Twelve Months of Dragon: What do you want from the Annual?

[Verys Arkon]

It is early yet, but we have almost half the issues now. What are you looking for in the Dragon Magazine Annual next September (hardcover 160 pages)?

[I’m assuming playtest articles would be excluded, as they are drafts and will see their final versions printed elsewhere.]

Edit: 12 months have passed now, and we have a full year of Dragon issues. Same question, now that we've seen more content - what do you want in the annual? Multiple choice!

 

[Jack99]

Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Yeenoghu
Creature Incarnations: Kobolds
Class Acts: Wizard
Ashen Covenant
Codex of Betrayal: Beleth
Backdrop: Cormyr
Wish Upon A Star
Ritually Speaking
Trapped!
The Bloodghost Syndicate
Mithrendain: Citadel of the Feywild
Ecology of the Genasi
Intelligent Items
Class Acts: Playing Swordmage
The Gladiator
The Pit: Running Gladiatorial Campaigns
Domains of Dread: Sunderheart, The Funeral City
Creature Incarnations: Gnolls
Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet
Playing Minotaurs

Bolded those that I really like (hope I didn't miss any)

EDIT: Ups, didn't notice it was a poll... sigh, I need new glasses

 

[Lord Mhoram]

Me, I want class acts, playing races, Igliv ect...

If there was no fluf in the hardcover (or virtually none) I'd be a happy camper. I want the annual to be a rulebook that collects all the crunch that was in Dragon the previous year in one place. All the powers, all the monsters, all the paths/destinies, all the traps, all the equipment, all the rituals.... and on and on.

That is what I want.

Leave the fluff to the magazine, and make the hardcover a rulebook.

 

[Verys Arkon]

Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Yeenoghu
Creature Incarnations: Kobolds
Class Acts: Wizard
Ashen Covenant
Codex of Betrayal: Beleth
Backdrop: Cormyr
Wish Upon A Star
Ritually Speaking
Trapped!
The Bloodghost Syndicate
Mithrendain: Citadel of the Feywild
Ecology of the Genasi
Intelligent Items
Class Acts: Playing Swordmage
The Gladiator
The Pit: Running Gladiatorial Campaigns
Domains of Dread: Sunderheart, The Funeral City
Creature Incarnations: Gnolls
Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Baphomet
Playing Minotaurs

Bolded those that I really like (hope I didn't miss any)

EDIT: Ups, didn't notice it was a poll... sigh, I need new glasses

The list is great. I would like to see others' lists of nominated articles! Maybe after a while I'll compile the nominated articles for a second poll.

It would be hard for me to narrow down my choices to fit 160 pages with the six or so issues out...choosing after 12 are out is going to be very very difficult. I don't envy the editor's job here.

So far, these are my favorites (no order)
Treasures of Ashardalon - themed article blending fluff and crunch

Playing Gnolls / Creature Incarnations: Gnolls / Demonomicon: Yeenoghu - these three complement each other really well (especially when I'm about to DM part 4 of H2: Thunderspire Mountain....no doubt this is not a coincidence , and one of the benefits of Dragon going back In House at WotC)

Gladiatorial Fights / D&D Gladiators - this pair would be enough to start a campaign with, with new mechanics included.

Wish Upon a Star - this article was great. It gave solid story for a new take on the warlock, and backed it up with flavorful new powers.


In a way, I wish WotC could find a way to do themed books after a couple of years...something like a devoted Demonomicon of Iggwilv, or Ecologies type books (like Paizo's Ecologies).

 

[Verys Arkon]

Some posters in this thread on the WotC boards suggest that the Dragon Annual will be all new content, like the Dragon Annuals 1-6 (1996-2001).

I was thinking Dragon Annual was going to be more along Paizo's Dragon Compendium Vol 1 (2005), or the Best of Dragon vol 1-5 published in the early 80's.

Which is it?

 

[Quartz]

Regrettably, unless my finances improve, I'll be passing on the Annual.

 

[Hussar]

AFAIK, the original Dragon Annual's were not new content. I'm pretty sure they contained quite a lot of reprinted material.

Looking at the Paizo Dragon store at least one of the annuals was not new content.

 

[Verys Arkon]

A full year of Dragon is available now - what do you hope makes the Annual?

 

[WarlockLord]

Preferably those necromancy powers. Hopefully, WoTC will expand tehm and add more to the list. Playing a necromancer wizard with just those four powers is rather...difficult.

 

[LightPhoenix]

If this refers to the compilation:

What I hope is that the book is either solidly for players, or (more likely) solidly for DMs, and nothing in the middle.

If they go the latter route, then what I don't want to see is stuff like Class Acts, the Artificer/Monk playtest, or any other player-oriented route. If they go the former, I only want to see player-oriented stuff - no Demonomicon, etc. I think there are more articles for DMs, so I would rather see it be all DM stuff.