An introduction to Dragon Warriors
Dragon Warriors is a fantasy role-playing game of adventure, magic, folklore, superstition and horror. The players take on the roles of gallant heroes in a world of fantasy who undertake dangerous missions and adventures, pitting themselves, their wits, their weapons and their magical abilities against any number of foes and challenges. Some do it for money, some for honour, and some for darker, more personal reasons.
The game is set in a world known as Legend, loosely based on Europe after the end of the medieval crusades. Human civilisation has spread across the world, but its links are fragile and are often broken by conflict, invasion, or reasons natural or supernatural. Man has learned something of the art of magic, though spell-casters are widely feared by normal folk. Creatures from folklore and myth roam outside the human communities, or sometimes inside them, spreading fear and ruin. And there are ancient quests and long-dormant discoveries to be unearthed by the brave, and riches and status to be gained. Read more about the game’s setting here.
The Dragon Warriors rules are ideal for beginners or newcomers to roleplaying games, but offer depth and intricacy to old hands. They are designed to be fast-playing without sacrificing detail or immersion. The basic game contains seven adventuring Professions based on heroic archetypes: knights and barbarians stand shoulder to shoulder with sorcerers, mystics, warlocks and elementalists, while assassins skulk in the shadows. There’s more about the game mechanics here.
Dragon Warriors was originally published by Corgi Books between 1985 and 1986, as a series of six regular-sized paperback books by Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson. These have been out of print for more than twenty years and command high prices on the collectors’ market. The world and its heroes lived on in the Bloodsword series of books published by Knight Books in the late 1980s, and then in the Chronicles of the Magi trilogy of novels in 1997. Learn more about the history of Dragon Warriors here.
For the new release of Dragon Warriors the original material from the six Dragon Warriors books of the 1980s has been re-edited and updated by two of the UK’s top RPG writers, Ian Sturrock and Adrian Bott. New covers and artwork have been prepared by Jon Hodgson, Andy Hepworth, Scott Neil, Scott Purdy and Erik Wilson, and new maps by Andy Law. The new material has been overseen and blessed by the original DW authors Dave Morris and Oliver Johnson, and Dave has penned a new introduction to the rulebook, giving his very personal history of Dragon Warriors.
We are certain that this new edition of Dragon Warriors will please the game’s community of fans worldwide, and will introduce a new generation of gamers to its amazing worlds of adventure and excitement.
Magnum Opus Press is co-publishing the new edition of Dragon Warriors with Flaming Cobra, part of Mongoose Publishing. This works well for both companies, letting each play to its strengths: Magnum Opus can spend its energy on creating fantastic books, while leaving the printing, sales and marketing to the expert team at Mongoose who will distribute the game worldwide.