Join Rediscovered Realms as we explore this incredible 1984 issue of the short-lived British fantasy magazine dedicated to the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons!
The song is perfect. I can just see a group of adventurers listening to the local bard, while they try to keep warm at their favorite tavern. The artwork in the magazine was something else and I completely agree the art for The Sword of Alabron is amazing. Looked up the artist, Ian Williamson, and he was only 21 when he did the comic. That looks to be only art he did professionally till he started again in his 40s.
Oh, badass! Thanks for looking up Ian Williamson, Eric. I was planning on doing that exact thing since his style of art in that comic really impressed me.
I started with Dragon in the mid 30s of published magazines, I would grab White Dwarf here and there, completely missed out on Imagine though, 83-85 I was in the Army
I'm really enjoying learning more about the 80s British fantasy scene. You guys had some super cool stuff that wasn't available anywhere else. And thank you for your service, Heavy Cavalry. Upholding freedom in the world during some very interesting times.
Never came across Imagine in the wild back in the day, but I would have instantly picked it up if I had seen that Rodney Mathews cover! For all of my teen years I had his poster of Elric up on my bedroom door.
David, I can't tell you how much I love that IMAGINE cover illustration. The more I look at it, the more impressed I get. Didn't think I'd encountered Rodney Matthews before, so I began finding out more about him. So cool you had one of his posters as a kid! I looked up his Elric paintings and totally recognize it. Iconic.
It was all so new, so free of corporate pap and bland mass-market 'appeal.' It was original stuff, these games. It was interesting to see what would come out next. It filled a need to see that ordinary people could do something, contribute, be successful. It also filled a need for story. There were no commercial breaks in DnD, no laugh tracks, no miserably 'morals' with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer to the knee caps.
Gaming in the early days WAS magic, real magic. It's why people are going back to it. Gaming has lost its way.
I definitely loved the free-reign creativity that seemed possible back then and being exposed to such bold narrative designs & art. What I like about today is all the tools that are now available to us common folk to independently create & manufacture our own imaginings and to find like-minded souls to share them with. Thanks for sharing, Sean!
The only problem with 'anyone can publish' is that everyone does, and your work is lost, a drop in an endless sea of stuff.
The free-reign was wonderful. No constraints, no 'cannon,' no set of expectations. Make what you want and put it out there.
It was a wonderful time to be a gamer. I find a lot of Dragon Mags on the archive.org. It's fun to root through the old mags, thick with memories and nostalgia.
I remember Imagine but I don’t think my local newsagent stocked it that often. It was a challenge to get White Dwarf never mind any other niche publication! However, it’s good to see that even a magazine specifically to do with fantasy thought Krull was rubbish 😆. And well done to their reviewer being quite progressive for his time in calling out James Bond for its sexist nonsense 😁
I didn’t recognise any of the shops that were advertised. We went to The Games Master in Edinburgh and Glasgow. However, our local one was The Gilded Cage in Falkirk. It was actually a shop that had ornaments and jewellery but when they got in a few boxes of the Ral Partha and Grenadier figures (probably be accident!) and these strange teenage boys started spending all their money on them, they probably thought it would make financial sense to keep getting more of them. Many a happy weekend was spent going there and buying the boxes of Halflings or Wizard figures before playing an all nighter until the wee small hours of Sunday morning 😁
Thanks for sharing all that, Dan! In recently perusing some of the different British fantasy mags of that era I've been surprised to note that Brits were very vocal and had strong opinions about what they wanted (and didn't want!) in said mags. Not a bad thing at all, but the dialogue was much more open (and dare I say "vicious" 😁) than in the American counterparts of the time.
Of course, this was also during the time TSR was floundering on its bottom line and caused all sorts of ripples and ruckus. Other big UK fantasy companies were experiencing seismic shifts as well with the result that some of the best human talent was cut loose, shed or fled. It seems like many of the key fantasy creators in the UK wound up branching off and creating their own often-short-lived fantasy mags & gaming companies to various applause or unattainable comparisons.
I love your hobby shoppe history! I'll keep an eye out for any ads from the ones in your old stomping grounds.
The song is perfect. I can just see a group of adventurers listening to the local bard, while they try to keep warm at their favorite tavern. The artwork in the magazine was something else and I completely agree the art for The Sword of Alabron is amazing. Looked up the artist, Ian Williamson, and he was only 21 when he did the comic. That looks to be only art he did professionally till he started again in his 40s.
Oh, badass! Thanks for looking up Ian Williamson, Eric. I was planning on doing that exact thing since his style of art in that comic really impressed me.
Glad you like the song!
I started with Dragon in the mid 30s of published magazines, I would grab White Dwarf here and there, completely missed out on Imagine though, 83-85 I was in the Army
I'm really enjoying learning more about the 80s British fantasy scene. You guys had some super cool stuff that wasn't available anywhere else. And thank you for your service, Heavy Cavalry. Upholding freedom in the world during some very interesting times.
i grabbed the WD in Indiana, but I was a big fan too of the British gaming scene GDW and the like...Brit metal too! I am clearly just old :)
lol - don't ever say that! You're not old, you're just heavily "experienced". 😁
nearing level 60
a friend from Ontario told me up there they call grey beards Artic Blonde
You have transcended beyond D&D Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master all the way through Immortal! Well done.
"Arctic Blonde" brings to mind a more feminine image than bearded old dudes . . . unless your friend is referring to older Dwarven women? ⛏
Thank you for this. Somehow, in all my years of gaming, I'd never run across that magazine,
Aren't new discoveries so fun, Desmond! (Just like me "discovering" that you had left this comment 4 months ago. So sorry, my friend!)
Never came across Imagine in the wild back in the day, but I would have instantly picked it up if I had seen that Rodney Mathews cover! For all of my teen years I had his poster of Elric up on my bedroom door.
David, I can't tell you how much I love that IMAGINE cover illustration. The more I look at it, the more impressed I get. Didn't think I'd encountered Rodney Matthews before, so I began finding out more about him. So cool you had one of his posters as a kid! I looked up his Elric paintings and totally recognize it. Iconic.
I too love the artwork! So freakin good!
I always knew you had refined tastes, Robin.
Hahaha thank u!
It was all so new, so free of corporate pap and bland mass-market 'appeal.' It was original stuff, these games. It was interesting to see what would come out next. It filled a need to see that ordinary people could do something, contribute, be successful. It also filled a need for story. There were no commercial breaks in DnD, no laugh tracks, no miserably 'morals' with all the subtlety of a sledge hammer to the knee caps.
Gaming in the early days WAS magic, real magic. It's why people are going back to it. Gaming has lost its way.
I definitely loved the free-reign creativity that seemed possible back then and being exposed to such bold narrative designs & art. What I like about today is all the tools that are now available to us common folk to independently create & manufacture our own imaginings and to find like-minded souls to share them with. Thanks for sharing, Sean!
The only problem with 'anyone can publish' is that everyone does, and your work is lost, a drop in an endless sea of stuff.
The free-reign was wonderful. No constraints, no 'cannon,' no set of expectations. Make what you want and put it out there.
It was a wonderful time to be a gamer. I find a lot of Dragon Mags on the archive.org. It's fun to root through the old mags, thick with memories and nostalgia.
Man, I LOVE rooting through the old Dragon mags. Brings me joy & peace anytime I need to escape for a while.
Here, see what this does for ya:
https://janscarton.com/boltlobbers/FinieousFingers.pdf
Totally! I think you shared that with me a couple weeks back. If not you, then it was another reader. I saved the file for future perusing!
It might have been me. Sorry for the duplication. I lose track of such things at times.
Dragon magazine showing up was the happiest I have ever been receiving the mail!
Plus the humor….
“Words on paper made from trees”!
I know the feeling of which you speak, although I didn't get Dragon in the mail back in the day. 🐲
I’m only just discovering the realms, but have enjoyed it so far! Looking forward to exploring around.
Welcome, Nick! Rediscovered Realms is happy to have you as a citizen. 👑
I remember Imagine but I don’t think my local newsagent stocked it that often. It was a challenge to get White Dwarf never mind any other niche publication! However, it’s good to see that even a magazine specifically to do with fantasy thought Krull was rubbish 😆. And well done to their reviewer being quite progressive for his time in calling out James Bond for its sexist nonsense 😁
I didn’t recognise any of the shops that were advertised. We went to The Games Master in Edinburgh and Glasgow. However, our local one was The Gilded Cage in Falkirk. It was actually a shop that had ornaments and jewellery but when they got in a few boxes of the Ral Partha and Grenadier figures (probably be accident!) and these strange teenage boys started spending all their money on them, they probably thought it would make financial sense to keep getting more of them. Many a happy weekend was spent going there and buying the boxes of Halflings or Wizard figures before playing an all nighter until the wee small hours of Sunday morning 😁
Thanks for sharing all that, Dan! In recently perusing some of the different British fantasy mags of that era I've been surprised to note that Brits were very vocal and had strong opinions about what they wanted (and didn't want!) in said mags. Not a bad thing at all, but the dialogue was much more open (and dare I say "vicious" 😁) than in the American counterparts of the time.
Of course, this was also during the time TSR was floundering on its bottom line and caused all sorts of ripples and ruckus. Other big UK fantasy companies were experiencing seismic shifts as well with the result that some of the best human talent was cut loose, shed or fled. It seems like many of the key fantasy creators in the UK wound up branching off and creating their own often-short-lived fantasy mags & gaming companies to various applause or unattainable comparisons.
I love your hobby shoppe history! I'll keep an eye out for any ads from the ones in your old stomping grounds.