We asked a few bloggers to give us their opinions on KQ10, and boy did they ever! This was a bit of an experiment; you never know what people will say when you get out the portfolio or send out the gaming magazine and oh-so-innocently ask “So, what do you think?”.
Here’s seven short takes on it from around the world.
Critical Hits: We don’t have to tell you that Kobold Quarterly is great, or that it’s been nominated for 3 Ennies (though it’s going down in the Best Website category!)…. All we have to tell you is the name of an article: “Secrets of the Gelatinous Cube.”
DriveThru RPG: There’s a fantastic article by Michael Brewer, Quinn Murphy and Jonathan Jacobs about Skill Challenges called “Swords Against Darkness”, which includes a few very cool skill challenges that can be dropped into any campaign. What I like about skill challenges is just that: they are small scenes that can be thrown into the middle of any game. ★★★★★
Stargazer’s World: “I had no idea what to expect. I have to admit that I was pretty much blown away by my preview copy. The 90-page PDF includes not only great cover artwork but top-notch content for not only d20-based games like D&D 3rd Edition, D&D 4th Edition or Paizo’s upcoming Pathfinder game, but even a lot of material that could be used in any system. I wasn’t actually expecting this.”
Gold The Series: The design is as attractive and professional as the writing; Kobold Quarterly is not an amateur fanzine, it’s a fully edited and professionally produced magazine (with ads), and that shows in the careful construction and reliable quality of every article and illustration.
The Dice of Life: For basically $4 (for the PDF) or $7 (print & pdf) an issue, you get a hell of a lot with Kobold Quarterly. While not every article might pertain to your gaming system, each article is an enjoyable read and has a wealth of ideas to inspire the GM in all of us.
Roleplaying Pro: [KQ] has plenty of content for all D&D systems as well as quality articles on more general roleplaying topics. For new Kobold Quarterly readers, this issue is a great introduction to the magazine. The cover art and interior art is spectacular.
Purple Pawn: Kobold Quarterly is absolutely top notch. …. The only thing missing is Finieous Fingers.
I’m very pleased with those reviews, as you might imagine, but naturally readers’ opinions count even more! What do YOU think of the new issue? Tell us your favorite article.
Sometimes you see a product on a bookshelf or online and think, “Man, that looks cool. I really should get that.” But for whatever reason you don’t. Kobold Quarterly was one of those products for me. It looked extremely interesting and I wanted to buy it, but for whatever reason I didn’t.
I finally did get my hands on a copy now, and ‘wow’. It has everything I thought it would have and more. It really feels like a great old school gaming magazine with new topics. I am now a first time reader turned into a long-time subscriber.
Happy 10th KQ! Every bit as good as Dragon used to be if not better. I have 1-9 and am buying 10 this week. I hope we are both around for issue 100!