On the other hand, here's an idea . . . maybe Paizo could come up with thier own unique campaign setting. . . pieces of it introduced each month for a year. In Month #1, you introduce the base classes in a long feature article. . . then Month #2 you do a Map overview and basic history, Month #3 is a list of Prestige Classes, Month #4 is a new spell school with a big batch of spells, and so on, until after a year's worth of articles, you have an entire campaign book in the pages of the mag. . . then you could also use Dungeon for a couple of crossover aventures in the new setting. Then a hardcover.
If it's really good, maybe it could generate that same excitement. Heck...
Hey! That's an interesting idea! :)
You could tie it into the themes of given issues pretty easily too. e.g. The October issue traditionally deals with undead so that's the perfect time to present new undead monsters/rules/lore tailored for that campaign world.
The caveat would be to make sure that anything produced is easily to convert to other settings (mandatory "In your Campaign" sidebars).
The other caveat being that this just might be the final push that sends one or more of the editors into some kind of catatonic state :)
Of course, since as I recall you're the guru of that "thousand adventures" thread there's a simple solution...
Start a "Dragon Campaigns" thread and see what happens :) It might be interesting to try and design a campaign collaboratively.
I'm sure there are other ways than just the message boards to get a collaboration going, but hey, why not use the methods at your disposal to steal a few ideas...hehe heheheh...eheheh he...eh...um, what were we talking about?
Cool. It worked. Gray boxes here I come!!!1
Hellacious huni - I have a post at the end of page one (I took a long time typing, then got sidetracked, so it appeared in front of a few others). Give it a peek and see if it helps you make even cool grey boxes. :D
Thank you Zherog, that's golden advice.
Thanks for typing that out Zherog.
No worries - it was better than doing work. :D
The other caveat being that this just might be the final push that sends one or more of the editors into some kind of catatonic state :)
What a great goal! :)
Just kidding . . .
I had posted a thread some time back called "Alternative Primes," but there was little interest generated. I thought it would be cool to have a small, alternative Prime worlds described in a regular article, with a couple of class features, some topography, unusal additions, etc. . . and then topped off with some adventure hooks to fire the imagination.
Anyway, I guess this similar idea would commit Paizo to orchestrate the creation of a new campaign world in the pages of Dragon, over the course of a year of feature articles.
One of the difficulties is that each month's article would have to give enough info to make it playable and consistent with the overall theme of the campaign world. New "races" and "classes" articles would have to come early in the series, so PCs and DMs could go ahead and start playing, while the "cosmology" srticle could be a much later addition, maybe one of the last.
Each individual article would have to include plenty of adventure hooks tied to the world and it's inhabitants.
Plus, it would have to be as cool as Eberron.
Overall, after further review, it's a pretty tall order that kind of makes my head swim. . .
This is my first post on here, so i'll just start by saying hi to everyone ;)
OK well i only started getting Dragon a few issues back (I only have 4 at the moment) but i already agree that themed issues would be really good. I like the idea of 1 campaign article every issue (although it isn't mandetory just a loose goal) and having the other 3 articles mainly relating to the theme. I havn't got issues 335 or 336 yet because i'm in Australia but i'm already looking forward to 336 because of the huanting/halloween theme. So planning out a major theme for each issue would be nice (Although not all issues need a theme ofcourse).
But for 'fixing' class acts i'd like to see it altered so that is only covers maybe 3-4 classes an issue but each should get a few pages with feats, items, etc. that work around the theme. Like deadDMwalking said, items on ghost hunting and tying the Class Acts to that would have been really tight.
But i think Dragon is OK as it is now, just it could get even better. And i've heard people talking about submitting articles: i'm intrigued since i like writing and i'd love to write an article that got into Dragon (i'm probably not good enough though).
But here are some ideas for themes:
- Spelunking, an issue with a strong focus on adventuring underground and the sorts of spells, items, and feats etc. one might need (alot of this has been covered though so it'd be hard to find stuff new I guess)
- Basing an issue about the races from the PHB would be nice. An article for each of them (Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes and Hlaflings) would be really nice and for stuff like Class Acts you could talk about playing non-traditional combos (like a Dwarven Wizard or a Gnome Fighter).
- Alchemy, I liked the article about alchemical fire but would like alchemy as a whole covered with more items, some sort of rules for higher grade items (like mwk and beyond) and an alchemist PrC would rock. You could also include a bit of steampunk in this issue.
- I dunno how much this has been done before, and it's probably done to death but an issue focused on Dragons would be nice. Having rules for having a draconic mount, training dragons, the blackmarket, all that (OK this has already been done but i had to say it anyway)
- The criminal underworld would be interesting. Rules for blackmarkets, theives guilds, black mail and all that. Also items to help being sneaky and deceptive, and more poisons, etc.
Those are just some ideas. And if you are already planning out themed issues please say what they will be on the site or on the forums since i'd like to try writing an article or two that fits the issues theme.
Welcome to the boards, FL.
Some of the topics you've expressed interest in have been done in one way or another. You can go to the Products page an look through the magazines by title and year, and browse through the information available.
Of course, certain stuff (like dragons) gets in the magazine often in one form or another, so any suggestion is good feedback for the staff.
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Welcome to the boards FlameLover.
I think some of those ideas you have for theme issues would be great. Even something that has been done could be revistited or expanded. Some things haven't been done since 2nd (or even 1st) edition. Providing the information in 3.5 terms can still work, particularly if it expands the available information.
And I love alternate rules. I like it when dragon provides systems that replace sections of the core rules. For example, piece-meal armor was covered in some of the expansions of 2nd edition. That would work really well with the gladiator themed issue (though it didn't happen)... Why am I always going on about Gladiators. I'm guessing I watched too much of the History Channel during Rome week....
Thanks for the welcome.
I've submitted some of my ideas as a query since i do a bit of writing on the side but i doubt any of it will get through. Ohwell, what are you gonna do.
Another point i'd like to make is that some articles are almost impossible to read because of the background. I don't mind having a pattern in the background but it should be black text on a white background mainly and should be in some sort of box (otherwise you get the background changing in places making it OK in some places and unbearable in others)
When they decide an issue will be themed though do they say anywhere? Because i'd like to write articles that fit what they want in the next issue but it's just guessing without some sort of list (and i missed my chance to do a horror one it seems).
But making 1 setting article, 2 for the theme and then 1 or 2 loosley or not at all tied to the theme would work well i think. Either that or make the setting one a themed one but include sidebars on some of the articles talking about how to fit it into FR or Eberron.
This is my first post on here, so i'll just start by saying hi to everyone ;)
...And i've heard people talking about submitting articles: i'm intrigued since i like writing and i'd love to write an article that got into Dragon (i'm probably not good enough though).
Welcome to the community. :)
If you're interested in writing for the magazine, the way to get started is by downloading the submission guidelines. That'll walk you through the whole process, but here it is in a nutshell:
1) send a query. This should explain your idea briefly and clearly.
2) wait.
3) wait some more. :P
4) eventually, one of the staff will get back to you about your query. They'll say if they like the idea or not; if they do, they may offer a suggested path you take the article down, and they'll assign a word count to you. You may also be provided a deadline.
5) you write your article. Be sure to have at least one person proofread the article for you.
6) you send in your article.
7) you play the waiting game again. :)
That's it in a nutshell. You can download the submission guidelines for Dragon via this link (note that link goes directly to the pdf document).
Dungeon's process is a little different. If you're interested in writing cool stuff for them, you can get their guidelines here. (again, it's a pdf file).
Hope to see you around the boards, and good luck if you decide to submit.
Hey, I'm up in the Great White North, so I don't expect to see Dragon #336 on my shelves until next week. That said, I havn't read the letter page, or know what Erik's question. But I can guess from everyone else's posts on here.
I really like Dragon. After I got my first issue, I went and bought up every back issue my comic store had. I liked how in the five I bought, each issue had a theme to it; #313-317.
Races of Power - Love it, use it any chance I get.
Elemental Magic - Very useful, and fun.
Campaign Classics - I now have a Tortle Cleric kicking butt in one campaign. lol And I eat-up everything Dark Sun I find.
Spies - Not my cup of tea, but you never know when it might come in handy.
Exotic Heros - Again, I love it and use it at every possible chance.
The first "new" issue I grabbed was #328. I have enjoied each and every issue since. Some are better than others, but no one can bat .500 everytime, eh?
There does seem to be an attempt to carry a theme through each issue still. Its not to the same prominence, but that's alright. If you do a Goblinoid-themed issue (first thing to come to my mind), you shouldn't have to put in a less than stellar article just because its all about Bugbear grooming technics (again, first thing to mind.) But if you put in an amazing City of the Realms article about a city bordering on a territory over-flowing with Goblinoids, go for it!
I liked that issue #335 was mostly about the Forgotten Realms. It is a Campaign setting which has endured through-out all of the various incarnations of D&D. Ed Greenwood also has a long and successful relationship with Dragon, its nothing to be ashamed of. (I'm not implying you are, Erik.) And if Dragon wants to have some Realms content each issue, I'm good with it. I find it easy to work into any campaign I'm doing anyhow. hehe :P
Eberron, *sigh* ...what can I say about it? I think the most honest thing I can say is I feel I have a Love/Hate relationship with the new campaign setting. There are a lot of aspects of it that I like, and want to incorperate into my games. But a lot of it feels hard to adapt, unless you are playing in Eberron. Its ties to Psionics are unfortunate as I find Psi rules too complicated. Sometimes when I see a good portion of a Dragon given over to Eberron content, a small piece of my mind just says, 'Enough already!' I can only tell you how I feel, you need to run the magazine the best way you see fit.
Do I think Dragon should have a rigid format? No, but a degree of consistency within each issue is not a bad idea either. Either way, I'm still going to buy and read Dragon...that is, unless you start covering Yu-Gi-Oh or something of that vein. :P lol