Varl's page

Hey i think it would be cool to include cursed items

Good idea.

I'm very excited about this new product, and purchased 4 packs of IP1, but like D&D minis, I'm not going to buy random placement products. It's far easier to go third party and get exactly what you want without knowing you paid for card/minis you don't want, even if you have to pay more to get them. Give the people what they want, not how lucky they can be.

Material components for spells. That should give Gamemastery several series of decks for us to consume.

Then again, this gaming business is just a racket. It's not about the spirit of gaming. The bottom line is that if it is profitable to release a 4e soon, WotC will do it, if not, they won't.

Such is life in the business world. You're right about the spirit of the game. It's been exorcised for years now.

M:TG and miniature sales are some of WoTC's most profitable product lines, so if there is a 4E, you can probably expect a D&D3.5E/M:TG CCG/Miniature game hybrid. That sounds ridiculous, but I guarantee some R&D manager at WoTC has done extensive research/prototyping on just such a game.

The end is nigh. I like Magic. I like D&D (though not the current one). I really like collecting the D&D minis. Brand separation is a good thing. Genetic brand mixing typically only results in abominations, which is fine if you like abominations, but I need 2 black and 3 generic first.

I read the title of this thread, and instantly thought of Scooby Doo....*sing with me* (now that it's stuck in my head)

"Were-plat-y-pus, where are you? We've got some work to do now."

;-p

I recall when WotC bought TSR back in the late 90s. There was this huge uproar about how they were going to turn D&D into a card game,

http://paizo.com/store/paizo/gameMastery/itemPacks

You were saying? I jest, of course, because this is one rare aspect of 'turning D&D into a card game' I happen to approve of, since I think this idea helps DMs, and since I just bought 4 packs myself.

I'm just an unapologetic new monster junkie; there's no hope for me. So I bought the dang thing, I just wish there were more new beasties is all.

Unfortunately, this hopeless 2e DM is also a monster-phile. I bought it, even though the stat blocks will have to be completely redone as usual (thank you very much), but I can't seem to resist monster books regardless of edition. I think it has something to do with being able to get a glimpse into the twisted minds of others, and the beasties they dream up. Sick b*stards. ;-)

I still run and greatly enjoy 2e. It's my preferred system. I started with basic, graduated to 1e, and eventually moved on to 2e where it clicked with me. Sure, it has its flaws and failings, but every edition does. I've never felt any compulsion or need to move on to d20. I've never found thac0 difficult, even when I first started, but perhaps that was because I aced algebra in HS. I've always like the negative ACs. They have their own core basis in D&D since the beginning, and changing away from that felt wrong somehow.

My biggest disappointment with the advent of d20 has nothing to do with either edition. It's the fracturing of the fanbase in two, and the difficulty for OOP DMs to find people willing to still try AD&D without d20 bias or derision. That, ultimately, helps no one, and I feel is sad, because there are some truly great AD&D games out there still.

I was checking shortly after your post, and didn't notice any problems.... Hopefully whatever you experienced was temporary, localized, or both.

I believe it was. Thankfully. Thanks for checking.

Is there another download blitz happening, or is it just because it's Sunday and everyone has the day off to browse Paizo, but the site today is incredibly 'bytes' slow today. Cable isn't supposed to be 14.4 slow. :-/

These cards are something I've always wanted to own, but I'm not going to be writing on them without sleeves. I plan on testing dry erase markers on them to see how they erase.

Yes I am, Erik. Speaking as one of the few grognards who refused to "upgrade" to d20, any FR content or adventures (even d20 ones) I can get is about the only material that interests me any more. I still greatly miss Ed Greenwood's spicy articles on not-so-famous locales in the Realms in Dragon. Any FR adventures you publish in Dungeon help add to that content imo.

As a subscriber since issue 82 iirc, I hear what you're saying Yamo. I miss the feel of the older articles, the wonder of cracking open the new Dragon and seeing what I might drop into my game. I haven't felt that feeling in 4 years plus, and I think it's because of the "dry lists" approach you mention.

Deciding to stay with an older edition doesn't help either, but I don't think the current supported edition of the game has anything to do with the flavor of the articles in Dragon. In fact, that flavor is the only thing this old grogger still looks for in Dragon that interests me. I certainly don't care for the stat blocks or d20 mechanics, as superior as they are heh, and since I have to work around those, I also know I can look past them and get to the primary meat of the article. But it can be tough sometimes to stay focused on the material when you know going in that so much of the feel and mechanics of the articles are alien to what you prefer. Half the time, I find myself trying to figure out how something from d20 might work in AD&D; the other half of the time, I'm trying to figure out the point of the article and dig very deep past the d20 top silt to get to the good loam below. It's a mental gymnastic I'm forced to perform, part in memory of the magazine I once knew, part for the desire for new material to keep my players guessing, and the last part for the collector in me. I mean, how can I possibly stop collecting the only D&D magazine in the world, even if it is d20, after 245 consecutive issues? 20+ years is a long time to dedicate towards anything....

Anyone know why they cancelled Dungeoncraft in the first place? Seems to be a pretty popular column, unless Ray decided to end it. It was one of my favorites as well.

I find it incredible that Dragon takes a survey and doesn't bother to put a box for original comments.

I stopped subscribing to Dragon when it switched to third edition. I bought the rules once already, no one should have to KEEP buying the rulebooks. If you do you only encourage them to update to a new edition every 5 years and make your books obsolete.

Vince Lehto, your name sure rings a bell from somewhere in D&D past. Hmm.

Anyway, I'm the opposite as you. I still subscribe to both Dragon and Dungeon despite still being a fan of 2e, and having to heavily modify or ignore stat blocks and other 3rd edition conventions.
I also tired of the purchasing treadmill, which wasn't a matter of finance so much as a matter of space. Heh. I, literally, do not have the space left to accomodate every edition WotC might choose to create, and I'm not even married. ;-p

I know what you're thinking; I need to buy a bigger house then, right? ;-)

Creating re-hashes of the Complete books sealed the deal for me. That's when I knew I'd had enough.

I read the first Wil Save, and thought it was well written and an interesting insight to a famous person's view on D&D. I read articles like Wil Save the same way I read the editorials: to read about gaming experiences of other people. They usually don't add anything to my game, but I don't expect them to.

For me, if its unique and not your typical adventure setting or location, I like it. Nothing too alien, necessarily, just original. Also, if the scenario the adventure is about is unique, but the location if cliche', I like those as well. Any subterranean scenarios are my favorites, followed closely by wilderness adventures, and then urban adventures.

It's a convenience thing for me, Seeker. I haven't had a lot of time lately to work on my FR campaign, but being a FR fan, I don't need everything spelled out, in fact, I prefer that it not be, so I can add in any of my specifics I want to add without saying, "hmm, can't put it there...already defined."

But conversely, if Dragon puts out material on the FR that previously has not been included in Realmslore, nor supplementally been added in by me, then yeah, I like to see it. Actually, I think Greyhawk material can just as easily be incorporated into the FR. All you need to do is change the names and modify it to taste and you're good to go.

Actually, I think I'm very close to reaching full-on saturation in regards to my FR. Only truly unique and original material makes it in now, and it has to wow me, whether that material is from official channels or private.

If you'd really like to change the direction of Dragon, tell us what you liked and what you'd like to see.
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Well, that's simply something I can't contribute towards, since I'm an old school AD&Der, but I can tell you that, as a subscriber since issue 82, the magazine still endeavors to put out quality material, even if I have to adjust to use it. So, thanks for that are in order I suppose.

The one thing I'd love to see in Dragon would be a continuation of the article index from 112. Talk about way overdue. 112 has to be the most versatile and useful issue I have.

I REALLY miss Ed Greenwood's supplemental geography articles on the FR that he'd create now and then. THAT'S the kind of material I get the most use out of now. Edition irrelevant and loaded with details about X region. I'd even like to see non-FR material setup in that format.

My favorite issues were before Paizo: the chess cover issues in the 80-somethings, particularly the one where the white knight is being blasted by the black queen's staff, channeling power through her deity in the background. Fantastic!

I also really like the white and red color scheme of issue 323 with the Red shredding the cover. Nice!