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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Andre" data-source="post: 2084313" data-attributes="member: 25930">You've summed up my feelings perfectly. I too remember when Dragon was new (my first issue was #7) and was one of the very, very few sources of extra game material. I still remember fondly the Forum where readers would discuss various issues, the columns by actual game designers adding extra ideas and tools for the game, even the comics that so captured the feel of the game (Fineous Fingers). But times change and I've been wondering for the past 3 years what role Dragon can and should fill within the hobby.Do I need a quick adventure? I go to the WOTC website and download one. Or grab a freebie at a variety of sites. Or buy Dungeon (for which I just re-started a subscription, thanks to the recent changes). An adventure in Dragon would be a bit of nostalgia for me, but not really a reason to get it.Do I need more classes, ala the Cavalier, the Ranger, the Barbarian, the Jester (I'm not kidding - it was in a very early issue!)? Nope. If I need a prestige class, I can find literally hundreds without even looking. Fortunately, Erik has clearly stated these are going away (mostly).Do I need rules clarifications? As others have said, this is available on the WOTC website. It's nice to have it available also in Dragon for those players who get the magazine, but don't visit the website, but it takes up several pages in most issues. Do I need it for community? For exchanging ideas? That's what EnWorld does for me, and much better to boot. Again, it's nice for those who don't visit this website and others, but really, how good a business model is it that Dragon should focus on those who don't use the web to enhance their gaming? Do I need ideas? Always - and that seems to be the focus of the new magazine. But as others have pointed out, using the material is not always easy. Want to use an idea for spending xp's to boost character abilities? Gee...what issue was that article in? And that article that had a floorplan for an actual castle...? Darn, I can't find it and my game starts in an hour. This sort of thing happens all the time.Even when I can find the material, I then need to get it into my notes - which usually means retyping it. Same with all those neat monsters, magic items, and such. When I first started gaming, everything was done by hand. Photocopying specific pages for use worked sometimes, but a lot of the material I transcribed into my game notes. That day is long gone - I have neither the time nor the inclination. Now I use a variety of software aids to make my gaming easier, faster, and better organized. But Dragon is still in stuck in the paper era. (For valid reasons: for reading, nothing - IMO - beats good old paper.) But it's a lot of work to get the material I do want to use into the documents I use in my games.Where does this lead me? Three things:1. The magazine will have to focus on ideas (I believe Erik used the word "evocative"). Rules and crunch will serve ideas, not the other way around. I believe Erik when he says that's where the magazine is headed.2. The magazine desperately needs an exhaustive index. Posted online and updated regularly. In place of the Annual (which Erik has told us is too time-consuming to produce), how about an index of everything published in the previous year? 3. The magazine needs to make material available online. I understand that there are significant issues with this, as Paizo can't afford to have folks get the material for free. Something similar to the Dungeon maps (which subscribers have access to) might work. Whatever it takes, though, I think Dragon has to make using their material easier, which means providing digital versions of articles, creatures, items, etc. This one change would significantly alter the amount of use I gain from the magazine.While I agree that a majority of gamers do not use online resources for gaming, I suspect a majority also do not use publications such as Dragon. According to WOTC, over a million people worldwide play D&D (I forget the exact number), but I believe Erik stated in the other thread that Dragon's monthly paid issues totaled 58,000 a few months ago. That's a lot of people not using the magazine for their gaming. I suspect Dragon's readership tends to be more hardcore, in similar fashion to EnWorld's readership.</blockquote>

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