|
So, this afternoon I received issue #125 in the mail. I’ve been very busy with a bunch of things, but I still resolved to tear through this one as quickly as possible, and try to provide as complete a view as I can on each section. So, this post will be a little long, and will be in “real time” – as I discover something, I’ll discuss it.
Cover
First of all, the cover is stunning. I don’t think it is perfect, but it is really evocative. It features a Gith fighting a Tiefling (perhaps half demon). Anyways, the two figures don’t quite seem to be reaction to each other, but they still look really good, particularly when considered as individuals. There is a lot of good detail here, and it is apicture I want to show my players. I can easily see myself describing the Blue Gemstone inset in the pommel of the ancient-seeming battle-scarred bastard sword. I’d love to see more covers like this. I’m going to put myself down as a fan of Howard Lyon. And getting this cover reprinted on page 106 makes me very happy. In my personal opinion, I’m happy that you had one page of space to play with. For this month, reprinting the cover was a very good choice.
From the Editor
Erik’s right when he says he’s being a shill, but I don’t mind. As much as I like his insights, getting FREE GAMING MATERIAL is great. And I’m sold on buying the Complete Shackled City Adventure Path. Even though I have all the adventures as printed in Dungeon, something about it just makes me want to sign over my entire income to Paizo. I’ll be looking very carefully for “subliminal messages” throughout the magazine. I’m not sure how you guys are doing it. As far as I can tell it is the extremely high quality work you’ve been putting out month after month. Sure, a lot of credit goes to the contributors, but you’ve really got something going here. As always, when I finish reading what Erik has for me, I’m excited about what else I’m going to find.
Prison Mail
I personally love the letters column. When I read it I either agree or disagree with the position presented. There were only four letters. One asked for a DVD for subscribers of the free content found on the Paizo website. I wouldn’t mind that much, but I don’t think it is necessary either. I have a cable modem, and even though I’m a subscriber, I have it all saved and ready to use. Before I was a subscriber I bought every issue from the newsstands. I like to support my local gaming store. I actually became a subscriber because of the “bonus content”, but it didn’t make me happy. However, now that subscribers are getting their copies of the magazine weeks before everyone else, I wouldn’t unsubscribe for the world. The parting words by Erik did send a chill running across my spine. Apparently the Paizo staff are trying to get Wil Wheaton to write another Wil Save column. I never thought the columns were a good fit in Dungeon magazine – the fact that Mr. Wheaton hasn’t played D&D in over a year leaves very little for him to contribute to a D&D magazine. Still, if he can be on topic I will not complain. I probably won’t like it, since I generally haven’t related to his columns, but I can accept anything in this magazine as long as it is SOMEHOW game related.
The Three Faces of Evil – Age of Worms Part 2
I think that most of the responses to the Age of Worms adventures has been positive, and I like what I see here. The only complaint I have is that in the first three pages I’m encouraged to buy the previous issue of Dungeon, the previous issue of Dragon, the current issue of Dragon, all issues of Dragon for the next 11 months, and any back-issues I missed. It seems like you’re coming on a little strong here. A single statement at the beginning (including back issues) is sufficient. Really. This adventure did also provide the first typo in the magazine. On page 20 it says “..plays up a sense of (imaginary) betrayal, as if his brand if villainy….”
It should read “of villainy”.
The descriptions of the various NPCs usually provide a good detail for making the character distinct. The new stat blocks are very helpful, and the adventure flows well. There are plenty of other ways to attract attention to the deep mine shaft. The one that immediately came to mind was a miner “investigating” for the rumored vein – if he succeeded in finding some to escape with he could leave a wealthy man. Of course, his friends might report the screams they heard… The maps work very well, and are generally clear.
I did find a Subscriber Card that is “locked” in place, and that didn’t make me happy. After three attempts I had removed all the material I could reach, but there is still some attached to the binding. The artwork is generally good, but the “Wonder Woman” comments regarding the image on page 41 are certainly far too accurate. I might suggest a redesign of her armor, or at least the color scheme.
The adventure does include two handouts. I would personally love to see those as an insert, rather than included on an actual page. If they must be put on a page, I’ll photocopy them before I rip out a page of Dungeon (particularly because the backside of that page has a significant amount of information about “The Faceless One”). However, if it is going to be photocopied, it works best if you have it on plain white paper so I can photocopy it onto “parchment” paper. The actual PDF in support of this adventure is not available, so I don’t know if there is a “printable” version included. If I print using a color printer, that isn’t too bad, but I usually prefer to use my laser printer (cheaper overall).
Pit of the Fire Lord – Shards of Eberron Part 3
The first thing about this adventure is that I don’t particularly like the artwork. It has that “cartoony” feel I’ve been complaining about. I don’t currently DM in Eberron, and since I have a friend who may want to run us through the adventure, I won’t read it. Still, it seemed very short.
Seekers of the Silver Forge
First of all, this is the only “true” stand-alone adventure in the magazine. Although I appreciate the three adventure format, I’d like to see a little more stand-alone material. I think many DMs that use Dungeon often use occasional “filler” adventures, and the stand-alone adventures are easier to tie into an existing storyline than a single segment of a three part series. And even this is “technically” the continuation of an earlier adventure. Still, the quality of the various adventures is good, and even though I want more stand-alone content, I’m generally happy with what I’m getting. This adventure is also designed to support a new Wizards of the Coast release. I’m not planning on buying the book, and I do like having a selection of underwater adventures, so I won’t complain. I’ll just note it and move on.
I don’t care much for the maps. They do little to excite me, and they don’t provide the level of detail I’d like. Particularly for a 3-dimensional environment, I find them to be lacking.
The Portent & Mt. Zogon
I found them both entertaining this month. And they’re both short, which is what I like in a comic in a gaming magazine.
Dungeon Craft
Monte Cook’s article is full of good insights even an experienced DM can use, and the examples he provides really tie it in place. Heck, I’d love to see him expand this particular campaign arc into a series of adventures (but not a monthly adventure path, maybe two or three per year). I’m also excited about next month’s column. Exciting handouts? That would be most excellent.
The Cast
There is some good information here. Having a few ready made NPCs is always helpful, though for this particular role, I’d probably make my own. I enjoy the characters that stand between the PCs and the power more than the power itself. In part because it helps to avoid the “Well, if he’s so powerful why doesn’t he do it” sort of thing.
The Dungeon
Random tables have a purpose. These ones are at least extensive.
The Journey
I wouldn’t consider this article particularly impressive. Of course, I don’t normally use guides. I have too many PCs that adding even another person can be problematic. Maybe I should use them more. Anyway, I have no complaints.
Downer
Downer’s dead? Well, it will be continued. “After your near-mortal wounding”. I still wouldn’t mind seeing it go away, but I don’t think it will.
Other than being lied too....(Where's the AOW Overload? I cant find it on the site anywhere.) Overall #125 maintains the fantastic quality I've come to expect.
Keep up the good work!!!
Typically supplementary web material lags a week or so behind the date the magazine appears on newsstands... which can be two-three weeks after some subscribers get it.
The price subscribers pay for receiving the material early, I suppose ;)
- Ashavan
I just got 124 last week. Yeash.
I'm with you. It'll be at least a week and a half before I get my copy of 125.
Rooster
"First of all, this is the only true stand-alone adventure in the magazine. Although I appreciate the three adventure format, I'd like to see a little more stand-alone material. I think many DMs that use Dungeon often use occasional filler adventures, and the stand-alone adventures are easier to tie into an existing storyline than a single segment of a three part series."
[br]
I tend to agree, though I love the AP and Campaign Arcs, having them appear in the same issue, or series of consecutive issues, seems a bit excessive, both from a DM'ing and a writer/submitter standpoint.
Creative Director
|
1: The human cleric's armor color scheme is changing. She'll still look like Wonder Woman in #126, but by #127 she'll be wearing different colored armor.
2: Sales figures and reader feedback seems to indicate that linked adventures are very, very popular. That said, we don't want to go too overboard. You'll always have at least one stand-alone adventure in any issue of Dungeon (I hope), and we do our best to make sure that the Adventure Path and Campaign Arc adventures are self-contained enough that they can be run as stand alones. We've got a 3-part Forgotten Realms Campaign Arc running through issues #126–128, but after that, we don't have any Campaign Arcs planned (apart from the Adventure Path) for several issues. Plus... we managed to squeeze 4 adventures into #126, so you'll have 2 true stand-alones in that one.
1: The human cleric's armor color scheme is changing. She'll still look like Wonder Woman in #126, but by #127 she'll be wearing different colored armor.
2: Sales figures and reader feedback seems to indicate that linked adventures are very, very popular. That said, we don't want to go too overboard. You'll always have at least one stand-alone adventure in any issue of Dungeon (I hope), and we do our best to make sure that the Adventure Path and Campaign Arc adventures are self-contained enough that they can be run as stand alones. We've got a 3-part Forgotten Realms Campaign Arc running through issues #126–128, but after that, we don't have any Campaign Arcs planned (apart from the Adventure Path) for several issues. Plus... we managed to squeeze 4 adventures into #126, so you'll have 2 true stand-alones in that one.
Cool. James how do you find the time to do everything? I mean, I just picked up the DMG 2 and there's your name on it. The one I picked up before that was Lords of Madness and guess who's name is on that, too? Frostburn? Yep. MM 3? Yep, you're in there too. And of course every month of Dungeon. Dude, I am truly impressed with you! That's incredible.
|
Typically supplementary web material lags a week or so behind the date the magazine appears on newsstands... which can be two-three weeks after some subscribers get it.
The price subscribers pay for receiving the material early, I suppose ;)
- Ashavan
Oh, I was just kidding, I'm not even close to running it yet, we're just getting to the Malachite Fortress in Shackled City.
While the new Dungeon format has been great, I'm not terribly fond of the Shards of Eberron series. My creativity has kind of dried up and I was hoping for some more substantial Eberron material.
Erik mentioned somewhere something to the effect that they need Eberron adventures like they need an administrative assistant... which is to say desperately. Maybe they haven't had an awful lot of quality queries for Eberron stuff yet. I know as an aspiring writer myself, I've been trying to take some time to absorb some of the setting before submitting adventures for it.
-Ashavan
While the new Dungeon format has been great, I'm not terribly fond of the Shards of Eberron series. My creativity has kind of dried up and I was hoping for some more substantial Eberron material.Erik mentioned somewhere something to the effect that they need Eberron adventures like they need an administrative assistant... which is to say desperately. Maybe they haven't had an awful lot of quality queries for Eberron stuff yet. I know as an aspiring writer myself, I've been trying to take some time to absorb some of the setting before submitting adventures for it.
-Ashavan
I had a first level Eberron adventure that I ran once for my PCs - Based on the Movie the "Ghost and the Darkness" PC's hired to find out about the "Ghost" and "Darkness" two beasts that have been stalking the small town in Wyrhusrt outside of passage. The House Orien had been expanding their railnetwork to cross over into the Eldeen Reaches - rebuilding after the war and all. But now all work has stopped.
A Marquis [or other noble] wants the PC's to invistigate as he has a lot of money wrapped up in Wyrhurst, and having the train line completed on time is very important to get all that cattle to market.
However, in the background of all this, there is a shadowy plot at work. An ancient tomb that has been long since buried. Inside is an Earth Demon Sword, that members of the Aurum are desparetly trying to get at, and are using the cover the Beasts to give them time to dig and find the tomb.
So it has a bit of a twist and some Eberron Flavor, plus the potential for some future intrigue with one the major secret socities of Eberron.
Plus there was a lot of fluff, an ex-war vet who has an advocate keeping him of jail who they think is the sabutuer, a shifter from the Eldeen Reaches that the town thinks is the Beast! Can the PCs discover the truth before an innocent shifter is killed....
Anyway, it was fun. Would have to be reworked since I have some non-cannon stuff in it, like living spells [which could not have been in a tomb that old], and such, but I wanted to try out some of the nifty critters in EBCS.
GVDammerung -
I cannot yet agree or disagree with you, as the issue hasn't made it to Massachusetts yet, but I want to thank you for at least providing your thinking. The difference between your more recent post and your original is that I would consider your lengthy response constructive criticism, while your earlier post was something my gut reaction would be to ignore.
What about the issue was lackluster? the adventures? which ones and how so? You say the issue was "largely forgettable" -- what sorts of adventures are memorable for you and why?
Do you find the other articles in the magazine worthwhile? Why or why not?
As someone who aspires to contribute, it is important to me that I try to write to the audience... not just James and Erik, but to the readers... if you are finding something lackluster, let us know what it is, so we can try to avoid that feeling in our adventures when we submit them...
- Ashavan
I guess I can kind of see this argument. There wasn't anything in #125 that really blew me away like the one-two punch of awesome that was the Diamond Lake article and the Chamber of Antiquities.
Still, I don't know if it's possible for every issue to be completely incredible. Sometimes just okay is okay, you know?
Look on the bright side, though; At least Shards of Eberron is wrapped-up and Wil Save is gone. ;)
I agree with GVD's comments to a degree. (I haven't read #125 yet, just skimmed it.) But where I do disagree is that for me, Dungeon hits this subjective mark 80% of the time where as Dragon... Well lets just say I purchase Dragon 2 or 3 times a year. I used to subscribe to Dragon.
I think this probably has more to do with my propensity to always DM rather than the quality of writing. When I let my subscription lapse there was a definite problem but I think now its just my preference for DM related material.
<SHAMELESS PLUG>
You should check out some of the more recent issues of Dragon then. The pendulum is swinging back; there's lots more articles for DMs there these days than there were even a year ago.
</SHAMELESS PLUG>
I really wish I could agree. This latest issue of Dragon was the first one I was excited to read in a LONG time. With the exception of class acts and now worm food, there is little of use in most of them.
Worm Food I love... but I can't imagine it is that exciting for people who don't like or know/care about the adventure path. It would be marginally useful, but I don't know that it would be exciting.
So now I am faced with a terrible conundrum. I only have 2 magazines left in my subscription and I really haven't been able to decide if I should re-up or not. Money isn't even the big concern for me, I reupped Dungeon for 3-years with out batting an eye... I am just not sure I want to keep supporting Dragon. The only thing staying my hand is that it is the same company that makes Dungeon which I love soooo much.
I would say that I will just look and buy them on an individual basis, but the last game shop here locally went out of business and only carried them occasionally anyway.
Sean Mahoney
I would say that I will just look and buy them on an individual basis, but the last game shop here locally went out of business and only carried them occasionally anyway.Sean Mahoney
Sean -
I find that Barnes and Noble usually carries them (in the magazine section rather than with the role playing games, go figure) though that could just be the ones in this area.
- Ashavan
Borders Books also carries Dragon and Dungeon (with the magazines, usually with the video game and CCG mags). It's how I get my Dungeons, as the gaming stores in the area have all stopped carrying them... And most of the stores are now gone anyway.
|
Creative Director
|
Personally, I think you guys can do better than accept this logic by working all the angles (::pssst::Maps of Mystery::psst::Critical Hits::psst::a couple new features as has been discussed in other threads:: etc. ;-D) but that _would_ be for other threads. :)
You're in luck, then! Starting with issue #126, you'll be seeing a Critical Threat. And in issue #127, we've got a Critical Threat AND a Map of Mystery.
|
|
I'd be really thrilled, but I'm kind of bummed about the long wait I face between now & #126, and even moreso the wait between now and #127.
That's the problem with a high quality magazine. I can't get enough. If I could travel into the future and back it would certainly be my primary mission to look ahead at Dungeon magazine. Of course, I'd pick up some winning lottery numbers at the same time, but that would be more of an afterthought.
Well, once upon a time I pledged to start doing little capsule-reviews of each issue myself; I generally seem to get them about a week or so after the early birds here (just got mine today), however, so bear with me if it's old news. This is just a "first impressions as I look through it" review, not a detailed analysis.
Cover: Githyanki vs. Tiefling! Nifty. :) Githyanki always get my attention.
From the Editor: There's a neat thing here about a web supplement, but I can't see it around that humongous eye-bleeding ad on the opposite page. Yikes. Oh well, gotta pay the bills!
Prison Mail: Random sidebar about Dungeon #122. Wow, it feels like it was just a few issues ago! Um ... why is this here? Given the world of forums (such as this one), I'm not surprised that actual paper letters aren't coming in the way they once did, but I've also noticed that you print interesting forum posts sometimes too.
Three Faces of Evil: Nifty painting! The thing in the fountain looks like a cross between a girallon and Kali ... with a bit of hook horror on the side. Six arms ... Hextor motif. Cool! It's also nifty that this is a "sequel" campaign to the Shackled City. The adventure is full of neat ideas ... and The Faceless One is a wonderfully creepy villain. I don't need a 3rd level adventure at the moment, but the Age of Worms adventure path certainly looks like a promising candidate for my next campaign. Is that really a two-headed dire weasel??? Oh, no, it's two single-headed dire weasels scrunched together. Well, that's cool too. I think if I ever run this, I'll go with the two heads tho.
Pit of the Fire Lord: Er, another arc adventure? I've posted elsewhere that having 2/3 of the meat of the magazine be pieces of arcs is a risky venture IMO. I like the arcs a lot, but I don't want them to take over. Seems like a solid enough adventure at a cursory glance, but nothing really jumps out at me about it. I like that it's tailored to Eberron, but that also limits its immediate usability for me, as I'm running a Greyhawk game at the moment. Maybe some future campaign!
Seekers of the Silver Forge: Well, well! Here I was just last week requesting some higher-level stuff, and here it is! A whole adventure about psionics underwater, how cool is that? Hey, it's a sequel to "Death of Lashimire," too! Awesome, I'm planning to use that one! I'll have to slide this into my own "adventure path." I'll have to bump it up to 17th level (the only open slots left in my campaign plan are 17th level and higher), but that shouldn't be too hard. A few more hit dice here, another level of soulknife there, no problem! I particularly like that it is a big, "fantastic" adventure, rather than the same old dungeon catacomb with More Bigger Monsters. Besides, any adventure with the phrase "zombie plesiosaur" in it, has gotta be good!
Gamer's Guide: Hmm, hmm, payin' the bills. I notice the Paizo ad doesn't list any prices. I bet that beholder doesn't come cheap, assuming there actually are any in stock. Still, it's fun to shop. :)
Dungeoncraft: I love these things. This particular one would have been twice as useful to me two weeks ago as I was doing some heavy-duty campaign planning, but that's okay, it's still useful now. I'll mine this one for ideas at leisure.
The Cast: Seneschals and Majordomos! Again, something always useful. Into the "instant NPCs" folder they go! In fact, I have a castellan-shaped hole in my campaign that might just be perfectly filled by one of these guys. Thanks!
The Dungeon: Random potion stuff! Fun, although I doubt I'll ever actually use it.
The Journey: Interesting food for thought here. Nothing immediately useful, but worth remembering for the future.
Downer: "Have fun killing humans." Hee. :) It has started growing on me a bit, but I think that some of that is because the writing has gotten stronger.
Last Page: A good cover always deserves a second viewing, without copy cluttering it up! ;)
All in all, a pretty good issue. :) Probably very little I'll use right away, with the possible exception of one of the "cast" characters, but lots of things I might want to use in the future, especially the Silver Forge adventure. Only real downside, as I say, is the multiple "piece of a larger arc" adventures. After all, if I'm running the Age of Worms, I'm not likely to be running Shards of Eberron, right? But if they were generic adventures, I could easily use them both.
Thanks! I'll post another one next month.
-The Gneech
Alas,
Today I watched the mailman push the mail through my mailslot only to find that there was no Dungeon mag in the delivery.
Woe is me,
Rooster
And in issue #127, we've got a Critical Threat AND a Map of Mystery.
Yay! I really missed the Maps of Mystery.
Erik mentioned somewhere something to the effect that they need Eberron adventures like they need an administrative assistant... which is to say desperately.
-Ashavan
Didn't they just get one of those (an administrative assistant). I sure hope they didn't manage to misplace there AA so soon after getting a new one. If so then I suggest they start by seeing if he's in the filling room - some one might have set the AA the task of organizing the filing system after which. That can cause an employee to appear to vanish except for the occasional scream of fear when some ancient folder is opened for the first time this Millennia - once the rest of the employees acclimatize themselves to the fact that screams seem to occur randomly around the workplace they could forget they have an AA.
I could just see them hiring another one every so often - eventually there'd be three of 'em living in the filing room unnoticed by the rest of the staff except for the occasional chorus of screams.