Dragon Magazine, in its printed form, spanned 359 issues from 1976 to 2007. Because of legal issues around reprinting comic strips that ran in the magazine, the IP holders can't simply sell pdfs of past issues. Fans of the magazine have to track down copies on the secondhand market, or resort to piracy. There's a *lot* of cool history buried within its pages.

So what's this jam?

1. Go to this fan-made index of every magic item published in Dragon: https://www.aeolia.net/dragondex/magic-items.html
2. Pick an item name that strikes your fancy, sounds a little peculiar, or is in some way ripe for reimagining. There's over 2600 of them, written by freelancers and fans over 31 years. Or use this random generator to pick an item: https://perchance.org/reimagine-dragon
3. Write a new description of what the item does. This can be for any system, or system-neutral. Even if you have access to old issues of Dragon, don't look up the original item description before writing the new one.
4. Repeat as many times as you wish.
5. Submit!

An example:
Magic Face Paint: Badger Protector
This is worn by druids who oppose the barbaric hunting practices of the nobility. All burrowing mammals within 6 miles of you are aware of your existence, believe you to be friendly, and can telepathically call for your aid.

Please be kind to each other. Item "balance" or lack thereof is less important than just having fun. Please avoid item descriptions that endorse racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc. Do note that some of the items printed over the years, e.g. the ring of gender confusion, are best left in the past unless you *really* know what you're doing.

This jam is open for two weeks. To avoid overlap, it starts after the #CureLightWoundsJam finishes. Feel free to use the hashtag #ReimagineDragonJam or tag me on twitter @wereoctopus :-)

Q. Can I reimagine spells or monsters instead?
A. Sure!

Q. Can I do an item name that's from the core rulebooks instead of Dragon?
A. Sure! I think the fun of this jam is taking the names of unfamiliar items and reimagining what they do. But if you're not familiar with the magic items from the core rulebooks, or think you can compartmentalise that knowledge, then go for it!

Q. Can I use item names that mention D&D IP, like the "Ring of Lolth"?
A. I am not an IP lawyer. Don't blame me if you get a cease & desist letter from WotC. dmsguild.com is a decent way to publish such items without that risk, or you could call it the "Ring of the Spider Queen" or something.

Q. If I stat the items for a particular edition, do I have to include the Open Game License (OGL)?
A. See above. If you need any help changing the text of the OGL to suit your release, I (and perhaps other people submitting) am happy to help you.

Q. I don't want to write something system-neutral, but this copyright nonsense is too hard/scary. What are some games with more lenient copyright terms?
A. Dungeon World, Troika, Knave, Tunnel Goons, etc.

This gamejam is not created, maintained, commissioned, authorized or connected in any way with Dragon Magazine, Wizards of the Coast, Inc., Paizo Publishing, or any other company. Dragon is a trademark of Wizards of the Coast, Inc. All trademarked names, titles, and product identity appearing above are the property of their respective owners.