The next AP thread over on ENWorld mentioned this...
"Stat blocks for high level creatures are so huge, that the DM can't digest them without a Tactics guide. Half the stuff there is a waste that will never see play in your encounter."
And I thought to myself, if I'm never going to use some of the data elements, why have to navigate through them, let alone have them take up page space.
Since we already get web enhancements with the maps, why not just add the full length stat block to it for those who want the info, and provide an abridged version in the magazine, keeping only the elements you'll (likely) need in play?
Has this been considered?
If it's a new idea, what do people think?
Creative Director
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This has indeed been considered, but it's not going to happen for several reasons, the two primary being:
A: We've barely got enough time and manpower to get these web supplements up and online as it is; adding another step to them might bring this whole house of cards down.
and B: We can't put the contents of the magazines up online until the issue's sold out. We already put up the art and maps, and extending this to stat blocks would probably violate our license with WotC.
Right now, I'd have to say Dungeon is the best its ever been. The three level ranges for adventures, the campaign workbooks, the format...all top notch. Why not keep it the way ya got it, only ixnay a feature once in a while. Make it two adventures instead of three one month or skip a campaign workbook. I'm sure you get manuscripts that are great but have to be chopped because of space, why not give some of them their due?
Right now, I'd have to say Dungeon is the best its ever been. The three level ranges for adventures, the campaign workbooks, the format...all top notch. Why not keep it the way ya got it, only ixnay a feature once in a while. Make it two adventures instead of three one month or skip a campaign workbook. I'm sure you get manuscripts that are great but have to be chopped because of space, why not give some of them their due?
I think Luz's idea of the occasional (1/year) 2-adventure Dungeon is great. Of course, I am still early in my Dungeon Magazine history (less than a year). This could allow a bit more space for the plethora of stuff James Jacobs has said was cut from "There Is No Honor". Another idea would be to have a "third" adventure as several short (even unrelated) encounters. These were my bread and butter when I was a 1e DM (and the reason that many players thought you could DM with no notice) but I have enjoyed collecting these encounters from the books and would not mind adding a few from Dungeon as well.
Given James' comments, I'd have to say I'm in favor of leaving things as is. An occasional 2 adventure magazine is fine if it's for the stat blocks, but I don't know if I'm a fan of it if it's more/longer encounters taking up the page space. I like shorter adventures that resolve in fewer play sessions when it comes to stand along adventures.
(The exception are mini campaigns, in which case I like a three or even a five adventure arc, like Red Hand of Doom length)
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Creative Director
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We'll certainly do shorter adventures as needed, but it's kinda hard (and I'm not sure why) to get people to submit short adventures. By short, I mean 5,000 words or so.
Dropping to two adventures isn't a solution. It's been three years, but the angry letters and enraged emails we got whenever we ran issues with only one or two adventrues before we relaunched the magazine in issue #114 are still fresh in my mind. Nothing is clearer to me than the fact that cutting down the number of adventrues in an issue is one of the worst things we can do in the magazine. So that's not really an option at all.
The next AP thread over on ENWorld mentioned this...
"Stat blocks for high level creatures are so huge, that the DM can't digest them without a Tactics guide. Half the stuff there is a waste that will never see play in your encounter."
And I thought to myself, if I'm never going to use some of the data elements, why have to navigate through them, let alone have them take up page space.
Since we already get web enhancements with the maps, why not just add the full length stat block to it for those who want the info, and provide an abridged version in the magazine, keeping only the elements you'll (likely) need in play?
Has this been considered?
If it's a new idea, what do people think?
Why not just do what I do. When I'm preparing for an adventure to run my guys though, like ST, I use Excel on my laptop. I make a form with all the info I need for my NPCs, monsters and such and fill it out. I leave out stuff like lang. and such and put in what I need for combat. I do this for all encounters in the mod. I label the taps with the name of the encounter or NPC or the Room number in the dungeon.
This also save time as I dont have to flip though the magazine or mod to find what I'm looking for when its not on the same page as the encounter description.
It's just what I do. You may be able to come up with something better or something that works for you.
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Creative Director
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The problem is... you can't really leave out much in a stat block for a published adventure, because you can't know what kind of party is going up against the monster. If we leave out the Languages line, for example, the DM who has a party of diplomats and enchanters who've specialized in language-dependant spells like suggestion and enthrall suddenly has to do a lot of extra work to prepare for the adventure. Also, by leaving out information, those who enjoy tinkering with the stat blocks to adjust them and customize them to their campaigns suddenly get left out.
There's really not much room for compromise, I don't think, without redesigning the stat block Yet Again.
The problem is... you can't really leave out much in a stat block for a published adventure, because you can't know what kind of party is going up against the monster. If we leave out the Languages line, for example, the DM who has a party of diplomats and enchanters who've specialized in language-dependant spells like suggestion and enthrall suddenly has to do a lot of extra work to prepare for the adventure. Also, by leaving out information, those who enjoy tinkering with the stat blocks to adjust them and customize them to their campaigns suddenly get left out.
There's really not much room for compromise, I don't think, without redesigning the stat block Yet Again.
I didn't mean the guys at Paizo do the stat block thing. I was meaning the DM can do that. I'm sorry if I got anyone confused.
We'll certainly do shorter adventures as needed, but it's kinda hard (and I'm not sure why) to get people to submit short adventures. By short, I mean 5,000 words or so.
Well, then, stop shooting down my ideas! :P :P :P
:D
(hopefully, the excessive use of smilies denotes my tongue-in-cheek nature; if not, this little disclaimer should do the job.)