions.  4 page article, no mechanics.Alumni: Dark Sun.  3 page article, no mechanics.So, we have 103 pages total including cover and ToC.  Mechanically we have:35 feats1 Theme20 new powers, 5 repeated or preview powers6 paragon paths1 epic destiny12 items2 familiars2 monsters, all previews1 class, a preview33 pages of non-gameplay content16 pages of previews.So, the new dragon has a hell of a lot more feats, powers and paragon paths.  It also has 49 pages of "padding" in the form of company-related articles that I personally don't care about, as opposed to the 11 pages in the first issue.  Issue 390 has a bit more mechanical content, but devotes far fewer pages to fluff involving that mechanical content.  Let's look at what the corresponding issue of Dungeon has in it outside the adventure content, considering DM stuff is supposed to be in Dungeon now.22 Pages of 4 DM game play articles9 pages of 2 DM advice articles7 Monsters3 Hazards2 Magic ItemsEven if you include the DM articles that are now in Dungeon instead of Dragon, you still see an alarming trend of reduced fluff per mechanic article.  Most of the new articles in Dragon 390 are nothing but pages of feats, powers and paragon paths with little theme, rhyme or reason behind them.  Meanwhile, issue 364 contains story and inspiration behind every feat and item, and a minimum of powers that are interesting, and that fill a niche that the game needed filled at the time (illusions for wizards).  In addition, the new issue (390) has three class specific articles (Bards, Sorcerers and Warlords) as well as three race specific articles (Gnomes, Eladrin and Drow).  Issue 364 contains no article repeats.You can draw your own conclusions from these numbers, but I would suggest that WotC stop duplicating the same type of article in the same issue, and provide good flavor, fluff and inspiration behind each of their mechanical pieces.  Oh, and for the love of God, stop publishing feats, we have a glut of them already.</blockquote>

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