DRAGON & DUNGEON Magazine PDFs Coming To An Online Store Near You!

Right now, there are only three issues (all from the D&D 4E period), but WotC has just put two issues of DUNGEON Magazine and one issue of DRAGON Magazine up online in PDF format for $4.99 each. Does this mean more are to come? (Thanks to Echohawk for the scoop).

The issues in question are DRAGON #364, DUNGEON #155, and DUNGEON #156. They're available at dndclassics.com, which is the branch of DTRPG/RPGNow which is geared towards just WotC material, and which contains tons of back-catalogue stuff from various editions.

This is an interesting development, and something fans have been asking for for a while. I've grabbed the DRAGON issue, and it's a good quality PDF, the same compilation originally from D&D Insider. Sadly, not in a format suitable for print-on-demand (but hey, I can dream!)

DRAGON #364


DUNGEON #156


DUNGEON #155

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[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

Having access to older issues in PDF format from the pre-4E eras would be just awesome, especially if you could purchase, say, the first 100 issues in block format or similar.

Like most people I've never used everything from every Dragon or Dungeon magazine I've purchased. Regarding the 4E versions of these magazines, IMO the non-rules content is pretty good (the Eye on the Realms articles being the very best of the bunch).

$4.99 is a reasonable price. Definitely cheaper than you'd get for a print version.

 

[TheSwartz]

This is awesome. I'd rather give WOTC a few $ for legit copies instead of having to pirate these things that we all want to read in PDF. I hope they "get that"; open up their stuff, get it out in formats people want, and I think 5e has the momentum to get D&D back in the game.

I'm actually in the process of reading old Dragon zines; read through all the Strategic Reviews and now up to issue #10 of Dragon.

My only complaint (yes I'm gonna say it), but I'd hope they would be a little cheaper; if they released a few hundred of these zines (there were 359 Printed issues), then it'll get expensive. Maybe they could bundle multiple issues for a discount?

 

[delericho]

Eh, I'm with those who say it's a bit much - if I needed one or two issues then I would pay that, but since I'd be looking to get the whole of Dungeon plus Dragon 251 upwards (I have the Dragon archive), I simply couldn't afford $5 for each.

However, it's their prerogative to charge what they think the market will bear. So I'll hope for some sort of low-cost bundle, but otherwise, I'll simply pass on these.

 

[Nebulous]

I've still got my Dragon CD collection - it's amazing! Only goes up to issue #250 though so I'd love to get #251 through to the 4e issues that I have, plus Dungeon digitally.

I have very fond memories of that Dragon Magazine archive. That, and the Forgotten Realms map builder thingamajig.

 

[landryan]

I have very fond memories of that Dragon Magazine archive. That, and the Forgotten Realms map builder thingamajig.

Same here - brilliant products, Core Rules was the other one which was great for 2nd edition character management.

Dragon is fun to read, but I would really like to see the back issues of Dungeon - all the way back to the start! I think there's some genuine value there. Perhaps they could include an upgrade page at the back to bring the adventures in line with 5th ed?

 

[JLowder]

WotC does not have the right to reprint some of the Dragon contents, in particular several of the comics and the fiction not tied to their game worlds. They only avoided a class action suit in answer to the CD ROM archive by striking a deal with SFFWA and some of the individual creators who did not sign work-for-hire contracts.

As with the CD ROM, many of the writers and artists would likely grant permission for free or for a small payment, if WotC bothered to ask for the permission first. They need to acknowledge the contracts they signed that did not buy all rights. They didn't ask last time. I would hope they learned something from previous mistakes, if they're thinking of pursuing PDF publication again.

 

[Jester David]

$5 each? Yowzers. Especially since you could get two for $7 back when the mechanics were relevant. Heck, you can *still* get a DDI subscription for $9.95, so you could get every magazine from the D&D site for the cost of two from DDI.

Someone didn't think that out well.

 

[JohnnyZemo]

$4.99 is a reasonable price. Definitely cheaper than you'd get for a print version.

Not true. I've gotten back issues of DUNGEON from a local comic store for $2 or $3 a pop.

 

[Celebrim]

Not true. I've gotten back issues of DUNGEON from a local comic store for $2 or $3 a pop.

This. Someone sells their collection to a used book store fairly regularly, and I usually can pickup issues of Dragon or Dungeon for $2. The only real limitation is that usually the selection covers only 2-3 years of magazines, and it can take years (sometimes many years) to find a particular magazine you missed. But I doubt I'm so desperate at this point to spend $5 for pdf version only (with no resale value), given the almost certainly that in a few more years either I'd find the print version on a shelf somewhere or someone will bundle several years worth of issues together for $19.95 or $29.95.

 

[TarionzCousin]

"Something is better than nothing."


This is what I often tell myself.