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<blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5965675" data-attributes="member: 27780"><p><strong><u>Dragon Issue 284: June 2001</u></strong></p><p></p><p></p><p>part 6/7</p><p></p><p></p><p>PC Portraits: Half-dragons are the subject of this month's portraits, once again showing that they're actually fairly common nowadays. The artist makes sure that there's plenty of variation in how much they take after each side, and indeed, what their humanoid side is, with dwarves, elves, halflings and orcs clearly represented. So this is a pretty strong entry, and one that's not likely to be repeated too. Pick a character, any character, and see if they can overcome prejudice to find a place in the world. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Role Models: Having put plenty of attention to painting people, now we turn our attention to monsters. The bigger ones, you'll often have to assemble yourself, which is a whole new can of worms for an amateur to screw up. So rather than just glueing fiddly bits and hoping they'll set in the right position, you can use little metal pins to fix things more securely. Scales, feathers, claws, and other things get short pieces of advice on how to paint appropriate textures, This feels like it's a case where they need to do some more expansion to really cover the topic in a satisfying manner. Otherwise it's a case of humanocentric worldview, and I'm not that keen on that. Let's see if they move on next month, or go over this some more. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The Play's the Thing: Robin gives us another bit of advice that seems completely obvious and common sense once you know it, but might not think of it independently. Don't make characters that have no connection to one-another or the DM's world. Create them in a group session, so you can trade ideas and give them good reasons to know each other and work together in game. I've gone on about the benefits of collaborative creativity over solo before, and this is an excellent example. Even if the final product isn't always better, you usually have more fun with the process in a group, and you're less likely to spend hours ground to a halt. (unless some people are having TOO much fun at the expense of concentration. ) And since with gaming, the amount of fun you have, not the quality of the final product is your real metric of success, this is definitely a medium that benefits from this kind of thinking. Simple, elegant and positive. That's the way to get people following and imitating you. </p><p></p><p></p><p>The DM's Toolbox: Another advice column primarily aimed at DM's? Interesting. They have been decreasing the frequency of their old regular columns, which shows they're aware that they've become a little played out. And since DM's are more likely than players to buy the magazine regularly, and need more help in general, they do need to make sure a fair proportion of their page count is focussed on them. In contrast with Robin's one, this starts off by examining not something to do with how you play, but the environment you play IN. Even something as simple as the seating arrangement can make a difference in how the group communicates and relates to one-another, especially when it's a large one. Course, some people may not take kindly to being told where to sit and who to sit next too, so trying to control this stuff consciously may backfire on you. Similarly, saying you should make sure any distractions are turned off or out of the room is common sense, but can be easier said than done in today's technology filled world. (one valid argument against keeping everything on your computer. ) So this has one rather interesting idea they haven't suggested before, along with several they have. It's nice when a column works straight away, instead of flailing around for a few months while the writer finds their feet. Let's hope they can keep it up.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="(un)reason, post: 5965675, member: 27780"] [B][U]Dragon Issue 284: June 2001[/U][/B] part 6/7 PC Portraits: Half-dragons are the subject of this month's portraits, once again showing that they're actually fairly common nowadays. The artist makes sure that there's plenty of variation in how much they take after each side, and indeed, what their humanoid side is, with dwarves, elves, halflings and orcs clearly represented. So this is a pretty strong entry, and one that's not likely to be repeated too. Pick a character, any character, and see if they can overcome prejudice to find a place in the world. Role Models: Having put plenty of attention to painting people, now we turn our attention to monsters. The bigger ones, you'll often have to assemble yourself, which is a whole new can of worms for an amateur to screw up. So rather than just glueing fiddly bits and hoping they'll set in the right position, you can use little metal pins to fix things more securely. Scales, feathers, claws, and other things get short pieces of advice on how to paint appropriate textures, This feels like it's a case where they need to do some more expansion to really cover the topic in a satisfying manner. Otherwise it's a case of humanocentric worldview, and I'm not that keen on that. Let's see if they move on next month, or go over this some more. The Play's the Thing: Robin gives us another bit of advice that seems completely obvious and common sense once you know it, but might not think of it independently. Don't make characters that have no connection to one-another or the DM's world. Create them in a group session, so you can trade ideas and give them good reasons to know each other and work together in game. I've gone on about the benefits of collaborative creativity over solo before, and this is an excellent example. Even if the final product isn't always better, you usually have more fun with the process in a group, and you're less likely to spend hours ground to a halt. (unless some people are having TOO much fun at the expense of concentration. ) And since with gaming, the amount of fun you have, not the quality of the final product is your real metric of success, this is definitely a medium that benefits from this kind of thinking. Simple, elegant and positive. That's the way to get people following and imitating you. The DM's Toolbox: Another advice column primarily aimed at DM's? Interesting. They have been decreasing the frequency of their old regular columns, which shows they're aware that they've become a little played out. And since DM's are more likely than players to buy the magazine regularly, and need more help in general, they do need to make sure a fair proportion of their page count is focussed on them. In contrast with Robin's one, this starts off by examining not something to do with how you play, but the environment you play IN. Even something as simple as the seating arrangement can make a difference in how the group communicates and relates to one-another, especially when it's a large one. Course, some people may not take kindly to being told where to sit and who to sit next too, so trying to control this stuff consciously may backfire on you. Similarly, saying you should make sure any distractions are turned off or out of the room is common sense, but can be easier said than done in today's technology filled world. (one valid argument against keeping everything on your computer. ) So this has one rather interesting idea they haven't suggested before, along with several they have. It's nice when a column works straight away, instead of flailing around for a few months while the writer finds their feet. Let's hope they can keep it up. [/QUOTE]
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