Seeker95's page

I heard it too. A really good friend of mine works for Hasbro, and he shared with me some of the things he heard at the Divisional meeting he attended, where Corporate makes the decisions they will pass on down to each Division. WotC is a division of Hasbro.

Here's the plan:
Get rid of PrCs and most of the base classes.
Instead, there will be three classes:
Warrior
Caster
Rogue

No sub-divided spell lists. One set for everyone.
And spell points.

Throw in Feats and Skills to build the character you want. At each "level" you get to pick more Feats or Skills or improve existing ones. There is no more "class level progression".

Armor will reduce the amount of damage you take from a hit.

If you've read this far, please know the above is a load of crap, regardless of how true or false it might eventually be.

Like Stitch, I do not mean to offend by this post. However...

I do not mourn her passing. In it, I rejoice. This is easier for me to say, for in my scriptures we are promised... "I have made death a messenger of joy unto thee." Ms. Norton is in a much better place, and the legacy she left the world in her novels and collaborations will endure int his world as surely as her talent will benefit her in the next.

If your DM says yes, then the answer is "yes".
Otherwise, you're stuck with it as written.

The abusability is countered by the price of items created at higher caster levels. If you can stack 'em, you still can't afford to use 'em! (Assuming your DM uses something even remotely close to the character wealth by level guidelines on page 135 of the 3.5 DMG.)

I have to say that I am suprised that so many people dislike the fiction.

It isn't that I dislike it. But at subscription prices, I want a bit more D&D-material for my money. I can get short fiction from any of a gazillion sources.

What do you think? I heard the Ecology of the Duergar was pretty stellar.

I have an old 2e Drow adventure that I liked back then, but do not want to throw at my players. I just don't like drow -- WotC overdid them to death. So with this article in hand (and the Slayer's Guide to Duergar by Mongoose) I am going to re-organize it with duergar instead. Thanks! Amber, you've done a good deal of work with Mongoose, right? Did you have any input on their Slayer's Guide?

On a side note, the Mongoose supplement repeatedly acknowledges the lack of body hair, yet only one illustration in the entire book shows a hairless duergar. It was as out of place as T'Pol showing emotion in every single episode of Enterprise.

I'd recommend treating it the same way Reader's Digest does. I think they pay a whopping $50 for a joke that gts printed, and maybe $75 for a cartoon. Not a fortune, but an incentive for those of us who can draw a single panel cartoon, on a single attempt.

Pay your regular cartoonists a more impressive amount. But Dragonmirth need not be that much at all. Just enough to whet our appetites.

We already have eleven perfectly usable core classes.
(And that's seven too many, in my opinion!)

Rather than a new core class each issue, I wouldn't mind seeing what has already been demonstrated in a few of the Class Acts features --> variant cores (whether mechanics-based or flavor-based). For example:
Fighter: Captain of the Guard
Wizard: The Utilitarian
Cleric: The fanatic
Rogue: The Bodyguard
Paladin: The Zealot
Ranger: The Robin Hood
Sorcerer: The Thematic
Druid: The Ecoterrorist
Barbarian: The Urban Brute
Bard: The Herald
Monk: The Defensive Master

Issue 272

Must ... resist ... urge to ... scream.

I'd also like to see an explanation of why kobolds suddenly became reptiles for 3rd edition

To strengthen their relationship with dragons.

With both Eberron and Forgotten Realms* being official game settings, I can see "legitimate" requests for support for both of these. However, I use neither of these, so I am not all that keen to see *more pages* of campaign-specific material.

As a compromise, perhaps Dragon could alternate between the two settings each issue --> 2-3 pages.

As of right now we have no plans to support anything other than the core eleven base classes.

Thank God and the Editors!

Congratulations to Erik Mona for his new position as Editor-in-Chief of Dragon Magazine. I am certain he will be perfect for the job.

However, I can't help but wonder... four editors in two years is a very rapid turnover. What has changed at WotC that makes Dragon editors so willing to depart? The wholecloth dismissal of talent at WotC two and three years ago would seem to me a hint that it is NOT the most stable of posts.

I can do without the fiction (there are plenty of sources for that), but Dragonmirth was one of my favorites! If bringing it back were up for a vote, you'd get mine.

There is a very real difference between bad publicity in the form of reviews by movie critics, and bad publicity in the form of horrid reviews from the gamers the movie was made for.

The movie was not made "for the gamers". At the time of the first movie, "the gamers" were a bunch of 30-40 year old former geeks with mortgages, spouses, and kids.

The movie was made for kids -- our kids and kids whose parents never played D&D. And enough of those went to see it to more than make up for the incessant whining a bunch of already-playing-the-game folks have been monotonously droning for over three years.

The movie made a profit. That's good enough for the producers.
It got two of my nephews interested in D&D. That's good enough for me.

Sounds like they've got an article void you could fill, Avaritt.

There you go Medesha... always looking on the bright side.

I agree with the Letter from the Editor.

The first movie, horrible though it was, got three of my nephews to begin playing D&D. The second movie, starring Paris Hilton, will probably get two or three of my other nephews into the game.

A second movie is great for the game. It brings non-gamer attention to the game. There is no such thing as bad publicity in this arena. No matter how much the movie might suck (and it might actually be decent), it will make a profit, make it to video, and bring the name of Dungeons & Dragons to an audience that might not normally stumble upon the hordes of geeks and nerds stalking dark gaming stores or conventions.

And when they ask about it, us old timers will be ready to demonstrate that the movie is not even close to the game. We'll invite them to play. And a new generation (or at least wave) of gamers will be introduced.

If I have any advice for the producers, it would be to start shpping around for an affordable script for a third movie.

Question: Why are Vermin in D&D so Stupid?

Answer: They have an intelligence score of less than 3.

As for why they are protrayed so differently in the game than they are in real life...
1. It is a fantasy game.
2. Giant vermin are like this in real life... but they have more ranks in hide.
3. It is a fantasy game.
4. Not all the game designers are entomologists. The ones that are work for Bug-Eyed Scary Monsters.
5. It is a fantasy game.

The giant moth would not be all that menacing if the only thing it could do was lap the dew off your lilly.

Of Joshua's recent spate of published articles, I really liked this one the best.

The collected Sage Advice responses are already available online in PDF format. They are collectively known as the D&D FAQ, and can be found at http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/er/20030221a

Only about one out of every four (really rough estimate) Sage Advice questions or answers makes it into the FAQ. As DM, I tend to use about 90% of the Sage Advice in my game, so the FAQ omits about 75% of what I would find useful.

There are two sets of questions being mixed here.
1. Can The Sage operate a message board to answer questions?
2. Can Paizo release a compilation of all Sage Advice Q&A?

Time is a factor in the first.
Money / marketability is a factor in the second.

You asked if there was a way. There is. Use an X-acto knife.

I have successfully removed pages from many magazines with an X-acto knife. Yes, you have to be careful when doing this, and yes, there is a risk of damaging the magazine. And yes, it is possible that you will leave behind a little bit of cardboard.

If you didn't really want to know of a way to remove the page, but rather wanted to complain about having to, or to suggest that Paizo not include such ads in the future, then you probably shouldn't have asked if there is a way to reomve it.

*great big evil grin*

X-acto knife.

Is a better quality of paper a possibility?

Always -- at higher printing costs that get passed on to the consumer.

I've been a subscriber to the magazine for close to 3 years and I have not been able to read but maybe one or two. I didn't even notice when things changed. Suddenly I didn't see what's new with Phil and Dixie (which totally upset me 'cause I loved those guys.)

Sorry for the chuckle, but you made my day. I was surprised to see Phil and Dixie BACK when I re-subscribed a while ago. I got to see their first departure years (and years and years) ago!

Phil Foglio is a great cartoonist, but if you check out his website, you will quickly understand why his cartoon is best left out of a magazine aimed at a 13+ crowd. His departure the first time was because of the envelop he wanted to push. I noticed that he pushed it consistently when he returned. Once he was able to do the article he wanted, there was nowhere left for him to go.

Do either of you know what campaign components is?

Yes, I do. And if you check out the contents of Dungeon Magazine, you wills ee that the majority of the articles now appearing there (besides the adventures) reflect *elements* of the Campaign Components formerly found in Dragon Magazine.

You will still see *elements* of the Campaign Components in Dragon Magazine. With the Dungeon = DM and Dragon = Player focus shift, the elements (components) of the Campaign Components article(s) will now be found as elements of existing and continuing articles in both magazines.

Is there a general guideline for response time to query letters?

I received a response time in three days. I suspect I just got lucky to send it in the "last check before the wedding" period. Matt is getting married, and I doubt there will be much response while he is gone. Then there is the matter of wading through the backlog.

Patrick, do you play Dungeons & Dragons?

What is D20 Filtered?

An e-zine (with the first issue being free) with d20 reviews. Just like the post said. :D

Check it out (he has it hyperlinked). It is pretty cool.

Two of the large tile maps are currently being used in my campaign. The party entered a portal (with the intent of keying it to the other portals they have entered using the artifact that serves as a universal portal link key) and discoverd that it is both a space AND time portal. They appeared at the center of a field of battle being waged by Orcs and Goblinoids. They have to survive the battle with 80 combatants on a side and the PCs in the middle. Both sides view the party members as enemies who have gotten in the way. Two huge poster tiles side by side creates a wonderful battlefield.

diaglo's problem demonstrates the issue...

Paizo mails the issue "on time" (August 24).
The post office prioritizes as it pleases (September 13).

Magazine postage rates determine priority. If more people subscribed to Dragon, and the subscription pool were a significant revenue stream for the postal service, we might see some better customer service. But as long as we are a"niche population" we won't see any major jump in service from the post office. We just don't represent the steady income stream like Cosmo or Newsweek.

The same is true of the Local Gaming Shops (or any other news-stand) -- we (the subscriber population) don't carry enough numbers for Paizo to threaten pulling copies if they (the gaming stores) don't adhere to the release dates. If anything, the gaming stores would view subscribers as competition.

"TSR didn't seem to mind. You have to admire honesty that frank."

It's much easier to be honest when you have no direct competition for your product. TSR had only one licensed D&D-product competitor: Judges Guild. And those prducts made TSR a kick-back. Plus TSR got prior review. If a particular product from TSR got a bad review now and then, it wasn't a big deal. They sold less of that module / accessory. But they didn't lose the sale to a competitor.

Congrats! You never know true happiness until you get married...

but then it's too late.
<great big evil grin>

Kidding. Marriage rocks. Almost as much as fatherhood. :D

The eagle stones are not "created" so there is no true resurrection cost involved in them. They simply work, if you can find them. I do think they are a bit underpriced, since they have an equivalent value to a 25,000gp spell. But this is entirely market value driven, not item creation pricing.

A lesser version should probably have an equivalent market value of any other one-shot resurrection item. Again, this is not a cost-to-create. The market price is what people are willing to pay for an item. Since the stone does exactly what an existing item does, it should cost about the same -- brand name price inflation notwithstanding.

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.

Doesn't seem to cause problems for the video game industry, college textbook industry or auto industry. Nobody says you have to stop using your old game. You just might have a hard time finding players who already know how to play it.

I would have kept subscribing if Dragon had run articles for previous versions of the game,

Like how Video Game manufacturers keep making tip books for five year old games? Or Climbing Magazines contain articles on how to climbing gear that you can't find anymore?

Paizo loses $40 a year without my subsription plus whatever Dungeon costs.

They don't lose it. They already got it. You paid your money for the articles for old editions back when you bought those issues. Today, Paizo sells more magazines each month than Dragon eversold in previous editions.

Third Edition saved my favorite game from obscurity. While I apreciate the different editions I have used over the last 26 years, I also appreciate that the newest edition has fostered interest from a new generation. I appreciate that WotC included a means for me and my friends to create and publish our own ideas for this game. I apreciate that I can find D&D material in mainstream stores. I appreciate that D&D is not only alive and well, but growing.

If that is where D&D is going, it is where Dragon must go. My players play 3rd edition. I do not want Dragon publishing a magazine that my players can't use.

That you are reading this means you can access literally hundreds of free tiles. Use www.google.com and search under "dungeon tile" (without the quotes).

Or go to dunjinni.com and check out the user art files.

I like the idea, but there are so many resources already doing it. Over at EN World, you can get two or three reviews of just about every product.

The old Dragon didn't have competition from other D&D publishers. Everything was TSR, so when it did reviews, it was of non-D&D games, or of TSR products. Now, with multiple d20 publishers producing the exact same subjects (as bad as TV movie-of-the-week repetitions), a product review column is likely to be either bias-heavy or PR-poor.

I'd prefer anyone BUT Paizo doing comparative product reviews for D&D.

The didn't drop the article series... they dropped the article title. Now the entire Dungeon Magazine (except the adventures) is a giant Campaign Component!

The gem dragons are very glad they get so little coverage. If they had their way, they would have stopped you from posting this thread! :D

I enjoyed the article for fluff, but not for mechanics. It gave me ideas, but not material I (or anyone else, really) can use directly. Why? Because the spells rely on back story instead of mechanics. That's fine, when the DM is ready for it. But if a player whips out one of these spells in an area the DM has not prepared anything for...

And how do these spells work on the PCs? How "guilty" do any of the PCs feel? Alignment is easy, since each PC has an alignment. But guilt? Attitude? Does the DM get to randomly assign a level of guilt or type of attitude to each character?

Detect violence? If it came with a clairaudience/clairevoyance element that lets the caster *witness* the violence then it might be useful.

The spells in this article were flavor-fun, but mechanics-weak. Either the spells become a headache for the DM or a useless "no thanks" for the players.

I suspect you will be glad to see the newest issue (324) if you want chaos. Nightmares personified, and an homage to the Godfather of Chaos himself -- Mr. H.P.Lovecraft.

Perhaps you should talk with the younger viewers. I have 13 nieces and nephews. Ten of them were of "D&D-ish age" when the first movie came out and went to see it with me (and my brother-in-law -- also a reformed geek who played in the 80s).. Seven of them are now playing D&D. That's a pretty good conversion ratio. Not to mention it got both my brother-in-law and I back into playing.

The movie may have stunk for existing D&D fans.
It may even have received poor reviews from non-D&D players (only one of the ten that saw the movie with us liked it). But it was paid advertising with the name of the game in it. Much as I dread the *content* of the second movie, Matt is right --> it is publicity in an environment in which there is no such thing as bad publicity.

I just received my latest issue and I have to comment on the Cover. This is more like it!!!! The depth on this cover is great. The detail, right down to the drops of blood pooling in the slush under the hands, hearkens back to the issues in the early hundreds.

I'll write back with more comments on the content later -- after I get a chance to dine on the magazine as dessert (my wife is calling me to dinner as I type).

Razz and Varl,

Thanks for the feedback. When I saw that there were two responses after my post, I was nervous that my comments were going to be taken as personal attacks, and they were not intended as such. I was quite relieved that both of your posts responded to the question, and not any perceived intentions behind the question.

I still don't see what real benefit an FR-placement sidebar would have for you, but just because I can't see it doesn't mean you can't either.

Again, thank you both for the responses. And to Paizo, are you listening? While I can't use such an element, Razz and Varl outnumber me 2-1, and I won't drop my subscription just because you use their idea. :D

To the Forgotten Realms crowd:
How hard is it to add a Prestige Class, Feat, Spell, or anything else new into your campaign?

The Greyhawk users don't have that big of a problem fitting an adventure with a Red Wizard of Thay into the campaign. Some of us just change it to a wizard working for the Scarlet Brotherhood, or make it something completely different. Except for the Forgotten Realms material being a bit more powerful than the core rules (requiring a little bit more balance care), just about everything in the Forgotten Realms sourcebooks can fit into a Greyhawk campaign (or other homebrew) by simply changing the name of a city or leader.

Does the majority of Forgotten Realms population really *need* every detail spelled out?

Note: If this commentary does not apply to your campaign, play style or experience, please disregard it. It is intended to query those who consistently request that material not designed "for the Forgotten Realms" be spelled out for them.

The number of people Dragon would lose as subscribers in order to get George to subscribe is definitely not worth it. If George wants to buy the occasional news stand copy that contains an FR article, Paizo counts him as a bonus sale. One-setting-purchasers are not Paizo's target market, any more than Climbing Magazine targets Colorado-only rock-climbers.

If you want most of us to sunscribe, keep the magazine diverse.

Robert, it is a Saturday. Go home and enjoy your weekend!

Okay folks. You talked me into it. I just downloaded the writer guidelines and will format my proposal / query to make it official.

Sounds like you have a bigger problem than the combination of Core Rules and a non-Core PrC. Your DM needs a little help. The easy solution is to ask him how the cohort can qualify when the requirements go outside the core rules. That way the ball is in his court. Anything else we might suggest is useless because your DM's filter is pretty inconsistent.