Review: Dragons Revisited

Yes, it’s another Paizo Pathfinder Chronicles/Companion review. I picked up a half dozen “issues” at Amazon a couple of weeks ago and while making my way through them decided I should write up reviews on each as I finish it. Up for review today,  Pathfinder Chronicles: Dragons Revisited. It lists for $19.99 for the print version, $13.99 for the pdf. A tip for frugal shopper: Amazon sells the print version for less than cost of the pdf.  I’m reviewing the print version.

Here’s how Paizo describes the book:

Enter the Dragons

Since the beginning, dragons have held a unique place in man’s mythology. Powerful and savage, with fiery breath and massive wings, they rampage across the countryside in search of plunder or rule mighty nations with iron claws. Their fabulous treasure hoards are the stuff of legend, and those few brave warriors who stand against them are assured their place in history—if they survive.

Dragons Revisited puts a new spin on these timeless monsters, reimagining them for the Pathfinder Chronicles campaign setting while keeping true to their mythological and gaming roots. Within these 64 pages you’ll find in-depth ecologies for the ten most popular dragon types—both the scheming chromatics and the noble metallics—detailing their biology, society, and relations to other creatures. Learn what wonders their lavish lairs contain, and how cunningly they’re guarded. Delve into draconic history within the world of Golarion, and peruse handy sample statistics for each dragon type, ready to be dropped straight into your own adventures along with new feats, advice on using dragons in your campaigns, and other indispensable game materials. Most importantly, discover which dragons look kindly on humanity, and which ones regard all lesser creatures as food. Because getting the two mixed up can be extremely unpleasant.

Fortunately, it’s a mistake you won’t make twice.

Physical Details

The book is a 64-page, full-color softback. Like all of Paizo’s books, the art is generally very good to down right stunning. Similarly, the book’s layout is excellent – easy to read and logically laid out, with only a few typos, grammar gaffs, or oddities.

The Contents

Dragons Revisited opens with a brief (2 pages) introduction to the book’s contents as well as dragons in general before moving on to the real content. The book covers the five chromatic (Black, Blue, Green, Red, & White) and five metallic dragons (Brass, Bronze, Copper, Gold, & Silver) that are the staple of most D&D worlds. Each is given a full six pages laid out in the same manner:  After a description of the dragon, the sections cover the Ecology & Society, Hoard & Home, and Campaign Role, On Golarion, and Names.  Each entry then ends with a description and stats for a specific dragon of that variety to serve as an example, as well as a ready made opponent or patron.

In terms of what each of these subsections covers, here’s a basic summary:

• Ecology & Society – covers each dragon’s physiology, favored habitat as well as their general personality; this includes information on how each specific species interacts with other dragons as well as others living around them. It also describes the impact each dragon tends to have on the environment around it.
• Hoard & Home – covers exactly what the name suggests: What the dragon prefers in its hoard and the type of lair it tends to prefer.
• Campaign Role – gives suggestions on how each dragon type can be used in a D&D campaign. For example, blues are described as consummate masterminds & schemers.
• On Golarion – gives specific details of where each dragon variety is found on Golarion, Pathfinder’s default setting.
• Names – explains the normal naming conventions for each species and provides some sample names.

Overall, the contents are quite interesting and well-written although some entries are much better than others. The weakest part of the book is the half-page dedicated the origins of dragons: The myth is not particularly inspiring, and is very confusing in places. I also didn’t like the fact that the section ends with the sentence “For more information on draconic history, see Pathfinder #4: Fortress of the Stone Giants” since it’s basically indicating that what’s provided in Dragons Revisited is incomplete.

The individual entries are much better. In particular, I liked the black, brass, and red dragon descriptions. Unfortunately, the book doesn’t venture away from the dogma that “chromatics = evil and metallics = good” which makes most of the metallic dragons rather uninspiring or almost completely useless to many DMs unless they’re looking to introduce one as a powerful patron or source of knowledge. Thus, while there’s a more focused and logical niche provided for each dragon, there isn’t anything that’s particularly new or novel presented. Personally, I think the way metallic dragons are presented in 4th edition D&D (as described in the Draconomicon: Metallic Dragons supplement) is a lot more useful and makes dragons as a whole much more interesting.

My other issue with the book’s content, and this one is largely one of taste, is that the book gives you the impression that there are thousands of dragons living on Golarion. For example, the book states that “On the Isle of Kortos, in areas not entirely controlled by Absalom, a few young red dragons (as well as a handful of blues) vie for control.” Kortos is only a little more than 150 miles long and 60 miles wide which, to me, seems really a really small area to support what amounts to at least a half-dozen dragons. Similarly, the brass dragon entry mentions that a half-dozen brass dragons openly support a public works project in one city alone. The impression given in all of the individual entries  is that you can’t throw a stone in Golarion without hitting a dragon. Verisimilitude aside, my major objection to this approach is that it makes dragons far less mysterious and omnipotent than I like. As I said, it’s a matter of taste, so some won’t really mind it.

The Verdict

Overall, I think Dragons Revisited is a decent supplement, but hardly essential. Since the book is about 90% fluff, it provides some useful information about dragons that could be integrated in to any campaign. That makes it worth considering for anyone looking for more detail on dragons than your typical monster manual provides. However, in comparison to alternatives like the current 4E Draconomicons (Chromatic & Metallic), and especially the 3rd edition era Draconomicon , Dragons Revisited doesn’t have a lot to offer and is one of the few Pathfinder supplements I’ve read so far that wasn’t an improvement upon what’s come out of WotC. Therefore, I would suggest that Dragons Revisited out to be considered a “nice to have but not necessary” supplement, even for those who are playing exclusively in the world of Golarion.