By Eric Boyd and Eytan Bernstein
-Dragons of Faerûn was the last “true” 3e D&D sourcebook. Sure, AGHotR came afterwards, but it’s not so much a sourcebook as it is a timeline. I remember I was pretty excited when this book came out. For whatever reason at the time, I was excited and looking forward to it.
-Overall, I wasn’t too impressed with Dragons of Faerûn. The first couple of pages that dealt with the history of Dragons on Faerûn, different eras of Draconic history, and the roles that Dragons have played in history I liked. I wish that this information had been greatly expanded upon, though. I am a big fan of the Dragon Baronies, the various Dragon settlements that existed before the weaving of the Dracorage Mythal. It would have been really awesome to have gotten a map of the area, along with a list and descriptions of the different individual settlements and nations. I could have done without the 30 or so pages that detail the “True Dragons”. That stuff could have very easily been skipped in the physical book, to be included in a web supplement. I would have preferred things that way.
-I have mixed feeling on the organizations chapters. The ‘Cult of the Dragon’ and ‘Tyranny of the Dragon Queen’ chapters had plenty of good information, but the ‘Cult of the Dragon’ chapter had 11 pages wasted on an adventure, and the ‘Tyranny of the Dragon Queen’ had 13 pages wasted on an adventure. So, that’s 24 wasted pages right there, pages that could have gone to much better use- more could have been written about actual Dragon organizations, or Dragon history. And, although I don’t like that adventures were included in the first place, I would have rather seen them in the back, together, rather than mixed in with those two chapters. They make the information contained in those chapters seem longer and more plentiful than they actually are.
-Most of the monsters, items, spells, and so on, I think were pretty extraneous. A lot of that stuff wasn’t really Forgotten Realms specific, and I don’t think it really needed to have been made up, just to insert into the book. I liked the new Dragons in the back. Again, they’re not particularly Forgotten Realms related, so they didn’t really need to be in there, but I personally like Mercury Dragons, Steel Dragons, and (especially) Mist Dragons, so that stuff was cool.
-The book also had a lot of nice artwork. Dragons are cool. I don’t think there’s anyone who’d argue that. Some of the pictures are pretty awesome. Page 149, with the ghostly Sentinel Wyrm is a cool image. Page 13, with the picture of Aerosclughpalar is a cool image. Page 32, with a picture of Saryndalaghlothtor is a cool image. Page 57, with the Cult of the Dragon Wizards is a cool image.
-What Dragons of Faerûn gets a bunch of points for is the online content that came with it. The ‘expanded’ Roll Call of Dragons is not something that I reference very often, but it’s a pretty useful thing to have, just in case. The Jaezred Chaulssin file that is linked to this book, now that one is both useful and informative.
-Overall, I’d give this sourcebook, out of a possible Five Beholders, Three Beholders and a Chicken.
By the time this book premiered, I got a bit sick of dragons with the Year of the Dragon extravaganza WotC pulled off.
Same here, although now, I want this book (I never did get it...).
And, although I don’t like that adventures were included in the first place, I would have rather seen them in the back, together, rather than mixed in with those two chapters. They make the information contained in those chapters seem longer and more plentiful than they actually are.
Ever since first reading of an NPC, somewhere in the North (Waterdeep?
) who was a steel dragon, I have wanted to see the stats. I think she was a shopkeeper. (I hope she was mentioned prior to this book or I have my reasoning in a knot. 
) But that is one of te reasons I agreed with this:I liked the new Dragons in the back. Again, they’re not particularly Forgotten Realms related, so they didn’t really need to be in there, but I personally like Mercury Dragons, Steel Dragons, and (especially) Mist Dragons, so that stuff was cool.
About this:
The ‘expanded’ Roll Call of Dragons is not something that I reference very often, but it’s a pretty useful thing to have, just in case
This was one of the things that bothered me about the old Realms although I still preferred it. There were too many uber characters for my liking. The number of dragons of renown has always seemed grossly oversized IMO. Since IMO, the much younger dragons would far outnumber the older ones, the numbers shown made me think there would be one under every rock and behind every tree. That is just me though. I liked the original DMG which discouraged the 'Disneyland' setting atmosphere and I think this hit it too hard. But, that is my opinion.
A final thing that gnawed at me is that the book gave me the feeling the setting was going to take a turn toward the ancient barony ideal when it mentioned about the turning of the great cycle (Or however it worded it...) but nothing in the new lore seems to match with this. (Unless you count having a coupe baronies in the southeast but I conside that token rather than campaign direction...) It is like they opened a road for campaign development and then chopped it off./rant
This was one of the things that bothered me about the old Realms although I still preferred it. There were too many uber characters for my liking. The number of dragons of renown has always seemed grossly oversized IMO. Since IMO, the much younger dragons would far outnumber the older ones, the numbers shown made me think there would be one under every rock and behind every tree. That is just me though. I liked the original DMG which discouraged the 'Disneyland' setting atmosphere and I think this hit it too hard. But, that is my opinion.
-Dragons are Dragons. They world is a big place, and Dragons thrive, being on the top of the food chain.
A final thing that gnawed at me is that the book gave me the feeling the setting was going to take a turn toward the ancient barony ideal when it mentioned about the turning of the great cycle (Or however it worded it...) but nothing in the new lore seems to match with this. (Unless you count having a coupe baronies in the southeast but I conside that token rather than campaign direction...) It is like they opened a road for campaign development and then chopped it off./rant
-This isn't the only issue that's happened to...
