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Kudos, Dungeon!!!!! I've taken your beautiful maps, blown them up in InDesign and Photoshop (Love those EPS files) and printed them out to 1" square size. My players are blown away by the "Life Sized" full color playing surfaces. Damn, you make ME look good, Dungeon!
sheesh. even I'm getting worn out here. Uh, yeah... No, I would not recommend getting on Samantha's bad side either! I'm still really surprised that so many of you "I Hate Wil Save People" have such an objection to literary or insight based articles. Don't you get enough DC's, Stats, NPC's, and Maps of Mystery (whatever those are good for...) everywhere else you look in this hobby??? If we need anything in this hobby, it's more connectedness and emotion, not more 'crunchy' rules and statistics. Get over yourselves. Move on. (Thank you for your service, ASEO, but frankly I find your cold aloofness to be droll and humorless. I do note that your opinions, are welcomed by this forum, however, and that you have generated a discussion with considerable longevity and participation. If you're not too good for us, you might think about going to a Con someday - you never know what you may discover there, or what new friendships you might form). --
Koldoon - AMEN! You're spot on, IMO. I believe Will Save speaks to many people, and though it may not be exactly what everyone wants, it's variety for our hobby. That's a good thing. I fail to understand why there are so many vociferous, though well expressed, objections to the column. (I also thought my last post would generate some comment, so what do I know?) We are a mature populace - DM's - and I would think that taking a few moments to look into the emotional side of the hobby, or into the family/life side of it would be appreciated. It is by this reader, and that is why I have just subscribed. By the way, Koldoon, I have subscribed THROUGH my local store (Gator Games in San Mateo, CA). Basically, they order one additional copy than their normal supply, hold it for me, and give me a pre-order discount to boot! A great program, and you may want to suggest it to your local retailer. Good for you for supporting local businesses! --
OK... time for my two cents... Are you people that cold hearted? I have to believe that as role players in general, and as DM's specifically, you must have some kind of creative and emotional ability. How can you not recognize the very high value in Wil Save? This article is the reason I actually bought a subscription to Dungeon. When I picked up the re-designed issue with the first of Wil's articles, I was blown away by the fact that a gaming magazine FINALLY chose to publish something other than mind numbingly boring mechanical material, but in fact decided to have an article that spoke to the human side of our hobby. Truly, Wil Save speaks to me. I have read Dragon and Dungeon off and on for most of my life, and have never really taken them seriously as magazines. That is, periodicals that are worth READING and not just monthlies you buy to USE. Several posts in the thread have eluded to the "uselessness" of this column. I ask you: How can you not see value in someone relating his FEELINGS about the game. The column is heartfelt, warm, introspective, and well written. I applaud the Dungeon staff for evolving to such an extent and including a very human and thought provoking article. And you have a new subscriber because of that fact alone. I use the magazine's dungeons, and appreciate the DM articles, but I also very much appreciate good writing, and emotional analysis of the game. Do you "Crunchy" DM's depend on Dungeon for your campaigns so that you can have some colorful maps, and room descriptions? Sure, I use these parts too, and I consider myself a great GM (please excuse the arrogance) but it's not anything about a specific trap or a cool looking room that makes my games memorable. It's the special moments that Wil is communicating to us that I love this hobby so much for. For example: I ran a Shadowrun game at a con a few years back. It had something to do with a vampire and his NPC minion that the adventurers had to save. I had some cool props, a guest star in costume, and some great encounters. What do I really remember from the game? It was at the final battle, and one of the mages, a player who later became a member of my regular gaming group, who risked everything to get a success and be the hero of the game. It was a make or break moment for the party. He rolled over FORTY DICE!.... all he needed was one of them to be a success to defeat the vampire AND his character was still doomed to burn up in the process.... he rolled NOT ONE success! But that is not the memorable part.... what was so memorable was the maniacal glee on his face during the roll, and the laughter that erupted in the hotel room when he proceeded to throw the entire contents of the dice tray down the hallway, and we could hear the dice rattling off of the walls ..... such a golden moment! I think you get my point. It's not about the maps, prestige classes, random encounter charts or cool NPC's. It's about the laughter, the emotion, and the few moments when geeks can bond together and escape our little troubled lives for just a few hours. Keep it up Dungeon, and Mr. Wheaton! |
