Old school DL fan just getting back into the setting again (I come and go in waves with DL) and there are several characters from the novels that I wonder what happened to them.
One of which is Ulin. We know what's up with Linsha (getting a trilogy plus 1 under her belt), but what about Palin's son? What's he up to? I read Rabe's Dawning of a New Age trilogy and I remember him being in it but I don't recall what happened to him from there.
Thinking of other characters now too, where did Porthios end up disappearing to as well?
-X
One of which is Ulin. We know what's up with Linsha (getting a trilogy plus 1 under her belt), but what about Palin's son? What's he up to? I read Rabe's Dawning of a New Age trilogy and I remember him being in it but I don't recall what happened to him from there.
Ulin's story continued in the short story, Attack on the Academy of Sorcery by Margaret Weis, and then the novel Dragon's Bluff by Mary Herbert. Long story short - he doesn't seem to be using sorcery any longer, and he and Sunrise aren't partners. Ulin's shown a real talent for alchemy, however.
Thinking of other characters now too, where did Porthios end up disappearing to as well?
The fate of many of the elven characters is being played out in Thompson and Cook's Elven Exiles trilogy, with the notable exception of Gilthanas, whose story carries on in the Age of Mortals campaign adventure modules Spectre of Sorrows and Price of Courage.
Cheers,
Cam
buh. Ulin got robbed of a potentially awesome story line when the direction of DL changed with war of souls.
Yes, the awesome storyline whereupon he becomes a super dragon mage munchkin. ;)
Cheers,
Cam
Also, what's Valthonis/Paladine up to? Is he hanging out with the elven exiles? I am so fiending for my book order from Amazon.com to come in so I can start power reading this stuff again.
-X
Yes, the awesome storyline whereupon he becomes a super dragon mage munchkin. ;)
As opposed to the awesome storyline whereupon he...well, he hasn't really done much now, has he? ;)
Seriously, man, I don't get why you're so down on dragon mages. Yes, it seems powerful having a sorcerer team up with a dragon. But little more powerful than a Thorn Knight teaming up with a blue dragon, or a White Robe teaming up with a silver. The only difference is that a dragon mage's magic would be boosted by the bond, but how many other ways are there for mages to have their magic boosted? The order secrets of the WoHS PrC seem pretty powerful to me. If one teams up with a dragon, do we call it "munchkin"?
If classes are balanced, and you can have a dragon rider (both in the DLCS and the Draconomicon), then it seems that the solution would be to have a prestige class with high enough requirements that is balanced with one of the dragon rider PrCs. Heroes of Sorcery said that the dragon mage is a one-in-a-million role. I certainly agree that this should be rare. At the same time, the SAGA designers would not have presented the option if they didn't expect people to play it.
I still feel that sorcerers could use some more iconic roles in DL. The Legion Sorcerer is the best role for them in the current age. The Academy Sorcerer is good too, though you have to either have a background at the Academy of Sorcery or tie it to another academy. The Thorn Knight isn't too good of an option since it's an evil archetype. The dragon mage is, IMO, an iconic role for sorcerers that has a good DL feel. The dragon mage is, IMO, a good role for sorcerers that has a great DL feel, though again, keep it limited.
I'm going to agree with Tal on this one. I think Ulin had some great chances for development that were unrealized. I don't necessarily think his current direction is bad, though I do think that fans will always think of him as the dragon mage.
Now I may be in minority here, as I liked the War of Souls and such, but I also really liked the direction DL was in with sorcery and mysticism and the Dragon Overlords. Any theories (outside of money :P) as to why they made the change back to the gods existing?
Because Dragonlance isn't the same without the gods. ;)
I feel that the gods are essential to the Dragonlance setting. That doesn't mean that sorcery and mysticism have to be forgotten. Quite the contrary. I think ambient magic provides an alternative to the gods, which keeps them hopping. Dragonlance's history is tied to the gods, even in the Time of Darkness.
Also, what's Valthonis/Paladine up to? Is he hanging out with the elven exiles? I am so fiending for my book order from Amazon.com to come in so I can start power reading this stuff again.
He's wandering the world with a group of followers.
I was thinking of going the road of shortly before the Chaos War, going into the Age of Mortals as their characters continue going. Maybe have their characters retire and have them play the new generation, as it were, and have their old PCs become NPCs and so on until the War of Souls and the return of the Gods.
As a side note, where is the Dragon Mage class you're talking about? Or are you simply referencing Ulin's connecting to his dragon friend?
@Cam
I read the Attack on the Academy of Sorcery story last night (I love Amazon.com's online book viewer). So that's how Palin got nabbed and why Ulin was all guilty about it. Also, I love how dark Palin got through the series after the Chaos War. Uncle Raist would be proud of that boy.
-X
The reason why I am asking these questions is because I have a game beginning soon that I am running and I'm trying to figure out what I want to do for it as far as time period. Dragonlance is awesome for having very distinct time periods, be it the War of the Lance, the Blue Lady's War, the Chaos War, etc etc. ad nauseum. It's pretty awesome in fact.
Dragonlance is like Star Wars that way where it is a "setting of settings," as I call it. Several subsettings all packed into one.
As a side note, where is the Dragon Mage class you're talking about? Or are you simply referencing Ulin's connecting to his dragon friend?
There is no official dragon mage PrC in 3rd edition. Heroes of Sorcery, a SAGA product, had a dragon mage role, though do note that it is a one-in-a-million role.
That being said, there's some good dragon mage prestige classes on the Nexus (see link in my sig).
I read the Attack on the Academy of Sorcery story last night (I love Amazon.com's online book viewer). So that's how Palin got nabbed and why Ulin was all guilty about it. Also, I love how dark Palin got through the series after the Chaos War. Uncle Raist would be proud of that boy.
I liked the Academy story myself. I think Ulin has some potential, even from that. You might want to check out Dragon's Bluff, which features Lucy moreso, but also Ulin. And please don't let my ribbing above dissuade you from reading about Ulin. He's a cool character no matter what. I would have personally liked to see his dragon mage side developed, but that is not the way the book department took him. That's just my opinion, though.
You can find out more on Ulin through his Lexicon entry.
Seriously, man, I don't get why you're so down on dragon mages.
I think I'm probably less down on dragon mages than I am the hype that often gets associated with them. ;)
Cheers,
Cam