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2 years ago ::
Aug 27, 2011 - 7:19AM
#11
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Date Joined:
Aug 13, 2007
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I'm a third-generation Canadian and have never been to Finland, but yes, that's where the last name comes from. Most people guess Dutch or German (and I've heard every Heineken gag imaginable), unless they're from Finland themselves (I notice the same "nen" pattern in your username).
"nen" is very common ending in Finnish last names. It means of/from something. In your case it means "of Heikki", and Heikki is a man's first name. In my case it means that I am from the Excalibur roleplaying club (which is often abbreviated as "Exca"). So it's not my real last name.
Funny story about finnish names and midwives.
My grandfather comes from a split name Family. The Byykkonen's and the Pyykkonen's, Half the family was born to Finnish midwives who spelled it right with a P and the other half to american Midwives who spelled the Finnish P with a B.
 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 ::
Sep 16, 2011 - 4:31AM
#12
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Date Joined:
Jun 18, 2010
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The service is still nowhere near 2009 standards when we had offline char builder that worked in most ways better than the online thingy, an actual monster builder, and a new crunch article nearly every day. I'll resub when I see this kind of service return.
Heh, Jeff has Finnish last name, neat.
I'm the opposite of you here. If they went even more with Crunch (and presuming that this meant less of other material) I'd consider the value of my subscription to be dropping. As it stands there is just not the same kind of need for dozens of more classes, hundreds of more feats etc. as there was in 2009.
Pretty much my view here is that we know have enough material that even if I'm really picky and don't have any interest in playing a character with 95% of what has been put out there are still enough character concepts now on the table that really interest me that I could realize several good characters for each (roughly 2 year) campaign to last for at least the next 30 odd years and I get very significantly less utility out of WotC making it so that I have enough characters to get me through campaigns for the next 36 years instead of 30 years. Plus they have really hit most of the low hanging fruit. I won't begrudge filling out some of the holes (be they feats missing for standard builds, or support for some of the less supported classes) still in the system but there is a lot less they can do mechanically to the characters at this point. In effect there is already some serous bloat in the system and anything new that is added should be sparse and of top quality IMO.
What I really want to see is well designed adventures and more in the way of stuff that supports playing in a campaign as opposed to stuff that supports realizing more character builds. Oh and I really want to see more adventure tools - where the heck is my Adventure Design program and my Campaign Manager?
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2 years ago ::
Sep 16, 2011 - 9:51AM
#13
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Date Joined:
Jan 28, 2006
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What I really want to see is well designed adventures and more in the way of stuff that supports playing in a campaign as opposed to stuff that supports realizing more character builds. Oh and I really want to see more adventure tools - where the heck is my Adventure Design program and my Campaign Manager?
Pretty much this. I'm not opposed (actually would love to see) more themes and backgrounds for characters. But as far as more crunch in the form of feats, classes, odd races, etc. Not so much. 4e has more than enough. As a DM, make my life easier with quick, easy to use, robust software, interesting adventures and amazing ideas!
-S.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 16, 2011 - 11:51AM
#14
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- Dragon Slayer
- If only he would apply himself
- Dammit Jim, this is Star Trek, not D&D!
Date Joined:
Jan 31, 2006
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We always should keep in mind that what one person wants is very different from what another wants. Most campaigns are in heroic and a lot of DMs want to see new ideas. A lot of DMs take an adventure and mine it for ideas rather than running it as-is. A good adventure provides a lot more than just something for a specific level range or even tier. Overall, the value of DDI is already really high compared to offerings from other companies or historically from any RPG company. The quality is really top-notch and paying for that volume would be a lot more than the monthly or yearly fee. The upcoming additions truly increase that value. Sure, that won't be true for everyone's personal assessment, but it is for many gamers.
Follow my blog and Twitter feed with Dark Sun campaign design and DM tips! Dark Sun's Ashes of Athas Campaign is now available for home play (PM me with your e-mail to order the campaign adventures).
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2 years ago ::
Sep 18, 2011 - 7:08AM
#15
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Date Joined:
Oct 25, 2009
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Right now the only thing I truly need from DDI is the compendium. This is a massive time saver for me as I am DM'ing several campaigns and it's worth the cost alone. However, the number of bugs and omissions from the compendium I've noticed over the last few months has really ticked me off.
For me personally, here's how I rate DDI...
Highest value: Compendium (and hopefully the new MB coming out this week)
High value: art galleries, map galleries, adventures, Dungeon magazine in general
Moderate value: Dragon magazine in general, online CB (need HR options), virtual table
Low Value: Current online MB (which doesn't build monsters)
No Value: Name generator (joke)
What would boost the value of my DDI subscription?
- searchable index for Dragon + Dungeon
- HR options for CB including custom items/feats/powers
- Campaign organizer including encounter builder synched with CB and MB (standalone software separate from the VT)
- Dungeon tile software that would allow me to print customs maps (again, separate from VT)
Want to know more about the history of D&D, especially how to play older editions of the game? Check out Crazy Monkey's "Tour through the editions":
http://community.wizards.com/crazymonkey/go/forum/view/133793/225799/Asylum_Play-by-Post
The current edition is BECMI, the most popular form of Basic D&D and the adventure is the classic Red Box quest to kill Bargle the evil magic user. Check it out, learn about the games roots, and enjoy the story as it unfolds.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 18, 2011 - 8:46AM
#16
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Date Joined:
Jul 15, 2010
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this month ive felt underwhelmed in the last 2 months i was pretty satisfied.
next month is the oriential themes, race and runepriest stuff so thats what im REALLY looking foward to
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2 years ago ::
Sep 18, 2011 - 9:44PM
#17
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Date Joined:
Oct 21, 2003
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My sub is up as of 3 days ago because of the lack of useful, high quality, content. This month was a pretty big deal sealer for me. The builder and the compedium are worthwhile but not at current cost and set up. The only real use I have for it right now is to submit dragon articles and I can do that without those (mostly).
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2 years ago ::
Sep 27, 2011 - 9:02PM
#18
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Date Joined:
Aug 30, 2011
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Value is in the eye of the beholder (.. or is that `eye's' .. go ahead, shoot me for the bad pun.)
Is their value here in the $70 a year? For me personally, yes. THE CB is quick, has worked flawlessly for me, and I like getting the printed cards.
The compendium is also great to have, though I firmly agree (and beg on pleading and bended knee) it needs a bolean search.
The Dragon/Dungeon magazine articles/mods: OK.. some I use, some I don't. A good and robust search engine is also a must here.
The MB: Useful to me as I'm able to create/modify beasties for my homebrew.
Encounter builder: a bit plain jane, and definitely needs some love, but get you going in the right direction.
The VT: I've been able to play once, and I love it. It is a bit cumbersome, and I wouldn't suggest new players dive in there straight away. The players in there know their stuff, and I was overwhelmed myself. (Keep in mind, I'm only 6-7 weeks out of Red Box. (I'm a previous 2e player from years back.)
So.. is their value here?.. for some yes, for some no. Will it become more valuable?.. worth the $$$?.. thats up to WotC.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 28, 2011 - 5:35AM
#19
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Date Joined:
Mar 31, 2009
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FWIW, I've renewed my DDI subscription. There are still some issues I have with the service, but I have to admit that it makes planning games easier for me.
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2 years ago ::
Sep 28, 2011 - 9:27AM
#20
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- Dragon Slayer
- If only he would apply himself
- Dammit Jim, this is Star Trek, not D&D!
Date Joined:
Jan 31, 2006
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Glad to have you back, Newbie!
I am curious how the Kara-Tur month will be received by everyone content-wise. I'm really excited by it. I loved the recent 0-level rules and I've really seen an increase in article quality. Yeah, there are fewer PC options/article, but that isn't a problem for me. I find I have tons of PC options.
I really dig the improvements to the Monster Builder. If they improve export and monster math a bit... that should be really compelling for DMs. An Encounter Builder would likely seal the deal for just about any DM that can afford a subscription.
Follow my blog and Twitter feed with Dark Sun campaign design and DM tips! Dark Sun's Ashes of Athas Campaign is now available for home play (PM me with your e-mail to order the campaign adventures).
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