Does anyone else miss getting a tangible version of Dungeon / Dragon magazines? When they switched to digital download PDFs I thought I would be "ok" with that. I enjoyed those because they still felt good. However, Dragon+ just feels like a blog to me at this point. Anyone else have any opinions on this? Am I being to hard on Dragon+? Do you like it more than the paper versions?
I am too new to D&D to have experienced the old paper copies of Dungeon or Dragon magazine, but was excited for the digital Dungeon+ when it arrived on the scene. However, that excitement quickly fafed when I realized you have to be online to read them. Like you state, it simply feels like a blog.
If there IS a way to download the issues for offline reading, then I have yet to discover it...
If there IS a way to download the issues for offline reading, then I have yet to discover it...
First - Welcome to the hobby!
The "app" version of it allows you to download / view on an iPad. That isn't too bad - it is where I resorted to putting my PDFs when those were all that they offered.
If there IS a way to download the issues for offline reading, then I have yet to discover it...
First - Welcome to the hobby!
The "app" version of it allows you to download / view on an iPad. That isn't too bad - it is where I resorted to putting my PDFs when those were all that they offered.
Thank you, and thanks for the tip.
I don't have an iPad, but I'll try it with my sons Andriod tablet.
While I agree with you, I do greatly miss Dragon Magazine, I love the convenience of Dragon+. It definitely has the feel of a blog but that's okay. Being a digital medium they'll have a lot more room to change in the future. I feel like they're still getting their feet wet and I'm looking forward to the next couple of years and seeing what they do with it :)
I would love to have a way to take articles and save them as PDF so I can use them in my campaigns without the app. There's a Giant-themed adventure set in Ravenloft that I can't use because Dragon+ won't let me copy and paste.
Yea, but its more nostalgia than anything for me. Because really, its a different time.
When there was no internet, and you learned about "D&D" from a friend or neighbor, and they told you of the one shop you could go get a book, you came home with it and you were kind of on a little island with you and players. The day the new Dragon mag came in the mail....oh man, so good.
But today, I can google a rule check in like 5 sec and players don't even know I didn't know the answer.
Having read Dragon (and Dungeon for that matter) on and off since the 80's, the version of dragon now, while there are some great articles now and then, seems a bit thin. It makes sense it's free as there just isn't enough meat there most of the time to warrant a fee. Personally, I would love a 'real' magazine like in the old days. A hefty 100 page tome on my doorstep every month with cool new mini adventures, articles by veteran DM's and D&D'ers, info on upcoming products, not just from WotC but also others, and all the fun ads from the cool to the quirky!
No, it was a nice little magazine. I like Dragon+ but would love to have Dungeon and Dragon issues in hand...
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"...Debts must always be paid, sometimes in more than blood and gold. But this is Ordo Ursa," Ren places his hand on Erakas's chest, right where the Dragonborn's heart is. "Right here. And it always has been and always will be. Don't ever forget that. Because I won't."
Serandis Mendaen (Aereni Elven Rogue/maybe one day Wizard)- Project Point Playtest
I find I'm missing magazines in general. I love the portability of online content and the lack of a huge pile of back issues that I can't bear to let go of but... really won't look at ever again.
BUT
What I've found is that I don't focus as well if I'm reading online. It's far too easy to respond to an incoming message, or open a new tab to search for something, or... vs. sitting under a tree in the yard and reading Dragon for an afternoon. I grant that the market has spoken, but yeah... I miss it some.
I call it Dragon-. Not a huge fan. There is very little useful in it, and too many of the articles seem like long winded advertisements. I realize it is free, but even so it usually has almost nothing to interest me. I keep checking it out in the hopes it will improve.
Dragon+ is a big let down. The digital format is fine, it just doesn't have much in the way of interesting/useful content. I get that print isn't viable, but that doesn't mean you cant have actual articles instead of an ad circular. Does anyone else remember all the cool articles and adventures that they would post on the wizards website back in the 3.5 days?
Dragon+ isn't too bad, but certainly miss my paper subscriptions to Dungeon and Dragon. I miss the content. Dragon+ feels more like a WoC product promotion item than the dungeon dwelling companion those 2 rags were.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"There's a call to adventure. It's something in the inner psyche of humanity..." - Gary Gygax
The Dragon+ as blog opinion resonates with me. I realized this when I wanted some sort of Dragon mag but almost always ignore Dragon+ or drop it right after starting it
Yea, but its more nostalgia than anything for me. Because really, its a different time.
When there was no internet, and you learned about "D&D" from a friend or neighbor, and they told you of the one shop you could go get a book, you came home with it and you were kind of on a little island with you and players. The day the new Dragon mag came in the mail....oh man, so good.
But today, I can google a rule check in like 5 sec and players don't even know I didn't know the answer.
AMEN! In a digital world, I too long for the days of thumbing through the pages of the 1st issues of Dragon. I remember taking it to school and not being able to wait for study hall to get to dive into it, and share all my newly aquired knowledge with my friends. Ahh... the good old days. Digital is nice.. but I still buy physical copies of all the books. I like thumbing through the pages in my easy chair... not staring at just another screen.. we all do that too much already. There is somthing to be said for how great the world was before the digital age.
Does anyone else miss getting a tangible version of Dungeon / Dragon magazines? When they switched to digital download PDFs I thought I would be "ok" with that. I enjoyed those because they still felt good. However, Dragon+ just feels like a blog to me at this point. Anyone else have any opinions on this? Am I being to hard on Dragon+? Do you like it more than the paper versions?
I am too new to D&D to have experienced the old paper copies of Dungeon or Dragon magazine, but was excited for the digital Dungeon+ when it arrived on the scene. However, that excitement quickly fafed when I realized you have to be online to read them. Like you state, it simply feels like a blog.
If there IS a way to download the issues for offline reading, then I have yet to discover it...
First - Welcome to the hobby!
The "app" version of it allows you to download / view on an iPad. That isn't too bad - it is where I resorted to putting my PDFs when those were all that they offered.
While I agree with you, I do greatly miss Dragon Magazine, I love the convenience of Dragon+. It definitely has the feel of a blog but that's okay. Being a digital medium they'll have a lot more room to change in the future. I feel like they're still getting their feet wet and I'm looking forward to the next couple of years and seeing what they do with it :)
I would love to have a way to take articles and save them as PDF so I can use them in my campaigns without the app. There's a Giant-themed adventure set in Ravenloft that I can't use because Dragon+ won't let me copy and paste.
David "David Foxfire" Gonterman; 5th Edition D&D Dungeon Master
Web Page: http://foxfirestudios.net
Yea, but its more nostalgia than anything for me. Because really, its a different time.
When there was no internet, and you learned about "D&D" from a friend or neighbor, and they told you of the one shop you could go get a book, you came home with it and you were kind of on a little island with you and players. The day the new Dragon mag came in the mail....oh man, so good.
But today, I can google a rule check in like 5 sec and players don't even know I didn't know the answer.
Having read Dragon (and Dungeon for that matter) on and off since the 80's, the version of dragon now, while there are some great articles now and then, seems a bit thin. It makes sense it's free as there just isn't enough meat there most of the time to warrant a fee. Personally, I would love a 'real' magazine like in the old days. A hefty 100 page tome on my doorstep every month with cool new mini adventures, articles by veteran DM's and D&D'ers, info on upcoming products, not just from WotC but also others, and all the fun ads from the cool to the quirky!
No, it was a nice little magazine. I like Dragon+ but would love to have Dungeon and Dragon issues in hand...
"...Debts must always be paid, sometimes in more than blood and gold. But this is Ordo Ursa," Ren places his hand on Erakas's chest, right where the Dragonborn's heart is. "Right here. And it always has been and always will be. Don't ever forget that. Because I won't."
Serandis Mendaen (Aereni Elven Rogue/maybe one day Wizard)- Project Point Playtest
I find I'm missing magazines in general. I love the portability of online content and the lack of a huge pile of back issues that I can't bear to let go of but... really won't look at ever again.
BUT
What I've found is that I don't focus as well if I'm reading online. It's far too easy to respond to an incoming message, or open a new tab to search for something, or... vs. sitting under a tree in the yard and reading Dragon for an afternoon. I grant that the market has spoken, but yeah... I miss it some.
View my StartPlaying.Games profile to see my games!
I would prefer pdfs. I'm not a huge fan of dragon+ and would find it nice to be able to have them on my laptop without needing Internet.
I call it Dragon-. Not a huge fan. There is very little useful in it, and too many of the articles seem like long winded advertisements. I realize it is free, but even so it usually has almost nothing to interest me. I keep checking it out in the hopes it will improve.
geek dad with 3 geek kids
Dragon+ is a big let down. The digital format is fine, it just doesn't have much in the way of interesting/useful content. I get that print isn't viable, but that doesn't mean you cant have actual articles instead of an ad circular. Does anyone else remember all the cool articles and adventures that they would post on the wizards website back in the 3.5 days?
Dragon+ isn't too bad, but certainly miss my paper subscriptions to Dungeon and Dragon. I miss the content. Dragon+ feels more like a WoC product promotion item than the dungeon dwelling companion those 2 rags were.
"There's a call to adventure. It's something in the inner psyche of humanity..." - Gary Gygax
The Dragon+ as blog opinion resonates with me. I realized this when I wanted some sort of Dragon mag but almost always ignore Dragon+ or drop it right after starting it
AMEN! In a digital world, I too long for the days of thumbing through the pages of the 1st issues of Dragon. I remember taking it to school and not being able to wait for study hall to get to dive into it, and share all my newly aquired knowledge with my friends. Ahh... the good old days. Digital is nice.. but I still buy physical copies of all the books. I like thumbing through the pages in my easy chair... not staring at just another screen.. we all do that too much already. There is somthing to be said for how great the world was before the digital age.
For anyone interested… all the Dungeon magazines can be legally found here;
https://archive.org/details/dungeonmagazine?sort=titleSorter
I had a subscription to Dungeon and I totally miss it. I loved just laying in bed reading it at night and an online one isn't the same.