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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 6183075" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Issue 335: September 2005part 1/775(108) pages. Even though the Realms has got by far the most material in the magazine, it's never had a themed issue before, strangely. But the year's absence has built up pressure enough that it's time for a full five articles (and an appropriate cover) in one go, giving the finger to everyone who was sick of it before. I'm not sure if I should be amused by this or not. As ever, let's hope the articles actually have something new to say about it, and aren't merely content churned out for the sake of making money. Scan Quality: Good, unindexed, ad-free scan. In this issue:From the editor: Just like 2 issues ago, Erik's editorial is all about how much he loves settings, and how much more setting material he wants to put in Dragon each month. But he still has to both get the submissions from writers, and deal with the WotC higher-ups who want everything to be aimed at the widest possible audience all the time. So they will still be giving preferential treatment to the three alive settings, and most articles will still be generic or easily made so. One wonders just how hard he had to argue to get the other campaigns a collective themed issue every January. This just feels like a reminder not to get complacent. This battle is far from over, and all it will take is one change at the helm to send things back to the tedium of being all generic, all the time. Freedom is a fragile thing, and must be constantly fought for. Let's hope he can get the help he needs to win that battle for the next couple of years at least. Scale Mail: We start with another letter from someone who think's they've improved recently, and is subscribing as a result. Cut out the middlemen, follow his example today! :teeth ting: Next we have someone who lost his car, and was most worried about the disappearance of his gaming books in the back. Yes, it's so very crucial to replace them if they go missing, particularly the out-of-print stuff. The sexism debates continue with a list of fantastical shows that do have very strong female fanbases. Perhaps D&D could learn something from their themes and presentation. Dragonlance managed a fairly strong female fanbase, and I seem to recall that being as much due to the distinct artwork style as the stuff actually in the books. Another letter says that no-one will complain if they put a bit more beefcake on the covers. I think they may have forgotten what happened after issue 294. How short some memories are. Similarly, we have someone who wants another swashbuckling/naval special so soon after we've already had big articles on both swashbucklers and pirates. Once again, I'm left feeling that I might just possibly have a longer attention span and memory than the average bear. And finally we have someone who wants to have a complete collection from the start of the 3.5 issues. Since that's only 2 years in the past, that's not a particularly hard or expensive task as these things go.</blockquote>

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