Loosen your sword belts, relax, and grab a flagon of ale as Rediscovered Realms delves into the 1st three issues of Dungeon Magazine made by TSR for Dungeons & Dragons!
“Thank you for going on this one without us. I’d rather scry than delve anyway.”
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The year was 1986.
Dungeons & Dragons maker TSR had been struggling and realigning behind the scenes, though to the outside world it appeared to still be all roses and halberds - a halcyon era of Fantasy RPGs.
To shore up and solidify the existing D&D fanbase, a decision was made.
There was a whisper of something new coming . . .
Then, right there, within the pages of Dragon Magazine #107, the rumor became real.
An un-named, subscription-only, bi-monthly, spinoff magazine that focuses entirely on D&D/AD&D modules (a.k.a. “adventures” or “scenarios”).
Dragon #107. Methinks that jolly fellow on the cover knows more about the new mystery magazine than he’s letting on.
Sometime before the November issue of Dragon was off the printing press, “Dungeon Adventures” #1 had already arrived.
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DUNGEON ISSUE NO. 1
Ok. How wicked cool is that dragon on the cover by Keith Parkinson?
According to the blurb on the title page, Keith had researched real 14th-18th century treasures from Europe as a reference for this dragon’s hoard!
Sweet, sweet loot (based on a true story, I heard)
The first page of this new creation riles up the imagination. Take a look:
6 adventures await, including:
The Dark Tower Of Cabilar - A vampire has the royal crown - and you've got to get it back.
Assault on Eddistone Point - What happened to the signal tower? What waits for you in the misty mountains?
Grakhirt's Lair - The leader of a norker uprising is free. Go find him!
The Elven Home - A brief encounter with an unusual dwelling
Into The Fire - The solution to a 15-year-old mystery lies in a volcanic mountain range. The last force sent in was destroyed. You're next ...
Guardians Of The Tomb - A silent forest, a lonely shrine, and no survivors ...
Wow! Awesome right?
Before we take a look at these adventures and some of the cool artwork, are you curious about how this magazine got its name?
How “Dungeon” Got Its Name
I’ll let you read the Letters section for the details (click to expand), but suffice it to say that when you have a product named “Dungeons & Dragons”, and said product spawns off “Dragon” magazine, what could be more eloquent than having the other called “Dungeon”?
(This realization only struck me last week. All these years (decades?) and I never even thought about it like that!)
And now for the fun guts of Dungeon Issue No. 1!
On each module’s opening page, you can see the suggested types and power level of the adventuring party.
Of course, these scenarios are made for Dungeon Masters to use and adapt to their needs.
Boxed text was to be read verbatim to the players.
Unfortunately, the artists in this 1st edition didn’t get to put their signatures on their work. The Title page contains a list of contributing artists, and I have my guesses as to who illustrated what.
Future Dungeon magazines included the artist credits within each module.
Smug Vampire says: “I can drain you, charm you, and shape-change to gas. I’m pretty much immune to magic, poison, electricity, and cold. If you hit me, it doesn’t count unless it’s a magic weapon, and I constantly regenerate my hit points. Don’t even get me started on the defenses I have in my lair …”
Ok, now this guy is SCARY! And not just in looks. Take a peek at his stats and the scenario you have to battle him in. INTENSE!
What’s also pretty neat about Dungeon Magazine is that they used submissions from readers (of course some of those readers were also professional game designers).
Want to know what the requirements were to get your scenario published?
Dragon Magazine #111 gave you the 411 (click to expand)
If you loved Dragon Magazine, make sure to check out these recent Rediscovered Realms newsletters:
Geeking out on old fantasy product ads is a guilty pleasure of mine. Of course, I love reminiscing, but there’s also something uber-cool to see how much things have changed . . . and also how much they’ve stayed the same.
Recently, there was a knock at the door which revealed a nondescript plain brown box on the front step. I stooped to retrieve it and before retreating back inside, could have sworn I heard the lowest of growls. “Best not shake it then,” I mused. Inside, I went seeking a pocket, no, better a bowie knife, to reveal its contents (and defend myself if necessa…
And we come to the end of the inaugural issue of Dungeon Magazine with an invitation:
And a kickass back cover advertisement of AD&D’s Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide (cover by Jeff Easley):
DUNGEON ISSUE NO. 2
Bada-bing! Clyde Caldwell gives us this inspiring vision of doomed pirates watching in shock as Koralgesh and its harbor are destroyed by a volcanic blast.
Clyde drew upon photographs of Mount St. Helens eruption in this envisioning for the module, “Keep at Koralgesh”
By the way: Did you know that Rediscovered Realms had the rarified privilege of interviewing Clyde Caldwell not too long ago?
Not only is his work truly amazing, he is also a super-great guy. Check out the interview here:
Today, we are speaking with the amazing fantasy artist, Clyde Caldwell. Clyde has been enchanting RPG, book, and art fans for decades with his badass dragons, beautiful maidens and scenes of epic adventure.
I like how they added the level requirements to each of the module descriptions.
(They also indicated if the module was for Advanced D&D (“ADD”) or Basic D&D (“DD”).
I appreciate how the contributors get a little biography love at the beginning of each scenario. It gives inspiration and hope to us little people (not to be confused with the little people in this module).
If we could all just “care more”, maybe these poor crones would have a better life …
These orcs must have an EXCELLENT dental plan
And once more we come to the end of another Dungeon issue. But this time we get encouragement from “Bubba the Barbarian”:
Let’s party indeed, Bubba, Immortal-style!
DUNGEON ISSUE NO. 3
Roger Raupp gives us this cover - “Consumed with his lust for infinite power, Magus unleashes The Book with No End - and annihilates his own kingdom.”
ouch.
“Dungeon” and “Dragon” magazines weren’t the only kids on the block. Check out these other fantasy mags from back in the day in these recent Rediscovered Realms newsletters:
Who knew that the makers of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks published a short-lived magazine series in the 80s? Join Rediscovered Realms as we explore this newly acquired classic Warlock Magazine. Ready to start this week’s quest?
Tunnels & Trolls, Lost Worlds, Ace of Aces, Grimtooth’s Traps, Illuminati PBM are among the more famous fantasy gaming products made by Flying Buffalo - but did you know they published their very own magazine called “Sorcerer’s Apprentice”? What a treat when an auctioned 1983
TSR’s Dragon Magazine wasn’t the only fantasy mag in town. Steve Jackson put out Fantasy Gamer Magazine for 6 issues back in 1983 & 1984. In fact, at the time of this writing, the 1st issue just hit its 40th birthday! Like a time capsule, Fantasy Gamer
The Fiend and the Paladin were revealed this past Tuesday at the GAMA U.S. games industry trade show based on Dave Sutherland’s “A Paladin in Hell” module illustration.
It’s expected to fetch somewhere between $100,000 - $200,000. (Sure, you can “count on his axe”, but can you afford it!)
Epic Fantasy movie reboots and almost-reboots!
Highlander with Henry Cavill seems to be a go! (It was to be Henry, then possibly Chris Evans, then Chris Hemsworth, and seems to now be back to Henry!) Filming set to start this year.
So much great information here, J.Q. and it’s wonderful to see all this amazing artwork. Also, like we discussed, the adverts are also so much fun to look at. We had that Lankhmar - City of Adventure that’s on one of the first pages there. Everyone raved about it but don’t think we really enjoyed playing it 🤔
I’m not sure if Dungeon ever made it to the UK. It probably did but in my part of the country it was hard enough getting Dragon and White Dwarf never mind asking the newsagent do some other random magazine 😁
These articles are brilliant, J.Q. Really appreciate you taking the time to do them 👍🏼
This is awesome. I just read Slaying the Dragon, which is a history of TSR so it's cool to see some of the actual work from that era.
So much great information here, J.Q. and it’s wonderful to see all this amazing artwork. Also, like we discussed, the adverts are also so much fun to look at. We had that Lankhmar - City of Adventure that’s on one of the first pages there. Everyone raved about it but don’t think we really enjoyed playing it 🤔
I’m not sure if Dungeon ever made it to the UK. It probably did but in my part of the country it was hard enough getting Dragon and White Dwarf never mind asking the newsagent do some other random magazine 😁
These articles are brilliant, J.Q. Really appreciate you taking the time to do them 👍🏼