Rate 4e Dragon Magazine

[El Mahdi]

Maybe this will interest you

Originally Posted by DDI Insider Information
3.The basic pattern behind our schedule works like this: Monday and Friday are Dragon days while Wednesday is usually a Dungeon day. On each of those days there will be precisely one new thing published behind the subscription firewall. On most days it will be a feature article. At the end of the month it will be a full-issue compilation. Note that editorials and columns without game rules content (like Ampersand or Confessions of a Full-Time Wizard) will be appearing on the free side of the website and thus will not count toward your daily dose of Dragon or Dungeon. (They will still be included in the full-issue roll-ups.)

4.The free side of the website will also have at least one new piece of content on each of Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

So there will still be material. Whether its nature will interest you, I can't guess yet. It seems obvious that most of the "good" parts will require a subscription. Not really different from a "real" magazine, of course.

I hadn't seen that before (about some articles remaining free content). That's awesome. (Thanks Mustrum!) I guess I'll have at least an occasional reason to check out WoTC's site. I know a lot of people don't like Shelly Mazanobles column (probably mostly guys) but I actually find it quite entertaining. Also, even though my wife plays D&D, she could really care less about gaming sites (WoTC and even ENWorld), however, she really digs Shelley's column. I do like how WoTC has been trying to expand the groups of people in their fan base. As gaming grows up, and there's more and more "mature" gamers that realise the supposed stereotype of gamers is an absolute myth, hopefully we'll see more of this.


P.S.: Now that Shelley wrote, in her last column, that she has gotten over her fear of gaming with strangers, she should start trying out some boards (like ENWorld). I think she'd have a very interesting and unique approach to gaming. It'd be good to expand the stereotype envelope even more.

 

[Zaukrie]

It could be better. There is too much excess ink required for me to print at this point. I'd really like (even a tiny one) a nugget for each class (or at least multiple classes) each month.

Some of the articles lack depth, but overall, I'm very pleased with Dragon. It has inspired some ideas, and has provided good crunch. I will be subscribing (though I give Dungeon only 2 stars, and that could be generous).

I'd like Dragon to:
be more printer friendly
have hyperlinks to other articles or content - this is the web, right?
have more small articles like the old class acts
make things more than they are, the feywild article could have been about any place, there was nothing cool/unique about it. What made that feywildish?

 

[TerraDave]

Classic Dragon (early 80s)>Best of Paizo Dungeon>4E Dragon>Paizo Dragon (and much Dungeon)=WotC Dragon>4E Dungeon>TSR Dungeon>Craptasic Dragon (much of late 80s and 90s, though there are exceptions).


Just to be clear: thats high praise!

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Not a fan. 2.

 

[MerricB]

Classic Dragon (early 80s)>Best of Paizo Dungeon>4E Dragon>Paizo Dragon (and much Dungeon)=WotC Dragon>4E Dungeon>TSR Dungeon>Craptasic Dragon (much of late 80s and 90s, though there are exceptions).


Just to be clear: thats high praise!

It is. I feel pretty similar to your ratings.

Cheers!

 

[Ktulu]

I had a subscription to Dragon beginning the year after 3e was released up through a year into 3.5. In that time, I may have used 4 or 5 things. They got read and were enjoyed, but there wasn't much actual useful content for my games. In the end, they took up a ton of space and I sold the lot of them for about $10.

I have already used the new kobolds, some magic items, Mithrendain, consider using the adventure around mithrendain, the artificer, the expanded rituals, and the expanded starlock article...

I have used more out of these four magazines than I did in an entire 5 year subscription to the print magazine...and my shelf still has room for books!

It gets a 5 from me.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I gave it two stars. I like a physical product rather than pdf, and I can't stand the 'tease you with the contents, which dribbles out randomly over a month.

Some of the articles have been pretty good, but unless it actually came out all in one go once a month I'd never consider it.

 

[Mouseferatu]

unless it actually came out all in one go once a month I'd never consider it.

You do know that it does, right? At the end of each month, they put out a single issue that compiles all that month's articles.

 

[Shroomy]

I gave it two stars. I like a physical product rather than pdf, and I can't stand the 'tease you with the contents, which dribbles out randomly over a month.

Some of the articles have been pretty good, but unless it actually came out all in one go once a month I'd never consider it.

As Ari pointed out, it does come out at the end of the month in a compiled issue, but then, I don't think I could or would want to read an entire 80+ page pdf file all at once. I like digesting it in discrete chunks.

 

[Ahwe Yahzhe]

5 for Dragon (haven't used anything from Dungeon yet, but we're not rating that here.) I've already used Kobolds, FR conversion and Sidetreks for H1, Starlocks, and Cormyr (luckily, since the FRCG and FRPG were so craptastic.) More detailed region maps like that, please!

Minus 2 for not being available in print. I love the .pdfs, and am fortunate that I can subsidize my gaming habit with the company's color laser printer ink, but it's a little inconvenient as I don't crack open my laptop everywhere I go.

But I agree that Dragon content quality has improved from the past few years, with good bestiary and class act stuff, mostly good art and layout, and essential Realmslore. (Only 12 of these a year? With no more books on the way and the FRCG being half generic and half white space, this is not enough.) I did like the Adventure Path related articles that Paizo used to have. Still, with the entire Forgotten Realms (and Eberron) to flesh out useful updates for, as well as countless character classes/paths to reconstruct, Dragon is going to be really strapped for space.

Still deciding whether to shell out my $60 for a one-year digital-only subscription.

-AY