I love to read Dragon, but I don't use it.

[adwyn]

I first started buying Dragon magazines back in 1980 and continued up until `96 or `97. What I found was that I wasn't buying for the information in the articles so much as that it made me feal part of a larger roleplaying community. Living in a town of fifty thousand people Dragon Magazine became a monthly reminder that there my group was larger than the six or seven people in the basement once a week.

The real reason I stopped was that the internet replaced my need for Dragon and I had never been more than a sporadic buyer of Dungeon. Dragon magazine looks good, and I have recently picked up a few here and there, but what I'd like to see are articles that are less "crunchy" and more community. I loved the little history sections included a few issues ago when they did the 2E to 3E update. I loved the artist interviews they did in the 80's.

Love Dragon? You bet, I still do, but you're right, when I do buy it it is despite the feats and prestige classes, not because of them.

 

[rowport]

My experience has been dramaticaly different, it sounds like. I use material from Dragon and Dungeon on a very regular basis.

Two of my PCs are using Dragon classes (Exoticist and Wererat, respectively) and all three of my PCs have at least one feat or piece of equipment from a Dragon article. The "cold-focused" style of spellcasting from my actic druid is taken from a Dragon concept as well.

From Dungeon, my options are more limited, since I generally play rather than GM. But, in the game sessions I did run, I took elements from the gladitorial arena and Polyhedron d20 Modern material.

Even if I never used them, though, I love to read the magazines- especially Dragon.

 

[Arnwyn]

Ironic that the above statement can also apply to the other magazines* that you [used to] keep in your underwear drawer.

* Shadis, White Dwarf, Model Building, Fangoria, Starlog, etc.

It could apply, but not for me. Dragon and Dungeon are the only gaming magazines I've ever bought (heck, are the only magazines I've ever bought - I'm not a magazine person). And Dragon magazine is being dumped by me in November when my subscription runs out. Feats, PrCs, spells, magic items, and races? I think not.

Dungeon, though... Dungeon I love.

 

[cybertalus]

Since I've started with the weekly gaming club I've used more from both magazines than I had since the 2e years. Even back in 2e, Dungeon was always more use to me than Dragon. Often I'd take one of their shorter adventures and use it to fill out something I'd come up with myself.

The big difference between now and the 2E years is that I don't enjoy the magazines simply for reading anymore. Dragon in particular has been underwhelming me for a while now. It seems to be chock full of exactly the things I don't want: new PrCs, feats, magic items, spells, and player races. I am sick beyond sick of new player races. Meanwhile Dragon is lacking in the one thing I used to read it for (and which admittedly is most difficult to package and sell): stuff that inspires me.

AFAIC though my biggest gripe with Dragon is that every time I drop them (or consider dropping them) they come along and put out an issue or five that I actually like and wouldn't want to have missed. Then I renew my subscription and it's back to issues I have no interest in. If they're gonna not inspire me, they could at least have the courtesy to never do it so I can spend my money on something else.

At least with Dungeon I'm building an archive of adventures I could someday run, and in fact usually when I run an adventure from Dungeon it's one I've dug out from an issue at least six months old.

 

[Scribble]

I used to subscribe, but dropped it waaaayyyy back in the 90s when TSR was on it's last legs and started doing funny stuff with my subscription... The I stopped gaming for a while... Durn college life.

Then I started again and since then I've been buying issue after issue all the time thinking.. Gee you should just get a subscription.. you've already bought one a couple of times over...

But the point is, I love dragon. I use things out of it all the time. One of the main villains in my campaign is one of the anti paladin's from a few issues ago. I use spells and magic items from it a lot. And even when I don't use it right away I know it's always there for later use...

What they need to do is another index. Or better yet, another Dragon CD rom like they did a buncha years back. That thing was awesome.

Dungeon.. I've never really been a huge fan of... I was never one for running pre published adventures.. I never felt prepaired enough when I did. I feel like I know my own stuff better and can therefore prepair better for any situation.

But now with the changes they've made I just might be tempted. Dungeon craft is a cool article, evn if I don't use the specific advice there's always a usefull tip or two in there I find. And well one thing I have bought dungeon for is to randomly grab maps or NPCs from. Or ideas even.

But in anycase, think we could petition Paizo for another Dragon
CD-Rom???

 

[RichGreen]

Hi,

I buy Dragon and Dungeon every month at my FLGS and often don't get the time to read them all the way through before the next issue is out, let alone use much out of them in my game. I do always read the editorials, letters, cartoons and the few articles that catch my attention. If an article or adventure is cool, I write down the issue and page number in my note book, but I don't think I've gone back and used much of the stuff I've noted down either!

The funny thing is that if I stopped getting them, I'd miss them.

Cheers


Richard

 

[jmucchiello]

The real reason I stopped was that the internet replaced my need for Dragon

Exactly. The House Rules forum here in a month has more variant PrC, Feats, spells, and whatnot than you'll find in year's worth of Dragon. But more importantly, the need for role-playing articles is completely overwhelmed by the General RPG forum. Just the polls alone could fill a dozen Dragons. And best of all, I can respond and contribute to the wisdom imparted. No article from on high in Dragon or Dungeon can come near that. Even Monte's articles in Dungeon are less interesting then just posting a question on his forums.

Now, Dungeon on the other hand is great for mining ideas, though if those cooperative dungeon threads were more frequent....

 

[Scribble]

Exactly. The House Rules forum here in a month has more variant PrC, Feats, spells, and whatnot than you'll find in year's worth of Dragon. But more importantly, the need for role-playing articles is completely overwhelmed by the General RPG forum.

Yes this is probably true, but there are a few things that the internet doesn't have in my opinion.

1. The appeal of something physical in your hands that looks nice on the shelf. Magazines I can take almost anywhere. The internet, not quite as portable... At least not yet. Also along the same lines of why I like physical game books more then pdf files. At the moment I can curl up in a comphy chair and read a game book... I can't curl up in an armchair with my desktop...

2. Profesional editors/writers. The internet is wide open. Yes, there are tons of good articles, comments, suggestions, and home brews, out there, but there is also a ton of crud. At least with Dragon, I can reasonably assume that the editors and powers that be have picked the most entertaining and usefull ones out there, and that I'm never going to have to wade trough. "tHiS pRc I mAdE iS 1337!!!!"

But again, like I said, the internet is an amazing resource for gaming, but, I like em both.

 

[MKMcArtor]

Dragon magazine looks good, and I have recently picked up a few here and there, but what I'd like to see are articles that are less "crunchy" and more community. I loved the little history sections included a few issues ago when they did the 2E to 3E update. I loved the artist interviews they did in the 80's.

Hopefully then Dragon's new vision is more along the lines of what you're looking for. For the most part, we've moved all the rules and mechanics articles to the back of the magazine. We've created all new sections in the front matter to give our readership a sense of community (check out "First Watch" and "Player Initiative").

Our new style isn't set in stone, and with each issue we continue to tweak the format. One of the things that we're begining to do that I particularly enjoy is include a "history of" sidebar in articles that reference things from the older editions of the game. "Blast From the Past," another little section that appears in the front matter, talks briefly about an older product (usually from the basic version or first edition) that has some tie-in with an article elsewhere in that issue. We're making a concerted effort to not only bring you the cutting edge of D&D, but also its excellent past. As a lover of history and things old, that frankly makes me excited, and I hope it does for you as well.

 

[Aluvial]

An Index is needed immediately, if not for everything since the last index, OR from Dragon 250, OR from the first 3.0 issue...

A resource online would be nice to look up items, like spells, magical items, feats, prestige classes, etc.

I have an XML dataset that I use to enter items that I like from the magazine each month, but that is for personal use, and doesn't include all of the feats, classes, races, etc. that Dragon produces each month.

Furthermore, it doesn't search the magazine for conceptual material either, like the recent Playing in the Dark issue, or Gladiatorial Combat from a while back.

The Dragon Magazine Archive was nearly fantastic! Despite a clunky view screen (which is workable), the search function for articles was great. I installed the entire thing on the hard drive so that I wouldn't have to keep switching CD's for the info.

I know that scanning in searchable files is a pain, but if Dragon uses some computerized layout for designing the magazine, then the work is half done already. A companion disk for the Dragon Magazine Archive, say every 50 issues would really help complete the need we have to locate, and then use the magazine.

Frankly, whenever I looked something up in the index, I went back to my stacks, found the issue and article and read it straight from the mag. I am a big fan of having the physical written word in my hands... I am without wireless tech. and probably wouldn't take my laptop to the can with me, like I can with a magazine!

So, please give us a usable index!!!

Most important.... a usable index means a short description of the class/feat/spell/etc. along side of the name and location...

Aluvial (post sent to Dragon Mag editors also -- the more we bother them for it, the more likely we are to get it.)