Not much interest in the Draconomicon?

[Mokona]

The last Draconomicon book was one of the best selling books for the entire life of Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5. With that great Todd Lockwood cover alone it deserved such fan support.

So far 4th edition books seem to have a lot less fluff which makes comparisons with the 3rd edition version less than helpful. Isn't the new book really just Monster Manual: Chromatic Dragons?

 

[jensun]

The last Draconomicon book was one of the best selling books for the entire life of Dungeons & Dragons v.3.5. With that great Todd Lockwood cover alone it deserved such fan support.

So far 4th edition books seem to have a lot less fluff which makes comparisons with the 3rd edition version less than helpful. Isn't the new book really just Monster Manual: Chromatic Dragons?

No, not at all.

 

[Derren]

So far 4th edition books seem to have a lot less fluff which makes comparisons with the 3rd edition version less than helpful. Isn't the new book really just Monster Manual: Chromatic Dragons?

No, or rather "depends". You get (nearly) all the fluff the 3E Draconomicon had. So if you don't have the 3E Draconomicon the 4E one is a very good book.
On the other hand if you do have the 3E Draconomicon then the only new thing you get are monsters and lairadventures.

 

[JeffB]

To be honest, I have no idea how these books (3e or 4e) sell any copies whatsoever. The utility of such books around the table is, I would think, very limited

+1

$30-$40 for a book I'd hardly ever use, if at all? No thanks (even a MM Dragon is used very rarely in my games). As a DM I cannot stand RPG books with such narrow focus. A book that covered all the undead however (as an example), is something I'd be interested in (I don't know what the 3.X version/s were like but I'm assuming this is what they encompassed). Or something wth greater utility, like collections of Magic Items, or Wizard Spells, or such

 

[Drkfathr1]

Very similar/identical fluff to the 3E Draconomicon.

New crunch for the 4E rules. Nice preview of deity rules with Tiamat. Nice chapter on alternate dragon abilities allowing you to customize individual dragons.

Everyone's mileage will vary. Just keep in mind how often you'll use this book, how much overlap with the 3E version there is (if you have that book already), and the price tag of $40.

Odd how it advertises "Three new chromatic dragon types!" Implying that they're new monsters, but they're just updates of dragons from 3E that weren't in the Monster Manual. Not a big deal, just kind of funny to me.

 

[I'm A Banana]

So far 4th edition books seem to have a lot less fluff which makes comparisons with the 3rd edition version less than helpful. Isn't the new book really just Monster Manual: Chromatic Dragons?

I wish the 4e Monster Manual had even a quarter of this information!

Lairs? Treasure? Unique threats? The 4e Draconomicon delivers on the promise of the name pretty well. It's not just a library of stats, that's for dang sure.

The fluff is a little neutered in parts, in comparison to previous editions, but if you play 4e (or are thinking about maybe playing 4e), it's a very solid book with some very valuable information. It's a rockin' DM supplement for the game.

I think the 3e supplement happened to rock a little harder, but now we're just debating between Mega Chocolate ice cream and Super Chocolate Ice Cream. They're both delicious, and if the're not making Super Chocolate Ice Cream anymore, they could do worse.

 

[yesnomu]

Hey, finally got my copy. First impression: Argh! Need more art!

What happened to the MM's philosophy of giving a picture for every monster?! We're lucky if we get one for every other one here! If it weren't for the Chapter 4 splash page, I'd have no idea what gray dragons look like!

I would have paid $5 more for new pictures of the pyroclastic and shadow dragons, easily. Sure, I can just open my 3.5 Draconomicon, but new DMs can't. Evocative art makes me want to use monsters, but I'll skip over a statblock without images.

That said, this is still a great book. The monster design is fantastic (look at that ancient gray! I have zero worries he'll be able to take on a party), and so is the fluff writing. I haven't taken a good look at the lair adventures yet, but if Hearts of Darkness is anything to go off of, they should be very helpful if I stick a dragon in a campaign.

So that's my two cents. A great book, but would have been greater if it were more heavily illustrated. Maybe an artbook supplement?

EDIT: ooh, first error. Page 116, Razcoreth doesn't have Crown of Madness like his tactics suggest.

 

[chaotix42]

If it weren't for the Chapter 4 splash page, I'd have no idea what gray dragons look like!

This! I can't believe the main art for the gray dragon has it looking AWAY from the reader! It's like a magazine cover showing you the back of a beautiful model's head. 100% fail.

The book itself though is 100% win IMO. I'm heading into Paragon territory with my campaign soon, and the story is going to revolve around Tiamat for a while, so the 4e Draconomicon is going to be getting a workout.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Just to add a bit of fuel to the fire so to speak. Here is the Spotlight Interview for Draconomicon:

Spotlight Interview - Draconomicon

 

[yesnomu]

Something weird I noticed: that cover has the banner in purple, while mine has it in orange. Did I get a misprint or something?