Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5381966" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 211: November 1994part 3/6Eye of the monitor has some new writers, the very abbreviated Jay and Dee. Do they have something to hide? They certainly show no desire to tell us about themselves, moving onto the reviews far quicker than the previous columnists. How do you expect us to get attached to you and have nostalgic memories with an attitude like that? Civilisation is praised by both of our guys. Worldbuilding over 4,000 years? How could that not be epic? Tricky. It could have turned out overcomplicated and tedious though, and thankfully it hasn't. Despite being out for years, it still gets regular plays from them. Heaven & Earth is a multilayered puzzle game, combining a whole bunch of different minigames into one storyline. Again, it's a huge time eater, and one they compete on to get top scores. I suppose that's one big advantage of a team over a  single writer.  Reach for the Stars is another old game they pick because it was a longtime favourite. It's another god game, where you send out your spaceships to colonise worlds and build new bases. It's a bit primitive by today's standards but it's still fun because it's relatively quick and simple to play. Bandit kings of ancient China is completely different, but still in the same kind of genre. Recruit heroes and try and protect the people from both corrupt overlords and wandering tigers. How cute. Jewel Box  and Pipe Dream get tiny tiny reviews, barely even worth mentioning. They seem to be skimming over a whole bunch of games as a means of showing what they're interested in. And once again, it's quite a different selection from the previous review teams. Aladdin (the Genesis version) gets 5 stars from both reviewers. Disney have successfully expanded their multimedia empire to fill the new medium, like Lucasarts before them. D-Day in Miwaukee: Normally, Roger would have reported on convention season in his editorials.  Instead, another benefit of his leaving is that he gets the time to write up a full 8 pages of coverage with a ton of colour photographs instead. More than 25,000 people attended, once again easily smashing last year's record. Margaret Weis was once again chief troublemaker, ( I think Roger still bears a grudge from the time she sent Klingons to kidnap him) sending Buffy to Ravenloft and trying to set up an Elminster vs Raistlin fight (pfft, no chance. They're not even in the same league.) Jim Ward Dressed in frilly swashbuckler gear with rapier et all, and our evil overmistress (Wolves howl, roll of thunder) showed her megalomania by ordering her minions to attack the neighbouring stalls and take their floor space (all in a spirit of fun, of course) Other guests included Majel Barret, John de Lancie,  Timothy Zahn and Flint Dille, reminding us it's not just about RPG's. Once again, this looks like an enviable amount of fun. If you just looked at the conventions, it would seem like the glory days of roleplaying show no signs of ending. Topkapi palace: We started off this year with Allen Varney going to Turkey and bringing home some stuff on it's unusual locations. Now it looks like we're finishing it in the same way, with Steve Kurtz going to Topkapi Palace and bringing back a load of first hand photographs and info on it's history. It looks like a pretty cool place to insert into your campaign, some bits are labyrinthine and heavily guarded (particularly the harem) but it also has huge courtyards and places for the various servants to live. As is often the case where they draw directly on reality for inspiration, this reminds us how utterly unrealistic and impractical many fantasy maps are, with the basic amenities of living missing, and everything laid out in neat right-angles. The photos are of excellent quality as well, showing the minarets, spires and lavish colour scheme. It makes western castles seem positively dull by comparison. And it's hardly indefensible either, with it's design confusing invaders and making it hard to get a clear picture of the whole thing. This would of course be perfect for an Al Qadim campaign, but you could adapt it to some other fantastical culture as well. It's not quite as instantly game usable as the castles in issue 145, but it's still pretty interesting reading, and has plenty of room to be expanded upon, thanks to the references to other books which cover the palace and it's history in far more detail. Reality definitely has it's value in your fantasies. Forum: Eric C. Putnam thinks that both too much and too little roleplaying are bad. Balance and maintaining interest are the critical things. The DM and players should work together to make sure no one person gets out of hand. Michael Patrick is another person rubbishing Joe Kutcherfield's rejection of roleplaying. Seems he's stirred up quite a hornets nest. Most people here want personalities on their characters. Douglas E. Berry tells Joe to get back to wargaming. Once again with the cheap zing. Find yourself a new group that shares your preferred playstyle. Joshua McMillin thinks that fun is more important than roleplaying, but you ought to be doing some of that too. If the other players are wasting time, just tell them to get a move on. Jason Wright also thinks it's not how much roleplaying you are or aren't doing, it's how much fun you're having. That's the spirit. Remember the game portion, otherwise we're all screwed. Can we have a new topic now?</blockquote>

Verification