This is the seocnd issue of Ordo Draconis, a fan-made ezine (fanzine) for the recently re-released Dragon Warriors RPG. Spanning over twice the pagecount of Issue 1 (released in September 2009), it delivers a mix of content, from adventures and new classes/creatures, to background on the world of Legend.
Production values are high (especially the covers of both issues), but even if the ratio of art to text has improved from Issue 1, i find the computer-colored/textured locations maps to be strangely distracting from the overall B&W scheme of the usual DW products (although i do love Kristian Richards' ones
)
Contentwise, there are a lot of things to please everyone :
- a new profession, the Thane, a celtic-inspired warrior (Issue 1 had the Friar, a wandering cleric of sorts);
- a description of a small area of Cornumbria, the Darbon Barony, with its points of interests (here i would have liked to have stats for the NPCs mentioned in the text, instead of just the new critters) (Issue 1 described a bit of Ellesland, the County of Anglicia, along with a number of encounters taking places in Darbon actually);
- a short story (although good, the 5 pages might have benefited from NPCs' stats, seeing the ezine isn't free anymore - more on that later);
- another area description, this time the Fief of Eastmarch, a hotbed of action, in the Coronach Marshes;
- a new beast, the Buggane;
- some adventure seeds/«random» encounters based on Cornumbrian «legends»;
- a continued (from Issue 1) retelling of a PBM campaign, Thuland (again, even if interesting, the stats of the PCs and NPCs involved would have added value to the story told);
- a review of the DW supplement «Friends or Foes» (personally, seeing that reviews nowadays are easily found on the net, i don't think it has its place in a paying fanzine. An interview with the author/artist (like the 20 questions with Dave Morris and James Wallis in issue 1) or additional content related to the supplement would have been preferable);
- an adventure for beginning characters, For Whom the Bells Tolls, pitting the PCs against assassins in a remote monastery (Issue 1 had The Ruins of Castle Cerreg, a classic discovery romp);
and a revised (from Issue 1) alternate character sheet for DW.
(As a side note, in a marketing gamble to attract new potential players, this Issue is also sporting stats for the Pathfinder RPG...)
While Issue 1 was free, Issue 2 is now $3.50US, which is not that much for 97 pages, especially considering the value of the rather lenghty adventure, a new class and the two good area descriptions. Besides, a lot of things on sale on RPGNow aren't that polished nor interesting/useful and sells for that or even more, so why not do it.
Of course, they will now have to deliver at least that standard every issue to keep players paying for it, which might be a challenge considering how fickle customers can sometimes be.
You can find the magazine here Ordo Draconis 2 - Ordo Draconis | DriveThruRPG.com
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]For further information about the Lands of Legend see [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Magnum Opus Press[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif] page or the [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif] DW Wiki here Gamesmasters' Resource - Home Page - Dragon Warriors Wiki (Roleplaying)
[/FONT]
Production values are high (especially the covers of both issues), but even if the ratio of art to text has improved from Issue 1, i find the computer-colored/textured locations maps to be strangely distracting from the overall B&W scheme of the usual DW products (although i do love Kristian Richards' ones
)Contentwise, there are a lot of things to please everyone :
- a new profession, the Thane, a celtic-inspired warrior (Issue 1 had the Friar, a wandering cleric of sorts);
- a description of a small area of Cornumbria, the Darbon Barony, with its points of interests (here i would have liked to have stats for the NPCs mentioned in the text, instead of just the new critters
) (Issue 1 described a bit of Ellesland, the County of Anglicia, along with a number of encounters taking places in Darbon actually);- a short story (although good, the 5 pages might have benefited from NPCs' stats, seeing the ezine isn't free anymore - more on that later);
- another area description, this time the Fief of Eastmarch, a hotbed of action, in the Coronach Marshes;
- a new beast, the Buggane;
- some adventure seeds/«random» encounters based on Cornumbrian «legends»;
- a continued (from Issue 1) retelling of a PBM campaign, Thuland (again, even if interesting, the stats of the PCs and NPCs involved would have added value to the story told);
- a review of the DW supplement «Friends or Foes» (personally, seeing that reviews nowadays are easily found on the net, i don't think it has its place in a paying fanzine. An interview with the author/artist (like the 20 questions with Dave Morris and James Wallis in issue 1) or additional content related to the supplement would have been preferable);
- an adventure for beginning characters, For Whom the Bells Tolls, pitting the PCs against assassins in a remote monastery (Issue 1 had The Ruins of Castle Cerreg, a classic discovery romp);
and a revised (from Issue 1) alternate character sheet for DW.
(As a side note, in a marketing gamble to attract new potential players, this Issue is also sporting stats for the Pathfinder RPG...
)While Issue 1 was free, Issue 2 is now $3.50US, which is not that much for 97 pages, especially considering the value of the rather lenghty adventure, a new class and the two good area descriptions. Besides, a lot of things on sale on RPGNow aren't that polished nor interesting/useful and sells for that or even more, so why not do it.
Of course, they will now have to deliver at least that standard every issue to keep players paying for it, which might be a challenge considering how fickle customers can sometimes be
.You can find the magazine here Ordo Draconis 2 - Ordo Draconis | DriveThruRPG.com
[FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]For further information about the Lands of Legend see [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif]Magnum Opus Press[/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif] page or the [/FONT][FONT=Tahoma, sans-serif] DW Wiki here Gamesmasters' Resource - Home Page - Dragon Warriors Wiki (Roleplaying)
[/FONT]
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