This is Dragon Magazine 114, from October, 1986. The cover is by David Martin and the scantily clad moon worshipper caused quite a stir at the time. I’ve read (though I am not quite sure where at this point, so I can’t confirm it) that the painting was apparently toned down before the magazine was printed. It didn’t help: some folks felt it was too lurid a cover and wrote in to complain. Then folks who objected to the objections weighed in (variations on the theme of “women just don’t like fantasy anyway”), followed by objections to the objections to the objections.  

I dunno. I’m not a fan of cheesecake and chainmail bikinis, but I like this cover rather a lot and I don’t read it as lurid at all? Sure, the lady is only wearing a see-through robe, but her nudity is hardly to focus of the painting. There are plenty of women on other covers that are both more clothed and more sexualized (the covers of 47 and 80 both spring to mind). In fact, the atmosphere of this cover feels very much in line with imagery I associate with pagan and Wiccan esoteric beliefs, which emphasize the power of women. I can’t help but wonder if on an unspoken level, it wasn’t the nudity but the implied paganism that got folks upset in the first place.

Anyway, inside the issue is an excellent reworked treatment for an NPC witch class for D&D, the ecology of the  rhemoraz and an ad for the Dragonbone electronic dice roller. If you’re looking for an idea for a Christmas present for your old pal VintageRPG…