Michael Witwer. DK, (224p) ISBN: 9780241741597. Role Playing, read 11/11/25, Hardback ★★★★☆

The Book of Dragons

I asked for this from DK as soon as I saw it was available thinking it should be a great mix of the way DK lays out information and a bit of fun for Dungeons and Dragons.

As soon as I unpacked it I realised DK had gone that extra mile once more as the cover had a padded texture reminiscent of the scales of a dragon.

It first gives a breakdown of Tiamat, Bahamut, and Sardior and their offspring, also looking at other Dragon “gods” to place them within their pantheons.

The book then turns into a bestiary of the various dragon types, looking at habitat and behaviour of each of the metallic, chromatic, and gem types first and then looks at various others that are classed as Dragonkind.

Each entry goes into detail of size and shape, almost like a plane recognition guide, it also looks into the relationship the dragon has to the morals of its progenitor.

There was more than enough information to really get a feel of each, giving more information to help with roleplaying each but also just a fun read if all you’re not that interested in the game.

The illustrations are so rich and detailed, doing what DK does best, drawing you into the book to study each detail alongside the well-placed information panels.

And right at the end there is a rogue’s gallery of Legendary Dragons, giving a great read and more than enough information to help you add such a strong foe/friend into your game.

If I’m going to be slightly picky I feel the lack of stat blocks lets the whole product down a bit, wouldn’t have added that much more size to the book and would have made it much more of a player’s supplement rather that a source supplement.

But that aside I really enjoyed this for it’s art and lore, and especially the scaly cover!

Red Dragon