FROM THE PUBLISHER

Dear friends,

Today, Wizards of the Coast and Paizo Publishing announced the conclusion of Paizo's license to publish Dragon and Dungeon magazines. The magazines will cease publication following the release of the September issues, which ship to subscribers and newsstands in August. The final issues will be Dragon #359 and Dungeon #150.

Wizards of the Coast will be moving the kind of content currently found in Dragon and Dungeon to an online model. Both companies remain on good terms and continue to discuss future opportunities for publishing partnerships.

Today also marks the official announcement of Pathfinder, a new monthly 96-page, perfect-bound, OGL-compatible full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper for use with the world's most popular roleplaying game. Over the last several months, the same editors who bring you Dragon and Dungeon have been developing the next evolution in RPG campaigns, and we hope you'll take some time to look at what we have to offer. Pathfinder will debut in August at hobby retail stores, bookstores, and here on paizo.com, and—though it's a book, not a magazine—we'll be offering a subscription service for gamers eager to add a vorpal edge to their campaigns. In fact, you can subscribe to Pathfinder right now and receive a free bonus Player's Guide to the first Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords.

Speaking of subscriptions, the discontinuation of Dragon and Dungeon will leave many of our valued subscribers with excess subscription credit. Paizo has set up a special Transition Page that offers multiple options to these subscribers.

We're sure many of you have questions about this development, so we've developed a special Frequently Asked Questions page that covers many of the issues you'll wonder about. If you don't see your question listed there, drop by the new Magazine Transition forum on our Customer Service messageboards, which we will be monitoring closely.

If you're concerned about the future of Paizo, you can relax.  We're very excited about Pathfinder, our GameMastery line of RPG modules and accessories, our Titanic Games line of deluxe board games, and Planet Stories, our recently announced line of classic science fiction and fantasy novels. No Paizo staffers have lost their jobs as a result of this development—in fact, we're so enthusiastic about our future that we've recently hired several new employees. However, if you're wondering what you can do to help Paizo succeed in our new ventures, please visit our What Can I Do to Help? page.

Dragon and Dungeon have been the backbone of Paizo Publishing for five years since we spun off from Wizards of the Coast's periodicals department in 2002, and both magazines have been an integral part of the RPG publishing world for decades. Bringing the magazines to you every month has been a true honor, and we in the Paizo family look forward to the continuing honor of serving your gaming needs for years and years to come.

Sincerely,



Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC
April 19, 2007

This news just plain sucks.  To add to the suckiness of today, I also found out on this EN World thread that Tom Moldvay has just passed away:

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=193922

:-(

Olaf the Stout

April 19, 2007 (BELLEVUE, Wash.) – Paizo Publishing and Wizards of the Coast today announced the conclusion of Paizo’s license to produce DRAGON and DUNGEON magazines effective September 2007. Publication of DRAGON and DUNGEON will cease with issues number 359 and 150, respectively.

“Today the internet is where people go to get this kind of information,” said Scott Rouse, Senior Brand Manager of Dungeons & Dragons®, Wizards of the Coast. “By moving to an online model we are using a delivery system that broadens our reach to fans around the world. Paizo has been a great partner to us over the last several years. We wish them well on their future endeavors.”

"We at Paizo are very proud of the work we’ve put into DRAGON and DUNGEON during the past five years," says Erik Mona, Paizo's Publisher and Editor in Chief of DRAGON. "While we'll all miss working on these venerable magazines, our talented editorial and art staff as well as our phenomenal team of freelance contributors will continue to produce high-quality, exciting, new OGL releases that are aimed at supporting our existing customers and beyond. We look forward to sharing useful and provocative new products that support our favorite hobby."

Subscribers should visit paizo.com/transition to learn more about the future of their subscriptions. Multiple options will be available for customers whose subscriptions extend beyond the final issues of the magazines. The final issues will be DRAGON #359 and DUNGEON #150—both of which will contain special content commemorating the history of these incredible magazines. The Savage Tide Adventure Path will conclude as planned in DUNGEON #150.

Paizo will continue to publish its popular GameMastery line of RPG accessories, including a new line of monthly OGL adventure modules beginning in June with Nicolas Logue's Crown of the Kobold King.

Paizo Publishing spun off from Wizards of the Coast's periodicals department in 2002. In its five years as publisher of DRAGON and DUNGEON, Paizo introduced popular features such as The Shackled City, Age of Worms, and Savage Tide Adventure Paths, the Demonomicon of Iggwilv, Core Beliefs, and Critical Threats. Paizo published three official DUNGEONS & DRAGONS hardcover books—The Shackled City Adventure Path, The DRAGON Compendium, and The Art of DRAGON Magazine. In five years of publishing DRAGON and DUNGEON, Paizo received twelve Gen Con EN World RPG Awards (ENnies) and the 2004 Origins Award for Best Gaming Related Periodical.

ABOUT WIZARDS OF THE COAST

Wizards of the Coast, Inc., a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE:HAS), is a worldwide leader in the trading card game and tabletop roleplaying game categories, and a leading developer and publisher of game-based entertainment products. The company holds an exclusive patent on trading card games (TCGs) and their method of play and produces the premier trading card game, MAGIC: THE GATHERING®, among many other trading card games and family card and board games. Wizards is also a leading publisher of roleplaying games, such as DUNGEONS & DRAGONS®, and publisher of fantasy series fiction with numerous New York Times bestsellers. For more information, visit the Wizards of the Coast Web site at www.wizards.com.

ABOUT PAIZO PUBLISHING

Paizo Publishing®, LLC is a leading publisher of fantasy roleplaying games, accessories, and board games. Paizo's GameMastery line offers game masters fun and useful tools to improve their fantasy roleplaying experience. Titanic Games, Paizo's board game division, unites the greatest game designers to create compelling, challenging games like Kill Doctor Lucky and Stonehenge, the world's first Anthology Board Game™. Paizo.com is the leading online hobby retail store, offering tens of thousands of products from a variety of publishers to customers all over the world. In the five years since it's founding, Paizo Publishing has received more than a dozen major awards and has grown to become one of the most influential companies in the hobby games industry.

Paizo Publishing, LLC and the Paizo “golem” logo are registered trademarks of Paizo Publishing, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Wizards of the Coast, Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering are trademarks of Wizards of the Coast in the U.S.A. and other countries. © 2007 Wizards.

I may be wrong, because my memory is far from sharp, but didn’t a couple of years ago a WoTC survey asks if you would pay for an online service similar to what is being discussed know? That and I think they even discussed different amounts that we would be willing to pay.

Again I cannot be certain all of this is a true memory but it seems I filled out a survey like this. To be honest I picked up Dragon and Dungeon for there art more then anything else. If the on-line venue doesn’t have great color art then I will not deal with it. I will give it a chance but I must say I am doubtful it can be as great a package as Dragon and Dungeon magazine was. Here is hoping I’m wrong.

Thanks Paizo for a great run

I remember starting my Dungeon subscription at #23...sad that they're stopping...Haven't bought a Dragon since about #228 but still not cool that it's gone as of September...

I (like a lot of others here) have been playing D&D in one incarnation or another since OD&D...the changes that first TSR and now WOTC have made have often disgusted/annoyed me...the game that I spent so much time playing as a youth (and now as an adult) feels so different...the changes seem to have fostered a powergamer-type mindset in most players and DM's...a far cry from the "I wonder what's in that cave" approach that made the game so much fun...

My fear is that WOTC will shift more and more of their publications to online. Yes, the material will probably still be good, but there's no replacing a hardcopy that you can leaf through anywhere, anytime. I'm not sure how others feel but I find it easier and more enjoyable to read gaming material that I can hold in my hands - rather than on a monitor or laptop screen...

I have not checked it out I’m afraid but will. I can’t access it from this offshore drilling rig so I will have to wait until Wednesday before I can. You have peeked my curiosity and wish I could check it out sooner but I guess Wednesday will have to do.