Dragonlance Campaign Setting, what makes it better then the others? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Dragonlance Campaign Setting, what makes it better then the others?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
zombiegleemax
Oct 22, 2003 19:28:09 I just bought the new Dragonlance Campaign Setting online a few days ago and should be getting it shortly.

I heard the Dragonlance setting was similar to LOTR so I figured I'd give it a try.

What are some of your favorite features about the Dragonlance setting?

What makes it different/better/unique then all the other settings?

Thanks,
Dan
#2
halo299
Oct 23, 2003 1:31:13 Dragonlance and I go way back, it's novels were the first fantasy books i read and still amoung the best IMHO.

The thing that makes it good is it's setting. I know that sounds like a realy lame awnsewer but hear me out.

The world is full of neat little things that arn't realy all that spectacular but add just add a little bit of flavor text, the whole setting is full of them.

Magic (or the lack there of) is very important to the setting. Not in a FR every commoner owns a magic shop that sells greater artifacts kind of way, but in a subtle way. Spell casters seem diffrent in Kryn for reasons I can't seem to be able to put my finger on.

And lastly the history of Kryn is about as detailed as you can get. You can realy follow the chain of events from the first days of the age of dreams to the very present.

Which might be responsible for the LotR feel you mentioned, when something happens in the dragonlance setting, it's big. Wars are always globle, the gods are almost always involed at some point (useually directly), and the fate of the world is forever hanging ever so epically in the balance.

The last reason more then any other is why I've never wished to play in a dragonlance game. I have no dissier to wage world war and I get tired of keeping track of the gods constent game of hide and seek.

The flavor of the setting is both attractive and repulive at the same time for me, yet i still consider my self a fan.

hope I helped

#3
lord_xcapobl
Oct 23, 2003 4:03:16 Well, just to sum up a few good points...

It's got Takhisis. She's hot.
Chrysania. Hot too.
Goldmoon, cute, going on hot.
Tike, there's a hottie.
Lauralanthalasa (Laurana). Did I say she's hot ?
Kitiara. Hot.
Silvara. Now there's a hot one.

Well, actually and seriously. This seems to be due to the fact that this setting got a lot of support from mister Elmore himself. And we know how he draws his women. (www.larryelmore.com if you don't.) As for the art in the current book... In my personal opinion it's not Elmore, but it does a nice job on its own.

As for the setting itself.

It was the first to introduce Kender. It got transplanted into Ravenloft (especially as a nasty vampire sort), found its way into some Planescape and nowadays the 3.X Halfling looks like the Kender, with slim figures, ponytails, topknots and what not. Up till that point every halfling was portrayed as a fat little man with furry feet. Now where did they ever get that idea ? :D

It has Draconians. Who wouldn't want to have dragonmen as adversaries ? Born from corrupted Good-dragon eggs initially and all die in a horrid way as some sort of last strike.

Knights. Knights everywhere. Being a knight fan, this I like. But in Dragonlance, the idea of a prestige class was already introduced in First Edition AD&D. You had to advance as a Crown Knight and fullfil certain prerequisites before you could become a Sword Knight, and later, perhaps, a Knight of the Rose. In this, it was already way ahead of its time.

Magic is different. Spellcasting and preparation work the same way, but mages are also influenced by the three Moons of Magic. High and Low Sanction make spellcasters temporarily more, or less, powerful and wait until all three moons align at High Sanction. The Orders of the Wizards of High Sorcery add a certain restraint to wizards and sorcerers, but also a unique flavor. Dragonlance is one of the very, very few settings where a black wizard isn't automatically portrayed as a psychotic, randomly fireball-flinging bad hiney dude just waiting to be killed for the few XP he is worth and the items he carries. Evil wizards were, and are, normal people too.

History. Well, it had been said before. Dragonlance setting has a huge and detailed history. I myself got into AD&D after reading The Legend of Huma by Richard A. Knaak. It's huge.

Epic. It is about the struggle of Good and Evil. There are times when one is gaining the upper hand, but there is always a pendulum swinging from one side to the other. There is always a spare hero, or villain, to change the tides. Which, to my opinion, is a good thing, as there is never and end to the possibility of adventure. And the grandest of heroes get to battle the grandest of adversaries.

Iconics. Dragonlance has its iconic characters too. Tasslehoff, Flint, Caramon, Raistlin, Tanis and many more. But no matter how powerful, they all have their flaws, strengths, and in a way their humanity (even the non-humans.) They are believable characters (in so far that is possible for characters wielding magic and such.)

And finally, let's not forget the ultimate dread, the grandest fear, every one at the table suffers, when the party Kender sayd that most dreaded of Kender words...

"Oops !"

(Which stands for the fact that Dragonlance also has its place for humour despite the conflictuous nature of the setting.)

Regards,

Lord Xcapobl.
#4
korgan26
Oct 23, 2003 11:27:15 Its not really a matter of better or not, like everything its a matter of taste. I'm a huge FR fan and i love the power gaming aspect. now with DL I'm not a fan of the inncredibly over active gods, that doesn't mean I think FR is Better Than DL it just fits my style, so most anything reply you get here is going to be based on what style fits which person. But if your looking for a low magic hard nosed system and don't mind D6 look to LOTR.
Happy Gaming
Z
#5
baron_the_curse
Oct 23, 2003 18:22:52
I heard the Dragonlance setting was similar to LOTR so I figured I'd give it a try.

Dan

This is the first time I’ve heard Dragonlance describe as resembling Lord of the Rings. It was my understand that Dragonlance was created to brake away from that “same old fantasy” mold

Draconians replace Orcs
Kender replace Halflings
Raistlin is only interested in his future (Unlike Gandalf)
Dragons play an epic role and are found in abundance in the world (Unlike Middle Earth dragons)

Well, that’s just a couple of examples. But really, Dragonlance was not meant to resemble LotR in any form or way.

Some may believe that because it is said that DL is a low-magic setting. IT IS NOT. It is a normal high fantasy setting with no more or less magic or magic items than the standard fantasy setting.

Forgotten Realms is a very high-magic setting. I think a lot of people over the years have view FR as the “standard” for a fantasy setting. I don’t think it is, its magical grandeur is off the scale.
#6
zombiegleemax
Oct 23, 2003 19:08:36 Dragonlance has a graet developed sense of history. The characters area ll flaweda nd so human.
#7
zombiegleemax
Oct 24, 2003 3:09:12 I love this! Kender vampires! I want to be one of those one of these days! Or at least meet one. You know, one of the things that I keep hearing from everyone who has to learn about this sort of thing is that everything is balanced on Krynn. Evil is not necessarily a bad thing. It has it's bad points, but it is a natural part of this world created by a balanced pantheon of gods, each granting their own favors to the inhabitants. Good has it's bad points too, ya' know. Things like being blind to the consequences of your actions on people that aren't good or thinking that your way is right for everybody just because you happen to be good doesn't make it a good idea. It's all in the balance that the thing works. Wizards of High Sorcery have to take a test to advance in level so that the power isn't shifted too far one way or another. I met Paladine once, and he said that all the gods knew about that little Raistlin/Fistandantilus merger, but it was a neccessary thing to aid a lesser evil to defeat a greater one. That's so true. You know, a similar thing happened with my cousin Strappitt. He was in Winston's Tower and a big uproar started about a missing crystal capacitor that was going to cause the whole place to blow up if it wasn't returned, and Strappitt was looking for some beef jerkey and found it in one of his pouches. Figuring that some other gnome was being mean and put it there on purpose, Strappit slipped it in another gnome's tool belt and pointed saying, "He did it! He's trying to kill us all!" and ran off. I hope that gnome didn't get in too much trouble, but the tower didn't blow up, so I guess things worked out for the best after all. See, balance.

Love,
Haldon
#8
cam_banks
Oct 24, 2003 9:20:49
Originally posted by Baron the Curse
Well, that’s just a couple of examples. But really, Dragonlance was not meant to resemble LotR in any form or way.

Oddly enough, it's more like Middle Earth than any other D&D setting, or at least it was initially. Chronicles has an enormous amount of Tolkien influence, both thematically and even down to certain events such as an elven princess giving a the starjewel to a man that she has fallen for, etc.

The core D&D products owe much more to grim fantasy such as that found in Fritz Leiber's Nehwon stories and Moorcock's Eternal Champion tales with a hefty amount of Jack Vance, Poul Anderson and Jack Chalker. Tolkien's influence was comparitively small, all things considered (orcs, hobbits, ents, rangers, elves and dwarves, much of which Tolkien borrowed from the Prose Edda anyway).

Cheers,
Cam
#9
Thyrwyn
Oct 28, 2003 6:32:22 yeah. what Cam said (gotta agree with my DM)

As for LotR influences, I would add the heightened racial tensions; the world spanning conflicts; the focus on the large scale, rather than the small; etc.....
#10
cam_banks
Oct 28, 2003 8:09:08
Originally posted by Thyrwyn
yeah. what Cam said (gotta agree with my DM)

It's nice when somebody's players agree with them. Smells like experience points to me...

Cheers,
Cam
#11
kalanth
Oct 28, 2003 9:32:24 The thing about Dragonlance that stands out to me, and makes it the best of all the Settings is the real life, dramatic feel the game has. Every time I play, I feel more intouch with the societies that I am able to recreate them in my game better, and the drama that is presented because of that is more interesting to the players.

I play Dragonlance becuase I grew up on Dragonlance. I read Legend of Huma when I was 6, and I began playing the setting when I was 10. I am biased in every way, and will never play on any other world, unless I made the world myself.
#12
The_White_Sorcerer
Oct 28, 2003 9:43:09
Originally posted by Lord Xcapobl
Well, just to sum up a few good points...

It's got Takhisis. She's hot.
Chrysania. Hot too.
Goldmoon, cute, going on hot.
Tike, there's a hottie.
Lauralanthalasa (Laurana). Did I say she's hot ?
Kitiara. Hot.
Silvara. Now there's a hot one.

Well well, great minds DO think alike. :D

DragonLance has it's own good points (and bad points). I can't really put my finger on what is good, but I can see what is bad, and that is what I leave out.

It will be the next setting I'll integrate into my own "homebrew" mishmash world setting (which already has Forgotten Realms and Rokugan, and will also include Eberron, eventually).
#13
zombiegleemax
Oct 28, 2003 9:53:28 What makes this setting better than any other setting? Well........ *takes a huge breath, delaying for dramatic effect*

KENDERS!!!!

Seriously...... :embarrass they're cool... you know? and... and... yeah.

Really, dragonlance has too much stuff to offer. As been pointed out, if you love to Role-play more than Roll-play, then it's your game. Also, the world has got so much rich detail.... the characters are not two dimensional (like many FR or Greyhawk characters), and it just feels better than other games. Now, whether i like it more than Ravenloft, i won't go into that........

oh, and tika and crysania are hot. :D
#14
silvanthalas
Oct 29, 2003 7:18:50
Originally posted by Baron the Curse
This is the first time I’ve heard Dragonlance describe as resembling Lord of the Rings.

Ha! And I spent some time in a discussion on another list the last few days about how Chronicles IS similar to LotR.
#15
The_White_Sorcerer
Oct 29, 2003 8:28:31
Originally posted by Magus_Extreme
As been pointed out, if you love to Role-play more than Roll-play, then it's your game.

And, as I'm sure I have pointed out somewhere earlier, if you love Roll-play more than Role-play, DragonLance can still be for you. You can go on a dungeon crawl and slay draconians and goblins and take their treasure. Just like if you play in the Realms, you can role-play the political intrigue in the royal court of Cormyr, and never roll an attack roll, ever. Both worlds are equally good for either style of gaming. They just have different flavors.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 zombiegleemax Oct 22, 2003 19:28:09	I just bought the new Dragonlance Campaign Setting online a few days ago and should be getting it shortly. I heard the Dragonlance setting was similar to LOTR so I figured I'd give it a try. What are some of your favorite features about the Dragonlance setting? What makes it different/better/unique then all the other settings? Thanks, Dan
#2 halo299 Oct 23, 2003 1:31:13	Dragonlance and I go way back, it's novels were the first fantasy books i read and still amoung the best IMHO. The thing that makes it good is it's setting. I know that sounds like a realy lame awnsewer but hear me out. The world is full of neat little things that arn't realy all that spectacular but add just add a little bit of flavor text, the whole setting is full of them. Magic (or the lack there of) is very important to the setting. Not in a FR every commoner owns a magic shop that sells greater artifacts kind of way, but in a subtle way. Spell casters seem diffrent in Kryn for reasons I can't seem to be able to put my finger on. And lastly the history of Kryn is about as detailed as you can get. You can realy follow the chain of events from the first days of the age of dreams to the very present. Which might be responsible for the LotR feel you mentioned, when something happens in the dragonlance setting, it's big. Wars are always globle, the gods are almost always involed at some point (useually directly), and the fate of the world is forever hanging ever so epically in the balance. The last reason more then any other is why I've never wished to play in a dragonlance game. I have no dissier to wage world war and I get tired of keeping track of the gods constent game of hide and seek. The flavor of the setting is both attractive and repulive at the same time for me, yet i still consider my self a fan. hope I helped
#3 lord_xcapobl Oct 23, 2003 4:03:16	Well, just to sum up a few good points... It's got Takhisis. She's hot. Chrysania. Hot too. Goldmoon, cute, going on hot. Tike, there's a hottie. Lauralanthalasa (Laurana). Did I say she's hot ? Kitiara. Hot. Silvara. Now there's a hot one. Well, actually and seriously. This seems to be due to the fact that this setting got a lot of support from mister Elmore himself. And we know how he draws his women. (www.larryelmore.com if you don't.) As for the art in the current book... In my personal opinion it's not Elmore, but it does a nice job on its own. As for the setting itself. It was the first to introduce Kender. It got transplanted into Ravenloft (especially as a nasty vampire sort), found its way into some Planescape and nowadays the 3.X Halfling looks like the Kender, with slim figures, ponytails, topknots and what not. Up till that point every halfling was portrayed as a fat little man with furry feet. Now where did they ever get that idea ? :D It has Draconians. Who wouldn't want to have dragonmen as adversaries ? Born from corrupted Good-dragon eggs initially and all die in a horrid way as some sort of last strike. Knights. Knights everywhere. Being a knight fan, this I like. But in Dragonlance, the idea of a prestige class was already introduced in First Edition AD&D. You had to advance as a Crown Knight and fullfil certain prerequisites before you could become a Sword Knight, and later, perhaps, a Knight of the Rose. In this, it was already way ahead of its time. Magic is different. Spellcasting and preparation work the same way, but mages are also influenced by the three Moons of Magic. High and Low Sanction make spellcasters temporarily more, or less, powerful and wait until all three moons align at High Sanction. The Orders of the Wizards of High Sorcery add a certain restraint to wizards and sorcerers, but also a unique flavor. Dragonlance is one of the very, very few settings where a black wizard isn't automatically portrayed as a psychotic, randomly fireball-flinging bad hiney dude just waiting to be killed for the few XP he is worth and the items he carries. Evil wizards were, and are, normal people too. History. Well, it had been said before. Dragonlance setting has a huge and detailed history. I myself got into AD&D after reading The Legend of Huma by Richard A. Knaak. It's huge. Epic. It is about the struggle of Good and Evil. There are times when one is gaining the upper hand, but there is always a pendulum swinging from one side to the other. There is always a spare hero, or villain, to change the tides. Which, to my opinion, is a good thing, as there is never and end to the possibility of adventure. And the grandest of heroes get to battle the grandest of adversaries. Iconics. Dragonlance has its iconic characters too. Tasslehoff, Flint, Caramon, Raistlin, Tanis and many more. But no matter how powerful, they all have their flaws, strengths, and in a way their humanity (even the non-humans.) They are believable characters (in so far that is possible for characters wielding magic and such.) And finally, let's not forget the ultimate dread, the grandest fear, every one at the table suffers, when the party Kender sayd that most dreaded of Kender words... "Oops !" (Which stands for the fact that Dragonlance also has its place for humour despite the conflictuous nature of the setting.) Regards, Lord Xcapobl.
#4 korgan26 Oct 23, 2003 11:27:15	Its not really a matter of better or not, like everything its a matter of taste. I'm a huge FR fan and i love the power gaming aspect. now with DL I'm not a fan of the inncredibly over active gods, that doesn't mean I think FR is Better Than DL it just fits my style, so most anything reply you get here is going to be based on what style fits which person. But if your looking for a low magic hard nosed system and don't mind D6 look to LOTR. Happy Gaming Z
#5 baron_the_curse Oct 23, 2003 18:22:52	I heard the Dragonlance setting was similar to LOTR so I figured I'd give it a try. Dan This is the first time I’ve heard Dragonlance describe as resembling Lord of the Rings. It was my understand that Dragonlance was created to brake away from that “same old fantasy” mold Draconians replace Orcs Kender replace Halflings Raistlin is only interested in his future (Unlike Gandalf) Dragons play an epic role and are found in abundance in the world (Unlike Middle Earth dragons) Well, that’s just a couple of examples. But really, Dragonlance was not meant to resemble LotR in any form or way. Some may believe that because it is said that DL is a low-magic setting. IT IS NOT. It is a normal high fantasy setting with no more or less magic or magic items than the standard fantasy setting. Forgotten Realms is a very high-magic setting. I think a lot of people over the years have view FR as the “standard” for a fantasy setting. I don’t think it is, its magical grandeur is off the scale.
#6 zombiegleemax Oct 23, 2003 19:08:36	Dragonlance has a graet developed sense of history. The characters area ll flaweda nd so human.
#7 zombiegleemax Oct 24, 2003 3:09:12	I love this! Kender vampires! I want to be one of those one of these days! Or at least meet one. You know, one of the things that I keep hearing from everyone who has to learn about this sort of thing is that everything is balanced on Krynn. Evil is not necessarily a bad thing. It has it's bad points, but it is a natural part of this world created by a balanced pantheon of gods, each granting their own favors to the inhabitants. Good has it's bad points too, ya' know. Things like being blind to the consequences of your actions on people that aren't good or thinking that your way is right for everybody just because you happen to be good doesn't make it a good idea. It's all in the balance that the thing works. Wizards of High Sorcery have to take a test to advance in level so that the power isn't shifted too far one way or another. I met Paladine once, and he said that all the gods knew about that little Raistlin/Fistandantilus merger, but it was a neccessary thing to aid a lesser evil to defeat a greater one. That's so true. You know, a similar thing happened with my cousin Strappitt. He was in Winston's Tower and a big uproar started about a missing crystal capacitor that was going to cause the whole place to blow up if it wasn't returned, and Strappitt was looking for some beef jerkey and found it in one of his pouches. Figuring that some other gnome was being mean and put it there on purpose, Strappit slipped it in another gnome's tool belt and pointed saying, "He did it! He's trying to kill us all!" and ran off. I hope that gnome didn't get in too much trouble, but the tower didn't blow up, so I guess things worked out for the best after all. See, balance. Love, Haldon
#8 cam_banks Oct 24, 2003 9:20:49	Originally posted by Baron the Curse Well, that’s just a couple of examples. But really, Dragonlance was not meant to resemble LotR in any form or way. Oddly enough, it's more like Middle Earth than any other D&D setting, or at least it was initially. Chronicles has an enormous amount of Tolkien influence, both thematically and even down to certain events such as an elven princess giving a the starjewel to a man that she has fallen for, etc. The core D&D products owe much more to grim fantasy such as that found in Fritz Leiber's Nehwon stories and Moorcock's Eternal Champion tales with a hefty amount of Jack Vance, Poul Anderson and Jack Chalker. Tolkien's influence was comparitively small, all things considered (orcs, hobbits, ents, rangers, elves and dwarves, much of which Tolkien borrowed from the Prose Edda anyway). Cheers, Cam
#9 Thyrwyn Oct 28, 2003 6:32:22	yeah. what Cam said (gotta agree with my DM) As for LotR influences, I would add the heightened racial tensions; the world spanning conflicts; the focus on the large scale, rather than the small; etc.....
#10 cam_banks Oct 28, 2003 8:09:08	Originally posted by Thyrwyn yeah. what Cam said (gotta agree with my DM) It's nice when somebody's players agree with them. Smells like experience points to me... Cheers, Cam
#11 kalanth Oct 28, 2003 9:32:24	The thing about Dragonlance that stands out to me, and makes it the best of all the Settings is the real life, dramatic feel the game has. Every time I play, I feel more intouch with the societies that I am able to recreate them in my game better, and the drama that is presented because of that is more interesting to the players. I play Dragonlance becuase I grew up on Dragonlance. I read Legend of Huma when I was 6, and I began playing the setting when I was 10. I am biased in every way, and will never play on any other world, unless I made the world myself.
#12 The_White_Sorcerer Oct 28, 2003 9:43:09	Originally posted by Lord Xcapobl Well, just to sum up a few good points... It's got Takhisis. She's hot. Chrysania. Hot too. Goldmoon, cute, going on hot. Tike, there's a hottie. Lauralanthalasa (Laurana). Did I say she's hot ? Kitiara. Hot. Silvara. Now there's a hot one. Well well, great minds DO think alike. :D DragonLance has it's own good points (and bad points). I can't really put my finger on what is good, but I can see what is bad, and that is what I leave out. It will be the next setting I'll integrate into my own "homebrew" mishmash world setting (which already has Forgotten Realms and Rokugan, and will also include Eberron, eventually).
#13 zombiegleemax Oct 28, 2003 9:53:28	What makes this setting better than any other setting? Well........ takes a huge breath, delaying for dramatic effect KENDERS!!!! Seriously...... :embarrass they're cool... you know? and... and... yeah. Really, dragonlance has too much stuff to offer. As been pointed out, if you love to Role-play more than Roll-play, then it's your game. Also, the world has got so much rich detail.... the characters are not two dimensional (like many FR or Greyhawk characters), and it just feels better than other games. Now, whether i like it more than Ravenloft, i won't go into that........ oh, and tika and crysania are hot. :D
#14 silvanthalas Oct 29, 2003 7:18:50	Originally posted by Baron the Curse This is the first time I’ve heard Dragonlance describe as resembling Lord of the Rings. Ha! And I spent some time in a discussion on another list the last few days about how Chronicles IS similar to LotR.
#15 The_White_Sorcerer Oct 29, 2003 8:28:31	Originally posted by Magus_Extreme *As been pointed out, if you love to Role-play more than Roll-play, then it's your game.* And, as I'm sure I have pointed out somewhere earlier, if you love Roll-play more than Role-play, DragonLance can still be for you. You can go on a dungeon crawl and slay draconians and goblins and take their treasure. Just like if you play in the Realms, you can role-play the political intrigue in the royal court of Cormyr, and never roll an attack roll, ever. Both worlds are equally good for either style of gaming. They just have different flavors.