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Mine was issue #55. It had a purple box around the picture. $3.00 cover price.
Erol Otus did the cover; a fighter was walking into a cavern via a bizarre bridge, where a smiling short wizard or jester was gesturing to the side of the cave---where this colossal lovecraftian drooling thing was waiting.
Aaaaah....good times. (they actually kinda sucked, but everything seems better in memory).
I'm not fishing for "grognard props." Just remembering.
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The first issue that I bought, without Adult Supervision, and with my "own" money, was Issue #110, June 1986; and I still have it. I had just turned 11 years old.
My oldest surviving issue is the 1981 "Best of Dragon Vol. II," which has an inscription from my late father: "Happy Halloween, Andy! Never stop dreaming. Love, Dad."
I am going to go sit down and cry right now.
My first issue was the april fool's issue from I believe 01. Back when 3.0 was still all smooth and new. My oldest issue was from the mid eighties and I believe it was the issue with Kappa. I don't have the magazines on me or I would be a lot more specific.
I am really gonna miss this magazine.
My 1st issue was #60 with the Jester, I then started collecting some of the older issues so I think my oldest issue might be #38 if memory serves me. I have the CD with all the PDFs of the issues up to 250, which would have been great if it had a good search engine.
Dragon #42. Steve "Olyoptics" Oliff cover is what drew me in. Didn't really know anything about the game, but I soon learned. Found several back issues in a used bookstore at the time--going back to #31 for HALF COVER PRICE!! Yay me! Picked up most of them till about the time of the Unearthed Arcana errata(#120-ish). Love those crazy modules in the early mags. "Two-Fold Talisman", "Introduction to the Forgotten Realms", and one about a githyanki fortress on the fifth dimension or something.
#43 for me, I think... my mom tossed out my collection of magazines when I moved away so I can't be certain, but I remember that cover very well.
62, I think, boxed away with my 1st ed rules and ancient modules.
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Mine was July 1982 (the cover is gone so I don't know the number). This is the Dragon that had the great Chagmat spider adventure in it, the one that took place inside Little Boy Mountain. If anyone can give me the number, I would greatly appreciate it.
Also, I have Best of Dragon (Vol1) which includes the best of Strategic Review Vols 1 &2. I am not sure of the age of this one, since I could not find a date, but it may predate my first Dragon. Again, any help on dates would be appreciated.
#41 here. The back view of a robed wizard leading a little lizard-child back to grade school-kinda reminded me of Charles Addams' drawings in a big way. And it had 'The Halls of Beorl-Dur' inside, with those mightily-overpowered dwarven and salamander artifacts-but boy was it fun!
#8 here. It had a picture of a middle-aged wizard on the front cover with his miniature, multicolored griffin familiar. I had just discovered D&D Christmas of '77 and found this back issue in some lady's gift shop not long after. The cover price was $1.50, but since the issue had been sitting unsold for months, she let me have it for 50 cents. I still have it somewhere in the stacks. An article on the magical Finzer family still finds its way into my campaigns from time to time.
My first (English) one was #272! Before that I read the German one, but the production of it stopped and I had to look for an alternative.
#272 had it all Tiamat and Bahamut, the Secret Library of Vecna, a preview of 3Eand of course a dragon on its cover!
I only bought one in the way back though I read most of a friend's subscription. I later inherited a bunch of them (they mostly had chess themed art on the covers.) The first one I bought though had a tundra ranger atop a dragon in the snow #137 and had an article on the power of gems. Of course it was the Dwarf on #278 that brought me back (and have been a subscriber ever since :)
#288. Then proceeded to get as many back issues as freakin' possible. (Including #70 *sighs happily*)
Issue 78 (1983). I remember the Dragon as butterfly feeding its hatchlings on the cover as leaping off the newsstand.
The issue is focused on Psionics, had the ecology of the mind flayer and introduced the deryni.
The Citadel by the Sea adventure was the thing I remember the most about it.
I came to Dragon reletivly recently. My first magazine was the 3.5 edition preview about new warrior classes. I think my first issue from a subscription was the Dark Sun issue.
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#72 was my favorite issue of Dragon EVAR. I think I was the first munchkin, with that cavalier class. I killed 5 trolls with a 1st level cavalier; I became 5th level in one combat.
Aaaaah....good times.
Amen brother! Amen! The Cavalier sub-class from the issue kicked a$$! I still remember my Cavalier destroying everything in his path. He tore a path of destruction through both the Village of Hommlet and The Slave Pits of the Undercity. Good times indeed!
I can't recall now which issue was my first . . . it was either 128, 129, or 130, although I don't think it was 128. The reason I remember those three is that the local Waldenbooks had all three in the RPG section, I picked up one, and I was so excited by the magazine that I came back to pick up the other issues that they had in stock the next week.
It almost made working at that egg farm worth it.
I think mine was #35 with the stats for "Conan" in it!
The Dragon #11 -- I still remember those Brawling rules (punching and grappling) using 2d6 and one of The Dragon's classic games, Snit's Revenge!
First issue I bought was 178 or 180...first issue I read was some issues before that. The oldest Dragon I have bought (and read) was 154, as one of the back issues I came across.
Best of Dragon Vol IV in 85 - had a ton of classes, including the duelist and deathmaster, half ogres and loads and loads of runes.
It inspired [and still does]countless campaigns and fondly remembered characters, but more importantly it inspired us as roleplayers to explore our imaginations. Classic stuff.
My first Dragon mag was 'Best of the Dragon II' in early '80's. I did not even know what D&D was but got a glimpse through that issue. Luckilly, I got the blue box that Christmas. I still love that cover and the adds for Ral Partha figures! I now own most of the magazines, save the 1-10 area. If you bought the Dragon CD in the '90's, you are a happy cat!
Contributor, RPG Superstar 2008 Top 6
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Issue 78 (1983). I remember the Dragon as butterfly feeding its hatchlings on the cover as leaping off the newsstand.
The issue is focused on Psionics, had the ecology of the mind flayer and introduced the deryni.
The Citadel by the Sea adventure was the thing I remember the most about it.
That was my first subscription issue. Nice one to start out with :) The first two I owned were 64 and 67, and a friend owned 72 (mentioned in this thread). 64 had my 2nd-favorite game (after the immortal King of the Tabletop), Planetbusters.
CEO
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My first Dragon issues was Dragon #57. I remember buying it mostly because it has the free module in it. I was a DM hungry for some adventure material and that clinched it for me!
-Lisa
I don't recall, low 50's or something. Started subscribing in the 60-issue numbers or so. Paid for it by cutting grass and cleaning pools...subscribed until the mid 80's, then stopped and just bought occasional store issues. Resubscribed in 2005.
Well, my 1st ed. collection went the way of my baseball cards (thanks a lot, Mom!) But looking at the old covers on this site, the first one I clearly remember as being part of my collection was number 34, but I think I may have started collecting as early as 27. I didn't have a subscription in high school, and kind of got more interested in girls and getting into college around the end of my junior year, so I probably stopped somewhere in the early 50s. The last of that series of issues I distinctly recall owning was #49, with Tim Hildebrand's awesome dragon, and I'm quite certain I quit playing by the time #62 was out.
As for since I took up the game again, #291, I think--the gnomes issue. I've been subscribing since #312.
The first campaign classics issue. I heard it had an article on ghostwalk...
I bought 2 issues the first time I made a purchase, #67 and #68.
Sixty Seven had a Thanksgiving themed cover and featured an article on the astral plane and the adventure Fedifensor. Sixty Eight had a dragon on the cover and an insert of random charts to generate weather in the World of Greyhawk. I was hooked, I bought every issues I could until #100 or so when I needed to pay for college and had no money for game stuff. Later I filled in what I had missed, and now have the CD Rom rchive of the first 250+ and all issues released since then.
-M
issue #53 with the faerie dragon on it. It was beginning of a life long obbsession.
I seem to remember my first being Dragon 53. My dad bought it for me because I had just discovered chit-powered wargames, and he asked at his favorite newsstand if there was a magazine on games. That's what they handed him, and what he brought home to me. I've had every one since.
and kind of got more interested in girls and getting into college around the end of my junior year
Weirdo ;)
37. I'm old :/
Though not as old as some :)
For me the first one I bought was #52 with the Boris Vallejo cover. We used to get very excitable by Boris art. (Anybody remember his painting called "Flight?") My subscription started with 55, the one with the Erol Otus cover. I still have that one laying around here somewhere.
#140 for me. That one had a larry Elmore cover of a cleric healing a fighter after the fighter got mauled by a giant. I had played D&D for nearly two years before discovering Dragon. When I did I immediately signed up for a subscription and set about getting as many back issues as my finances would allow (being 13 at the time it wasn't personally much, but I asked for them for birthdays, etc. I have every issue from around #101 to #240 or so when I stopped playing for a while (before reupping with #302). I also have a sporadic number of magazines from #64 through #98.
And I still have all of them. :)
My first Dragon was in the 30s. I think #36. It had a snowman with a machine gun on the cover.
I seem to remember my first being Dragon 53. My dad bought it for me because I had just discovered chit-powered wargames, and he asked at his favorite newsstand if there was a magazine on games. That's what they handed him, and what he brought home to me. I've had every one since.
Thanks for the link to #53. That was my first subscription issue. I'll never forget Garden of Nefaron!
I believe my first was issue 200, with the circular hologram on the cover between a pair of battling wizards. I quickly scrambled to find as many back issues as I could.
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Dragon #324: The Shadow Over D&D, Dungeon #138: The Mud Sorcerer's Tomb
I got into the whole magazine thing rather late in the game. I had been aware of them ever since I started plaing, but didn't really have the need or funds to get there.
I'll miss both magazines, even if I had only a brief span of readership.
My first was Issue 83,with the chessboard front. Had to sell all my mags when I moved out of the country. Too hard to take them with me. Sigh.