Quote from: J Arcane;746889Well, as a personal reaction, I would consider it grossly unethical and I wouldn't participate.

It totally raises the quality of reviews, when they're being paid for by the company who made the product. I mean, look what it's done to video game reviewing, now all the web sites are extensions of publisher's PR departments! You can totally rely on IGN to tell you that the latest [Insert EA/Ubisoft/Activision franchise here] game is fantastic and an instant buy, they don't even need to play the game to know that!

Nope, no bias there at all.

Quote from: Benoist;746830Well first Karameikos (one of my favorite RPG sourcebooks ever) is for Classic BECMI D&D (1983), not OD&D (1974), and not AD&D. And the Grand Duchy has IMO just the right amount of detail to be coherent as is, and welcoming of the players and DM's imagination in such a way that the setting can be taken in any sorts of directions, explicitly so, in the section about different adventures and imports pertaining to level ranges. I think it's a model of the genre, actually.

Yes, meant to say was there any in O or A and the only example I had was from BX. Until I got the Greyhawk boxed set Karameikos was our AD&D setting when was DMing for family.

I agree the Greyhawk boxed set had that feel. Most of it was left fairly open ended. You knew some overall details, polulation, notables. But past that it was fairly free up to go where you want.

Quote from: Ladybird;746900It totally raises the quality of reviews, when they're being paid for by the company who made the product. I mean, look what it's done to video game reviewing, now all the web sites are extensions of publisher's PR departments! You can totally rely on IGN to tell you that the latest [Insert EA/Ubisoft/Activision franchise here] game is fantastic and an instant buy, they don't even need to play the game to know that!

Nope, no bias there at all.

Apples and Oranges, when you're dealing with Corporations on both ends, the Quid Pro Quo is assumed - you fuck us with the review, you'll never get another early release and you'll get to watch as all your competitors get to see and play the game two years before you do.  It doesn't help that all the reviewers are mostly wannabe game designers these days instead of wannabe journalists who play games.

Does anything think Edwards, Baker, or even Jmal or McKinney is gonna get a lovetug review because they paid for it?  Hell, I'd pay just to get the review to the start of the line, that's the good thing about the Pundit, his 1's can generate as many sales as the 10's, just to different people.

It's worth not doing though, just because then every Pundit-hater has a built-in attack that would easily gain traction with people who didn't know better.

Yeah that was pretty much what I told her.

Quote from: CRKrueger;747107Apples and Oranges, when you're dealing with Corporations on both ends, the Quid Pro Quo is assumed - you fuck us with the review, you'll never get another early release and you'll get to watch as all your competitors get to see and play the game two years before you do.  It doesn't help that all the reviewers are mostly wannabe game designers these days instead of wannabe journalists who play games.

Well, exactly. Content is written for the benefit of the people that pay for it. If the publishers are paying for the content to be written (Through advertising, perks, review days, whatever), then it will be written for them.

That customers don't want to pay for journalism these days because INTERNET SO IT SHOULD BE FREE, or that they don't really care and just want a high number to brag about on fanboy forums, is what has let gaming journalism descend to that level.

QuoteIt's worth not doing though, just because then every Pundit-hater has a built-in attack that would easily gain traction with people who didn't know better.

Oh, the pundit haters again. Really, why should we care about a couple of SA users? They're irrelevant.

I'd like to see a roleplaying site of the same standard as RockPaperShotgun or Shut Up And Sit Down (Both sites I have subscriptions for), do not get me wrong, but it would require a reasonably wide mix of gamers, rather than self-appointed demagogues, and proper RPG-related reviewing would be more difficult than video game reviewing (Due to how much longer it takes to organise and play an RPG than a video game).

(I actually like Pundit's reviews, they're generally quite useful. But sometimes the influence of the character can overwhelm the value of the text - and this review is one I'd suggest as an example of it. The last few paragraphs don't contribute anything. I like opinionated reviewers, I'm a big Jeremy Clarkson fan, but the review should be the primary part of the text, not the character.)

Quote from: RPGPundit;746106He accused me of being a fucking Dragonlance-fan!

I heard you dated Margaret Weis back in the late 80s.  Something about a lakeside walk and some fine red wine.

Quote from: Mistwell;747401I heard you dated Margaret Weis back in the late 80s.  Something about a lakeside walk and some fine red wine.

Mistwell, this is Dragonlance.  He would have had to accompany the person who was dating Margaret Weiss, unable to do anything but watch the railroad-date unfold.

Quote from: RunningLaser;747407railroad-date

"The Tunnel of Love" is what they call it.

*reads previous posts*

OH NO! MY EYES, MY EYES!



PS: Seriously though, Margaret Weis is a super nice person in RL.

Quote from: Benoist;747411*reads previous posts*

OH NO! MY EYES, MY EYES!



PS: Seriously though, Margaret Weis is a super nice person in RL.

I'll take you word for it:)  Just all in good fun here:)

Quote from: RunningLaser;747407Mistwell, this is Dragonlance.  He would have had to accompany the person who was dating Margaret Weiss, unable to do anything but watch the railroad-date unfold.

You win this thread.

Quote from: The Butcher;747408"The Tunnel of Love" is what they call it.

"Drive your Train of Passion into my Tunnel of Love, Sir Toppam Hat!"

I enjoyed the review and it was informative, especially when combined with the author's response.  If it wasn't intended to be random, the author should have been explicit with a plausible explanation.   If it is so carefully designed that only one explanation makes sense, tell me what it is.  If multiple explanations might work, offer a suggestion for one that does work .

From the response, I felt he was saying 'I totes have an explanation that makes everything clear, but it's super secret so I can't tell you.  For realz!'

I was not impressed.

Quote from: RunningLaser;747407Mistwell, this is Dragonlance.  He would have had to accompany the person who was dating Margaret Weiss, unable to do anything but watch the railroad-date unfold.

Quote from: Old Geezer;747889"Drive your Train of Passion into my Tunnel of Love, Sir Toppam Hat!"

Rex Rexroth? Is that you?