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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Erik Mona" data-source="post: 1923519" data-attributes="member: 2174">Ok. Here we go. First off, I want to thank everyone who has participated in this discussion. One of my favorite parts of this job is that so many of our readers (and even those who have given up on the magazine for one reason or another) are so very passionate about Dragon. Like many of you, I grew up with Dragon, and as a reader I have seen it through periods of glory and slumber. During those times, the game itself has seen periods of creative renaissance and creative torpor, but Dragon has always remained. Now that I'm at the helm, it's my job to ensure that it not only remains but thrives for as long as I'm associated with it (which I hope to be a very long time).When I inherited the magazine, I did so with an appreciation for the hard work that went into the #323 relaunch, but with a strong conviction that something essential was missing, and in fact had been missing from the magazine for a good long while.One of the strengths of the robust 3.0 and 3.5 D&D rules system is that, for really the first time ever, the rules have been built upon a coherent foundation with obvious elements left for further expansion. In the earliest days of Dragon, what many readers and posters to this thread consider the magazine's "golden" era, a great deal of space in the magazine was dedicated to simply fixing or explaining a fairly complex, not altogether unified game filled with countless sub-systems and a fair amount of arbitrary architecture. The new game requires less of that, which removes or at least heavily modifies a whole subset of articles, which I call "How The Heck Does it Work" articles.But the strength of the system can sometimes be a creative crutch, as well. My sense is that _because_ the rules system is so strong, many publishers tend to focus on the rules nearly exclusively, to the point at which a "big picture" is lost.Dungeons & Dragons, in my view, is a game about thrilling fantasy adventure. The rules are the means to the end of thrilling fantasy adventure, but they cannot be an end unto themselves. Dragon's biggest hurdle is that, for a good long while, I think it has been far too focused on the "solid rules" part of the equation and not nearly focused enough on the "thrilling fantasy adventure" part of the equation.This problem is not unique to Dragon magazine. Even Wizards of the Coast has made some subtle changes to recent products, adding more descriptive elements to monster books, adding ties to supported campaign settings in things like Monster Manual III, and expanding the standard prestige class format to add additional emphasis on cultural and roleplaying details. Many d20 publishers, looking for a niche in a very crowded marketplace, took this step a good while back, and I contend that the more popular d20 publishers are those that publish books that offer inspiration over reams and reams of new rules material. Now that we're all mired in countless feats and prestige classes, the pendulum is starting to swing in the opposite direction.That the rules are solid must be assumed. That is, after all, what you put your money down for. My contention is that Dragon must provide more than just solid rules. Solid rules are a given. Dragon must provide compelling context for those rules that practically demands that you use them in your campaigns.Solid rules are the means to the end of thrilling fantasy adventure. Dragon must be about thrilling fantasy adventure.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.Does this mean a full retreat from the recent relaunch? By all means no. What it does mean is a refinement in the balance of rules versus inspirational material. The "Dragon Unleashed" relaunch gave us solid formats to introduce a new PC race in the form of "Winning Races," for example, but six issues later I am left with the conviction that we simply don't need to be running "Winning Races" every single issue. Very few D&D players realistically create 12 new characters a year, so we'll be easing off this feature a little. Ditto "Gaining Prestige," but perhaps even moreso. We will of course continue to publish prestige classes, but we'll try to do so only when there's a really good reason, surrounded by all sorts of compelling cultural and roleplaying information.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.We'll probably reshuffle the cartoons a little. I think the magazine needs some new blood on that score.Here's an idea of a few of the things I've already slated: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.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.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.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.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.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. But we'll also include plenty of non-setting support. Some of my favorite articles from the recent years have been "Campaign Components," like the Swashbuckler and Spies issues. Look for more of this in the coming months.To be clear, while Dungeon is the magazine for DMs, Dragon is the magazine for D&D enthusiasts of all stripes, so look for material that speaks to both players and DMs. Class Acts really speaks directly to the casual player--those guys in every campaign who only own the Player's Handbook, or maybe not even that. It's a monthly place for them to turn for easy-to-digest articles about their favorite class, meant to be read at the game table during a break. The continued success of the hobby revolves around converting these folks into more active players, so in my view Class Acts is absolutely critical and is staying. We'll do what we can to make each installment as inspiring and exciting as possible, for novices as well as old hands.I don't have much to say about fiction that I haven't said already. I'm aware that most posters here don't like it. I have yet to make any critical decisions on what must be done. In the mean time, we're printing something like three or four stories a year, so those of you who hate the fiction won't have to suffer much.As to the general comment that the magazine is "too boring," well, it's my hope that cutting down the repetitive "familiars" (or at least the frequency with which they appear) will allow for more room for dynamic features. Also, see my comments above vis a vis the crunch/fluff ratio.Just in case I haven't been clear: Dragon as I see it still contains plenty of rules and rules advice. It just does so within a larger (and I hope) more interesting context."Heroic Feats," as a section, will not appear again for precisely this reason. We will publish additional feats, but probably only three or four in a given article to illustrate some theme of the article in question. Instead of 12 sea-related feats, we'll more likely publish an article on sea adventuring, with a small handful of feats within.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.I want to make one thing clear. As long as I am associated with Dragon magazine, I will ALWAYS strive to make it a more compelling, more successful magazine. I'll do that by trusting the feedback provided by our readers in threads like this, by listening to trusted peers, and by listening to my trusted (and ever-expanding) gut. The work is never finished, and the magazine can always get better.My hope is that by the time I move on, a great deal more of you will be happier with the magazine than you were when I arrived.I thank you for your time, your comments, and your enthusiasm for our favorite magazine.--Erik MonaEditor-in-ChiefDragon & Dungeon Magazines</blockquote>

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