After a long period of not playing D&D due to a lack of a group, I finally managed to join a campaign. It is set in Dragonlance. The problem is that I know nothing about Dragonlance, so could someone give me some kind of general overview of what the world is about.
So far I have participated in 5 gaming sessions. The situation is such that my entire group is evil and we are soldiers of an army of Takhitis (sp?), who I seems to be an evil god. Our army has just routed (during the first session) an army of good and pillaged an important good city. Since then we have been given various assassination missions and harrasment of retreating troops missions by our superior commander.
The DM had no problem with me having no knowledge of Dragonlance. This is because the campaign is very combat oriented with emphasis on fighting rather than other types of interaction. I tend to prefer a more RP oriented campaign, but after years of forced abstinence from D&D I will settle for this too. Still, it would be nice to at least have some background as to what this world is about, so that I know what is happening. Thanks!
The World is Krynn. The continent Ansalon.
There are 3 Main gods. Paladine(Good), Takhisis(Evil), and Gilean(Neutral). One of the most important themes in the entire series is balance. Good balances evil with Neutral in the center. Too much good is bad, too much evil is bad. there are many other gods, some of the most important being Mishakal(Healer), and the three gods of Magic who all take on the shape of a moon.
The main race of Ansalon are the humans. There are many groups of humans and many human groups. Main human groups are the Knights of Solomnia - good knights, Knights of Takhisis - Bad knights,and Wizards of High Sorcery - all wizard on ansalon must be WoHS. The WoHS get extra power from the three moons of magic.
There are three main Elven races. Silvanesti - snooty, arrogant, bastards. Qualinesti - Nicer but still snooty arrogant bastards. Kagonesti - Wild Elves.
Dwarves - There are Hill dwarves and Mountain dwarves.
There ar eother races, the Minotaurs, the gnomes, the kender but this is a quick overview, if you need some more info about any little thing ask.
So hundreds of years ago good ruled the land. Powerful clerics existed. Dragons hadn't been seen in centuries (they were banished by the Knight Huma) and the Kingpriest of Istar ruled it all. But with so much good the balance was ruined. The Kingpriest in his arrogance called to the gods and demanded their power. Angrily the gods tossed a mountain on him and vanished.
The next few hundred years are a time of strife. the gods have abandoned mortals. The world has been torn apart by the Cataclysm and it becomes a struggle to survive. And while the good gods are gone the evil gods begin slipping back into the world. the evil dragons rouse and shake off their centuries long slumber. The dark Knights of Takhisis are roused to fight for their Dark Queen, Takhisis' plans to rule Ansalaon and enter the world are coming to fruition. But a group of heroes appear bearing knowledge of the true gods. they bring worship back tot he world and fight the dark queen beating her down.
From your description that seems like the point that you've reached. It is after the "War of the Lance". The Evil dragons and good dragons have both been roused. The knights of Takhisis still exist but with their Queen defeated they're somewhat in decline. They may be on the upswing cause they do that, but like i said I do not know exactly when your campaign take splace.
I missed alot. I missed os much of the flavor. But this is a primer, I might come backl and give a better description later.
The Gods of Light
Paladine - King of the Gods, Deity of Goodness
Mishakal - Lady of Healing
Majere - God of Wisdom
Branchala - the Bard King
Habbakuk - Nature Dude
Kiri-Jolith - Deity of Valor and Courage
Solinari - the White Moon of Magic
The Gods of Darkness
Takhisis - The Dark Queen
Chemosh - Lord of Undead
Morgion - Lord of Plagues
Hiddukel - Lord of Lies
Sargonnas - Minotaur God. Evil warfare
Zeboim - Angry Sea Queen
Nuitari - The Black Moon of Magic
The Gods of Twilight
Gilean - God of Knowledge
Reorx - The World Forger. Dwarf Father
Shinare - Goddess of Commerce
Sirrion - Lord of Flame
Zivilyn - Seer of all
Chislev - Woodland lady
Lunitari - Red Moon of Magic
Dragons are definitely present, as we have witnessed a battle in the background of a group of red dragons fighting a group of gold dragons. This means that these dragons must be quite abundant and aligned with good or evil.
Knights of Solamnia definitely exist at this point in time, as we have had some unpleasant encounters with them. ;)
As to the region of Ansalon (thanks for the name of the continent) that we are in, I have no clue. I merely know that we are based next to a major city that has just been pillaged by our army in what appears to have been a massive victory for the forces of evil.
Could you elaborate a little on the Wizards of High Sorcery? This is of particular interest to me, since I play a wizard and the DM has told me that my character will have to take some kind of test related to some towers. Is there a connection between this and the Wizards of High Sorcery? Thanks again.
Humans - Humans are humans
Elves -
Kagonesti - Wilder Elves. live ont he iland of Southern Ergoth. Are being subjugated and enslaved by their "civilized" brethren.
Silvanesti - Cold, xenophobic, aloof, High elves that live in the woods of Silvanost
Qualinesti - Slightly more tolerant but still very arrogant, Wood elves that live that live in the woods of Qualinost
Gnomes
The Gnomes are completely mad. They are tinkers who live in a dormant volcano called Mt. nevermind. They speak at a million miles an hour. Make machines of catastrophic and utterly explosive proportions and are overall completely insane.
Kender
Kender are the Childrne of Krynn. They ar ehyperactive, extremely childish, curious, playful, and annoying. They find everything amazing. They are completely eclectic and have little use for personal belongings. They "handle" everything in sight, borrowing it with the full attention o returning it but never getting around to returning items. If you catch a kender with your bag then he'll politely tell you that you shouldn't leave it behind and you were lucky he picked it up for you. They are very very good.
Dwarves
Mountain Dwarves - Live in the mountain of Thorbardin. Somewhat Xenophobic, have "some" interactionw ith outside world.
Hill Dwarves - live in the hills. Are much more accepting of other races and cultures.
Minotaurs
Live on islands on the Blood Sea. Militaristic, brave, seafaring, war-like, the minotaurs have only one wish, conquering. They worship Sargonnas and are very not nice. ((Some good Minotaurs live in a different area and worship Kiri-Jolith))
Draconians
Creatures created by the perversion of eggs of the metallic dragons, Draconians were made as the hsock force of the Dark Queens armies. There are five types and all are deadly. Despite what people believe, Draconians are extremely cunning even moreso than their commanders at times. At this point the vast majority of all Draconians are merely evil cannon fodder for the dragonarmies.
Dragons
Metallic - Five good dragon races. Help the Knights of SOlomnia.
Chromatic - Five evil Dragon races. Help the Knights of Takhisis.
Yay, a fellow Mage of the Order, I will explain them first of all in my next installment....
Organizations of Krynn
The Wizards of High Sorcery - The Wizards of High Sorceyr are an ancient and powerful group. Given the task of governing the use of magic by the three gods of magic, the WoHS are the only groups of Wizards that are allowed to work on Ansalon. Any other arcane casting class is either disallowe dor hunted down. Wizards who refuse to join the Order are hunted down as renegades. The WoHS rule magic with an iron fist. ((That does change however, in fact in the present they're just barely clinging to life)).
There are three Orders of magic. The Wizards of the White Robes who use their magic for good and worship Solinari. The Wizrds of the Red Robes who honor Neutrality and worship Lunitari, and the Wizards of the Black Robes who honor evil and the dark god Nuitari. Each Order gains a certain amount of power fromt he moon corresponding with their alignment gaining great magical strength when their moon is in High Sanction. ((Note; Only the Black robes can see the Black Moon, Nuitari, many other low-level wizards and most of the common people do not even know of the third moon.))
The Wizards once had five majestic Towers. Two towers remain. One, The Tower of Wayreth, is the home to the Conclave. It is here where the Mages of Krynn go to speak with each other. The Tower is the main power base of the Wizards of High Sorcery. The three Orders reside here and it is here where the Wizards are called together when the massive COnclaves are called. All of the mages of Ansalon must go attend a Conclave or at least send a satisfactory excuse. The Tower is protected by a forest that cosntantly moves, never appearing in the same place. It is said that only the Master of the Tower may allow one passage into the mystical forest of Wayreth and the Tower that it hides. The second Tower is located in Palanthus. It is cursed and surrounded by a forest of evil and fear. It is said that only the Master of Past and Present can open the gates to the dread tower.
the Test of High Sorcery is a sacred induction into the Orders. One must prove himself worth of the magic, and in order to prove oneself every applicant to joining the WoHS must oass the Test. The test is a gruelign challenege different for everyone. Failure means death. Success sometimes makes one wish he had not survived. In order to take the Test the Wizard must come to the Tower of Wayreth when the COnclave calls. Remember, forfeiting the Test means being hunted for the rest of your life.
--there, I'll edit in the other Organizations later.
Originally posted by L33t Angel
You are probably playing, DURING th War of the Lance. If that's true than you're gonna lose. Sorry, bro.:D
Oh well, we will try to prevail in our true evil spirit.
I should mention that the same DM actually runs two groups - one good group and one evil group. He had space available in the evil one, so that's the one I joined. I am guessing our these two groups will interact at some point in the future, which should be interesting.
Great descriptions - my understanding of the world is now getting to the level where I have at least the basic idea of what is happening and what it is all about.
Originally posted by Roman
The DM had no problem with me having no knowledge of Dragonlance. This is because the campaign is very combat oriented with emphasis on fighting rather than other types of interaction. I tend to prefer a more RP oriented campaign, but after years of forced abstinence from D&D I will settle for this too.
Dragonlance is very story-driven. While your particular DM is focusing on combat, I think most DL games focus on story, and role-playing. If you're really into RP, then you'll really dig Dragonlance.
Dragonlance is best described as a "romantic fantasy setting". It's a world of knights, and wizards, and dragons.
My recommendation is to read the Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. I think the series rates up with the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
There's several resources on Dragonlance.com as well, so be sure to check those out. Feel free to ask questions on these boards at any time. We'll be happy to answer them.
Oh, and Roman - welcome aboard.
While the book is primarily set in the present world timeline, which is roughly 70yrs after the War of The Lance which your game seems to be set in it should more then adequately answer any questions you may have.
It also has an extremely thorough timeline covering all of the history of Krynn.
If your interested in reading novels then you may wish to check out the DragonLance Chronicles trilogy, and the Legends trilogy.
Both trilogies are extremely good novels, and should give you an excellent idea of the world of Krynn as it existed during the War of The Lance.
Naturally my opinion on the novels is biased given that I'm a fan of DragonLance, but even so they are generally highly regarded by most fans of fantasy novels and Weis & Hickman are certain very prolific authors.
Yes, I am more into the story aspects of RPGs rather than the combat parts, but even combat is better than nothing. :D
There is always the possibility that the story will get more solid as the campaign progresses, but I am somewhat sceptical of that. If that were the case I am sure I would have been informed about the background for the world to a much greater degree by the DM. Nonetheless, as I said, the campaign is still enjoyable...
Originally posted by RandPC
Might I suggest purchasing the DragonLance Campaign Setting?
The DM already has the DragonLance Campaign Setting and I will base my decision on whether to obtain it on the basis of how lasting the campaign proves to be. We have had several close calls already and if our characters all die there is no guarantee that the DM will restart in the same Campaign World, as he supposedly also likes other campaign settings such as Ravenloft or Dark Sun.
Thanks for the suggestions on the novels. I will consider them.
Originally posted by Roman
There is always the possibility that the story will get more solid as the campaign progresses, but I am somewhat sceptical of that.
I feel your pain, I'm a DM whose present group is a little more combat oriented then I prefer.
Luckily given that I'm the DM I'm able to implement a bit more story then my gamers are generally accustomed to.
Originally posted by Roman
The DM already has the DragonLance Campaign Setting and I will base my decision on whether to obtain it on the basis of how lasting the campaign proves to be. We have had several close calls already and if our characters all die there is no guarantee that the DM will restart in the same Campaign World, as he supposedly also likes other campaign settings such as Ravenloft or Dark Sun.
Thanks for the suggestions on the novels. I will consider them.
I sincerely hope the campaign lasts then, as it's always nice to see new people introduced to DragonLance.
As a matter of curiosity, what settings have you been exposed to previously?
Centuries ago during the conflict known as the third ((??))dragonwar the Dark Queen loosed her minions upon the earth and there was much carnage. A brave knight Huma, his Silver Dragon love Heart, the Mage Magius, and the minotaur Kaz all fought to defeat the Queen and in the end Huma and Heart sacrificed themselves to banish evil from the world. Takhisis was blocked form affecting the world and her dragons were sucked into the depths. The dragons of good were told to leave the mainland and allow the mortal races to guide themselves.
Centuries pass and the Kingpriest makes his vile proclamation. The gods hurl down the fiery mountain upon the city of Istar and ravage the continent. The city is immediately transported to the bottom of the Blood Sea and the central Temple of Istar is transported into the Dark Plane of the Abyss. With the coming of the cataclysm, Takhisis' bindings loosened. Taking the Temple she used its cornerstone to work foul magics. Planting the stone in the dark valley of Nereka, Takhisis planned to let it grow into a massive Temple to her majesty. Unbeknowst to her, a human named Berem stole one of the gems of the cornerstone, weakening its enchantment. Fleeing with the gem embedded in his chest, berem discovered that he had gained immortality and wandered the earth alone and miserable.
At this time the Queen was also rousing her evil dragons, singing to them to come out of their eternal slumber. The dragons awoke and asked their Queen what her bidding was. Takhisis commanded her servants to hunt out the eggs of the Metallic dragons from the Dragon Isles and bring them to her. Havign absconded with the eggs the Dark Queen forced the Metallics to make a horrible pact. To ensure their non-interference she held their eggs, their chance for another generation, hostage. The dragons could do nothing but agree to the terms.
Meanwhile the Cornerstone of the Temple of Nereka had attracted the attention of evil creatures and humans. Takhisis commanded her servants, under the command of the Dragon Highlord Ariakas, to form a Knighthood capable of conquering all of Ansalon. These knights of Takhsis were born into battle on dragonback and aided by the terrible creatures spawned from the eggs of the Metallic dragons, the draconians.
As all this is going on, the rest of the world slumbers absent-mindedly, completely ignorant of the horrible threat that will soon sweep over them. That is, until the strikes occur. The Dragon Highlords wage campaigns of terror all over the continent, decimating the unprepared Knights of Solomnia. It seems that all is lost for the forces of good.
But lo, the good dragons learn of the treachery of the Dark Queen and come to the worlds aide. At the same time a weapon of ultimate good is reforged, a weapon capable of slaying the mightiest of dragons. This weapon is wielded into battle by the know dragon-born forces of Goodness under the command of their Golden General. With the power of the Dragonlance the forces of good once again have a fighting chance.
And through it all Takhisis watches and waits, waiting for the time when she will have the power to enter the world and rule with her mighty fist!
------
And there we go. Should tell you most o what you need to know about the War of the Lance. Tried not to spoil the end, tried not to reveal all of the main players, just brought you up to date with the approximate time that you are currently playing in.
Originally posted by RandPC
I feel your pain, I'm a DM whose present group is a little more combat oriented then I prefer.
Luckily given that I'm the DM I'm able to implement a bit more story then my gamers are generally accustomed to.
Oh yes, I know that feeling too.
I used to be a DM in 2E and have sometimes experienced similar feelings among my players. If I were not completely new to playing 3E (this is my first time playing 3E/3.5E) I would probably DM for a group myself, but I think it is best to first get a feeling for the rules through playing, especially considering the prolonged time I have not gamed.In any case, I hope you enjoy your venture into the DL world. And i hope i haven't overstmulated anyone, other than myself.
God I'me exhausted.:D
Originally posted by RandPC
I sincerely hope the campaign lasts then, as it's always nice to see new people introduced to DragonLance.
As a matter of curiosity, what settings have you been exposed to previously?
Yes, from the information you people give me DragonLance appears to be a great setting.
I have been exposed to Ravenloft, Dark Sun and Forgotten Realms. Most of the time, though, I have played/DMed homebrews that, of course, often 'borrowed' aspects of other settings.
I say this because the Knights of Takhisis were founded after the War of the Lance... So if it's the Knights of Takhisis it's probably some 20 after the War of the Lance... so all the above information is still excellent and describes where you're at... but to add to it.
Basically after the War of the Lance the forces of Good went back to bitckering amongst themselves like they tend to do. Takhisis, foiled, but not defeated waited and began to work in a new direction. A young man, Ariakan, whose father was the Lord of the Red Dragon Army durring the War of the Lance, is released by the Knights of Solamnia who had held him captive for most of the war.
Deciding that the old addage "Evil turns upon itself" is the reason his Father died (he had been betrayed by the Lord of the Blue Dragon Army) and Takhisis lost the war, he founds a twisted evil mockery of the Honorable Knights of Solamnia. Every bit as honorable and noble as the Solamnia Knights, only dedicated to Takhisis, and her domination of the world. These Knights of Takhisis, whom were loyal to their Dark Queen and to each other were a true horror. Gone were the days when evil would backstab itself... this time evil was organized. For years the Knighthood grew in power in secret, when a couple of Heroes of the Lance discovered their existance and tried to warn the world... their warning was ignored. 'We defeated them once we can defeat them again' was the general sentiment. When the Dark Knighthood swept across the land they did it quickly and efficiently... Armies crumbled before their might.
I think that is about where you are...
Thanks for the extra background!
In the future the Knights of Takhsis are formed with a definite heirarchy, a rigid chain of command, etc. They were not going ot succumb to the wanton destruction that characterized the Dragonarmies of the War of the Lance.
Originally posted by Winterknight
At least not for a while yet. I gather they kind of fell off the strength of character pedestal during the mid part of the early age of mortals, and the order degenerated, though they still have a strict ranking system. Roman, has the DM told you the name of the city you are attacking? or any of the people you are suppossed to assassinate? Unless they are DM designed characters, that might point to the era of play.
He did not mention names of the characters we killed. The name of the city also was not given, but I do know that it must have been a capital city of some good aligned country, because when we were inside the castle within the city we fought some knights that the DM mentioned were king's guard, who were guarding the entrance to king's chambers (hence my assertion that the king resided there and it is a capital city). If you want to know how it ended, well luckily we had huge numerical superiority considering that our party was not the only one in the palace. Nonetheless after successfully killing one of the weakened knights and sustaining grievious injuries in the process, we were forced to retreat and let others do the job... which they apparently did successfully. Another factor I should mention is that there were large numbers of knights in the city (I think they were Knights of Solamnia).
The characters whom we assassinated were most lilely simply DM created NPCs. Our most recent assassination involved killing a cleric who information about the position of one of our camps. Bear in mind that we are too low level to actually kill any of the characters that are likely to be mentioned in the Campaign Setting, so it is highly unlikely we would be sent on a mission to assassinate them and even if that were the case, I doubt we would have succeeded.
"Here's that other group you've been hearing about. You are at cross-purposes...do you make an alliance, or fight?"
That kinda thing. I've played in a game where the evil party and good party battled in a climactic battle scene that was far more exciting than one GM running all the bad guys. At the end of a long campaign, you start to learn the GM's dirty tricks. If you face a bunch of PCs just as devious and unpredictable as you are.....
that's just campaign gold.
Originally posted by Craven Moistmuffins
I'm currently running two Dragonlance campaigns, and I'm hoping to mash them together in some way when they reach high level.
"Here's that other group you've been hearing about. You are at cross-purposes...do you make an alliance, or fight?"
That kinda thing. I've played in a game where the evil party and good party battled in a climactic battle scene that was far more exciting than one GM running all the bad guys. At the end of a long campaign, you start to learn the GM's dirty tricks. If you face a bunch of PCs just as devious and unpredictable as you are.....
that's just campaign gold.
Yes, I am looking forward to that. I have played/DMed two group campaigns too and they generally turned out to be fun.