Rant About Recent Dungeon Magazines

[Sholari]

As someone who has opted not to renew my subscription due to a lot of the recent changes, here is one possible alternative where I might still be willing to pay for adventures out of Dungeon. Perhaps three months after the publishing date make individual adventures available for purchase online along with the first couple pages of the adventure and maps to assess the quality of the adventure.

Otherwise, split the two magazines and have them suceed of fail on their own merit. If the "D&D adventure" part of Dungeon/Poly fails so be it. At least this failure will open up a larger market for module publishers, and I will not have to force-subsidize a bunch of minigame pet projects. Frankly, I've never believed the claim that Dungeon could not survive without Poly. Honestly, if Paizo has really done their research where is the data to prove it?

At the same time if mini-games are such a "hot" product category why aren't they flying off the shelves of the local retail store? Likely, what it really comes down to is the staff at Paizo are game designers at heart and personally like creative new game concepts. And frankly that's great... I just don't like to have to pay for it when it is of $0 value to me.

 

[Ketjak]

Quickly, cuz it's late

I subscribed to Dungeon just before the merger with Poly. Now, I consider myself a subscriber to Poly; I've never used much from Dungeon, but Poly shows me how to adapt the D20 system for things I'm working on, and it's rich with ideas to boot. The issue Dungeon dropped down to 1 adventure was the issue I realized it wasn't even worth the meager attention I was already giving it.

I am not happy with Paizo's decision to support more proprietary WotC lines in Poly - Star Wars, Wheel of Time (does anyone really play that? c'mon...), et al. I don't play those, and covering them is just another way to advertise those games. I like the variety we get from minigames, and the suggestion to carry adventures set in those games is a great one! (One cannot get enough of Omega World, and I look warily at White Wolf's version of Gamma World... it smells like "suck," but I can't be sure until the book is out.)

I don't buy Dragon; I'd look at it more if it were still trees. What a waste of life.

Finally, I was accidentally dropped from your subscriber lists for two issues (98 & 99. I've been trying to get those two issues since mid-April. I've gotten responses, and my sub picked up again with #100, but I have yet to see those issues. When my sub comes up in 6-8 issues (it's not clear whether I get my two extra issues for the monthly conversion on top of a two-issue extension I was given for the mix-up), I most likely will not re-subscribe.

Why? I'm not getting the minigames I was told I'd get when I subbed last year (six, one in each Poly, instead of four - maybe). I feel baited and switched. I'm not interested in more coverage of WotC products, especially LG, in Poly. Paizo originally said it'd support more of the D20 community when they split off; Poly/Dungeon is becoming more of a house organ than the magazine was just after it merged. Sad.

You've got two or three issues to keep me interested, Eric. Good luck.

- Ket

 

[Dinkeldog]

B) Subscriber only content is an insult to gaming stores. I have regularly bought every issue of Dungeon from my local gaming store since I moved near one, since in this way I could support both the store and the magazine....

Also, I will cancel my Dragon newsstand subscription if subscriber content ever appears. [/B]

Justinian, you could always suggest that the store get a subscription that they then put in a box for you to come pick up.

 

[Olive]

Personally, I would find it odd that an RPGA magazine wouldn't be the main arm of support for RPGA campaigns like Living Greyhawk as you suggest.

I don't think that Poly is the magazine of the RPGA anymore, and hasn't been since it joined with Dungeon.

 

[Ravellion]

Create mini-games that could be used in a D&D campaign. Some ideas that have not been covered yet by WoTC are low magic worlds or no magic worlds (maybe even a real medieval historical setting). Another idea instead of the mini-games is adventure locations! Put in an entire fully statted D&D city with buildings and NPCs described that suggest adventure ideas to DMs but do not actually contain any specific adventure.

That hypothetical issue has been sold to me!

In any case, I am happy to hear that Dungeon will soon be improved (or restored). You can expect me to renew my patronage whne this is done.

 

[WizarDru]

Hi, Erik.

Nice to see you again. Hope this whole thing isn't getting you down. Appreciate all the hard work, in case you were wondering.

Quickly: I disagree with Iron Chef on many points. I LOVE the mini-games and the innovation they represent. I like seeing the d20 system's limits pushed. I may never play Hijinx, but I enjoyed reading it, and seeing how I could apply the d20 system in ways I hadn't thought of. I like the comics. I enjoy the mix that both magazines have, and trust you to keep the quality up.

Put simply, I still consider all the magazines to be a good value, and was glad to renew my Dungeon subscription. I may not enjoy every issue equally...but I don't expect to, either. And as Iron Chef illustrates, the readership has a diverse opinion on what each person enjoys from issue to issue, anyhow.

If I were to request specific content, it would be adventures or follow up material for the Pulp Heroes game. While there have been some really good ones, this is probably my favorite.

In conclusion, Kudos. Keep up the good work.

 

[Erik Mona]

Dru,

Issue 102 is literally filled to the gills with Pulp Heroes stuff. If you like that game, I highly suggest you check it out.

Just to make something clear, I probably _won't_ be printing Wheel of Time stuff in the magazine.

Lastly, I've seen a couple posts to this thread with customer service issues (missing issues, etc.). We just hired a couple customer service reps, and you can sort out issues like this easily by dropping them a line at customer.service@paizo.com.

Thanks,

Erik

 

[Olive]

Issue 102 is literally filled to the gills with Pulp Heroes stuff. If you like that game, I highly suggest you check it out.

But does it have Living Greyhawk stuff?

 

[Breakdaddy]

Finally, a thoughtful "we screwed up" response from Paizo, but methinks it comes as too little, too late. The damage is done, and there is no way to make either the pro or anti-Poly crowd happy so long as they are in the same magazine. I dislike Poly intensely and feel that its inclusion in Dungeon has compromised not only the integrity of the magazine, but hamstrung the very reason I buy Dungeon beyond repair: the D&D adventures.

Sounds like you wont like the mag either way. I think threads like these are most useful when we contribute helpful information for improvement of the product. All I see here is someone who wont buy and will not add anything to improve the product. Just my .002

 

[ToddSchumacher]

Hello,

I work in a grocery store, and I was walking along the magazine section. I glanced down and saw a Dungeon (97, with the big beholder on the cover) and thought, "hey did a gamer drop his Dungeon here?" and as I went down to collect it for 'lost and found' when I realized there were more than one. "What the heck is Dungeon doing here? Its not a game store or a computer store...it's a grocery store!

Well anyway I wanted to share that little story, and wonder if its a sign of it popularity, or a sign of its attempt to gain a larger readership, or both. And I want to say I had just started a subscription and have been enjoying it immensly. I also enjoy the mini games as well.

By the by, I also run one of the games on the boards here using the new adveture path serise (In the sig below)