Polite Elliot's page

D&D has inspired some fantastic art and fantastic artists. Some have even come to define whole editions of the game:

1st Edition - Erol Otus (http://minipainting-guild.net/eo/eoart.html)
2nd Edition - Larry Elmore (www.larryelmore.com) & Jeff Easley (www.jeffeasley.com)
3rd Edition - Wayne Reynolds (www.waynereynolds.com) & Todd Lockwood (www.toddlockwood.com)

How about giving these artists their due, a thanks and maybe expose Dragon readers to some of this great art. This art and these artists are incredibly inspiring, and that seems to be one of the aims of Dragon magazine - inspire players and readers : )

In 20+ years of D&D I've never seen the issue tackled or even dealt with (steps back waiting to be corrected).

It's regularly addressed in Online RPG gaming but is never mentioned in pen & paper RPG's. D&D relies on the honour system, well that's open to abuse right?

What DM's have experiences with it, is it a widespread issue or does it even happen? Is it a taboo subject, a dirty secret or something that could undermine the game as whole?

The Haunted House article was excellent - material I'm just dying to get the chance to insert into a game. Well done : )

But that's it - one article in the whole magazine. I got a 1 year subscription in July but I think the magazine is pretty poor after the re-launch. My game store manager is pretty flexible so I'm going to exchange Dragon for a few issues of Dungeon and maybe get some back issues.

Hope you turn the magazine around, I really appreciate Eric Mona's enthusiasm and commitment to make Dragon the best magazine possible. Good luck : )

With the approaching release of MC's Ptolus city campaign (it look fantastic) will we be seeing Ptolus material in the same way we see Forgotten Realms material?

Appropriate seeing how this months 335 was heavily devote to Forgotten Realms.

I think Crafting is an under developed part of the game and in my experience rarely used. But isn't Crafting a significant part of MMORPG?

How about advice on using Crafters to their full potential, some prestige classes (maybe Dwarven Smith, Elven Fletcher, Human Gunsmith, Gnomish Apothecry), some more Power Components, rules on cutomising armour, weapons and eqipment ("Pimp my Full Plate" anyone?).

I think there's an opportunity to add another dimension to peoples game. The Dwarven Smith is a cool archetype, I like to see him (or her) brought to life.

A Crafter may not be too great in a fight but where would Bond be without 'Q' or Blade without his Whistler? If I were a player I'd like to see one in my party.

I've done a bit of Dragon magazine bashing today so I just want to share what I think are some of the fantastic issues.

Issue 299 - Knights & Paladins
Wow - after 3 years I still find myself bringing it to sessions and using material. The Honour system was fantastic and I'm still using it. Great Paladin spells, useful new monsters (and counters) and some cracking Monk Prestige classes (with eye-popping Jeff Laubenstein art) but it's the Knight & Chivalry Campaign Component that has consistently added colour to my game.

Issue 303 - Gladiators
From the mouth watering Marc Sasso cover to the useful Arena Map this issue really fired the imagination. Like the Knightly Campaign Component the Galdiator one adds a whole dimension of possible play (nicely complimented by a gladiator inspired issue of Dungeon). It's got some useful history, some great fantasy additions and even playtest notes to help a DM avoid pitfalls. Plus other articles - a great Guild of Necromancers, imaginative fighting styles and a brilliant article of using Social Skills in the game (love the Todd Harris art too).

Issue 308 - Dragon Magic
The Dragon orientated issues are usually stand out issues but I think this one has to be the best. Great Dragon spells from Mr Monte Cook, magic items for dragons and magic items made from dragons PLUS weird and wonderful Illithid sybiote & magical gear, thought provoking Tactical tips for pairing monsterous opponents to keep your players on their toes (or running for cover). This issue just ooozed imagination : )

These issues just inspired me and made me want to run games where I could use some of this great material.

I've done a bit of Dragon magazine bashing today so I just want to share what I think are some of the fantastic issues.

Issue 299 - Knights & Paladins
Wow - after 3 years I still find myself bringing it to sessions and using material. The Honour System was fantastic and I'm still using it. Great Paladin spells, useful new monsters (and counters) and some cracking Monk prestige classes (with eye-popping Jeff Laubenstein art) but it's the Knight & Chivalry campaign component that has consistently added colour to my game.

Issue 303 - Gladiators
From the mouth watering Marc Sasso cover to the useful Arena Map this issue really fired the imagination. Like the Knightly campaign component the Gladiator one adds a whole dimension of possible play (nicely complimented by a gladiator inspired issue of Dungeon). It's got some useful history, some great fantasy additions and even playtest notes to help a DM avoid pitfalls. Plus other articles - a great Guild of Necromancers, imaginative fighting styles and a brilliant article of using Social Skills in the game (love the Todd Harris art too).

Issue 308 - Dragon Magic
The Dragon orientated issues are usually stand out but I think this one has to be the best. Great Dragon spells from Mr Monte Cook, magic items for dragons and magic items made from dragons PLUS weird and wonderful Illithid sybiote & magical gear, thought provoking Tactical tips for pairing monsterous opponents to keep your players on their toes (or running for cover). This issue just ooozed imagination : )

These issues just inspired me and made me want to run games where I could use some of this great material.

What other issues or articles have inspired other Dragon readers?

And the prime culprit - First Watch.

Puh-lease - this month issue 335 "THE GAMESAC"! I buy Dragon for articles that are going to inspire me, add depth to my D&D campaign or improve my game. Reading about a 'fully equipped' sac with pockets for controllers or soda's isn't going to do that.

First Watch reads like 4 pages of vaguely disguised adverts. If I want to read about new XBox or PC games I'll buy a magazine devoted to them. How is a note on a White Wolf Exalted inspired comic really useful to me as a D&D player?

Being brutal, I think the Fiction is filler, I think a whole page of the Editor's thoughts is filler, half the Ed Greenwood article (I notice he has a new book out)- filler/promo material. I think Class Acts is padded and I know this isn't going to go down well - 3 pages of comics could be better spent.

Whether the fiction, cartoons or other stuff are really great or useful is debatable but 4 pages of First Watch is 4 pages too much.

If Dragon aims to "provide D&D players with the tools, utilities, and excitement they need to raise the level of their play experience" (it's certainly the reason I buy it)then at least news items about the lastest GAMESAC have got to go.

Hei,

The 'Class Acts' articles are pretty much a waste of space!

In 1 page they manage to be short, shallow, mainly useless and even broken!

Issue 335 Class Acts
Clerics: is an article that says Bless is a useful spell really necessary?
Barbarians: If the small mechanical bonuses require special permission to use then doesn't this just mean they're unbalanced?
Paladins: A couple of really obscure uses for a couple of minor skills

Some of the Feats are useful, the Chaos Monk is a nice idea but underdeveloped, same with the Totem Druids.

Come on, use the pages for something with a bit of depth, a bit of imagination.