The Gaming Den

Looks like it's from the 80s and probably reads like it, too.

Which I'm certain is a plus for the writers and editors, the regressive shitheads.

Because magazines, and especially niche hobby magazines whose content is basically a bunch of blog posts printed between unused Dragonlance covers, are just absolutely thriving and wildly financially successful.

I got the first one a while back. It didn't suck.
Mostly, it's a bunch of short essays on roleplaying in general, and full page ads, but it also has new scaling martial feats for Pathfinder, and a couple comics, including their very own OoTS

From the reviews I heard, it was about 75% old D&D writers saying "wasn't everything great in Ye Olde Days", with the rest being vague, system-neutral gaming advice. I think I'll pass.

Artless wrote:Looks like it's from the 80s and probably reads like it, too.

Which I'm certain is a plus for the writers and editors, the regressive shitheads.

Because magazines, and especially niche hobby magazines whose content is basically a bunch of blog posts printed between unused Dragonlance covers, are just absolutely thriving and wildly financially successful.

son of Gary wanting his own gaming thing with the last name alive outside of D&D and HASBRO possession... yeah what a shit head to want to be able to use his own name legally, and to talk about things with gaming he likes...

. http://gygaxmagazine.com/ .

and in case you are that fucking young, you might want to think about what a blog really is, it is am article not unlike a magazine. Dear Abby, etc would all be able to be done with a blog today, just no professionalism is involved in blogs, no editor, no screening, no content or quality assurance, no real communication such as a thread started on a forum about a topic. blogs are wannabe magazines for a specific author.

contrary to industry belief, some people still want something they can read in places where wifi and mobile devices aren't convenient.

I find myself...actually...kind of...agreeing...with Shadzar?

Oh God, what have I become????

Magazines are still going on. Not the most profitable scheme, but they work. You just have to find the right niche, and of course to embrace online distribution, such that your magazine is as much on the internet as off. I am a little disappointed Gygax's son straight out embraced worshipping 80s design, though. You were a rebellious teen once! Disagree with your father a little. Ah well.

Alright, shad, lets take a look at this thing you think is superior to most blogs:

The following are a page each unless otherwise mentioned. In order, we have:

• - Ad for Smallworld
  - Ad for Dwarven Forge terrain
  - Intro, with the family Gygax patting themselves on the back for their ongoing groundbreaking work on RPGs.
  - Ad for T&T
  - Ad for Garycon
  - Ad for Godlike
  - Ad for Roll20.com
  - Ad for Alea Tools
  - Cool 4 page article on RPG history as a cosmology by James Carpio. It's a neat taxonomy, and Carpio goes out of his way to point out that many people who aren't GG have radically affected RPGs. Includes a 1.5 page picture, and a 1/3-page sidebar ad for Dark Platypus. in total, about 2500 words.
  - Ad for Way of the Wicked (an evil Pathfinder adventure path? Interesting!)
  -Tim Kask gazes deep into his own navel. Insights include:
  • - Tim Kask has been playing D&D for a long time
    - Tim Kask worked at TSR
    - Tim KAsk doesn't want to brag, but Tim Kask can run a one-shot game completely extemporaniously.
    - Tim Kask has been to many conventions.
  Total length: 2 pages, about 2000 words. One illustration, one quarter-page ad for Miniature Building Authority.
  - Leonard Lakofka gazes deeply into his navel. Surprisingly, there are real insights there. His column is titled "Leomund's Secure Shelter," because he was apparently Leomund. Insights include:
  • - Leonard has been playing a long time.
    - Leonard used to not take very good care of himself, but is doing better now. Health is important, and you should get in shape. This is actually not insulting, and only takes about 100 words.
    - Leonard started playing early on. Many parts of the game were not encoded yet, so he had to house rule them. He actually wrote his rules down, and that got him a chance to comment on AD&D early.
    - The DM needs to be in charge; the rules are only a guide.
    - Leonard prefers to roll dice for success, instead of just cockblocking players.
    - HOWEVER! Always explain/justify your rulings, and always write them down so that your rulings always go the same way. (In my mind, that consistency would go a very long way towards healing the harms of the "DM is god" mindset).
    - Whether +1 to hit or +1 to damage is better is situational. He maths out why, and shows it with a chart. (maybe his health issues are why D&D suddenly failed mathhammering? Who knows.)
  2 pages, 2kish words, plus chart. Two ads in a sidebar, for Harn and for Icons.
  - Ecology of the Banshee, from Robert Corns. Some microfiction about banshee origins, some interesting limits on banshees, description of how the wail affects victims, a couple variant wails, some new abilities, and psychology. No stat block, and there are too many variants described to actually be useful as a reference. This could be a very solid basis for developing a monster, but someone skipped the numbers step. (OTOH, that might be an improvement). 3 pages, probably 25 k words, witha a poem and a picture; quarter page ad for a podcast.
  - Ad for Hyperborea
  - Luke Gygax writes a short reminiscence about buying Dragon #8 on eBay recently. Namedropping abounds. 1k words. 1.5 pages with a half-page ad for Otherworld minis.
  - Nevin P. Jones writes about virtual tables. Specifically about how nice Roll20 is. It's not clear how he would know, as he explains that he has only started playing TTRPGs since he started using Roll20. About a page/1500 words total, but continued to another half page at the end.
  - Dennis Sustare smears his dick on wizards. Titled, "Keeping magic Magical." It mostly avoids the tired tropes you'd expect, in favor of new and different bad ideas:
  • - four ways to dick over your players, plus a suggestion that kobolds should be more intelligent than suicidal mob rushes.
    - Steal a magic system (because homebrew is always better balanced, right?) from:
    • - Bunnies and Burrows!
      - Quicksilver! (a very crunchy psychic system, apparently)
      - Just give them MtG cards!
      - Use normal spells, but add extra checks, stolen from e.g. Harry Potter!
      - Mistborn! (though I don't know what he was smoking here; repeatability and hackability are the cornerstones of Sanderson's systems)
    - MTP by badgering spirits!
    - Trial and error magic! ( does this spell cast continual light, or is it a thermonuclear blast? Oh-ho-ho! I am so clever!)
    - Complete and total MTP!
  On the plus side, there is a picture of a crazy old guy making bunny ears at a hare.
  - James Ward on more GG shenanigans: one time, he showed up to play longtime D&D characters, Gary introduced a DMPC Dwarf (rare, apparently) and off they went. A few minutes in, Gary called him aside, and explained that all the characters had been transported to Ward's sci-fi world, then sat down to play the dwarf. Key line: "All the players were shocked at what Gary did to us." The punchline is apparently that dropping fantasy characters into a sci-fi world can be a lot of fun, but dayum. 2 pages, including a one page picture. About 1500 words.
  - Cory Goddamn Doctorow writes "DMing for your Toddler." Worth the price of admission right there. Feel-good story, picture of a fairy hamster, and about a half page of rules. 2 pages, about 1500 words plus the rules.
  - Steve Kenson writes some new powers for the ICONS rpg. I have no basis for evaluating these. Basically all crunch, all text (1/4 page picture). Continued towards the back, about 3000 words total, in about 2.5 pages.
  - Ethan Gilsdorf prognosticates the future of tabletop gaming. It's 90% retrospective, plus an admonishment to force your kids to play D&D, for the greater good. 3 pages, mostly text, about 4000 words.
  - EGG, jr. writes about bedtime stories from EGG, sr. Interesting tidbit: EGG, sr. apparently loved the hobbit, but advised his kids not to read LotR. Two pages, but split between here and near the end. 1/2 page ad on both pages; about 1500 words total.
  - Dennis Detwiller summarizes Godlike's fluff. Uh, okay? 2 pages, 2/3 of one is an ad for Mercs Minis. About 2000 words.
  - Michael Tresca discusses converting between editions. It's much more on the money than you'd expect, but offers very little actual advice. 3 pages, 4k words, one comic.
  - an 8-page writeup of "Gnatdamp," a small frontier town in a swamp that has nothing, and where everyone hates you. Population:200. Apparently;y, all of the smuggling goes through here. Because, that's why. It doesn't suck, but it also doesn't survive close scrutiny or long-term contact.
  - Ad for Smash Up
  - Roderigfo Garcia Carmona writes up a new talent for Adventure Game Engine. Mostly crunch, mixed with confusion about what engineers do. I have no basis for evaluation. Two full pages.
  - Scaling Feats for Pathfinder by Marc Radle. It includes advice on how to integrate them with Pathfinders feat chains too. They're all martial, look pretty reasonable, and all trigger at BAB +6 or +11 (yay, standardization). Overall, probably a great thing.
  - 2 pages of continuing earlier articles + ads
  - ad for drivethruRPG
  - ad for Midgard Miniatures
  - Marvin the Mage comic, 2 pages
  - 2 more ads (half page each this time
  - a new What's New with Phil and Dixie! Cool.
  - a new OoTS
  - the back cover: inside is an ad for Mage Wars, Outside is SW: Edge of the Empire

And there you have it. That's the whole thing. It doesn't suck, but it's also about like a blog with a shit-tonne of advertising.

shadzar wrote:

Artless wrote:Looks like it's from the 80s and probably reads like it, too.

Which I'm certain is a plus for the writers and editors, the regressive shitheads.

Because magazines, and especially niche hobby magazines whose content is basically a bunch of blog posts printed between unused Dragonlance covers, are just absolutely thriving and wildly financially successful.

son of Gary wanting his own gaming thing with the last name alive outside of D&D and HASBRO possession... yeah what a shit head to want to be able to use his own name legally, and to talk about things with gaming he likes...

. http://gygaxmagazine.com/ .

and in case you are that fucking young, you might want to think about what a blog really is, it is am article not unlike a magazine. Dear Abby, etc would all be able to be done with a blog today, just no professionalism is involved in blogs, no editor, no screening, no content or quality assurance, no real communication such as a thread started on a forum about a topic. blogs are wannabe magazines for a specific author.

contrary to industry belief, some people still want something they can read in places where wifi and mobile devices aren't convenient.

Goodness, it's almost like I was comparing the articles in the magazine to those of a format long associated with poor editorial oversight and lax standards to cast aspersions on their content and quality for comedic effect.

You made a joke about something that looks like shadzar's only favorite edition. Of course he will be angry.

And shadzar, of course you can read blog posts where there isn't wifi, it's called a printer. b/w copies of blog posts double-sided cost less than a magazine subscription and come with no ads. Mind blowing amirite.

Fectin, thanks, that was pretty helpful; and it doesn't look like a complete waste of paper.

I like the "scaling feats" business; it shows how forward thinking Frank and Kieth were when they introduced them in "Races of War".

A friend of mine is getting a column in this. I'll have to ask her what's up.

What in the fuck, they got Cory Doctorow to write for them? Now I must acquire this magazine.

nockermensch wrote:What in the fuck, they got Cory Doctorow to write for them? Now I must acquire this magazine.

Wake me up when they have a column by Stephen Colbert.