Draconomicon, Races of the Dragon, and Dragon Magic - Which to Buy?

[Insight]

I am considering one of the three following WotC books for purchase: Draconomicon, Races of the Dragon, and Dragon Magic. I'd like to buy one and only one at this time - although I may buy others later. I have browsed all three at the store(s) and I've read the reviews on this site.

My question is this: if you own all three of these books, or say even two of the three, which would you recommend? As a qualification, I should mention that I have an overall interest in adding more draconic material to my game, both as a DM and a player, but no specific interests in terms of any of the books listed above.

 

[James McMurray]

Do you want draconic material, or dragons? If it's dragons, get Draconomicon. If it's draconic material in general get Races of the Dragon.

 

[AntiStateQuixote]

I own all three of these books and have used content from each of them. If I could only have one of them it would be Draconomicon. The volume of material is great and nearly all of it could be useful in any game that features dragons. The other two books have some systems/material that would require a certain "type" of game for it to fit in/be useful.

I say they are all worth buying at some point, but I understand gaming on a budget.

 

[sckeener]

I am considering one of the three following WotC books for purchase: Draconomicon, Races of the Dragon, and Dragon Magic.

I have all three and I'd recommend them in the following order

• Draconomicon
• Dragon Magic
• Races of the Dragon

Even then, I'd consider Races of the Dragon to be the weakest to the point of wondering why get it.

 

[GQuail]

I own Draconomicon and Dragon Magic and have skimmed Races of the Dragon.

Draconomicon is a good book to pick up if you want to focus on Dragons as foes in your campaign. If you intend to stat out large numbers of them, to have the BBEG of your campaign be one, or to have Dragon-Slaying PCs, this is the book to get. My main complaint is that by nature a lot of the material is high-level and potentially pretty fatal to PCs: I would be very careful with overusing, for example, meta-breath feats.

Rces of the Dragon is a good book to pick up if you want to have Dragon related PCs as a big focus. If you intend to have Half-Dragon PCs, Bahamut/Tiamat bloodlines and Kobolds as a major part of your campaign, this is the book to get. My main complaint is that the new races are a bit meh (much like a lot of the new races in the Races Of... books, IMHO) and Kobolds remain a little weak as a PC race despite all the time spent here on them.

Dragon Magic is a good book to pick up if you want a grab-bag of Draconic material for your campaign. If you want to emphasise the sorcerer's bond to dragons, design worlds with dragons as core creatures and extra material for dragons involving non-core books like Psionics and Tome of Magic, this is the book to get. My main complaint is that it's a bit of a "bitty" book, with just a large collection of stand-alone stuff rather than much of a "feel".

If you were only getting one, I would say Dragon Magic is the best bet as, despite being a collection of smaller parts than a single whole, I suspect at any level you can find something worth taking here. Meanwhile, the otehrs might be more "hit or miss" in that regard: the Draconomicon is definatly useful if you want to do high and epic level play with Dragon NPCs, but at level 2 it's only so many pretty pictures.

 

[ShadowDenizen]

Im my personal opinion…

1) Draconomicon: Hands down, one of the best books put out by WotC in the last few years. Lots of useful information, both fluff AND crunch.

2) Races of the Dragon: As a Kobold-o-phile, this book was a no-brainer for me.

3) Dragon Magic: Much as I love Dragons, this books didn't seem to hold much promise for me, so I passed it over.

As to which you should get?

You can't really go wrong with Draconomicon. Races of the Dragon is also useful, albeit slightly more limited (as mentioned, Kobolds take up a good chunk of the first chapter; while I enjoy it, I can see why some people might be disgruntled.)

 

[VictorC]

Unless your in love with the "Races" books you really dont need Races of the Dragon.

 

[Joshua Randall]

Yet another vote for Draconomicon. It's got to be in the Top 5 of all 3.x books that WotC has ever created.

There is plenty of PC-centric material in it, too. From the usual PrCs and feats and spells to some general advice on fighting dragons.

 

[atomn]

I think Draconomicon is great if you're GMing a game with dragons in it. Otherwise it's a good book but it won't see much use.

I liked Dragon Magic of those three the most. It has lots of extra crunch for lots of classes and of those three is the book I'd use the most as a player.

I'll use Races of the Dragon if I ever play a kobold but that's about where it's use would end for me. The other races were very uninspiring to me and as a whole I don't see getting much use out of it.

 

[pawsplay]

Races of the Dragon smells like mowed grass. Dragon Magic is a variant campaign. So i would definitely start with the Draconomicon.