Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emirikol" data-source="post: 2943161" data-attributes="member: 10638">I still subscribe to Dungeon, however I let my 20-year Dragon subscription finally lapse last year.  I still purchase the occasional issue in store.Here are a few reasons:1.  I DM and allow everything from Dragon (nowadays) but my players (98% of them) were never subscribers so no one ever used anything.2.  The "extra work" involved in putting this stuff in our campaigns simply wasn't going to happen, so none of it ever got used. - see my solutions below3.  There is less 'virginity' in Dragon, since I've been subscribed over many years <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />4.  I DM, therefore I DungeonHow would I change it:*  Make the presentation more "drop-in house rule" friendly.  The articles are written as if they're being presented to someone who just likes 'pretty things.'  Think about what a "drop-in house rule" friendly format would look like. *  I'd put in more arguments and controversy (that's not me talking is it Erik? <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" /> that is game-related.   You want more readership?  Give them something to talk about at the gaming table and at ENWorld.  Great articles won't cut it.  Hey look!  It's pretty.  It has a nice layout.  So? *  You can only gear this to players if DM's are willing to allow players to use it.  DM's will only allow it if it follows two rules:**  Easy-to-assess "impacts on your campaign" notes.  Dm's don't have all day to read up on every article.  They just want to see IF it works first.  **  Side-bar that says that it's been playtested and found to be pretty balanced  *  Remember "tidbits" of Greyhawk?  There need to be something like this for DM's to use in every article for the big three worlds.  Obviously an Eberron article is not something that's readily crossover, but other articles (for example:  Ecology articles).  *  A note on Ecology articles:  I think they're dry, even with fluff.  The more fluff there is, the more trouble there is on utility.  As a DM, I want the Ecology articles with the "actual map" and "actual encounter."  I can drop that into my campaign.  I can't drop in some old-geezer telling a story about an encounter with a Stroper-smurf.  If it's going to be geared towards players, have some tactics or play-by-play..SOMETHING useful for players rather than "just another story about just another guy's character."   Really?  When I go to a game store and some guy starts telling me about his character, I glaze over pretty fast <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />*  You need to have something on your website called "How to put together your own House Rulebook from Dragon articles."  Have a format, some print-outs and all the pictures of ones that have been created and some sample artwork (maybe?).  I can't tell you how much USE something like this would get and how much more utility you would get out of EVERY Dragon magazine.    Just give DM's that extra help so they can more easily use the magazine.*  Dragon is the sister/brother magazine to Dungeon.  You have the opportunity to get players to say to their DM's "Holy cow, I want to play that scenario I heard about in Dragon. ."  I'm sorry, but a one-sentence question-blurb on a side-bar isn't enough.  Be an opportunist.  Make it happen.   Think of the kind of text or pictures it would take and make it happen.  You guys are great at finding a format and once you've got that, it's easy to plug in details.  TELL players they NEED to ask their DM to play that scenario based on THEIR WANTS AND NEEDS <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  Are you familiar with NLP?  <a href="http://www.nlp.com/" target="_blank">http://www.nlp.com/</a>    <a href="http://www.nlpu.com/whatnlp.htm" target="_blank">http://www.nlpu.com/whatnlp.htm</a>      *  Gamers are aging and have less time to prepare scenarios and campaigns right?  We should see that in any mission statement or promotion for DUNGEON or DRAGON.  "A must for time-crunched DM's."  Thanks for the great job on Dungeon and Dragon BTW.  This is surely the golden age.Anyways, I gotta get back to work <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />Jay HafnerLakewood, CO..</blockquote>

Verification