Why _DON'T_ You Buy Dragon Magazine?

[GreyShadow]

Thanks for the responce Erik.

Any thought on the Ecology articles returning to their older format?

 

[JoeGKushner]

Here's what's basically staying every issue: Ecology, Spellcraft, Bazaar of the Bizarre, Sage Advice, Class Acts. Everything else, including "Silicon Sorcery" and "Novel Approach," will pop in and out as necessary. We'll probably be adding a review section to the magazine to spotlight useful sourcebooks and nonfiction volumes that can help you craft a better campaign or a better character, but I want to get the format right before I take that plunge. We're currently retooling "Under Command" in a way that I think will make the column much more palatable to readers who aren't interested in the miniatures game, but who are looking for excellent articles for the RPG.

Where's the Dragon's Bestiary? And for Under Command, it would have to be retooled so massively that it in essence goes to the magazine that should handle it, Undefeated.

329: My favorite article in this issue is "Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Pazuzu," an 8,000-word overview of the demonic Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms, his cult, and his thralls, by Dungeon Managing Editor James Jacobs. The first in an irregular series on the demon lords and princes of Dungeons & Dragons.

Fantastic. Hopefully it has some sidebars on other deities and demons that fit like the Ebon Maw. Maybe we'll see some of the Devils covered this way too? Some descriptions about the actual game differences between lord and prince?

330: Into the Far Realm, a 10,000-word overview on how to add Far Realm "bleed" into your material world, by Bruce R. Cordell, creator of the Far Realm and one hell of a creative genius. Contains new monsters, new spells, and a whole lot of disturbing imagery. Anyone wanting to add an element of cosmic horror to their games would do well to check out this primer.

Once again, fantastic. Bruce R. Cordell is one of my favorite authors. My only request woudl be revisiting the Sheens after this and updating both articles and expanding them. But the Far Realm will hold me over for quite a while... yes indeed. Will there be any sidebars about WoTC Call of Cthulhu game or updates to it for 3.5 fixes?

Later: Articles on cities of the Forgotten Realms by Ed Greenwood. Look for 4-6 of these annually for as long as we can get away with it. Probably about 5000 words each. Meaty. I'm basically just letting Ed go wild with these, and we'll be sure to illustrate them lavishly with "National Geographic"-style fold-out maps and maybe some posters. I'll do what I can afford to do.

Maybe I'm alone, but Ed's game writing tends to be solid. His Wyrms of the North campaign provided me with literally years of gaming material. I hate his fiction and I can say that about both his FR fiction and his Band of Four stuff but his gaming material has always had a certain flavor to it that fits my campaign well.

Also: Speaking of the Forgotten Realms, I've also got Eric L. Boyd working on a short series of articles on lost empires of the Realms and the items and cultural legacies that remain to this day. Although Eric is weaving these tightly into the Realms continuity, we're trying to make them easily adaptable to just about any campaign.

In that weaving, will there be sidebars for certain campaigns like Eberron and Greyhawk, or will it be more along the lines of general notes?

But I Like Eberron!: So do we, which is why I've commissioned Keith Baker to write about a half-dozen articles on various Eberron topics including the Cult of the Dragon Below and other exciting setting elements. The first of these will cover the Umbragen, the Shadow Elves of Eberron, and ought to appear by #333.

Hopefully, we'll see some more articles about psionics and Eberron. Some more racial material for the warforged and other new races, at least until Races of Sharn comes out.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon Magazines

One thing I'd like to see added, is something for existing PrCs, say starting with those from the DMG, that breaks down the PrC like Races of Destiny did. Only seven PrCs and lots of details for use, organizations, etc... in the game world.

 

[Belen]

Great stuff, Eric. That is exactly the types of articles that would get me reading the magazine cover to cover again. These changes looks to make everyone happier and if it continues, then I will be re-subscribing when my current subscription ends.

 

[schporto]

Erik, one minor tweak I'd love to see is with Class Acts. I like them, but they always seem short. I wonder if they could be two pages instead of one. And have alternate what classes appear when. That may be a tall order, or it may not be well recieved, but it is one more opinion.
In a similar vein Ecology and Winning Races articles seemed to fill similar niches. But if Winning Races is going away that's all good then.
Fiction four times a year is, I think, a great balance.
And Erik, thanks. I do look forward to Dragon every month. And I think you're doing a great job.
-cpd

 

[francisca]

So, to those of you who say "Dragon has too much crunch and not enough fluff," I offer my whole-hearted agreement. Give me a couple months, and take another look.

let me repeat that:



Thanks for listening to the fans, Erik. I wish you the best of luck. 3 issues left on my sub, and I just may yet re-up.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

While I really don't give a fig about the Forgotten Realms or Eberron and am a big proponent of crunch over fluff, I look forward to the revamping. I love Dragon mag, and have been reading it without missing an issue since issue #117, as well as managing to find nearly 2/3 of the issues prior to that in the intervening years. I've been a fan through all the good and bad "phases" of the magazine, and will continue to be a faithful reader.

Thanks, Erik, for taking the time and effort to really pay attention to what your readers think. This sort of "hands on" approach to anything these days is a rare gem, indeed.

Happy Holidays, and keep up the good work!

 

[Swiftbrook]

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. If you've been waiting for a specific issue to be addressed and I've missed it, let me know and I'll do my best to respond.

--Erik Mona
Editor-in-Chief
Dragon & Dungeon Magazines

Greyhawk, Greyhawk, and more Greyhawk!

YES!

What have Greyhawk fans gotten in Wizards sourcebooks lately?

I think someone wrote a couple nice of articles in Dragon about regional feats in Greyhawk.

Theres all kinds of stuff that can be explored and written about in Greyhawk.

Color comments are mine, -Swiftbrook

Iuz (up-to-date would be nice)
Vecna including his Eye and Hand (brought back to Greyhawk - cool)
Scarlet Brotherhood (been there - done that)
Axe of the Dwarvish Lords (been there - done that)
Circle of Eight (been there - done that)
Ring of Five
Greyhawk itself (been there - done that)
Furyondy (been there - done that)
Blackmoor (YES!)
Detailed descriptions of the PHB gods (see LGG)
All the gods not yet printed
and countless more.

How about doing an entire article on a region and putting a newer formatted Regional feat with the article? (YES! - A MUST HAVE!)

How about detailed information on the Scarlet Brotherhood and an Assassin class or a Prestige Class added with it?(been there - done that)

New Greyhawk material, new Greyhawk material and how about some new Greyhawk material. Knights of the _________, with background information, one prestige class, and maybe a few related feats. Info on countries that have not seen print with background information, important NPCs and a few regional feats.

Don't revisit what has already been done unless you have a very specific reason (like everyone is asking for it ). There is just so much of Greyhawk that hasn't been looked at.

-Swiftbrook

 

[Zaukrie]

I'm going to keep this simple, because I'm willing to bet you'll get plenty of lengthy replies.

Thanks for taking the time to listen to us. I said in my earlier posting I was considering not re-upping this year. Given your comments and the Far Realms and Demon information coming, I will re-subscribe.

I believe that you will make Dragon more fun again.

 

[Banshee16]

Personally I do buy Dragon magazine. Not every issue, but about 75% of them, I'd estimate.

I used to hate the April Fool's issues, because none of it was actual content I could use in game....but lately that's been changing as it hasn't been a "throw away" issue.

I find the content has been pretty good for stretches, and then out comes an issue that just doesn't do it. #326, which I'm currently reading, is like that. I'm not a big dungeon crawl fan, and it just doesn't do anything for me.

More articles about the planes, and planar cities would be appreciated. But they're not for everyone. There was an interesting series of articles about planar cities that was coming out for a while that was pretty cool. More details like that would be appreciated.

Overall, the content's been getting better and better over the last 5-6 months, I feel.

Something that would be really useful would be some form of index to articles in all the mags..whether online, on CD, or whatever. That would make it easier to find great old articles once an older mag has ben read.

Banshee

 

[Dragonhelm]

Solid rules are the means to the end of thrilling fantasy adventure. Dragon must be about thrilling fantasy adventure.

Excellent assessment, and I'm glad to see things going this direction.

Thanks to the OGL, anyone on Earth can publish endless lists of feats and prestige classes. But only Dragon and Wizards of the Coast can show off great elements from the official campaign settings, and I'd be a fool to pass up that opportunity.

Lately, Dragon has had some articles that touch upon some of the older campaign settings. I've really enjoyed these features, and I hope we can see more of them.

I would second (or third, or fourth...) the request for more Greyhawk, but I think there's also room for other settings such as Mystara, Planescape, Birthright, etc. Heck, surprise everyone and show how to do Star Frontiers using d20 Modern.

One thing I would like to see would be a regular feature on world-building where you actually build a world with the articles, having them all fit together. A Dragon-specific setting would be awesome.


Also, I'm glad to hear that there will be some new blood in regards to comics. I used to at least get something out of Knights of the Dinner Table. Now there's so much of that, being its own comic book, that it is hard to follow. I don't find tons of the same cartoon in a book to be as entertaining. Likewise, I know that some comics seen in Dragon and Dungeon have had a bit of exposure throughout an issue (Nodwick, anyone?), and it gets to be a bit much. Heck, Nodwick even comes across as a promotional tool at times, as the comic sometimes reflects the contents of the issue, rather than being a fun distraction.

Erik, thanks for listening to the fans. I think Dragon will be stronger and more enjoyable for it.