Pathfinder 1E Paizo no longer publishing Dungeon and Dragon

[rowport]

...As too what ever WotC comes up with, I won't be part of it from either side. I have had a part in the Mind's Eye from the begining and have written the last few articles, but they are the last for me. I doubt it will continue in the new "online service" anyway, as it is written by gamers for gamers and that doesn't seem part of the new WotC.

Dark Psion-

While I completely understand and respect your decision, just know that I am as much a fan of your psionic articles as of Paizo's mags! So, that is a drag. Of course, since all those (currently free) articles are nearly certain to become the primary content for WOTC's "new" on-line presence, I would not be able to read them much longer anyway. :/ Meh.

Whatever... anyway, I am looking forward to playing a Kalashtar Nomad in a friend's Eberron campaign fairly soon, and your articles lent a lot to it. Thanks.

 

[rowport]

Another Thought

I had another thought about this, and while I realize it is idle speculation, I wonder now if Ryan Dancey's RPG industry predictions might not be coming true.

I thought the notion of a fully integrated electronic/PnP D&D was unrealistic at best. But, if WOTC's stated premise behind cancelling Dungeon and Dragon print magazines was because gamers gather RPG information on-line, then perhaps he was closer to the target than I would ever have believed. Is it not inconsistent to base your publishing around print products (i.e. hard cover books), and yet state publicly that, in effect, print is dead? :\

 

[Davelozzi]

I've only read 5 pages of this thread, and though I would love to keep going, I do have to get back to work.

That said, I did want to chime in to say that I think this is a huge mistake on WotC's part. Dragon and Dungeon are huge factors in keeping me interested in Dungeons & Dragons even during periods like now when life is too busy to be actively participating in regular games. There is no way I will devote my time and money to reading anywhere near this level of material online. Having to waste ink printing, then having a bunch of loose piles of paper -- no way. The convenience of a bound magazine that I can take with me and read on the train or wherever just does not compare to having access to similar sorts of content online.

I have the utmost respect for Paizo as a company and have transferred the balance of my subscription over to Pathfinder as I definitely feel like these guys deserve my support enough to give it a chance. Erik, James and all the crew at Paizo are class acts, and have done an astounding job with these magazines in the time that they have been at the helm.

That said, the concerns about less material for a much higher price do not go unnoticed, so only time will tell if I continue to subscribe over the long term. I understand the differences between book and magazine pricing, and the that there won't be ads, but I would still have greatly preferred it had they opted to continue the magazines in a similar format with OGL material instead of switching over to books. I love the adventure paths, but I will miss the variety of having three separate short adventures for differing levels each month. Shorter adventures work much better for my group, which has a hard enough time getting together even monthly, meaning a long adventure can take us 6-9 months to finish.

As others have said, this sad news hits me harder than I would've thought the cancellation of a magazine could do. Best of luck to everyone at Paizo, I truly hope that this end of an era also marks the beginning of a bright new one for them...and for us as fans.

 

[Humanaut]

Dag-nabbit!!! This bites. I've been collecting Dragon since #69, working backwards too... and i must say i'm sad.

 

[DonTadow]

In many ways the internet "fad" already has blown over. That's one of the things that makes this move so boneheaded.

I'm a web programmer by trade and a veteran of the dot-bomb era; it's not like I don't get that the internet is big and permeates a lot of society. But just like the laserjet didn't kill the printing industry, web-based content is not going to kill the magazine.

-The Gneech

Many believe that the web has already killed the print industry. There are 15 percent fewer publications in this year's writers almanac than last year, and 30 percent more web publications. From my own observation there are more pay web newspaper sites this year than there were last year. It may not become a complete kill, but it will get to the point where companies subsidize the few print publications left with their web based magazines.

I agree the "fad " of the internet is over, it is now a full functional part of our lives, not a fad. Techno gurus are searching daily for ways to integrate it more into our lives. You need only look at the next five years of technology and see phones, tvs, and portable computers that will relay to us the information we normally would get in a magazine.

 

[Tamarantha]

Questions

Hi all,

I haven't had a chance to catch up on the entire thread, has anyone from WotC been by to address our concerns? Does anyone have a direct contact e-mail address for them? One that I don't need an account with them to access?

I also wanted to thank Joshua from Paizo for stopping by. It shows an interest in the customers.

 

[zen_hydra]

R.I.P. Dungeon and Dragon

You will be remembered...

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Feel free to tell me when you renew the license,
David Temporado
diaglo "OD&D(1974) is the only true game. All the other editions are just poor imitations of the real thing"

Nice one David

 

[Kaladhan]

I don't know if it's going to happen, but I would like Enworld to do something about it. Enworld, as the biggest online gathering of DnD gamers, is probably one of the best place to start such thing.

I'm not saying boycott, but Enworld could:
1. Stop reporting news about Wizards on their front page.
2. Sell t-shirts saying "Wizards killed my hobby".
3. Organize a protest letters campaign directed for whoever took that stupid decision.

I don't want to accept this. I know Wizards is within their right to do this, but that still sucks. Dragons and Dungeons can easily co-exist with their online initiative.

 

[Krafus]

I am deeply saddened by the demise of Dragon and Dungeon, especially when things were going so well for both.

I am also bitter at Wizards' lack of online presence over this. In this thread and others I've seen people exchanging back and forth, sometimes heatedly, over what prompted this decision. Some who defend Wizards say that the complainers can't know what Wizards' execs were thinking - and they're right.

They're right, because unlike Paizo, no one from Wizards has deigned to come online and give us some real answers. Instead, all we have is a press release hanging from a wall of silence. So people are perfectly entitled to come up with their own answers for this decision. And if Wizards don't like accusations that they're deliberately shutting down popular magazines to force people to buy to their upcoming online products, well, it's up to them to come and give us answers.

Personally, I won't be switching to the online stuff. I have little confidence Wizards putting out even halfway decent material, never mind coming close to the quality Dragon and Dungeon were now displaying. I also enjoy holding a product in my hands, and so dislike PDFs. For those who say that PDFs can easily be printed, I point out that printing is an expense of time and further expense of money, and the ultimate result is a pile of sheets whereas I had a magazine with bound pages before.