Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 4628047" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 83: March 1984part 1/284 pages. Looks like 1984 is going to be a busy year full of changes. Having swallowed Little Wars, a long time ago, they're now eating up ARES magazine. Their attempt to relaunch SPI products must have bombed pretty badly for it to have died this quickly. This means they intend to increase their page count by at least 16 pages per issue, and fill that with more sci-fi stuff. Having seen how wargaming faded away after 1982 or so, I wonder how long this little incorporation'll last before being digested and forgotten about. Oh well, at least it means there'll be a reliable amount of non D&D stuff for me to read for the next year or two, even if it is being ghettoised. It's hardly a terrible development. In this issue: Out on a limb is rather short this issue: We have yet more psionics nitpicking from Robert M Schroek. Damn those unclear rules! Lance J Purple (! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f631.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":o" title="Eek!    :o"  data-smilie="9"data-shortname=":o" /> Oh, long johnson, oh rodimus prime. Whyeyeyeyeyey?) asks for reprints. This time, they grant mercy, albeit of an expensive kind. Call Penny Petticord (Where do these people get their names from? I blame the parents. Do they not realize the consequences of what they are doing.) and she'll photocopy articles from out of print issues and send them to you. Well, it's certainly progress. I suppose that is to be lauded. And finally, we get some questions about the 100 hour marathon D&D session, the procedures for the guinness records, and who to contact if you want to try and beat it. Toilet breaks are permitted, thankfully. The forum is similarly undersize. Must not be a very debatable time: Scott D Hoffrage picks apart David Hutton's belief that dual classed fighter 1/whatevers are overpowered carefully and mercilessly. You've got tons of annoying restrictions to apply. Of course the character will seem overpowered if you forget them. John Lester Jr nitpicks about the nature of contact poison. Ho hum. The many facets of gems: Hmm. Starting off our features this month is a 10 page article about various types of gemstone. One of those things, like herbalism, ecology or fantasy languages, that's fascinating if you're into it, and interminably tedious if you're not. And on this particular subject, I'm afraid I must confess I fall into the not camp. Not to disparage the quality, or game-usefulness for those of you who want to challenge your PC's by setting them specific requirements for building their magical items. Or the rather good bibliography which shows that the author must have put a lot of work into this. But frankly, putting it as the leading article? If I were editor, there is no way that would have happened. Oh well, can't please all the people all of the time. The ecology of the stirge: Ed contributes another ecology this month. Once again, he's stolen liberally from the biology of real life creatures, (love the bee reference in particular) and then remixed the details to make the stirge actually seem pretty plausible as a creature that could really exist, even without the aid of a mad wizard/genetic engineer to create it. He provides his usual selection of fascinating footnotes, and we have an increasing amount of game information which can be used to make encounters with the little bastards even more annoying. Which is definitely another positive development, as it encourages you to reuse the article, instead of just enjoying the fiction once, and then forgetting about it. See the benefits of actively thinking about what you've done and how to improve upon it. I very much approve, and hope our other contributors take note.  Palladium prints praise from various magazines (and kevin's mom <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /> ) in it's latest advert, The arms of nargash tor. Also, we have naked faeries. That'll boost sales a bit more. He sure does know how to hustle. And lets face it, that's as important (if not more so, annoyingly) to a company as actually producing decent product. Fiction: the test of the twins by Margaret Weis. Looks like another member of the gang is here now. Welcome to the very beginning of the Dragonlance saga. Say hello to Raistlin and Caramon, and see the dramatic tension that holds them together, and will ultimately drive them apart. All together now! All you need is AAAaaangst! (do do dodo do) <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> Once again we see the beginning of a new style of D&D adventures, with a greater emphasis on drama, personalities and epic overarching struggles that define the fate of worlds and universes. Sure, it'll generate it's own crimes against common sense and literature soon enough, but for now, it's a breath of fresh air contasted against D&D's current flavour of swords and sorcery which alternates between didactic simulationism and gonzo crossovers. Lets enjoy it while we can, before the kender show up and ruin everything.</blockquote>

Verification