Finally the 100th issue of Dragon magazine! And this makes it a particularly special one, with some new stuff and an interesting cover. The cover might look like early CG but it really isn’t (computers couldn’t do this level of image smoothness in 1985), it’s a paper sculpture by Dennis Kauth with the central faery dragon painted purple after being photographed. Pretty original as befits a special issue.

The central part of this issue is the reveal of Gygax’s Gord the Rogue novels, a series that wasn’t anywhere as successful (and frankly as enjoyable to read) as either the Dragonlance or the future Forgotten Realms novels, it also got suspended after the second volume as Gygax left TSR in less than friendly terms. He would go on to publish five more novels under the New Infinities label (Gygax’s new TTRPG company after TSR). In this issue we get the introduction to the character through a short story which is, curiously, set after the upcoming first novel and before the second (which would come out in 1986).  It’s not the best short story, but you get a sense for the character and Chert, his Barbarian friend. In the introduction Gygax says that only now does he notice the similarities between these two characters and Fritz Leiber’s Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser… well… sure, Gary.  (I’m actually reading the first novel, Chert hasn’t shown up yet, and both the character of Gord and the city of Greyhawk feel extremely indebted to Lieber, it can’t be a “coincidence”.

Anyway, we also get a poster of the book cover, and other cool articles, such as part 5 of Ed Greenwood’s Pages from the Mages, where we get another bunch of grimoires, a really long adventure called “The City Beyond the Gate”, rules for Dragonchess by Gygax, Douglas Niles discussing the creation of Battlesystem. A good celebratory issue.