Crothian
First Post
The Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons is the second book on dragons for 4e D&D. The book covers the dragons that are usually good aligned but are no less deadly then chromatic counterparts. It is a very thorough book coving lots of areas of draconic lore and introducing new kinds of dragons and shining a new light on the older more familiar ones. I did a get a copy of this to review from Wizards of the Coast.
I’ve always liked to use dragons in my campaigns so these books are ones I have looked forward to. The dragon lore of origins and outlook and other bits on how dragons behave have always been very useful. It is the kind of details that I think help a dragon encounter be more then combat or just role playing. It helps one get into the head of a creature that is very different from us. There are now a dozen different metallic dragons and the writers do a good job of giving each one its own little niche. It is now becoming easy to just think of what role one needs a Dragon to play in the campaign and then just go and pick out the one that fits that.
The book is largely fpr DMs having a chapter titled DM’s Guide to Dragons. In it are some cool ideas for campaigns and adventures as well as a couple of artifacts. The bulk iof the book is monsters and encounters. There are some dragon lairs nicely defined with a good introduction tht goes into designing one’s own dragons liars. The most interesting part of the book is the Dragon Hall of Fame. It lists a nice variety of famous dragons and different way they can be used. Bahamut is one of the dragons listed here and the writers have come up with a good and simple way to use the great dragon without revealing him to be so.
Once again the Draconomicon is a very strong addition to ones’ D&D library. While a 4e book it consists of plenty of good ideas and ways to use dragons that makes it useful in most editions of the games. I’m less thrilled with the pages of new monsters and creatures. I understand the need to start out the dragons but I am not sure so much space needs to be spent on the other creatures. I think those sorts of items make great web articles but the books should hold more of the descriptions and useful sidebars that make the books an enjoyment to use and read.
I’ve always liked to use dragons in my campaigns so these books are ones I have looked forward to. The dragon lore of origins and outlook and other bits on how dragons behave have always been very useful. It is the kind of details that I think help a dragon encounter be more then combat or just role playing. It helps one get into the head of a creature that is very different from us. There are now a dozen different metallic dragons and the writers do a good job of giving each one its own little niche. It is now becoming easy to just think of what role one needs a Dragon to play in the campaign and then just go and pick out the one that fits that.
The book is largely fpr DMs having a chapter titled DM’s Guide to Dragons. In it are some cool ideas for campaigns and adventures as well as a couple of artifacts. The bulk iof the book is monsters and encounters. There are some dragon lairs nicely defined with a good introduction tht goes into designing one’s own dragons liars. The most interesting part of the book is the Dragon Hall of Fame. It lists a nice variety of famous dragons and different way they can be used. Bahamut is one of the dragons listed here and the writers have come up with a good and simple way to use the great dragon without revealing him to be so.
Once again the Draconomicon is a very strong addition to ones’ D&D library. While a 4e book it consists of plenty of good ideas and ways to use dragons that makes it useful in most editions of the games. I’m less thrilled with the pages of new monsters and creatures. I understand the need to start out the dragons but I am not sure so much space needs to be spent on the other creatures. I think those sorts of items make great web articles but the books should hold more of the descriptions and useful sidebars that make the books an enjoyment to use and read.
