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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arkhandus" data-source="post: 1887188" data-attributes="member: 13966">Aye, thanks for asking our opinions here.  I've enjoyed reading Dragon for the last five years, but there are certainly a few things about it that have changed over the last year or two that only seem to have diminished my interest in it, unfortunately, leaving me with less reading material some months since I don't subscribe and only buy issues that seem interesting.  You asked to hear what things cause folks to forgo buying Dragon, so my post may seem pessimistic, but I really do enjoy the mag usually. {:^D I used to buy most new issues of Dragon after 3rd Edition came out, but couldn't afford a subscription.  Some issues just didn't seem worth getting either, as their theme was too focused on something I didn't care for (i.e. I apparently missed out on a few good articles in the Dragon and Dungeon/Polyhedron issues that advertised having Vile Content, as I didn't know they also had some good materials like Mecha Crusade, and the Vile Content label just turned me away upon seeing the issues in the bookstore). The price is fine in my opinion, but not for issues that appear to only have two or so decent articles when I glance through them on the magazine rack, so I don't buy any issues that don't look like they'll give me a decent value for my dollars.  I've liked the themed issues generally, but some weren't worth my while because they devoted too much content to subjects I wasn't interested in, and the newest issues of Dragon have alleviated that somewhat with the lesser degree of content focused on their individual themes. However, the newest issues also have much less content in most articles, and are less useful that way, especially since some of the interesting articles of yore have been removed or at least greatly reduced in frequency (Up On A Soapbox, the occasional short fiction, Dungeoncraft, The Play's The Thing, etc.).  And as others have mentioned, the comics are a bit more sparse and Dragonmirth is gone, which was always a funny little diversion.  The recent articles relating to novels and video/computer games have been rather uninteresting from my perspective, though I wouldn't mind so much if they were articles of fiction related to the games/novels. This last year's focus on Eberron has also been a turn-off to me, that left me ignoring several issues, because I'm not willing to spend another $60-90 on the Revised core rules and then the other 3.5 supplements, at least not for a couple more years now, because I already spent enough on 3.0 material and enjoy it quite well enough.  Dragon issues since 3.5's release have been less useful to me as a result, especially the ones focusing too much on Eberron which I will not pick up or use for at least another year or two.  Until then, these issues with all the space wasted on Eberron and 3.5-only articles are not worth my money, and I won't spend money now just to get something I might, possibly, use a few years later.  I'll buy 3.5 materials when 3.5 has quality updates to the 3.0 materials I've bought, allowing me to use the books I already have for newer campaigns, and when 3.5 has more worthwhile content added; Complete Warrior and its ilk appear to have reprinted too much broken crud without even a passing attempt to make it useable, and I don't trust the other content of such a book in those circumstances.  The Frenzied Berserker, Wu Jen, Shugenja, and many other reprinted classes/prestige classes have been left more or less untouched and just as broken (FB) or crippled (Wuj/Shu) as they were in 3.0.  Without any real effort put into making much stuff from 3.0's better books (OA, T&B, S&F, for example) Revised for balance/playability in 3.5, I don't have much faith in this past year's 3.5 books right now, nor this coming year's books.  Anyway..... I have to say, I rather dislike the new format for Dragon, and felt it was perfectly fine and appealing to see before this dratted new newspaper-like format.  It used to be varied in backgrounds and nicer on the eyes, never bland or eye-straining for me, and the art has always been good.  I liked the old logo, but the new one looks like it's supposed to appeal to kids who are still learning to read, whereas the old logo was stylish and cool. {:^D  Now I have to read through bland black-on-white text just like the college textbooks I must read each semester, with dull and minimal borders/variety/etc. Lately, at least moreso than before the new format was introduced, the covers, tables of contents, and preview sidebars for the next issue have been rather meager and undescriptive, making it hard to decide if the current or next issue is worth getting.  Instead I have to go back to the bookstore a couple times a month to check if a new issue is out and see if I can discern it's value/usefulness by what little is mentioned on the cover and table of contents, and with a very brief flip through the pages.  This usually isn't worth it, so I often pass up issues that are too meager/vague about their content, either on the cover or in last month's preview.  Thus, for instance, another reason I didn't catch the Dungeon/Polyhedron issue with Mecha Crusade *weeping* because of similar problems with learning about that mag's current/upcoming content.  Likewise how I missed out on the issue of Dragon with Bahamut and Tiamat, and more recently the issue with the Synod race  that was part of the Expanded Psionics Handbook previews in Dragon.... Well, I hope the ENWorlders' feedback helps at least a bit in improving Dragon or Dungeon (( maybe bring back Polyhedron to some extent.....? as a quarterly even...?  {:^D )), I'll keep reading as long as I find a good issue every few months at least.</blockquote>

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