Which dragon magazines are worth it?

[Sploosh]

So I am thinking of tracking down some dragon mags and I was just curious if there are any in particular that I should keep my eyes out for and what they have that makes them worth it. Any dragon mag savy folks have any suggestions?

[dsmiles]

I have a few, and being a fan of H.P. Lovecraft, I have found #133 (I think it's that one) worth the it for the Far Realms-y stuff. It's the yellow one with the mind flayer eating some guy's head on the cover.

[Optimystik]

I recommend spending $10 on a one-month DDI subscription, and perusing them all for goodies yourself.

[dsmiles]

I recommend spending $10 on a one-month DDI subscription, and perusing them all for goodies yourself.

Why do that when you can poll the interwebz for free?

[Artanis]

Why do that when you can poll the interwebz for free?

Because if he comes up with more than one or two as being worth getting, he'd save money just by getting DDI for a month and grabbing them all.

[Shhalahr Windrider]

So I am thinking of tracking down some dragon mags and I was just curious if there are any in particular that I should keep my eyes out for and what they have that makes them worth it. Any dragon mag savy folks have any suggestions?

As far as Dragon magazine, as opposed to DDI…

Well, it depends on what you’re looking for. Most issues have at least one worthwhile article whatever game style you’re playing. Heck, a number of them even have articles that are more fluff than hard rules, making them appropriate for any edition. And even if an article doesn’t fit the current campaign, it’s often good for inspiration in new directions to take things when it starts feeling stale or for future campaigns.

Now, it does seem to me the issues from the last two or so years before the magazine went out of print were more strongly tied to the theme they ran each month. That is, if an issue said “Aquatic Monsters” in 2004, it would generally have an article on aquatic monsters, one with some underwater-appropriate spells, and maybe one more with, say, underwater equipment. By 2006, though, an “Aquatic Monsters” issue would be more likely to have that pluse “Ecology of the Kraken,” underwater feats, famous aquatic adventurers, and so on, with just a few miscellaneous, non-theme articles. So those can be a bit more hit-and-miss, but you can tell how close it will be from the issue cover.

The one issue I tend to keep at the top of my stack is the one with article that supplements Stronghold Builder’s Guidebook.

[UserClone]

310, 311, 312, and 313 are all issues that I own and frequently use, 310 for the fighter variants, 311 for the cleric variants, and 312 for the necromancer variants. What can I say? Variety is the spice of life.

312 also has Savage Progressions for several types of celestials, and I love the same for Lycanthropes presented in 313. However, I also really liked the Strange Bedfellows article, detailing all sorts of half-races, and I think that was even the issue with half-undead. All in all, probably my favorite issue ever is 313.

[hamishspence]

The only 3.5 one I've not got was 319, the Dark Sun one.

In general I like Dragon magazines, though my 3.0 Dragon collection is much sketchier.

[Tyndmyr]

Is there a guide to which dragon magazines correspond to which edition?

[Zaydos]

I used to love Dragon Magazine... couldn't get my players to use any of it though.

I like #310 (missed #311 and #312 somehow) and #313. I use the dinosaurs and OA update from issue... I forget (it was the one that put in ninja, #316?). I liked #323 too, and the whole class acts line till I stopped getting it, although somethings from that (hummingbird familiars) could be broken easily. #303 has some fun tips for a gladiator campaign, and #301 for swashbuckling. The one on astrology (took it to college it was so good... meaning I don't have it during break ;_;) had a nice ranger ACF (trade your 2nd level weapon style feat for Wis to AC, your 6th for DR based on whether it's night or day, and I forget the other) and a domain I like (Hope I think it is) for flavor.

Yeah I still like Dragon Magazine... my little brother loss a lot of mine though.

[hamishspence]

For printed magazines:

310-359: 3.5 edition,
274-309: 3.0 edition,

And I'm not sure about earlier ones.

[Zaydos]

Another one I like is #317 with it's power components to replace XP and GP cost of crafting.

[robgrayert]

This is a great resource:
http://www.aeolia.net/dragondex/index.html