A lot of people have suggested including notes for adapting each article to a variety of settings -- Eberron, Forgotten Realms, Dark Sun, etc. I wouldn't mind seeing this taken to the next step -- Star Wars, d20 Modern, d20 Apocalypse, etc. As long as they're brief notes.humble minion said:
Why _DON'T_ You Buy Dragon Magazine?
- Thread starter Erik Mona
- Start date
mmadsen said:
Not that it would ever happen, but how many folks would be in favor of losing the Miniatures section and replacing those pages with Polyhedron? (WOTC would never allow it, but we can dream...) Or alternate Class Acts with Poly. Or Silicon Sorcery.
I'm one of those who objected strongly to losing entire adventures from Dungeon to make room for Poly. Dragon, on the other hand, has so many different sections I don't think it would bother me at all. Adding Poly is something worth considering, IMO.
Swiftbrook
First Post
Andre said:
I think this is the best option. Alternate sections that don't appeal to almost everyone. If someone knew they were going to get Polyhedron every other month, or every third month, that might be what gets them to subscribe. I and others have suggested rotating setting articles every 3rd or 4th issue (GH, FR, Eb, etc). IMO Dragon should seriously consider these options. But I'm not in the magazine biz either.
-Swiftbrook
JVisgaitis
Explorer
I'm coming late to this party, but at least I got my comments in before Erik let loose with the changes. I stopped my subscription a couple years ago because if the article didn't really tickle my interest, I would rarely go back and visit it again. Even if I did come across something that I did think was really cool, the odds of me remembering it and finding it are pretty slim. Some stuff I have used, but most of the content is very situational.
In the waning days of my Dragon buying, the articles have been a real mixed bag. Mostly I found myself scanning the issue and just stacking them on the shelf. To me, Dragon seems to seriously lack any creative drive that made the older issues so much fun to read. Dungeon OTOH is bursting with coolness nowadays, and its content is always something I can use. If I need NPCs, adventure ideas, or the like Dungeon fits the bill perfectly. Its also very easy to find what I need at a glance.
If anything comes of this thread, PLEASE leave Dungeon as is and don't shuffle any of its content over to Dragon.
In the waning days of my Dragon buying, the articles have been a real mixed bag. Mostly I found myself scanning the issue and just stacking them on the shelf. To me, Dragon seems to seriously lack any creative drive that made the older issues so much fun to read. Dungeon OTOH is bursting with coolness nowadays, and its content is always something I can use. If I need NPCs, adventure ideas, or the like Dungeon fits the bill perfectly. Its also very easy to find what I need at a glance.
If anything comes of this thread, PLEASE leave Dungeon as is and don't shuffle any of its content over to Dragon.
Chant in the Box
First Post
Why I don't buy Dragon magazine??
What about why I will not buy Dragon magazine in the future?
To be specific I used to buy the magazine almost every month until the new dragon magazine format came out.
To make it short, it's boring. The inside look is quite awful compared to the previous format. Else, the last three issues failed to spark any interest in me.
Like most people on this tread, I think Dungeon is a far better product than Dragon. You can credit it for the modules in the Greyhawk setting in particular. A follow up to the Maure Castle will be very nice indeed. Some of the other reasons that will rules me out forever as a Dragon buyer has been summerized by previous contributors of this tread so I will go strait to what I will like to see in Dragon.
First, I second the suggestion that a colloboration with the RPGA to make sure that the Greyhawk material published in Dragon is available to the Living Greyhawk players.
Second, this colloboration could be used to publish articles related to each country of the Greyhawk setting in a similar format to what I have seen in the regions description in Unaproachable East or Shining South. It will be an opportunity to bring the setting upto date with the current campaign year without subcribing to the RPGA as well as giving a flavorlike idea of each region without delving too much in detail. I remember an early issue of the Living Greyhawk Journal about the Kingdom of Keoland that could be a good starting point to assessing the space that should be given to such an article.
Like many people on this tread, I'm more interested in campaign flavor than rules as far as it goes with the existing campaign settings and more so with the old favorites. For me that means Darksun and Greyhawk. And, please, no more author alienation and article tweeking without respect to either the setting or the author like what was done with the darksun issue. That was unwise to say the least.
<<<<<
For those who needs a concrete show of what is unbalancing material in Dragon magazine, check the Mighty Contender of Kord in the smite evil issue that were published in the same year as Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. The starting concept was great, but the author did not search hard enough how the class could be abused in its mechanics. As I write this post, I have revised the class twice and it's still very powerful but less frightening.
>>>>>
That's all the feedback I have to give to this discussion....for now.
What about why I will not buy Dragon magazine in the future?
To be specific I used to buy the magazine almost every month until the new dragon magazine format came out.
To make it short, it's boring. The inside look is quite awful compared to the previous format. Else, the last three issues failed to spark any interest in me.
Like most people on this tread, I think Dungeon is a far better product than Dragon. You can credit it for the modules in the Greyhawk setting in particular. A follow up to the Maure Castle will be very nice indeed. Some of the other reasons that will rules me out forever as a Dragon buyer has been summerized by previous contributors of this tread so I will go strait to what I will like to see in Dragon.
First, I second the suggestion that a colloboration with the RPGA to make sure that the Greyhawk material published in Dragon is available to the Living Greyhawk players.
Second, this colloboration could be used to publish articles related to each country of the Greyhawk setting in a similar format to what I have seen in the regions description in Unaproachable East or Shining South. It will be an opportunity to bring the setting upto date with the current campaign year without subcribing to the RPGA as well as giving a flavorlike idea of each region without delving too much in detail. I remember an early issue of the Living Greyhawk Journal about the Kingdom of Keoland that could be a good starting point to assessing the space that should be given to such an article.
Like many people on this tread, I'm more interested in campaign flavor than rules as far as it goes with the existing campaign settings and more so with the old favorites. For me that means Darksun and Greyhawk. And, please, no more author alienation and article tweeking without respect to either the setting or the author like what was done with the darksun issue. That was unwise to say the least.
<<<<<
For those who needs a concrete show of what is unbalancing material in Dragon magazine, check the Mighty Contender of Kord in the smite evil issue that were published in the same year as Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil. The starting concept was great, but the author did not search hard enough how the class could be abused in its mechanics. As I write this post, I have revised the class twice and it's still very powerful but less frightening.
>>>>>
That's all the feedback I have to give to this discussion....for now.
King Berserker
First Post
Why don't I subscribe?
#1. $40/yr is simply too high for content I'll use once if I'm lucky. You can get plenty of other full-color mags for half that.
#2. Fiction that doesn't follow D&D rules.
#3. Stuffy "official content" writing style.
What would I change?
Do whatever's necessary to lower the price. I can read black-and-white just fine.
Love the National Graphic of D&D idea!
Short monster ecologies
I'll jump on the "lose the PrC" bandwagon
Support a variety of settings
That's it for now.
Peter
BTW, you really are to be commended for Dungeon.
#1. $40/yr is simply too high for content I'll use once if I'm lucky. You can get plenty of other full-color mags for half that.
#2. Fiction that doesn't follow D&D rules.
#3. Stuffy "official content" writing style.
What would I change?
Do whatever's necessary to lower the price. I can read black-and-white just fine.
Love the National Graphic of D&D idea!
Short monster ecologies
I'll jump on the "lose the PrC" bandwagon
Support a variety of settings
That's it for now.
Peter
BTW, you really are to be commended for Dungeon.
The Shaman said:
That first line is a little too harsh. I miss Polyhedron, too; especially mini-games like Omega World. But the core of Dungeon has always been about publishing D&D adventures (at least for the approximately 70 issues I have). The magazine and the game are better served by focusing on that core mission. In short, it's better to do one thing well than many things poorly (or even adequately).
JVisgaitis
Explorer
After thinking about this a bit more, and reading the newest EGM "in the office," I think Dragon is a lot like a video game magazine. There might be something in there at the moment that piques your interest, but once you read through it, it just ends up stuck on the shelf. This is a lot like White Dwarf nowadays.
Last edited:
Greylock
First Post
I buy the magazine regularly, and wish I'd managed to keep track of my old issues over the years, but alas, I did not.
And I agree so much with almost everything that has been noted in the previous pages, more fluff, less crunch, kill the PrCs, more comics, that I am embarrassed to say this....
But....
Ackkk, I can't bring myself to make it plain for everyone to see, so a 'spoiler' follows...
I like the fiction.
There, I got that off my chest finally, and I've been reading this thread since it was a wee little thing.
And I agree so much with almost everything that has been noted in the previous pages, more fluff, less crunch, kill the PrCs, more comics, that I am embarrassed to say this....
But....
Ackkk, I can't bring myself to make it plain for everyone to see, so a 'spoiler' follows...
I like the fiction.
There, I got that off my chest finally, and I've been reading this thread since it was a wee little thing.
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