AC1 The Shady Dragon Inn is a 32-page sourcebook for Basic Dungeons & Dragons released in 1983. It consists of pre-generated characters for D&D, and is intended to be used with Frank Mentzer's Basic and Expert rules.
The book includes an outer folder of maps of the titular inn.
Official synopsis[]
The Shady Dragon Inn is a set of pre-generated characters for use with the Dungeons & Dragons game. This player's aid comes in two parts: each character appears first in a section devoted to his or her character class. They appear again in the second section as members of a party. As a DM or as a player, you may use either or both sections; over a hundred characters await you!
Each character has a brief biography that will help you to create backgrounds for PCs or NPCs as needed. Also included is a rough physical description, and a list of items owned by each character.
The Shady Dragon Inn also contains the D&D statistics for those special characters who are presented by figures in the D&D and AD&D toy line, and provides a tavern setting from which players may start adventures or gather party members.
Content[]
The book consists primarily of 118 pre-generated characters for Dungeons & Dragons, intended for use as NPCs or player characters.
These include statistics for 13 characters from the D&D or AD&D toy lines: Mercion, Figgen, Peralay, Elkhorn, Ringlerun, Strongheart, Fox Fingers, Zargash, Zarak, Skylla, Kelek, Raven, and Warduke.
The book also includes maps for the Shady Dragon Inn.
Development and release[]
Development[]
The book was written by Carl Smith. Art was provided by Larry Day and James Holloway.
Release[]
The Shady Dragon Inn was released by TSR in 1983 for $[missing data] US or $[missing data] Canadian.
On January 05, 2016, it was re-released in digital format. It is currently available on DriveThruRPG and Dungeon Masters Guild for $2.99.
Reception and influence[]
Critical reception[]
As of 2023, The Shady Dragon Inn reached the rank of Platinum seller on DriveThruRPG.
Influence on other works[]
Author Carl Smith provided additional detail on the tavern and its staff for an article in Polyhedron #16 (1984).
External links[]
References[]