Kobold Quarterly is the scrappy little magazine of Open Design, a tiny journal that covers the world's premiere roleplaying game and the world's best fantasy adventures.
Each issue is written by the industry's best, including many well-known RPG designers from Ed Greenwood to Wolfgang Baur. Each features full-color art by fantasy artists new and familiar.
Kobold Quarterly gives you the finest worldbuilding techniques, great interviews, cartoons, and tested tactical crunch.
The premiere issue features:
The Ecology of the Derro
The first installment of the Princes of Hell series
Even though I'm way behind in my reading, I had to give KQ a try, based on the reviews here. It didn't disappoint. Great look, lots of imagination and depth. Magnificent, magnificent pub.
This is wonderful! Titivillus, Scribe of Hell? That is a very good article! And the interview with Erik Mona is very fascinating. Buy this magazine, folks, and subscribe! you don't want to miss out on this, particularly as it's now doing print!
Oh, hell yes. I absolutely LOVED kobold quarterly. It really remided me of the old (pre-Wizards) Dragon magazine, mostly because of the b&w artwork and text-heavy articles. Pictures aren't all that they're cracked up to be. I don't think I'm going to regret this one at all.
My only "complaint" is that there's no print version. Even so, it's still definitely worthy of the five stars I gave it.
I really enjoyed this first PDF of KQ. So much so I had to subscribe to the print edition. My only regret is that I didn't subscribe in time to get this first issue in print. From the cover illustration to the Erik Mona interview to the Free City of Zobeck (can't wait to get more info on Zobeck), I'm reminded of early issues of Dragon. For everyone that misses Dragon you should pick this up!
This magazine does exactly what it's set out to do: provide a magazine for gamers, by gamers, in a familiar, small-scale but high quality fashion.
The style of the magazine certainly will remind some of the first issues of Dragon. The feel is there, the good writing is present, there's nothing wrong that could be said about this issue, besides a few very minor things here and there (nothing out of the ordinary for a first issue, though).
If you want an alternative to the mammoth DI, something that's close to your interests as a DnD gamer, something that talks to you with a direct, friendly voice, this is what you are looking for right here.
After reading all the reviews praising the ´zine, I just had to buy it, and was not disappointed.
The Ecology of the Derro did a great job explaining their madness and their outlook on life. The gods seem to hint at the Cthulhu mythos, which is a nice idea.
The Monster Table is ok, but an explanation is needed - which books are referenced, and why are these the best monsters?
Titivillus - what I liked most is the thorough explanation of his motivations. The Ink Devils are a very nice touch. I´m not so hot for game stats, as they eat a lot of space, but they are a necessary evil (pun intended).
The ideas for non-monetary rewards are helpful, as a gold mine for ideas - exactly what I would want from a gaming magazine.
The Interview was interesting, if quite long. I like to hear what industry professionals have to say beyond the articles they write - as long as it relates to gaming.
The piece on tripping was interesting and got really into the rules details - useful stuff.
The Far Darrig is an interesting race, but there is a bit too much rules details and a little too less details on the race for my tastes.
The overview of the Free City of Zobeck is an obvious appetizer for more to come, and does its job well.
Overall, I rate this at four stars. A few minor points keep me from five stars
My first PDF buy and I could not be happier for the investment!
Excellent quality articles as always from Mr.Baur, I really enjoyed seeing that the 'Ecologies' will have their continuation.
The interview is fresh and funny, I hope to see more of these in the future.
Too bad the small page-count and periodicity, but I guess that's the way to start!
A great successor of Dragon with much room to grow.
Small, fierce, and a good read anywhere! If you liked Dragon and Dungeon, you will like this. Support Wolfgang and the other kobolds in their brave venture!
The appearance and font reminds me a lot of Dragon magazine of old. So do the eclectic mix of articles and features....that's a double and triple winner in my book--tug at my nostalgic heart strings and deliver useful gaming material on top of that! That list of Underdark monsters arranged by CR ratings is very immediately useful and I like stuff like that.
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