Things I dislike about Dragon Mag.

[Felon]

D&D is more than rolling d20s, assigning skill points, and choosing armor. There are D&D novels. There are D&D movies (well, there was one...). There are D&D comics, suggestions, computer games, rules lawyer-ing, and last but not least, fiction.

See kiddies? It's not just about a mere game, it's about a franchise!!!$$$

Seriously, are they doing D&D comics again? I remember the DC Comics D&D line from the early nineties, with protagonists that were minotaurs, centaurs, and other sorts of exotic creatures that the rules didn't support terribly well at the time. I liked'em. I also remember all the series being abruptly cancelled for no particularly good reason, despite their success. IIRC, TSR promised to directly publish a new line of D&D comics, but those SOB's never made it happen.

 

[Mercule]

Whether I like or dislike the particular fiction that's included in Dragon is beside the point. Whether I get inspiration from fiction is, as well.

I'm a voracious reader of the Wheel of Time books. They are just plain fun (IMHO). I also get quite a bit of inspiration from them. I still don't think that Dragon is a good place to find an excerpt from the upcoming book. The month the d20 WoT book was released is a different matter entirely. There would be an actual reason -- a context -- behind having it in the magazine. Next month there wouldn't be and it really doesn't belong in a gaming magazine.

Does the fiction show something about the game? No.

Is it the best, or even a good, source of inspirational fiction? Probably not. Any local library will have plenty of fantasy fiction available, even anthologies. Mine, in corn country, has 10 large rows of sci-fi/fantasy standing separate from the rest of the world. That's almost a third as much as the entire general fiction setting.

If that doesn't do it for you, then go pick up one of the many periodicals devoted to carrying nothing but fantasy fiction.

 

[KDLadage]

D&D is more than rolling d20s, assigning skill points, and choosing armor.

Yep.

There are D&D novels.

OK.

There are D&D movies (well, there was one...).

OK.

There are D&D comics, suggestions, computer games, rules lawyer-ing, and last but not least, fiction.

Sure. And?

Does a piece of fiction set in FR or GH belong in Dragon?

Without a gaming context? No.

Does a piece of fiction set elsewhere (which may become a d20 setting)?

Without a gaming context? No.

Absolutely, because it rounds out the experience.

OK. So, because there are computer games, would programming articles belong in DRAGON? Since there are books involved, would articles on Book Binding belong in DRAGON? How about articles on drawing comics?

I think not.

Does an article explaining how to take elements from NeverWinter Nights (the CRPG) and place it in your d20 game belong in the magazine?

Yes. This, as you have stated quite clearly, has a gaming context added (the how to add...). I have no problem here.

Absolutely. Dragon isn’t (or shouldn't be imho) just about new uses for old skills, new monsters, and new feats; it should be a tool to draw all the divergent D&D elements from across the creative fold into one useful tool.

Granted. It should not just be about new feats, new skills, new spells, new classes (Prestige or Core) or what-have-you.

But each and every thing in that magazine should have something directly to do with gaming. And for fiction, just being fantasy is not direct. It is indirect at best, it is completely off topic at worst.

 

[buzz]

You know what I really hate about Dragon?

Absolutely nothing.

Okay, they could tone down the cover blurbs a bit, but that's all!

 

[gamecat]

The part where they hold a gun to your head and force you to buy the magazine kills me.

 

[Kichwas]

Almost the last time I read the fiction, it was an introduction giving us two brothers traveling together so one of them could get tested.

Caramon and Raistlin, two brothers set to be used in an upcoming novel TSR was going to put out.

Since that time I have once glanced into a story about some guy, his pixie, and his dislacer beast pet that read like a munchkin's fantasy. What I read of it was so bad I was suprised it made print. The average story hour looks better...

I love fantasy fiction, but I have other sources for it.

What I want in Dragon is articles on how to be a better player and a better DM. Everything else, well, I have stronger sources for.

 

[jdavis]

Then give the context of how this can be used in a gaming environment, and I no longer have a problem with the fiction being there.

I read a story and I get a idea for a adventure...... gee that wasn't hard at all. D&D adventures are normally as much about weaving a story as they are about mechanics and dice rolling. They don't have to have to be about the direct mechanics and rules of the game to give ideas. A good campaign should have a good storyline it is following.

But each and every thing in that magazine should have something directly to do with gaming. And for fiction, just being fantasy is not direct. It is indirect at best, it is completely off topic at worst.

That is your opinion and that is fine, but that is not everybody's opinion. If nobody thought the fiction needed to be there then it wouldn't be there so it has to have support from the readers.

Suppose you have a subscription to WOMEN'S DAY magazine (one that my wife reads a lot of) and suddenly 8-10 pages per issue were devoted to masculine issues.

Suppose that 8-10 pages of Woman's Day is devoted to a story that women find interesting and then you would have what is actually happening. Many women's magazines have sections with stories (whether they are true stories or fiction stories) in them. Many magazines have stories in them, this isn't that rare of a thing.

I think the problem once again is that people are putting their opinions out as facts, if you hate the fiction section then that is fine but there are lots of people who like it your opinion is just that and it holds no more water than anyone elses opinion. You are not going to like every section of every magazine, but because you hate it doesn't mean that it isn't useful and informative to other people.

 

[John Smallberries]

Re: You know what I really hate about Dragon?

Absolutely nothing.

Okay, they could tone down the cover blurbs a bit, but that's all!

I'm also in the 'it ain't broke' camp. Hell. I'm actually buying Dragon for the first time in over 12 years.

...and I actually like the cover blurbs (visually appealing and informative, IMHO)

 

[Kilmore]

Nodwick, What's New with Phil and Dixie, and Zogonia, and Snarfquest, Wormy, Fineous Fingers, Aaron, and that halfling thief comic that came before them are simply comic strips that only poke fun at our game at best, and are not immediately pertinent to gaming usage, providing nothing in the way of game "crunch" and even less than the fiction in the way of DM's inspiration.

It wouldn't be Dragon without them.

 

[Cedric]

A lot of people, many of them here on this board, have gotten their "start" in fantasy writing by being published in Dragon Magazine.

These few 8-16 pages allow them to fill their magazine, when other articles may not be available as well as offering a great chance to many would-be authors.

Cedric