See DRAGON+ On Your Desktop PC

If you're unable to access the mobile version of DRAGON+ for whatever reason, there's good news at hand. It's possible to read each issue on your desktop PC. The three issues so far released are all available, and can be accessed via the links below. Of course, it's designed for mobile consumption, so it's best experienced via that medium. DRAGON+, for those who may have missed its launch this year, is a mobile news app for the D&D brand, including the tabletop RPG, video games, novels, and so on. Oh, and Issues 3 & 4 have free adventures in them. (thanks to darjr for the scoop)

Dragon+ is your official mobile source for all-things Dungeons & Dragons. This free app for iPhone or iPad has everything you want to know about D&D in one easy place. In addition to ongoing up-to-the minute news updates, every second month you’ll enjoy a new issue of Dragon+ showcasing what’s new in Dungeons & Dragons – from backstory and world information to discussions about what’s coming next with the creators and developers of your favorite D&D products.

Issue #2 -- the one about video games. [reviews] Issue #2 highlights the legacy of Dungeons & Dragons in the world of video games, including new details from n-Space on the world and heroes in the upcoming RPG Sword Coast Legends and pre-generated character sheets based on the companions players will recruit in the single player campaign. Readers can also get a preview of Spellstorm, a new novel from Ed Greenwood, the creator of the Forgotten Realms setting, as well as updates on the D&D Adventurers League, a short story set in Icewind Dale and Heroes of Hesiod, a tabletop adventure for kids.

Issue #3 -- the one about Rage of Demons. [reviews] The latest issue of Dragon+ is your guide to the Underdark, where demons are running amok. Learn the story of Rage of Demons from the creative staff at Wizards of the Coast. Discover how the tabletop roleplaying game, Sword Coast Legends, the Neverwinter MMORPG, novels, and more are coming together to tell one epic story. You'll get the inside scoop on Sword Coast Legends from design director Tim Schwalk and delve into the latest D&D novel, Archmage, featuring R.A. Salvatore's beloved cast of characters. Finally, catch up with what's happening in the Adventurers League community and get access to a FREE PDF adventure, Harried in Hillsfar, featuring the Rage of Demons storyline.

Issue #4 -- a miscellany and another free adventure. [reviews] The latest issue of Dragon+ delves deep into the new D&D video game, Sword Coast Legends. If you're a fan of the tabletop roleplaying game, though, there's plenty for you too: Find out the story and TRPG stats behind Belaphoss, a balor and the main villain of SCL, or learn about the duergar, which feature prominently in SCL and are a playable race option in the upcoming Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. We'll take you behind the scenes of Neverwinter's new Strongholds expansion. Or, if you want a bit of whimsy, check out The Thweem, a piece of short fiction by Adam Lee and Christopher Perkins, which features monster fan favorite flumphs. Finally, snag the FREE D&D Adventurer's League PDF adventure, Shackles of Blood, featuring the Rage of Demons storyline.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Gee, I don't know. Maybe so you could make your own judgment at no cost to yourself instead of taking the prevailing opinion in a highly unscientific survey as some kind of gospel truth?

Actually it's widely known, and a shared opinion across many boards, that Dragon+ is a horrible app and a joke to it's namesake. Just because something is free doesn't mean it shouldn't live up to certain standards, especially if you are claiming this is the protege of the previous Dragon mag. There are always people that like something no matter how awful it may be, but when the reviews across the board all share the same opinion then you have to realize that you might be in the minority when you like it.

There are some people who like the Daggerdale game and that got horrible reviews.

 

[amerigoV]

Gee, I don't know. Maybe so you could make your own judgment at no cost to yourself instead of taking the prevailing opinion in a highly unscientific survey as some kind of gospel truth?

If I cannot trust you guys here on the interwebs, who can it trust?!?

 

[delericho]

Actually it's widely known, and a shared opinion across many boards, that Dragon+ is a horrible app and a joke to it's namesake.

While that's true, the wisdom of crowds has been known to be wrong. And, indeed, the individual may find that in some cases his own tastes happen not to align with the mainstream. Meaning that even if the reviews universally pan it, it's still possible that a person might find something of value there.

So having Dragon+ available for viewing on a desktop is a net plus: at the very least, it does no harm; and it might prove to be of benefit to someone. (And, actually, that latter has already been achieved - I got a download of "Harried at Hillsfar" as a result of this change.)

 

[CapnZapp]

I find the argument "it's free so it can't be criticized" ludicrous and wrong.

Of course we can and should say if the app is worthless and horrible. That it is free is irrelevant.

 

[delericho]

I find the argument "it's free so it can't be criticized" ludicrous and wrong.

Fortunately, nobody in this thread has said that.

Of course we can and should say if the app is worthless and horrible. That it is free is irrelevant.

True.

But note that, in a fair review, value for money should be considered. And being free, Dragon+ only needs a very little value (such as, say, a couple of free adventures) to actually do quite well, on that metric at least.

 

[Mr. Flibble]

I find the argument "it's free so it can't be criticized" ludicrous and wrong.

Of course we can and should say if the app is worthless and horrible. That it is free is irrelevant.

I find this argument to be a straw man. No one said that, certainly not me. What I did say was that it's free, so there's no harm in judging [including criticizing] for yourself. And I stand by each and every word you didn't read.

 

[CapnZapp]

My post was not directed at you, Mr Fibble. It was a general statement, with which I hope you do not disagree.

 

[CapnZapp]

Fortunately, nobody in this thread has said that.

True.

But note that, in a fair review, value for money should be considered. And being free, Dragon+ only needs a very little value (such as, say, a couple of free adventures) to actually do quite well, on that metric at least.

Thank you for not misinterpreting my statement as a straw man argument against any particular poster.

You bring up the core issue:

I believe it would be disingenious to summarize a true evaluation of the app's reception as "do[ing] quite well" (again, not saying you said that).

Even for a free app, I find Dragon+ to fail at most counts. Technically. Contents-wise. Upholding the legacy of the name.

If Wizards wants to give us free adventures, that's great. It really doesn't help the app, though. Now that I can access the free adventure pdf link completely independently of the app or the Dragon+ web site, I can and will ditch that completely, never to look back.

And that, in my view, is a much more accurate evaluation of Dragon+: "now even more worthless". (Yes, if there was no way of accessing the good stuff without the bad, I would be forced to take the good stuff into account when I evaluate the overall app, and you would have something resembling a point. I still think the bad outweighs the good, even considering the app is free and the adventure is free. In short, they couldn't have invented a worse way of distributing free adventures than this app, which I don't consider to be particularly glowing praise. That they backtrack on this delivery method, allowing normal PDF downloads speaks volumes.)

Let's hope we can build up a link repository here at EN World, where we provide direct one-click links to the useful parts of the so-called Dragon+ initiative, so nobody needs to wade through the dreck to find and use them.

 

[delericho]

I believe it would be disingenious to summarize a true evaluation of the app's reception as "do[ing] quite well" (again, not saying you said that).

Agreed.

Even for a free app, I find Dragon+ to fail at most counts. Technically. Contents-wise. Upholding the legacy of the name.

And agreed on all counts.

Where I think we may differ, though, is that I see signs of improvement here - issue #1 was, as far as I can make out, completely without value, and #2 not much better. However, the inclusion of the adventure in #3 means that that issue wasn't in that same category (a step forward), while this addition of the ability to view in a browser is, for me, another step in the right direction.

There's still a long way to go, and I certainly wouldn't describe their efforts as "good". But I have at least stopped referring to it as Doppelganger+.

 

[Mr. Flibble]

My post was not directed at you, Mr Fibble. It was a general statement, with which I hope you do not disagree.

In fact, I do disagree, on each point. But that's not what's important to me at this moment. What's important to me at this moment is this: I. Have. Had. Enough.

I've been annoyed for quite some time with that segment of fan communities - maybe small, but definitely loud - that seems to find pleasure only in its own irrational, knee-jerk anger. Frankly, whether your comment was directed at me or everyone, it was a straw man, and pointlessly hostile. I can't take it any more.

From here on, at least here, I'll restrict my participation to reading the news items and skip the comments. I find this attitude to be mental poison, and I'll ingest no more. I'm making this statement only in hope that it might give someone something to contemplate, but to be honest, I don't believe that the people who need to do that are really the contemplating sort.

Have a day. I'd say a good one, but that doesn't seem to be on the table.