D&D General What's The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons?

It wasn't in any previous announcements about 2023-2024's D&D release schedule, but now The Practically Complete Guide to Dragons has appeared on the slate!

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It's a 128-page hardcover, coming out on August 15th for $39.95, and it details dragon anatomy, society, language, hoards, magic, lairs, and more. This is a full-on 'lore' book, with no game rules in it.

The Practical Guide to Dragons came out in 2006, and was followed by A Practical Guide to Dragon Riding and A Practical Guide to Dragon Magic. This book is a compilation of the best parts of those three books. The originals were illustrated guides designed for younger readers, and featured a wizard called Sindri Suncatcher, the fictional 'author' of the works.

 

[Queer Venger]

I remember the good ol' days when they churned out lorebooks for D&D monthly, sometimes more than one, and then also monthly in the Dragon Magazines.

Now it's the barren days of D&D. Has been since 3e ended. Sad state this game is in, barren, dusty, and dry while WotC continues damming the rivers and squeezing more money out the people with their snake oil of what they've been calling "Dungeons and Dragons" now.

Someone bring back the D&D of TSR and early WotC, anyone at this point.

No please don't!! LOL. Im not sure that publishing at the rate of TSR's era is a sustainable thing. Additionally, a lot of wonderful material on DM's Guild expands the hobby, I much prefer a steady but not saturated publication schedule.

 

[Parmandur]

No please don't!! LOL. Im not sure that publishing at the rate of TSR's era is a sustainable thing. Additionally, a lot of wonderful material on DM's Guild expands the hobby, I much prefer a steady but not saturated publication schedule.

It is definitely not sustainable, or desirable.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

No. This is not a rulebook. Look at the branding - it lacks the big red D&D logo that rulebooks have. Instead it has the same branding as the cookbooks and other tie-in fan merchandise.

They were originally published by Silver Dragon Press (99% sure that's the name), WotC's young person's fiction imprint, which is sadly defunct now.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No please don't!! LOL. Im not sure that publishing at the rate of TSR's era is a sustainable thing. Additionally, a lot of wonderful material on DM's Guild expands the hobby, I much prefer a steady but not saturated publication schedule.

Who needs it to be sustainable? Do you know how much less great content we would have gotten in the 2e era if TSR had a solid business plan?

I know that sounds like I'm being facetious, but trust me I'm not.

 

[bedir than]

Who needs it to be sustainable?

the person who wants more stuff in a couple of years

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I am honestly worried by this, particularly given the Deck of Many Things is bundling a deck of cards. This is some TSR-esque shenanigans. Something nobody asked for, that has no game purpose, and yet is a 128 page hardback is preeeeeeetty weird.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Who needs it to be sustainable? Do you know how much less great content we would have gotten in the 2e era if TSR had a solid business plan?

I know that sounds like I'm being facetious, but trust me I'm not.

I get where you're coming from, but I also think we could have got even more great content overall if 2E TSR had a somewhat better business plan.

 

[Parmandur]

I am honestly worried by this, particularly given the Deck of Many Things is bundling a deck of cards. This is some TSR-esque shenanigans. Something nobody asked for, that has no game purpose, and yet is a 128 page hardback is preeeeeeetty weird.

It's not a 128 page book, it's a two-fer 192 page book with a 80 page supplement focused on the cards themselves, plus a 66 card deck.

We'll see what the market can bear, but that's a higher page count than Spelljammer got.

 

[Parmandur]

I am honestly worried by this, particularly given the Deck of Many Things is bundling a deck of cards. This is some TSR-esque shenanigans. Something nobody asked for, that has no game purpose, and yet is a 128 page hardback is preeeeeeetty weird.

Whoops, my bad, got my wires crossed. The price listed here is wrong, per the publisher site this illustrated children's book is $39.95

 

[Ruin Explorer]

We'll see what the market can bear, but that's a higher page count than Spelljammer got.

Which is in itself very funny. Movement in the right direction I guess!

No worries re: wrong fired.