Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[Let's Read] ARES Magazine
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6617557" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Ares 03 - Barbarian Kings: July 1980</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>42 pages. Oh dear, that hairstyle. He-Man was not the only rugged muscular character who tried to rock the pageboy haircut in the early 80's, and it all seems very risible indeed now. Once again, it looks like fantasy'll be taking a bigger share of the magazine than sci-fi, as it's time for some conquering and pillaging. Oh well, let's oil our muscles, paint on some woad and get down too it before the banality of civilisation crushes our spirits entirely. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Muse: The editorial doesn't talk about the magazine this time, instead devoting the space to praising The Empire Strikes Back. It doesn't just rehash the glories of the original, it builds on it, changing the tone but maintaining the overall spirit. That's why it'll make a long-running series, rather than just a highly successful single movie. (that and the merch possibilities, of course) A universe has to have room for more than one story, and ESB already manages that, given how the heroes are split up for the vast majority of the movie (and end it still separated and on a downer) So this is one instance when the mood and the time and hindsight are in perfect synch. Whatever the quality of later instalments, they've proved lightning can strike in the same place twice if you put up a big enough rod, and built up a big store of geek goodwill for the future. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The Whispering Mirror: Once again we kick off with some action packed Swords & Sorcery, with an emphasis on the sorcery this time around. A man is transformed into a rat to serve as a spy in wizardly machinations, and has to think fast to get out alive. This is a very familiar story indeed to me, so there's no real surprises here. They adapt to the new senses and capabilities of their body, deal with it's limitations, and face life-threatening perils that would be no problem if they were still human. Perfectly serviceable, but not thought-provoking at all to me. Doing this is starting to feel like a routine again. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Space Wars: Not too surprisingly, it's time for our hard sci-fi article. Just three issues in and we're already seeing definite patterns in the way they pace the magazine. Fighting in space is an awkward business, where travel times are long, stealth is exceedingly difficult, mass is limited, the high ground is important and offence trumps defence all too easily. Like nuclear war, space fighting is likely to be long periods of political maneuvering and trying to gradually build up tactical advantage, and short periods of devastating destruction which is hugely costly to all sides. As with most of the hard science articles, this one does show it's age, with the space shuttle being presented as this cool upcoming thing that'll hopefully revolutionise space travel, leading to bigger and better things. The future aint what it used to be, and human ambition has outstripped it's grasp in this case. Thankfully, our world powers show few signs of wanting all-out war either, and long may that be true. Let's hope we don't eventually get to look back on articles like this and compare them to real planetary wars. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Barbarian Kings: Once again the centrepiece comes with a whole load of background setting that makes it entirely suitable for conversion to a full roleplaying game. The map in particular seems perfect for an alternate Birthright, having a nice set of terrain variations and surrounding islands. Not that I should be surprised, since they have the same emphasis on ruling and conquering stuff, as well as magic large-scale enough to be useful in mass combat situations. You can make alliances, betray them, and hire all sorts of creatures to fight for you, including frog and whale people, pirate fleets, and airships. I think I'm going to enjoy conquering and pillaging this pace, even if it won't go down without a fight. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Final Notes: Despite the title, this bit of fiction isn't connected to the game we just had. Instead, it's one of those stories designed to teach a moral lesson about racism and underestimating things just because they're different. A tribe of savage humans descended from civilised space travellers meet a nasty end from the natives of the planet, which they'd been treating like animals and eating for centuries. Now it's their turn to be dinner, and deal with all the nasty tricks intelligence can create and steal. A lesson we shouldn't forget. Who's to say that crows, dolphins or even ants won't figure out how to band together worldwide and unseat human supremacy before we even expect it. And then we'll be glad we created all these stories of possible universes, giving us clues on how to fix the problem. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Games: Up to now, ARES has been all about the wargaming. But roleplaying is growing at an exponential rate, driven by satanic controversy, to the point where it's now surpassing it's parent commercially. And in the process, it's changing what people expect to see in fantasy, not just gaming. Yup. That's only going to get worse, as more people raised on roleplaying games like Brandon Sanderson & Charles Stross become successful novelists in their own right. Everything changes, even the categories that things are placed into. The only constant is change itself, and even that's pretty erratic in the rate it runs. But anyway, let's see what games they've picked to review, and their opinions of them.</p><p></p><p>In the Labyrinth is where Steve Jackson's Melee and Wizard become an actual RPG rather than just a fight simulator, introducing the world of Cidri and it's inhabitants for you to explore and fight. The rules get plenty of praise, being both solid and flexible, but they remain ambivalent about the setting itself. Fortunately, they'll have plenty of time and opportunity to create variations on this particular system, as history proves. </p><p></p><p>Runequest gets it the other way around, with the setting receiving high praise, but the system getting mixed results for being too granular and heavy on bookkeeping. Fair enough. When you're used to commanding armies, that much detail on every single character would bog things down to a glacial pace. It's all a matter of priorities, and that's why they'll cover the same setting using a very different system in the future. </p><p></p><p>Tunnels & Trolls is dismissed as an entertaining, but ultimately lightweight bit of parody for those who like their dungeon-crawling a little more self-aware and less melodramatic. It might be a fun way to spend your time, but don't ever expect it to be the biggest or the best. </p><p></p><p>And finally, they're forced to cover D&D and AD&D again in more detail. They aren't hugely complimentary. It might be the leader of the pack by a long way, and redefining gaming by introducing a whole new crowd to it, but the rules and editing could do with some serious refinement, and they haven't even bothered to add a proper setting yet. On the other hand, it is easy to pick up, create a character and get straight into it, and a rising tide lifts all boats. Might as well buy it and then use it as a stepping stone to recruit players into a game that better fits their tastes. Otherwise they'll spend decades trying badly to hack D&D's system to fit their natural playstyle and does that sound like fun? <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite2" alt=";)" title="Wink ;)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=";)" /> </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Film & Television: The Empire Strikes Back also gets a full review in here, which is just as rapturously positive as the editorial. It's a lot darker, of course, but that's no bad thing, as any trilogy needs an arc. It escalates the role of the Force, which is a good thing so far, even if it will eventually get out of hand. And it introduces plenty of characters and musical themes that'll be remembered in their own right and referenced in all sorts of other media. Even if it'll turn out to be the least commercially successful of the original trilogy, it still leaves the vast majority of other films in the dust. Keep on rockin' that rebel spirit and see you in three years time. </p><p></p><p>The Watcher in the Woods sees them once again very unimpressed with Disney's attempts at darker filmmaking. Rush-releasing it with unfinished special effects is just the icing on top of a layer cake of many problems they go through. And looking up it's troubled history of re-edits and attempted directors cuts, it looks like the troubles are just starting here. Well, at least it's bad in an interesting way, which has kept it from being forgotten. </p><p></p><p>Being There is a study of how people project their own feelings onto a blank slate, as a mentally handicapped man stumbles into a position of political power largely through reflecting people's own words back at them. Self-absorption is one big way the smartest of nerds can fail at people, ironically, and while this is satire, it would explain a lot about politicians in general, and how they can win the votes of people they meet while having no actual ability to govern a country competently. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Media: Once again this column has an interesting mix of a few movies I remember, and considerably more that I don't. Superman 2 starts the annoying process of diminishing returns for that franchise. It can and will get worse. MUCH worse. On the other hand, it can also get better, as the 1982 version of The Thing is definitely better remembered than the 1951 one these days. And on the haven't heard of these, and might check them out side, we have Battle Beyond the Stars, Virus, The Tomorrow File, Alien Encounter and Outland. Any opinions on those? </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Books: Engine Summer by John Crowley apparently got lots of positive reviews from other sources, and this magazine decides to follow the crowd in this case. It's more concerned with political ideas than hard science ones, which may explain the mainstream acclaim. It's always the human dramas that get the big bucks, not the genre trappings. </p><p></p><p>Unisave by Axel Madsen gets a fairly negative review in which the reviewer is baffled by his lack of self-awareness. Writing a complete dystopia without presenting it as such, and failing at both dramatic action and distinguishable characters? The publisher should have asked for another draft at least to develop the ideas better. </p><p></p><p>Still forms on Foxfield by Joan Slonczewski reverses this, with the reviewer liking it, but not sure exactly why they do. Who knows what goes on in the subconscious of humanity? It's impossible for a mind to completely monitor it's own actions, but if you know a person's levers, it can be all too easy to manipulate them, and that's what well crafted media does.</p><p></p><p>The Monitor, The Miners and the Shree by Lee Killough is a good old story of the prime directive being violated in the name of profit. (the shree obviously being the natives, and the other two the humans) Unfortunately, said monitor doesn't have the raw power to simply uproot and punish the illegal mining operation, so they have to use their brains to figure out a solution. Sounds very wild west, and that's not a bad thing. </p><p></p><p>Thrice Upon a Time by James P. Hogan gets a pretty backhanded compliment that he may have improved upon his previous works, but he's still got a long way to go. Once again, the cool ideas are not matched by the craft. It is easy to get overly critical as a reviewer, isn't it. </p><p></p><p>Sundiver by David Brin, on the other hand, gets praised as an excellent debut, with it's flaws far out weighed by the cool ideas and setting. Since this is the start of the Uplift series, I think we can safely say this is an opinion shared by quite a few others at the time. He can look forward to a long career. </p><p></p><p>Mayflies by Kevin O'Donnell also gets plenty of praise, and the promise to watch out for his future work. Since his last novel was published in 1990, but didn't die until 2012, I'm guessing he wasn't so commercially successful, and didn't get to give up the day job. </p><p></p><p>Michael and the Magic Man by Kathleen Sidney sounds like an amusing inversion of the scooby doo formula, with the heroes travelling the country in a van to root out all too real psychic threats that the authorities would never believe in. Actually, that sounds more mundane than all the monsters being fakes (but superhumanly convincing ones ), but it gets a good review anyway, so I presume there are some hidden depths here. </p><p></p><p>Ariosto by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is a story within a story, with the star of one creating the second one in universe. Unlike a lot of fantasy stories, it uses renaissance trappings rather than medieval ones, which pleases the reviewer. After all, exploring a new continent and bringing back stuff that changes the existing order is perfect adventurer plot fodder. </p><p></p><p>Watchtower by Elizabeth Lynn sees our reviewer reveal his conservative side again. Fantasy aimed at feminists and humanists? I'd never have read that on my own time. But now I have I'm willing to accept it's a good story even if I still don't agree with it's politics. Fair enough. There's hope for him yet. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Directory: To go with their earlier big index of games, this month they have a slightly smaller index of Wargaming & RPG publishers. Anyone who's anyone (who's american at least, as non USA companies are completely absent) is here, and if you aren't you need a better publicity department. I definitely expect this one'll be a lot bigger next time they publish it, as more companies jump on the bandwagon, and existing ones determined to make themselves known and get reviews. Once again, it does seem that SPI cares a good deal more about proper cataloguing and editing than TSR did in the same era. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Feedback delves into the subgenres of fantasy this month, trying to figure out exactly what people are interested in reading and playing. High or low, medieval or strictly classical influences, humancentric or anthromorphic animals, they do have some very specific and slightly strange questions that wouldn't be asked in the same way today, if they were at all. I guess it all relates to the popular media of the day. As much as established designers may look down on new trends, they have to pay attention if they want to stay commercially successful. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The magazine is settling into a regular routine, and it's becoming pretty easy to see both it's strengths and weaknesses compared to TSR. While they are better organised and edited, and their reviews more rigorous, they're also considerably more conservative in outlook, and it's quite likely that this also means they're less adaptable. Such is life. Let's see what the next issue will remind us of.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 6617557, member: 27780"] [B][U]Ares 03 - Barbarian Kings: July 1980[/U][/B] 42 pages. Oh dear, that hairstyle. He-Man was not the only rugged muscular character who tried to rock the pageboy haircut in the early 80's, and it all seems very risible indeed now. Once again, it looks like fantasy'll be taking a bigger share of the magazine than sci-fi, as it's time for some conquering and pillaging. Oh well, let's oil our muscles, paint on some woad and get down too it before the banality of civilisation crushes our spirits entirely. Muse: The editorial doesn't talk about the magazine this time, instead devoting the space to praising The Empire Strikes Back. It doesn't just rehash the glories of the original, it builds on it, changing the tone but maintaining the overall spirit. That's why it'll make a long-running series, rather than just a highly successful single movie. (that and the merch possibilities, of course) A universe has to have room for more than one story, and ESB already manages that, given how the heroes are split up for the vast majority of the movie (and end it still separated and on a downer) So this is one instance when the mood and the time and hindsight are in perfect synch. Whatever the quality of later instalments, they've proved lightning can strike in the same place twice if you put up a big enough rod, and built up a big store of geek goodwill for the future. The Whispering Mirror: Once again we kick off with some action packed Swords & Sorcery, with an emphasis on the sorcery this time around. A man is transformed into a rat to serve as a spy in wizardly machinations, and has to think fast to get out alive. This is a very familiar story indeed to me, so there's no real surprises here. They adapt to the new senses and capabilities of their body, deal with it's limitations, and face life-threatening perils that would be no problem if they were still human. Perfectly serviceable, but not thought-provoking at all to me. Doing this is starting to feel like a routine again. Space Wars: Not too surprisingly, it's time for our hard sci-fi article. Just three issues in and we're already seeing definite patterns in the way they pace the magazine. Fighting in space is an awkward business, where travel times are long, stealth is exceedingly difficult, mass is limited, the high ground is important and offence trumps defence all too easily. Like nuclear war, space fighting is likely to be long periods of political maneuvering and trying to gradually build up tactical advantage, and short periods of devastating destruction which is hugely costly to all sides. As with most of the hard science articles, this one does show it's age, with the space shuttle being presented as this cool upcoming thing that'll hopefully revolutionise space travel, leading to bigger and better things. The future aint what it used to be, and human ambition has outstripped it's grasp in this case. Thankfully, our world powers show few signs of wanting all-out war either, and long may that be true. Let's hope we don't eventually get to look back on articles like this and compare them to real planetary wars. Barbarian Kings: Once again the centrepiece comes with a whole load of background setting that makes it entirely suitable for conversion to a full roleplaying game. The map in particular seems perfect for an alternate Birthright, having a nice set of terrain variations and surrounding islands. Not that I should be surprised, since they have the same emphasis on ruling and conquering stuff, as well as magic large-scale enough to be useful in mass combat situations. You can make alliances, betray them, and hire all sorts of creatures to fight for you, including frog and whale people, pirate fleets, and airships. I think I'm going to enjoy conquering and pillaging this pace, even if it won't go down without a fight. Final Notes: Despite the title, this bit of fiction isn't connected to the game we just had. Instead, it's one of those stories designed to teach a moral lesson about racism and underestimating things just because they're different. A tribe of savage humans descended from civilised space travellers meet a nasty end from the natives of the planet, which they'd been treating like animals and eating for centuries. Now it's their turn to be dinner, and deal with all the nasty tricks intelligence can create and steal. A lesson we shouldn't forget. Who's to say that crows, dolphins or even ants won't figure out how to band together worldwide and unseat human supremacy before we even expect it. And then we'll be glad we created all these stories of possible universes, giving us clues on how to fix the problem. Games: Up to now, ARES has been all about the wargaming. But roleplaying is growing at an exponential rate, driven by satanic controversy, to the point where it's now surpassing it's parent commercially. And in the process, it's changing what people expect to see in fantasy, not just gaming. Yup. That's only going to get worse, as more people raised on roleplaying games like Brandon Sanderson & Charles Stross become successful novelists in their own right. Everything changes, even the categories that things are placed into. The only constant is change itself, and even that's pretty erratic in the rate it runs. But anyway, let's see what games they've picked to review, and their opinions of them. In the Labyrinth is where Steve Jackson's Melee and Wizard become an actual RPG rather than just a fight simulator, introducing the world of Cidri and it's inhabitants for you to explore and fight. The rules get plenty of praise, being both solid and flexible, but they remain ambivalent about the setting itself. Fortunately, they'll have plenty of time and opportunity to create variations on this particular system, as history proves. Runequest gets it the other way around, with the setting receiving high praise, but the system getting mixed results for being too granular and heavy on bookkeeping. Fair enough. When you're used to commanding armies, that much detail on every single character would bog things down to a glacial pace. It's all a matter of priorities, and that's why they'll cover the same setting using a very different system in the future. Tunnels & Trolls is dismissed as an entertaining, but ultimately lightweight bit of parody for those who like their dungeon-crawling a little more self-aware and less melodramatic. It might be a fun way to spend your time, but don't ever expect it to be the biggest or the best. And finally, they're forced to cover D&D and AD&D again in more detail. They aren't hugely complimentary. It might be the leader of the pack by a long way, and redefining gaming by introducing a whole new crowd to it, but the rules and editing could do with some serious refinement, and they haven't even bothered to add a proper setting yet. On the other hand, it is easy to pick up, create a character and get straight into it, and a rising tide lifts all boats. Might as well buy it and then use it as a stepping stone to recruit players into a game that better fits their tastes. Otherwise they'll spend decades trying badly to hack D&D's system to fit their natural playstyle and does that sound like fun? ;) Film & Television: The Empire Strikes Back also gets a full review in here, which is just as rapturously positive as the editorial. It's a lot darker, of course, but that's no bad thing, as any trilogy needs an arc. It escalates the role of the Force, which is a good thing so far, even if it will eventually get out of hand. And it introduces plenty of characters and musical themes that'll be remembered in their own right and referenced in all sorts of other media. Even if it'll turn out to be the least commercially successful of the original trilogy, it still leaves the vast majority of other films in the dust. Keep on rockin' that rebel spirit and see you in three years time. The Watcher in the Woods sees them once again very unimpressed with Disney's attempts at darker filmmaking. Rush-releasing it with unfinished special effects is just the icing on top of a layer cake of many problems they go through. And looking up it's troubled history of re-edits and attempted directors cuts, it looks like the troubles are just starting here. Well, at least it's bad in an interesting way, which has kept it from being forgotten. Being There is a study of how people project their own feelings onto a blank slate, as a mentally handicapped man stumbles into a position of political power largely through reflecting people's own words back at them. Self-absorption is one big way the smartest of nerds can fail at people, ironically, and while this is satire, it would explain a lot about politicians in general, and how they can win the votes of people they meet while having no actual ability to govern a country competently. Media: Once again this column has an interesting mix of a few movies I remember, and considerably more that I don't. Superman 2 starts the annoying process of diminishing returns for that franchise. It can and will get worse. MUCH worse. On the other hand, it can also get better, as the 1982 version of The Thing is definitely better remembered than the 1951 one these days. And on the haven't heard of these, and might check them out side, we have Battle Beyond the Stars, Virus, The Tomorrow File, Alien Encounter and Outland. Any opinions on those? Books: Engine Summer by John Crowley apparently got lots of positive reviews from other sources, and this magazine decides to follow the crowd in this case. It's more concerned with political ideas than hard science ones, which may explain the mainstream acclaim. It's always the human dramas that get the big bucks, not the genre trappings. Unisave by Axel Madsen gets a fairly negative review in which the reviewer is baffled by his lack of self-awareness. Writing a complete dystopia without presenting it as such, and failing at both dramatic action and distinguishable characters? The publisher should have asked for another draft at least to develop the ideas better. Still forms on Foxfield by Joan Slonczewski reverses this, with the reviewer liking it, but not sure exactly why they do. Who knows what goes on in the subconscious of humanity? It's impossible for a mind to completely monitor it's own actions, but if you know a person's levers, it can be all too easy to manipulate them, and that's what well crafted media does. The Monitor, The Miners and the Shree by Lee Killough is a good old story of the prime directive being violated in the name of profit. (the shree obviously being the natives, and the other two the humans) Unfortunately, said monitor doesn't have the raw power to simply uproot and punish the illegal mining operation, so they have to use their brains to figure out a solution. Sounds very wild west, and that's not a bad thing. Thrice Upon a Time by James P. Hogan gets a pretty backhanded compliment that he may have improved upon his previous works, but he's still got a long way to go. Once again, the cool ideas are not matched by the craft. It is easy to get overly critical as a reviewer, isn't it. Sundiver by David Brin, on the other hand, gets praised as an excellent debut, with it's flaws far out weighed by the cool ideas and setting. Since this is the start of the Uplift series, I think we can safely say this is an opinion shared by quite a few others at the time. He can look forward to a long career. Mayflies by Kevin O'Donnell also gets plenty of praise, and the promise to watch out for his future work. Since his last novel was published in 1990, but didn't die until 2012, I'm guessing he wasn't so commercially successful, and didn't get to give up the day job. Michael and the Magic Man by Kathleen Sidney sounds like an amusing inversion of the scooby doo formula, with the heroes travelling the country in a van to root out all too real psychic threats that the authorities would never believe in. Actually, that sounds more mundane than all the monsters being fakes (but superhumanly convincing ones ), but it gets a good review anyway, so I presume there are some hidden depths here. Ariosto by Chelsea Quinn Yarbro is a story within a story, with the star of one creating the second one in universe. Unlike a lot of fantasy stories, it uses renaissance trappings rather than medieval ones, which pleases the reviewer. After all, exploring a new continent and bringing back stuff that changes the existing order is perfect adventurer plot fodder. Watchtower by Elizabeth Lynn sees our reviewer reveal his conservative side again. Fantasy aimed at feminists and humanists? I'd never have read that on my own time. But now I have I'm willing to accept it's a good story even if I still don't agree with it's politics. Fair enough. There's hope for him yet. Directory: To go with their earlier big index of games, this month they have a slightly smaller index of Wargaming & RPG publishers. Anyone who's anyone (who's american at least, as non USA companies are completely absent) is here, and if you aren't you need a better publicity department. I definitely expect this one'll be a lot bigger next time they publish it, as more companies jump on the bandwagon, and existing ones determined to make themselves known and get reviews. Once again, it does seem that SPI cares a good deal more about proper cataloguing and editing than TSR did in the same era. Feedback delves into the subgenres of fantasy this month, trying to figure out exactly what people are interested in reading and playing. High or low, medieval or strictly classical influences, humancentric or anthromorphic animals, they do have some very specific and slightly strange questions that wouldn't be asked in the same way today, if they were at all. I guess it all relates to the popular media of the day. As much as established designers may look down on new trends, they have to pay attention if they want to stay commercially successful. The magazine is settling into a regular routine, and it's becoming pretty easy to see both it's strengths and weaknesses compared to TSR. While they are better organised and edited, and their reviews more rigorous, they're also considerably more conservative in outlook, and it's quite likely that this also means they're less adaptable. Such is life. Let's see what the next issue will remind us of. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*TTRPGs General
[Let's Read] ARES Magazine
Top