Rant About Recent Dungeon Magazines

[Erik Mona]

A few comments.

We're cutting Mini-Games to four per year. This allows us to focus on making them as close to perfect as possible and allows us the space to cover other topics such as LG, Star Wars, d20 Modern, CoC, etc. A lot of this content will be dictated by the number of high-quality submissions I get, but I have high hopes. Issue 103, which we're working on now, has all kinds of stuff in it and is a good model for the direction I want to take the magazine (it's not there yet, but it's getting there).

I'm working on the subscriber section.

--Erik

 

[Krug]

Poly is consistently awful. Aside from a few interesting bits, such as Pulp Heroes (which I liked but will most likely never play), Poly gives me absolutely zero useful content most issues, and none of it (even the useful bits) is OGC. Poly is killing Dungeon faster than a marilith wielding six vorpal blades, IMO. Axe it. Axe it now, and let it die. If that kills Dungeon, too, so be it. The magazine is not worth saving at this point. However well-intentioned, Paizo has done more to kill the magazine than WoTC ever did... WoTC would have simply killed it, but Paizo is dragging it out, letting it die a messy death and generating mountains of bad memories instead. Better Dungeon had gone gracefully than this...

Oh PUHLEAZE. Would you quit whining like a 2-year old brat? If you hate it, just don't buy the magazine. Then it won't exist in your radar. Yes, I have problems with the current Dungeon, but at least they're working it out, and I AM glad that it's around.

 

[Iron_Chef]

I'm working on the subscriber section.

--Erik

Does this mean you are looking at a way not to aliennate non-subscribers with subscriber-only content? Why not just post all "bonus" content on the Paizo website, accessible to anyone, or (more annoyingly, but to preserve sdome smblance of "exclusivity"), with a code published in the issue so only people who bought on the newsstand or subscribed can access it?

 

[Iron_Chef]

double post

 

[Simplicity]

Here we go...YET AGAIN.

You're about a week off from this discussion...and about a month of from the first.

I'm probably responsible for half of those posts. If it's a topic I feel strongly about, then I'm going to post until I see some resolution that I'm happy with... Having said that...

 

[Simplicity]

I went on about this at some length in another post, but here's the short answer: Message received.

This makes me happy. More adventures per Dungeon is a good thing.

It's not entirely a matter of how the magazine is broken up though. 3 adventures in 20 pages is better than 1 adventure in 20 pages, but not by alot. I'm hoping for a page increase in the Dungeon side of things. If reducing the footprint of Polyhedron is not an option, then here's an idea: Put the letters to the editor online instead of in the magazine. There's a good 20 pages of intro stuff at the beginning of every dungeon. Can't it be reduced at all?

The subscriber section makes me angry too... I hate to begrudge Dungeon it, if they feel it makes them money. But I do think
it probably hurts Dungeon to not have the additional content on the shelves or at least available to those who purchase it off the shelves. Why would I subscribe if I don't like the adventures? What is the chance I'm going to find an adventure I like if there's fewer adventures in the magazine?

 

[SneakyB]

I went on about this at some length in another post, but here's the short answer: Message received.
...

If you have other suggestions, I'm all ears.

--Erik Mona

Erik,

As one of the people who was critical of the direction Dungeon had taken, please let me say "Thanks" for at least deigning to come on these boards and let us know that A) you're listening and B) you're going to do something about it.

I look forward to a change in direction for this magazine, and I think you know where many of your readers now stand.

Thanks,

Dan

 

[Tazawa]

Could we have the maps back online too?

I'll pipe in with my two cents now that it appears we've got the editor's ear.

I started buying Dungeon when the Adventure Path started with Life's Bazaar. I been considering subscribing recently, but I need just a little bit more to convince me. One thing I found amazingly usfull when I ran Life's Bazaar was the electronic versions of the maps and handouts that Paizo posted on its site.

When WoTC owned Dungeon I remember that they posted electronic versions of all of the maps for all of the adventures.

If Paizo started this up again, it might just make me a subscriber...

 

[LostWorldsMike]

Personally, I never picked up an issue of Dungeon until they started including the mini-games on the Polyhedron side. As it stands right now, I'll only buy a copy of the magazine if it has a mini-game I'm interested in.

Iron Lords of Jupiter, Shadow of the Spider Moon, Omega World are - to me - cooler than all the adventures/modules that have been in Dungeon over the same time span.

Now, I'm not saying they should change the magazine in any way, shape, or form to make me happy (or happier). They publish whatever they wanna publish, and I pick it up when it looks interesting to me.

For whatever that's worth.

 

[d20Dwarf]

Issue 103, which we're working on now, has all kinds of stuff in it and is a good model for the direction I want to take the magazine (it's not there yet, but it's getting there).

--Erik

I'm not saying it's related D *TING!*) but that's the issue my module's in.

I'd like to second the call for some d20 Modern adventures in the Polyhedron side, or even adventures to support the mini-games. I'm not sure if that's part of the new plan, but I'd sure like to see some Modern scenarios.

EDIT: Oh, and I also liked the earlier poster's suggestion about more *flavorful* modules. The gladiator module was probably my favorite one in years, and Rana Mor is another good example. I suppose I should shut up and submit some, but the 2 1/2 year turnaround time on my last one kinda made me gunshy.

FINAL EDIT!: I actually came on to the thread to defend the magazine, even though I'm not a huge fan of Polyhedron and I definitely like more than one module per mag. Even so, take #101, it's still a 40-page full color module for $6.99, even if you discount the mini-game, and other content.