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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5034076" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 161: September 1990part 4/6Scouting for new options: Once again we are confronted by just how much stuff intended for 1st edition they have lying around, and possibly are still receiving from people who aren't keeping up with current events. Curious how all the new classes are for the old version. I guess we have the complete books out, and kits more than adequately serve for minor tweaks like this in 2nd ed. I wonder why no-one's submitting them to the magazine. Anyway, the Scout. This is a useful little one, because although it doesn't differ from the regular thief too much mechanically, (and even shares their unlimited advancement for all policy) they take pains to point out that they're more likely to be team players with an adventuring party, rather than backstabbing them and robbing them blind. This is very handy if you have players who can't get the idea of reskinning. Say goodbye to backstabbing, pickpocketing, and reading languages, and say hello to tightrope walking, tumbling, tracking, surprise boosting and several useful detection abilities that'll help prevent DM screwage. I think that counts as a pretty good tradeoff. And indeed, the fact that it reappeared in 3.5, and was pretty well liked then too seems a pretty good sign that plenty of people liked the idea and implementation. And since the writing is nice and clear as well, I think this is definitely one for the using. Combine with bandit, Armstrong bounty hunter, huntsman and beastmaster for a nice selection of wilderness focussed classes to fill up your party. Forum: Another month focussed on feeding the persecution complexes of people here. Yes, they really are out to get you. Hit back, don't turn it into a circle-jerk of misery porn. Bullies never stopped because you capitulate to them. Tony Pace tells another story of how one jackass and his hangers-on got D&D banned in an entire school. And the punishment hurt other people more than him, because of course he just ignored the punishments and kept doing whatever. Funny how that works. Paul Cardwell sends out a call to get organized and fight back against the oppressors! Now that's what I like to see. Hard facts, names, places, faces, battle plans. Now, the tricky part is getting other people to join in. Don't let apathy kill your gaming. Robert W. Heym points out that if you crunch the numbers, it looks like a substantially smaller proportion of D&D players commit suicide than the general population. Course this is the nature of statistics. You can do all kinds of tricks with them so they seem to support either side. It's all a bit of a pain unless you're a mathematician yourself and can look at the raw data and figure out your own conclusions. Michael Shigetani has become a fundamentalist christian, but still plays D&D, and doesn't think there's anything satanic about it. Still, he's had to fight his case against his new friends, and thinks that roleplayers ought to be at least as organized as their opponents if they want to survive. Lenny Valure contributes his personal, um, lack of experience with anything satanic about D&D. The plural of anecdote is not data. Dayle Johnson reminds us that preaching to the choir is pointless. If you want to tackle gaming's popularity issues, you've got to put ads and articles in unconnected places, where people who are not already involved will read it. I do believe I have also said this in the past.  Craig H. Barrett agrees with Roger's recent editorials, and thinks that if anything, he was being too nice about the motives of D&D's detractors. They're doing it as much because D&D is an easy target as it is an object of genuine hate. You don't see people trying to ban cars, despite them definitely killing more people in a day than D&D manages in a year. Well, you do, but hardly anyone takes them seriously, because the benefits are too obvious and omnipresent compared to the drawbacks. Jason Aljets has no particular suggestions, but is just angry about all this crap. D&D is not a cause of mental problems! Etc etc. C. P. Bates wants to see hard evidence of the benefits or otherwise of gaming. Solid facts would be rather useful for challenging ignorance and paranoia. Maybe. Earlier views dispute this. Geri Balyard thinks that the value of RPG's is in teaching us to deal with dangerous situations intelligently without actually being exposed to danger. And as an addiction, it's much less harmful than drugs. Also, harder to score in a hurry, especially if you start neglecting your friends. Dan Pryor also points out the valuable things gaming teaches us. Heroism, the value of co-operation, tactics and bravery, the things you gain by being virtuous (if playing some kind of class with a moral code) etc etc. The irony is that it's not just bad things that draw the ire of reactionaries. Look what happened to jesus for preaching peace and love. Very good points.</blockquote>

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