Issue #1 of Gygax Magazine was the first issue of a new role playing game magazine published by the new TSR, Inc that was intended to be quarterly. This is not the company acquired by Wizards of the Coast back in 1997, but is instead a new company formed in 2012, the name having been let lapse, that includes the sons of E. Gary Gygax, one of the original creators of Dungeons & Dragons.
The copy purchased was a 68 page watermarked (the purchaser’s name and the order number are added to every page) PDF from RPGNow, although this is a PDF version of a print magazine. Two pages of this are the covers. As this is a PDF version of a print magazine, there is a substantial amount of advertising, both full and part page in colour and in black and white, within the magazine, so the actual content amount is substantially smaller than might be thought from the page count.
The magazine has articles on a variety of topics. Some are on specific game systems, such as an extract from an ICONS supplement, whilst others are more generic. As well as these articles, there are more general ones on role playing games and playing them and three comic strips. There is also a section called The Kobold’s Cavern, which is content that would have been published in Kobold Press‘s Kobold Quarterly, except that magazine shut down.
Although the PDF is supposedly bookmarked, the bookmarks are not actually of any use. The cover is a full colour illustration, and there are bits of specific, and apparently commissioned, black and white artwork throughout the magazine. Gygax Magazine is intended to invoke memories of the original Dragon magazine in its appearance and layout, and with the cover – even the font used in the magazine’s name is the one that was originally used for the title of Dragon (it was later changed).
It sees the return of some of the original contributors to Dragon; there is a column, Leomund’s Secure Shelter by Lenard Lakofka, who previously authored a column, Leomund’s Tiny Hut, back in the early days of Dragon. One of the comic strips, What’s New with Phil & Dixie by Phil Folgio, ran for three years in Dragon in the 80s. There’s an “Ecology of” column, in this case of the banshee, which for many years were a staple column of Dragon.
Later editions of Dragon saw an emphasis on TSR’s own products. As the new TSR, Inc. does not (currently, at least) publish its own role playing game system, the new magazine lacks that emphasis and has content from several game systems, such as ICONS – with an extract from what was then an upcoming supplement – Godlike, Pathfinder and AGE, as well as generic columns.
So, Is Issue One Worth It?
The quality of the articles is a bit variable – some seem to be mostly reminisces which may be interesting for those who have been gaming since the 80s to read, but are of less practical use – but many of the articles have more value. The approximately eight page special attraction, the generic village of Gnatdamp, which includes a map of the village, is worth a substantial proportion – perhaps half or more – of the purchase price in itself, as it would easily cost several dollars if purchased separately, and the PDF only cost $4.99. This is a promising, although not perfect, start to the new publications, and old readers of Dragon will probably get their memories stirred by the magazine itself. Sadly, the magazine only made it to Issue #6 before having to stop publication. Gygax Magazine #1 is still worth picking up.
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