[Poly] What's happening to Polyhedron/Dungeon?

[Severion]

There are no wasted pages. I have only used one complete minigame and i have started running the adventure path. I don't get to game often enough to use much more than that but i'm keeping my subscription. the proposed changes look great, i liked the last set of changes (monthly, alternating poly heavy issues) and the change before that (the merger). i never bought an issue prior to that and am starting to regret that, bygones. keep up the good work amd i'm looking forward to the 'Falcon (he he)

 

[Mapmaker]

I mean, what more do you want from me, Mr. West?

Nothing at all. Or at least, nothing more than I stated previously: that people (in general) wait to see Polyhedron's content before judging it, and that they give Poly's editor a chance to settle into his new job and get his bearings as editor-in-chief of the whole magazine before assuming that Polyhedron's going to wither away under his leadership. He is, after all, the guy who pioneered the d20 mini-games in the first place.

The changes announced previously are naturally going to be disheartening to people who want to see more Polyhedron instead of less, but those changes are being made (in part, anyway) to ensure that there continues to be a Polyhedron for us to enjoy.

I think the best thing we as readers and fans can do to support more Polyhedron (after writing to the magazine and making our desires known, of course) is to deluge the magazine with so many outstanding article and mini-game submissions that the publisher has to increase the relevant page count just to get it all in the hands of the readers.

If you can prove that there's enough support for an independant Polyhedron in the form of reliable, competant, profilific mini-game/article authors, a stand-alone Poly becomes one step closer to viable.

When there's so much awesome content banging down their door to be printed that they can't fit all of the best stuff into the current format, it'll be one fair indicator that the purchasing market can likewise support it.

Maybe this is the case already (the materials they do print are top-notch), but I wouldn't be quick to assume that Erik is swimming in great mini-game manuscripts.

 

[pogre]

My 3 year subscription ends next month and I would like to re-up, but...


Please do not take this the wrong way I like Dungeon...


I fear it won't be around long enough and I will be out my $.

It's one of those things that is a no-win situation for the magazine, I understand that. However, the fairly frequent changing of the magazine concerns me. I have stated previously and will reiterate - I like the new direction. But I do fear it is driven by a loss in numbers, and sooner or later continued losses in numbers...

This has happened to me with two other gaming magazines. One of which was supported by an entire miniatures line - Old Glory.

I will keep up at the newstand - I promise. I'm sorry to be such a chicken little, but I thought the Paizo people would like to know the real reason I and a friend of mine are not resubbing. We're not critical - just wary.

 

[boschdevil]

Here's a brief list of what's changing. For reasons behind the changes, check out the last six months of letter columns and posts to this site, essentially.

1. Four Mini-Games per year. This allows us the opportunity to spend more pages supporting previously published Mini-Games as well as other stuff like Star Wars, the RPGA, d20 Modern, etc.

That cool. I'm one of the ones that doesn't read the Poly side that much, but I'm sure he ones that do will appreciate it.

2. Poly now in back. The "flipped" format caused more trouble than it was worth. Trust me on this one. The Poly cover will still appear in the interior of the magazine, and all pages will face the right side up.

I think this is an excellent idea. No more weird looks from people thinking you're reading the magazine upside down.

3. I'm killing the subscriber section. You heard it here first. Many, many, many readers complained that this section unfairly harmed retailers, and the idea seemed to annoy more people than it pleased. Again, this simplifies things. Determining what's in this month's Dungeon shouldn't be a math problem.

Honestly, I'm not sure what you mean by this one.

4. More than 2 adventures per issue. This won't always be possible on Mini-Game months or in months with an Adventure Path adventure (which happen to be long). We'll never do another issue with just one adventure.

Thank you. And if I may say, add more Cauldron adventures.

5. The Dungeon/Poly split will no longer be absolute, and instead will depend upon the material we've got on hand. With the rare exception of a Mini-Game that simply won't work in less than 40 pages, the Dungeon side will always be larger than the Poly side. That's not to say the Poly side is going to shrink to oblivion--we're just going to keep it smaller than the other side of the magazine.

Since I like Dungeon, I guess I'll like this.

6. New Associate Editor. We've hired James Jacobs (Flood Season) as our new associate editor to help with submissions and rules. The two of us (with Art Director Sean Glenn) are now in charge of the whole shebang, and all of us are working on all the magazine, instead of splitting editorial duties in half.

Good luck in your new positions.

7. I'm strongly considering making the format of David Noonan's "Zenith Trajectory" (102) the official format for all Dungeon adventures. It's certainly going to be the standard for the Adventure Path.

Love the new format. Keep it up.

By the way, I just want to thank you and Chris for signing my Players Handbook at Gencon.

 

[boschdevil]

My 3 year subscription ends next month and I would like to re-up, but...


Please do not take this the wrong way I like Dungeon...


I fear it won't be around long enough and I will be out my $.

It's one of those things that is a no-win situation for the magazine, I understand that. However, the fairly frequent changing of the magazine concerns me. I have stated previously and will reiterate - I like the new direction. But I do fear it is driven by a loss in numbers, and sooner or later continued losses in numbers...

This has happened to me with two other gaming magazines. One of which was supported by an entire miniatures line - Old Glory.

I will keep up at the newstand - I promise. I'm sorry to be such a chicken little, but I thought the Paizo people would like to know the real reason I and a friend of mine are not resubbing. We're not critical - just wary.

I really ask thi in earnest - why do you think Dungeon will be around in 3 years? Is there some sort of financial situation that Paizo is presently under?

If not, I'd go for the subscription. If you want with the 3 year subscription, you'd be making out with free issues a little after a year and a half if you compare it with buying the magazine on the rack. (I'm talking about the US price - I don't know about other areas. Please forgive me if you aren't in this condition.)

 

[Kwyn]

I'm very happy to see this change. I was a Dungeon subscriber for many years and more adventures means I will buy more issues. If there is a shift toward more D&D adventure content, I'm certain I'll subscribe once again.

There's no way to completely please either faction on this point. I think if both magazines were in trouble, we should all be glad that they are able to survive by leaning on each other. Certainly we can all speak with our pocketbooks and there is little doubt that is exactly why more Dungeon content is coming.

I'm glad I found this thread!

 

[pogre]

I really ask thi in earnest - why do you think Dungeon will be around in 3 years? Is there some sort of financial situation that Paizo is presently under?

If not, I'd go for the subscription. If you want with the 3 year subscription, you'd be making out with free issues a little after a year and a half if you compare it with buying the magazine on the rack. (I'm talking about the US price - I don't know about other areas. Please forgive me if you aren't in this condition.)

I don't understand what you are asking me - is it: Do I suspect that Dungeon is in financial trouble?

If that is your question, the answer is I do not know. I do know the magazines I subscribed to that disappeared did not refund any of my money - even after numerous written requests.

You do make a good point though, If they go under in 20 months I am still ahead. Worthy of consideration.

 

[Ranger REG]

I think this point has been made enough times now: neither audience was enough to maintain either magazine. Picking one core audience will kill both magazines.

Guess what. I already knew that a long, long time ago. And up until now, I supported the combo magazine despite the shrinking Poly space. But now, I'd rather they go back to full-on Dungeon.

That way, they will lose the new readers and subscribers who bought Dungeon for Poly (like me), and in less than two years, Paizo will have to cancel the circulation due to loss of revenue and debts incurred to maintain that magazine.

I know the above prophecy sounds brutally harsh and very ominous, but this is how I feel inside when I'm demoralized at this moment.

Sighs. We'll see if the new format is going to be better for us Poly readers, quality-wise. And if you wish to appease us as you have appease the Dungeon readers, I want better written and edited material on our Poly side than on theirs. They can have the quantity, so I want the quality. I know this will anger the Dungeon camp, and frankly I do not care. They've pushed me into a corner, so I'm going postal.

 

[Ranger REG]

There's no way to completely please either faction on this point.

No, but you Dungeon guys will have more satisfaction than we Poly readers have due to the recent decision.

And for that, I have no sympathy.

 

[Ranger REG]

The changes announced previously are naturally going to be disheartening to people who want to see more Polyhedron instead of less, but those changes are being made (in part, anyway) to ensure that there continues to be a Polyhedron for us to enjoy.

But at what price? As I said before, the cheap SOB inside me keep telling me that I'm not paying for $7 worth of material every month.

You want to appease Poly readers? I think we deserve some form of entitlement since the recent decision favored the Dungeon readers. (OBTW, "disheartening" is an understatement when it comes to me personally.) Two words: Web Enhancement. If you provide additional supplementary material that you had to cut out in order to fit the rest of the material in the shrinking space devoted for Poly content, and then post them as web enhancements for everyone to download, then maybe, just maybe, the $7 is worth paying. In fact, since the decision is to have only 4 mini-games per year, web enhancements would go a long way during the interval period, and you can devote the rest of the pages toward supporting non-D&D games.

I wholeheartedly believe we Poly readers, as well as other d20 gamers, deserve that much if you want us to accept the shrinking space. You give me that humble incentive, and you have this soldier fight for Poly ... with bloodlust (um, yeahhh, figuratively speaking. riiiight).