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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 8362112" data-attributes="member: 27780">Polyhedron Issue 65: November 1991part 1/537 pages. If you're going to chop someone's head off, might as well do it in style. Make sure the massive scimitar is sharp and shiny, get all dressed up, pick the right kind of jewellery to properly complete the ensemble. Let's find out who the unlucky client is, and how well the articles in this issue will co-ordinate with one another. Notes From HQ: This continues directly on from last month with more complaints about too many players, not enough judges. Gen Con was once again larger than ever this year, but due to a high level of flakiness, the number of official tournaments they got to run there was not. It was so disappointing that they've actively scaled down their plans for next year in the hope that by lowering expectations, they'll be more likely to hit them reliably. Obviously they've blacklisted the people who canceled at the last minute for no good reason or simply didn't show up on the day, but that still doesn't solve the fundamental problem, and might make it worse if the reasons they weren't there were beyond their control and unlikely to happen again, or they're the kind of people who would have brought their family along and now won't be going to the conventions at all. So this is another reminder that they need YOU! Having too many judges for an event merely means each one runs with a slightly smaller party, which actually isn't a drawback in all but the most brutal of adventures because everyone gets a bit more spotlight time, while too few means whole groups of disappointed would-be players. Act now, and you could save dozens of people from cancellation over the course of the weekend! I strongly suspect that this is another topic we'll be seeing again in the future, just like the complaints about the food at conventions. Letters: The first letter rails against GMPCs and general railroading in games. Cause and effect based on the laws of physics should continue to apply in RPG's, not implausible twists, just outright saying something doesn't work no matter how you roll or that your player can't do that because it'd spoil the story. They give a response that makes it quite clear they don't take this complaint seriously at all, and will continue to run and publish adventures in here that are both linear and silly. The rot really does go right to the top with this particular problem. Second thinks it's about time they did a survey so they can figure out which features are most popular, and if they should drop anything to make way for new ones. They reply that it's a good idea, and they hope to get around to it amid all the other things they're juggling trying to keep the newszine going smoothly. If only you'd kept on some of the staff from SPI when you swallowed them, who were actually good at that part of their jobs.</blockquote>

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