I haven't really frequented the forums before, but felt I would throw my proverbial hat in the ring of commentary and offer up my thoughts on issue 329 that just hit my mailbox today.
The very first impression I had as I took it out of my mailbox was anger at my post office. They had folded it so hard it now has a permenant crease through it. It happens every so often when I get a large load of mail and today was such a day. As I walked back into the house I actually considered buying a bigger mail box. But, I can hardly blame Paizo for that... it's just the USPS can make me so mad!
But I digress.
The next impression I had was that the word Eberron jumped out at me from the cover. Not much else up in the left hand corner and it really caught my eye. Now, I am a big FR fan, but I now understand (somewhat) why people get tired of seeing setting specific articles in mags... they just aren't as useful, and I am getting somewhat tired of Ebberon (mostly from Dungeon adventures... and to skip ahead this article was just fine... but that was a first impression).
I tend to read these from cover to cover and the first thing I logically hit then is the editorial. I have always enjoyed Erik's editorials from his time at Dungeon. He has a way of making you feel at ease and generally I find them thought provoking (a very good thing), and this one was no exception. Honestly I think I often get more out of his editorials than I often do some of the articles.
I then read through the letters for others thoughts. I guess I could as easily come to these boards, but I find the comments more humerous in the mag (guess that is the advantage of picking which letters you want to respond to and might set-up a good laugh).
The Blast from the Past though I have been reading each issue and even as someone who played many of the older scenarios I find little use in these. Maybe they are useful for newer players? I don't know. I don't see it as good use of space.
The Dragon Talk this time fell into the same category. This time it covered a PS2 and GameCube title called Alien Hominid. The comments of the author seem to indicate they understood it really had no place in the mag... I would have agreed. They should have gone with their instinct.
First watch is generally one of the parts I breeze through. Not bad in and of itself, just something I tend to find little of interest in. Those things I do think I would be interested in, I am generally already aware of. At this point I would give the First Watch an ambivelent status. I do feel it would be more useful with less miniatures (yes I fall on the, miniatures are not roleplaying side of the fence).
Now the "Dungeon this Month" section I actually have a qualm with. As a subscriber to both Dungeon and Dragon magazines, what is the point of getting a "sneak peak" at an already released issue. I read Dungeon #120 well before I read Dragon #329... so why am I not seeing what is in the next Dungeon?
But onto the articles... and this month... more historical articles. Beowulf, Mesopotamian Mythos and a Bestiary of the Real World (well, creatures of real world legend at least). The exception is the article detailing the Demon Prince Pazuzu. While it has historical tie ins and history, it seems far more based in traditional gaming.
As a general rule I view historical articles as type of setting based article. If you play in Greyhawk, Forgotten Realms, Mystara, Eberron or anywhere but a historical campaign you are not likely to use the mesopotamian gods. So really articles about our world converted to gaming have limited use depending on how they are implemented. As a general rule I would advise avoiding them.
I suppose it really depends on how it was presented though. I wouldn't mind an article that discussed creating a pantheon for you own game and used a real world pantheon as a good example of a finished product. The focus then wouldn't be on the historical gods, but creating the gods and fitting the needs of your game world and looking at how the gods of the mesopotamians (or whoever) fulfilled the needs of those peoples religious ideas.
Anyway, on to the specific articles...
The Beasts of Beowulf. If you ever thought it would be fun to recreate literature then this type of article is right up your alley. The states for the "bad guys" of Beowulf lay before you. If you haven't read Beowulf (and I would guess most people out there haven't), I would doubt you would find a lot of interest in this article. But the final test for me is, can I use this in my game? As I mentioned earlier I play in FR. I could conceivably fit these creatures into the Rasheman type setting, but I don't really feel they would add much. So I was left a little flat by this article (avoid the historical stuff).
What intrigues me about stories like Beowulf that I think might be useful in a game is how so few creatures make for a great story. An interesting article then would be how to create a campaign arc around just a few creatures and have the PCs really be focused on those creatures as goals (whether it be defeating them or bypassing them or whatever).
Mesopotamian Mythos. I think I stated my view above so I won't rehash it. Final Test: Just not useful in a game unless you are looking to play in a historical time period... I am not. I suppose you could snag a god or two who catches your interst if you are short in your game world.
The Petit Tarrasque and Other Monsters. This was probably the most interesting of the historical articles to me. Not much I could take to my game table, but a good read.
Demonomicon of Iggwilv: Pazuzu Prince of the Lower Aerial Kingdoms. A long title, but one of two articles I really, really want to thank the staff for. It is a fairly good write up on the demon prince, his stats (rarely useful in games for gods, but slightly more so for a demon prince), goals (all hooks, very good stuff), his cult (certainly helps flesh out those hooks when you turn them into adventures), a prestige class (built in template to create the bad guy for those hooks), and a few minions here and there. Altogether a great article that can be of great use to a game.
But what I like best about the article on Pazuzu is that while it stands alone as an article by itself quite nicely, it plays that much better by supporting the adventure The Forsaken Arch in the last issue of Dungeon (as does the ecology of the Kenku article). This is the type of thing I LOVE to see in the mag. Strong on its own... stronger in conjunction.
Next, as mentioned above, is an ecology article on Kenku. I think that most all readers of the magizine I have heard from have sung high praises of the ecology articles and I would be among them. From reading feedback in the pages of the mag and on these boards, I think it is a no brainer to keep an ecology in each issue. I like the new format of the ecologies better than the older story based one as well. All good stuff. And, as with the Pazuzu article, the tie in to the adventure in Dungeon makes a great article that stands on it's own merits that much better.
Bazaar of the Bizarre. I always liked the name, but I understood why they got rid of it. But since I like the nostalgia of it I am glad to see it back. This one contains historical (though relatively obscure) artifacts. I don't think I could take any of them whole clothe as they are historical, but they do show how items can affect cultures... and that adds to my game. In general though I am not sure I would use them in my game. I give this one a resounding.... "eh" of ambivelence.
A Novel Approach features the new Eberron title, Marked for Death. I am not sure why this got billing on the cover, but it is no worse than any work of fiction to choose to be looked at for adaption and game ideas. I really like the look at "what can I take to my gaming table?" this article provides. I don't necessarily want to see Eberron articles anymore, but this was a great article. I garnered ideas for my game and that is what it is about.
Sage Advice. As always interesting. I am always surprised by some of the questions that they even need asking, but others are certainly enlightening and I can't say how valuable they are when they cover a question that gets asked in the game. This makes them worth their weight in gold.
Class Act. This is, IMO, the best part of the Dragon magazine we now have or have had, hands down. I ALWAYS find useful things for my campaign. At first I was annoyed that each class had something completely different, but cycling through many things for each class really does seem to work far better. If I like an idea I can apply it to more than one class. And 11 pages of flaws would be excessive (though I like the flaws, it would just be too much to have 11 pages in one magazine). This means if I like an idea I can expand for other classes or just wait for the next mag.
Anyway, that is about all the impressions I had. Not much to say about the comics. Other than maybe I liked Nodwick better in Dungeon when it showed them in the adventure I just finished reading. But that is a small little gripe.
Overall, my impression was mixed. I really like the new regular features and they make me look forward to getting the mag each month. I really, really support the tie in between articles in Dungeon and Dragon that each stand very well on their own. But the glut of historical articles as the main feature in this issue left a bad taste in my mouth. Is it odd to say that I feel this issue cemented that I like the overall direction of the magazine, but just wasn't overly impressed with this one in particular?
Sean Mahoney
Port Orchard, Washington
Wow, what a thorough review! I love reading people's thoughts like this. :-) And I'm really glad to hear someone else loves Class Acts. Did you like any of the Class Acts in particular, Sean? I did the Rogue and Cleric this month. :-)
-Amber Scott
(Yes, totally fishing for praise, but also honest feedback. "It's the only way I'll learn!" -Chief Wiggum.)
Wow, what a thorough review! I love reading people's thoughts like this. :-) And I'm really glad to hear someone else loves Class Acts. Did you like any of the Class Acts in particular, Sean? I did the Rogue and Cleric this month. :-)
-Amber Scott
(Yes, totally fishing for praise, but also honest feedback. "It's the only way I'll learn!" -Chief Wiggum.)
I was going to breeze over them, but since I have an author asking... ;)
Support Your Local Barbarian - Basically a synopsis on how a sorcerer can make a barbarian tougher. I guess this seems somewhat obvious to me, and I am not sure it would be real useful for most people. However, I do like the idea of encouraging teamwork in role-playing and covering HOW and WHY people should do it. Interesting though that you never see something that says "when you cast on your friends your spells are never saved against." This means that you have a chance to loose effectiveness of your powers if you cast against an enemy and not if you cast for a friend. It is FAR better to give an ally a +1 AC then try and give an enemy a -1 to hit. Overall this article felt a little too general for what it was shooting for.
Using the Universal Language (Bards)- I really liked this alternate rule for diplomacy in situations where you don't speak a common language but use music instead. Short story... in 1994 I went to Mexico with NW Medical Teams. While working on a free clinic there I worked under the direct supervision of the crew boss. The entire crew spoke spanish and no english, and I spoke english and no spanish. However the crew boss just didn't speak at all. I never heard him utter a word. He whistled. It was amazing but he communicated everything he needed very well with nothing more than whistles. The language barrier didn't matter at that point. I don't know that I will use these rules in my game, but this is one of the types of things I love seeing. Keep it up!
Tokens of Faith II (Cleric) - I liked this one as well. The holy symbol is something I have always used simply from the description of in Faiths and Pantheons (I am an FR guy), it never occured to me to use other symbols. I am not sure I will use all of these specific symbols, but it got my creative juices flowing. I began a thread on the FR-L a while back that talked about sects within the church being based on the different domains offered by a god (if a god offers Magic, Good, Healing and Sun as domains. Two clerics of the same god are just as different from one another rules wise if they pick completely different domains as a cleric of another faith). Having different holy symbols would be a great way to have these sects in the same church stand out. Or a PC who has a unique holy symbol... will she start a trend or sub-sect of her own (maybe adventuring clerics of that god all start wearing that same symbol but the stay at home types another). Honestly, my least favorite part of this one was that each had to have its own in game effect. I think would have been just as happy with the room for the effects cut for more examples.
History of the Druids - Once again, stay away from the excessive use of historical articles... maybe I am just burned out on them at this point. But this article does little to inspire me.
The Knifer (Fighter) - This article gives specifics on using the fighter to create a knife fighter build. While this didn't inspire me to create a knifer, I love the idea of this type of article as it encourages an overall view of your character and not just min/maxing using the rules (use them to your advantage, but make good roleplaying base for it). So kudos on this one even if I doubt I will personally use it.
Principles of the Monastic Code - Not a big Monk fan myself. But this is the type of thing that makes me like them more. I feel there is a lack of good RP base for them as they are so new to the game. I felt this was a step in the right direction for them. (In FR monks are often dedicated to gods... so this makes me start thinking about the principles specific monks would have depending on their god... good stuff).
Daydream Believers (Paladin) - This is another one that I don't think will see use in my game, but I like the direction of. Specifically this covers gnomes as paladins and how they "break the mold." When it comes to RP concepts the Paladin doesn't seem real flexible. This article shoots at removing that by showing how gnomes would have their own take. I liked it.
Flaws for Rangers - My personal jury of one is still out on flaws. I feel they are a little too power gamer-ish. But I am still not sure as I like what they add to RP (and doesn't that deserve a bonus?). However, I do really like to see support for ideas from Unearthed Arcana, so I applaud this article and hope to see more (I am sure I will it seems a staple).
The Story So Far (Rogue) - This was probably my favorite this month... and not just because the author was personally fishing for compliments. Basically it is four short backgrounds that give your character a minor in game benefit. I like the idea of the small benefit encouraging backgrounds... this type of thing will likely see use in future games I run. My only criticism or suggestion would be that the backgrounds don't seem quite defining enough and a little too specific. However, I don't think you could really make them more character or world specific in the magazine so I as DM would put a bit of that onus on the player creating the character (why did someone try to assasinate you? that sort of thing).
The Multiclassed Sorcerer - This article showed what a few benefits of class combos with sorcerer might by or how the classes have synergy. I feel it was to little on each combo to of much use though. It might have been more use had it simply picked one of the combos and fleshed it out more. (and that give you more month after month material, right?)
Swarm Familiars (Wizard) - This is basically new rules for having an entire swarm as your familiar using the improved familiar feat. I like seeing new applications of rules so I like this type of article. At first though it specifically did little for me... until I though of the bad guy in the adventure. A drow sorceress who is literally covered in crawling spiders and reveling in it... a bat swarm approaching the party while carrying a charge from shocking grasp would have jolts of electricity randomly flashing through out it... The leader of a group of sewer rats suddenly summoning his swarm of rats to him is made even more frightening when that swarm starts being used to cast spells. Anyway, interesting stuff. I liked it. I doubt a player of mine will ever use it... but you can bet you will see it used in some of my adventures!
Sean Mahoney
Port Orchard, Washington
"A Novel Approach features the new Eberron title, Marked for Death."
This just left a bad taste in my mouth. I know Paizo probably has an obligation to push WotC's latest filler like mad, whatever it happens to be, but I prefer my ads to be ads and not ads masquerading as shallow articles. Let's at least have the courage of our convictions here and call a spade a spade rather than perpetrating the print equivilent of a cheesy 2:00 AM Cher infomercial.
I can usually tolerate this when it's pushing a gaming book and thus is actually roleplaying-related (if Paizo wants to push Sandstorm, for example, by publishing a desert adventure in Dungeon), but for house franchise novels and licensed video games and Mage Knight clones and other non-RP stuff, it's just forced and tacky.
The Class acts are one of my favorite things about the new layout. To support the reviews on this month's, I once heard a quote - I think it was one of the "archetype" wizards in one of the settings, possibly Elminster - which went something like: "The best defense a wizard can get is a suit of armor. Enchant that armor to the limits of your abilities, and stick a fighter in it. Keep that suit of armor inbetween you and your enemies, and you'll be fine"
This is the gist of the "support your local barbarian" article. I liked it.
But my favorite was by far the new holy symbols. I'm a cleric guy myself - almost all of my characters have been holy in some manner - and the image of my cleric turning up his palm to present his holy symbol brought a grin to my face. It got me wondering which issue the first Tokens of Faith showed up in, and whether there's going to be more. And cutting out the game effects would only have made room for maybe one more, and it's worth the extra space.
I'd also like to add that I LOVED the swarm familiars... again, My fertile imagination conjured up an image... this time of a mage with his familar swarming all over him, covering him in spiders. Perfect for Drow.
I like having a heads up on anything D&D (especially Eberron these days) but I did have a problem with this article. Spoilers.
(Plus what I really wanted was write-ups for the City of Towers novel.)
Contributor
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It got me wondering which issue the first Tokens of Faith showed up in, and whether there's going to be more.
The original "Tokens of the Faith" appeared in #327. TotF II appears in #329 (as you know). TotF III, the final installment, will appear in #331.
What is everyone's opinion on running little series of Class Acts like that? If an article concept is cool enough, do you mind seeing it appear in a serial form?
What is everyone's opinion on running little series of Class Acts like that? If an article concept is cool enough, do you mind seeing it appear in a serial form?
Mike -
I always liked the magazine doing a series, whether in Dragon or Dungeon. Especially with the short articles, like the Class Acts, I often feel that the author has tried to cram too much in. Tokens of Faith didn't have that feel, in part because the author has been spreading the material out over several articles.
I have been trying to break into Dungeon in the Campaign workbook section (which seems to be ruled by Mike Mearls and Russell Brown, who both do good work and account for over 1/3 of the published campaign workbook articles so far), and I find that often I have ideas that could be split up into several ongoing articles in a series.
I haven't tried to submit anything for Dragon yet (writing a query for a 700 word article still seems a little crazy to me, I mean, the query would be almost as long as the article!) But it's nice to know that Dragon seems to be open to the idea of the short articles turning into a series.
Oh, and Amber - good work, as always. I liked the Rogue article best.
- Ashavan
I haven't tried to submit anything for Dragon yet (writing a query for a 700 word article still seems a little crazy to me, I mean, the query would be almost as long as the article!) But it's nice to know that Dragon seems to be open to the idea of the short articles turning into a series.
I find that a bit funny - since I have the exact opposite opinion. :) I'd much rather drop the editors an e-mail with 4 or 5 little ideas and see which ones they're interested in. My class act queries are usually pretty short - between 1 and 3 sentences; I'd much prefer this to spending the time to get an article together.
This way, if I send in 5 queries and Mike only wants to see 3 of the articles, I can concentrate my efforts on those 3. Just a matter of personal taste, I suppose. :)
I'd much rather drop the editors an e-mail with 4 or 5 little ideas and see which ones they're interested in. My class act queries are usually pretty short - between 1 and 3 sentences; I'd much prefer this to spending the time to get an article together.
This way, if I send in 5 queries and Mike only wants to see 3 of the articles, I can concentrate my efforts on those 3. Just a matter of personal taste, I suppose. :)
Zherog -
I guess this has more to do with my own view on a query.... I would never think to try to submit a query that was only 2 or three sentences long. It wouldn't seem substantial enough to me. I don't suppose you'd be willing to share an accepted query or two with us? Might help some of us who aspire and submit make the leap to getting our work in the magazine.
- Ashavan
The original "Tokens of the Faith" appeared in #327. TotF II appears in #329 (as you know). TotF III, the final installment, will appear in #331.What is everyone's opinion on running little series of Class Acts like that? If an article concept is cool enough, do you mind seeing it appear in a serial form?
Thanks... By 331 I should have my subscrpition processed. In the meantime, the library has an excellent collection of back issues.
As for a series of articles, I think if a concept is cool enough, it deserves to be spread out into a series. cramming or chopping an article that really should be three pages into one does disservice to both the author and the reader. By splitting it up, you're allowing the author to be as creative as needed, without putting too much emphasis on the one subject by splitting it off into an article of it's own (if, say, the TotF had been given space outside of Class Acts) or taking up too much space with something not every reader will enjoy, thus risking turning Dragon into a sourcebook instead of a magazine (if, say, you did a Faiths of Faerun issue, to the exclusion of any other topics or gameworlds).
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I think that a good article should be spread among several issues if length becomes a problem. I'm often left with the impression that an article has suffered because it has been restrained to a single page. However, I think that an article that is split needs to be able to stand on its own. I don't want the game mechanics in one issue, and then all the examples in another.
Even though I'm a subscriber, I think that sensitivity to in-store buyers is important. For a long time, I was one myself. I only signed up when Dungeon started the "subscriber's only" content. Still an annoyance...
What is everyone's opinion on running little series of Class Acts like that? If an article concept is cool enough, do you mind seeing it appear in a serial form?
Of course. I don't see it as much as a split article as much as a recurrence and expansion of an idea. If it is a good idea, then of course you should keep using it and expanding!
Sean Mahoney
Port Orchard, Washington
I have been a huge fan of both mythology and D&D for the better part of 30 years now and I had to point out what a wonderful job issue #329 did on the Celtic version of Beowulf. However, at the same time I would like to point out the the Norse version of the Myth is about 200 years older than the one represented in the article.
I am not bringing this up in order to downplay the content of the article in any way, but to bring other possile plot hooks into play.
Even in the Norse version of the story Beowulf is a Geat warrior of great renown who sailed to Denmark to help King Hrothgar face the monster Grendel. The main differences are the facts that the Norse refer to Grendel as a swamp troll and that during their battle Beowulf cut off Grendel's arm with a sword, causing him to run away.
The rest of the story plays out the same way as it did in the article. Grendels mother comes back to avenge her son and Beowulf pursues he into her underwater cave where he cuts oof her head. The Norse version never actually mentions the death of Grendel.
It also never mentions Beowulf putting fire to the troll. In Norsed mythology this fact doesn't matter, but it makes a huge difference in D&D. From the game perspective, two very angry and vengeful trolls could really reek a lot of havac!
Jumping in late on this thread
What is everyone's opinion on running little series of Class Acts like that? If an article concept is cool enough, do you mind seeing it appear in a serial form?
I, too, am a fan of expanding on ideas implemented in previous class acts. This way is far preferable to having the symbols for all the domains squished into a single page-long article.
Also, as much as I have no problem with novel approach covering wizards books, I didn't feel that this article offered me much aside from the living fireball. I'd much rather see things that come up with unique crunch to steal for my game.