Dungeon vs. Dragon

[Avatar_V]

So, what's the difference between these two magazines?

 

[kiznit]

Dragon = General Industry news, DMing/player advice, campaign ideas, new spells, feats and prestiges, monster backgrounds, setting details, etc. etc.

Dungeon = Playable adventures for the DM, Drop-in encounters, BBEGs.

 

[Mercule]

Dungeon is like getting three modules (and some DM advise) mailed to you every month.

Dragon is like getting a smattering of fully-usable sourcebook excepts mailed to you every month.

 

[Lancelot]

If you're a DM, Dungeon is (in my opinion) a must-buy... or a must-subscribe. The value for money is tremendous. Each month, you get three modules. One is low-level (1st-5th), one is medium-level (6th-12th), and one is high-level (13th+). In addition, you get various campaign workbook materials in the back: design guides, random tables, adventure hooks, unkeyed maps.

Dragon is more hit-and-miss for me, hence I only buy those issues which appeal. It's the magazine for both players and DMs. Some issues, it'll be more geared towards DMs: new creatures, demon lord biographies, campaign settings. Other issues, it'll be more for players: new constructs for your wizard to create, prestige classes, new spells and feats. Most issues, it's a little bit of both.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I know there's a lot of love for Dungeon on this board, but most adventures most months simply don't fit with the kind of thing I'd run. (Although the ones that do fit are really, really solid.) Take out the adventures, and you're left with a very thin magazine not worth the price.

I wouldn't describe Dungeon as a must-subscribe unless you run a lot of canned adventures. Otherwise, I'd say it's worth picking up only periodically. Cutting an adventure a month (which would upset the people who do run that many canned adventures) and adding more DM-targetted supplemental info would change my opinion, though.

Dragon, to me, is still the better mix of content for most players and DMs.

 

[crazy_cat]

If you're a DM, Dungeon is (in my opinion) a must-buy... or a must-subscribe. The value for money is tremendous. Each month, you get three modules. One is low-level (1st-5th), one is medium-level (6th-12th), and one is high-level (13th+). In addition, you get various campaign workbook materials in the back: design guides, random tables, adventure hooks, unkeyed maps.

Dragon is more hit-and-miss for me, hence I only buy those issues which appeal. It's the magazine for both players and DMs. Some issues, it'll be more geared towards DMs: new creatures, demon lord biographies, campaign settings. Other issues, it'll be more for players: new constructs for your wizard to create, prestige classes, new spells and feats. Most issues, it's a little bit of both.

What he said. If you DM you'll get alot of mileage out of Dungeon. Dragon is more useful for players.

 

[Reynard]

I know there's a lot of love for Dungeon on this board, but most adventures most months simply don't fit with the kind of thing I'd run. (Although the ones that do fit are really, really solid.) Take out the adventures, and you're left with a very thin magazine not worth the price.

I wouldn't describe Dungeon as a must-subscribe unless you run a lot of canned adventures. Otherwise, I'd say it's worth picking up only periodically. Cutting an adventure a month (which would upset the people who do run that many canned adventures) and adding more DM-targetted supplemental info would change my opinion, though.

There is lots of useful stuff in those adventures, even if you don't run them as written, though: stat blocks, maps, illustrations, maps, stat blocks, and maps.

 

[Mark CMG]

No offense, Whizbang Dustyboots (if that's your real name ). Dragon has some good stuff in it but Dungeon is the single best resource for its cost a DM can have, bar none, IMO. Even if you never run an adventure from an issue, just reading them will make you a much, much better DM. I think mercule states it best, and most objectively, but I've played under a few DMs who suck so hard just getting a paper cut from a Dungeon magazine would have improved their games.

 

[Lancelot]

Mark CMG wrote: "...I've played under a few DMs who suck so hard just getting a paper cut from a Dungeon magazine would have improved their games."

Hyuk hyuk! Great line - I'm going to have to remember that one.

I'm with Reynard on this one, too... I can't remember the last time I DM'ed a module out of Dungeon "as is", but the resources included in the adventures are invaluable. Need a map? No worries. How about an NPC? Stacks of them, including (frequently) a high-quality illustration.

Even more than that, it's the resource for the DM-on-a-budget. Strictly speaking, you never need more than the Core Rulebooks with a Dungeon subscription. Dungeon reprints virtually all the feats, monsters, spells, magic items, etc that they use from non-Core books in the text of the adventure (or in convenient sidebars).

Just looking at creatures alone... There are more fully-statted non-Core monsters in a year's worth of Dungeon magazine, than in the entirety of Monster Manual IV. Admittedly, that's not difficult, but still...

 

[demiurge1138]

I wouldn't describe Dungeon as a must-subscribe unless you run a lot of canned adventures. Otherwise, I'd say it's worth picking up only periodically. Cutting an adventure a month (which would upset the people who do run that many canned adventures) and adding more DM-targetted supplemental info would change my opinion, though.

To be fair, I actually get Dungeon mostly because I just like to read modules. I raided Dungeon adventures for stat-blocks and maps for a long time before I actually started running them wholesale in any quantity (with the coming of the Age of Worms).

Demiurge out.