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Pen & Paper Roleplaying Central => Pen and Paper Roleplaying Games (RPGs) Discussion => Topic started by: dar on November 01, 2006, 10:43:03 PM

Title: RPG magazines
Post by: dar on November 01, 2006, 10:43:03 PM
On a special episode of the Midnights Lair podcast I've learned about Polymancer Magazine (http://www.polymancerstudios.com/index_files/Page614.htm). I didn't know about it, any subscribers care to comment?

While I'm on the subject, any comments on other RPG magazines out there? I'm interested in hearing about Dungeon/Dragon/Pyramid and others I may be missing. Whats your favorite? Are they a waste of time? Is Dungeon/Dragon only useful for d20? Is Pyramid only useful for SJGames?

I'm mostly interested in print magazines, but Pyramid sounds cool, are other online ones as good or better?

I've been out of rpg's for over (almost?) a decade now and am getting back into the hobby, so there is a lot of catching up I want to do.
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: Roudi on November 01, 2006, 11:15:05 PM
I'm not a subscriber to Polymancer, but I've picked up a few issues.

The aim of the magazine is admirable: to support many systems or simply provide setting-neutral content wherever possible.  Insightful articles, decent writing, and some inspiring content round out this plucky periodical.  Recommended.
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: mattormeg on November 02, 2006, 01:09:01 AM
This sounds really good; I want to find a magazine that isn't tied to one particular system, or isn't a house organ for a particular publishing company.
There's a part of me that thinks that maybe that's an impossibility - that there isn't enough money for an independent gaming magazine - and that the internet has pretty much supplanted those sorts of things anyway.
Still, I remember the Good Old Days, when you could read all sorts of different things in Dragon, and the roads were paved with crystal polyhedron dice..sniff...
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: fonkaygarry on November 02, 2006, 01:41:43 AM
I can say I never knew one of the big magazines (Dragon, White Dwarf) when they were anything but monthly catalogs.

Hell, remember the Jake Thornton run at White Dwarf, when all the articles were pretty much "HEY KIDS, SPACE MARINES"?

This I can get behind, though.  If I hadn't blown all my fun money on manga, I might pick up a subscription.  Maybe next month...
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: Dr Rotwang! on November 02, 2006, 06:40:36 AM
Ahhh, Shadis...once thou wart a great gaming magazine, dedicated to the hobby and ne'er one single game...and then jim pinto screwed you up.
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: JamesV on November 02, 2006, 08:19:37 AM
Yeah, Dragon is a house magazine for D&D, but if that's your thing and you look carefully, there are some great articles, and if you can get the digital archive that came out for it, you're gold, baby. Pure, lootable, g o l d.
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: Bagpuss on November 02, 2006, 08:49:54 AM
Quote from: darIs Dungeon/Dragon only useful for d20?

Better/Worse it is only useful for D&D 3.5

Polyhedron use to support D20 but all the Dungeon D&D fans complained so much and stopped buying the magazine that they stopped producing that part of the magazine.
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: Bagpuss on November 02, 2006, 08:53:18 AM
Quote from: Roudisimply provide setting-neutral content wherever possible

Do you mean system-neutral content as setting-neutral sounds pretty tricky/boring to me?
Title: RPG magazines
Post by: joewolz on November 02, 2006, 09:09:34 AM
Well, Dragon and Dungeon got me hooked on the Savage Tides setting/adventure path.  I'm converting it to C&C as it goes, so by the end of the run I'll have a complete campaign ready to run.

I'm a Pyramid subscriber.  Most of the article are GURPS specific stat-wise, but once a week (it's a weekly e-zine) they include ay least one non-GURPS article, and some articles (at least one a week IIRC) are generic systemless ideas/advice.  I really enjoy Pyramid, the messageboards alone are worth the $20US a year.
Title: Polymancer
Post by: dar on November 02, 2006, 08:58:24 PM
Here are a couple more.

Wyvern (http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=256_116_602&products_id=15948) which is pdf only and now free.

Silven Trumpeter (http://www.silven.com/productlines.asp?case=showproduct&id=42) also pdf only, and use to be free.