Hades's page

In Dungeon #150, how about statting your "iconic" characters for us (as was done for the D&D 3.0 iconics in "Enemies and Allies"?

So...right now there is nowhere to find the actual names and stats for the iconic characters? I'm pretty new to DUNGEON so I actually just started noticing the same characters being presented over and over again. Do they even have names?

A boycott that requires a clear condition be met is different than a perpetual boycott. If we starved them, the way they're starving us, we really would be calling shots. Companies are for profit. When an obstacle arises that denies profit, the company must deal with the obstacle, not fail to answer their phones... which is what they're doing today.

It's like an invisibility spell... we just have to wait out the duration and tackle this rogue.

I'm all for it. But how do we reach all of the other gamers out there?

Hades wrote:

Ragboy wrote:

Kalin Agrivar wrote:

Hades wrote:

How about a virus attack on the WoTC website? That could be the shot heard around the world.

I like the spirit of the idea but I don't think criminal acts would help anything

Breaking the law probably isn't going to get your message out there like you want it to. Logical, adult strategies are probably a better path.

I agree that this is a situation that requires calm reactions...but don't forget that breaking the law is EXACTLY how our country threw off British rule, ended segregation, won the right for women and minorities to vote, and helped develop our current - albeit faltering - institution of social justice.

Don't go breaking the law. It won't help, and it's lame.

Okay. So what official move do you all suggest? What's our point? I mean, we have already said that Paizo probably knew about the change and that they probably wouldn't want the license back anyways so is there even a real point to complaining anymore?

Kalin Agrivar wrote:

Hades wrote:

How about a virus attack on the WoTC website? That could be the shot heard around the world.

I like the spirit of the idea but I don't think criminal acts would help anything

Breaking the law probably isn't going to get your message out there like you want it to. Logical, adult strategies are probably a better path.

I agree that this is a situation that requires calm reactions...but don't forget that breaking the law is EXACTLY how our country threw off British rule, ended segregation, won the right for women and minorities to vote, and helped develop our current - albeit faltering - institution of social justice.

Quote:

How about a virus attack on the WoTC website? That could be the shot heard around the world.

That's been done before, and it's illegal.

Oh. Well, there goes my fun.

WWTDD? (What Would Tyler Durden Do)

For there is strength in numbers. Unite against WotC! It may not have occured to them that by doing this they would anger many of those that read and treasure these magazines but they have. I have read many people's posts on several other thread discussing this and have found a great deal of anger directed at WotC. I say that we boycott WotC! I won't buy anything of theirs from a site or store that would give them profit (places like Ebay are okay). I have never actually held a subscription to either magazine for money reasons but I have always read issues and picked them up when I could find them cheap and I love them. I am going to send furious emails to WotC telling them where they can stick their 'online content' and will spread the word. If anyone else agrees with me email WotC, post on other sites frequented by D&D players and let them know, encourage them to rebel!

I don't want 'online content'! I want a real magazine! I want a magazine published by the talented people at Paizo! Not some online crap. I want to have a magazine that I can take with me when I go somewhere! GIVE PAIZO THEIR LISCENSE BACK!!!!! Whos with me!?!!?!

I stand with all of you in this BUT how do we organize our boycott so that its effective? Its one thing for all of us here to say we are going to boycott and protest but we are, in effect, a very small community when compared to the entire Internet. Lets talk about how to make this an official boycott or protest, not just a group of gamers being pissed off.

How about a virus attack on the WoTC website? That could be the shot heard around the world.

Another question...

Are WoTC now saying that DUNGEON and DRAGON will be online resources that can be accessed, for free, through their website?

BUt what about people like me who didn't use DUNGEON for the adventures, per se, but for the exciting new ideas and resource materials it presented? I read the adventures but never actually used them because I like to create my own campaigns, but the material gave me new ideas and creative energy that invigorated some of my work. What about people like me who really disdain using prepared "adventure paths" and enjoy the act of writing an entire campaign from their own head and heart? Where do we fall in the new regime?

Okay folks, I'm rolling 1's trying to make sense of everything that's happening so please be patient with my stupidity.

I understand that WoTC had granted Paizo a license to publish the magazines, DUNGEON and DRAGON but not that license has, for some unknown reason, been revoked. This means both publications will be dead after September and WoTC plans on creating all online content at their website. Paizo's answer to this tragedy is to produce Pathfinders, which will be a whopping campaign book set in their own world and needing very little from us writers and hopefuls except new monsters and playtesting. Since Pathfinder will be OGL sourced, we can't use the D&D books that we've spent tons of time and money gathering over the years and now have to use the SRD or similar materials due to license infringement. So even if I had the chance to write an adventure for Pathfinder, which it seems is unlikely, I would have to reference OGL materials instead of the actual DMG or PHB that I have always used. Do any of us know whether or not WoTC has a niche for new writers in their upcoming online content resource? My main concerns about this change are what happens to those of us who want to write and contribute and be a viable part of the phenomenon we so dearly love and obsess over?

Thanks again for your patience.

Hey folks...

Can someone tell me...

Should we stop trying to submit to both magazines now or what?

And will Pathfinder have writers locked in to a specific campaign setting?

Help!

WOW!!!!! THAT'S ALL I CAN SAY!!! NO MORE DRAGON.......NO MORE DUNGEON....... I KNEW THIS ENTIRE ONLINE REVOLUTION CRAP WAS GOING TO END UP SCREWING US OLD FOGIES (AGE 32) IN THE END. MAYBE I DO HAVE ENOUGH D&D BOOKS NOW........... BUT KNOWING ME PROBABLY NOT :( THIS JUST SUCKS.

Okay, so...I guess submissions are closed for both magazines now...considering you probably have a huge backlog of submitted material?

Okay, so I just have a few major questions that I need some help answering...

First, as I understand it both magazines will no longer be published after 9/2007. This means I can still buy back issues but no new issues will be published. That I understand. I don't like it but I understand it. Now, this new Pathfinder publication will be online only? I hate reading online material. Can't lie in the bathtub with it, or prop it up on my belly while lying in bed. Oh well. Is Pathfinder just online content?

Most important query: Can we fans and gamers still write for the publication formerly known as Dungeon/Dragon and now called Pathfinder? From what I read, there will only be Adventure Paths published and the campaign world is already going to be set. So does this mean any writers have to create stories in that world only? Will there even be room for new writers?

Hades wrote:

First, when an encounter has a certain treasure amount attached to it...does that also include the treasure that is being carried or used by the creature in the encounter?

Note that my comments are unofficial (if you plan to try your hand as a published module designer), but ...

Yes. Since the earliest incarnations of D&D adventurers have looted the bodies of their slain foes (just like reality). As such, property is "treasure".

Moreover, there is always the consideration that a dragon with a massive horde of magic items would never let them go unused when fighting for it's life against a party of adventurers. I've had dragons divide their potions by effect into "readily consumed piles", literally munching a dozen or more potions of cure light wounds taken from slain would-be-dragon-slayer adventurers over the centuries for an instant healing boost.

Consider also the case of an orc, or any creature in a CE society. You can't trust others to keep their hands off your stuff so you can't leave your "treasure" anywhere. Piles of coins are worthless since they will simply be stolen by your untrustworthy tribe-mates, so you convert everything into equipment that you can hold in your fist or wear or use against Mar-luk if he doesn't keep his grubby hands off it. Orcs don't have coffers and treasure chests ... all "treasure" is gear (or at the very least kept on their person) and they have more use for barterable goods than gold coins with the face of some ugly human or elf-king minted on them.

Note that the Treasure per Encounter by EL table lists only about 1/3rd of the values in the NPC Gear Value by CR. You have two ways to reconcile this, depending upon the flavors of your campaign:

1 - Assume that the Treasure table applies to ordinary and less successful "monsters" of sufficient calibre to simply be slain by adventurers, and perhaps occasionally apply the Gear to Bosses and BBEGs when your Players are due for a major reward;

2...

I agree with this approach. Just didn't know what the official rule was for adventures submitted for publication.

Thanks folks!

Happy Wodensday Everyone.

First I want to offer my heartfelt condolences for the horrific tragic that struck Virginia Tech this week. I can't imagine the terror and suffering that both students and families are enduring right now and I sincerely want to commit a prayer to their healing and recovery.

That being said...

Just a few newbie questions about writing a Dungeon adventure...

First, when an encounter has a certain treasure amount attached to it...does that also include the treasure that is being carried or used by the creature in the encounter? For example, if the standard treasure for the EL (an orc chief) is supposed to be 1000 gp and he is carrying a +1 Sword worth 1000 gp...does that all equal out? Or do I have to add another 1000 gp on top of what the party would already get in the form of the sword if they beat the orc chief?

Second, do Trap CR's get added to the EL for an encounter?

Thanks for all of your answers and patience!

Dinosaurs and Malcanthet are immune to the list.

Seriously? That is awesome. I enjoy both, although I have never actually used either in an adventure.

I was worried about using Malcanthet because I know she is a part of a current Adventure Path. I want to write an adventure where she just happens to be the deity worshipped by the main villain, not a part of the actual story.

Is that List the current List?

Yay, toys are fun!

So at Dungeon we have a list of monsters/adventure ideas that we feel have been overused recently. While it is possible for us to green light an adventure that features one of these monsters/ideas, it is very unlikely. Every once in awhile we reevaluate "The List" and update it.

Which one of these deserves to come off "The List"?

BTW - I say get rid of vampires. The only Masquerade I want my party to experience is the one being thrown at the Duke's house.

Yay, toys are fun!

So at Dungeon we have a list of monsters/adventure ideas that we feel have been overused recently. While it is possible for us to green light an adventure that features one of these monsters/ideas, it is very unlikely. Every once in awhile we reevaluate "The List" and update it.

Which one of these deserves to come off "The List"?

Can I ask a question? What is the most current "List"? Is Malcanthet on that List?

Wow. That's awesome. Thanks man!

Hades, first off, welcome to the neurotic and anxious mass of aspiring Dungeon writers. Writing adventures is a blast, but it is also frustrating if you don't have the patience and perserverence it takes. There is a lot of guessing and a lot of waiting involved.

I suggest reading through this thread to get a good feel for the whole process and getting the latest behind the curtain info from the Dungeon staff on what they are and are not looking for. Also, make very sure that you are familiar with the Dungeon Submission Guidelines, which you can download from this site along with the styles sheet and Standard Disclosure Form.

OK. Now, as for writing an adventure that is built around Malcanthet, I recommend you focus on a different villainess. She gets quite a bit of mention throughout the STAP and plays some key parts in the adventure path in later installments. If it's a good adventure, you should be able to replace her with someone of your own creation or another femme fatal.

Anyway, good luck!

Thanks for all the info - all of you! Something occurs to me...actually a few things occur to me...

There seem to be a lot of talented writers trying to get published in these two magazines. Are there other publications for people to submit Adventures? Are Dungeon and Dragon the only RPG/D&D magazines in the game? It just seems a little hopeless when I read over all the posts that talk about the endless waiting, the rejections, the anxiety. Its hard to believe that only two magazines exist where writers and gamers can submit material and try to get published.

I understand that Malcanthet was invented for the Maure Castle first installment in Dungeon. As such, she doesn't have much history at all in the game. However, she is also a mover and shaker behind the scenes in the Savage Tide AP, and as such there might well be, as yet unrevealed, plans for her in the immediate future.

So would it be silly to use her in an adventure? What I mean is, do you think the Powers That Be would think, "OH, not ANOTHER adventure with Malcanthet! No way!" or ... ?

Hello everyone. I have a few simple questions about submitting adventures to Dungeon and figured I would ask the experts (all of you). So...

I want to write an adventure using Malcanthet but complete unrelated to the Maure Castle Adventure Path. Since I don't have every issue of Dungeon (yet) I was wondering if Malcanthet has been used alot or if she is a relative newcomer to its pages? I don't want to do something that's been done a million times already.

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

After checking out the review in the latest Dragon magazine, I picked up Perdido Street Station by China Mieville. Very good story so far: imaginative, packed with weirdness, and flooded with setting. I'm really enjoying it.

What's your favorite class?

I just started playing a Barbarian and I have to say that it is now my favorite class. I love epic combat and the barbarian is perfect for such events. I wanted a Scorpion King/Conan character and the Barbarian class is turning out to be awesome.