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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 3:55AM
#1
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Date Joined:
Apr 27, 2006
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 Dragon 395
A Little Help from Your FriendsBy Matt Sernett Larger-than-life heroes deserve to have larger-than-life friends in their backgrounds. Talk about this Article here. 
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 5:22AM
#2
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this was a total waste of space
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 5:44AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Sep 15, 2007
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"Your character can have friends."
Amazing! Why has it taken ~35 years before someone could articulate this concept in such an essential way?
OH WAIT. It's OBVIOUS... and this advice is generic to any RPG, much less applicable to what is supposedly the best FRPG system on Earth.
How this article could have been betteruseful in any way:
Henchmen. Rules for Henchmen/hirelings. Make 'em like Summons (Uncommon? Feats?). Or disposable minions (consumable?). Depends on the resources invested/how you get them. Want that 1977 feel? Hench it up.
Rules on having other characters play your friend rather than the DM... maybe something like troupe-style play? Or maybe even how you could play both your primary character and the friend.
Sorry to be so negative, but.... I dunno; maybe I've been around enough that stuff like this is obvious and has been talked about for DECADES. There is nothing groundbreaking (or even specific to 4e) here. Not what I am looking for in Dragon.
EDIT: Ok, I do think the art is OK. Deva lady letting her hair down is OK. Deva hussar armor? Never cared for it. At least this one is showing emotion.
D&DNext: HTFU Edition
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 5:53AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Apr 19, 2008
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Actually, I find that most players...even the ones that try hard to have a good background...tend to miss the friends angle. We usually talk a lot about the character's family and possibly lovers (which could be friends, but only a small subset of them) and sometimes their enemies. I rarely see friends get involved in backgrounds, though.
Yes, it isn't a mechanical article, but I found it somewhat helpful. Could it have been an editorial instead maybe? Yeah, but not everything a player needs to know can be summed up in mechanical toys. Inspiring them to make better, more believable characters is just as important in my opinion. I understand the sentiment of not wanting all fluff articles, but it's a little tiring to watch the forums blow up over it *every* time an article doesn't have mechanics.
That said, are we getting a content calendar or not? It'd be easier for us all to wait for articles we wanted to see if we knew they were coming.
D&D rules were never meant to exist without the presence of a DM. RAW is a lie.
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 6:01AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Dec 26, 2008
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Love the Art
Forum signature? Quick think of something witty ... ... ...
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 6:05AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 24, 2005
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Actually, I find that most players...even the ones that try hard to have a good background...tend to miss the friends angle. We usually talk a lot about the character's family and possibly lovers (which could be friends, but only a small subset of them) and sometimes their enemies. I rarely see friends get involved in backgrounds, though.
Yes, it isn't a mechanical article, but I found it somewhat helpful. Could it have been an editorial instead maybe? Yeah, but not everything a player needs to know can be summed up in mechanical toys. Inspiring them to make better, more believable characters is just as important in my opinion. I understand the sentiment of not wanting all fluff articles, but it's a little tiring to watch the forums blow up over it *every* time an article doesn't have mechanics.
That said, are we getting a content calendar or not? It'd be easier for us all to wait for articles we wanted to see if we knew they were coming.
I agree completely with Black Egg. Also, that is a nice piece of artwork.
As far as the calendar goes, the list of articles coming out this week went up late yesterday. It would have been up earlier, but the person responsible for it was caught in the bad weather out west. You can find the list here: community.wizards.com/wotc_bart/blog/201...
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 6:50AM
#7
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Date Joined:
Aug 17, 2007
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These sorts of articles will always be controversial, because many readers will find it to be basic common sense - but it can be good to have articles like this for new players. Even ones this simplistic, I suppose, have their place - but readers don't want to see this article taking the spot of something that could be genuinely useful, especially after seeing a month like December, where player content was so thin.
I'd almost recommend just making these sorts of 'generic gaming advice' as free articles posted on the site. Or file them as 'Ampersand' articles, or whatever. The people they are most useful for are the new gamers who often aren't the ones subscribing to DDI. So putting them out there for the public would give more reason for others to explore the D&D website, without taking up space in the magazines for more functional articles.
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 7:11AM
#8
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- Forum Guide
- Hero Craftsman Gold Medalist
- Master Dungeon Master
Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2005
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The people they are most useful for are the new gamers who often aren't the ones subscribing to DDI.
They aren't? Why do you think that?
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 7:13AM
#9
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Date Joined:
Aug 13, 2007
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Actually, I find that most players...even the ones that try hard to have a good background...tend to miss the friends angle. We usually talk a lot about the character's family and possibly lovers (which could be friends, but only a small subset of them) and sometimes their enemies. I rarely see friends get involved in backgrounds, though.
Yes, it isn't a mechanical article, but I found it somewhat helpful. Could it have been an editorial instead maybe? Yeah, but not everything a player needs to know can be summed up in mechanical toys. Inspiring them to make better, more believable characters is just as important in my opinion. I understand the sentiment of not wanting all fluff articles, but it's a little tiring to watch the forums blow up over it *every* time an article doesn't have mechanics.
That said, are we getting a content calendar or not? It'd be easier for us all to wait for articles we wanted to see if we knew they were coming.
+1
 Never Point a loaded party at a plot you are not willing to shoot. Arcane Rhetoric. My Blog.
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2 years ago ::
Jan 05, 2011 - 7:32AM
#10
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Date Joined:
Jun 20, 2009
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Another "how to roleplay" article.
I'm not missing my red box yet.
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