Pathfinder 1E Paizo no longer publishing Dungeon and Dragon

[Nyeshet]

Didn't WotC recently start a pay-for section on their website, or something like that? I seem to recall them having a poll some time ago regarding whether anyone would pay a regular fee for access to a section of the website having more content, etc. Perhaps this is the reason they've chosen to end Dungeon and Dragon.

And it is definitely WotC that is choosing to end it. As with 3rd party Ravenloft, they chose not to grant the option of a renewal, and thus the company involved had to end its publication (in the former case Ravenloft, in this case a couple magazines that have become classic sources of information for D&D).

Last time WotC forced the cancellation of an entire setting so that they could, some months later, release a Ravenloft Expedition book of their own that didn't need to be compatible with the published 3e version of the setting.

This time it seems that perhaps they feel their online option will have more people buying into it if it does not have the competition of two popular magazines: Dungeon and Dragon.

I'm guessing that the creation of Pathfinder is Paizo's way of coping with this loss, keeping up a magazine business despite the sudden and likely surprising (at the time they were informed of it) loss of the two magazines they have been publishing for years.


As another before has stated, I cannot really see WotC's online attempt ever being half as interesting, as useful, as well written, etc as either Dungeon or Dragon are / were. I expect it will, if not fail, at least not receive the sudden increase in subscriptions that WotC is obviously hoping will occur with the end of Dungeon and Dragon. The saddest thing is that even if their online attempt petters out, I doubt they would then allow Paizo to again print Dungeon and Dragon. They are destroying a couple classics on a gamble, a hope that they can gather a few new subscribers of their own by removing the competition.


I honestly hope Pathfinder does as well as its parents, Dungeon and Dragon. It deserves to do so well - if only as a fitting legacy of its predecessors.

 

[Nightfall]

Sig,

Nah it's more like "They'll get a Raspberry Award" for this.

Nye,

Something like that yeah. I just think it's a New Coke strategy myself.

 

[Evilhalfling]

My first reaction post -
I feel saddened and upset, Dragon may have been my first gaming experiance, reading an older friends collection that was somewhere in the #60's. I got my subscription starting with 91#
then was given 73-93 by my brother-in-law. After many years I changed to an occasional buyer, and have only 12 issues of 3rd edition. (many for the demonomion) I have bought about a dozen Dungeon issues since in the last 4 years - never quite enough to justify a subscription.

I will miss both magazines, reading through friends copies, buying only the few that would see real use at my table, and as an impulse buy if I was forced to go a few weeks without a game.

I never ran an adventure path, but had recently modified 2 episodes from savage tide to use, and was really looking forward to running them. Then my silly players decided not to wait for the boat. Off we went in another direction.

I think this is a terrible idea and it looks like WotC has lost a lot of good will from this, even if this last page has given some financial reasons for this decision (ie trying to sell adventures)

These Magazines, and the hype, the art and the extra details were some of my major spurs to buying products - Spelljammer, Darksun, Expanded Psionics and more recently Hordes of the Abyss, were all purchases that were driven by the details that I saw featured in Dragon.
(of course the previews also made me avoid all things Eberron)
ahh fudge it Im going to bed.

 

[catsclaw227]

This just makes me ill. I almost feel like they just drowned my baby in their bathtub. Two of them.

Comments like this really tick me off. Please try to be sensitive to those that may have ACTUALLY lost a child to a tragedy. Not having a print magazine is WORLDS different.

Reading through all of this so far (like 9 pages) makes me wonder a few things:

1. I dig Paizo and their line of products. I opted for Pathfinder.
2. People, in general, are quick to judge.

I will bet that most of the posters here will go to Wizards site and sign up for the free trial of whatever online initiative they put together and probably find that it is something that they can use.

The claims of not liking online content, coming from people with 5000+ posts seems a bit ingenuous.

Call me an optimist, I think that everyone can benefit from this whole thing, eventually.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

I haven't read through this thread completely yet as it keeps getting longer after every page I read. Considering it was only started in the last 24 hours, the size of it is quite impressive. It shows that a lot of people must care strongly about this.

Olaf the Stout

 

[freyar]

I am up way too late, but I just had to get to the end of this thread...

I've only just discovered Dungeon and Dragon in the last 6 months --- really because of reading about them on ENWorld --- but I already feel some sense of loss. When my Dungeon subscription ran late in the mail last month, I had a sense of anticipation every day when I checked the mailbox. Well, I guess not past September (yeah, I know it mails in late July, but I probably won't get the last issue until then). Oh well...

Best of luck to the people at Paizo. Haven't decided yet on Pathfinder vs back issues, but though I didn't think I wanted a new AP right away Pathfinder looks good so far.

 

[Nightfall]

Cat,

It won't be me. I'll wait to hear from others. You are also right, losing a kid isn't as serious as this. I just more equate this to having a friend run off with out telling you, then sending you a letter saying "Oh I poisoned your tea." Kind of deal/betrayal.

Evil,

Yeah well it's probably the one reason to make sense.

 

[Agamon]

Comments like this really tick me off. Please try to be sensitive to those that may have ACTUALLY lost a child to a tragedy. Not having a print magazine is WORLDS different.

Reading through all of this so far (like 9 pages) makes me wonder a few things:

1. I dig Paizo and their line of products. I opted for Pathfinder.
2. People, in general, are quick to judge.

I will bet that most of the posters here will go to Wizards site and sign up for the free trial of whatever online initiative they put together and probably find that it is something that they can use.

The claims of not liking online content, coming from people with 5000+ posts seems a bit ingenuous.

Call me an optimist, I think that everyone can benefit from this whole thing, eventually.

Not liking Wizards electronic forays, not online content in general. I'm about to start a Fantasy Grounds game (using the 2.0 software) with the War of the Burning Sky AP PDFs. If I were to start a 2nd FG game, the Pathfinder PDFs would be very useful, too. But buy Wizards 'online content', whatever that is? No thanks. I can only speak for myself, though. But I think Wizards just shot themselves in the foot.

 

[Gentlegamer]

They killed Dragon! Not even the Blumes could do that!

 

[Nyeshet]

I have to admit one thing, though. At least Wizards let Paizo take their mag brands and keep them going. Paizo was the Dragon/Dungeon company at first, but their success with that let them branch out and expand to the point where they should be fairly successful without them. Thus we get our Pathfinder and Gamemastery stuff.

But then, that praise is for a WotC of long ago. The current WotC can rot in hell.

That brings up an interesting point - after about five (?) years, just how much of the "old WotC" is actually left? Has turnover replaced (just about) everyone, or do a few still exist? And are their positions the same, or have they significantly altered (from design to admin, for example, or vice versa)? I know that many that once worked there work there no longer, but has the population there really changed so completely as all that?