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Kobold Quarterly

  • May. 21st, 2007 at 8:49 AM
Open Design Logo 2
I'm happy to announce the launch of Kobold Quarterly, an Open Design 'zine for gamers! The first issue will appear this summer, and all those who subscribe before the first issue ships will be charter subscribers.

Eight Kobold Answers
  1. Yes, this is the big announcement I've been hinting about to patrons for a while.
  2. Yes, I will be accepting art submissions, though I'll only pay for commissioned pieces.
  3. Yes, I'm looking for article queries from Open Design patrons.
  4. No, I will not accept more than one query at a time.
  5. No, there are no writer's guidelines yet.
  6. Yes, subscribers will get to pick the contents of future issues and the subjects of future interviews.
  7. Yes, the Erik Mona interview will appear in the first issue. So will the ecology article.
  8. Yes, if not enough folks subscribe it will fold. I'm not worried.
Subscriptions are just $16 for a year (4 issues). More information is available at the Free City site.

UPDATE: The charter subscription offer ended July 1st. One-year subscriptions are still much cheaper than single issues. Subscribe today!

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Comments

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[info]entil_zha wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:07 pm (UTC)
Just deposited my e-dollars to this very cool project.

So I've got this idea, really it's whole series on Dire Sheep. There would be Sheep with all kinds of templates and maybe even some with class levels. and I see it as multi genre with grilling tips for Dire Lamb Chops.... ;)
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:33 pm (UTC)
I want to read that query. Not publish it, mind you, but I do want to see the query. :)

Actually, the Spring/April issue is just 10 months away...
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(no subject) - [info]entil_zha - May. 21st, 2007 04:39 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]morganthaler wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:25 pm (UTC)
Really, when it boils right down to it, how can one not subscribe to a magazine named Kobold Quarterly?
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:34 pm (UTC)
I agree entirely. It would be wrong not to subscribe. :)
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[info]halo_ov_fire wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:31 pm (UTC)
Well, this is something I enjoy in the desert...
...count me in!
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 05:32 pm (UTC)
Re: Well, this is something I enjoy in the desert...
You're in! And thank you.
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[info]brother_d73 wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:37 pm (UTC)
I'm completely on-board . . . Just subscribed!
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[info]avidreader514 wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 04:50 pm (UTC)
I'm good to go! And kudos on the nice site!
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[info]jdigital wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 05:27 pm (UTC)
Since there's art, shouldn't the magazine be called Kobold Drawn and Quarterly?
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 05:33 pm (UTC)
*groan* So bad, I wish I'd thought of it first. :)

I will retain that title in the depths of memory for the April issue.
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(no subject) - [info]varianor - May. 21st, 2007 07:01 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]entil_zha - May. 21st, 2007 07:24 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]ditheringfool wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 05:52 pm (UTC)
Thank you...
I'm in!
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[info]oni_anne wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 06:18 pm (UTC)
Huzza! Congratz! Tis a milestone in the making!
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[info]ampherion wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 06:53 pm (UTC)
I'm in. I hate PDF though! :)
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(no subject) - [info]open_design - May. 21st, 2007 07:10 pm (UTC) Expand
If you do go paper... - [info]halo_ov_fire - May. 21st, 2007 09:55 pm (UTC) Expand
Re: If you do go paper... - [info]open_design - May. 21st, 2007 10:05 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]friadoc wrote:
May. 21st, 2007 08:26 pm (UTC)
With a name like Kobold Quarterly...
...how could I say 'No'?

I mean, seriously, Kobolds are one of my favorite, lesser used beasties and one of the only things that I was disappointed with in World of Warcraft.

*grins*

I'm in, just subscribed a couple of minutes ago, and I'm sure I'll think of something to query about. ;)
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[info]declench wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 01:56 am (UTC)
I'm intrigued by your words and wish to subscribe to your newsletter!

Looks great! Is there a specific theme, or is it simply "anything goes" with regard to content?
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 03:46 am (UTC)
Well, anything I like. :)

Seriously, it's meant to be useful to players without necessarily being all crunch all the time. No adventures. No fiction. I'll post guidelines in a day or three.
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[info]davidblizzard wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 02:30 am (UTC)
I put up a thread on ENWorld to discuss it. It seems to have been getting some traffic, but no discussion. I think that's pretty odd.
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 03:50 am (UTC)
Yeah, that's very, very odd.

I wonder whether people want a replacement for Dragon (which is what I'm hoping for, in the long run), or whether they're looking for something else, or .... whether the field can still support a traditional periodical. My plans for the future include some big names, but the audience has to be there.

Dragon had 40,000 readers. I'd be very disappointed if Kobold can't attract at least 1,000 of them. But how do I reach them?
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(no subject) - [info]lemuriapress - May. 22nd, 2007 07:15 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]ravencloak - May. 22nd, 2007 05:34 pm (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]open_design - May. 22nd, 2007 05:46 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]sagestl wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 05:06 am (UTC)
I'd suggest, at the very least, getting it as a news item on the front page of ENWorld (can be submitted at http://www.enworld.org/forumdisplay.php?f=183, I believe). The announcement would get some buzz, at the very least.
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 05:19 am (UTC)
Done! I had posted about it in the "Press" section, but... I think that section may just be overloaded. Not much activity in the Periodicals category.
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(no subject) - [info]sagestl - May. 22nd, 2007 05:52 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]lemuriapress - May. 22nd, 2007 07:16 am (UTC) Expand
(no subject) - [info]open_design - May. 22nd, 2007 05:47 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]davidblizzard wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 06:17 am (UTC)
Well, one of the few responses to my thread is from Erik and it seems gung ho about it (and even mentions the need for a gaming magazine).
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[info]crowroadaw wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 06:37 am (UTC)
Maybe I'm just missing it, but I don't see a page count per issue listed anywhere. What's the average length of each issue going to be?
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 03:49 pm (UTC)
Yeah, I'm not 100% sure of the page count myself, partly because I don't know how many advertisers will step forward, partly because I don't know how many patron articles I'll have to print.

At the moment, my best guess is that the first issue is between 18 and 24 pages (no ads), and includes three to five feature articles (same as Dragon), plus some smaller ones.
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[info]skippy_rob wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 11:21 am (UTC)
While I have not in the least been disappointed in becoming a patron of this project (even if I voted for the other choice), I am leary about subscribing to a magazine sight unseen. And it has nothing to do with potential quality, which I am not worried about in the least, but it's actual usefulness to me. Much like Paizo's Pathfinder (which I will probably but the rest of my subscription money to getting the first issue of), which is of little use to me, as I NEVER run adventures, I am afraid of not finding enough crunch that I can modify and use for my own homebrew. For example, as a patron of this project, I have already gotten my monies worth from just the greater ghoul template (dar-something or other). I plan to populate the cave/"dungeon" facility below the Taintlands that my players will be going through next quarter using the empire ghouls extensively. This said, much of Dragon has also been of little use to me, especially the very popular Core Beliefs and Ecology articles. What made the subscription price worth it to me was the Class Acts in the back, especially after they changed them to more general 2 page articles. I have almost always found at least 2 out of the four being some crunch I like and/or want, even if the rest of the magazine was Forgotten Realms or an interplanar inn that I would never use (my game being technomagic based, Eberron articles usual have SOME use).

I don't think I am alone in this feeling, and my suggestion would be to utilize 8 pages of your upcoming magazine for an equivalent to the Class Acts. With a promise of even a SMALL piece of the magazine devoted to unique and sometimes extremely useful crunch every issue, you would have an instant devote in me. I would even jump for joy if it also contained not just "warrior", "arcane", "divine", and/or "adventurer", but also "psionics" on occasion (with my other suggestion being talk to the guys at Dreamscarred Press, as they are coming out with some amazing stuff).

Anyway, I have run on enough. Thanks for listening.

skippy
The GM of the Cursed Earth Campaign
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 03:55 pm (UTC)
There's at least one big difference between Kobold and Dragon: I don't have their funds or their stable of freelancers. So, I certainly can't afford to run 8 pages of class acts, even if I had 8 pages of them in the submission pile (which, alas, I do not).

That said, I do have some serious crunch underway, including a monster and maybe some alternate class abilities.

You'll note that Kobold is substantially cheaper than Dragon, both per-issue and for a subscription. The reason is that it is smaller; it has to be, to see if enough people are willing to subscribe and watch it grow.

I certainly respect anyone who wants to wait it out and see what the first one looks like. Back issues will be available at the cover price, $4.99.
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[info]kristian_h wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 04:04 pm (UTC)
Wolfgang,

as ENworld is in need of funds and you want to advert Kobold, why not buy some advert space?
Help ENworld and pimp Kobold.
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 04:08 pm (UTC)
Excellent idea, and I've been debating how to support them. My only problem right now is that I don't have an animated GIF to use as a Kobold Quarterly banner ad.

You don't happen to know anyone who does animated banners?
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(no subject) - [info]kristian_h - May. 22nd, 2007 06:03 pm (UTC) Expand
[info]valmiras wrote:
May. 22nd, 2007 05:31 pm (UTC)
I am in.
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[info]davidblizzard wrote:
May. 23rd, 2007 03:28 am (UTC)
BTW, has anyone submitted it to GamingReport.com?
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 23rd, 2007 04:45 am (UTC)
I sent the news to ENWorld and RPG.net, but I thought RPG.net used a feed to GamingReport? Actually, now that I think about it, the feed may go the other way.

If you have an account at Gaming Report, please drop the news there.
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[info]terraleon wrote:
May. 25th, 2007 01:29 am (UTC)
I'd be willing to spread flyers at Gencon. I already have an event submission in (albeit late, hopefully they'll take it.) with them to run _Empire_ for a slot, just to give folks a taste. It'd be pretty simple to just leave a few dozen flyers about during the various RPGA events I'll be cycling through.

-Ben.
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 25th, 2007 06:00 am (UTC)
You are a saint. Flyers at GenCon would be a huge help in getting the word out.

I'll see if I can put something together, or maybe ask the Flyer Ninja to take a shot at a version.
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[info]richgreen01 wrote:
May. 28th, 2007 08:17 am (UTC)
Just signed up and am looking forward to it. I might even send in a query....
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[info]open_design wrote:
May. 28th, 2007 03:33 pm (UTC)
Cool! Please do send a query soon. Issue #1 is close to complete, but I'm starting to think about issue #2 already.
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(Anonymous) wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2007 06:53 am (UTC)
Artwork
You mentioned that you're looking for artists for this magazine. Have you considered asking Larry Dixon? I've known him for several years now, and I'm sure he's got a few items lurking in his gallery that would be suitable.

If you haven't, his e-mail address is gryphonking at earthlink.net.
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[info]open_design wrote:
Jun. 8th, 2007 02:22 pm (UTC)
Re: Artwork
I tried Larry a while back for an earlier project, but it didn't go anywhere. I like his stuff though. Might be worth asking, especially as I have a griffon-themed thing in a future issue.
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