It should be one four-panel map, which is to say a map that is roughly the size of four pieces of paper folded down to about the size of one.
--Erik
Thanks Erik, that means I got four copies of the same map. Can't complain about that!
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Am I the only one who either got an incomplete map or 4 copies of the same map?
Is the map in 124 supposed to have four different pieces? If so I got 4 of the same pieces, or 4 of the same map. What gives?
Like your half-orc picture! Very cool. You should do private commisions!
Ain't it cool to see Clark Peterson hangin around here. Interesting criteria and how you went with possible overall influence on the game as well as design/play. I'm surprised to see the absence of Temple of Elmental Evil on your list. I think a couple of Necro products deserve to be on that top thirty list since Crucible of Freya is going to be a landmark adventure for 3e. I think that Lost City of Barakus is another adventure that, as D20 continues to evolve, will be important. Obviously JG and Wilderlands has been very influential on you as a player, and now as a designer/producer, so I'm surprised to not see more JG in the top thirty.
I couldn't agree more. I like Erik's style, and I love what Dungeon has turned into. As for Dragon covers: can't we just go back to the title and a cool page of art. I have about 6 older dragon magazines on my wall at school from below 100 and the kids are completely captured by the art and always want to buy them from me. The only thing on the cover is art work and Dragon. Why do we need all the other stuff?
As neutral as I would like to be on the issue, I read the Will save in issue #116 and it is bad. Really bad. I understand that the editorial staff has to "take the company line" on this, but that was just wasted space. Sorry Will, but . . .
Wow. I just perused my copy of 116 and it's another great issue of Dungeon. While I don't really care for Assylum (kind of a rehash of an earlier 3e adventure with the escaped Mind Flayer nasty), but the other two adventures really caught my eye. I also really enjoyed the 30 Greatest article. Quite a panel of judges; it would have been interesting to see to read their lists and comments on each. Solid list of adventures and interesting rankings. I'm sure a thread will soon be started with those who have the energy and interest to dispute the rulings of the panel. Good job Erik. You and your staff have really made Dungeon a great magazine again.
OK, assuming that's true Erik, why don't we see these guys in the magazine more?
I finally got mine this week. Haven't opened it yet, too much lately, but the cover looks really cool, and I can't wait to get to it. I've noticed that recently the magazines seem to come later and later and have in fact gone to local game stores only to see a Dungeon and Dragon that I haven't gotten yet. As a subscriber that annoys the heck out of me.
Thank you Erik. The one was annoying enough.
Congrats Erik! I'm sure you'll take Dragon to new and unprecedented hights! Truly good news that you are in charge of both magazines.
It's ok Erik! If the biggest thing folks can find to pick on Dungeon about is the logo font you're doing pretty freakin good. Dungeon looks as good as it ever has, it has never been a more useful tool. You've taken Dungeon to a new place and it looks great. Look at Dungeon's board as opposed to Dragon's. Dungeon looks great and folks are complimenting you.
Can't believe anyone could have a problem with wil's article.To invite us into this small picture of his life and experience with our game and how it can truly impact us Who cares what what his life is like? I'll say again that I am apathetic to column until it interferes with useful content. If we have Will Save instead of Maps of Mystery or Critical Threats then Will Save should get the axe. Nothing to do with Will. He could be a great guy and a cool gamer, but if his article interferes with something that would be useful to my game I vote his column gets the axe.
Congrats Matthew. All the best to you and your new bride.
Sean Glenn - "If you look at your local newsstand, you'll find that the bold, decisive forms adorn every best selling magazine. So, in order to compete visually, we needed a masthead that is an instant read as you move through the newsstand with your eyes." I agree with Master of Dungeons that the cover is just fine and is much better than the silly crap with the goofy "headlines" on it. However, the explanation above is downright silly as well. We got into this over on the Dragon boards, but this "everyone else is doing this so we have to as well" mentality is ridiculous. This is a nitch market magazine. Making it appear like Cosmo, SI, etc, and making the interior immitate thier format is not going to magically make it sell better. You want to sell more magazines? Give readers what they want: good content. Useable content.
Sorry guys, don't want to reopen this wound. I like the cover just fine, but I'm not going to renew or cancel my subscription based on the interior or exterior layout of the magazine.
You haven't James. I was simply stating how funny it was that you guys (the editorial staffs of Dungeon and Dragon) always seem to defend yourselves against suggestions and criticism in much the same way. There is always a defense of why "we do things this way" followed by the "but we really are listening" disclaimer. You, Erik, Mike, and Matt all seem like nice folks. It wasn't a slap at you, just an observation.
And all that said, I'd like to thank everyone who's come onto these messageboards and posted their thoughts. Compliments, criticisims, it's great information all around, and we're certainly listening to everything everyone has to say. It's funny how new these boards are and yet this seems to be the standard disclaimer from the staff of both Dungeon and Dragon on the boards. It almost always follows a "Well, I'm glad that's your opinion, but let me share with why you you're misinformed . . . " Dungeon is fine. I haven't seen one person say that the new Dungeon is "bad." It rocks. It is once again back to the form that made me track down every single copy and pay through the nose for some of the earliest issues that had been so well used they fell apart. In fact, add in the DMing articles and Dungeon is about the best it's ever looked. Now if it just went back to the non-glossy b&w so I could write in the margins and make notes my world would be perfect. You guys are doing a great job.
One thing to keep in mind about Dungeon is that it's not just a monthly place to get articles that enhance the game or to get three new adventures. It's also entertainment. Maybe for you. If I want entertainment I'll pop in a movie or watch a ball game on TV. I don't buy Dungeon to be "entertained" but for content and help with m DnD campaign. As for Will Save, I don't mind. I read it and I really don't feel one way or another about it. Now I will admit to still having this huge dislike for Wesley Crusher. The character was a pretentious ass (hey. wait, we have so much in common!), but Will can't help that, he was just drawn that way, or whatever. On the other hand, if it's taking up space and as a result stuff like Maps of Mystery, or Critical Threats is getting axed, then I would say it has to go.
I think the maps are just fine. That guy obviously has an opinion about it, but I think the maps need to be 5ft squares to support the standard movement of PC's in the game. Yeah Merric, I was making a statement about the maps in general, I like the 5ft squares. I wasn't opening a dialogue or interested in why they should be 10ft. I was saying my vote is for 5ft squares, makes it easier on me as a DM, but thanks. :)
Very nice! Cool cover art and great interior content! Love the new Classacts sections with something for every PC,and the Sworn Slayer was pretty cool. Layout . . . .ok, well, I really like the content and the cover was cool! Succesful magazine guys. Nice job.
I really like issue 115. I'm dissapointed about the Eberron adventure. I don't want that stuff, but I have to live with it, on top of that after reading it I find the adventure lame. Sorry Erik. I really like Raiders of the Black Ice. The cool thing that has completely grown on me (in all of two issues) is the DM articles now in Dungeon. They are so awesome. I am really looking forward to seeing them everymonth. I wish that critical threats had hung around (I know . .I know I railed against it), and I'm sorry to see Maps of Mystery gone. Bring those back Erik. They were one, maybe two pages. You can do that. You have that power. Nice magazine. Dungeon is beautiful. Don't change anything please. Please keep this formatt consistent for the next 5 years. Please. Don't change anything. Please. IT's nice. People all over this board are talking about how much they love the new Dungeon so please leave it alone now. Thank you.
I think the maps are just fine. That guy obviously has an opinion about it, but I think the maps need to be 5ft squares to support the standard movement of PC's in the game. Maps are fine IMO. While the font of the front cover is really irrelevant I do like the layout where you can actually see the artwork!I hated the dumbazz way they used to have those silly "headlines" all over the cover. Looks nice now. Don't change it.
So, what you're saying is "you guys can do this stuff yourself with a scanner and paintshop, so we aren't going to, despite the fact that you're asking us too" ? That's good to know. Thanks for the clarification.
I'm happy to see readers posting their opinions about the redesign of the magazine, and I look forward to seeing more opinions. Please understand however, that a dozen or so people's opinions don't... Hey Matthew, Nice to see you drop in and post. Mike came in and replied to most of my concerns with this issue in the Dungeon thread yesterday (which I alluded to here in this thread), as did Sean, but thanks for addressing them again yourself and in such a timely fashion. I was happy to see your concern and to hear of the weight with which you give the concern of your posters, readers and current subscribers, no matter how far in the minority their oppinions might be! Also glad to hear that Dragon did so amazingly well at Gencon and in the days following the much anticipated release of issue 323. Looks like your job security is pretty much locked down for some time! Thanks again. Tim McDonald
No, just having some fun Erik. Don't worry. Like I said, I apologize for coming off so hard on you a couple months ago during the whole Dungeon formatt change (feel bad about the whole Poly thing since I never wanted to see Poly leave, just more Dungeon content). I was just hoping to see a response to the three or four requests to see NPC/Monster stat blocks and PC handouts available on PDF on the website. No offense intended Erik, just having a litte fun. I am THE Eric Mona fan. No one loves Erik Mona's work more than me (except maybe Mrs Mona)! The last 4 or so issues of Dungeon have just been exceptional! Keep up the great work.
You did Mike! Nice post. Hopefully the opportunity to spew some real venom at you guys for some real trasgression will appear soon. After all, what's a message board without venom spewing? :]
Thanks for the quick response Mike and Eric, No, actually Mike, I wasn't refering to your post but rather to the ones by your assistant editor and art director (but hey! That was a really "cute" article and well layed out and easy to read; you've really demonstrated your superior talent at writing and human relations). I am absolutely sure that you have forgotten more about magazine layout than I will ever know. I'm also sure that you know more about the DnD market than I will ever know. And I'm 100% positive that the changes that you guys make to Dragon are with the absolute best intention of making the magazine better. I am in fact 100% in support of what seems to be the trend of making Dungeon even more DM oriented with the addition of some really great articles, and the idea of making Dragon more player oriented. I think that is one of the best ideas I've ever seen in your set of magazines! What I am concerned about is that some posters (at least HERE) have come right out and said "your new 3 column layout with all the white space really sucks" and the retort seems to be "Yeah, well . . . the "research" backs us up . . .other magazines are doing it . . .so sorry." Not really a good response, and it surely doesn't send the message "I hear what you're saying. If we get similar responses we may really need to change that!" The simple truth is I am not nearly as picky about Dragon as I am Dungeon. I bought (and continue to subscribe to) Dungeon as a resource for adventures and ideas. I buy Dragon for the crunchy stuff, the art, and the occasional Monte article. I'm probably going to buy the magazine regardless of the changes since I like the player oriented stuff. I think that the attention you plan on paying towards the miniature game is going to hurt you, and the fact that you will do write-ups on
Oh and Erik Mona rocks! The new Dungeon is the "bawmdotcom" (whatever that means, my students use it, and the connotation always seems to be good).
. . .chirp chirp . . . . .chirp chirp . . . .
WoW! You guys at the editorial staff amaze me. How man folks since yesterday logged on said "i don't like the white space," and still you guys fire back with "Well, but we like it," and "research blah blah blah," and "everyone else in the magazine industry does it so we should." It seems that maybe you guys should be equally concerned with what your paying fan base thinks as much as you are with magazines outside the industry, or ones that aren't concerned with the industry at all. So far I've seen folks write in and say "the articles are cool," or "I hate this article" etc etc on a variety of issues, but all of them also seem to include: "dump the extra white space, looks ugly, don't like it" seems like you guys would see that common thread and take that into consideration.
Erik, The changes to Dungeon have been great! I've posted that comment on both message boards. I have no problems with Dungeon. In fact the last 3-4 issues have been stellar (with the exception of the Eberron specific adventure, which I realize HAS to be there for various reasons)!
While their posts were not directed at me, or anything I said, I really felt as though they were somewhat condescending towards the opinions of the readers stating that they were less than thrilled about the new formatt.
I think we should start a count to see how many people it takes logging in and writing in saying "I don't like all the white space in the magazine no matter how you try to justify it as "progressive" or modern" before it sinks in to the editing staff. I have to agree with some of these guys here. When you say "it's a scientific fact that white space is good. . . " no one cares. If it looks bad and folks who subscribe to your magazine (and help pay your salary) say "I don't like this" in significant numbers then you might do well to take notice. Not trying to be rude or confrontational, just want to avoid the whole Dunge/Polyhedron fiasco again, :]
I think it's great that you guys dropped in a board, but I'm a little skeptical about it really changing anything about Dungeon or Dragon. After all, it took a huge population of subscribers canceling their subscription for Dungeon to change its formatt despite the outpouring of letters and ugly fan responses to the drop in adventure content. While I think this is a great idea and lets the fans feel as though they have a sounding board I think the reality is the only vote that really counts to Paizo is the one made with your pocketbook. Take into account the complaints about white space just on this board in a very short time. The response from the editorial staff was pretty much "Well, sorry, but we like it so we're going to do it anyway." Either way, at least it's nice to see you all putting up your own board for fans to touch base with each other and exchange views on these magazines we all love.
you can expect to see about six Eberron adventures a year in Dungeon. That's very unfortunate to hear. That's about 6 too many.
----"I hope the content is better than the look"------ Not in issue 323!
So, what you're saying is "you guys can do this stuff yourself with a scanner and paintshop, so we aren't going to, despite the fact that you're asking us too" ?
Class combos.
I like articles that help me develop my PC, whether it be new spells, feats, skills, new ways to use skills, goals, equipment etc. Also like articles that are devoted to non-magic magical items; special materials, or alchemical items.
Dragon 323 stank. I like the idea of Dungeon being DM oriented and Dragon having more player oriented content, but 323 seemed like it was 85% filler. While the upcoming product catalog for WOTC stuff was nice you didn't need to take up 25% of the magazine with it. Really looked like the Dragon staff mailed it in early on this issue. Dungeon, on the other hand, was uber cool!!
Player handouts. Monster/NPC stat blocks for adventures. Maybe the special critical threat you guys seem to really like there at the magazine?
Not really fond of the new look website. Liked the old site better, but whatever. Only come here once a month, so it's not a big deal.
Not going to buy Eberron. Not even interested. Hope we don't see a lot of Eberron stuff.
Great changes. I really like how Dungeon now seems to be geared totally to the DM. Awesome changes. Great magazine. It seems that Dungeon will once again return to what made it a great magazine and has even added features to make it better than it once was. Kudos. Great Job Mr. Mona and staff.
I loved it! Felt it was done really well and reminded me of some great times from the early years. Hope that I have the opportunity to use this in the near future. |