Previews for Dungeon 143 and Dragon 352

[MarkB]

and “The Andurian Job,” a low-level bank heist in the Eberron setting, rounds out the issue.

If this one doesn't end up in a lightning rail carriage teetering on the edge of a cliff and one of the players saying "Hold on, lads - I think I've got an idea", I'll be very disappointed.

 

[demiurge1138]

I've never seen a book by China Mieville, translated or otherwise, in our bookstores. What's Perdido Street Station all about?

It's about pure, undistilled awesome. The setting is New Crobuzon, a nightmare steam-and-sorcery Dickensian London populated by scientific thaumaturgists, a totalitarian government, and a seething rabble of slums and sewers. The homeless have built a god in the junkyard, trows lurk in the sewers, and criminals are grafted with mechanical and animal parts as half punishment, half art. Possibly the most wonderfully vivid and horrible setting of a fantasy book I've read in forever, and with a decided undercurrent of tribute to D&D (the main character in the novel hires a band of adventurers, described as "thugs who would do anything for gold and experience").

Any article that managed to cover the clockwork-and-alchemy magic system and the great, alien races (intelligent cactuses, a race where the males are mindless bugs and the females are beetle-headed humanoids that communicate by sign language and scent) would have to be a winner, by definition. The idea of guidelines for making Remade (the aforementioned sculpted criminals) alone make me drool a little. Definately an article designed for a certain style of game but full of promising things to steal all around.

Demiurge out.

 

[GQuail]

Ahh.. that is where you are wrong. Every issue from 351 and on will have FR and Eberron content.

Jason Bulmahn
Managing Editor of Dragon

Interesting: I play in neither, but I always groan when I preview of Dragon is followed by someone complaining that their favourite setting doesn't get a mention. It'll be nice to give them something to satiate them every month. ;-)

Is it going to be a short one/two pager, ala Class Acts?

Re the previews: The Andurian Job sounds brilliant, and I highly look forward to my players forgetting that they're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off. I'm not familiar with Perdido Street Station, but I know the Novel Approach for it was in the wings for ages (pretty muchw hen the revamped Dragon started) so I'm sure lots of people will breath a sigh of relief to see it finally hit print, and from the sounds of it it's a very complete conversion. Of course,if it eats up most of the issue it's going to run the risk of being a bit useless to those of us who haven't been counting the days till this conversion finally comes out...

 

[sckeener]

I've never seen a book by China Mieville, translated or otherwise, in our bookstores. What's Perdido Street Station all about?

Here's the wiki on China Mieville

And here's the wiki on Perdido Street Station. It was nominated for the 2002 Nebula Award for Best Novel and won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 2001.

 

[Jefe Bergenstein]

I've never seen a book by China Mieville, translated or otherwise, in our bookstores. What's Perdido Street Station all about?

It feels kind of like the Hive in Sigil, advanced about 100 years or so, and add a dash of 1984. Dark fantasy. The Styes kind of reminds me of it as well. I'm really looking forward to this.

 

[glass]

I've never seen a book by China Mieville, translated or otherwise, in our bookstores. What's Perdido Street Station all about?

Does the Venal Fortress even have book shops?


glass.

 

[eris404]

DRAGON MAGAZINE #352 JAN. 2007
This issue offers a massive feature on the world of author China Mieville’s “Perdido Street Station,” bringing the popular races, characters, and equipment of his Bas-Lag books to the Dungeons & Dragons game! Written by Wolfgang Baur, with extensive input from Mieville himself, the feature includes new information on Mieville’s world and maps of the city of New Crobuzon and its surroundings. The issue also includes “The Ecology of the Yrthak,” and several D&D-related articles.

JOY! JOY! JOY!

 

[James Jacobs]

Keep in mind that when we send out these anouncements to Previews, the contents are sometimes not completely set. I belive Dragon's content is pretty locked on, but we've had to reschedule some of the adventures in Dungeon already. It was either that, or cut about 19,000 words from one of the adventrues...

 

[Nightfall]

James,

Just as long as the high level Outer planes adventure remains, I'm all good with Dungeon 143.

 

[Razz]

I can tell Dragon #352 won't be to my liking at all. Not familiar with China Mieville and from the sound of it, it doesn't sound like the material will be adaptable to other campaigns. I hope the other articles besides the China Mieville more than make up for it.