Pyramid

[Layander]

I have never seen an issue of the mag, but I am thinking about trying it out. Since I mostly run fantasy settings, would it be better for me to grab a year sub, or individual issues? Is the mag worth it? Not trying to be judgmental here, but I normally prefer print mags, and I was highly disappointed with the new direction of dungeon, and dragon, magazines. More information I prefer to run sandbox adventures in an open world I write.

[griffin]

Originally Posted by Layander

I have never seen an issue of the mag, but I am thinking about trying it out. Since I mostly run fantasy settings, would it be better for me to grab a year sub, or individual issues? Is the mag worth it? Not trying to be judgmental here, but I normally prefer print mags, and I was highly disappointed with the new direction of dungeon, and dragon, magazines. More information I prefer to run sandbox adventures in an open world I write.

You might be better off asking in the Pyramid section. Given your question, I'd suggest buying individual issues. Take a look at the issues from 2011 and see how many of them appeal to you. Compare the cost of that many issues to the cost of a 1 year subscription. My guess is you'll go with single issues. With single issues you can pick and choose and also get ones that are previously published (not that you can't do that in addition to an annual sub).

[SCAR]

There are previews linked from each issues e23 page too.

[RyanW]

Originally Posted by SCAR

There are previews linked from each issues e23 page too.

And Kromm starts a thread on each release, that usually turns into a discussion on the merits of each article.

[Steven Marsh]

As much as I believe the solution to all the world's woes is for everyone to buy year-long Pyramid subscriptions, I'd agree with the assessment that picking up a recent issue or two that look(s) interesting -- and seeing if you like how we do things at Pyramid -- would be the way to go.

My gut tells me that if your only (or primary) interest is fantasy, then you'll be disappointed by a subscription. We try to get material that suits as wide an audience as we can, and a lot of material can be repurposed; for example, one of the gadget-construction systems from Pyramid #3/46: Weird Science should work fine to design tinker-gnome constructs. However, some material just doesn't translate; if you don't have an interest in (say) GURPS Spaceships, then an issue in support of it is likely to be unsatisfying.

Still, at least with themed issues, you can pick up individual installments that look interesting and be reasonably assured of getting material that will appeal to you.

Let me know -- here or privately -- if you have any questions for me, and I'll do my best to answer.

[ULFGARD]

Here's my experience: I run mostly fantasy, though I also occasionally run some modern horror/monster hunters stuff and I have run both science fiction and historical games in the past (old west and Viking fantasy). That said, when I started dabbling in the new Pyramid, I was ONLY interested in fantasy. I started by picking up one at a time until I had collected several of the fantasy oriented issues. But there was some useful historical information that I thought I might want to import into fantasy in another issue, so I picked it up. From there, I ended up purchasing several non-fantasy issues. My experience has been that there's always at least one article that I can rework and apply to my campaign in some fashion, and usually at least one other article that was just plain interesting in and of itself. So when I found myself buying nearly all of the issues, I finally got a subscription. I haven't been disappointed.

For my part, though, I'd suggest starting out as I did -- you'll probably find it useful and interesting. If you venture out into other genres, you might not share my experience. And if not, you'll find that you'll end up with issues that just aren't that interesting to you. Or you might track my experience and discover that it's worthwhile. As I've started preparing a new MH game, going back to previous Pyramids has proven quite useful. And I've mined some of the tech articles for items to convert into fantasy artifacts...

[SCAR]

Originally Posted by RyanW

And Kromm starts a thread on each release, that usually turns into a discussion on the merits of each article.

And since I had a reason to do the search, here is a general link to those threads.

[Steven Marsh]

Originally Posted by SCAR

And since I had a reason to do the search, here is a general link to those threads.

Well done! I always appreciate good Search-Fu.

[NightHawk]

I would like to say that most definitely it is a good idea to get one of the issues that catches your eyes. But let me tell you, being a long time gamer and a huge fan of GURPS (Been playing it way too long..... 1988 lol.. I have never found a pyramid issue that is wasted on me. While I might not be interested in a particular subject but reading it gives me ideas as well as on occasion has caused me to delve into a different direction. Even decided to play a few different Genres.

I would suggest that you buy just a single issue at a time for a couple months and when you finally agree with me then you can purchase a yearly subscription and get two big advantages... #1 you save a little money... although the work that goes into pyramid is more than worth buying it month to month.

#2 you don't have to worry about purchasing it each month it is just "there" in your library.

But in my opinion... it is totally worth a yearly subscription....