Dragon (magazine)
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Dragon, first published in 1976, is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game.
Contents |
[edit] History
In 1975, TSR, Inc. began publishing The Strategic Review. At the time, roleplaying games were still seen as a sub-genre of the wargaming industry, and the magazine was designed not only to support Dungeons & Dragons and TSR's other games, but also to cover wargaming in general. In short order, however, the popularity and growth of Dungeons & Dragons made it clear that the game had not only separated itself from its wargaming origins, but had launched an entirely new industry unto itself. The following year, after only seven issues, TSR cancelled The Strategic Review and replaced it with The Dragon which later became Dragon Magazine and then Dragon.
In 1999 a compilation of the first 250 issues was released in PDF format with a special viewer including an article and keyword seach in CD-ROM format. Also included were the 7 issues of The Strategic Review. This compilation is known as the software title Dragon Magazine Archive.
[edit] Content
Although Dragon Magazine was originally designed to support the roleplaying industry in general, it has always been primarily a house organ for TSR's (or more recently Wizards of the Coast's) role-playing games with a particular focus on D&D.
Most of the magazine's articles provide supplementary material for the game including new prestige classes, races, monsters and many other subjects that can be used to enhance a Dungeons & Dragons game. Other articles will provide tips and suggestions for players and DMs. It also sometimes discusses meta-gaming issues, such as getting along with fellow players. The magazine also currently features four comics; Nodwick, Dork Tower, Zogonia and The Order of the Stick. Previous popular gamer-oriented comic strips include Knights of the Dinner Table, Fineous Fingers, What's New?, Wormy, Yamara and SnarfQuest.
A regular feature of Dragon has been its "Ecology of ..." articles, in which a D&D monster gets a pseudo-scientific treatment, explaining how they find food, reproduce, and so forth. Recenly such ecology articles have become heavier in "crunch" (mechanics) as opposed to fluff (narrative and description), more suitable for an extended entry in a creature sourcebook than was traditionally written in the 1980s.
Many of the gaming world's most famous writers, game designers and artists have published work in the magazine. The magazine will sometimes publish fantasy fiction; issue #305 featured an excerpt from George R.R. Martin's later Hugo-nominated novel A Feast for Crows.
[edit] Ownership and business
In 2002, Paizo Publishing acquired the rights to publish Dragon under license from Wizards of the Coast.
Dungeon is a sister magazine which publishes pre-written playtested adventures to be used in a D&D game.
[edit] Awards
- 1986: Origins Award for Best Professional Roleplaying Magazine of 1985
- 1990: Origins Award for Best Professional Adventure Gaming Magazine of 1989
- 1994: Origins Award for Best Professional Gaming Magazine of 1993
- 1995: Origins Awards for Best Professional Gaming Magazine of 1994, Origins Adventure Gaming Hall of Fame
- 2004: Origins Award for Best Game Related Periodical 2003
[edit] External links
- Dragon Magazine homepage
- Tholos - cross-referenced database of Dragon articles
- DragonDex - a complete, exhaustive, and up-to-date index to the contents of Dragon magazine.
| Dungeons & Dragons Core Rule Books |
|---|
| Player's Handbook | Dungeon Master's Guide | Monster Manual |
| 3.5 Dungeons & Dragons Supplemental Source Books |
| Book of Exalted Deeds | Cityscape | Complete Adventurer | Complete Arcane | Complete Divine | Complete Mage | Complete Psionic | Complete Warrior | Dragon Magic | Dungeon Master's Guide II | Expanded Psionics Handbook | Fiendish Codex I II | Frostburn | Heroes of Battle | Heroes of Horror | Libris Mortis | Lords of Madness | Magic of Incarnum | Monster Manual III IV | Planar Handbook | Player's Handbook II | Races of Destiny | Races of the Dragon | Races of Stone | Races of the Wild | Sandstorm | Spell Compendium | Stormwrack | Tome of Battle | Tome of Magic | Unearthed Arcana | Weapons of Legacy |
| 3.0 Dungeons & Dragons Supplemental Source Books |
| Arms and Equipment Guide | Book of Challenges | Book of Vile Darkness | Defenders of the Faith | Deities and Demigods | Draconomicon | Enemies and Allies | Epic Level Handbook | Fiend Folio | Hero Builders Guidebook | Manual of the Planes | Masters of the Wild | Miniatures Handbook | Monster Manual II | Psionics Handbook | Savage Species | Song and Silence | Stronghold Builders Guidebook | Sword and Fist | Tome and Blood |
| 3.0/3.5 Dungeons & Dragons Campaign Setting-Specific Source Books |
| Dragonlance: Dragonlance Campaign Setting • Eberron: Dragonmarked | Eberron Campaign Setting | Explorer's Handbook | Faiths of Eberron | Five Nations | Magic of Eberron | Player's Guide to Eberron | Races of Eberron | Secrets of Xen'drik | Sharn • Forgotten Realms: Champions of Ruin | Champions of Valor | City of Splendors | Dragons of Faerûn | Faiths and Pantheons | Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting | Lords of Darkness | Lost Empires of Faerûn | Magic of Faerûn |Mysteries of the Moonsea | Player's Guide to Faerûn | Power of Faerûn | Races of Faerûn | Serpent Kingdoms | Shining South | Silver Marches | Unapproachable East | Underdark • Ghostwalk: Ghostwalk • Greyhawk: D&D Gazetteer | Living Greyhawk Gazetteer • Oriental Adventures: Oriental Adventures |
| Other 3.0/3.5 Dungeons & Dragons Material |
| Dragon Compendium Vol. 1 | Dragon Magazine | Dungeon Magazine | 3E/3.5 adventure modules |
