For there is strength in numbers. Unite against WotC! It may not have occured to them that by doing this they would anger many of those that read and treasure these magazines but they have. I have read many people's posts on several other thread discussing this and have found a great deal of anger directed at WotC. I say that we boycott WotC! I won't buy anything of theirs from a site or store that would give them profit (places like Ebay are okay). I have never actually held a subscription to either magazine for money reasons but I have always read issues and picked them up when I could find them cheap and I love them. I am going to send furious emails to WotC telling them where they can stick their 'online content' and will spread the word. If anyone else agrees with me email WotC, post on other sites frequented by D&D players and let them know, encourage them to rebel!
I don't want 'online content'! I want a real magazine! I want a magazine published by the talented people at Paizo! Not some online crap. I want to have a magazine that I can take with me when I go somewhere! GIVE PAIZO THEIR LISCENSE BACK!!!!! Whos with me!?!!?!
After playing the D&D game for twenty years, I cannot remember a time when at least one Dm or Player didn't pick up a "Dragon" or "Dungeon" mag to bring along for the group to read as it had an interesting article or adventure.
I never subscribed but always managed to buy at least four a year, if only for the artwork.
Over the past ten months myself and my players finally managed to drag ourselves into the 3.5 Edition Rules set, and we had a revived gaming experience so much so that all nine of the group decided to get the local hobby store, which is only small, to order both magazines in.
Age of worms kick started the game, The Dragotha issue prompted some hefty back issue ordering.
The Shackled City Hardcover is also being played through and the Savage tide is being collected.
Now however I feel that the hobby will suffer as a whole because of the Online Content fever.
I don't want to download "Content" I want a shiny magazine of quality adventures and interesting Classes, Feats, Races and Locales, which I can read, store and look back over in years to come.
Wizards must have an ulterior motive in their decision.
It's a sad day for the gaming community!
I will continue to buy the Magazines until the print run is finished.
I'm not real happy about this, either. I admit, I'd be happy if WOTC created other publications similar to Dragon and Dungeon, but ONLY if 1.) It had similar content and not random, unfocused snippets such as those currently on their website, 2.) It was of the same quality as the current publications and not just something dashed off over the weekend by some overworked designer, 3.) It was of similar price (I'd be willing to pay a little more for the magazines, but $20/issue for Pathfinder is ridiculous), 4.) it focused on Greyhawk, the Forgotten Realms, and "generic" worlds (I don't have the time or energy to learn yet another campaign world, nor do I see the need to try), and 5.) I could get a hard copy. Sure, online content is great for some things, but it can't take the place of a physical object you can take to the game with you. I know you can always print off the 'online content', but who wants to buy all those ink cartridges? Also, online content is volatile. Every downloaded file will eventually get lost, corrupted, or whatever. Books and magazines last much longer (for example, I still have my 29-year-old 1e Player's Handbook and it's still in pretty good shape. I even have issues of Strategic Review from 30+ years ago and I can still use them in my game - show me one single computer file of ANY kind that has that kind of longevity!).
I wonder if those in charge have considered the needs of their customers. I use both Dragon and Dungeon extensively (you could almost say "exclusively") because my busy schedule and family life preclude me from doing all the work necessary to concoct my own home-brew campaign. Both publications put everything together for me so I can just pick up the magazine, read it, and run it without much effort on my part. If I don't have Dragon and Dungeon (or something similar), then I'll most likely have to quit playing D&D altogether eventually.
I understand there are various business concerns to think about, and after all, both publications and their licenses do exist to make money. However, any company that hopes to survive has to follow the first rule of business: Give your customers what they want.
To put it bluntly: I don't want another d*mn website to look at!
Maybe Paizo should realize that they have a lot of very good writers at their disposal and go out on their own and create the equivelant of "The World's Most Popular Roleplaying Game": 4.0.
Stated differently, create their own fantasy roleplaying game with their own core books written by the writers we love.
RPG Superstar 2013 Top 4, RPG Superstar 2011 Top 16
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If we really want to use our Civil voice of displeasure towards the decision makers at WotC (not the designers or developers or art staff.. i.e. the Creative team) we should stage a protest at their biggest media event...
GENCON INDY and SoCAL.
Make T-shirts with the Dungeon and Dragon mastheads on them, make signs, stickers, buttons... we're all relatively creative people in this hobby. Use your imaginations and come up with creative ways to voice your opinions... but no violence or threats of harassment.
Though the "Smite Scott Rouse" T-shirts would be fun to make!!! :)
"What we need is about 20-50 people that want to donate time and energy to put together a product. It might not be anywhere near as good as what Paizo puts out but it will seriously damage anything WOTC puts out especially if its put out BY players FOR players..."
Can we do that and still use our favorite settings, or will we have to come up with whole new worlds? This idea interests me.
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"What we need is about 20-50 people that want to donate time and energy to put together a product. It might not be anywhere near as good as what Paizo puts out but it will seriously damage anything WOTC puts out especially if its put out BY players FOR players..."
If anything like that went down, I would get in on it as soon as possible. I'm not going to take this lying down.
Make T-shirts with the Dungeon and Dragon mastheads on them, make signs, stickers, buttons... we're all relatively creative people in this hobby. Use your imaginations and come up with creative ways to voice your opinions... but no violence or threats of harassment.
Yeah, they could even look like THIS or THIS ;). More, those two would express our displeasure and support our beloved Paizo.
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I'm extremely angry!.. for several years now, i have been a reader and subscriber (from a British seller) of Dungeon and Dragon.. the same with seven people from my roleplay group...
The content of both magazines has made hundreds of evenings a pleasurable experience, not only that, but both magazines have been tweaked over the years to such a point as they are near perfect!
What a great loss to roleplayers everywhere!!