When was the Dragon Magazine at it's best?

[Breakdaddy]

I gotta chime in for the consensus here. I hope that Dragon starts having a less narrow focus. I like the WOTC line of books as well as the next gamer, but damn, some of these issues are utterly useless outside of the context of the next big release from WOTC.

Just my .02

 

[jasper]

The icing has improved more color, slick pages etc.
But the dragon really has not changed
It supports the newest splat book.
It clarifies the rules.
It gives fluff articles on game worlds greyhawk, FR
It gives idea articles on castles and stuff.
In fact I think on a 2 or 3 year cycle
newbie articles
In dept articles
Special npc et c articles
and repeat
If you do have the disc of 200 mags look it over and see how many times the same idea repeat either updating or rephrasing the information
Want to make your dragon together look at issue 54, 88, etc
Want to learn how create a world look at issues x, 1xx, 2xx

Now as you grow up and learn more in D&D some articles are automatically fluff. The Gynax view of Orcs may be interesting but I been playing for x years so my view is not the writers view.

Now I just paid for a 3 year subscription. But since my wife has convince me to cull my mag collections I only keep now about every 2 issue. The drow issue was read on Monday and given to the Drow lover on Saturday.

 

[BluWolf]

I have been collecting Dragon (with a few breaks here and there) since issue #50. I would say some of my favorite stuff was in the early 100s-120's. But there was stuff in the earlier ones too. Issue #69 the thief-Acrobat. I think the cavalier was in issue #71. For my tastes the BEST, best of Dragon was BoD #3. It had all the demi-human racial points of view with the expanded demi-human mythos.

After collecting and reading Dragon for so long I have found issues I didn't really care for and issues I loved. But the biggest thing Dragon has done for me over the years is give me inspiration. Whether it is a great idea poorly executed or dumb idea masterfully interpreted. I can honestly say just about every issue has at least something.

Well except for some of those heavy Spelljammer issues from the early 90s.

 

[Grazzt]

Pre-100 Dragon was the best times for the mag (in my opinion). Much like Psion said above, the first 10 or so issues of 3e were good and quite useful, but lately Dragon has stagnated or become less useful it seems.

 

[Grazzt]

Speaking of which whatever happened to Roger? Is he still productive in RPGs/D20?

Last I heard, Mr Moore is completely out of the industry and gaming altogether. Has nothing (and wants nothing) to do with it anymore.

(Though he could come back and shoot another Bond movie at some point in the future ...and for those that don't know...nevermind. )

 

[Davelozzi]

Dragon's been very up and down over the years (as has D&D's product line-up in general). Most recently, it went through a very good period shortly after 3e was released but has been on a bit of a downward spiral the past year or so. I agree that issue 300 was pretty disappointing for a big anniversary issue. But it's still useful enough for me to keep my subscription going for a while yet.

 

[Henry]

Last I heard, Mr Moore is completely out of the industry and gaming altogether. Has nothing (and wants nothing) to do with it anymore.

(Though he could come back and shoot another Bond movie at some point in the future ...and for those that don't know...nevermind. )

Sorry to hear it - for me, Roger Moore was immortalized by his intorduction of "Tucker's Kobolds" in an old Dragon magazine editorial. (For those of you who don't know the reference, Tucker's kobolds were highly crafty, animalistic kobolds who were so crafty they challenged up to 9th level parties with their nastiness.)

 

[alsih2o]

when snarfquest was young.....

 

[Ashrum the Black]

Pre 100's all the way for me as well. The issues when the 9 planes of hell with their devil lords all stated out comes to mind almost instantly. The issue on the assassin's, how a guild would run, and the wonderful "Assassin's Run" that could be found there.

Back then the articles were new. If I wanted info on the nine planes of hell I had to get that magazine, at least until things got polished up and reprinted in a supplament a year or so later. They introduced the gods of the suel pantheon and greyhawk in the magazine. that's the kind of thing I long for.

New thoughts and new takes on things, new crunchy and fluffy bits that could be used anywhere. Thoses articles let me make my first game world and just add the pieces that I liked and create the pieces I didn't have. Now, I get a magazine that touts knights, and I get one artcile, instead of several themed articles covering several aspects. Such as chivelry, weapons and armor, prestige classes, and mounts used by knights. Through in some rules to make the horse a little more useful to a knight that could be used in a knight heavy campaign and we have a winner. But instead I get one article that seemed to dwell forever on knighthood as a concept. Heck I would have killed for some suggested reading on the topic if I wanted to expand beyond the articles brief ideas.

End Rant

 

[BluWolf]

I was always more of a Wormy fan than Snarfquest.