Sublimity's page

I needed something for Paizo's website and really, really like this form of the noun: sublime. (First time I used it, I thought I was being clever--then I looked it up in the OED and found out I wasn't as clever as I believed.)

I've just got hold of a few of the older Dungeon magazines (stuff numbered in the 50s & 60s). I noticed, as I skimmed through a few of them, quite a few "ads" about diabetes, heart disease, stuttering, etc. Were these paid ads or was Dungeon doing some public service announcements? If the latter, why stop doing them. . .I must say that I found their presence in the magazine intriguing. They seemed to add a “community-service� aspect to the game and its players—and, if your playing group was anything like mine when I was younger, the “get out and exercise� message was applicable. We spent many, many, many days of our summer vacation gathered around a table playing for 8-10 hours at a clip. The only real exercise we ever got was biking to and from each other’s houses.

Anyway, if they were just ads, even though they had no D&D content (as some folk might criticize) I say we can do without a couple of the ads for miniatures and the like. What a great place to try to raise more awareness about the treatable issues plaguing our society. If they were PSAs—bring ‘em back! What better way to shine some good light on this great hobby of ours—who knows, Dungeon might even save a few lives. Now wouldn’t that be some welcome news.

I guess you can't please everybody. I see it as profoundly disrespectful to an author to retroactively edit his work and disrespectful to the history of the game to alter these documents from their original form. The entire concept is offensive to me. If 3.5 players want more material that badly, they can buy any one of thousands of third-party D&D and d20 products. There is no need to bastardize classic Dragon content to feed that need. I won't be buying this book and I'll discourage others from doing the same in my real-life gaming circles and online.

Is updating the stats really to be considered bastardization? I can see where authors would get upset (and justifiably so) were Paizo to change the body of their text. . .but simply bringing a "new" product up-to-date doesn't seem like blasphemy.

I imagine that those of you who are "hard-line" for leaving the old dragon info the way it is probably have those issues on your bookshelves. What about those who don't play 2e or 1e (and who don't have the time to convert stuff) why shouldn't they get to benefit from some of the unique productions of the Dragon's trove?

If you are just looking for a rehashing of the old material, there is the Dragon cd archive, and, from the looks of it, the slowly developing *pdf archive of current issues.

I don't know that you need to do anything so drastic as to stand outside the Paizo offices picketing them or threatening a boycott. It’s a complex game, it should evolve—those old texts still exist, even if just on the shelves of collectors and players. This new book will bring back to life some of those articles and authors—giving new players a chance to see what helped bring the game to its present state.

Wizards has been updating stuff for quite a while: just take a look at the various Forgotten Realms books that have come out (and are due out soon): most of them recognize in their “dedication� sections the older articles/books that they’ve cultivated material from—is this a disservice? Why is it so terrible to make what was old relevant again? I’m looking forward to the book, and, if I knew anyone in Columbia, SC who played D&D, and, based upon my actually reading through the material (and seeing its relevance), I would probably recommend it. I certainly wouldn’t praise or malign something before I’ve read it.

Hey, is the cover of Dragon #333 a secret? The image has been unavailable for roughly a week. I don't know about the rest of you, but I find my anticipation grows a bit when I can take a sneak peak at the cover of the upcoming issue. . .what's the deal?

Ok, this is my first issue via subscription, and I actually assumed it would take a good five business days from shipdate, but I didn't really know. Can't wait to read the first adventure of this path. I'm DMing for the girlfriend and kids, they've never played before, and it's the first time I've played since the late 80s. I'm hoping to build some cardstock terrain models based on the maps, and wanted to get as much time on it before the kids got off for summer.

Since you haven't received one yet, I'm assuming it hasn't printed yet, or has only just printed? I thought I read that it shipped on the 17th. Was it that it was sent to the printers on the 17th? How long does it usually take from the ship date to arrive?

I'm in South Carolina and, except for last month's Dungeon (which I've heard shipped late) it usually comes about ten days after the shipping date.

If I can ask this here, when is a good time (and I know RIGHT NOW is the knee-jerk reaction) to renew my subscriptions so that there's no lapse? A month? Two months?

Option B, please.

I, for one, would like to see more Planescape. I've recently begun reading the old *pdfs of the system and would like to see it explored in more detail (and brough up to date). Of course, Greyhawk and Mystara would be nice too.

I don't really care for Dark Sun or Spelljammer.

I don't much mind advancing the timeline. Things grow. And, even if you do advance it, as the mantra goes: pick what works in your own campaign.

When I was younger (about twenty-years ago) and playing D&D, I found that I had to constantly look to a dictionary to understand some terms/words. While it can be disconcerting to have to read aloud a word you don't understand, I think it is great to be challenged on any level by something as "simple" as a game. Think of how silly most basketball players look as they try to learn how to dribble the ball between their legs or around their back. I don't look at it as a bad thing--it's the staying in the dark that is troubling.

Eberron content to me is very much like the Wil Save article...

But at least Wil is amusing at times.

Please, please, please don't start a Wil save discussion on this thread too. . .

For my part I don't play Eberron and really have no intention of doing so. I bought the book to make conversions easier and to satisfy my curiosity about the new world.

The argument that a fantasy world can be boring strikes me as a similar to the argument people make for breaking up bands—when lead writers want to split off to do something new, I often wonder how they’ll break away from their own minds. If you can imagine it, it can be done in any world. So the world itself isn’t the weak part of that link.

What is the procedure for getting a magazine resent that seems to be lost in the mail. It may be too early to say anything, but up until this month, I've been getting issues about ten days from the date of shipment. Whom do I contact? In about five days the magazine hits the stands, so I assume I should've gotten mine by now.

I post this here because I sent Paizo an email about three months ago regarding a magazine that came to me damaged. No one reponded to that email, and no one responded to my follow-up.

"Can't believe anyone could have a problem with wil's article.To invite us into this small picture of his life and experience with our game and how it can truly impact us,if we only could stand back and watch ourselves from the sam point of view as wil."

That's exactly what I don't like about it. It's just creepy. Much to Dr. Phil.

ASEO out

I am sorry, I have been purposely avoiding this thread. I must say, I am glad that a google search brought me here accidentally. Whoever did this with the avatars, my hat is off to you.

Hmmm, if ASEO gets the APHC, he won't be able to say anything about Wil Save and the thread might go away. . .Go for the APHC.

Actually, I'd pay the $60 dollars, though I'd probably wait to see what internet retailers have it on discount. I bought the World's Largest Dungeon for only $68 from an internet source (new). You need to shop around on the internet ASEO.

My absolute favorite creature, and I can't really tell why, is the:

Minotaur--I think that is why I was always drawn to the Keep on the Borderlands.

White Dragon

Lizardman

Doppelganger

Succubus

For the love of God, Mr. Mona, please cancel this thread. How many different ways can how many different people say they hate the column?

While the "Serve D&D's original demon prince" could be viewed as slightly not right. . .I don't know that this particular cover is that risque. As for the figure--to borrow a line from Monty Python--all the nasty bits are covered. Museums have paintings that show more skin than this particular cover. My God what would they say about Duchamp's work?

While the figure does has a seductive quality about her, it is connected to the danger that the medusa figure represents. To look is to endanger oneself.

As Americans, we certainly are a stuffy lot. Where is D.H. Lawrence when you need him?

Thank you both. You'd think EGG would have settled on one or the other.

I am the king of foolish questions, but, ever since I first read about them in the G-1-2-3 module, I've been calling them Dr-o (long O) elves. Is it drow as in blow or drow as in plow? Anyone know? What brings this to the forefront is I've started reading the Salvatore books and the word is on every other page.

I can't answer for the rest of the south eastern part of the US, but it sure feels like fire ants can bite. I would fifth or sixth the recommendation that you write an article, re-addressing the attack possibilities of vermin in D&D--perhaps a "new" discovery that's lain dormant for so long.

For what it's worth, when I "discovered" that Dragon was still around, I didn't buy the first few issues because the art seemed uninteresting (and, to be fair, because I hadn't played the game for almost twenty-years and wasn't interested in buying a whole new set of books when all my rowdy friends done rowdied on down. . .). I miss those old covers, especially the ones with the "chess" motif. They were incredible. Or, one that stands out in my mind, the one with the black dragon and the elfen woman with the lyre. . .those covers were very emotive. These just seem like they were taken from "magic: the gathering"--not that I have anything against the art there as well. The older paintings seemed like they could exist somewhere--the new ones are too comic-bookish. I am glad that I did finally buy an issue, and I buy them primarily for the articles--hey, where have I heard that before--but it would be nice to see some of the older artists (and their vision) come back.

I'm new to RPOl.net, but, from what I've seen, there are places where games work very well. There is some player turn-over; however, more often than not, someone is there to fill the missing space. I, too, would love to get a game going where I live, but there don't seem to be too many players in Columbia, South Carolina.

I'm trying to decide where to situate Haranshire (the Night Below) in Greyhawk, any suggestions?

It is sad to say, but for all the years that Dungeon was around, I never knew about it. The store where I used to get my D&D stuff only carried Dragon. It wasn't until I got accidentally reaquainted with D&D that I discovered it. Ah, if only I'd known. . .

I'm not trying to stir up trouble, but, being a map-nut, are there any plans for the Mystara map or any others? By the way, the Greyhawk map is fantastic. Thanks for your hard work.

I say this without having played a real game of 3e yet--though I am involved in an on-line game that is using 3e rules. Even though the monsters would be much tougher in the new rules (specifically, the Hill Giant scenario), the player-characters also seem to be much stronger: feats, skills, etc. Is there no balance in that equation? I grant that the monsters, in some cases have gotten much stronger.

I haven't read the Zelazny series, though I am going to start looking for it when the semester ends. But, if you are intersted in Chaos and Law--Elric is the way to go. And, by the bye, I disagree with the old Deities and Demigods that made his alignment evil. While I haven't finished the whole series, the character smacks more of Neutral than anything having to do with evil.

Perhaps an article focussing on the "dark side" of the Druid from its Celtic origins? It seems like there is too much of the Green Peace activist in the Druid, and I don't know that they need to be played that way.

Vivanas Mangu,

Can I get a copy? I know you've got quite a list ahead of me, so I'll be super patient.

My email is:

evenest@bellsouth.net

I thought the OGL allowed for exchange of info, provided that it wasn't drawings and such--or is this a policy of Dragon and Dungeon?

Forgive the question, but is Mystara the world where the Basic/Expert adventures were set, or was that a new development that came with the 2e?

Good, bad, or indifferent, Wil Save has garnered more "ink" than even the talk about publishing a separate edition of the Adventure Path, or the possibility of the Second Adventure Path. What's that phrase about "no such thing as bad press"?

For my part, I read the column like I do everything else in the magazine--even though I am not a "long time reader" (sorry, I've been away from the game for almost twenty years). Sometimes I'm interested in what he writes, sometimes not. Perhaps the column would be better received if there weren't a website devoted to people talking about individual experiences and gaming anecdotes.

Why not give a column to The Rock? . . .(smiling quietly to myself)

I have been kicking around an idea for a while now--one I'm sure has come up more than once--that involves creating a series of adventures based upon the old black and white monster movies. Much of the work is rather easy: werewolves, dracula, the mummy, etc.--however, I am dissatisfied with the idea of using a construct for Frankenstein's monster. I also don’t subscribe to the way Hollywood has portrayed the creature, though, I must admit, that Van Helsing did a fairly good job of it.

So, I thought I’d ask you all what you would do to create stats for the Creature—he isn’t undead, he’s not a mindless construct, and, while he is living, he seems more than “human.” In Shelley’s book, she seems to suggest that he might be immortal, or, at the very least, long lived—though sterile. He is highly intelligent, somewhat compassionate—though very angry at his liminal status—seemingly unaffected by the elements (most pointedly, lightning and cold—though, the lightning might be part of the movie lore. I don’t think Victor ever really goes into detail about what he did to create the creature).

Any suggestions?

Oh, and if Dungeon or Dragon wants to do an article—I call dibs!!! :)