REVIEW OF DRAGON WARRIORS ORDO DRACONIS FANZINE

The fantasy role-playing game Dragon Warriors has a healthy following and the Lands of Legend
have been around for many years; as such there are a lot of stories to tell from around this vast
pseudo-mediaeval land and more than enough places to visit and people to meet. With that in mind,
a small group of Dragon Warriors fans - following the lead of Bill Edmunds who volunteered
himself to produce the magazine - decided to produce a fanzine dedicated to the game, to include
articles on locations, new professions, creatures, adventures and all sorts of stuff to support the
Dragon Warriors line. Toward the end of 2009 the first issue of Ordo Draconis: The Journal of the
Dragon Warriors Role-Playing Game, was released for free download. In issue one you’ll find the
very first map ever drawn of the Lands of Legend by Leo Hartas in 1984. That’s very nostalgic and
quite a coup for a free fan-produced online publication. Of course, that’s improved upon later on by
the interview with Dave Morris, one of the original creators of Dragon Warriors in the 1980s and
James Wallis of Magnum Opus Press, the man who brings us the new Dragon Warriors in all its
glory. That’s very impressive and it gives an insight into where Dragon Warriors came from, where
it is now and where it’s going.
There then follows several articles that most Dragon Warriors GMs will find useful. There’s a few
house rules you might want to use in your game, the Friar profession, some encounters, details of a
PBM Thuland campaign, the details of the county of Anglicia in Ellesland, an essay of the Faerie in
the Lands of Legend, an adventure and, finally, a detailed (but sadly incomplete – the skills section
is missing!) Dragon Warriors character sheet.

Issue two follows the same design path but this time there are plenty more pages and more people
contributing, so it’s hardly surprising that they’ve started charging for the 97 pages the fanzine has
grown into. With another excellent cover by John Hodgson the PDF is filled with more useful
articles, but this time there’s an addition to the fanzine. Now the stats presented are accompanied by
their Pathfinder equivalents. That’s right, the role-playing game from Paizo Publishing is being
represented in the pages of the fanzine.

The contents of issue two include a poster map of Northern Cornumbria, the Thane profession, a
detailed look at the Darbon Barony, a spooky short story, a closer look at Eastmarch, the ‘Codex
Cryptozoologica’ which showcases a creature of the world, more encounters, more from the
Thuland PBM game, a review of the Dragon warriors supplement ‘Friends or Foes’, a new
adventure, some atmospheric words and names from Cornumbria, and finally the corrected
character sheet from issue one (and very functional and detailed it is, too).

So, how do these two publications measure up?

Let’s get my bias out of the way first. I play Dragon Warriors, I enjoy Dragon Warriors and I have
every one of the new Dragon Warriors publications up to yet. I like the Lands of Legend and so I’m
always on the lookout for new stuff to add to my collection. Ordo Draconis fills this need quite well
– as a GM I’m looking for new encounters to run and new locations to game in, new ideas to inspire
and new characters to use and abuse. So, this fanzine has come along at the right time for me. With
that in mind let’s press on to what I thought about the publication.

The wording is clear, the font used is easy on the eye and the layout is excellent. It’s all black on
white with some (but not many) illustrations. To be honest, it’s surprising that the 38-page issue one
PDF is free – the John Hodgson cover is very evocative and both issues definitely appear to be
something you’d see on a newsagent’s shelf. Full cover, clearly worded and professionally done.
That’s a good start.

In fact, the thing that impressed me the most about these fanzines is the professional look of them
both. The fact that the first one is free is a massive bonus as its laid out and presented like a product
ready for purchase. All it needed was a cover price and a shelf and I would have been quite happy to
buy a copy. In many respects the fact that it’s free and useful is almost too good to be true.

As with many fanzines the first issue is text heavy – it would have been nice to see more
illustrations to break up the walls of text, or maybe some diversity to the page layouts as the articles
are in the two-column format, as they are in both issues, all sharing the same font and style. Saying
that, there are some very nice full colour maps later in the fanzine.

I found the most useful articles in issue one to be the ‘Along the Road’ encounters, and the
adventure ‘The Ruins of Castle Cerreg’ as I can put these to good use. Another scoop is the article
by Dragon Warriors author Dave Morris ‘Believing in Faerie’, an excellent essay about the use of
the creatures and races of Fay in the game. There was some wasted space, especially at the end of
articles, and the text-heavy layout wasn’t a bad thing but I found myself wanting more illustrations
to help stoke the imagination. Some small sketches for the encounters would have been nice, and
some more atmospheric illustrations for the adventure would have been better, but bearing in mind
that the fanzine was free what you get is more than sufficient. What was highly disappointing was
finding out that the detailed character sheet included at the back of the magazine did not include
space for skills! This is corrected in issue two and is an excellent character sheet, but finding this
out after printing twenty copies was a little disappointing. All in all, Ordo Draconis issue one is an
excellent fanzine.

Then came issue two. This issue is being charged for (just to cover costs, there’s no profit involved)
and at a whopping 97 pages I’m hardly surprised. With another John Hodgson cover and much
more meat within the pages I delved in with high expectations.

I wasn’t disappointed. There was plenty of material in the fanzine for me to use in my games and,
whilst I found the very good story entertaining but a little redundant as far as game use was
concerned and the PBM game very interesting but of no real use to me, I think I’ll be able to put
each and every one of the articles to use. Although once again there are large clumps of text there
are now more illustrations that fill it out nicely and add a little extra depth to the fanzine.

I was surprised to find that the fanzine was now dual-statted - players of Paizo Publishing’s
‘Pathfinder’ game will find stats for the characters included. The stats take up very little space and
do not intrude on those of us who use and enjoy the Dragon Warriors system and are an excellent
idea as it will draw players of another highly regarded and enjoyed system to the Lands of Legend.
Legend is such an atmospheric and evocative setting that it deserves all kinds of attention and this is
a clever way to draw more players into the world.

Issue two, although similar in layout to issue one, is a whole new magazine. The articles are much
longer and have much more detail in both the writing and the additional rules and statistics. This
especially shows in the detailed look at the Darbon Barony, the Eastmarch article, the ‘Codex
Cryptozoologica’ and the new adventure. The additonal details give you plenty of material and
that’s what you want from a gaming fanzine – stuff you can use in your own games. Issue two has
this information in abundance and just these four articles alone are well worth the asking price.

What I like most about issue two (and this can be said of issue one, too) is the fact that all the
people who have worked on it have captured the flavour of Dragon Warriors really well. There are
no high-fantasy influences or sudden changes of atmosphere or design to suit an author’s
interpretation of the game. The articles all share the same pseudo-historical fantasy feeling of the
Dragon Warriors game and this is to be highly commended as this whole thing could have easily
been a cheap fan rag written as an interpretation of the game, with insane extra spells and high-
fantasy creatures and locations. No, the writers have kept the content in line with the Dragon
Warriors design, so much so it could easily be considered part of the official Dragon Warriors
product line. Indeed, Magnum Opus Press are fully supporting the fanzine even though it is not an
official publication. This is what gives Ordo Draconis its strength – the fact that you could easily
believe that this has been designed for the game under the watchful editorial eye of the publishers.

I have no trouble whatsoever recommending Ordo Draconis to not only fans of Dragon Warriors
and Pathfinder but of any fantasy role-playing game. It’s professionally made, well laid out,
cleverly realised and there’s plenty of material to give you plenty of inspiration. What more could
you want from a fanzine?

[Magazine]: Dragon Warriors Ordo Draconis fanzine, reviewed by jontheman (4/5)

Thread starterRPGnet Reviews Start dateMar 17, 2010
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RPGnet Reviews
Registered User
Mar 17, 2010
#1
http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/14/14730.phtml

Jonathan Hicks's Summary:

It’s professionally made, well laid out, cleverly realised and there’s plenty of material to give you
plenty of inspiration. What more could you want from a fanzine?

Go to the full review for more information.

FarsightBlogger
FarsightBlogger
I design games and pretend to be a goddam hero
Validated User
Mar 17, 2010
#2
As there are no links included in the review, here are links to the product so that you can have a
look at what I'm talking about.

Ordo Draconis homepage http://draconismag.com

Previews of OD 2 http://dragonwarriors.wetpaint.com/page/Northern+Cornumbria

Buy Ordo Draconis 2 on the DTRPG website http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product_info.php?

products_id=79261&src=REV_2_1

The Magnum Opus Press (publishers of DW) website http://www.magnumopuspress.com

Mirkady
Registered User
Validated User
Mar 17, 2010
#3
Thanks for the links and the review.
I wonder, if you or anyone else feels able to comment, how does this stack up against the other fan
produced, non-profit charged to cover costs only, game magazine that supported a James Wallis
helmed game (the soon to vanish Warpstone for WFRP)?

EDIT - having checked the links, is the cover of issue 1 a deliberate reference to the cover of White
Dwarf 88? Sorry about the geekiness.
Last edited: Mar 17, 2010
muriwo
Cameron Smith
Mar 17, 2010
#4
Mirkady said:
Thanks for the links and the review.
EDIT - having checked the links, is the cover of issue 1 a deliberate reference to the cover of White
Dwarf 88? Sorry about the geekiness.
Jon Hodgson is the fellow who did the cover for OD1 (and OD2!) so I have asked him to reveal
what his hidden muse was in this case...
Ydars
Ur-Lord and Elf friend
Mar 17, 2010
#5
I can't say how it stacks up objectively, since I wrote a fair bit of OD2 but here are some of our
other reviews;

paizo review

(see bottom of page)

and here EN World

regards

Steve
Jon H
Jon H
dot dot dot
Validated User
Mar 17, 2010
#6
Mirkady said:
EDIT - having checked the links, is the cover of issue 1 a deliberate reference to the cover of White
Dwarf 88? Sorry about the geekiness.
It wasn't a conscious deliberate homage, but I certain owned and admired WD 88, as showing a
female warrior in actual practical armour. The original image was made as a step by step
walkthrough for my book "Fantasy Art for Beginners" (search it out on Amazon.com to save me
being so tasteless as putting an actual link in the post! ;)), and was slightly modified to make her
even more Dragon Warriors-applicable.
Robin Low
Registered User
Validated User
Mar 17, 2010
#7
Mirkady said:
I wonder, if you or anyone else feels able to comment, how does this stack up against the other fan
produced, non-profit charged to cover costs only, game magazine that supported a James Wallis
helmed game (the soon to vanish Warpstone for WFRP)?

It's impossible for me to be objective since I've been involved with Warpstone for many years now,
and I've contributed to the recent Friends and Foes supplement. Also, and rather unhelpfully, I still
haven't read my copies of Ordo Draconis yet...

However, on a superficial look-though of both issues, Ordo Draconis looks very promising, with a
very professional appearance. The proof of the pudding is, of course, in the eating - or reading in
this case.

So, why haven't I read it yet? Simple - I really don't like PDFs.

This isn't to say that I don't have a computer stuffed with free RPG-related PDFs, but I never get
round to printing them and binding them. I prefer to have that done for me. I also prefer to support
real shops whenever possible. Ordo Draconis issue 2 is the first PDF I've ever paid for. At £2.31 it's
very good value, but I'd sooner pay a tenner for a printed copy.

The key point there is that it costs £2.31 - it's really cheap to check it out.

A few of superficial comments:

Love the full-colour covers. Internally, there seems to be a mix of colour art and black and white. I'd
be happy enough just to see black and white - this is a personal preference, but it would also match
the Dragon Warriors format and give some consistency.

I'll add my voice to those saying not to bother with reviews. Warpstone always carried them, but I
was never convinced by their necessity. Reviews that are useful are ones relating to things that are
not directly connected to the game, but which can be looted for ideas: fiction with a similar setting
or flavour, historical books that cover related eras of topics, scenarios for other games that can be
adapted.

I'm never a fan of fiction in magazines, even if it's good.

Other than that, I'm very glad to see it out there and being supported by the game's publisher.

Regards

Robin
Mirkady
Registered User
Validated User
Mar 18, 2010
#8
Thanks for the swift and informative replies all. The Paizo review is helpful in looking at it from the
perspective of someone who might not want to switch to using the DW game world.
I might well take a gander at both John H's book and the magazine, I think. I, personally, am
sufficiently Luddite to agree with Robin Low's view that PDFs don't really do it for me. And thanks
for trying to see it alongside Warpstone. If anything was as good as some of the stuff Robin Low
contributed to that, that'd be a high benchmark indeed.
muriwo
Cameron Smith
Mar 18, 2010
#9
I am one of the editorial team of OD and where I live (Mozambique) it is PDF or nothing. Getting a
print book imported can take 8 weeks and will come out at least 3 times the price - not to mention
dealing with the courier and customs.

However, I believe that most of our readership have an easier time of it, and print copies are
something we are seriously considering. For print on demand they don't come cheap though,
especially a 100-pager like this'un. OD3 which will focus on the nomad khanates looks like it will
weigh in close to that size as well.

Anyway, the best way to make your vote count would be to fill in our feedback survey which you
can get at from http://draconismag.com . It includes some questions about a print edition and we
pay careful attention to all survey results.

Cheers,
Cameron
Ydars
Ur-Lord and Elf friend
Mar 18, 2010
#10
For those of you still teetering on the brink, another review of Ordo Draconis has appeared from a
dedicated Pathfinder player and GM

Stargazer

Can I also just re-state what Cameron just said; if you buy OD2 and want a print version then please
fill out our survey and this will help us to gauge interest in some form of Print on demand version.

Survey

Robin Low
Registered User
Validated User
Mar 19, 2010
#11
Mirkady said:
And thanks for trying to see it alongside Warpstone. If anything was as good as some of the stuff
Robin Low contributed to that, that'd be a high benchmark indeed.
Many thanks. Warpstone may be in its final days, but kind words are always appreciated.

Regards

Robin
muriwo
Cameron Smith
Mar 24, 2010
#12
Robin Low said:
Many thanks. Warpstone may be in its final days, but kind words are always appreciated.
Here is the most up-to-date thread I could find about Warpstone, from the horse's mouth as it were -
it seems to leave open a slight possibility that it might continue in some form. Anyone know more
about this?
Ydars
Ur-Lord and Elf friend
Mar 30, 2010
#13
Ordo Draconis issue 2 has just achieved a significant milestone and made it into the TOP TEN
bestsellers list on DTRPG for March.

Come and see what all the fuss is about

http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/top_100_small_press.php