The Basics
Why has this decision been made?
Paizo Publishing's license with Wizards of the Coast ends this fall. Wizards of the Coast has chosen not to renew this license in order to move this type of content onto its own website. In an effort to continue to deliver the value and quality content that current subscribers of both Dungeon and Dragon have come to expect, both companies reached a mutual agreement to extend the license through September when the Savage Tide Adventure Path naturally concludes.
What are the final issues of Dungeon and Dragon?
The final printed issue of Dungeon will be #150, the September cover-date issue that ships to subscribers in late July and hits newsstands in August. The last printed issue of Dragon will be #359, the September cover-date issue that ships to subscribers and hits newsstands in August.
Will the final issues of the magazines include any special content?
Most definitely! With more than 50 years of history between them, we couldn't let these fantastic magazines go out without a bang. Both will be special oversized issues. Dragon will feature two commemorative posters and a cover by Larry Elmore, and Dungeon's gatefold cover will feature all 11 Paizo "iconics" in a scene painted by Wayne Reynolds. Dungeon #150 will also include a complete index of all adventures ever published in the magazine. Dragon #359 will include a special feature exploring the greatest "unsolved mysteries" of D&D, we'll enjoy another installment of the Demonomicon, and no doubt some of our faithful contributors throughout the years will want to include some special memories for the historic final issues of these venerable magazines. Keep your eyes on paizo.com for announcements of additional special content.
What affect does this development have on the Savage Tide Adventure Path?
Absolutely none. The Savage Tide will end as planned with Dungeon #150. The final "Savage Tidings" will appear as scheduled in Dragon #359.
How can I get the remaining issues of Dragon and Dungeon?
The remaining issues of Dragon and Dungeon will appear as scheduled at your local game store or quality newsstand. This development should not affect the magazine's distribution through the final issues.
Subscriptions will be fulfilled as normal.
You may sign up for a new month-to-month subscription at any time by visiting paizo.com. We will no longer be offering 1-year subscriptions as of April 19, 2007. Any renewals postdated before April 19, 2007 will be honored. Back issues will also be sold at paizo.com while supplies last.
What does this development mean for the prospect of future collaborations between Wizards of the Coast and Paizo, such as a hardcover compilation of the Age of Worms Adventure Path, more volumes in the Dragon Compendium series, etc.?
Both companies remain on good terms and are discussing opportunities for future collaborations.
Where can I get D&D content after Dragon and Dungeon stop publishing?
While we cannot speak on behalf of Wizards of the Coast, it is our understanding that Wizards will continue to find new ways to engage the worldwide community of D&D players with compelling content and information.
Whom should I contact at Wizards of the Coast to ask questions related to this development?
Consumer questions should be directed at Wizards of the Coast Customer Service (custserv@wizards.com).
Press inquiries should be directed to Caitlin Roulston (caitlin.roulston@wizards.com).
Whom should I contact at Paizo to ask questions related to this development?
Please review the Transition Q&A thread in the special Dragon/Dungeon Transition forum on Paizo's Customer Service messageboards. Many common questions will be answered there.
If your question is not answered in the thread, you can send it to Paizo's Customer Service department (customer.service@paizo.com). We expect a high volume of questions related to this development, so please be patient. We will get back to you soon.
Members of the media with questions about the magazines should contact Paizo's Marketing Director, Joshua J. Frost (josh@paizo.com).
Authors with questions about pending queries or submissions should check each magazine's messageboard on paizo.com for updates before contacting an editor.
Subscriptions
How will this decision affect my remaining subscription issues after Dragon and Dungeon cease publication?
Paizo Publishing is providing several options for current subscribers whose subscription is scheduled to end after September 2006. Please visit paizo.com/transition for specifics. The final two issues of each magazine will contain a special "Publisher's Statement" opposite the editorial that will explain how readers can redeem their remaining post-September subscription credit.
What is the current status of my subscription?
If you are logged into your Paizo account, paizo.com/transition provides a snapshot of your post-September subscription credit and a summary of options for how you would prefer to be reimbursed. You can also check the status of your subscriptions at any time by clicking "My Account" on the top navigation bar from any page within paizo.com.
I am a European reader with a subscription through The Place for Games. What happens to my outstanding subscription credit after the September issues have shipped?
The Place for Games will serve out the remaining issues of your subscription as planned and will issue a cheque for remaining credit shortly thereafter.
Back Issues
Will I still be able to order back issues of Dragon and/or Dungeon?
Paizo Publishing will continue to sell back issues of both publications as long as they are available. Subscribers may also elect to receive certain back issues in exchange for post-September issues remaining on their subscriptions (see paizo.com/transition for details). For a general list of available back issues, please visit the Dragon and Dungeon pages of paizo.com.
Submissions
What is the status of submissions or queries currently under review by the Dragon and Dungeon staffs?
Wizards of the Coast has told us that they're currently evaluating how best to handle pending queries and submissions. We will make an announcement on each magazine's messageboard when we know more.
Paizo Publishing
How many people will be out of work as a result of this decision?
No one has been let go as a result of this development. In fact, we've recently hired three new employees and look forward to a successful future. Paizo Publishing will continue to expand our popular GameMastery line of RPG accessories, including a new line of monthly OGL adventure modules and a new 96-page monthly Adventure Path series called Pathfinder. We also recently announced Planet Stories, a line of classic fantasy and science fiction novels, and will continue to release deluxe boardgames and expansions in our Titanic Games line. Staff currently working on Dragon and Dungeon magazines will be reassigned to other duties in the company.
What can I do to support Paizo Publishing at this time?
First of all, thanks for being willing to help out. Here are some things you can do:
- Please try out our new product lines, including Pathfinder, GameMastery Modules, Planet Stories novels, and board games from our Titanic Games imprint.
- If you patronize a local hobby game store, continue to buy Paizo products from that store.
- If that store doesn't carry all of our products, get the staff excited about our product lines. Since Dragon and Dungeon are going away, encourage the store manager to replace them in his or her store with Pathfinder and GameMastery Modules. Encourage your retailer to set up in-store subscriptions for Pathfinder.
- If you don't have a local hobby store, please consider buying your gaming products from paizo.com.
- Consider buying Dragon and Dungeon back issues that you may have missed.
- If you have issues remaining on your Dragon or Dungeon subscription beyond the final issue, please choose to convert them to Pathfinder.
- Finally, tell your friends and fellow gamers about paizo.com and the Paizo products that you like.
Thanks again for your support of Paizo Publishing and paizo.com!
Pathfinder
What is Pathfinder?
Pathfinder is a 96-page, perfect-bound, full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper that releases in monthly volumes. Each volume contains an in-depth Adventure Path scenario, stats for about a half-dozen new monsters, and several support articles meant to give Game Masters additional material to expand their campaign. Because Pathfinder uses the Open Game License, it is 100% compatible with the world's most popular roleplaying game. We currently plan to release Adventure Paths in six-volume arcs, meaning each year of Pathfinder will include two complete Adventure Paths. The first Pathfinder Adventure Path, Rise of the Runelords, will comprise the first six volumes of Pathfinder. A new Adventure Path will begin in Pathfinder #7.
How is a Pathfinder Adventure Path different from a Dungeon Adventure Path?
Pathfinder Adventure Paths are completely OGL compliant, and as such are free to draw upon a much larger pool of game material than were the Dungeon Adventure Paths. In addition, the new rules presented in a Pathfinder Adventure Path are themselves open game content. Further, each adventure is much larger than a Dungeon adventure; a Pathfinder Adventure Path installment is designed to level up a party two to three levels, and will generally run to a length of about 50 pages (as opposed to Dungeon magazine's Adventure Paths, which were generally limited to 30 pages). The amount of support material for each installment is much greater—no more truncated city backdrops, for example! Unlike Dungeon's Adventure Paths, a Pathfinder Adventure Path completes its arc in only six months, but since each adventure is longer and comes with at least two support articles, you'll actually end up with more material at the end of those six months than you would after a whole year of Dungeon Adventure Paths. (Looking at the Savage Tide Adventure Path material in Dragon and Dungeon over the course of one year, it clocks in at about 450 pages. The Adventure Path material in Pathfinder in one year will be closer to 1,152 pages. And you'll get two Adventure Paths instead of one.)
What non-adventure material will be included in each installment of Pathfinder?
Every volume of Pathfinder will feature at least two support articles designed to bolster that volume's adventure, but the contents of these support articles can just as well serve any campaign. These support articles might be in-depth explorations of key cities, descriptions of important deities and their worshipers, ecological discussions of key monsters, explorations of the region in which the Adventure Path takes place, details on new magic items and spells, or even rules for how to handle certain types of in-game situations (such as how to maintain a stronghold). Each volume also contains an installment of the Pathfinder's Journal, an ongoing exploration of the world in which these Adventure Paths are set. These journals give you a wealth of inspiring background material you can take and use in your own campaign or to expand on the current Adventure Path. Finally, each Pathfinder will feature a bestiary of a half-dozen or so new monsters. Some of these new monsters will feature in the adventure in that volume, while others might just fit the themes of the adventure—they're provided for you, the Game Master, to expand your game. Many of these monsters will be drawn from real-world myth, legend, and even cryptozoological sources, further adding a sense of tradition and verisimilitude.
What is the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path?
Rise of the Runelords is Pathfinder's first Adventure Path, a complete campaign that will bring your player characters from 1st level to 15th level and possibly beyond. Appearing in the first six volumes of Pathfinder, Rise of the Runelords takes place in the frontier kingdom of Varisia, a realm of rugged steppes, haunted forests, and trackless mountains partially civilized to the south, but wholly wild and the domain of giants and monsters to the north. In this campaign, an ancient warlord from a forgotten age has awakened from a deathless sleep, and draws his cruel giant minions near as he prepares to rebuild his decadent empire. The PCs must uncover this sinister plot and prevent a terrible giant war from bringing ruin to their homeland, but in doing so, will they fall to the sins that brought the ancient empire of the Runelords to ruin?
What campaign setting will you be using for Pathfinder?
Pathfinder Adventure Paths will take place in a new Paizo campaign setting. This setting will involve elements of classic sword and sorcery themes sure to appeal to longtime and brand-new gamers alike. Stay tuned to paizo.com to learn more about this exciting new campaign setting as it develops!
What artists and authors will be working on Rise of the Runelords?
Paizo has slated some of our most popular and devious designers to bring the Rise of the Runelords Adventure Path to life, including James Jacobs, Wolfgang Baur, Nicolas Logue, Richard Pett, Greg Vaughan, and Steve Greer. Wayne Reynolds will provide covers for the entire Adventure Path and will be designing 11 new Paizo "iconic" characters who will appear in illustrations and as pregenerated characters in our GameMastery Modules line.
I see how Pathfinder replaces the Dungeon Adventure Paths, but what about the other adventures in Dungeon, or for that matter the type of content provided in Dragon? How can I still get material like that from Paizo?
The non-adventure material in each volume of Pathfinder will be similar in tone and scope to the sourcebook and rules-style material published in Dragon. For stand-alone adventures, we're producing a line of 32-page GameMastery Modules starting in June, and we have extensive plans for more adventures and more source material in coming months and years.
How can I submit material for publication in Pathfinder?
Pathfinder is going to need monsters, and lots of them, and they're the easiest way to break in to this exciting new publication. If we like your monster, we'll print it in an upcoming Pathfinder Bestiary; it may even end up with a role in that volume's adventure! We're currently discussing other ways to open up Pathfinder so that we'll have room for fan-submitted articles and content; stay tuned to paizo.com/Pathfinder for details and submission guidelines as they become available.
Will Pathfinder feature online supplements?
Absolutely. Each volume of Pathfinder will be available as a PDF, purchasable online at paizo.com. For those who subscribe to Pathfinder, this PDF is free; just head online to paizo.com when the PDF becomes available and it's yours! Additionally, player handouts that appear in Pathfinder will be available online as high-res files you can download and print out to give to your players when the time is right. Furthermore, we'll be creating a daily blog that will, among other topics, feature regular previews, interviews, and other tidbits from the creators of the Adventure Paths; this'll be a great way to find out breaking news about what's coming next for Pathfinder. You can access the Pathfinder blog at paizo.com/Pathfinder.
Where can I get Pathfinder?
Pathfinder will be available at your local game store, bookstores, and online at paizo.com on a monthly basis starting in August. Be sure to ask your retailer about Pathfinder to ensure that they will be stocking it for you. Readers may subscribe to Pathfinder on a month-to-month basis by visiting paizo.com/pathfinder.
How can I subscribe to Pathfinder?
Current Dragon and Dungeon subscribers can exchange their post-September subscription credit for issues of Pathfinder, signing up for an ongoing month-to-month subscription at the same time if they wish. New subscribers should visit paizo.com/pathfinder to set up a month-to-month subscription. New Pathfinder subscriptions are billed at a rate of 30% off the cover price per issue, plus shipping. You must have a valid credit card to subscribe to Pathfinder. Subscribers can cancel at any time.
What advantages are there to subscribing?
Subscribers will receive each monthly volume direct from Paizo, at a shipping rate of their choice, and need never worry about missing a volume. Subscribers will also receive a free PDF of each volume of Pathfinder (a $13.99 value!). If you sign up for a month-to-month subscription before the first volume ships in August, you will also receive a free copy of the Player's Guide to Rise of the Runelords.
How will Pathfinder subscriptions be mailed?
Subscribers may choose their preferred shipping method from a number of options. See paizo.com/transition for more details.
What about international subscriptions?
International subscriptions will be mailed at the subscriber's chosen shipping method from the Paizo office in Seattle at the same time we mail out domestic subscriber issues. A free PDF of the Pathfinder volume will become available to subscribers when we ship the books from our warehouse.
