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Why _DON'T_ You Buy Dragon Magazine?
- Thread starter Erik Mona
- Start date
Voadam
Legend
Erik Mona said:
I don't subscribe or buy regularly.
I have under 10 issues in print, none from the 3e era.
I have the 25 year CD compilation and think it is awesome.
I can sort of justify storing books, but magazines are thrown out regularly in my house (my wife subscribes to a dozen, me none) and I wouldn't want to throw them out or store them so I don't buy them.
If there was another CD compilation I would snatch it up in an instant. Or if it was available as pdfs (NON-DRM) on rpgnow.com.
As a sometimes contributor and current subscriber, I can only really respond to your second question Erik.
I find the recent change in Dragon less appealing. I've been playing D&D for over 25 years and collecting Dragon for most of those years. I liked the mix of player and DM oriented material. I like longer articles (and also well thought out themed-issues) that delve more deeply into a subject -- it makes it easier to add that theme into your campaign. I like the color text that often only comes from placing an article in a campaign setting (though the how-to-convert-to-other-campaigns sidebars are a necessary and great addition), but I wouldn't mind if Wizards didn't treat such "campaign"-oriented articles as canon (as long as that decision was clear from the outset).
I, unlike most of the contributors to this thread, like crunch. I like monsters that my players have never seen, but I also like the color text and campaign text that often used to exist. Having the campaign fluff helps figure out where the monster, class, or whatever might fit in my campaign and makes the article come more to life. The old 1E NPC class articles used to be my favorite articles wehn I was younger. I always wanted to play the latest class. I still love that stuff. Consequently, I love the prestige classes. That said, 3E and 3.5E (not just Dragon) have cut back on the color text that provided more context and excitement to articles. I like other crunch like feats and new items, but feel most of those (not all) fit better in the context of a bigger article such as monsters or prestige classes. I like new magic items and spells and am less finicky about them having the color text and campaign text, though sometimes that can be the best part.
I've never been one for most of the advice articles, but I'd rather read 5 pages of Gygax's articles once every few months than one page a month. It is too disjointed. The fiction is often good, but I read so much I rarely read the stories appearing in the magazine, though I don't mind it being there. I agree the quality of the comics has diminished overall, but its not a big selling point for me. I agree on using less recycled artwork, but again not a big selling point for me.
An index would be phenomenal, but I think it should be for everyone online. But also other user aids would be great. Articles that occasionally index something or other could also be helpful or collect tables into easy pull-out sheets....
As for Dungeon I subscribe mostly out of a sense of completeness and to catch the occasional something or other that really catches my eye. I usually craft my own adventures, so rarely use Dungeon for that, but sometimes use the maps and sometimes bits of the adventures for my own campaigns.
So with that said, please don't hold anything I've said here against any potential future submissions. ;-)
Good luck Erik and thanks for soliciting our opinions.
I find the recent change in Dragon less appealing. I've been playing D&D for over 25 years and collecting Dragon for most of those years. I liked the mix of player and DM oriented material. I like longer articles (and also well thought out themed-issues) that delve more deeply into a subject -- it makes it easier to add that theme into your campaign. I like the color text that often only comes from placing an article in a campaign setting (though the how-to-convert-to-other-campaigns sidebars are a necessary and great addition), but I wouldn't mind if Wizards didn't treat such "campaign"-oriented articles as canon (as long as that decision was clear from the outset).
I, unlike most of the contributors to this thread, like crunch. I like monsters that my players have never seen, but I also like the color text and campaign text that often used to exist. Having the campaign fluff helps figure out where the monster, class, or whatever might fit in my campaign and makes the article come more to life. The old 1E NPC class articles used to be my favorite articles wehn I was younger. I always wanted to play the latest class. I still love that stuff. Consequently, I love the prestige classes. That said, 3E and 3.5E (not just Dragon) have cut back on the color text that provided more context and excitement to articles. I like other crunch like feats and new items, but feel most of those (not all) fit better in the context of a bigger article such as monsters or prestige classes. I like new magic items and spells and am less finicky about them having the color text and campaign text, though sometimes that can be the best part.
I've never been one for most of the advice articles, but I'd rather read 5 pages of Gygax's articles once every few months than one page a month. It is too disjointed. The fiction is often good, but I read so much I rarely read the stories appearing in the magazine, though I don't mind it being there. I agree the quality of the comics has diminished overall, but its not a big selling point for me. I agree on using less recycled artwork, but again not a big selling point for me.
An index would be phenomenal, but I think it should be for everyone online. But also other user aids would be great. Articles that occasionally index something or other could also be helpful or collect tables into easy pull-out sheets....
As for Dungeon I subscribe mostly out of a sense of completeness and to catch the occasional something or other that really catches my eye. I usually craft my own adventures, so rarely use Dungeon for that, but sometimes use the maps and sometimes bits of the adventures for my own campaigns.
So with that said, please don't hold anything I've said here against any potential future submissions. ;-)
Good luck Erik and thanks for soliciting our opinions.
Omote
First Post
I've only read like 5 or 6 issues of Dragon since the 3.0 games was released. Overall, there is just too much not-so-good stuff in there. I wish i could be more specific, but I get the sense that everybody else on these baords has covered what I could. The only thing I could suggest is (as I would like to see) is that the content overall get better. Maybe Dragon should be a bi-monthly zine, that way the not so good stuff can get weeded out, and make the good stuff a lot stronger.
It was said a lot on these boards, but FLUFF is important. The "historical" articles that I read were always pretty good. Really it seems that each issue is got a bit too much "crunch" to it. It seems a bit overwhelming as there is too much "junk." Overall quality seems pretty low. Production values may be high, but content is the key.
Again, I'm not a subscriber, and havn't been since the 2nd ed days - so take my views with a grain of salt.
...............................Omote
FPQ
It was said a lot on these boards, but FLUFF is important. The "historical" articles that I read were always pretty good. Really it seems that each issue is got a bit too much "crunch" to it. It seems a bit overwhelming as there is too much "junk." Overall quality seems pretty low. Production values may be high, but content is the key.
Again, I'm not a subscriber, and havn't been since the 2nd ed days - so take my views with a grain of salt.
...............................Omote
FPQ
GlassJaw
Hero
Lots of great comments so far so I'll just repeat a few:
Dislikes:
Fiction and comics - never read
Crunch - never use
Mini stuff
Eberron or other campaign specific material
I'd almost like to see Dragon be the D&D National Geographic. I'd like to see articles on historical settings, unique places, creatures and races, etc. Ideas are what drives the game IMO, not new PrC's and feats.
Erik, I love the new Dungeon and I really appreciate the concern for the fans. The new format for Dungeon brought me back and I have the upmost confidence it could happen with Dragon too.
Dislikes:
Fiction and comics - never read
Crunch - never use
Mini stuff
Eberron or other campaign specific material
I'd almost like to see Dragon be the D&D National Geographic. I'd like to see articles on historical settings, unique places, creatures and races, etc. Ideas are what drives the game IMO, not new PrC's and feats.
Erik, I love the new Dungeon and I really appreciate the concern for the fans. The new format for Dungeon brought me back and I have the upmost confidence it could happen with Dragon too.
SandraWinters
First Post
There are a few reasons why I do not buy Dragon, but they are more personal reasons that the fault of the magazine. One major reason is that I am having trouble finding any sort of job, and therefore cannot afford it. Second, I don't know anyone around my area who is into gaming anymore, so I would never use it in a game.
Last edited:
fredramsey
First Post
I DO subscribe to Dragon and Dungeon.
However, I have never read any fiction story in Dragon.
Fiction doesn't belong in Dragon. Period.
The only fiction people might EVEN begin to like would be D&D fiction. And then it should deal with some article in the magazine - sort of illustrating its use. That I might read, maybe. Or a small ongoing story about the same group of adventurers.
But the best bet would be no fiction at all.
I vote more fluff less crunch, too.
However, I have never read any fiction story in Dragon.
Fiction doesn't belong in Dragon. Period.
The only fiction people might EVEN begin to like would be D&D fiction. And then it should deal with some article in the magazine - sort of illustrating its use. That I might read, maybe. Or a small ongoing story about the same group of adventurers.
But the best bet would be no fiction at all.
I vote more fluff less crunch, too.
