If you read the blog at ettingames.blogspot.com, you will find this exact same review. I posted it there, then decided, hey, I wrote it, I'll repost it on my personal blog. So, if you do see this there, I didn't steal it ;) I wrote it, LOL.
Late last week at Ettin Games, we got in 2 great new books from Wizards of the Coast. One was the "Glory of the Giants" which got a lot of hype and was very anticipated. However, Wizards slid in a book that seemed to get little fanfare but has so much information. Though it is geared towards D&D 5E (Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition), it can be used for any fantasy RPG game. This would be a great book to pick up for any dragon lover or person who plays RPG's.
In this review I will go over a quick rundown of each section found in the book.
Section 1: Anatomy of the Dragon - Truly, I don't feel you get much out of this section, but the artwork is pretty.
Section 2: Dragon Society - This is a very short one paragraph explanation. Again, you don't get much out of this section
Section 3: Dragon Lairs - The book has a general synopsis of a lair, but later on they get more detailed when looking at each type of dragon.
Section 4: Dragon Hoards - This section has pretty much what you would expect here, but they get more detailed later on when looking at each type of dragon. This is just general information about dragon hoards. This gets you through the first 9 pages of the book. From now on, it gets more interesting.
Section 5: Dragon Combat - This goes into a little more detail about combat with dragons. Having said that, you will need to look into the specific dragon to know what kind of breath they possess. They go over general information about the following: Breath Weapon, Claws and Bite, Dragon Fear, Dragon Defenses, Dragon Weaknesses, Fighting a dragon.
Section 6: Dragon Magic - There is general information about dragon magic in this section. You will also find a great table that has the different dragon types and what kind of Breath Weapon they have. Now this I feel should have been in the previous section but it is still very handy, no matter where it is in the book. This section has general information about Elemental magic, Dragon Spellcraft, & Dragon Abilities. At the end of this section, you will find another handy table about the special magical abilities that each type of dragon possesses.
Again, the artwork throughout the books is great. It has a very sketchy book feel to some of the illustrations whereas, others are more finished.
Section 7: Language of Dragons - You will find some common Draconic words in this section as well as the script used. There is a table of important words and phrases and a quick Dragon Etiquette Lesson.
(In the Language of Dragons section, I think DM's (Dungeon Master's) will have the most fun with their players. If you are a DM, don't just tell your players that they have found a scroll in Draconic. Give them a scroll in Draconic. If you have one player that speaks it, then give them the translation in a separate scroll. Have fun with your players.)
Section 8: Life of a Dragon - talks about general information about a life of a dragon but most importantly, there is a table that has the Developmental Stages of a Dragon. It talks about the ages of a Wyrmling, Young, Adult & Ancient.
Section 9: Types of Dragons - Here there is a brief description of Chromatic and Metallic Dragons but most importantly, it shows the wingspan of the different kinds of dragons. This is the one illustration in the book that I think that could have shown a bit more detail, but I am not complaining as it gets the job done.
Section 10: Chromatic Dragons, Section 11: The Queen Dragon (this section is very brief and doesn't have the same information as the other types of dragons.) & Section 12: Metallic Dragons - Briefly lists all of the dragon colors and has sketches of the different types of dragons.
After this, it goes through each color of dragon. I am not going to list them all but I will say that the information they give on them is something I have been begging Wizards of the Coast to bring back to their monster manuals (yes I know this isn't a monster manual). It talks about the Maximum Height, Weight, & Wingspans. The book lists their favorite foods, habitats, enemies, and favorite treasure. They talk about their distinguishing features, and more detail about the different developmental stages for each color (like where they lay their eggs). The book also covers specific lairs for each dragon and combat.
Section 13: The Platinum Dragon - This is the king dragon for the Metallic dragons. There isn't much information here.
Section 14: Dragonkind - Brief descriptions of the following: Faerie Dragon, Dragon Turtle, Pseudodragon, Dracolich, Shadow Dragon, Wyvern, Draconians (and brief descriptions of each color), Dragonborn & Kobolds
Section 15: Riding a Dragon - Talks about the qualities of a dragon rider, movements, Combat Maneuver,s and more. There is a wealth of information for DM's and Players alike.
Section 16: Hereos of Dragon Magic - In this last section, the book touches on Dragon Sorcery, Drakwardens & Ascendant Dragon Monks.
My thoughts!! Well, I should start off by saying that I bought the book. I think that speaks for itself. Now having said that, I think they could have put in a bit more detail in a few sections but overall it was good. It did miss out on putting information about Gemstone Dragons in its pages, but the title actually says the "Practically Complete" guide, so I guess that explains it. I highly recommend the book for anyone interested in Dragons, for all D&D Players & DMs. But don't hesitate to pick up your copy even if you don't play D&D.
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