Survey - EN World Player's Journal?

[RangerWickett]

Hello ENWorld community. I'm the submissions editor for the EN World Player's Journal, and I'd like your help to make the magazine successfully provide the type of material you want.

I'm interested to find out how much people here on the boards know about the magazine, and what their opinions of it are. Logistics like distribution are not my purview, so I'm more concerned with your thoughts about the content and quality of the magazine.

So far we've released two issues, with the third one on its way soon. If you're willing to take a quick moment of your time to reply and answer four quick questions, it will help me

1. Do you mostly play or GM?

2. Have you read or bought any of the issues of ENMag? If so, what articles did you like most? Did they appeal to you more as a player or as a GM?

3. If you have not read any issues of ENMag, or if you have not yet been particularly interested in any of the articles, what sorts of articles would you be interested in?

4. If you're mostly a GM, have your players shown an interest in the magazine? What have their reactions been, and could you please ask them to swing by and answer the survey too?

And of course, feel free to add any other comments you might have. We're trying to make this a community magazine, to suit the tastes of current ENWorlders, and to encourage those who haven't heard of the site to come here and enjoy. Your opinions are much appreciated.

 

[arwink]

1. I spend about 60% of my game time DMing, the rest playing.

2. I have issue one, and I've taken the breifest of glances at someone elses copy of issue two.

For me, the high points of the first issue were the Green Ronin adventure, The Two of Blades, and Disgusting little Buggers (and the Complete Adventurers Guide to Surviving Nearly Everything, but I'm one of the names on the authors line so we'll pretend I didn't mention it). I liked Eric Noah's editorial, and I was slightly dissapointed when I didn't see one in the second issue. Not that i necessarily want to hear from Eric every issue, but it's nice to hear from the people putting the magazine togther.

Art was generally good, and even in the articles I don't plan on using I'm at least planning on nabbing the illustrations.

The Traders Den was intersting, and I'm sure I'll use it sooner or later.

The only thing that really stood out for me in the second issue was an article on adventurers hideaways, but again that was after a breif flick through. Given my attention span, I consider the fact that anything grabbed my attention a good sign

The Primary appeal of the magazine, for me, would be as a DM rather than a player. Magazines traditionally present new options and ideas, and I like being able to veto them myself rather than negotiate with someone else.

3. I'm probably one of those weird people who enjoys having a host more
magic items, weapons, Prestige Classes, monsters, feats and other options, the more the merrier.

4. One of my players has subscribed, and the others don't really have the interest in gaming that would lead them to reading a gaming magazine.

 

[Plane Sailing]

1. I Gm and play about 50/50. In my heart I'm a GM more than a player.

2. ENMag has been completely off my radar... I've got no idea what is in it or anything (sorry ). I guess it would be a good idea to find out something about it...

3. I would find value in some good quality game scenarios/"dungeons". The kind of thing that you used to get a lot of in Dungeon prior to its merger with polyhedron I don't necessarily mean to the level of detail which duplicates polyhedron - but some of the IronDM matches I've seen have produced short innovative adventures which it would be possible to fit into a campaign, and a fuller write-up of some of them might be useful to me.

4. No, I don't think so. They don't spend much if anything on games magazines or anything outside core rule books.

Cheers

 

[diaglo]

1. Do you mostly play or GM?

currently play.

read or bought any of the issues of ENMag? If so, what articles did you like most? Did they appeal to you more as a player or as a GM?

both. variety is the spice of life. GM, but still helpful as a player.

i even brought back a free copy for my GM from Gen Con.

 

[Ashy]

Re: Re: Survey - EN World Player's Journal?

The only thing that really stood out for me in the second issue was an article on adventurers hideaways, but again that was after a breif flick through. Given my attention span, I consider the fact that anything grabbed my attention a good sign

I'll take my compliments where I can get them! It's worth a gander, IMHO....


Onto the questions!

1. 90% DM, 10% player.
2. I have both, via a subscription. I've enjoyed both issues, but honestly, the thing that I've enjoyed the most is flipping through them and seeing my pals' (both artists and authors) hard work in print! (I know that helps you zero, RW, so I use them mostly as a DM...)
3. N/A
4. Yes, they have - they've had positive reactions about it, actually, thinking that it was pretty cool. I'll try and gode them until they come by...

 

[Gnarlo]

1. I GM almost exclusively these days.

2. I have a subscription and have the first two issues. I'm embarrassed to say, that I've not done much more than quickly glance through Issue 2 (Writes down "read 2" on to do list). Was quite happy with #1, I've used the little buggers and alchemy fix articles the most (got a Ranger player who really loves alchemy, and I am currently splicing together the ENjournal, D&D 3.5, and Bastion systems for him).

I like the mag in general for no other reason than the nostalgia factor of it reminds me so much of Dragon back in my "golden era" of the 50-90's issues

3. n/a

4. They've briefly glanced at it, but they are almost casual players, if it's not directly related to the character they are playing currently, they aren't interested

 

[Mathew_Freeman]

1. Do you mostly play or GM?

Play in two campaigns, GMing a Pbp.

2. Have you read or bought any of the issues of ENMag? If so, what articles did you like most? Did they appeal to you more as a player or as a GM?

Have seen both issues, flicked through them and enjoyed them both. I'm incredibly bad at actually taking anything from the stuff I buy/read, so I'd say they appealed more as a player.

3. If you have not read any issues of ENMag, or if you have not yet been particularly interested in any of the articles, what sorts of articles would you be interested in?

I like little detailed things, like a generic inn, but only when they're fully fleshed out. EG the bits of the Realms we got in Dragon were no good, because they still required lots of work to add to a campaign. But something similar including 3.5e stats fro the NPC's would be nice.

4. If you're mostly a GM, have your players shown an interest in the magazine? What have their reactions been, and could you please ask them to swing by and answer the survey too?

I'm mostly a player.

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

1. Do you mostly play or GM?

Mostly play, but that doesn't stop me from reading lots of DM oriented books. Someday, I will run a game again. Soon, hopefully.

2. Have you read or bought any of the issues of ENMag? If so, what articles did you like most? Did they appeal to you more as a player or as a GM?

I have both issues, and a subscription. I'm very impressed with the magazine, hence the afformentioned subscription. I think the articles appealed to me more for my GM ideas, but I also appreciate it as a player.

3. If you have not read any issues of ENMag, or if you have not yet been particularly interested in any of the articles, what sorts of articles would you be interested in?

N/A

4. If you're mostly a GM, have your players shown an interest in the magazine? What have their reactions been, and could you please ask them to swing by and answer the survey too?

I've shown the mag to other players in my group, but don't know their reactions. They looked at it, but most of them tend to stick with core books and a few others, not looking as much at outside sources for ideas.

 

[Wombat]

1. Do you mostly play or GM?

I got the nickname "The Ref" back even prior to D&D -- yep, GM about 90% of the time.

2. Have you read or bought any of the issues of ENMag? If so, what articles did you like most? Did they appeal to you more as a player or as a GM?

Nope. Hadn't even heard of it.

3. If you have not read any issues of ENMag, or if you have not yet been particularly interested in any of the articles, what sorts of articles would you be interested in?

Generic articles, meaning nothing tied to a specific campaign setting, because I always do homebrew games. Information about FG, Grayhawk, even Diamond Throne would be thoroughly lost on me. I enjoy new takes on magic (systems & spells, not items).

4. If you're mostly a GM, have your players shown an interest in the magazine? What have their reactions been, and could you please ask them to swing by and answer the survey too?

As far as I can tell, none of them have heard of it either. Then again, only 2 out of 6 of us are even on-line.

 

[Utrecht]

1) I DM one campaign and play in another

2) I bought both issues from my FLGS (Attactix - in Aurora, CO). The articles that I like the most were the Adventurer's Guide to surviving anything, Ambience effects and the alchemey rules. They appealed to me more as a DM. In fact I would say that the whole feel seems more DMish.

Additionally, I fealt that the first issue was far better than the second - the second was OK - but not great. The first is probably one of the best RP purchases I have made.

3) I would be interested in non-campaign specific information - I look to the EN Journal as more a homebrew support magazine. So, articles about what life was like in various time frames - such as roman, byzantime, what was it like to live in 300 ad China - those would give me the flavor that I want to add to my campaign. Coupled with some rules extension articles - for example a series that looks at extending each of the skills would be usefull - in the same mode as the Alchemy article.

What I do not need are more combat spells, prestige classes, weapons etc. However arcticles on non-combat spells or non-combat uses of spells would be neat as well.

4) None - I doubt that they knew it existed. That being said, both issues sold out in less than a day at my FLGS.