When was the Golden Age of Dragon magazine?

[PhantomNarrator]

The True Golden Age of Dragon Magazine

Dragon got into high gear with Issue #39, peaked around the late #60's to early #70's and was over by Issue #100. Practically every issue during that run was excellent.

 

[woodelf]

For those of you who have not taken a look in a number years, please give us another look. I feel confident you will not be dissapointed.

Unless what you loved about Dragon was that it was an RPG magazine, rather than a D&D magazine. Or the GMing advice articles. Or the high-fluff/low-crunch articles. A player-oriented, crunch-favoring, D&D-only magazine will most definitely disappoint me. If i'm mistaken about any of these categories, however, please let me know--it may actually be time for me to take another look at it. I'm not trying to drag you down, just pointing out that Dragon could be a really excellent magazine these days, yet still disappoint some people who fit the basic demographic (as i suspect most EnWorld regulars do).

And, personally, no matter how good Dragon is now, i'm pretty sure the golden age of the magazine was one of the periods where it wasn't D&D-only.

 

[Glyfair]

Or the high-fluff/low-crunch articles

Nope, we have that now. I'd say more than half the most recent issue is very high fluff, and very low crunch (articles on Pelor, a Forgotten Realms area and the ecology of the rust monsters being almost no crunch at all).

Of course, I know there will be complaints because a large number of people want a lot of rules support.

 

[Festivus]

Best thing I ever bought was the CD-Rom edition (I got it new for $25 or so). I would never part with it. I wish they would do the same with the old Dungeon magazines too.

I used to read "The Dragon" way back when (early 80's), and I found some useful things for my game, but I have to say that the last couple years of dragon have been outstanding, with each subsequent issue surpassing the last.

The diety and demon coverage alone makes it worth the price of admission.

 

[Eridanis]

I absolutely agree that we're living the Golden Age right now. Consistently good material, and lots of it.

I started reading at issue 62, and the range of 70-110 is really special to me. That would be my Silver Age, as it were.

 

[Rothe]

Dragon got into high gear with Issue #39, peaked around the late #60's to early #70's and was over by Issue #100. Practically every issue during that run was excellent.

I'd have to agree with this (and also the earlier comment that any golden age is when you are 12, or maybe a little older in my case ) The first The Dragon I can recall from cover recognition is issue #22, but I didn't start to read it regularily until issue #27 (i.e., when my local hobby store started carrying it). Some of my favorite issues were nos. 35,39,41,44,48,59,62 and 66. I stopped somehwere around issue 110 for both monetary and lack of interest reasons. I have to say I liked The Dragon best when it was about any game system.

So for me the golden age was about issues 35-65.

 

[TGryph]

Historically, I'd say the late 70s to mid 80s was probably the true golden age with many historical articles and game developments happening.

Agreed..at least that was the time I was interested enough in reading it to have four articles published. Golden for me


TGryph

 

[Aeolius]

DRAGON #125... Nigel Findley's "Ecology of the Greenhag" - shaped the way I DM and started the hag fascination that molded my online games. The more recent hag ecologies seem hollow, compared to the original.

Also, Roger Moore's version of the Witch class, from way back when, continues to inspire.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Issue#39 to #100. It was a first edition phenomenon that took place under Kim Mohan.

Issue #39 contained the infamous Anti-Paladin as well as Good Hits and Bad Misses. At the height of the Golden Age, in the issues in #70s, you had the classics of Ed Greenwood and the Realms (this is before there was a FR official setting). Ed's articles on Gems, the Psionics issue, Ed's articles on the Nine Hells...

These issues are still in demand, to this day.

It was most definitely NOT the late 80s to the 90s. Sorry if you guys who look fondly back on the hey-day of 2nd edition as a Golden Age - but it wasn't. It was over by then.

QFT. ... with Elmore covers.

Though I'd say that Erik Mona has ushered in a second Golden Age for Dragon (in some ways better than Mohan's days because the magazine is now purely D&D).

I think Dungeon has been enjoying a real golden age since the dropping of mini-games and introduction of the Shackled City Adventure Path.

 

[cthulhu_duck]

The golden age for me is double digits through early 100's.

Would publication numbers be a good 'objective' measure here? Anyone collated that information from the issues that have that information?