Pathfinder sounds great! I was wondering about Wotc plans for online Dragon and Dungeons Mags!(A big mistake I believe paying for Pdf is not that bad, but the cost of Black ink for printers is just to costly for most people!
Anyway will you guys be working with Wotc on these online versions of Dragon and Dungeon or are they going in a whole new direction by severing all ties with your staff and writers?
Thanks alot Guys I have been DMing since 1981!You guys really brought about great changes in Dungeon and Dragon magazine!Your the Speilberg and Lucas of D&D(Really you guys should write up a script and do a movie!)
Creative Director
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First off; thanks for the kind words. It means a LOT to hear from fans and readers of the magazines; I really appreciate it. :)
I've pretty much got my hands full getting Pathfinder going right now; that, and keeping Dungeon going for the next 3 issues is pretty much all the time I've got to do anything for now. I'm not sure what WotC's plans are for their online material, but they haven't spoken to me about it (or to Erik either, I believe). You'll have to ask them what their plans are for their online material.
You'll have to ask them what their plans are for their online material.
I hope they don't let the magazines die, but I'm afraid I just heard a toilet flush.
I hope you guys blow their doors off and they surrender the D&D license to Lisa Stevens in a few years. Then you guys can resurrect the magazines. I'm just physically ill right now--so many memories and nostalgia wrapped up in this stupid hobby :(
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Chief Creative Officer, Publisher
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I've not been contacted in any way to help Wizards of the Coast with their new project, so I strongly suspect they are going in some other direction. Best of luck.
In the meantime, I'm focusing a lot of my non-Dragon attention to launching our new Planet Stories fiction line and designing the world for our new campaign setting. I need to get cracking on an article for the first volume of Pathfinder, too!
--Erik
James & Eric: Thanks for the fantastic ride! It's been a thrill! May you ride again!
You're the Speilberg and Lucas of D&D!
Hear hear!
In the meantime, I'm focusing a lot of my non-Dragon attention to launching our new Planet Stories fiction line and designing the world for our new campaign setting. I need to get cracking on an article for the first issue of Pathfinder, too!
--Erik
Awesome Can't wait!
In the meantime, I'm focusing a lot of my non-Dragon attention to launching our new Planet Stories fiction line and designing the world for our new campaign setting. I need to get cracking on an article for the first volume of Pathfinder, too!
--Erik
A few questions/suggestions:
1) As a DM, I often present ideas to my group for future campaigns several months in advance. I would love to give them a head's up about the new AP and see what they think (not that it'll stop me from buying the series; we can always play it later). Is there a two or three paragraph summary of what the AP is about that you can provide? That may help drive up interest (and thus sales) as well.
2) The introduction of a PDF version of the hard copy is a welcome and excellent addition. I would suggest enlisting veteran DMs to run Play by Post games of the AP, hosted by Paizo on these boards. It'd be a real-time commercial of the very product you're selling, not to mention excellent research material to incorporate into the next generation AP.
3) I really look forward to reading the editorials in the next few Dungeons (sorry Erik; this one really isn't a reply to your post). Paizo's employee attitude across the boards since the announcement has been one of hope and promise for the future, and I eagerly anticipate the words of wisdom that you'll enscribe!
Till swords part,
Deathdwarf
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Your the Speilberg and Lucas of D&D
Whaa?? Neither James nor Erik have released overly bloated crap that relies on name recognition nor have they betrayed their fanbase. I don't see the comparison. Now, if you were talking abot WotC I might understand.
Seriously, though, I've been overjoyed with the work that Erik, James and their crew have produced. I look forward to Pathfinder and hope it makes WotC regret their stupid decision to axe Dragon and Dungeon. Give ém hell!
Erik Mona and James Jacobs working on Pathfinder, along with the other names that have been dropped, are a big reason why I've already signed up for it. The quality increase of Dungeon and Dragon in the last few years had a lot to do with those two.
3) I really look forward to reading the editorials in the next few Dungeons (sorry Erik; this one really isn't a reply to your post). Paizo's employee attitude across the boards since the announcement has been one of hope and promise for the future, and I eagerly anticipate the words of wisdom that you'll enscribe!
I think this is a pretty darn good idea. I'd be inclined to try it, whereas I'm not so likely to try play by post in any other circumstance I've come across so far.
Erik
Will Pathfinder be tailored towards DM's alone? Or will there indeed be some content for Players?
I'm really very upset and diaappointed at this news. WotC has made a critical error. Knowing corporate people like I do, they'll blame anyone but themselves when this idea proves to be a bad one. They seem to be getting a kick out stirring up their customers like this, and just telling us to more-or-less deal with it; get off this horse get on this train. Are gamers, particularly player of 30 year-old game, so easily herded? I hope WotC feels the wrath of their customers, and REVERSES this decision.
As for Pathfinder, guys what are you thinking? Pathfinder sounds like it's mostly DM content, which means a huge chunk of the player market will pass on this (justified by both price and what will be perceived as lack of useable content). I'm reluctant to get this subscription for two reasons: I don't need MEGA adventures, I need small ones to interlace with my homebrewed game, and for the reason above, I doubt Pathfinder will last long.
-Joel
Pathfinder is definitely not strictly DM material. I forget what percentage James and Erik are shooting for, but a LOT of each volume of Pathfinder will be non-adventure-specific stuff. New monsters, cities, etc.
Monsters and cities are DM material, too...
Mind you, I love monsters. Cities from some new campaign setting I have no personal investment in, not so much. The one thing that could sell me on Pathfinder is, basically, a (perhaps slightly condensed) Dragon's worth of DM and player options and ideas in every publications. Basically, I'd be willing to shell out the extra money for even a rough approximation of Dragon tacked on to the other stuff. I realise you're aiming more towards making the new Dungeon, though, so... good luck.
Gabriel Noël,
mourning the death of an era and a dream.
I need to get cracking on an article for the first volume of Pathfinder, too!
--Erik
Yes you do! (cracks whip)
Huh. That felt kind of good! (cracks whip again!)
You wanna borrow my whip? It's a good 'un!
Hey Guys,
Thank you for producing such a quality product over the past several years. I got back into it after seeing WarDuke on a cover while trying to find something to do in Plano (being from out of town - no disrespect to TX). I got back into it at that point on. I'm sorry that the executives at WoTC are being so cutthroat. I'm not a product marketing guy, but now would be a great time for you two to create your own product line based on your rules (for both of you, it's achievable and plausible). Look at Rackham in France, they've basically done just that. Because the way I see things, revoking the OGL is the next step in bringing everything inhouse.
Knowing what I know about strategic planning being a management consultant myself, this is exactly what some other jackass consultant would recommend, "Hey to really control the market, keep control of the intellectual capital and go with a new paradigm shift, go web!! Well... can you feel it!?!" - For my part, no, not really. Its a sobering thought, but that would be the next "logical" step. Look at what they did with Greyhawk. They've got that thing under lock and key.
Bottom line is that you guys are the intellectual capital and you drive the bottom line numbers.
You have built a community here unlike anything else I've seen online. You've been innovative in creating story-rich adventure lines. The Demonicon for one is unbelievable. I doubt that WoTC would've done anything like statting the Abyss, in their minds... why give em [e.g. the customer] everything, when you can simply provide cryptic hints for about 20 yrs, etc. - You two did the exact opposite, you statted them and said "ok what's next". You've basically put your customers ahead of the business and that's why you guys deserve the recognition.
D&D isn't a 30 minute game. It develops over years like a nice burgandy (or in your case, about a decade, thanks to the fire in your belly). Unfortunately, with WoTC maintaining the bottles, I fear it'll go to rot soon enough.
Thank you again,
David
PS. Why not stat Iggwilv, just to put the final page in the final chapter of that book! Cmon! It would steal money out of WoTC coffers for sure!
Way ahead of you. Sort of... As in, if you're interested in seeing Iggwilv's stats... make sure you don't miss Dungeon #149. It's gonna have her and a whole lot more as far as the high-CR end of things goes...
HOLY S!~#! Iggwilv's stats! I only trust James J. to do her justice. Thank god you are doing this James!!! I love you!!! I love Iggwilv!!! I want to bear her demon-tainted children!!!
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Creative Director
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Way ahead of you. Sort of... As in, if you're interested in seeing Iggwilv's stats... make sure you don't miss Dungeon #149. It's gonna have her and a whole lot more as far as the high-CR end of things goes...HOLY s&#*! Iggwilv's stats! I only trust James J. to do her justice. Thank god you are doing this James!!! I love you!!! I love Iggwilv!!! I want to bear her demon-tainted children!!!
NO! She's MINE, you cad! You can share Harliss with that Pett fella.
(Runs home to cry himself to sleep yet again because Nick keeps trying to steal his witch queens)
Will do! Thanks again James. Once again, you guys know how to manage a product. - D
Way ahead of you. Sort of... As in, if you're interested in seeing Iggwilv's stats... make sure you don't miss Dungeon #149. It's gonna have her and a whole lot more as far as the high-CR end of things goes...HOLY s&#*! Iggwilv's stats! I only trust James J. to do her justice. Thank god you are doing this James!!! I love you!!! I love Iggwilv!!! I want to bear her demon-tainted children!!!NO! She's MINE, you cad! You can share Harliss with that Pett fella.
(Runs home to cry himself to sleep yet again becasue Nick keeps trying to steal his witch queens)
Curses!...Note to self...don't try to bed the Editor-in-Chief's fantasy girl...Curses!
Harliss is mine! All mine! I can't believe you hooked her up with Pett, you sick sick bastard!!!
::Nick cries salt tears into his laptop, which promptly electrocutes him::
Awwww, well that's just great! Level loss again! And over an imaginary pirate woman. My life is so ridiculous sometimes!!! :-)
(Runs home to cry himself to sleep yet again because Nick keeps trying to steal his witch queens)
You can't have all the witch queens James, you can't! You have to share some witch queens sometimes...but only with me...don't cry, big guy...I'm sorry...I was just worked up over Harliss. Bros before NPC hos my man. You mean more to me than any pirate vixen or witch queen James. I swear! :-)
I'll add my voice to the mix and say Thank You for such a great experience. I've only been playing D&D for three and a half years, and for two of them, I've had subscriptions to Dungeon. I've seen the ideas I've read in Dungeon radically change the way I design and run games. That magazine was like a mentor, teacher, and friend. It had a personal touch to it that let me feel really connected with the world of the game I loved. Even though I'm too young and enexperienced to get a lot of the old 1e and 2e references that crept into the pages of Dungeon, I loved knowing that it was handled by such a staff as would put them there in the first place. Dungeoncraft, the first thing I always read, would often cause my eyes to light up, a smile come across my face, and my mind to race with thoughts of "Eureka! That's brilliant!" I loved the assortment of adventures, all the possible ideas about how to infuse them into a campaign. I'll miss it sorely.
At the same time, I will be eagerly converting to Pathfinder. I truly am excited about this new line of material. I trust that I will be able to mine solid gold from it like I did with Dungeon adventures. More than that, I will be converting just to continue owning hard copy publications produced by the Paizo staff. With only the merest description of the work, you've sold me on name recognition alone.
I will miss the frequent supplemental inclusions of warlocks and elemental savants and swashbucklers and the like. But, Dungeon got along pretty well without using that stuff 90% of the time, anyway. Moreover, it allows one to run a much more Core 3 Books type of game, which I consider a good thing! (Supplements can be a headache) And the AoW proved that Paizo doesn't need no stinking Monster Manual LXVI to come up with creatures for its adventures!
Viva la Paizo!
im really looking forward to seeing what you guys are gonna do for the last few issues of both magazines, sad as i am to see them go. btw thanks for getting the modrons back to 3.5 before you went. cant wait now for demonomicon in 149.
I need small ones to interlace with my homebrewed game, and for the reason above, I doubt Pathfinder will last long.
Lots of us disagree. I like the small bits and single adventures as well, but Pathfinder is more of what I like from Dragon and Dungeon mags, and less of what I don't.
That said, the current WotC plan is to provide the kind of content you are talking about for your game online. They've been unfortunately vague about the deal, but it looks like you're going to be able to continue to find what you're looking for.
Most likely, they'll do a good job with the actual D&D bits. The Public Relations? . . . Not so much.
Way ahead of you. Sort of... As in, if you're interested in seeing Iggwilv's stats... make sure you don't miss Dungeon #149. It's gonna have her and a whole lot more as far as the high-CR end of things goes...HOLY s&#*! Iggwilv's stats! I only trust James J. to do her justice. Thank god you are doing this James!!! I love you!!! I love Iggwilv!!! I want to bear her demon-tainted children!!!NO! She's MINE, you cad!
Wow. James is a real wand-blocker.
In my game, there's enough Iggwilv to go 'round. And 'round, and 'round:
From an adventure log: "Lucius lies at the feet of a corpse. Not surprisingly, this isn’t the first time he has done so, although it might be the last. Towering over him is a naked mountain of flesh; layers of fat given a vaguely woman-like shape. A pair of stubby arms protrude feebly just below a hairless round nub that hides eyes and a mouth within fleshy overhangs, and just above a pair of horribly bloated breasts.
The bottom half of the creature is given over to legs — eight in total, spaced equidistantly around the main mass, each one dimpled and rolled.
What lies between each pair is best not contemplated by those who would remain sane."
There once was a lass from Fontaine
And Iggwilv the witch was her name;
She brought Graz’zt forth
And she rode his black horse
But the get was senior to the dame!
Twenty bucks (US) for each issue? That's 250% raise over current Dungeon magazine for same number of pages. No freaking way, people! I hate paying $8 a month (newsstand price), and I make $100K a year.
You know biys, if you hadn't made all of those cannibalism jokes this winter, the wise, wise souls at Wizards might have trusted you with their intellectual property a bit more...
Totally kidding.
Seriously, when I returned to the hobby after an eight year layoff, the first thing I did was pick up a Dragon. Before the Player's Handbook, Monster's Manual or anything. Thanks so much for the great work you've done.
El Skootro