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

[Kafkonia]

I like Races of the Dragon quite a lot, myself. It's great if you want to add draconic elements to your game without necessarily making dragons themselves a big part -- for instance, a world where the dragons have all left this world but their existence still affects it for those people who remain would be well-served by RotD.

As someone who doesn't much care for dragons, I haven't bothered to buy either of the others, but I've spent a bit of time browsing them both to be sure I wasn't missing out on anything I really wanted.

 

[EyeontheMountain]

If you want to be SURE your BBEG dragon slaughters the party, buy Draconomicon.There is a significant power-up hiding in there. But it is an excellent books.

If you want a more draconic feel , including a lot of useful alternate class features and eats, then Dragon Magic is for you. I woud buythis one forst of all three.

Races of the Dragon never excited me much. Lots of reprints, and kobolds are jsut bogus. The tehr two races are not much better. Of course if you wnatto see what happens when a kobold flies over the moon with his own wings, then buy this book, laugh and put it on the shelf.

 

[Nifft]

Dragon Magic! it's got so many great dragon-flavored things. Using some or all of them will help ground Dragons in your world. Best if you do not intend Dragons as PCs or opponents, but rather as background and motivation.

Draconomicon is also a great book, particularly if you do intend to have Dragons as opponents and components.

Races of the Dragon is nice if you intend to run Kobold PCs, or dragon-heritage PCs. It's not really necessary otherwise.

Also look at PHB-II's Dragon Shaman class.

Cheers, -- N

 

[was]

I'd definitely recommend getting the Draconomicon first...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Pretty much everyone who DMs D&D can use Draconomicon, for inspiration if nothing else.

The other two depend on your needs. Kobolds are important in my campaign, so both the other two books are useful.

The kobold section of Races is good, the rest is so-so and some of the spells are way too good for their level, so keep an eye on that.

Dragon Magic is an odd book in that it only exists to add more options to other books, but in that context, it's excellent. I especially like the variant warlock class it presents for a more draconic game.

 

[Ghendar]

Races of the Dragon smells like mowed grass.

Is that good or bad? I like that smell.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I only have Draconomicon, but it's my favorite in the monster series books. Great organization, beautiful artwork, really well done all around.

 

[Nightchilde-2]

Draconomicon is the one book I compare all other D&D books too. For instance, Spell Compendium was "last year's Draconomicon" and, so far, Magic Item Compendium has been "this year's Draconomicon."

It's that good.

 

[pawsplay]

Is that good or bad? I like that smell.

It's a sly bit of rhyme. So, bad.

 

[Bad Paper]

Draconomicon is also one of the prettiest books in the line. It's practically coffee-table-book quality. So if you ever stop gaming <egad!>, you will probably hang on to that one anyway.