Without any criticism of defense of that departed section of Dungeon, doe snayone have any ideas as to what they would like to see replace it in the magazine?
Maps of Mystery?
More Dungeoncraft?
More comics?
Side Treks?
Column by someone else?
Maybe if we could get some good idea to give Dungeon we could be helpful and avoid the unpleasantness of another article going away.
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There is a very similar thread up and running, and you can find it here . Hopefully. I've also bumped it so it will be near the top of the page.
I think they should bring back "Critical Threat". New villians to throw at players is always a plus. Especially when they are characters like Evard, or WarDuke.
Without any criticism of defense of that departed section of Dungeon, doe snayone have any ideas as to what they would like to see replace it in the magazine?
Maps of Mystery?
More Dungeoncraft?
More comics?
Side Treks?
Column by someone else?Maybe if we could get some good idea to give Dungeon we could be helpful and avoid the unpleasantness of another article going away.
I had one idea... how about one page adventure snippets?
I'm bringing up Wil Save again as he brought up THE ORC AND THE PIE, the quickest adventure ever.
Why not have something like that at the end of each issue... a stand alone scenario that allows for inclusion into home grown campaigns, serving as utility for those who like to play their own? It would be kind of like that old Deck of Encounters TSR put out, only more fleshed out.
Chris Wissel recently wrote a descriptive account of a blackguard guarding a bridge, nothing more. Add a few colorful details, a riddle, some interesting feats, or a hoax and we got fun.
No?
Since we apparently can't bring Wil back, here are a few ideas... some might be similar to other suggestions:
Taking 10
Unique, and relatively quick traps, puzzles and perhaps live encounters that are difficult enough to make players think, but not necessarily kill. Emphasis on how quick thinking and different approaches by players can be just as important as having lots of HP or powerful spells.
Level Best
For the DM, how to help newer players decide on the best skills, spells, etc. to choose when leveling up, with an emphasis on perhaps one class per week. How to teach players (and DMs) how to customize. Something akin to the “Class Act” writeups, but more detailed and more DM-oriented.
Regdar’s Journal
Written from a recurring character’s perspective, this might focus on snapshot locations of various cities, locations, people, or other things that were difficult or interesting (read: gritty, worth mention in a rogue’s journal). But the goal here would be to show a newer DM how they could use imagery or storytelling techniques to describe or otherwise flesh-out encounters for their own players.
Guildmasters of Greyhawk
A focus on various guilds or organizations in Greyhawk, including motives, goals, and examples of typical operatives as well as “higher ups,” but generic enough to fit into any campaign. I’d focus on Greyhawk because that material is often harder to find than similar things for FR. But you could also expand on Eberron groups.
Skirmishes2 (2="squared")
A column detailing various aspects of game-play with miniatures, helping newer DMs understand issues in 5-ft-square combat, spell effects, and the like. Could also touch on various utilities and tools available for adding tabletop elements to the RPG game, for those who haven’t tried it yet.
From the Ground Up
Taking one random element in the current issue, go through how a DM could expand, change, or customize it to their own campaign. In one issue, it could be a room. In another issue, it could be a villain. In another, it could be a trap. Various re-fittings could be explored, perhaps for EL adjustment, perhaps for story adjustment. Show how the Twilight Monastery could be refitted to Eberron or Forgotten Realms, or both. This would again appeal to newer DMs.
What I wouldn’t vote for:
- Maps of Mystery. Although visually interesting, they’re usually too specific and not useful. Likewise with piecemeal dungeons that feature a few rooms of one dungeon each month: why not just buy a fully-detailed ready-made dungeon?
- The idea of “Total Party Kill” is vaguely funny, but might encourage heavy-handed DMs to slam their players instead of having a fun, challenging role-playing experience.
- Another comics page. I don’t really like the multi-page comic that is currently featured, or even the 3-panel comic that has a woman talking to a mushroom.
Since we apparently can't bring Wil back, here are a few ideas... some might be similar to other suggestions:
Taking 10
Unique, and relatively quick traps, puzzles and perhaps live encounters that are difficult enough to make players think, but not necessarily kill. Emphasis on how quick thinking and different approaches by players can be just as important as having lots of HP or powerful spells.Level Best
For the DM, how to help newer players decide on the best skills, spells, etc. to choose when leveling up, with an emphasis on perhaps one class per week. How to teach players (and DMs) how to customize. Something akin to the “Class Act” writeups, but more detailed and more DM-oriented.Regdar’s Journal
Written from a recurring character’s perspective, this might focus on snapshot locations of various cities, locations, people, or other things that were difficult or interesting (read: gritty, worth mention in a rogue’s journal). But the goal here would be to show a newer DM how they could use imagery or storytelling techniques to describe or otherwise flesh-out encounters for their own players.Guildmasters of Greyhawk
A focus on various guilds or organizations in Greyhawk, including motives, goals, and examples of typical operatives as well as “higher ups,” but generic enough to fit into any campaign. I’d focus on Greyhawk because that material is often harder to find than similar things for FR. But you could also expand on Eberron groups.Skirmishes2 (2="squared")
A column detailing various aspects of game-play with miniatures, helping newer DMs understand issues in 5-ft-square combat, spell effects, and the like. Could also touch on various utilities and tools available for adding tabletop elements to the RPG game, for those who haven’t tried it yet.From the Ground Up
Taking one random element in the current issue, go through how a DM could expand, change, or customize it to their own campaign. In one issue, it could be a room. In another issue, it could be a villain. In...
Taking 10 is great. Level Best is great.
Regdar's Journal might be hard to please reader's with as he'd exist in only one game world. Unless it wasn't location specific.
Guildmasters of Greyhawk runs into the same problem (even though it wouldn't be a problem for me... Oerth is a favorite).
Skirmishes is interesting, slightly off topic for the magazine's typical focus but I'd certainly benefit from such a piece each month.
- Another comics page. I don’t really like the multi-page comic that is currently featured, or even the 3-panel comic that has a woman talking to a mushroom.
Personally I think that woman talking to a mushroom is an absolute riot. I especially liked the exploding dogs joke that tied into a prevous editorial by Erik Mona.
That said I'm begining to thin Piazzio should skip the page and use the money saved to improve the message board. I'm only half serous here but this message board has the same personality as the robot Marvin in Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy.
Another editorial column would be nice:
- celebrity gamers (like the famous Vin Diesel) writing of their favorite gaming experience.
- notes regarding the WoTC / Paizo home campaigns
More stuff for the game would be "nicer":
- Critical Threat
- Map of Mystery
- Backdrops
How about using that one page in Dungeon every month to detail a campaign world that readers can use? The first month, the Dungeon staff could take their favorite idea for a campaign world and then let reader submissions flesh it out.
One page at a time...it'll take years to detail the whole world. Since it will be posted in a column and will not be supported by adventures, maybe it won't be a problem that it won't be an "official" D&D world.
There should NOT be any maps...just descriptions of kingdoms, realms, unique culture, fantastic locations. Each DM could then draw their own maps based on how they visualize that particular world.
I think it would be a lot of fun and generate a lot of discussion on the boards (wait, maybe that's not a good thing LOL)
I thought there was another thread about this somewhere here?
Oh well...
I like the Maps of Mystery feature (should be back in issue 127), but to be honest, I have more maps than I will ever use.
I miss Gary Gygax's column from Dragon, so I'd like to see that return (*prepares to duck as virtual dice and cans are thrown at him*), and Critical Threats are always fun.
I'm not against more cartoons, but humor and art are always subjective, so I can't say I'd like to see anything in this area added until I see the cartoon itself. Order of the Stick would be cool, though!
But more game-oriented items are something I'd rather see than cartoons.
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Agreed. Game related material that is of a general enough topic to be usuable by the majority of the readers. Game-related comics are a dime a dozen anymore. If you can read this post, you can read 300+ gaming related comics right now.
What ever became of SideTreks? Hack a page off from the ads (blasphamy, I know) and have SideTreks return.
Or, take some of the notable NPCs from the pre-3.0 era of Dungeon magazine and convert them! I'd love to see Flame in an official 3.5 format. The old Challange of Champions can have 3.5 skill checks plugged in. You get the idea I'm sure...
I've been thinking of this for a while now...and I think this would be a perfect fit for Wil's replacement (*as I glare at the Wil bashers*).
A page for US by US.
Why not?
Use that as a page for our "home-brew" NPCs, PrCs, spells, maps, whatever.
A page where the magazine gives us space to show our stuff...so to speak.
What say you?
I've been thinking of this for a while now...and I think this would be a perfect fit for Wil's replacement (*as I glare at the Wil bashers*).
A page for US by US.
Why not?
Use that as a page for our "home-brew" NPCs, PrCs, spells, maps, whatever.
A page where the magazine gives us space to show our stuff...so to speak.
What say you?
Its not a bad idea - would need to still be edited of course. I'd assume the quality would be there simply based on teh idea of only choosing the best of the submissions that had been sent in. Obvously that means James or Erik are deciding what is and what is not cool but thats always the case with the magazine.
A regular column by Gary Gygax? THAT would be awesome...or how about a column by "past" TSR/Dungeon/Dragon staff, "where are they now?" Kim Mohan comes to mind...among others.
What about a rotating set of articles. In January do a Map of Mystery, February -- Critical Threat, March -- Side Treks, April -- A guest writer article (e.g., Gary Gygax writes something up about the early days) and then repeat the cycle. This would make several good ideas appear but they wouldn't appear every month. Instead, they would appear 3 times a year.
--Ray.
What about a rotating set of articles. In January do a Map of Mystery, February -- Critical Threat, March -- Side Treks, April -- A guest writer article (e.g., Gary Gygax writes something up about the early days) and then repeat the cycle. This would make several good ideas appear but they wouldn't appear every month. Instead, they would appear 3 times a year.
--Ray.
Derek - difficult for a few reasons... wil save was only one page. While this works for Maps of Mystery (though I seem to recall Erik saying something about Maps of Mystery being more expensive on the Paizo side of things than any one page column), Critical Threats run 2 pages and side treks 3-5 pages.
- Ashavan
Perhaps Dungeon should hold a contest to see who can come up with the best use for the space - the winner awarded with a dungeon/dragon magazine subscription extention of five years. Er, something like that.
That being said, I really like the idea of a one-page adventure or a puzzles and riddles page.
Derek - difficult for a few reasons... wil save was only one page. While this works for Maps of Mystery (though I seem to recall Erik saying something about Maps of Mystery being more expensive on the Paizo side of things than any one page column), Critical Threats run 2 pages and side treks 3-5 pages.
I know of a quick way to find 2 more pages. However, I think many here on the board wouldn't like it. Dungeon could rotate Downer as well. There's 3 pages of space and everyone would get a little bit of what they want.
--Ray.
